Keeping pace with Gong, as she crawls faster and faster throughout the tunnels, turns out to be a surprisingly tough thing to do.

Despite her size, she’s always been fast. Now, with cultivation and the movement techniques I sent over earlier, she moves even faster. Far faster than I.

Yeah, she's certainly slowing down for my sake.

With our current speed, it only takes a minute or two before we reach a terrifying sight in the tunnel.

Floor to ceiling spiders.

While we passed the occasional caravan of spiders, the sight before me was unlike anything I had seen before. There isn’t even 10 centimeters of open space within this writhing horde of arachnids.

And from what my scan is telling me, this level of mass occupies 300 meters of this particular tunnels, with other tunnel shoots having similar masses.

Okay. Even if I’ve started to get used to spiders, this is still a bit much for me. Especially since it appears I only control a few of the spiders here. The rest is all Gong’s.

Together we slow down just before entering the mass, but still moving faster than a normal human being could. Gong takes the first step inside and the mass rapidly moves around her and I to form a bubble around us. With each step we take, the bubble shifts.

Gong explains while we run.

“There were a few attempted incursions from various groups through the tunnels, and this ended up being the best way around their tricks. I used the webs at first to check if anyone was stepping around inside, but they sent a few Foundation Establishments on swords to scout.

“They may have gotten caught in one of my webs, but if they had slashed through it instead or had been more aware, things might have gotten tough.”

Huh, so she’s been dealing with Foundation Establishments relatively easily. Though, I guess the reason is pretty clear to see.

A glance into the mass shows a few of the original spiders that I had tamed following along in the bubble as we move.

Early Qi Condensation.

And this is just a few out of millions.

They’ve only recently received the spirit beast version of the Omnibus Cultivation System, but it looks like only certain groups of spiders may be actively practicing it. Potentially for information security.

This batch of spiders has not practiced it. Meaning that this is just the gains from my constant healing and the natural cultivation rise of spirit beasts.

Unlike me with facing the 3000 cultivators from the Vermillion Stripes, these spiders are spirit beasts. Meaning that whatever level they achieve is stronger than a cultivator of the same level.

Against millions of that… you’d have to have a specialized plan to deal with it.

Gong’s voice interrupts this train of thought, already seeing where my thoughts would lead.

“There were some other attempts to go against us after that guy died… which was mostly poison related. But your constant healing let me reduce the damages quite a bit.

“Thanks for that, by the way.”

Right as she says this, we emerge from the spider bubble into the open tunnel space again. Resuming our fast pace from before.

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Huh, she must have moved the spiders not under my control out of the way, while positioning the others near poison sources.

I didn’t notice a thing.

If only because nothing killed off huge amounts of the whole. Against spider specific cultivator poison, that would take expert tactics to deal with, even with my healing.

These thoughts occupy my mind until we finally reach the exit point for this tunnel, to the open air.

The sound of children playing is the first thing to hit my ears once we leave.

What appears are several demi-human children and a few human children running around, playing with a leather ball while surrounded by a golden wheat-like plants, covering the surrounding area. With some wooded areas situated in blocks, scattered around, but still having full visibility within.

Farmland and forests.

I don’t hold the surprise on my face back, as I look over this familiar view, reminding me a bit of my world. A quick check with my scan shows I am, in fact, not dreaming.

A scattering of large and small buildings sits in the distance, with a large web-covered walls lining the horizon beyond them. An area that I recognize as the edge of the walls Gong had rebuilt around her sector of control, before I had left Monchon City. The village that was there has transformed into a large widespread rural town.

All concentrated all around the edges of the significant walls and gates surrounding her sector, but still within the city.

Curiously, though… we are positioned on the outside of where those walls were. Meaning that she had claimed control of even more area than before in Monchon City. In the far distance, over the horizon, is another layer of walls, that seem to be the new lined area.

Most remarkably, she had cleared the countless destroyed buildings and urban layouts. Replacing them with, what appears to be, hyper-fertile land.

I quickly realize how, after a quick review.

She’s been using the soil from the underground plants I was healing to maintain the underground group. With some plants themselves having the ability to reinvigorate dead soil when being healed.

I take a quick glance at her; to see she is shining with pride, the earlier despondence gone like a dream. Her eyes dart over every other second, wanting to see my expressions.

I can’t help but to respond with an approving smile and grin.

“You really are amazing, Gong. To do all this and manage the political side, as well? I’m pretty lucky to know a genius like yourself.”

I reach out and squeeze her hand in support after saying this.

“Hehe, it was just a bit of work.”

In a rare display of shyness, she meekly accepts my hand in hers.

I feel like she might have wanted a different response, but even my conversation scan isn’t giving me a straight answer in the best way.

Ah well, this fits me best. I know one thing to say, though.

“…So, how did you do it?”

Now her face lights up, with her promptly going through all the steps she had to take to make all of this happen.

All the while, I listen to her as we end up moving toward the original village area at a walking pace.

…

I’m a bit surprised to hear from her that the city leadership is supporting her making the farmland within the walls, though I really shouldn’t be.

A combination of Big Sis Crane’s influence and a new, safer way to feed the populace with a ‘free’ workforce. Tons of unemployed and destitute demihumans now have safe places to stay with work they can do. Despite not receiving a wage, Big Sis Crane guarantees that they all receive a small portion of the profits from food sold, and she ensures that everyone in her sector has access to food.

Something that almost no demi-human was consistently getting before.

It seems not only to be the food they deal in now, though.

Information and reliable deliveries.

Demi-humans already had the benefit of having powerful racial abilities, which are now being used to handle things that aren’t worth the time or cost of cultivators, but are more than a regular human could handle.

All of this relies on a delicate balance of incentives and disincentives.

What she isn’t saying is what happens to those demi-humans that weren’t willing to fall in with the new system.

Though, I guess she doesn’t need to. There aren’t much other choices for legal work in this city and if they turn into enemies… well, she’s already handled Foundation Establishment cultivators.

My thoughts darkly return to Big Sis Crane and how she crushed my hopes of changing the surviving gang members earlier.

…I will make it a priority to establish some type of rehabilitation system as I get stronger. I won’t let anyone stand in my way of helping people.

Unaware of my thoughts, Gong continues to speak, referencing the many things she's had to do to make all of this work together. And the things that she still has to do.

As she does this, a fast demi-human runs towards us from the walls. Keeping a pace, but just fast enough that it makes me curious about their intentions. Which is why I’m surprised to hear their words, after they hastily bow.

“Madame Wei just sent over the new movement information on the Blue Bands. We might need to make a decision on it quickly. What would you like us to do?”

… wait. That can’t be the same ditzy woman, Wei, from my group, right?

The one I recently appointed as my intelligence officer.

…Right?