The heavy lead-gray clouds covered the entire city, yet the peculiar light of the blood moon could penetrate the thick clouds without obstruction, casting its glow upon the land.
The entire city had become incredibly silent. Countless cold, white skeletons advanced incessantly in the wind and snow, heading towards the towering giant pagoda that pierced the clouds in the city's center.
But at this moment, as if receiving some command, the advancing skeletons and monsters simultaneously turned their heads, looking towards the light rising from the east.
Beneath the lead-gray clouds, a massive white light shield had suddenly appeared...
Unlike the newly transformed undead, the high-ranking individuals within the pagoda knew that this was the light of the world's natives upgrading their towns!
...
The enormous light shield stopped expanding after covering the designated area of five hundred square kilometers.
After just a moment, the light shield gradually became transparent from its blinding white, which was impossible to see through.
Within the faintly transparent, massive light shield, the light cast by the blood moon seemed to soften slightly.
And at the very center of the light shield, there was a vast, milky-white light shield covering fifty square kilometers. As the light gradually dimmed, a magnificent city built of stone appeared.
["Starfire City" upgrade complete! Maximum resident capacity increased to 300,000!]
[Territory expanded to five hundred kilometers, divided into an outer warning shield and an inner defense shield.]
[Detected settlement upgrade, your talent "Rulers of the Realm" has leveled up to C-class.]
[Rulers of the Realm]
[Type]: Talent
[Level]: C-class (continuously grows as the settlement level rises)
[Effects]:
1. Lord's Strength (Unique): Every citizen belonging to your settlement grants you a 0.02% racial stat bonus (current bonus 2.6).
2. Lord's Blessing: Within the settlement, the higher the loyalty to the lord, the greater the skill training bonus received (maximum bonus for C-class is 60%).
3. Lord's Gaze: Any hostile units that enter the Starfire Town's warning shield range will be perceived by the lord immediately.
[Description]: Under the vast heavens, all land is the king's!
----
After Starfire Town transformed into Starfire City, the wooden palisade structure within the light shield had completely disappeared, replaced by a massive brick and stone city wall, ten meters high.
The city wall was not merely an ordinary brick and stone construction. Under the power of the system, each constructed brick and stone faintly shimmered with a wondrous light.
And enclosed by the city wall was an even more spacious urban area.
The functional and residential zones greatly improved in scope and conditions. The most noticeable change was the Starfire Plaza in the city center.
The original population of over thirteen thousand had already filled the Starfire Plaza to capacity.
But now, compared to the grand plaza paved with marble, the plaza, expanded to accommodate over ten thousand people gathered here, even seemed a bit sparse.
After the light dissipated, all the citizens looked around in amazement at the town, which had been completely renewed.
The most eye-catching element was the colossal statue in the town's center.
The sculpture, cast from massive stones, had risen to thirty meters. This structure, even taller than the city walls, had completely changed its posture.
Previously, the central statue in Starfire Town depicted Chen Luo mastering spells and facing an unknown mage.
But now, this thirty-meter-tall giant sculpture showed Chen Luo in fitted attire, punching to shatter chains.
His resolute and handsome face, and the subtly defined muscles beneath his fitted clothes, showed no sign of the frailty of a mage!
Standing before his new statue, Chen Luo's mouth twitched slightly:
"Good heavens, System, are you changing my statue every time the town upgrades? You're something else!"
Just as Chen Luo was speechless at the system's flamboyant actions, the hubbub from the crowd behind him drew his attention back.
The newly arrived survivors were incredibly astonished by the miraculous, earth-shattering changes before them.
The veterans, having experienced it once, acted like seasoned guides, once again promoting their leader's heroic deeds to them.
For instance, shooting arrows all night on the first day of the apocalypse without rest, or leading three hundred braves in a night-long battle while standing at the forefront...
The more Chen Luo listened, the more speechless he became. Were these people truly loyal to him? Or were they just his fanboys?
"Cough! Cough!" A heavy cough, accompanied by a mental fluctuation, silenced the clamoring crowd, and everyone turned to look at Chen Luo.
Chen Luo met their puzzled gazes and announced loudly:
"So! To celebrate our Starfire Town's upgrade to Starfire City!"
"Let's hold a feast!!"
Su Xiao and the other veterans looked at Chen Luo in confusion. During the Starfire Town period, the functional areas could only produce simple raw materials each day, and there wasn't enough time for everyone to cook if they wanted to.
Chen Luo looked at the bewildered crowd and waved his hand casually towards an empty space beside him.
In the void, incredibly complex and profound magical patterns instantly formed. As mana was infused, a seven-colored radiance began to flicker faintly.
The next moment, a long dining table suddenly appeared in the empty space, laden with freshly prepared, delicious food.
This was not all!
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, a scene akin to magic in a movie materialized in reality.
Hundreds, even thousands, of dining tables rapidly appeared from the void, with exquisite and delicious dishes emitting enticing aromas, making the citizens involuntarily swallow.
And Chen Luo, the creator of all this, declared loudly:
"True mages aren't just capable of destruction!"
"Everyone! Enjoy this feast!"
[Skill proficiency met, your skill "Magic Food" has been upgraded from A-class to S-class!]
[The "Beginner" title triggered a skill mutation, your skill "Magic Food" has mutated into "Magic Table".]
[Magic Table]
[Category]: Skill
[Level]: S-class
[Effects]:
1. Magic Table (Active): Use mana infused into the void to create a magic table with a duration of up to one day. The food on the table will be created according to the user's memory.
2. Energetic Food (Passive): Food materialized by mana can rapidly replenish the user's energy consumption. Excess energy will nourish the user's body; long-term use has a chance to enhance attributes.
3. Ten Thousand Realms Cookbook (Special Mutation): Without referring to the user's memory, the Magic Table will automatically materialize gourmet dishes from all realms that align with the player's ethical views.
[Description]: Little Chef? Spirit of the Herbs? I can fight ten!
...
In the deepest night, on the easternmost land of Donghai City in the Great Yan Empire,
A feast, rarely seen in the apocalypse, began!