On May 10, at 4:33:51 a.m., there was still forty-two hours to go before the tidal force reached the strongest point.
In the thirty square kilometers around the Eye of Blood Demon, the main force of the coalition army stopped hiding themselves anymore. On the ground, which seemed to be empty, the gates covered in camouflage were opened one by one. Countless experts of the demon race flooded out, establishing temporary camps and arsenals, regrouping, and claiming their weapons.
The devilish warships that looked like the largest sharks in the deep sea popped up from the crevices in the ground and emitted sharp brilliance, too.
As the logistics base of the Eye of Blood Demon, the alert level of Demon Lake City had been increased to the highest level. It was essentially blocked from the outside world. Another two sentry posts had been added. Everyone entering and exiting the city would go through security checks. Three times more patrol teams were monitoring the city from the sky to the underground.
At this moment, few outsiders were allowed to enter Demon Lake City.
But the garbage cleaners were the exceptions.
Sanitation was the top priority for a great army, especially for one made of mixed troops such as the coalition army of demons, which had hundreds of different types of soldiers.
Some of the soldiers flew in the sky, some swam in the water, and some preferred jungles. Their food was as diverse as their excrement.
It was very likely that the excrement of one type of demons was a lethal poison for another type, which might even trigger a sweeping plague.
Also, dozens of times more demon beasts than soldiers and biochemical beasts in the camp, too. In a battlefield, they were perhaps the most formidable slaughtering machines. But on many special occasionally, they could be very fragile. The beneficial bacteria that was totally harmless for some demon beasts could be killers for some other strong demon beasts.
Therefore, in Heavenly Path City, Void Turmoil City, Demon Lake City, the camp of the coalition army, and all the other places where multiple species of demons were gathered, sanitation and garbage cleaning had always been attached great importance to.
In the Eye of Blood Demon, an enormous team of garbage cleaners would transport all the garbage in the city and camp to a large garbage processing plant three hundred kilometers away where it would be processed by the germs and insects. Later, the remnants would be burnt in high temperature and high pressure before they were buried below the ground after they were made sure to be absolutely harmless.
Looking from afar, the enormous team, which was made of gray sandworms, was like a giant earthworm that was wriggling slowly on the earth.
Since a huge amount of garbage was loaded every day, a pungent smell was spreading out of the sandworms. The smell even condensed into yellow and brown mist that was floating in midair like decayed kelp.
The team came at the same time every day. The garbage cleaners were no strangers, too. Their fingerprints, voiceprints, and iris tests were good, too.
They did not meet any trouble when they passed through the first two sentry posts. The guards simply glanced at the trash tanks that were empty before they waved hands to let them through.
When they were approaching Demon Lake City, however, they were stopped by a new patrol team.
"Stop there!"
The captain leading the patrol team was a solemn, proud silver-blood noble.
He eyed the silly sandworms and the stinky trash tanks coldly.
Behind him, the guards who had been stationed in the Eye of Blood Demon were all chuckling.
The silver-blood demon, together with his subordinates, examined the crinkles on the fat body of every sandworm. After finding nothing, he jumped into the large trash tanks that the sandworms were pulling.
The trash tanks had been used for quite a few years. They were fully loaded by various kinds of garbage every day. Although they were washed every couple of days, humus-like residue had still piled up on the bottom of the trash tanks after such a long time.
The stench inside the trash tanks was ten times more intense than outside, bashing everybody like invisible hammers and making their heads spin.
The silver-blood noble regretted it the moment he jumped into the trash tank. But now that he already entered it, he could do nothing except hold his breath and jab the residue with his long spear.
A crust had been formed on the top of the humus-like residue, which sealed the stench inside. Everything was good when he did not touch it. But now that he pierced through the crust and dug the buried garbage out, the stench was rushing out like a volcanic eruption. Holding his breath did not help at all. The stench seemed to be crawling into his body through his pores!
The silver-blood demon's face turned from pale to green and from green to purple, and he gritted his teeth harder and harder.
They found no issues after overturning four trash tanks that the gray sandworms pulled. But every one of them had already been contaminated by lingering smell, and their demeanor a moment ago was entire gone.
Seeing that twenty more trash tanks were still waiting to be examined, the silver-blood noble's face could not have been gloomier.
Right then—
Hum!
From the corner of the fourth trash tank, a large swarm of big-headed green flies, which were dirty, sweaty, and carrying suspicious liquids, dashed out and charged at the silver-blood noble like a visible plague!
BOOM!
The silver-blood demon shrieked and unleashed his demonic energy, blowing up all the flies.
But out of his expectations, the green flies were like the juiciest grapes. After they were blown up, the bright green liquids spluttered everywhere and almost kissed his face.
The silver-blood demon could not have been more disgusted. He jumped out of the trash tank, staggering. His eyelids were bouncing nonstop as he glanced at the twenty trash tanks behind him again. Gravely, he shouted, "Let them through!"
Twenty minutes later, the garbage cleaners arrived at the garbage field in the suburbs of Demon Lake City.
Huala! Huala! Huala!
Many insect-type demon beasts, which looked like flies, only thousands of times larger, with eight long limbs extending out, were flapping their transparent wings, snatching the garbage that was as high as a hill, and throwing it into the trash tanks.
The ninth trash tank had been half filled by the new garbage.
Li Yao and the Fire Ant King crawled out of the garbage silently.
They were both wearing fully-enclosed membrane suits that made them look like two slippery loaches. Even their eyes had been covered by glasses carved out of black crystals to ensure that there was not any gap.
They were breathing the air from the compressed airbags that Li Yao had devised to make sure that they would not be corrupted by the smell.
It was not because they were scared of the stench but because the stench was very difficult to get rid of and would be a nuisance for their infiltration.
Shua!
Like two shadows, they glided down from the trash tanks and moved quickly, covered by the garbage hills.
With their capabilities in the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage and the demon emperor stage, they were absolutely unstoppable in such a place.
The fifth alert area and the fourth alert area were successfully infiltrated!
Next, they were about to break out of the fourth alert area into the third!
Five minutes later, the two of them appeared in the downtown area of Demon Lake City, twelve kilometers away from the garbage field.
The smelly membrane suits were returned to their Cosmos Rings to make sure that no traces would be left.
Pretending to be two treasure merchants who could be seen everywhere in Demon Lake City, they searched quickly according to the map of the city and the structural design of the Eye of Blood Demon provided by Jin Xinyue. Very soon, they located the entrance of the secondary ventilation tubes.
As it turned out, the place was a prohibited military zone guarded by a team of soldiers.
Other than the secondary ventilation tubes, there were also dozens of secondary teleportation arrays, three emergency channels, and five transmission tubes of assets.
Apparently, the designing purpose of such a place was for the specialists working below the lake to escape to the surface through the teleportation arrays and the emergency channels in case of accidents such as an earthquake or explosion in the Eye of Blood Demon.
If they could not even escape, the ventilation tubes and the transmission tubes of assets could deliver food, water, and food into the base so that the workers below the lake would be able to survive longer.
One kilometer away from the prohibited military zone, Li Yao and the Fire Ant King pretended to be negotiating about a deal.
But in fact, Li Yao was observing the entire prohibited military zone from a high stance through Neltharion.
The Fire Ant King had his tricks, too. He released hundreds of bugs and sensed the situation inside the prohibited military zone in every corner.
"Two patrol teams in total. Patrolling in fixed routes." The Fire Ant King narrowed his eyes and remarked, "But they are not elites. They are not very vigilant, either. Perhaps they never thought that somebody would invade the Eye of Blood Demon and are just pretending to do their job!"
"The secondary ventilation tubes have four entrances in total. According to Jin Xinyue's structural design, the No. 2 tube is closest to the hospital in the third alert zone. Its exit is almost right above the hospital." Li Yao calculated quickly. "If we take action when the two patrol teams are furthest from the entrance of the No. 2 tube, I should have 26 seconds.
"The entrance of the ventilation tube is covered by a highly dense gauze. It has been welded there since the ventilation tube was built. It is already rusty now after such a long time. But it is not a problem for me. The real problem is that I have also observed a rapidly-revolving fan half a meter into the ventilate tube. The fan must've been designed to block intruders.
"The three fins are like three sharp blades. Any creature will be cut into pieces when they crawl in.
"I cannot deal with both the gauze and the fan in only 26 seconds."
The Fire Ant King pondered for a moment and asked, "According to my observation, the speed of the fan is around 1,500 rpm. If I can reduce it to around 1,000 rpm, can you crawl into it through the gaps?"
Li Yao thought for a moment and replied, "As long as the speed is below 1,150 rpm, I will be able to crawl through the fan unharmed!"
"Alright. Let's check our time. We will take action in thirty seconds!"
The Fire Ant King paused for a moment and suddenly extended his hand toward Li Yao.
Li Yao was dazed for a moment. Then he realized what he meant. Smiling, he extended his hand out, too.
The two of them firmly shook hands.
Sneaking into the Eye of Blood Demon right under the nose of the best troops and experts of the Blood Demon Sector and destroying the greatest teleportation array in the history of the world!
The impossible mission would be completed by the two of them!