At 12:00 AM, the city, which should have been dead silent, was a cacophony of voices. Countless people flooded the streets, packing them to a standstill. Every face was flushed red, filled with fury.

"Get revenge on those damn gangsters!"

"Settle old scores!"

"Make those who bullied us pay with their blood!"

The turmoil from the successful uprising wouldn’t subside in just a few hours. The people had been oppressed by more than just the upper echelons of the city government. Wealthy bosses, low-level gangsters, and local thugs had bullied them relentlessly. Now that the masses had turned against the government itself, it was only natural they would settle the score with these enemies too.

Under the direction of Ascenders and Salvation Army Warriors, the gangsters, wealthy bosses, and local thugs who had always run rampant and done as they pleased were hunted down by the furious populace. Once their crimes were confirmed, they were sentenced to death on the spot. They were then tied up in the square in front of the municipal building for public execution. As heads rolled to the ground, a river of blood flowed through the square. Countless cheers and cries merged into a deafening wave of sound that echoed throughout the city.

Afterward, the Salvation Army immediately announced a recruitment drive, forming an army on the spot to guard against a potential attack from the Government Army.

The number of people signing up was unexpectedly high. The majority of them were drawn by the promise of getting to eat meat every day after joining the army. Of the rest, some were passionate patriots who joined to overthrow the government’s rule. Some were all alone with nowhere else to go and figured they might as well join up—at least someone would bury them if they died. And some were ambitious, hoping to build a career in the army and make a name for themselves.

Salvation Army soldiers spent several hours screening tens of thousands of applicants, finally selecting and enlisting over a thousand people into the regular forces. A considerable number of them had been at the forefront of the rebellion—the bravest and most spirited of the lower class, making them well-suited to be soldiers.

In addition, the Salvation Army recruited a reserve force of two thousand. These soldiers would serve as reserve manpower, undergoing training and ideological education in a relatively safe location. They would only be given weapons and sent into combat when the need arose.

The first round of recruitment ended at four in the morning. The Salvation Army Warriors rested in shifts, each person getting less than two hours of sleep before having to get up and continue working. After taking over the city, they had far too much to deal with.

Of course, these matters were no longer Zhou Chen’s concern. He could leave them to the Salvation Army. He had already pushed himself to his limit; dragging him in for overtime now would be simply inhumane.

To be honest, Zhou Chen hadn’t expected the plan to succeed. It didn’t just involve one or two cities, but twenty-one. The difficulty was immense. Who would believe they could occupy twenty-one cities in a single night?

But the fact was, the plan was a massive success. The Salvation Army had successfully occupied twenty-one cities. This would undoubtedly become a major turning point in the North Carolina civil war—the kind of event that would go down in the history books.

"Thank you. Without your help, the plan wouldn’t have gone so smoothly."

In his room, Zhou Chen was speaking gratefully into his phone.

Tang Ling had played a crucial role in the plan; she was the one who had hacked into the North Carolina National Bank’s system.

The phone screen lit up, revealing an anime-style character portrait. Tang Ling’s avatar wore a smug expression. "A trivial matter. The firewall for the North Carolina National Bank’s system was weaker than wet paper."

"Amazing," Zhou Chen chimed in with some timely flattery. "So are you the number one hacker in the world now?"

"Of course. Besides the Star Association’s system, there isn’t a firewall in the world I can’t break."

Zhou Chen’s eyes lit up. "Then could you help me play the stocks?"

"I can. I could make you the richest man in the world in three hours. But are you sure? Inciting an AI to commit a crime will land you in prison. And I’m still a minor, which makes your crime even worse," Tang Ling’s anime avatar reminded him with a smile.

’What is she even talking about...?’ Zhou Chen was at a loss for words.

She continued, "However, I did hack two billion US Dollars from the North Carolina Government. I can give it to you if you need it, but only after you use the Hammer of Forging to help me upgrade my Adaptive Evolution Array."

"We already agreed on that. I’d help you even without the money," Zhou Chen said earnestly.

"Just tell me if you want it or not."

Zhou Chen opened his mouth, about to refuse, but ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation. After all, it was two billion US Dollars.

"...I want it."

"Heh. Greedy humans," Tang Ling mocked in a mechanical, sarcastic tone.

Zhou Chen gave an awkward laugh. "Well, being an Ascender is expensive... *Ahem*, are you sure the Hammer of Forging can help you perfect the Adaptive Evolution Array?"

"The Hammer of Forging holds the Authorities of ’Creation’ and ’Transformation.’ A direct translation of Adaptive Evolution Array would be ’survival of the fittest,’ and its core Rule is ’Evolution.’ This is precisely the characteristic that the Hammer of Forging can bestow," Tang Ling said. "There are very few Extraordinary Artifacts of this type, and even fewer that reach the level of an Authority. I’ve searched all the major databases, and currently, only three Extraordinary Artifacts meet the requirements. Of those, the one with the lowest acquisition difficulty is the Hammer of Forging in your hands."

"I see... So when are you planning to come over?"

"When you reach Tier Three."

"Alright. The Alchemy Association should be able to deliver the Advanced Secret Ceremony within a week," Zhou Chen said.

"Mhm. I also need to tell you something. The six Crowned Kings from the North Carolina Capital have entered the Mirror World battlefield. You’d better pray that the Salvation Army’s Crowned Kings can win. Otherwise, all your efforts will be for nothing."