Chapter 192: Chapter 173 Disturbing
"Roar~"
In Las Vegas, inside a newly built farm, Da Hei, restrained by a large metal frame and wrapped in iron chains, let out a pitiful roar upon seeing Tao Yu.
The iron chains rattled on its body.
However, Tao Yu remained unmoved. He simply leaped onto Da Hei's back, giving it a pat to soothe it while planting a psychic seed.
This instantly calmed the agitated Da Hei.
"Indeed, of the three Alien Queens on the farm, you're the best-controlled one. There's really no way to pass on your skills? Maybe in the future, we could form an Alien army, perfect as cannon fodder."
An Inner City Pioneer in charge of the farm, a burly man with boar-like nostrils and tusks, watched Tao Yu easily calm the Alien Queen and a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes.
Aliens could be tamed, and they were simply perfect as cannon fodder.
High yield, dexterous, their bodies weapons, and even their death resulted in an explosion of acid blood.
Now, because of these Aliens, even the price of Taming Techniques had gone up.
Compared to others, however, the Alien Queen tamed by Tao Yu was still the best specimen.
If one could control the Alien Queen, then indirectly controlling the Aliens through her would be much simpler.
It wasn't about the Empress directly controlling everything but rather the Pioneers using Taming Techniques under the enhancement of the Queen's pheromones, which would definitely be far more effective than without the help of a Queen.
"Yuan Force skills are currently being learned by the young lady."
Tao Yu casually responded, effectively silencing the boar-like man, who fell mutely silent.
"Alright, this should keep it calm for a while. When I'm free, I'll run more experiments."
Ignoring the roaring from behind Da Hei, Tao Yu dusted off his hands and walked away.
Once sold, he was rather principled about it.
With Las Vegas now largely cleared of zombies for the sake of the base's safety, the Alien farm was established here.
They were also looking to use the nearby dam to irrigate some crops, selecting suitable Yuan Force crop seeds.
To ensure they could serve as both food and a source of Yuan Force.
"Safety in the Abyss comes first, but after stabilizing, it's time to think about generating revenue. Yet, for now, the initial investment should continue. Turning a loss into a profit will take at least several years, if not over a decade," Tao Yu pondered.
Many Yuan Force crops, like trees, had long initial growth cycles, and how to divide them was quite a delicate matter.
But without a doubt, the base was now on the right track.
Without any accidents, turning a profit was only a matter of time.
"I wonder how many people are still alive in the Monster World."
Given the current environment in the Abyss, the migration of ordinary people, this world was at its limit, close to the neighboring Monster World. And these natives would become the base's core population and labor force.
Add in the constantly incoming Pioneers, and the future looked hopeful.
"The little rich girl makes her money, and I make mine."
Recalling some pleasant memories, Tao Yu nearly slipped into fantasy, but he quickly gathered his thoughts and regained his composure.
"It's about time to hit the road..."
Mounting his motorbike, he twisted the throttle and sped off toward the base.
The journey was long, and riding a motorcycle was too tough, so of course, he'd be heading over in an RV...
...
"Add two more barrels of oil, bring the repair tools too, and the snow tires—yeah, the oil quality is a bit down, but as long as it works, it's good."
Jack loaded up Tao Yu's RV with two barrels of oil and also included a lot of canned goods.
Rare fruit cans were stuffed in with two boxes, and some snacks and such as well.
An RV that would normally spell luxury was now packed like a cargo truck.
But considering Little Black and the publicly known Cao Shaolin, it was only three people's worth of space, which was more than enough for the spacious RV.
"Alright, I'm just going over there for a bit—you're acting like it's a matter of life and death," Tao Yu said as he pushed Jack out of the RV, slightly annoyed.
"Pah, no appreciation for good intentions," Jack retorted.
Then he couldn't resist adding, "You sure a kayak will do the job? Isn't it supposed to be the sea over there? Three-foot waves without a breath of wind."
At that moment, two kayaks along with paddles were tied to the top of the RV. These were Tao Yu's planned means of crossing the sea.
"Don't worry, I'm really good at driving, and if worse comes to worst, I can always retreat back to the real world for a bit, since I am a Pioneer."
Tao Yu's words pierced Jack's heart, making him itch to return to his training immediately.
With two other 'Chosen Ones' who possessed Demonization joining in, Jack also felt an external pressure building up.
The initial boost from Demonization was just too high.
"Alright, go back, and don't let those juniors overtake you, as a senior."
In the end, Tao Yu still came down and hugged Jack, patting his back.
"Tch, I used to mix it up at the CIA, how could I lose to a couple of kids."
Jack returned the pat to Tao Yu, then waved his hand,
"Have a safe trip."
"I'll bring you back some local specialties."
Tao Yu waved goodbye to Jack, figuring that if he got his hands on the right Internal Cultivation Methods, he could teach them to him.
Although Jack was of a certain age and set in his ways, as a Chosen One, anything was still possible.
Besides, the Nine Yin True Scripture did incorporate the Muscle Changing and Bone Forging Scripture.
After undergoing a second Deification, Tao Yu had also gained this effect, so he knew that with the right Skill as a foundation, subsequent learning would be much easier,
Under the gazes of Panda, Jack, Park Ji-hyun, and others, Tao Yu called over Little Black to get in the car, which Little Black hesitantly drove onto the highway, heading northward…
…
With the world's end having begun less than a year ago, the highways were still largely passable.
With Tao Yu's goading, Little Black, though initially driving slowly, gradually became more proficient.
After all, there were hardly any other vehicles on the road, with only the occasional broken-down car parked on the side.
Thanks to the RV's truck-like height, it was quite easy to spot any obstacles ahead and perform the necessary Evasion.
After a day of guiding Little Black through the remaining vehicle operations, as dusk began to fall, Tao Yu yawned and said,
"Keep driving at your own pace, follow this road to its end, but don't enter the city yet. Just stop on the outskirts, remember to turn off the engine and pull the handbrake after parking, I'm going to lie down for a while."
With that casual reminder, Tao Yu turned toward the inside of the RV, opened the fridge, and took out a bottle of soda, chugging it down.
Cold soda, refreshing!
"I wonder if there's any chance of salvaging the cola factory, the world's stock is about to expire."
Tao Yu lay on the spacious bed, but his mind involuntarily drifted to the wealthy young woman who had lain there before — truly toxic.
"I feel like I've lost interest in other women…"
After the encounter that lasted twenty minutes and happened thirteen times, upon his return, Tao Yu found that the previously rescued beauties now seemed quite plain to him.
He thought he might have contracted some indescribable disease.
However, just as Tao Yu was about to use the Meditation Technique in combination with the Breathing Technique to reinforce his strength at a low rate, a boost in Spirit Perception thanks to the second Deification of the Meditation Technique gave him a slight premonition.
"Tsk, I was just about to rest; who's this without any foresight?"
A bit reluctantly, he let out a yawn and opened the RV window nearby.
A faint hostility emerged from behind, and there was more than one source.
Probably, they specially caught up because the RV was moving slowly.
In any case, it was bound to be trouble.
"Just don't wreck my car…"
Tao Yu instantly transformed into a shadow and left the RV.
With the boost from second Deification to Stealth, Tao Yu suddenly felt like a fish in water.
Many forces of Shadow Force converged upon him from within the shadows, then stored within his own shadow.
But after all, this was not the Monster World; he couldn't afford to indulge in luxurious consumption of power for too long.
After leaving the RV, he slowly materialized from behind an abandoned car on the roadside, spotting a pickup with several motorcycles in pursuit from behind.
The pickup's bed had a machine gun welded on it, manned by an armed militant, with another one holding an RPG beside him.
Besides, each one on those motorcycles was fully armed.
"Wow, quite the strong lineup, they came prepared."
Tao Yu raised an eyebrow. A group of militants like this, given average competence, could easily take on Inner City Pioneers if they caught them off-guard.
This is also why the Inner City Pioneers liked to team up; having subordinates or comrades to watch each other's backs made a world of difference compared to being alone…