Because in normal hunting, high-level monsters are scarce, which limits everyone's progress. For example, tonight he only collected eighteen effective spirit sources, simply because level-seven monsters are too rare.
This means that once he reaches level seven, further improvement becomes difficult, and actively seeking out level-seven monsters is too dangerous. When they ventured deep underwater during the day, they encountered many level-seven monsters, but that was forced by life-or-death combat. Under normal circumstances, few people would willingly dive into the depths.
After all, the Seven-Star Ghost Shark must have been disturbed at that time, meaning that if they had delayed even a step in leaving the depths, they could have been attacked by it underwater. The Seven-Star Ghost Shark moves like a ghost in water; if they truly encountered it in the depths, even with Su Li and Ding Shijie's strength, their lives would be at risk.
After the hunt, most people were exhausted, but Su Li was quite relaxed. Since high-level monsters were rare and killing low-level ones no longer yielded effective spirit sources for him, he let the others do the hunting. He was almost a bystander throughout, only occasionally stepping in when someone was in danger or a level-seven monster appeared.
Back at Zifeng Tower, Su Li had just washed up and was about to rest when Jiang Shuijue, who had moved next door, suddenly knocked and entered.
Su Li was a bit surprised. "It's late. Aren't you going to sleep?"
Jiang Shuijue wasn't shy at all and sat down right in front of him, blinking her beautiful eyes. "What's wrong, Brother Su? Not welcoming me?"
Su Li thought to himself, *This girl is really bold. It's the middle of the night, and she dares to come alone into a single man's room, just the two of us. Isn't she afraid I might take advantage of her?* He smiled and said, "Of course not. You're always welcome."
Seeing Su Li staring at her with a strange look in his eyes, Jiang Shuijue suddenly chuckled. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm here to talk business."
Su Li raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What business?"
"About the Golden Eagle Alliance."
"Hmm?" Su Li's brow furrowed slightly. He thought, *The leader of the Golden Eagle Alliance, Ding Shijie, is dead, and the Gao Shupeng and Gao Shuxue brothers are gone too. That so-called alliance is probably falling apart now. Jiang Shuijue suddenly bringing this up... could it be...*
Jiang Shuijue cleared her throat and said softly, "The leader of the Golden Eagle Alliance is dead. They're likely in disarray now. This is our best chance to take over their resources and people. If you're interested, Brother Su, we need to act fast before someone else beats us to it."
"Just as I suspected," Su Li thought. In fact, after killing Ding Shijie and repelling the Golden Eagle Alliance members who had invaded Jinhui Center, he had already considered this.
From Ding Shijie's introduction, he knew the Golden Eagle Alliance was formed by survivors from three buildings: Golden Eagle Tower 1A and 1B, and Shimao Center.
Gao Shupeng and Gao Shuxue were from Golden Eagle Tower 1A. Most of their elites had been wiped out by him, leaving mostly the elderly, weak, women, and children—nothing to worry about. Now that Ding Shijie was dead, and many at Jinhui Center had been killed by him and the Seven-Star Ghost Shark, Su Li deduced that Ding Shijie wasn't just the leader of the Golden Eagle Alliance but also the head of one of the buildings. This meant at least two buildings had lost most of their elites and were no longer a threat.
In this situation, it wasn't just about resources; he needed more people. Only with enough manpower could he carry out his plans.
So he had already thought about absorbing the Golden Eagle Alliance.
He agreed with Ding Shijie's ideals but not his radical methods.
Zifeng Tower was just a temporary stop. These buildings submerged in water—who knew how long they'd last? Staying here wasn't a long-term solution.
Su Li had long wanted to build a sturdy, massive ship to leave this city and find unflooded land.
But building such a ship required unimaginable manpower and resources. With just their group of a few dozen, it was nearly impossible in this environment.
He needed more people. Now that most of the Golden Eagle Alliance's elites were gone, it was the perfect time to take over the rest.
Seeing Su Li lost in thought after hearing her words, Jiang Shuijue grew anxious, thinking he was reluctant. "Brother Su, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Do you really need to think about it?"
Su Li smiled slightly. "Of course. I'm just considering how to take over the Golden Eagle Alliance in the most peaceful way possible."
Jiang Shuijue's eyes lit up, then she pretended to be angry. "You're just making me worry on purpose."
Su Li laughed. "How would I dare? We can set out tomorrow morning after some preparation. But Zifeng Tower needs someone to stay behind. Ling Yi is already a level-seven spirit source user. I'd like to ask him to hold down the fort here, but you'll need to talk to him. I can't order him around."
He knew Gong Xiao would insist on going to the Golden Eagle Alliance and wouldn't want to stay at Zifeng Tower. He could only rely on Ling Yi. Having a level-seven guard the tower would put his mind at ease, so they wouldn't return to find Zifeng Tower taken over.
Jiang Shuijue nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to Brother Ling Yi."
"By the way, I've never heard Ling Yi speak. Is he..." Su Li wondered if he was mute.
Jiang Shuijue knew what he was thinking and laughed. "No, he's not. He just rarely talks. If I hadn't heard him speak, I'd think the same."
They discussed the trip to the Golden Eagle Alliance for a while longer. Jiang Shuijue shared some ideas, which Su Li accepted, before she took her leave.
Watching her go, Su Li mused, "She suggested abandoning Zifeng Tower and using the Golden Eagle Alliance as a new base. That's a good idea, but I'm reluctant to give up the floating island."
He thought of the football-field-sized floating island in front of Zifeng Tower. Every night, many monsters climbed onto it, making hunting easy. If they left Zifeng Tower, they'd lose that convenience.
"Unless I can move the floating island. It's essentially a chunk of mineral floating on water. The surface is hard, but the density underneath must be low for it to float. With enough people, moving it shouldn't be hard."
Su Li pondered.
...
...
...
The next morning after breakfast, Su Li gathered everyone to set out for the Golden Eagle Alliance.
After discussion, Su Li left Ling Yi and Xu Haishui in charge of Zifeng Tower. Of the eighteen level-six members, he only took eight, leaving the other ten behind.
The eight he took were Ding Longyun, Luo Jun, Jin Sixing, Ling Tian, Wang Xiaofei, Xu Xuehui, plus Jiang Shuijue and Gu Mingfeng. That made Su Li and Gong Xiao the two level-seven spirit source users.
Of the twenty-eight level-five members, he only took one: Liu Jiande, who knew the roads of Nanjiang City well.
He didn't bring anyone else.
For this trip to the Golden Eagle Alliance, they'd need to show force initially, so they didn't need many people. Except for Xu Xuehui and Liu Jiande, everyone else was among Zifeng Tower's elite.
Xu Xuehui was brought because she had been enhancing her eyesight and had better vision than anyone else, which could be crucial in key moments.
Liu Jiande was needed to guide the way.
The eleven of them set out on three wooden rafts, leaving Zifeng Tower and heading northwest.
The three buildings of the Golden Eagle Alliance were located northwest of Zifeng Tower.
"Golden Eagle Tower 1A is closest to us, about six kilometers in a straight line," Liu Jiande said, pointing into the distance from the first raft like an old hand.
Su Li, Jiang Shuijue, Gu Mingfeng, and Ding Longyun were on the second raft.
Xu Xuehui had wanted to join Su Li, but Gong Xiao pulled her onto the first raft.
Gong Xiao seemed to be in a bad mood, wearing a cold face all morning. Su Li secretly wondered if she was on her period, given her unusual mood.
The weather was nice, with a light breeze and warm sun. Though they knew they were heading to the Golden Eagle Alliance to take over resources and might face conflict, most were relaxed and chatting cheerfully.
After all, Gao Shupeng and his group of thirteen from the Golden Eagle Alliance had been wiped out by them. The remaining members probably weren't strong. Plus, this team was all elites—except for Liu Jiande, everyone was level six or seven, with Su Li leading. There was nothing to fear.
The journey was smooth, with no danger or monster attacks. Soon, Liu Jiande pointed to a building in the distance. "That's Golden Eagle Tower 1A. It has thirty-nine floors, one more than our Zifeng Tower."
Everyone could now see three tall buildings in the distance. Golden Eagle Tower 1A was clear, while the other two were slightly blurry.
"The tallest one is Golden Eagle Tower 1B, with forty-four floors. Those two are close, probably less than a kilometer apart," Liu Jiande explained, pointing. "That's Shimao Center, forty-two floors. It's a bit farther, about one to two kilometers from the other two."
"Xu Xuehui, see anything unusual?" Su Li looked at her.
Xu Xuehui had been observing and shook her head, indicating nothing abnormal.