Chapter 660.5: Yaya Wants Them All
Regardless of talent or aptitude, Bay Territory provided resources for growth and progress.
To put it simply:
A child with a strong physical constitution
Might become a Professional by third grade.
Bay Territory would provide matching training for Professionals.
Other aspects of their education would match the average standard.
A child with weak academic aptitude
Would still receive proper learning and development resources from Bay Territory.
They'd be given a suitable development path tailored to their ability.
Never left behind.
Bay Territory strived to ensure every child could reach
The best they were capable of.
And pushed them to surpass themselves!
Competing with oneself and aiming for greater progress
Was the goal and philosophy of Bay Territory's education.
Take training and development for Professionals, for example.
Bay Territory never gave up on anyone unless they gave up on themselves.
When Laura saw every person in Bay Territory receiving Professional training, she sometimes wondered—
Would Bay Territory go bankrupt from investing so much?
But as she continued learning, understanding where Bay Territory allocated its resources, she fell silent.
Everyone in Bay Territory received fair pay for their jobs and shared in the fruits of its development.
All wealth held by Bay Territory's administrators was made public and overseen by the people.
Of course, Laura thought that was just the last line of defense.
Before that, Bay Territory used daily lie detection, corruption audits, and spell probes to stop corruption from the top down.
If anyone wanted to embezzle in Bay Territory—
They'd first have to be an Extraordinary-tier psychic or magic analyst caster.
"Using tech to solve the problem of human greed cuts off most of the trouble."
Laura always remembered what Matthew had said and thought it was a great idea.
Though she still felt this form of supervision had flaws and was overly idealistic—
She quickly realized that as long as Matthew and Yaya were in charge,
Bay Territory could keep marching down this path with unwavering resolve.
Its systems in production, adventuring, and environmental management all amazed her.
But what she couldn't quite accept was Bay Territory's continued acceptance of refugees and other intelligent beings.
Just as Laura's mind wandered, she sensed the golem train entering a strange state.
Its speed wasn't fast, but she felt like it was racing.
She instinctively turned to look out the window, only to see a blur of starlight.
When she tried to focus on it, everything vanished.
The view outside cleared again, revealing another stationary golem train.
Dim light slowly filtered in through the windows.
A suffocating feeling spread across her body, and Laura suddenly understood—
She had entered the Catachan Demi-Plane!
"Attention car 12: please disembark within 5 minutes and proceed to the left."
"Attention car 12..."
The loud voice echoed through the train, and the passengers—already familiar with the procedure—quickly gathered their things and exited.
Elio, feeling the immense pressure, slowly raised her head. Seeing the pale white sun in the sky and the rolling mist, she furrowed her brow.
Things were getting worse!
Without delay, Elio led everyone out of the station quickly. Guided by staff, they moved toward their designated residential zones.
She quickly summoned several leaders, browsed the data on her magic wristband, and immediately started assigning tasks:
"Alice, choose 20 advance team members. They must be peak-tier elites with rich jungle combat experience."
"Gatel, pick 10 Catachan-modified warriors. Familiarity with nearby tribes and good relations are a plus."
"Jifan, select 5 Dragon Warriors and equip them with agile-type magic armor."
"The others will rest in camp. Vanguard departs in 10 minutes."
The urgent orders put everyone on edge.
They responded in unison and got to work immediately.
Elio took the files handed to her by Filia and frowned after a quick glance.
Filia, slightly relaxed now, looked at the distant rolling fog and said with some relief:
"According to the message from Fire Dragon Adam, a massive wave of deadly mutated monsters is gathering over a thousand kilometers away, and we're the target."
Opening the map projection, they stared at the red zone of hostility.
The original preparation time now had to be drastically shortened!
Facing the sudden situation, Elio immediately issued emergency orders:
"By order of the Lord, the full-scale war plan for the Catachan Demi-Plane is now activated."
"Immediately deploy engineering and combat units to rebuild two outer defense lines."
"They are to construct sixteen fully-defended cities, all within ten days."
"Inform all adventurers to clear and burn all wild vegetation along the defense lines and surrounding areas."
"Send out warnings to the other Catachan tribes, tell them to prepare early."
"Contact the tribes who plan to evacuate and begin their withdrawal as soon as possible."
"Notify all wyverns and relay Lady Yaya's order to retreat and regroup."
"Start preparing for underground construction. The Lord is on his way. Multiple elemental energy pools must be set up in advance."
"Select flying wyverns and group them in squads of five to form reconnaissance teams."
"Be sure to have them bring a few adventurers to constantly track enemy positions."
"..."
A flurry of commands later, Filia quickly forgot her worries and threw herself into action at top speed.
She moved swiftly, clearly having grown a lot during her period of independent management.
With the war plan now in motion, the fortress stocked with massive supplies quickly came alive.
Elio noticed the colossal warehouse being built—100 meters long, 50 meters wide, 30 meters high—and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at the sky.
Facing the entire "world" in battle!
The pressure was enormous!
Two minutes later—
Elio, with her selected advance squad, stepped into the teleportation array.
In Bay Territory's Catachan City #22, Elio and her squad boarded a large golem APC.
As the magitech engine roared, the huge armored vehicle charged out of the city.
Clang!
Bang!
Crash!
The golem APC barreled through the jungle, its massive ramming blade at the front slicing through tangled vines and thick trees.
Laura gripped a handrail as she observed the towering 20-to-30-meter trees on either side.
She could vaguely sense countless hostile gazes closing in on her.
It felt like the entire jungle had come alive, radiating deep malice.
She had never seen a jungle this terrifying!
"Roar...!"
A deafening dragon roar erupted from atop the golem APC.
The tangible pressure of dragon might instantly stirred the seemingly calm jungle into a frenzy.
Mutated monsters of all shapes and sizes trembled and fell from the trees.
In that single glimpse, they saw a parade of distorted, never-before-seen monsters:
Four-armed spiny apes with gray-green needle fur.
Giant tree spiders over two meters wide, camouflaged as branches.
Slit-mouthed birds with bat-like wings and only a grotesque head for a body.
Mimic-beasts with humanoid gray-green appearances, woven entirely from fleshy vines.
And the most terrifying: giant stampeding wild bull-beasts—Rage Bulls!
Over four meters tall, seven legs, five eyes, and three ramming horns.
Covered in gray-green chitinous armor, muscular and incredibly fast, one charged directly at the golem APC.
Elio didn't even look up, still scanning the incoming reports.
Matthew, behind the wheel, didn't slow down either—he floored it straight toward the beast.
Jifan calmly rubbed his fingertips and, despite the shaking, squeezed the trigger.
Bang!
The spinning dragon-slaying bolt slammed into the bull's head.
Sparks burst, and the charging Rage Bull crashed to the ground.
Its massive body tumbled, smashing vines and saplings in its path.
It rolled twenty to thirty meters before coming to a stop.
Blood poured from its head, the deadly bolt lodged deep in its skull.
The bull staggered to its feet, shaking its head in confusion.
Another bolt flew in, piercing its raised neck through an unarmored gap.
The wounded bull collapsed again, thrashing wildly on the ground.
Boom!
One of the ramming horns slammed into its side.
The colossal beast was disemboweled on the spot and flung into a nearby bush by the impact.
The thick scent of blood drew nearby predators.
They instantly swarmed, tearing into the wounded bull.
In moments, the once-mighty monster was reduced to prey for lesser creatures.
Gatel clicked his tongue regretfully and said:
"Rage Bull horn marrow is delicious and nutritious."
"We used to abandon most of the kill because we had to retreat quickly. Such a waste."
Sitting in the middle, Yaya played with her music player and asked eagerly:
"It's really that good? Let's raise more of them then—and try other parts too!"
"Got any other tasty dishes? Now's a good time to sample everything!"
As both a top hunter and a massive foodie, Gatel enthusiastically approved of Lady Yaya's thinking and happily shared Catachan cuisine.
"Charcoal-grilled spider eggs are great—just be careful or the baby spiders might crawl out of your stomach..."
Yaya's eyes sparkled. With her stomach, disobedient spiders would be no problem.
Noted!
"Fire ant stew tastes amazing too. Add some Dream Mushrooms—it'll light up your taste buds and give you a euphoric trip..."
Hearing about such unique ingredients, Yaya was already imagining the flavors—nodding excitedly.
Approved!
"There's also brainworm egg custard—smooth and delicious, but rare, and it can give you jumbled memories. Minor side effects."
With plenty of memories already in her head, Yaya shook her head instinctively:
"Pass. Next."
"How about vine rot jam..."
"..."
These delicacies were originally improvised by Catachan hunters.
Their goal had been simple—survive in a jungle rich in flora but poor in edible food.
But these became both their comfort food and dangerous recipe collection.
Matthew, confident in Yaya's food quest, glanced at the armor status—no major damage—then drove on.
This road was regularly cleared by Bay Territory's frontier teams.
Half a meter of magical concrete had been laid, but after a single night—
Thorny vines and trees up to 7–8 meters tall would regrow.
Bay Territory patrols had to do light clearing daily and heavy clearing every five days.
The adventurers on the vehicle's roof had all survived prior Catachan expeditions—except for Laura.
She alone was the exception.
She could faintly see all sorts of bizarre monsters trying to ambush the vehicle.
But the APC was too fast—they passed before any attack could be launched.
Some greedy predators gave chase, but quickly lost interest and moved on.
In the perilous Catachan Jungle, drawing too much attention was suicide.
Elio studied the map and tapped a point 30 km outside Bay Territory's farthest outpost, hesitantly saying:
"Knowing the Catachan tribes, unless forced, they wouldn't ask for help..."
Chris nodded, raising his recorder:
"We'll need evidence to convince the others—otherwise they'll hesitate."
Thorne, who had been silent, muttered bitterly:
"That's one of the Catachan traditions: spread out, avoid the Green Tide's core, and maximize the chance of survival."
Those simple words hid countless stories of blood and tears.
At that moment, a piercing distress signal replayed in the vehicle:
"This is Outpost Group 16 of City 22. We're under heavy attack from mutated monsters—estimated 40,000 to 50,000. Suspected controller involved."
"Time is May 2nd, 10:32 AM. We expect to hold for 16 more hours. Enemy is jamming signals..."
Yaya perked up and immediately stood.
Matthew narrowed his eyes, sensing conspiracy in the air.
Rescue the outpost?
Or support the Catachan tribes?
"Hmph! Like I care about choosing!"
Yaya huffed, then leapt out the window without hesitation.
"ROAR...!"
A deafening dragon roar thundered across the skies like a rolling storm.
Yaya wants them all!