Chapter 144: Every Calm Past Day

In an underground command center, countless streams of information flashed across a massive screen like flowing water, while countless people in uniform frantically typed on keyboards and used mice before their computers.

This was a Xenobiology Analysis Center in Xia Country.

Dozens of such command centers existed across the provinces of the nation.

They collected various data on the Xenobiota via instruments and small cameras carried by Awakened ones, statistically analyzed their attack patterns and weaknesses, summarized the findings, and then synchronized the results to the terminals of ordinary frontline soldiers.

"Report! There are currently 1,603 new types of Xenobiota: 915 are Class-C threats, 402 are Class-B threats, 286 are Class-A threats, and Class-S threats—Warning! Warning! A giant monster has appeared in the sky over Jin City, currently stuck in the rift to the Otherworld! Based on the destruction it has caused, we judge it to be a Class-S threat! It must not be allowed to reach the ground!"

"Report! The Ark Country has launched a nuclear missile at the rift above Detroit Green City!"

"Report! The Britannia Country has launched a nuclear missile at the rift above Liverpool City!"

"Report! The Judah Country has launched a nuclear missile at the rift above Tel Aviv City!"

"Report! The Franxi Country has launched a nuclear missile at the rift above Marseille City! At the same time, the Yin Country has launched a nuclear missile at the rift above Mumbai City!"

"Report, the Yilang Country has also..."

Reports poured into the command center one after another, then swiftly relayed to the central decision-making room.

"Zhongyuan City is about to collapse!"

"Magic City is about to collapse too!"

"Report! The Shenzen front is in dire emergency! Requesting nuclear launch!"

"Report! Jin City is about to collapse! That Class-S Xenobiota has suddenly accelerated its emergence, even at the cost of discarding most of its own body!"

"Report! Report! Report! In all the rifts to the Otherworld surrounding Earth, all Xenobiota have suddenly revolted and are rushing toward Earth in a frenzy!"

"Report! These Xenobiota seem to have gone mad! Requesting support! Requesting support!"

"It must be Yang Yi! It must be her who found the spatial device placed by Wei De over there! These monsters sensed the rift was about to close, which is why they are acting so crazily!"

Director Zhou stood in a military command center beneath the capital, shouting and jumping, his face flushed with excitement: "If we can just hold out against this final, most ferocious wave of attacks, if we can just endure until she closes the rift!"

The Chief of Staff: "Immediately connect with the Dark Matter and Astronomy Research Institute and ask them about the spatial fluctuation of the rift!"

"We must prepare for both outcomes; we cannot place all our hopes on her alone."

A staff member named Zhang, with a grave expression, said, "This is the most severe crisis since the Xenobiota invasion. Whether Yang Yi can successfully close the Otherworld rift remains uncertain. We must formulate the most advantageous plan available to us now—that is to launch a nuclear missile into the rift! I recommend immediately launching a nuclear missile at the Class-S monster above Jin City!"

"No!" Director Zhou shouted immediately, "Not only must we not do it, but we must also immediately issue a severe warning to the several nuclear-armed nations again, forbidding them from launching nuclear missiles! We have no way to verify whether Yang Yi can withstand a nuclear strike. She is currently searching for the spatial device in that world; if she accidentally... then the rift will be impossible to close, and that would be the true apocalypse!"

The Chief of Staff, with a solemn expression, said, "We issued another warning after the Ark Country launched its nuclear missile, but... just now, even the Ross Country and the Chao Country have sent statements to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They can no longer hold out and are about to launch nuclear missiles."

When a nation faces true existential peril, what does a verbal warning from another country amount to?

"Wait for Yang Yi to return... wait for Yang Yi to return..." Director Zhou gritted his teeth tightly, but in the end, he could not say what would happen when Yang Yi returned.

These Xia Country decision-makers stood before a massive screen composed of countless monitors, observing the gruesome battle scenes on the front lines displayed on the screens, their expressions growing increasingly solemn.

Suddenly, a female staff member hesitantly said, "Everyone, have you noticed? These monsters seem to be... afraid of something?"

Another, more observant female staff member added, "Yes, I have felt the same. Although they were already chaotic, just now they suddenly erupted into a frenzy, as if something over there terrified them, forcing them to desperately flee to this world—

"Everyone, please look. I have been observing this Class-A Nine-Headed Python for a while. According to our database, it possesses a certain level of intelligence, roughly equivalent to a child of 5 to 7 years old. After landing on the ground, instead of rushing to find food, it fled rapidly toward uninhabited areas... And this Stone-Skin Giant, with two completely harmless ordinary humans right in front of it, ignored its usual habit of feasting to its heart's content and instead ran rapidly toward the distance, as if wanting to get as far away from the rift as possible..."

Just as everyone was puzzled, a report rang out.

"Report to the Chief of Staff, the Dark Matter and Astronomy Research Institute has sent a video request!"

"Connect immediately!"

Several researchers in white lab coats appeared on a screen; one middle-aged man, with a grave expression, said, "Chief of Staff, we have detected abnormal fluctuations in the spatial rift! Based on our calculations of the spatial wave peaks and troughs of the rift, the rift is currently extremely unstable..."

"Will this fluctuation cause the rift to expand or contract?" Director Zhou asked impatiently.

The middle-aged man in the white coat let out a bitter smile. "It expands drastically and then contracts drastically, which is why I call it an abnormal fluctuation."

Everyone turned their heads to look at the large screen; because the sky was filled with artillery fire, and the shadows of various Xenobiota blocked out the sun and moon, it was difficult to see the subtle details of the spatial rift.

The operator immediately zoomed in on the details of several screens, and everyone finally saw that the edges of the spatial rift, resembling red scars, were flickering incessantly.

"Report to the Chief of Staff, the Ross Country has launched a nuclear missile at the rift above Kateryna City!"

"The Chao Country has launched a nuclear missile at the rift above Pyongyang City!"

"The Ark Country has launched another nuclear missile at the rift above Chicago City!"

"The Yin Country has also launched a nuclear missile at the rift above Delhi City!"

Tongdu City.

When Huangyang Village was attacked by the Void-Devouring Beast last time, apart from those who had gone out to work, the entire village population consisted only of Huang Huang Shusheng and his daughter, Tongtong.

Following the rescue arrangements by the Tongdu City government, a resettlement apartment was allocated to the father and daughter in the city, and a security guard job was arranged for Huang Huang Shusheng within the community.

Less than 10 days of peaceful life passed before disaster struck again.

The sky was filled with artillery fire; shell fragments and writhing chunks of flesh and limbs fell to the ground like hail.

If not for the Awakened ones and soldiers escorting them all the way, even the infection from some bizarre flesh chunks would have made it impossible for them to take a single step.

Huang Huang Shusheng held his daughter Tongtong, following the crowd tightly, daring not to fall behind.

Just now, he had witnessed with his own eyes how neighbor Aunt Zhang accidentally stepped on an unknown chunk of flesh; the flesh, like a living creature, immediately melted into her leg. An Awakened one nearby, with quick eyes and swift hands, chopped off her leg, yet Aunt Zhang still convulsed all over, turning into a monster that was neither human nor ghost, and was promptly killed by the Awakened one.

"What on earth is happening to this world? Why is this happening?" Huang Huang Shusheng muttered to himself.

He truly could not understand how, just a few months ago, life was normal, and suddenly his family was destroyed, turning into this state.

"Dad, I'm so scared!" Tongtong looked in terror at the writhing chunks of monster flesh on the ground, her gaze vacant and fixed.

"Don't be afraid, Dad will protect you!" Huang Huang Shusheng tucked Tongtong's head closer to his chest, not wanting her to see these terrifying scenes.

The leading Awakened one shouted anxiously, "Quick! Quick! Quick! We are only one kilometer away!"

They were rushing to the nearest air-raid shelter for cover; normally, running that one kilometer would take just a couple of steps, but at this moment, it seemed so far away.

Suddenly, a roar, as if coming from the ancient abyss, emanated from the largest "wound" in the sky, shaking the entire earth.

The crowd on the ground instinctively covered their ears, some with fresh blood flowing from their mouths and noses.

Countless aberrant creatures heard that howl, as if sensing something, and their drilling out of the passage grew even more frantic.

After that howl, the firepower in the air intensified. Gradually, the sky was completely obscured by laser nets and explosions.

"S-class aberrant creature! Quick! No time! Anyone who falls behind is on their own!"

A B-class lightning-type awakened suddenly jolted awake. He shouted, and a bolt of lightning shot from his hand, instantly clearing the aberrant creatures ahead and carving out a path. After doing all this, his face went pale, and he hurried forward.

The crowd, terrified of being left behind and abandoned, immediately sped up.

"Daddy! Such a huge claw—" Tongtong shrieked, throwing her arms around her father's neck as if it were the safest place in the world.

A giant claw suddenly thrust out from the sky, its might like Mount Tianzu hanging upside down. As the claw flailed wildly in the air, the storm it stirred up and the thunder and lightning roared across the skies of Copper City.

The giant claw jammed at the passage's mouth. Where the scar-red spatial energy met the claw, light and darkness flickered ceaselessly, as if two forces were clashing.

Even so, the ground was shaken by the claw's power—buildings collapsed, trees, sand and stone flew sideways, and artillery trajectories were disrupted by the storm and lightning. Shells originally meant for the aberrant creatures exploded among the crowd.

Disaster struck without warning; casualties were everywhere, and screams filled the surroundings.

"Daddy! Daddy! What's wrong with you? Talk to Tongtong, Tongtong is so scared…" Tongtong opened her eyes, ignoring the pain all over her body, and hurriedly pushed at Huang Huang Shusheng.

Huang Huang Shusheng held her tightly beneath him, his back a mangled mess of flesh and blood.

He was already dead.

He had fulfilled his promise to his daughter—to protect her.

At that very moment, the giant claw jammed at the passage shuddered violently. A howl, as if on the brink of despair, rang out across the sky once more. The mountain-thick, powerful claw rapidly withered, like a mummy dried by the wind for a thousand years in the desert, like… drained of life in an instant.

No more aberrant creatures came drilling through the passage. The creatures that had already escaped to Earth fled in panic, as if the farther from the passage the better.

And similar scenes were unfolding everywhere across the Earth.

In an instant, all of humanity across the globe froze, staring blankly at the sky.

In the sky, the scar-red aberrant-space passage suddenly contracted and vanished.

Across the Earth, the sky returned to blue with white clouds, stars and moon, dawn and dusk.

Just like every ordinary day before.