It was an amazing feat. Simultaneous work throughout the Jungle City was taking place, walls were being converted one at a time, reinforced, enchanted and prepped. In order to accommodate the massive amount of travelers, most of them would have to be located inside of the Tower. The Tower was too small, the only solution that existed was to make it bigger.
"Hurry up and then start working on block L through N. Once the City minerals have changed, we can enclose it, otherwise the spacial forces will tear us to pieces immediately. Harris has been put in charge of securing the formations, Kim Li will take all efforts to make sure the structure is sound, Mike.. Where is Mike?" Wu Hai stood on the throne platform, his eyes scanned the room, then he reached further, out into the city.
Qu had been working constantly, breaking new ground in the Tower City. It was truly a blessing, to be able to move so many in an instant, hidden from sight. Still, there was much work to be done.
Wu Hai had some more questions before his meeting with the Press. Mike's absence and the progress of everything were among the first to be answered. Mike had been out on patrols all night. He was resting on the roof, the other question was not so easily answered.
"I don't understand what the hurry is.. We can't go half-ready. Half-Ready equals full dead. Got it?" Xuan Kim Li was talking to Qu, his voice raised.
"Because the crystal leaks even through my best barrier, I estimate we only have a few days left.. then we will no longer be able to return." Qu put a timer up on the walls, it's projection followed Kim Li while he was moving around the Tower.
"You know, you won't be a Tower anymore right?" Xuan Kim Li looked over at Qu. When Wu Hai had found them, Morning Dew was eager to test them, but his spirit name no longer fit him. Qu was cuter, a softer name on the tongue, less confrontational.
This eyes were diverted as he spoke, his pride dared not lose its levelheadedness. "My past is a long one. I once had a Master who called me kitty, It was degrading.. but, he passed the tests, for a while. The Zao Clan treats me like an equal, and look at the effort that goes into polishing my ass. Surely I've got the good deal here, job security too, though it might never be said."
"Hahah." Kim Li and Qu started to laugh, it was the levity that they needed. Checking the Clock got old really quick, The Expansion of the Tower City would begin without them,
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Coming into the throne room, he knelt before the Emperor. It was new.
Ibuwere was a prick, and he knew it. The Prince's reactions to some of the information he was withholding made things tense.
"This time I come to you directly, before.." Ibuwere stopped mid sentence.
"Before what?" Wu Hai wasn't thrilled by the idea of 'giving' more to Ibuwere, his information was good, but all it served to accomplish was more delay.
"Before we lose containment, morale and time. I want you to give your niece the rest of the crystals in your possession. Then, I want her to go out into the City. And pass them out one at a time, and only to the pure hearted. No exceptions." Ibuwere's Idea didn't suck, but for what reason would the Earthlings need Magic Abilities.. The answer was never.
"Too risky, Qingchi is mortal, still human for that matter. I doubt she would so willingly give up aging.." The Emperor tried to remain patient when hearing plans out, he had a tendency to fly by the seat of his pants. "Another idea? Give me one that doesn't involve putting her out there as bait for snipers."
Ibuwere thought about it for a minute, he had to be useful, he was losing face by the minute. "Why not make communication stones, have the stealth Corp pass out the crystals and use Qingchi's abilities only to sort them out."
The Emperor had heard enough.
He put his hands up to stop the conversation. "Why are you so set on giving out all the remaining crystals, or for that matter, why bother going around the already decided method for selection that we've been using. If they cannot wait a few more days, no wait will ever be short enough, no power strong enough to satiate their desires. We wait, as planned and we will only endow such abilities to those who reach heights as outer and inner disciples."
"So you're going to decide who gets this and who doesn't?" Ibuwere's attitude took a sharp change.
Zao Wu Hai had seen enough temper tantrums from opponents, it didn't phase him much. "Only at first. The World of Shiyan is a land rush, great fortunes and great fortune could be made. Just as Earth, Shiyan will have to make its own way, All it would take is effort, a trait shunned by modern society. I will not take such action, it would hurt all the Humans of Earth."
"Humans, yes.. but are you so sure that Humans evolved on Earth? I've read your fossil record data in the Library, the origin of man, etcetera.. All of them have large gaps. I won't be so naive as to deny the possibility but it gets to a a much smaller chance when matched with the data." Ibuwere pulled a storage ring out of a pocket and then pulled out some notes. Flipping through pages, he came to what he was looking for. "Look, right here.. a sudden leap and again here. Darwin wasn't wrong, but he was almost touching the subject he preached about. Generations, only a few generations, perhaps three or even four generations could change an entire species irrevocably." Ibuwere ate something, it looked like a monster core.
Kuzunoha had been waiting patiently by the side, she was of little use in the construction efforts, though when the Tower's Vessel was finally enlarged, she would develop large scale formations to secure its interior. "Millions of people," her heart raced. "When we're done, do whatever you think is necessary to fortify the Throne chambers, I have some anti-demon formations but it becomes problematic if we ally with beings who possess demon bloodlines."
"True. But we will only know if Qu can manage such a structure once its finished. If we fail in one step, we could face obliteration." Ibuwere tensed, he didn't have to hide from Devils on Earth, but.. he couldn't leave without griefing the Elders and the expedition. There was plenty to occupy his time elsewhere,
Wu Hai noticed everyone's restlessness, each of them had something they wanted to do and the setbacks had made things over extended.
"Dragon King, I have a job for you." Wu Hai passed a set of instructions and a ring over, Mike started to flex instinctively. Awkwardness crept across the faces of all of the Elders when they heard the details.
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As Towers were going up, the form and architecture of the City also changed. It stopped looking like a fleet of motels in rows, they were torn down and rebuilt from their foundations. The Towers, the roadway, it became one mass. The final bridging column sealed the City's formations and activated its body. Expanding up and out, the iconic Bent Tower Pagoda sat in the center, many towers rose around it but none stood as tall.
Tower City was born, Qu sat at its core..
A New protective barrier was in place shrouding the buildings, a network of tunnels connected each of them to the other, they could move while the City was stored. The only other choice was to build a roof over the City. Too much material and effort would be needed to accomplish a goal so large in such a short amount of time.
Emperor Zao was preparing his statement to the people of Earth, the migrating mass, the exodus of people had begun moving into the Towers, filling it just as fast as they could make it.
Sitting before a live world audience, he spoke at a table he had created on stage. He cycled his abilities with the Gygax and grew the Table. The Table extended for about a hundred feet. Then, he started filling it with delicacies from Shiyan.
Cameras focused on him intensely, the flow of people coming into the City as its backdrop.
The World was Watching.
"I've made a lot of speeches, and now I've done some things. I stayed true to our word, I have punished China. They will no longer have a straight landmass or plains to conquer. The Government of China chose to target the Espers, and even dared experiment on the Humans of Earth for some time. Earth is about to change forever. When we leave, the old ways of Man, will end. I had intended to leave this City with Brazil, but sadly that is no longer possible. Tomorrow before I go, I will instead make another City, just as Prince Ho once done. I will build it.. In Picos." The Emperor's voice roared over the microphone, it almost broke.
There were a few things had been brought up during his trip to Earth this time, the World Courts had requested a response from the Emperor.
-"What is your relationship with FROHK? and why stamp your banner into the landscape of China?"
Wu Hai thought for a moment then answered, "FROHK was where I use to work before lost my former life in a lab accident but before I died, armed soldiers, from my own government came to steal one of my student's research, Xuan Kim Li. He too, thought me dead. Then, I returned. They did what most scientists would have done, they tried to capture and study me. There was one Doctor who did anger me greatly, but I'm sure he lost quite a lot in the altercation. As for my banner being raised above China for all time, is only a fitting punishment." He smiled, showed his teeth and continued. "Let their government live in abject shame, never to be forgiven."
-"Can you give us an estimate of how much longer you intend to stay on Earth?"
The answer was quick. "No. I cannot estimate it, I can tell you exactly." His eyes stared into the cameras, no doubts filtered his voice. "I will retrieve my people and leave this world tomorrow after I raise Picos. We have made all the preparations we can afford, our time on Earth ends. When our teams return, we will have our great feast, drink to the past, and let this world become a memory." He uncrossed his arms, pulled out two hundred crystals, then fed them to the Priesthood and a selected group of contributors in Jungle City.
All the changes were caught on Camera.
The Internet was crashing periodically throughout the night.