Chapter 297: Life and Death

At the same time, as a series of missiles whistled through the sky, guided by satellites, they dove toward their original users, descending from the heavens.

On the ground, it wasn't just the two observation vehicles in the distance checking the results; on the snowy plains further out, wild bandits acting on the high bounty, those quietly following behind hoping to pick up scraps or loot during the chaos, and even the four motorcades from Echo, Xinyuan, Tiancheng, and the Northern Territory... all were greeted with generous rewards and gifts.

It was just like the gentle aunts at a kindergarten pulling out a basket of candy.

One for each, everyone gets one, children line up, don't fight!

At this moment, upon looking up and seeing the fireworks descending from the sky, countless people's expressions changed drastically, and they cursed out loud.

"What the hell, Northern Territory! We told you, you can't use these damn things, are you really that stubborn, not listening to a single word?!"

Who else could pull off such a massive stunt in the Wilderness Province besides those lunatics from the Northern Territory?!

In an instant, scorching flames and storms rose one after another from the ground, and above the gloomy firmament, the dancing aurora was stained with patches of scarlet.

In the end, outside the noisy Heihe City, the busy rally opening ceremony venue had fallen into chaos; amidst the piercing air-raid sirens, the chaotic crowd scattered in all directions.

And a crooked missile flew leisurely from afar, and amidst everyone's grim expressions, it exploded with a bang across a vast distance in the wilderness.

It scattered flames and virulent poison, bringing greetings from afar.

Along the way, it kicked the Northern Territory into a mud pit, waiting for inquiries from all sides...

And from higher up, beyond the distant firmament, in the vacuum of space, satellites imperceptibly adjusted their angles, looking down indifferently.

Behind the invisible data chain, an unseen palm reached out, easily operating all of this across the long distance, and finally, like a ghost, it disappeared into the countless signals and static.

The moment Ji Jue noticed the satellite signal locator on the opponent's vehicle, everything at this moment was destined.

Just as An Ning suspected, indeed, Mechanical Deification could not interfere with missiles from such a vast distance, but from the very beginning, the positioning information received by the missiles was fake!

Long before that, the Hand of Isis had already infiltrated the launch camp along with the satellite signals, silently taking control of everything.

After all, even Ji Jue himself hadn't expected that when he merely asked tentatively if there was any high-end navigation, Lu Yingyue had reached into her pocket and pulled out the satellite operation authorization for the Haizhou garrison base, along with the mobilization permit for the largest supercomputing center in Chaocheng, Haizhou.

After saying only one sentence—"Don't get caught"—she threw this deadly thing into Ji Jue's hands to play with as he pleased.

That indifferent attitude really made it impossible to guess where her confidence came from.

However, according to Teacher Ye Xian: Lu Yingyue had always been this way; as a collaborator, she was reputable and stable, but once outside of a relationship of interest, it was hard to find even a shred of merit in her; even if there were any, it was just a disguise she wore on the outside.

If she had any humanity left in her years ago, she had now completely embraced Tian Tian Yuan, becoming an out-and-out creature of power; the only thing similar between her and carbon-based humans was probably just her appearance.

As cannon fodder, for Ji Jue, it made no difference whether the big shots above were merciful or cruel; at the very least, paying enough, approving requests quickly, and being willing to take the blame was better than the vast majority of leaders in the world.

At this moment, accompanied by the flickering flames on the snowy plains in the distance, Ji Jue raised his hand and pointed at the two observation vehicles in the distance that were retreating in panic under the missile's aim, attempting to flee.

"The rest is up to you."

He finished the remaining tea in his cup, jumped off the hood, and walked toward the cockpit:

"The fireworks are over, time to get to work."

"Oh my—"

At this moment, in a wind-sheltered spot on the snowy plains, Shi Ran, the navigator for the Chonghui motorcade who had just been waving a shovel to dig out the car, looked up, staring at the firelight in the distance, dumbfounded.

Even the driver, who had been smoking and slacking off nearby, was stunned, poking his head out: "Is the action this exaggerated this year? Why are there missiles?"

Shi Ran didn't speak, his expression grim.

Soon, the satellite phone rang, and a familiar voice came from the other end.

Giving an order.

"A-Ran, withdraw from the race."

"Withdraw?" Shi Ran frowned: "At this time? It's only just begun."

"This is no longer the time for playing around."

The person on the other end sighed: "Do you remember what I told you last time... everyone has increased their stakes; this Yellow Sea Rally has already become one of the gambling tables.

Now the four families are acting like they've gone mad, bringing out the channels and positions they hold to bet against Haichao, determined to decide the winner.

At this critical juncture, we cannot get involved; no, if you are still on the field, those guys will definitely find a way to implicate you!"

He paused and gave a stern warning: "Yunzhou does not take sides, remember?"

Yunzhou obeys the arrangements of the Central City; whoever dominates the Central City, they obey.

At this critical moment, we must not get involved in this turmoil.

It is foreseeable what kind of meat grinder the route of the future Yellow Sea Rally will become; if there is any mishap, even with Shi Ran's status, it would be difficult to guarantee his safety.

"Wait—"

Shi Ran was just about to speak when a faint sound suddenly came from the other end of the phone, like a report, followed by a long silence, and then, a soft sigh:

"Just received news that the Northern Territory's southern person-in-charge has been exposed for job-related corruption and bribery from imperial spies, and has jumped to his death."

"The Northern Territory's northern person-in-charge..." Shi Ran gasped in shock: "Isn't that Lu Tianhao's own uncle?"

"Just one uncle; to be able to settle the inquiries from the Central City and the military department, it's simply thank heaven and earth."

The voice on the other end sneered: "More than just one uncle? Now the four families have put all their assets on the gambling table; Lu Yingyue has been dragging things out for so long, forcing them into a corner; do you still expect them to have a bottom line?!"

Shi Ran was stunned for a moment and didn't speak again.

"Other families have large businesses, uncles and aunts aren't worth much; A-Ran, our family doesn't have that many people; I only have one nephew, Chonghui will eventually be managed by you in the future, understand?"

"I, I understand."

Shi Ran sighed helplessly, looked back at the snowy plains, kicked the tire in anger, and cursed.

"Let's go."

He waved at the driver, "Withdraw from the race."

Amidst the wailing of countless gamblers, five minutes later, the news spread to all sides—on the opening day of the Yellow Sea Rally, due to an accident, the Chonghui motorcade withdrew from the race.

Immediately after, the spokesperson for the Juguang Group announced: The Juguang motorcade withdrew from the race due to the driver's physical condition.

Then, it was Shengyu and Ditong...

In just half an hour, more than five motorcades suffered setbacks and chose to withdraw due to the influence of bad weather, making the audience even more nervous about the fate of the remaining dozen or so motorcades.

"Ah, what a pity..."

Before the shattered and burning vehicles, amidst the wreckage and blood, An Ning looked up, gazing at the black dots gradually disappearing into the sky: "They ran."

Unlike the previous rabble, the two vehicles that came to observe the battle results and were tasked with finishing off the survivors could almost be called battle-hardened elites.

Even with Ji Jue assisting from the side, they almost didn't take them down.

Even so, one still managed to run away.

The Entropy-type, which had been pulling away and keeping its distance from the beginning, upon noticing the decline of its teammates, instantly harnessed the gale, increased its distance again, and coupled with several alchemical creations on its body, it spared no expense in activating its defenses and escape, exceeding the pursuit distance.

"Sorry, Brother Ji Jue."

An Ning shook her head regretfully: "I didn't bring many 'Bitter Days' when I went out; to be safe, for your safety, I don't recommend wasting them on this kind of trash."

"They can't run, don't worry."

Ji Jue looked up at the black dot that was about to disappear, reached out, and pulled the silent Panying from the blood-stained steel claws of the Little Niu Ma; the broken blade hummed in his hand, clanging, temporarily isolated by the flowing mercury.

"Use this."

He held it out, "Throw it over."

"Hmm, what is this? Oh~ so fierce, did you make this too?"

An Ning held Panying, clicking her tongue in wonder, examining it carefully, not caring at all that the black dot was getting further and further away; after looking enough and playing enough, she finally looked up.

After jumping back a few times, she raised her finger to estimate the distance and nodded.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Instantly, that figure flashed forward, passing by silently like the wind; within three steps, she ran to gain momentum—and in her hand, Panying suddenly whistled and vibrated, silver light erupted, and the seal shattered under her rough control.

It flew out of her hand.

Unlike the previous faint light, it was like a vast, rushing torrent of blood!

Thunder roared, blood light snaked; Panying, having left her hand, unsealed in an instant, broke the sound barrier, swirled and swayed, incredibly fast, surpassing the speed of sound, and even faster.

Even if it wasn't a weapon or material specifically crafted for flying light, now, under the blessing of her transcendent pot-throwing skill, it instantly turned into a scarlet lightning bolt.

It crossed the firmament and plunged into the figure that was dodging in panic and jumping into the clouds.

From beginning to end, there was no change in direction; it went straight forward.

From the perspective of an onlooker, it was almost as if the opponent had actively crashed into it; the moment it was thrown, it had already locked onto the direction the opponent was dodging!

No loud noise could be heard.

Www??????? co

Only a scarlet flame erupted and vanished in the thick clouds. Then, the magnificent blood color rolled backward, dragging a thunderous roar, and flew back.

In the swirl, the hilt fell perfectly into An Ning's five fingers.

It even saved Ji Jue the trouble of having to go pick it up.

"How was it, how was it?"

An Ning turned back, ignoring the erosion of evil intent, and grinned triumphantly: "Brother Ji Jue, was I cool just now? Was I cool!"

It's just a pity that Ji Jue didn't seem to hear.

Beside the burnt-out crooked car frame, he lowered his eyes, indifferently overlooking the corpses in the pool of blood, and that face twitching and convulsing, on the verge of death.

"There's actually one still alive."

He said softly.

"Let me go... let..."

The Vortex-type Chosen One choked, spitting out fragments of internal organs. Even though burned by raging fire and hit by sin-tainted bullets, with his body torn apart and only a small half left, he was actually still alive.

It was simply a miracle of life.

It's just a pity that now, the tiny miracle was about to be completely extinguished.

"Please, please..."

Under the gaze of those pitch-black pupils, his shattered expression twitched, desperate, praying and choking: "I, I... I still have children... I..."

"If—"

Ji Jue suddenly said: "If, if it were me begging for mercy now, would you let me go?"

In that instant, the choking voice stopped abruptly.

The survivor was stunned, unable to speak, his twisted expression twitching, wanting to give an answer, but unable to make a sound.

No words were needed.

The answer had already been placed before them.

"Reality is like this, right? No need to be ashamed, actually everyone is the same."

Ji Jue shrugged regretfully, patted his remaining shoulder, and comforted him: "When things happen, you have to think of the bright side; at least I won't kill your children, right?

But having said that—"

He paused and suddenly asked: "Will he come to find me for revenge in the future?"

In the momentary silence, that face suddenly stiffened, shattered from fear, twisted, and roared madly, like a dying beast, squirming, wanting to bite the man before him.

However, under the trampling, he couldn't move.

He was stepped into the frozen pool of blood and mud.

"Look, fear is normal; it's not just death, there are too many things in the world more terrifying than death." Ji Jue sighed: "It's not just you who is afraid, I am afraid too; I am even more afraid than you imagine."

If I bowed my head and admitted defeat, would you let me go?

If Yan Jian had begged for mercy when he was hung up and tortured, would you have shown mercy?

If Lu Feng had abandoned his gun and fled, and Chen Yubo had raised his hands to surrender, could you have spared them? If Lu Ma and Lu Ling had shed tears, would you have shown compassion?

Even if I knelt down and prayed, could there be a way to survive?

Even if I had committed suicide long before that, could you have left a way for others to live?

The answer was destined long ago.

Ji Jue could accept losing, could accept dying without a burial place.

But from the moment they tried to involve unrelated people, he never intended to accept any of this again...

"I don't want to die."

Ji Jue lowered his eyes and told him: "So, you, all of you, everyone here and everyone not here, must die."

In that instant, Panying clanged and vibrated.

It flew into Ji Jue's hand on its own.

He said:

"—I came here, not because of any victory or defeat, nor for any win or loss, but to make all of you die thoroughly."

The broken blade swept past.

Silently, the infinite blood color converged and gathered, plunged into the sword body, and disappeared.

Between the opened steel claws, Panying returned to its sheath, sinking back into the darkness.

In the dead silence, except for the sound of falling snow and the crackling of growing ice crystals, there was no other noise.

"Let's go, An Ning."

Between the burnt scorched earth and the wreckage, Ji Jue turned back and beckoned: "Let's go kill them all."

An Ning stared blankly at his expression, gazing at the corners of his mouth, and in the reflection of his pupils, she seemed to see: the ferocious giant beast that had briefly broken free from its shackles and was finally chasing after the white deer.

And so, she could no longer restrain that brilliant smile.

"Okay!"

Just like that, they jumped onto the Little Niu Ma, left behind the burnt charcoal, and set off again.

Toward the wilderness ahead, filled with thorns and death.

In the distant engine sound, only faint words drifted in the wind: "By the way, that move just now was indeed very cool."

"Really, really? Compared to A-Ran?"

"Of course, Little An is cooler."

"Why?"

"No reason, Little An is just cooler..."

"Ah, stop the car ahead."

"What for?"

"……Catching a little mouse!" ===== CHAPTER 298 =====