The massive city in the center of Do Sanbar Desert was also the Leslie family’s territory.
They had been standing in this world for hundreds of years. Although their family history could not be compared to those of martial arts families, they had secretly extended their reach to various parts of the world.
Of the top ten banks that dominated the financial world, two had the Leslie family backing them.
Their family businesses spread across the globe, and they had unimaginable wealth—bigger than some countries.
More than a hundred years ago, they had spent a huge sum of money on buying the entire Do Sanbar Desert. Then, they built their own fortress in the middle of the desert to guard the secrets of the Leslie clan.
This city had the most cutting-edge advanced technology that could withstand the harsh and extreme weather in the desert.
The city wall alone was a hundred meters tall and probably more than 20 meters in width made of reinforced concrete.
The metal used to make the steel was memory metal, while the wall also had thick steel.
This layer of steel was made of special alloy material—resistant to corrosion and weathering. At the same time, it had an extremely high defense. Even the world’s most advanced armor-piercing bullets could not penetrate it.
Inside the city were hemispherical buildings.
All these buildings were around ten levels tall. They were entirely silver-grey in color and made of special materials with defensive properties and solar energy collection.
In the center of the city was a huge square about the size of three football fields.
On one side of the square stood dozens of tall statues.
These statues were the clan heads of the Leslie family.
In the Leslie family’s territory, they were worshiped by the family members.
In the center of the square was a huge hexagonal metal column.
The length of each edge was precisely 60 meters.
The height of the iron pillar was close to 300 meters.
People were deemed tiny in front of this iron pillar.
It was the “obelisk” of the technological era. It functioned as a smart central control, satellite system, and supercomputer.
Under the calculations of the obelisk, the Leslie family could continue to prosper. Sooner or later, they would rise above the gods who enslaved them and become the new hegemon.
Presently, there was a different scene inside those hemispherical buildings.
Under the control of the obelisk’s smart central control, those who lived inside could choose different environments according to their preferences—an extravagant modern city, the passionate and bright holiday beach, the exotic and unique ancient fortress, and more.
The holographic projection in the control room of the obelisk could change the temperature and humidity at the same time. It could even mimic the waves and winds.
Due to the time difference, it was nighttime here.
The Leslie family members who lived here began their nightlife.
Their social skills were limited, and as elites, they often disdained vulgar interactions.
They were the gears of the family’s great evolution. As living gears, their only job was to operate and reproduce.
The so-called nightlife was nothing more than preparation for reproduction. But, of course, this was only out of respect for the outstanding females from the same clan. When they faced females from other clans, they would usually omit this step and even disregard the occasion.
At this moment, a person suddenly appeared outside the towering city wall.
The obelisk observed this anomaly in time and projected the image to the terminal of the family head.
It was a woman, a woman holding a black cat.
It was Lena.
Outside the city walls, sand and dust were everywhere as the wind howled.
The temperature difference between day and night in the middle of the desert was huge. At night, the temperature could reach -40 °C.
Lena was suffering from severe hypothermia, and her core temperature had dropped to a dangerous level. Her face was no longer as radiant as before, and she was battered and exhausted.
Her body was trembling non-stop, and she was staggering from side to side. She walked slower and slower until she finally fell to the ground.
The black cat crawled out from her embrace and licked her arm.
At this moment, an SUV sped over from the city wall.
Soon, the SUV stopped beside Lena.
“Miss Lena, Miss Lena!”
Several genetically modified people quickly jumped out of the car and brought Lena to the car.
…
There was a professional medical team in the city, and their standards were the best in the world.
When Lena was back, she was sent for treatment.
After the examination, they found that her life was not in danger, at least physiologically.
In the ward, Lena’s parents kept their composure, but the impatience in their eyes was unmistakable.
Lena woke up a few minutes later.
She suddenly opened her eyes and sat up, and her gaze was filled with fear.
Her parents were shocked to see this.
“Lena, my darling girl, what exactly are you—”
Her parents were dying to find out what had happened, but they chose to remain silent, out of protective concern for Lena’s mental state.
Lena sat there in a daze, her eyes glazed over.
At the next moment, she seemed to have thought of something extremely terrifying. She covered her head with her hands and buried her hands under her knees, trembling uncontrollably.
Her abnormal behavior made her parents extremely uneasy.
Lena’s parents called for the doctor immediately.
The doctor observed her for a while and gave Lena a sedative to temporarily stabilize her emotions.
A few minutes later, Lena regained some of her composure, but she still looked scared.
“Lena, my darling girl.” Lena’s mother’s eyes were filled with tears as she stroked Lena’s long hair.
Lina returned to her senses and looked at her mother.
“Mother.”
She hugged her mother and rested her head on her mother’s shoulder as tears of grievance flowed down her face.
“Lena, it’s all right now, it’s all right now!”
Lena’s mother gently stroked her daughter’s back to calm her.
After a while.
“Lena, my precious daughter, what exactly happened?
“You just left for Xia country a few days ago. Why did you suddenly appear at the desert border?”
Lena’s mother asked carefully.
This time, Lena was not agitated. Instead, she calmly recounted what had happened.
Her parents were especially surprised when they heard the term “land immortal.”
In recent years, their family’s genetic modification technology had reached a bottleneck.
If an extraordinary life form like the land deity were to join them, they were bound to have a breakthrough.
After Lina fell asleep, the two of them immediately headed to the higher-ups’ residence.
In the sect.
With the treatment of the Bamboo Spirit, Wang Jiajun’s injuries completely healed without any scars.
“Sect Master, I was too impulsive this time.” Wang Jiajun blamed himself.
Qin Chuan laughed. “It’s fine, you did all that for Qingxue. I won’t blame you.”
“Should we tell Xiao Xue about this?”
“I know what to do.”
“Since your injuries have healed, the Sword of Damocles[1] hanging above those idiots will fall.”
After speaking, Qin Chuan swung his sleeves and appeared above the desert.
The desert night sky was beautiful.
In the night sky, the stars were radiant, flowing with light and shadows. The Milky Way stretched across the sky.
Beneath the beautiful stars was a vast and boundless deadly silent sea of sand.
Qin Chuan didn’t have the time to appreciate the beauty of the night. Instead, he turned his gaze towards the depths of the desert.
[1] An allusion in Greek Methology to the imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power
