Chapter 282: Fierce Battle (10,000 Explosions! End-of-Month Request for Monthly Tickets!)

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Night was about to fall; above the horizon, violent lightning erupted continuously from the center of the frigid vortex, silver lightning illuminating a vast stormy curtain like a monstrous beast ready to swallow the earth.

Blizzard howled, ice crystals freezing even rebar and concrete solid, and under the hurricane, ice pillars hung horizontally everywhere.

In this environment, even those wearing cold-weather gear could no longer stand outdoors.

ZZZZZZ~

A dozen military polar vehicles moved through the sparsely populated outer streets of Xilan City, escorted by special operations vehicles and small aircraft—this was a mobile research laboratory.

Inside one vehicle, a cramped, crowded lab compartment was packed with instruments; computers continuously calculated data. Wei Kexue sat listlessly on a corner stool, clad in the special protective suit prepared for them by the Survey Corps.

Yu Yuheng typed beside him, pulling up various data streams.

"The aerial patrol team has been marked—that confirms our theory," Wei Kexue said, removing his worn black-rimmed glasses and wiping them with a relatively clean corner of his sleeve. "What instructions did those monsters receive? Why aren't they marking us with dark sigils?"

"How can they even sense our purpose?" an elderly researcher asked, frowning.

"If that's true, then our research direction is correct—the 'bonfire,' no, the dark sigil really does exist, right?!" another female researcher spoke up.

"Professor Yu wants to know how the information was transmitted, leading that giant worm to attack the research building…" Wei Kexue pinched his temples wearily; perhaps due to continuous sleepless nights, every time he closed his eyes, he saw his dead colleagues—his entire being radiated exhaustion and desolation.

"I think it's the Hell Black Chrysanthemum that sensed our purpose."

Ding Junyi had just ended her call with Lin Xian and stood, walking toward the Hell Black Chrysanthemum's cultivation chamber. She stared at the now-dark flower and said: "Professor Guo's experiment must have alerted the snow wraiths to the presence of the calamity plant. The rampage may just be a surface manifestation—there must be another way these aberrations communicate information, one we haven't detected yet."

"You mean the sudden rampage after Specimen 13 bit off its own limb… was a specific behavior?" Yu Yuheng paused typing and looked up at Ding Junyi.

Ding Junyi kept one hand in her pocket, coldly watching the time on her watch.

"There's no better explanation."

"I don't think so…"

Wei Kexue put his glasses back on and said wearily: "First problem: there are no sigils inside the city. If these snow wraiths and snow demons received orders not to emit these sigils, then according to the Night Silence theory, Xilan City shouldn't be attacked at all—but we're under constant yaochao assault every day."

"Second problem: if those monsters don't want us to detect the dark sigil, why did the aerial patrol team suddenly get a Level 5 mark? That's contradictory."

At these words, the cabin fell silent. The polar vehicle rolled over snow layers, the lab swaying, instruments clinking and clattering.

Several researchers furrowed their brows deeply; as night approached, tension thickened inside the cabin.

Ding Junyi now turned to Yu Yuheng and spoke.

"I recall the previous findings of the Imperial Team—they believed higher-level aberrations issue collective commands to lower-level ones, correct?"

"Correct," Yu Yuheng nodded.

Ding Junyi replied: "Suppose there's an S-class aberration above Xilan City right now, transmitting this command—not releasing dark sigil pheromones—but since this S-class aberration has already detected Xilan City or has been present for some time, and is using this command to launch an attack—could that explain it?"

Yu Yuheng and Wei Kexue exchanged glances, then said: "Just to counter our research? That sounds far-fetched. Wouldn't it be simpler to mark people outside the city, as we saw today, and disrupt our work directly?"

"Exactly. And if Professor Guo's experiment exposed the Hell Black Chrysanthemum, there's one strange thing we can't explain: why were there no sigils inside the city before?" Wei Kexue frowned. "Do these monsters have precognition? Do they know our Xilan City research team is studying dark sigils?"

"Right. No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make sense—a single calamity plant, and monsters can read our research? It feels utterly implausible."

"Or maybe the monsters simply want to seize this calamity plant," Yu Yuheng said now. "We're overcomplicating it. After all, based on Phoenix Association's current research, this thing is extremely rare, possessing unique properties. It holds high research value for us humans—and equally so for these dark beings."

Ding Junyi fell silent, her gaze fixed on the black chrysanthemum inside the transparent cultivation chamber. Her thoughts churned, making it hard to focus.

At that moment, a thought suddenly struck her.

Perhaps… don't view it through a scientific lens…

But… through psychic ability?

The idea took root and grew wildly within her. As someone with a rational temperament, Ding Junyi always observed problems through science and theory. Now, she reached up and touched the tiny green sprout hidden in her hair, her pupils sharpening.

She calmed herself, focused her gaze on the Hell Black Chrysanthemum, and activated her plant psychic power.

Instantly, an invisible affinity for plants spread from her eyes, enveloping the Hell Black Chrysanthemum.

18: 9

According to Night Walker's observations, nightfall was one minute away.

In the vehicle's lab, Wei Kexue nervously checked his watch: "Nightfall's coming. The original plan was to evacuate the entire city tomorrow—no one expected this twist."

"Professor Ding, do you think this Level 5 mark means those monsters sensed we were going to…"

Wei Kexue was about to speak to Ding Junyi when he saw her standing beside the Hell Black Chrysanthemum, her eyes completely white, devoid of any black. Even more bizarre—the calamity plant had reignited, glowing crimson and flickering!

"Professor Ding?!"

Sensing the anomaly, Wei Kexue shouted. Everyone was startled by this sudden turn.

Seeing Ding Junyi didn't respond, Wei Kexue rose to check on her—when suddenly, violent shaking erupted from afar, rapidly approaching. The tall buildings on both sides of the road shook violently; snow and ice pillars rained down.

Xiao He, seated in the polar vehicle's co-pilot seat, saw the instruments blaring alarms and paled.

"It's here! Accelerate!"

18: 0

The night sky flashed black; gales surged. Already dim under the blizzard, visibility had been only a few meters—now the research convoy plunged into utter darkness!

BOOM!

Simultaneously, a deafening, earth-shattering tremor erupted behind the convoy. Glass on both sides of the street shattered instantly. A colossal abyss worm burst from underground, swallowing the last two vehicles whole, tearing apart the adjacent buildings.

The ground heaved like a storm-tossed lake, sending transverse waves that nearly overturned the entire front convoy.

SCREECH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

In an instant, shattered concrete foundations, broken building frames, and shockwaves radiated outward across Xilan City like a ten-thousand-ton aerial bomb detonating—shaking the hearts of tens of thousands.

"The big worm's here!!"

Ignoring the near-overturning vehicle, Xiao He immediately reported over the comms.

"Turn ahead! Circle the inner city!"

Inside the lab compartment, Wei Kexue, rushing toward Ding Junyi, was thrown violently upward by the impact, slamming into the ceiling before crashing down.

The others weren't faring better—equipment shattered and slid everywhere; everyone was tossed around, dazed and disoriented.

Ignoring his pain, Wei Kexue scrambled up to check on Ding Junyi—only to find her still standing firm, eyes white, staring fixedly at the Hell Black Chrysanthemum ahead.

At that moment, Ding Junyi's ears rang with a deafening buzz; she saw no one else. She stared at the Hell Black Chrysanthemum as crimson ripples surged from its glowing red core, her pupils trembling, reflecting shattered visions.

Tens of thousands of pale pupils coalesced in the void into a colossal compound eye. Within the mucous-coated honeycomb structure, every pupil contracted in unison. Countless snow wraiths and snow demons surged like black tides, limbs twisting into vascular networks clinging to the eyeball surfaces.

From the depths of the Eternal Night Abyss came the wet, squelching sound of moving slime. Its body was formed of proliferating ice-tendrils and rotting tumors. Ding Junyi's eardrums were pierced by billions of overlapping aberration shrieks—she seemed to see a monster floating high above the blizzard, staring down at Xilan City beneath Fenglan Mountain.

Instantly, Ding Junyi felt herself plummet into a cold, terrifying infinite space.

At Xilan City's northern frontline, the access bridges beneath the reinforced concrete walls had all been raised; wind and snow howled without pause.

He Zhen commanded the northern frontline. Thousands of Survey Corps soldiers stood ready. On the distant Sishui Slope, several small aircraft hovered—Wu Chen's Falcon Recon Team. To ensure city safety, all team members bearing Level 5 marks had been stationed outside.

Snow shredded the searchlight beams; the wall trembled at -60°C. Survey Corps soldiers in powered armor gripped their weapons, all eyes fixed on the Sishui Slope.

Inside the aircraft cockpit, Wu Chen's face was tense; his right hand remained on the thrust lever. The moment an aberration appeared, the entire team would accelerate and flee.

BOOM!

As night fell, the first explosion came from within the city. Before any message could reach the comms, the Falcon Recon Team saw their radar screens instantly turn red.

They looked up—their helmet HUDs revealed a horrifying scene that stole their breath.

From high-altitude snow clouds, countless massive winged demons surged through darkness, wrapped in supercharged whirlwinds!

Dozens, hundreds, thousands of winged demons—each with wings the size of train cars—roared downward like an aerial flood, obscuring the entire Sishui Slope within seconds. The Falcon Team's aircraft looked like floating weeds in a storm.

"Dive!"

Seeing this, Wu Chen roared in fury!

HOOOOOM!

Even as the jet engines roared to full thrust, the entire Falcon Team was swallowed. Explosions echoed through the sky; fire vanished into the heavens.

On the wall, He Zhen stared, too stunned to react. On the battlefield screen, the Falcon Team's aircraft signals and vital signs had vanished—zeroed out.

When the searchlight swept across and revealed the winged demons descending like a tidal wave, every Survey Corps soldier froze for a heartbeat.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Fire-control radar reacted first. Three hundred Changcheng-50 base-mounted railguns fired simultaneously—blue electromagnetic beams streaked into the sky, forming a dazzling high-energy net.

DUUUU~!!!

On dozens of watchtowers, the 1130s roared to life—the Survey Corps' fire net engaged the enemy.

Watching the Falcon Team's annihilation, He Zhen's eyes darkened. He immediately pressed his command comm.

"Activate Reaction Line! Prepare Burn Net! Zhang Chengzhi, bombard with plasma cannons first, then blast them with thermobarics!"

"Yes!"

Zhang Chengzhi, commander of the aerial combat unit, had seen the Falcon Team wiped out in an instant—his eyes turned red. At He Zhen's roar, he immediately issued orders.

"Hawk Team 2, prepare to observe Burn Net! Plasma cannons ready!"

"Bombers 0203, drop thermobarics in staggered sequence!"

ZZZZZZ!!

The aerial combat unit hovering behind the wall sprang into action.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH.

As the sky filled with winged demons, over a thousand plasma cluster launchers fired skyward from below the wall, unleashing a torrent of blazing cerulean plasma streams—like brilliant fireworks, forming a colossal plasma wall ahead of the wall, rising like a mountainous curtain. The blue wall climbed higher: 100 meters… 200 meters…

Within seconds, the burn net soared 500 meters high—a blue, sky-spanning net of divine repair.

Under this blinding blue light, every Survey Corps soldier saw the dark masses surging from the snowfields beyond the wall—the ground trembled with their boiling clamor.

The yaochao has arrived!

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The overwhelming winged demons slammed into the rising burn net. The air erupted with countless shrieks and howls. Burning and charred stench mingled with the cold wind. The net collapsed quickly under the sheer force.

But this defense's purpose was never to stop them—it was to break their momentum. In that instant, the winged demons collided chaotically in midair, masses crashing into each other. Wings of flesh and membrane ignited, and countless demons plummeted onto rooftops below, instantly shredded by concentrated fire from 1130s and machine guns, reduced to bloody heaps.

At that moment, six Hawk-class aerial gunships rose into the air, lined along the northern wall at intervals of several hundred meters.

Clang clang~

The missile bay of the aerial gunship slowly opened, launching several large air-to-air missiles, while the front-mounted i-17 multi-blade plasma cannon began gathering electrical energy.

Boom! Boom!

Twelve blue plasma beams, each at millions of degrees, streaked across the sky, blindingly bright, exploding amid the Winged Demons like blazing blue fireworks, instantly melting vast swathes of monsters; the extreme heat ignited many Winged Demons along with their tissues and bones, sending out radiant flashes of fire.

"First, second, and fourth battalions, hold your positions—wait until they're close before firing. The mecha legion holds the front." He Zhen's gaze was sharp as he watched the flood of monsters surging from sky and ground, unmoved, calmly directing his troops: "Reallocate firepower to prioritize aerial targets. Raise the high-pressure ion walls on the ground—let the beasts below kill themselves. Let's see if these monsters are tougher than our nuclear-powered batteries!"

Boom boom boom boom boom boom!

The dense array of Great Wall-50 base rail cannons fired again; 300mm heavy damage shells acted like carbon-based shredders, blasting toward the sky, exploding into misty blood and raining flesh. Missed rounds struck the snowplain, detonating with massive force—each shell wiped out dozens or hundreds of Snow Wraiths, leaving behind terrifying craters.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.

Across the entire snowplain, stretching for kilometers, a dark, oppressive tide surged forward like a flowing mudslide, continuously converging. The soldiers of the Recon Corps heard nothing but the roar of the storm and the boiling ground.

The heavens and earth were dreadfully grim!

At this moment, the valley east of the city, the frozen river south of the city, artillery thundered across the heavens and earth.

Within Xilan City, panic spread like wind through cranes; from the massive holes torn through the ground by Abyss Worms, countless Snow Wraiths and Snow Demons gushed forth, spreading across streets in all directions.

"Pingjiang Road, Future Street, East Xin Garden sinkhole—large numbers of guiyi entities detected! Central Street, east and south city directions—vehicle convoys prepare to engage!"

Tap-tap-tap! Bang-bang-bang!!

A message came through the Phoenix Society's inner-city observation post; mere seconds later, gunfire erupted along a dozen streets surrounding several sinkholes, rapidly spreading to more streets, alleys, and squares—like ignited fuses, within moments half of Xilan City plunged into chaotic warfare.

Boom boom!

Hum!

Explosions, gales, beams, shockwaves, missiles, and electrical pulses detonated across all zones; numerous buildings exploded; the public frequency was a chaotic mess of gunfire.

"Move toward the North Pole Alliance!"

"Too many! Too many!!"

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!! Bang-bang-bang! Beep-beep!

"Crash through them!"

"It's a Snow Demon!"

"Forget the convoy—fall back!!"

"Quick, quick—the Nightwalkers are here! Everyone, strike together!!"

"Hold the line!!"

"The road's blocked! Someone save us! We're on Shunanjie!"

"Everyone stay away from the TV tower! The convoy here has mutated—there's a psychic guiyi!"

"Covering fire—fall back, fall back!"

"Ahh!!..."

At the northern city rail station, dozens of apocalyptic trains roared with machine guns, their combined firepower forming a war-zone line against the flood of monsters pouring down streets—snow along the roads vaporized entirely. "Suppress! Suppress!"

"Aerial monsters approaching! Anti-air batteries!"

"Don't let them breach the rail station!"

Booom!

A pulse weapon swept across the passenger station plaza, instantly toppling the massive light poles; layers of ice pillars shattered. Flames erupted from the rooftop flamethrowers of multiple apocalyptic trains, nearly illuminating the entire rail station.

Winged Demons emerging from sinkholes spread their massive wings and darted toward the roadside convoys; even when blown apart, their corpses could still devour several unlucky vehicles.

Boom boom, boom boom~

Beneath the raging thunder, the entire Xilan district had become a single inferno—artillery and gunfire surged and spread.

Yet at the western city freight mine station, no enemy had yet arrived—instead, a brief silence fell.

The crew of Wuxianhao, Longshan No. 1, and the United Convoy stood ready, every nerve taut from the battle raging within the city.

Lin Xian stood on a shipping container, clad in powered armor, his gaze not on the city behind him, but fixed on the towering Fenglan Mountain ahead.

Boom boom!

Chen Sixuan, clad in powered armor, sat atop the tallest apartment building beside the rail station, observing the mountain peak with the Yinxing No. 3; Miao Lu shielded her from the side.

!

"They're coming—from the mountain!"

Lu Xingchen, having tended the boiler all night, rubbed his shoulders and strode forward to the vehicle roof, eyes blazing with crimson fire. In the air, Kiki hovered, poised to strike; Shasha stood at the front, fully armed in Sally No. 1, chewing gum in the cockpit—forcing composure, yet her face still showed traces of tension.

Daliang and Shu Qin provided cover from the shipping container platform below Lin Xian.

On Longshan No. 1, Shi Di, Ningjing, Abai, Xiaoqing, Lu Yong, and others were fully armed and waiting.

"Damn it, looks like they're coming over the mountain." Shi Di's face twisted into a tiger's snarl; a surge of immense power radiated from him.

"Not just that."

Through his powered armor's radar, Lin Xian detected intensifying tremors on Fenglan Mountain.

"Watch out—it's an avalanche!"

Boom boom!!

In an instant, the snow curtain atop the mountain boiled; a white wall a kilometer high, packed with countless Snow Wraiths, crashed downward. Hundreds of thousands of Snow Wraiths flickered and vanished amid collapsing strata; countless Snow Demons scaled the slopes, their terrifying momentum threatening to swallow the entire mine and freight platform whole.

At this sight, everyone below tightened their pupils.

"Don't move. Hold your positions. Wait until they're close before engaging. Don't break formation."

Lin Xian's gaze sharpened as he watched the avalanche pour down like a flood, gritting his teeth. In this situation, fleeing randomly within the city was meaningless—it would only leave them exposed from both sides.

Beyond the city walls lay a hellish assault—there was no escape. Facing this endless night, they had only one choice: hold firm to the defensive lines they'd prepared.

Oooh!

At this moment, all vehicle-mounted weapons aboard Wuxianhao, Longshan No. 1, and the United Convoy swung their barrels toward Fenglan Mountain and the mine.

"All close-combat units: only eliminate monsters that breach the vehicle line. Do not charge out—let the trains and convoy armor take the brunt!"

"Agreed!" Wu Cong replied.

"Received!" Li Yi and Liang Lei shouted.

"Understood, Commander Lin." Luo Yang said.

"We can hold!" Shen Yao, whose Heavy Base Vehicle formed the United Convoy's main defense line, spoke with grim resolve.

"Listen up—tonight's a hard fight!" Shi Di called over the comms.

"Kiki, Firebro."

Lin Xian watched the avalanche drawing nearer, its sonic waves boiling the air, and shouted to the two.

"Break its momentum!"

"Already planned!" Lu Xingchen roared, his body erupting in roaring flames; he leapt upward from the spot, landing before the mine, and as he stood there, a colossal inferno exploded around him.

"Divine Flame Realm!"

At this moment, Lu Xingchen attempted to use the principle of adiabatic compression ignition, swirling his entire body's blazing fire into a spherical heat ball; flames erupted from his hands, forming a massive fireball over ten meters in diameter—crimson flames with a white-hot core, radiating intense heat that instantly vaporized the snow layers within dozens of meters around him, like a miniature sun!

"Bear the flame of the divine realm," Firebro said—not to the monsters, but to Kiki.

Whoosh.

Kiki, her eyes radiating terrifying power, flew forward, hovering high above the mine. She extended her hands, unleashing a vast invisible psychic field that tore apart countless blizzards. With her hands, she spun the field furiously, using the updraft from Lu Xingchen's heat to instantly summon a colossal hurricane over the entire mine. The burning fireball merged into the hurricane, forming a crimson fire tornado over a hundred meters wide and hundreds of meters tall.

"Fire riding the wind—excellent!"

Lu Xingchen continuously blasted flames, intensifying the updraft.

Kiki gritted her teeth and softly hissed, slowly pushing the fire tornado toward the avalanche.

In an instant, waves of heat scoured the biting cold wind; the scorching current struck the faces of all along the train line. The colossal fire tornado, along with scattered steel ore carts from the mine, was sucked upward, glowing red-hot, colliding head-on with the kilometer-high avalanche and the surging demonic tide cascading down the slopes.

Boom boom boom!

Fire erupted violently; the avalanche vaporized; thick black smoke and steam surged wildly; the deafening roar reached its peak, shaking the very air.

Boom!

The avalanche shattered against the mine with the force of collapsing mountains and splitting earth, spewing a sky-obscuring cloud of snow dust—much of it swallowed by the fire tornado, then flung toward the freight warehouses and shipping container platforms beside the rail station.

Lin Xian raised a force shield; at this moment, the avalanche's momentum was halted, and the torrential snow dust nearly blocked all vision.

The entire rail station seemed buried under snow dust, reducing visibility—already poor—to utter blackness and haze.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.

As everyone took cover from the encroaching snow dust, the sound of the demonic tide surging grew louder; from the mine obscured by snow dust, dense black shadows rapidly approached, while giant wings sliced through the black smoke and snow mist above.

Bang!

The thunderous shot of the Yinxing No. 3 ignited the first counterattack shot.

On the roof of Wuxianhao, Miao Lu shielded Chen Sixuan from wind and snow; the increasingly calm Chen Sixuan, facing this scene, fired a devastating shot toward a massive Winged Demon approaching through the hazy snow.

The high-energy armor-piercing round pierced the blizzard, shattering the Winged Demon's skull before it even appeared; chunks of tissue and bone sprayed outward!

Oooh~

In the next instant, the G3 rail electromagnetic cannon and the 1130 CIWS on Wuxianhao's roof rotated simultaneously; fire-control radar locked targets, and full firepower erupted!

Doo!

Oooh! Zzzt!

Heavy artillery and heavy machine guns on Longshan No. 1 and the United Convoy unleashed high-energy barrages!

Simultaneously, the YJ03 anti-air cannons on Wuxianhao, Longshan No. 1, and the convoy began to unleash continuous salvos into the sky.

Bang bang bang bang bang!

In an instant, the sky blazed like a festival—explosions of fireworks stretched from low to high altitude, covering the entire heavens.

"Here they come!!"

In front of the orbital station, Sasa in the Fire God mech had stopped chewing her gum, holding her breath—her vision ahead was utterly blurred by snow dust and smoke, with all searchlights failing to pierce the visibility, yet the mech's radar screen showed a massive swarm of targets rapidly approaching in the forward fanface.

"Come on, come on!"

Sasa gripped the mech's arm controls tightly, raised both arms—left cannon in her left hand, main cannon in her right—the central arc pulse resonator, upgraded by Lin Xian to a high-power model, now had its defensive capability raised a tier.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.

Aaah!!

The shrieks drew closer; beneath the snow curtain, the first to detonate was the high-voltage ionization wall set by the Pursuit Fleet—horizontal ion beams flared brilliant blue, instantly shredding countless snow wraiths.

But due to their overwhelming numbers, the Union Fleet's ultra-energy capacitors dropped sharply in voltage; vast hordes of wraiths uncut by the beams surged past the shredded corpses of their kin, charging straight toward the orbital station.

"Fire!"

Boom boom boom boom boom!! Tap tap tap tap tap!!

As the dark shapes neared, gunfire from the train and the Union Fleet erupted fully—dense streams of metal projectiles tore through, instantly crushing and pulverizing swathes of the wraith horde, halting their charge—while behind them, even greater numbers of snow wraiths poured frenziedly down from Fenglan Mountain.

Aaah!!

Thud thud thud!

Tall snow demons, thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, charged forward despite the hail of bullets, smashing through several meters before exploding—only for more snow demons to rise behind them.

Winged demons flitted endlessly across the sky, continuously diving into the vehicle formation; after the first wave of dense assault, several large winged demons slipped through the gaps in firepower and closed in on the train's roof.

At this moment, the building, Lu Chang, Shu Qin, Shi Di, Ningjing, Xiaoqing, Lu Yong, and several powerful close-combat fighters from the Union Fleet began to strike back, suppressing the monsters that had breached the line.

Boom!

Queen of Strength Ningjing leapt into the air, punched one winged demon's wing into a reverse bow shape, then smashed its entire skull with a second blow, driving it straight to the ground and exploding a cloud of dust.

"This won't work—watch for firing gaps!" she roared over the comm.

At that moment, Luo Yang leapt onto the truck roof, pointed with his fingertip, eyes flashing—suddenly, a string of blue ionization explosions erupted in the sky—whirr! On the other side, Bai, having removed his sunglasses, shot twin dark red laser beams that swept across, slicing apart several winged demons flying toward them.

Li Guangwen and Liang Lei stepped beside Sasa's Fire God mech—one wielding a shock punch, the other fully metallicized—blocking the monster tide at close range.

The twin stars, Amin and Luoluo, wielding chain swords, darted through the snow wraiths that had breached the line, glowing brilliantly; Liao Ming joined Shu Qin's building in the bloody melee; Uncle Wu's artillery barrage roared forward; and Shen Yao, a kuangbao-level energy-concentrating adept, charged into the horde with several fully armored subordinates—all the momentum gathered on his body, his skin glowing with an orange-white, searing radiance.

The next instant, he unleashed that power in a single punch—Boom!

A massive surge of energy spilled out, carving a fan-shaped destruction zone ahead—hundreds of snow wraiths turned to fragments.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Lin Xian's black gun moved like a death-bringing black shuttle through the blizzard, its xineng cannon's blazing light weaving through the horde, harvesting the lives of the strange entities.

Thump!

After a flash-back, Lin Xian stood on his black gun, leaping over ten meters—he activated an electric surge to raise an AT field, blocking a snow demon's rear attack, then spun and fired a xineng cannon from his fingertip, piercing the demon's crown—before it could scream, Xiaoqing's blade sliced through its head, clean and swift.

Lin Xian suppressed his physical exhaustion; Ding Junyi's warning remained heavy in his heart.

Above the sky?

S-class?

He had instructed Kiki and Fire Brother to conserve their strength—his own energy conservation was to prepare for the appearance of something far worse, requiring the use of a gravitational lens!

Boom boom boom, boom boom boom!

Above the sky, the air combat detachment supporting Chengxi was also firing furiously at the monsters flying over Fenglan Mountain.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

In another direction beyond the city, the thermal-pressure bombs sent shockwaves so powerful they seemed ready to shatter the sky—deafening vibrations, nearly bursting eardrums, rose and fell in relentless succession.

Inside the city, the earthquakes never ceased; the Abyssal Worm rampaged freely, many high-rises had collapsed entirely, the entire city was engulfed in artillery fire, alarms never silenced!

Lin Xian charged up an employee building, wielding his black gun, blasting a wave of snow wraiths climbing from the rear with an electric surge—then turned to gaze at the city, dark yet ablaze with fire and artillery, his heart chilling.

This night, who knew how many more would die—while worrying about the current front line and Ding Junyi, he also feared whether the entire city could hold out until dawn evacuation.

Ooo~ hummm!

At this moment, the research team led by Xiao He was speeding along the ring road, the ground trembling violently; after evading the initial worm attacks, the convoy's situation stabilized somewhat. To avoid a larger snow wraith surge, Xiao He ordered the convoy away from the city's main camps, heading toward remote areas.

The convoy was guarded by the Nightwalkers team, arranged by Wen Zhuo and led by Jing Tian; on the remaining dozen vehicles, dozens of researchers discussed strategies on a secret frequency.

On the lead experimental vehicle, Wei Kexue, Yu Yuheng, and others monitored Ding Junyi's condition.

Just now, Ding Junyi's bizarre behavior had terrified everyone in the cabin—but soon after, she suddenly collapsed, and the crimson glow of the Hell Black Chrysanthemum vanished.

This sudden turn threw everyone into chaos; had Ding Junyi's vital signs not remained somewhat stable, they would have thought her dead.

"Medical team has been notified, but we can't stop now—what do we do?" Yu Yuheng said, face tense.

"Director Yu, how is Professor Ding?" Xiao He asked over the comm.

"Her condition is stable for now, but we don't yet understand what happened—we must find a safe location quickly for the medics to reach her," Yu Yuheng replied.

Xiao He glanced grimly at the detector and said firmly: "Seismic waves have lessened—the worm may have moved elsewhere. I'll order aerial units to search—find a safe spot immediately."

"Good—hurry!"

Inside the experimental cabin.

"Have you noticed? This A-class Abyssal Worm has attacked twice—but none of us have been marked!" Wei Kexue looked at the Hell Black Chrysanthemum, suddenly struck by something.

"What do you mean?" Yu Yuheng asked. "Higher command?"

Wei Kexue, watching Ding Junyi, said with a complex expression: "Could Professor Ding's theory be right? Is this monster trying to stop our research?"

"Didn't you just say that was far-fetched?"

Wei Kexue nodded urgently: "It was far-fetched—unless there's something else we don't know, something Professor Ding doesn't know either. We can't just wait here—this worm could kill us any moment, and who knows how many have already died in the city—we must act."

Yu Yuheng looked baffled: "Our research is on dark biological behavior patterns—even if we find something, it won't change tonight's situation!"

"No!"

Wei Kexue now seemed trapped in some subjective, emotional logic.

"Why was the lab building attacked? Why was that dead worm dragged outside Xilan City? Why did our aerial patrol units get marked? There must be a reason—if this is tied to our research, then something else hidden in the blizzard could determine the fate of the entire city!"

Yu Yuheng froze. As a researcher, he valued logical deduction—Wei Kexue's words ignited every doubt in his mind; his gaze shifted rapidly as he said grimly:

"Then what can we do…?"

"I think we only have one path: Director Zhao was right—the more the enemy tries to stop us, the more likely we're on the right track. If we can capture the dark mark, we might explain everything!"

"How?!" Yu Yuheng said, lips dry: "You just said even the A-class worm didn't emit a mark—so how—"

"Then we go to the sky!!" Wei Kexue spun around, trembling violently, eyes blazing with madness.

"If only the S-class entity above emits a mark, then our observation target is it!"

(End of Chapter)