Chapter 86: The Great Pit of Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium is the national football stadium of Britain, located in the capital of Britain.

This stadium is widely regarded as the greatest in the world, costing 800 million pounds, with a circular field nearly 300 meters in diameter, stands 52 meters high and reaching 133 meters tall, capable of accommodating 90,000 spectators simultaneously.

Every year in early July, the annual UEFA Champions League opens, and this year’s opening ceremony is being held at Britain’s Wembley Stadium.

As night fell, a grand and magnificent opening ceremony began inside the modern sports venue; the entire arena shimmered with lights, making the stadium the focal point.

Tonight’s sky was unusually dark and overcast, not a single star visible.

Yet Britain had grown accustomed to its capital’s capricious weather; for its citizens, whose first greeting to anyone was always “How’s the weather today?”, dense clouds were probably the norm.

So no one found the ominous, gloomy sky unusual.

The stands were packed with crowds from all over the world, gathered for this rare grand event; countless fans dressed in their supported teams’ colors screamed and shouted.

The better seats were occupied by the British royal family and nobility, along with invited high-ranking officials and royal members from other nations.

After the renowned British singer Adele performed, the elderly King of Britain, his white hair neatly combed, stepped onto the field, waved to the international audience, and began his welcoming speech.

Behind the stadium wall, unnoticed by all, a large flock of crows circled in midair, cawing incessantly as if waiting for something; a homeless man leaned half-asleep against the wall, squinting with drunken eyes, mumbling incoherent curses.

Soon, the opening ceremony reached its climax: giant balloons and fireworks launchers rose from around the stage, adorning the night sky; brilliant fireworks burst in midair, dazzling lights illuminating the entire stadium as if it were daytime.

At the height of this frenzy, the ground suddenly shook violently; before the audience could react, a bottomless abyss opened beneath the stadium, and Wembley Stadium—capable of holding over 90,000 people—vanished from the surface.

Only a pitch-black, endless hole remained on the ground; viewed from above, it looked like Earth had opened a dark, hollow eye.

The crows circled above the massive hole, their lonely caws echoing hollowly through the air…

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When Yang Yi received the rescue request, she was in the primeval forest of Daxing’anling, eliminating a strange creature that resembled both plant and animal, named by the United Nations as the Strangling Vine.

This alien organism looked no different from ordinary vines, but any animal entering its territory—no matter how faint the movement—would be strangled and consumed; after being injured, it would retreat underground to hide. It could also release toxins into the air: just one vine could turn a radius of dozens of meters into a death zone for animals and humans.

One or two vines posed little threat, but the Strangling Vine reproduced with astonishing speed; it had already overrun the region, occupying most of Daxing’anling’s primeval forest. Nearby residents suffered greatly, and incomplete statistics indicated that four to five thousand locals had died from its attacks.

Because it had not appeared in major cities and typically lured prey through traps without venturing far from its territory or attacking proactively, it had never been rated as an A-level threat.

After Yang Yi resolved two A-level incidents, the Jueguan Bureau urgently reclassified the previously B-level Strangling Vine as A-level and requested her intervention.

Director Zhou’s reasoning was straightforward—“We haven’t even cleared the weeds in our own backyard; why should we go pull weeds for others?”

The Strangling Vine’s spread was too vast; Yang Yi and her colleagues had spent two or three days killing them without making significant progress. Every morning she woke up to face these green, snake-like vines, and her eyes had turned green from all the killing.

A supersonic aircraft picked up Yang Yi along with her longtime partners Wei Chang’an and Chen Yushu, and her new colleague Zhang Ningning; Director Zhou flew them to Britain.

“This incident occurred yesterday… Britain deployed drones for reconnaissance, but they were disrupted at 3 kilometers underground and could not penetrate further. They attempted to measure the depth—yet even after dropping a 50-kilometer rope, it never reached the bottom. The average crustal thickness is only 17 kilometers; experts suspect this abyss connects to another dimension.”

“To rescue the old king, Britain has already sent in seven Awakened individuals: three B-level and four C-level. All are now unresponsive. Additionally, at least nine Awakened individuals were confirmed at the opening ceremony: three B-level were assigned to guard the king personally; among the other six, two were B-level and four were C-level, hired by other royal and noble families for protection. There may also be unregistered civilian Awakened among the spectators—all now trapped in the abyss.”

“That’s the situation!” Director Zhou briefly summarized the Wembley Stadium incident on his laptop. “The British Prince has assumed the throne temporarily and has issued a rescue request to the United Nations. You are to rescue the king and the other 90,000 spectators.”

“That hole is enormous and bottomless—no one who falls in survives! Is rescue even worthwhile?” Wei Chang’an stared at the screen, astonished.

“Regardless, the old king fell in, along with royal families and nobles from many nations and 90,000 spectators from around the world—the Prince has to make a show of action!” Feng Boyuan said. “Rough estimates suggest we have several hundred Chinese citizens among them…”

“With alien organisms becoming increasingly rampant, why did they go there in the first place?” Wei Chang’an frowned. “Such a nuisance!”

Zhang Ningning ventured cautiously: “Ordinary people still have to live. They can’t just hide at home forever… they have the right to pursue normal lives too…”

Yang Yi and Chen Yushu remained silent, listening quietly while thinking for themselves.

That was all the information available; further details could only be obtained upon arrival.

The supersonic aircraft arrived at Britain’s capital after about three hours. Since prior notice had been given, they flew straight through without obstruction and landed directly at the capital’s airport.

They took a special vehicle to the Royal Reception Hall at Buckingham Palace, where they were warmly received by the Prince.

Not all princes are young and handsome like in fairy tales; Britain’s Prince, for instance, was over forty, his receding hairline following the traditional British male pattern.

The Prime Minister and various ministers surrounded the Prince, all wearing solemn expressions—no one knew how much of that sorrow was genuine.

The moment the Prince saw Yang Yi, he rose from the sofa, stepped forward, and grasped her hand firmly, his voice filled with surprise and measured grief: “Please, Ms. Yang, save my father—and the other 90,000 spectators!”