Meng Huai let out a laugh, watching Hui Xingxiu's frustrated expression.
Xie Xue transferred the payment to her as Meng Huai instructed, and Meng Huai also told Xie Xue the incantation for the talismans. Meng Huai hesitated before speaking vaguely.
"Um... there's one more thing."
Xie Xue directly replied, "What is it? Tell me."
Seeing the three-story building and the materials displayed within, Meng Huai had an idea.
"Actually, there's something else that can create a barrier similar to a protective wall, serving as a defense."
Indeed, Meng Huai was referring to setting up a large defensive formation. However, if she mentioned a defensive formation to Xie Xue, he likely wouldn't understand what it was, hence the analogy of a protective wall.
As she put it, Xie Xue immediately understood.
"Protective wall? Like in Central City?"
Meng Huai flashed a confident smile. "As long as there are enough materials, it's not a problem to cover the entire Blue Sea Star. However, anything designed for defense will eventually break, just like that protective wall yesterday."
Xie Xue could only go by Meng Huai's words and couldn't visualize the effect. He also didn't know: "Then, what materials are needed?"
"Um... I took a look yesterday, and the materials on the first floor of the exchange would suffice. It just requires more consumables, and the refinement will take time."
Xie Xue thought about it, the items on the first floor were all from low-level star beasts. Their Blue Sea Star still had plenty of inventory, so he directly told Meng Huai, "Alright, let's cover Central City?"
Xie Xue's thought was to test the effect on Central City before talking about the entire Blue Sea Star.
"No problem, three days. I'll need a studio where I won't be disturbed."
"Okay!"
The two finalized the agreement, and Xie Xue immediately granted Meng Huai the highest authority over the exchange. Meng Huai could take anything she pleased without needing any points.
Meng Huai went to the exchange and immediately began her sweep. "This, this, this..."
Behind whatever Meng Huai pointed to, a soldier would collect the items. The entire floor was being emptied by Meng Huai. The manager of the exchange, having received a special communication from Xie Xue, was very polite to Meng Huai. However, as things progressed, the manager's smile finally faltered.
But she had already granted Meng Huai the highest authority, so the manager kept reminding herself: endure, endure, the commander himself contacted me, this student can take whatever she wants!
In the end, over a dozen soldiers followed behind Meng Huai, each carrying a basket full of items. They placed these items in the studio prepared for Meng Huai. The leading soldier told Meng Huai, "If you need anything, just call me. I'll be here the whole time."
That soldier then stayed guard outside the studio door. Meng Huai nodded approvingly upon hearing this.
The others saw that Meng Huai had something to do again, and they were no longer surprised or curious about it.
Zheng Yiran said to the two single soldiers, "Rong Feiwen has gone to help, and Meng Huai also said she's gone into seclusion. Let's go out and help too!"
Zheng Yiran's suggestion was agreed upon by the two single soldiers. They had come to help, and it was too boring for them to wander around the command center.
Zheng Yiran thought for a moment and said, "Since there are no issues in Central City, why don't you two head towards the northeast direction?"
They had already seen the seaside, and now they wanted to see what the swarms of star beasts looked like. Were they really cooperative, as Xie Xue and Teacher Wang had said?
Thus, these three also went to the northeast to assist.
Meng Huai, in her studio, began refining these materials into formation flags needed for the formation. Once completed, she could directly place these flags in their designated locations.
Central City was quite vast, so the number of formation flags required was substantial. The refinement process was very tedious and the workload immense. Meng Huai worked day and night and finally emerged from seclusion on the third day.
As she stepped out of the studio, she saw that the soldier waiting outside had been replaced. The new soldier approached her as soon as Meng Huai came out and asked, "Meng student, are you done?"
Meng Huai nodded. "Yes, it's all done."
Meng Huai directly asked the soldier for a flying vehicle. The soldier volunteered to pilot it, and Meng Huai allowed him to accompany her.
The flying vehicle proceeded to the locations Meng Huai designated. On her first day there, Meng Huai had surveyed the entire Central City with her spiritual power, so she already had a plan for where to place the formation flags.
She directed the soldier to fly to the specified spots, and in no time, several formation flags were planted. A few more were placed at the edges, and finally, one was planted at the spot where the protective wall had first shown a weakness a few days ago.
The soldier piloting the flying vehicle noticed this formation flag and asked, "This one seems different from the others?"
Meng Huai nodded. "You noticed? This flag is a bit larger."
Meng Huai could only explain it this way. If she tried to explain that this was the position of the formation's eye, and thus the materials for this flag were more advanced, the soldier likely wouldn't understand.
Upon hearing Meng Huai's words, the soldier thought for a moment and said, "It does seem larger and prettier!"
Alright, if you think it's prettier, then it's prettier.
Meng Huai smiled helplessly. After the formation eye flag was planted, the entire Central City was enveloped. However, activating this defensive formation also had its intricacies.
Seeing Meng Huai there, the people repairing the protective wall began to whisper amongst themselves.
"Is that young girl the one who saved the Blue Sea Star?"
Meng Huai's senses were exceptionally acute, and she heard the conversation from such a distance. But what were they talking about? When had she saved the Blue Sea Star?
...
Meng Huai felt quite exasperated. Just as she was about to leave, she saw someone waving at her from the other side. Meng Huai walked over, "Uncle, Senior Rong, you're here too. How is the repair of the protective wall going?"
Rong Feiwen had clearly not rested much in the past few days. Unlike Meng Huai, whose complexion showed no change, Rong Feiwen had dark circles under her eyes. Having slept only a few hours, her face was sallow and lacked any color.
Rong Feiwen said dejectedly, "This protective wall has been in place for many years, and its wear and tear should be considerable by now. Moreover, the frequent use of energy for attacks a few days ago has left it with little room for repair."
Fearing that others might overhear, Rong Feiwen lowered her voice and said, "I'm telling you, I feel like this wall could shatter and break apart at any moment with a 'snap'."