Chapter 593 - 365: Los Santos Changes Hands, Maiden Voyage of the Aerospace Carrier

Chapter 593: Chapter 365: Los Santos Changes Hands, Maiden Voyage of the Aerospace Carrier

The three thousand Extraordinary Beings from City No. 03 would serve as officers, while the Extraordinary Beings from Los Santos would be the grunts. The veterans trained the new recruits, drilling them every day.

Li Xiang believed it wouldn’t be long before an army of his very own would take shape.

Thanks to the flawed "Rapid Version" Cultivation Technique, Los Santos already had Extraordinary Beings at Tier Ten and above. Li Xiang subjected each of them to his Heart Image Judgment. The utterly heinous were all executed, while those whose sins were lighter were pardoned, their pasts forgiven.

With the addition of some ordinary soldiers, Los Santos now had an army of nearly 200,000. However, they didn’t have many high-powered missiles, as most had been depleted during the previous, constant wars.

Li Xiang ordered two of his Earth Vein Passage Envoys to transport some high-powered rocket launchers and missiles over.

"You’re so good to me! Not only did you make me minister of the economy, but now you’ve given me military authority and made me the lord of a city." Yao Yao was overjoyed, clinging to Li Xiang like an octopus and refusing to let go.

She was now a capable leader in her own right.

She had always envied Lei Xiaohui’s ability to lead troops—hundreds of thousands of them. Now, she also commanded an army of nearly 200,000. Although their combat strength was certainly no match for City No. 03’s, she was confident they could catch up with enough training.

"It’s just... the population is too small. The city feels so empty."

After all, the Los Santos Underground City was designed for 18 million people. With only 3 million residents, it naturally felt vast and desolate.

"Don’t worry, I’ll help you bring in more people. Aren’t there a lot of wanderers on the South Asian Subcontinent? There are plenty on the North American Continent, too. It’ll be hard work, but we’ll go and win them over one by one." 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

A man of action, Li Xiang set out immediately. He took Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui, and the nine Saint Tier Exotic Beasts—who had just completed their escort mission—and headed for the North American Continent to gather more people.

Using his Nine Nether Falsehood-Breaking Gaze and Earth Vein Perception Ability, Li Xiang’s first chosen target was a faction entrenched in an abandoned military base in the Rocky Mountains, a group now calling themselves the "Rust Brotherhood."

This faction was comprised of former marines from the Beautiful Country, as well as Mechanicians and Wilderness Hunters. They had a total population of over 100,000 and controlled armed trucks modified with engines salvaged from several destroyers, frigates, and the wreckage of a Nimitz Level nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

Li Xiang led the Black Fire Profound Crow Group to the front of their base. With a wave of his hand, the Exotic Beast Army—composed of over ten thousand Black Fire Profound Crows—began its assault. They spat torrents of flame, and in less than twenty minutes, melted the faction’s prized titanium alloy gate.

"We only follow a leader who can fill our bellies!" declared Scarface Joe, the leader of the Rust Brotherhood, knowing he was no match for them.

Li Xiang tossed out a compressed biscuit made from the synthetic starch produced in City No. 03. It was fortified with salt, vegetable oil, and some flavorings, making it taste quite decent—no worse than the military-grade compressed biscuits from peacetime. "I can’t make any other promises, but as for this stuff, we have an endless supply. You can have as much as you want."

The raw materials for synthetic starch were just carbon dioxide and water. As long as there was enough electricity, they could synthesize as much as they wanted. This was a promise Li Xiang had the confidence to make!

With this "Big Killer Move" on the table (in truth, the people of City No. 03 wouldn’t touch the stuff, even feeding it to pigs), the Rust Brotherhood immediately seized the opportunity to stand down. They pledged their allegiance and at once began organizing their people for the migration.

With the Black Fire Profound Crows as their escort, the journey had its share of scares but no real danger, and they arrived safely in Los Santos.

The Rust Brotherhood was not an isolated case. As Li Xiang continued his work across the North American Continent, numerous other scattered factions and wanderer camps also began to migrate.

Li Xiang, Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui, the nine Saint Tier Spirit Pets, and the three Exotic Beast Armies all took part in the escort operations.

Along the way, they were attacked by other Exotic Beast Armies, but with Li Xiang’s escort team present, the casualties were not especially high.

Any groups that attacked them were often hunted to extinction by Li Xiang. The only reason he didn’t tame more of them was that all the slots for his Beast Taming: Azure Qilin Guide were full; otherwise, he absolutely would have.

After gathering four to five million people on the North American Continent, Li Xiang took Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui, and the nine Saint Tier Spirit Pets to the South Asian Subcontinent. The three Exotic Beast Armies remained behind to guard the outskirts of Los Santos, protecting Yao Yao and the city.

The wanderers on the South Asian Subcontinent were even easier to rally. After all, they were all indebted to Li Xiang. Back in peacetime, he had been their Lord Divine Envoy, and now he had effectively replaced their original deities. It would be no exaggeration to call him a new god.

The moment Li Xiang appeared, the wanderers fell to their knees to worship him, and he was powerless to stop them.

"Hello, everyone! I have a plan, and I’d like to ask for your opinions!" Li Xiang began his speech. He had barely finished his opening when the wanderers all cheered in agreement, declaring that they would support any plan he had.

When Li Xiang explained his plan in detail, the wanderers were even more ecstatic.

And so, their great exodus began.

Although the journey was long, the prospect of living in the safer, more advanced city of Los Santos—a place famous even in peacetime—naturally kindled hope in the hearts of these people from the Lower Castes.

The South Asian Subcontinent had "Bollywood," a place dedicated to filmmaking, its name a riff on "Hollywood." Hollywood, in turn, was one of the most famous industries in Los Santos. Even now, a small number of people in Los Santos were still trying to keep that industry alive.