These past few days had been a whirlwind of activity, with several life-and-death battles in a row. His strength had been constantly improving, and now he was the only 8th-level Source Energy powerhouse in the entire Golden Eagle Alliance.
Though his body brimmed with endless power and vitality, feeling utterly tireless, this was only a surface appearance. In reality, both mentally and psychologically, he was in a state of extreme fatigue and war-weariness.
Today, he was finally drinking. Su Li felt the fiery burn in his mouth, rushing down his throat, but his spirit felt an indescribable comfort. His entire mental state suddenly relaxed.
"It seems we should have a gathering every few days—it helps ease the mind," Su Li said, actively refilling his own glass and then pouring one for Ding Longyun.
Ding Longyun picked up a piece of meat, stuffing it into his mouth as he spoke. "Should've done this sooner. These past few days, I've felt an indescribable oppression. Especially today, with so many dead, I came back still dazed, like there's a lump in my chest with nowhere to vent it, driving me crazy. That's why I thought of getting everyone together for a drink, and it's a good chance to introduce Rongrong to you all."
Su Li also grabbed a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. The flesh of the sea cow beast was indeed tender, with a texture superior to pork, beef, or mutton. After finishing one piece, the lingering fragrance in his teeth and cheeks made him want a second.
However, after finishing the third piece, Su Li suddenly felt a sense of fullness and couldn't eat anymore.
The others were much the same, all full after three pieces, while Xu Xuehui couldn't even finish one.
"Strange, this meat is so delicious, but why am I full after just three pieces?" Ding Longyun exclaimed in surprise, looking at the wine before him. With no appetite for the food, the wine became hard to enjoy.
Su Li said, "Jiang Shuijue once mentioned that the meat of the sea cow beast is extremely nutritious. A little bit can supply the body's nutritional needs for a whole day. It seems that's true. This is perfect—the sea cow beasts we hunted today will last us many days. For now, we don't have to worry about food."
Ding Longyun sighed. "That's good, but it's a shame the drinking isn't satisfying. Not enough to hit the spot."
Seeing the sky gradually darken, he found some candles and lit them.
Ding Longyun placed the lit candle on the table. "That Yan Fang is really something. He managed to get a few more solar water purifiers. For now, we have drinking water and food, but lighting energy is a big problem. There aren't many candles left—I only have a few sticks. Soon, it'll be pitch black at night, and we won't be able to see anything. It's really inconvenient."
Gong Xiao said, "It's not just lighting energy. There's the kitchen too. I heard Xu Haishui complaining that if we don't find a solution soon, we won't have hot meals anymore."
She glanced at Su Li as she spoke, teasing him. "You can discharge electricity now. Why not try using your electricity to power those appliances?"
Zhong Rongrong and Qi Mengyu's eyes lit up, and they eagerly asked, "Really? Can you charge our phones? Mine still works."
Su Li looked at them speechlessly, thinking that even if he controlled his high-voltage electric shocks perfectly, releasing them would still be too much for those appliances or phones to handle—they'd be instantly destroyed.
"Energy is indeed a problem. I'll ask Jiang Shuijue tomorrow if there's a good solution," Su Li said, thinking of Jiang Shuijue's "Eye of Value," which had identified the sea cow beast's meat as edible. Maybe there was some kind of Source Energy beast whose corpse could be used as fuel.
If such a Source Energy beast existed, solving the energy problem would be simple.
"Let's rest after eating. The group hunt will start soon. I wonder how many level-7 monsters will show up tonight."
Ding Longyun had downed three glasses of wine, but with his tolerance, it was nothing. Especially now with his enhanced body, his capacity had doubled—even a pound or two of liquor wouldn't get him drunk.
Su Li, though a good drinker, was restrained and only had two glasses. He needed to stay completely alert.
Outside, the sky had fully darkened, and the night air had cooled slightly. Only the light of that single candle brought a hint of warmth in the darkness.
Xu Xuehui secretly glanced at Su Li. When he wasn't looking, she pulled a small handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket and quietly started nibbling.
Though she could only eat one piece of meat, she could still snack on seeds.
"By the way, that Xu Haishui kid seems to have hooked up with Zhou Li," Ding Longyun said, a hint of disdain in his tone.
Even though Xu Haishui was highly capable and strong, matching Ding Longyun at level 7 and ranking among the Golden Eagle Alliance's elite, Ding Longyun still looked down on him. He felt Xu Haishui carried an inherent softness, lacking the blood and grit a man should have.
Su Li smiled. "That's a good thing. Another couple in our midst—we should invite them over to celebrate..."
Just then, Xu Xuehui, who had been quietly nibbling seeds in the shadows, seemed to notice something. She walked out onto the corridor balcony and peered through the window.
"What is it, kid?" Su Li, seeing her actions, knew she must have spotted something and immediately stepped out.
Gong Xiao followed behind him.
"It's raining," Xu Xuehui said softly, looking outside, even stopping her seed-nibbling.
Su Li didn't need her answer to notice—it had started drizzling at some point.
The rain was light, and with it being night, no one had noticed the weather change while they were eating and chatting.
Ding Longyun, Qi Mengyu, and Zhong Rongrong also came out.
"Why is it raining again?" Ding Longyun's expression darkened.
They had all experienced the blood crystal beast incident before, when a violent storm had stirred countless Source Energy beasts into chaos, culminating in the appearance of the blood crystal beast, which nearly destroyed the Zifeng Building. The memory was still fresh.
"Su Li, nothing bad will happen this time, right? It can't be that unlucky again?" Ding Longyun looked at the drizzle, peering through the dark night sky at the floating island three hundred meters away, where many shadows were moving—Source Energy beasts that had climbed onto it.
Su Li's face grew serious. "Hard to say. Let's wait and see."
At that moment, not just them, but many others had noticed the rain. Quite a few people were looking out their windows.
The drizzle gradually intensified. Shadows kept emerging on the water's surface, growing visibly in number. Some gathered toward the building, while even more headed for the floating island.
This change wasn't limited to Golden Eagle One Building B. A kilometer away at Building A and the Shimao Center, similar monster gatherings were occurring.
Just like the last time it rained, tonight's situation was clearly off.
Without hesitation, Su Li walked over and pulled the alarm bell installed nearby.
This was a warning device Yan Fang had made, placed every three floors. Pulling the rope hanging below the bell would make all the bells ring simultaneously. Hearing the sound, people on every floor would know something was happening and needed to grab their weapons, ready to fight at any moment.
"Let's go down and take a look." Su Li pulled the bell, glanced at Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun, then headed for the stairs.
Ding Longyun looked at Zhong Rongrong and Qi Mengyu. "You two stay here."
Zhong Rongrong shook her head. "We're both level 6 now. Stop treating us like we're so fragile. Mengyu, let's go down and see too."
Qi Mengyu hummed in agreement, and the two women followed behind them.
Ding Longyun shook his head but said nothing more.
They went straight to the thirty-first floor, where the long corridor was already crowded with people. Xu Haishui, Luo Jun, Bai Wenwei, Jin Sixing, Wang Xiaofei, and others were all there.
Everyone held weapons, their faces serious, on high alert.
They had all heard the alarm bells and quickly gathered on the thirty-first floor.
"Brother Su!"
"Boss!"
Seeing Su Li, everyone greeted him. He nodded back, his expression grave, and looked out through the corridor window.
Up close, Su Li quickly spotted a large number of Source Energy beasts emerging from the water below—some familiar, some he was seeing for the first time.
There were the purple rat beasts, five-colored starfish, and white jade centipedes he had encountered before, as well as strange fish with bull-like horns on their heads and pythons with ring-like patterns on their bodies.
All these monsters surfaced, restless and agitated. On the floating island three hundred meters away, more and more creatures gathered, occasionally letting out low howls.
Though they were mostly ordinary monsters for now, the sheer number—at least a thousand or more—still put immense pressure on everyone. Many wore grim expressions.
Ding Longyun tightly gripped Zhong Rongrong's hand and whispered, "You should go back to the forty-fourth floor. This is men's business. Why did you come down?"
He wasn't stupid. Seeing the situation outside, tonight might really bring trouble. If so many monsters charged in, a bloody battle was inevitable, and the thirty-first floor, being the frontline, would become extremely dangerous.
Zhong Rongrong leaned gently against him. "I'm not much weaker than you now. I don't want to always hide in the back."
Ding Longyun's face darkened. "Be good. Go up."
Seeing he was about to lose his temper, Zhong Rongrong didn't dare disobey. She tugged at Qi Mengyu and whispered, "Old Ding wants me to go up. He won't let me stay here. What about you?"
Su Li overheard their quiet exchange. At that, he turned to look at Qi Mengyu. "You and Sister-in-law should go up too."
Qi Mengyu, always obedient to Su Li, nodded and left with Zhong Rongrong.
Now only Gong Xiao and Xu Xuehui remained on the thirty-first floor. Su Li glanced at Xu Xuehui, initially thinking of telling her to go up too, but considering her eyes might prove useful, he swallowed the words.