Chapter 283: Two Flyers (10,000 Explosions!)

Night fell, and thunder cracked violently.

The battle in Xilan City intensified; everywhere, inside and outside the city, chaos reigned—snow wraiths crushed streets littered with destroyed convoys, burning cars, frozen blood under icy winds, corpses of snow wraiths and snow demons scattered everywhere, winged demons hanging from tall buildings and dark alleys, and strange entities continuously crawling out of massive sinkholes, their claws and elongated limbs scaling every building and vehicle.

Boom! Boom!

Outside the northern and eastern districts of the city, sudden brilliant explosions flared across the sky, their shockwaves sweeping through the entire city.

Electromagnetic cannon beams shot into the sky from all directions, while the tracers of the 1130 close-in defense cannons painted the air with torrents of orange blossoms.

Inside the city, the Arctic Wind Alliance's heavy weaponry firmly suppressed the demonic tide along the eastern park, Jingcheng Commercial Plaza, and the banks of the Baiyu River; under Han Jun's leadership, convoy units formed tight defensive formations with layered firepower, deploying psychics and enhanced soldiers across close- and long-range positions—the battle raged fiercely.

The southern district was densely packed; nearly all convoys had gathered here, having suffered heavy casualties from a deepworm invasion; Zhao Yu was forced to urgently deploy aerial forces for cover; though the Universe Convoy, Brave Convoy, and Torch Alliance's Chen Xiao temporarily stabilized the panicked retreat, casualties continued to mount.

Above the eastern city, a 30, 00-ton Dreadnought-class aerospace carrier hovered low in the sky; Lightning-2 aerospace fighters led countless attack drones and floating wingmen like a swarm, surging through the clouds to launch a massive aerial assault—the sky blazed with dense explosions and arcs of energy; as the deathly aura spread, more and more people with weak mental resilience began mutating under the night's assault…

Meanwhile, Lin Xian's group, having repelled the first avalanche assault, gave the train unit and allied convoys a brief respite—but because their convoy was the smallest and faced the full tide of monsters pouring from Fenglan Mountain, pressure remained unrelenting.

"Lin Xian, a massive surge of monsters has erupted from that mine shaft!!" Kiki flew in through the air, her face urgent: "There are too many—they're all heading straight for us!"

"Prepare the next barrage! Everyone retreat into the convoys! Let the train engage! Prepare the arc-pulse string emitter!" Lin Xian immediately shouted over the comms.

After relentless combat, the barrels of autocannons, artillery, and rapid-fire machine guns had turned red-hot; he needed to rotate firepower—what remained would be covered by psychics, enhanced soldiers, and individual weapons taking over.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!

More and more monsters flooded the entire minefield; far away on Fenglan Mountain, it looked like a waterfall was flowing—but upon closer look, it was a dense horde of monsters charging down!

From the sky, the mountains, and the underground mine shafts, these creatures of darkness were far more frenzied than during the blizzard front.

The skittering sounds merged into a dense, boiling roar that made one's scalp crawl.

Ziiii!

On Longshan No. 1, Bai's laser beam swept across a sector—instantly, a wide fan of monsters was sliced to pieces and died; as one of the few team members with large-scale psychic abilities, Xiaoqing, Ningjing, and others never stopped guarding him, and the monsters—including countless winged fiends above—seemed to share a consensus, concentrating their attacks on Bai.

Similarly, Kiki and Fire Brother, one in the sky and one underground, faced overwhelming waves of monsters at all times.

Beneath Lu Xingchen's blazing aura, his eyes snapped open to see grotesque snow wraiths and snow demons lunging at him with gaping maws, Exin limbs studded with barbs, and jets of green blood!

"The more I kill, the stronger I grow—dare you be so arrogant!!"

Fire Brother's battle fury surged; he unleashed his full flame aura and charged forward.

"Fire Fist!"

Boom!

A colossal fire fist erupted, surging with roaring flames and carving a charred, burning path that melted snow and countless snow wraiths alike.

"Hold the line!" Shi Di burst out of a horde like a tiger, his voice hoarse:

"Prepare ammunition!"

"Here they come!"

Boom boom boom.

A tidal wave of monsters surged from all directions toward the freight rail station; at this moment, all melee fighters pulled back, and the arc-pulse string emitters on the outer armor of Longshan No. 1 and Infinity began charging.

Ziiii!

On the train's side armor, white-hot plasma sparks erupted violently!

The ultra-high-voltage discharge field emitted a piercing, air-piercing shriek—instantly vaporizing all snow wraiths swarming the flanks, turning them into charred, smoldering stench, their shattered limbs and charred chunks raining down.

"Lin Xian, they're coming from behind too."

Chen Sixuan's voice came over the comms; Lin Xian turned and saw dark shadows surging toward them from within the city—the ground itself trembled.

"Don't panic—we can hold!"

Without delay, Lin Xian shouted over the convoy channel: "Contract defenses! Clear weapons! Melee units stay on the convoy perimeter and rooftops—do not go outside!"

"Got it!"

"Understood!!"

Tap-tap-tap!!

On the running camp's armored vehicle, Li Yi rained down rapid-fire cannon fire into the horde, shouting over comms to Liang Lei: "Lei Zi! Listen to Team Leader Lin—get back here!!!"

"Yeah!"

Clang! Clang! Clang.

Liang Lei, engulfed in monsters, his body pierced by countless claws and tail spines sparking with impacts, ignored his torn clothes, roared, blasted away several snow wraiths, and sprinted frantically back through the horde; at that moment, Luo Yang's energy shot, Chen Sixuan's Meteor-3 sniper rifle, and Lu Chang's spinning blades struck simultaneously, obliterating the snow demons chasing him—Big Building reached out, grabbed Liang Lei, and hauled him onto the train's roof.

Ziiii!

Instantly, the train's side armor erupted again with plasma sparks, vaporizing and incinerating the monsters chasing from behind.

"Someone's injured!"

Kiki blasted a shockwave, rescuing Li Guangwen and Liao Ming from the horde and using telekinesis to send them toward the train.

Xiao Yuan and the others, covering with guns, rushed over to catch them.

Seeing their horrific wounds, blood gushing profusely, Xiao Yuan immediately ordered: "Quick—get them into the med bay!"

"Weapons online!"

Doo!!

The two 1130s roared again; under a torrent of metal streams, the entire left flank was swept clean in moments, granting a brief breath.

"Hold!"

"Kiki, Fire Brother—move!"

"Coming!"

"The Master arrives!"

Boom boom boom boom boom!

The entire freight rail station, kilometers wide, had become a furnace—ground burning, apartment buildings collapsing, blizzards howling endlessly, mingled with the shrieks of snow wraiths echoing across the heavens.

Northern city.

Here, firepower focused mainly beyond the high walls; inside the city, winged demons fluttered in the air; dozens of Doomsday Trains on the platform fired their lines skyward, illuminating the dark thunderclouds.

01: 0

Along the outer highways, the Keyan Force convoy sped forward.

"Casualties are escalating—this assault scale is a hundred times greater than before; if this continues, collapse is only a matter of time!!"

"Strategic support units have been deployed; the outer defenses still hold, but the monsters inside the city are too numerous!"

"We've identified seven sinkhole tunnels—southern district is about to break…"

"The southern boulevard defense has fallen—Torch Alliance is retreating!!"

Inside the carriage, constant bad news over the command channel weighed heavily on the researchers' faces.

They were discussing plans and feasibility for aerial observation experiments using flyers.

"Teacher, I know the success rate is low, but we have no better option now."

As they debated, Wei Kexue anxiously spoke with Guo Sicheng on his bed: "If we deploy decoy units within a viable distance…"

"Naive! Professor Ding's research data showed no feedback distance exceeded 500 meters; even allowing for variation, how can a flyer precisely control such a short distance to handle an S-class anomaly?"

Guo Sicheng cursed over the comms: "Reaction, calculation, capture—all require time; this risky plan has less than a 5% success rate!"

Drip.

Wei Kexue shut off the comms, scanned his colleagues in urgent discussion; the command channel continued adding new casualty figures.

"We need at least ten flyers, each taking samples—that'll increase success rate," an elderly researcher said.

"That's plenty—we've got more than ten people!"

"But we only have one ultra-pure germanium detector—what if it breaks???" Yu Yu heng frowned tightly.

"I have a plan," Wei Kexue said, walking over after ending his call with Guo Sicheng, serious: "Use the aerial relay control system for remote operation—one flyer carries the ultra-pure germanium detector and the calamity plant, another observation flyer we program with a calculation formula and reaction module to simulate human signals—wouldn't that eliminate the need for humans to go up?"

At this, everyone froze in shock.

"This… could it work?"

"Theoretically, it should."

"It's a safe method—most importantly, it allows repeated testing; keep the calamity flyer at a distance, and even if the observation flyer crashes, we can repeat the experiment."

"Good! Do it!"

With approval, Wei Kexue regained energy and immediately contacted Xiao He up front.

"Xiao He, head to Xilan Airport immediately—we have a new plan; the medical team can also be stationed there to treat Professor Ding as soon as possible!!"

Twenty minutes later, the research convoy sped into Xilan Airport.

"The seismic waves haven't stopped—we can't stay here long!" Xiao He stopped the vehicle and shouted to Wei Kexue and the others disembarking.

"Disperse the team—those monsters are clearly drawn to something—it must be the Hell Black Chrysanthemum!"

"Send someone to carry the ultra-pure germanium detector down!"

On the empty tarmac, several people stepped out into the snowstorm; Yu Yu heng immediately told Xiao He: "Quick—get the medical team over here."

Yu Yu heng carried Ding Junyi down; over a dozen braved the cold wind toward a nearby combat center, turning back to call to Wei Kexue: "Professor Wei, I read Professor Guo's 'Axion-Mediated Cross-Dimensional Biological Perception'—if we need proximity…"

"It's possible!"

Wei Kexue cut him off against the wind: "I just spoke with the teacher—the success rate is low, but we can try multiple times."

Yu Yu heng opened his mouth, then swallowed his words.

In the howling wind, Xiao He and the Investigative Corps soldiers followed behind, saying to them: "I've consulted Commander He—there are only two Tongxing flyers here; for aerial observation, we have no escort or cover—so I must go with you."

"I'll go too," Night Walker Jing said.

"No need—there's no room for that many."

"Fang Chen!" Jing Tian called over a young man to Xiao He: "He's a flight psychic—he can solve critical problems."

"None of you need to go!"

Wei Kexue shouted to the two: "We've already designed a plan—no one needs to go up!"

"Really?"

"Then…"

"First, urgently treat Professor Ding. She appears to have been struck by some kind of energy attack from a calamity plant—possibly related to the anomalous entities."

"The medical team is already on standby."

Whooosh! Whooosh! Whooosh!!

The biting wind howled so fiercely that voices were nearly inaudible.

Xiao He pressed his earpiece, frowning slightly: "Just received word—Professor Guo and his team are also on their way."

"But his injuries aren't even healed yet—why come now?" Wei Kexue exclaimed.

"He heard you're doing an aerial survey and insisted on coming," Xiao He sighed.

Wei Kexue's expression changed. He glanced at Yu Yuheng: "Group Leader Yu, take Professor Ding inside first. I'll lead the team to install measurement instruments on the aircraft—make sure they handle the ultra-pure germanium detector with extreme care!"

"Got it!"

Since most aerial combat units had already taken off to engage the enemy, the entire airfield was left with only small aircraft like the Tongxing, lacking strong firepower.

At the airfield combat center, medical staff conducted a thorough physical examination of Ding Junyi.

"Her brainwave patterns are extremely chaotic, but all her bodily functions remain stable. We suspect this may be linked to some kind of ability."

A doctor in protective gear spoke to Xiao He inside the bright, Jianyi combat hall.

"Ability?"

"Yes. The Nightwalkers organization once had a similar case. We can't confirm it yet, but the situation doesn't look bad—she should wake up soon."

Xiao He nodded, finally hearing some good news.

In the airfield's backup hangar, after Wei Kexue's team installed the detector, he frantically typed commands and formulas into his computer.

"Professor Wei, it's done. I'll go notify Captain Xiao and the others," a colleague from the research team wiped sweat from his brow.

"No need—I haven't finished yet," Wei Kexue said urgently, his glasses reflecting a flood of flashing code. "Go ahead and check on Professor Ding. Also, Professor Guo is arriving soon—he's injured. Go meet him."

"Understood."

No sooner had they left than Wei Kexue looked up, watching their retreating figures, then nervously swallowed and, unseen, shut down his computer and climbed the boarding ladder onto the aircraft.

But as soon as he climbed aboard, a hoarse voice came from behind.

"When I was in university, I studied mechanical and information engineering. Now I'm head of the Technology Group in the Emperor Team. Though the Tongxing aircraft can be automated, there's no way to solve the nighttime information relay problem in such a short time."

A slumped figure stepped out from the shadows in the corner.

Yu Yuheng adjusted his glasses and looked at Wei Kexue: "We've never tested human signal transmission. This plan had low success odds to begin with. The best option is to make ourselves the experimental subjects—fly up and draw the S-class anomalous entity's attention, then observe."

"But Professor Wei, you ignored one problem: the ultra-pure germanium detector's calculations won't finish quickly. Even if you die, the results may never come out."

Wei Kexue stood on the boarding ladder, stunned. He looked at Yu Yuheng, his face darkening, lips trembling: "But I have no better option…"

"There is."

Yu Yuheng pulled a computer from his backpack and walked toward another aircraft: "Two computing modules. With someone providing cover, our chances increase."

"Group Leader Yu!" Wei Kexue's eyes widened.

"Don't argue. Let's go. If that thing draws the worm here, we won't get another chance." Yu Yuheng firmly boarded the second Tongxing aircraft, closed the auto-cabin, and initiated the main flight control program.

Wei Kexue froze, exhaled deeply, then climbed into the cockpit.

The free-flight wing lights on both aircraft ignited simultaneously.

Vrrrrm~

At that moment, several heavy military vehicles rolled into Xilan Airfield, stopping outside the command center. Medical staff and soldiers jointly carried the injured Guo Sicheng inside, accompanied by several elderly researchers.

Guo Lao's face was urgent. He strode in three steps at a time and immediately shouted: "How could you even think of this? The ultra-pure germanium detector relies on WIMP-nucleus collisions to generate signals. Applying this to biological samples—especially living cell membranes—requires extreme sensitivity and resolution while avoiding damage. It must be tested on live subjects. Remote operation? Human signal transmission? This is madness!?"

"He heard you were doing an aerial experiment and insisted on coming personally," a guard officer saluted Xiao He, then said helplessly: "We've already requested permission from the commander."

Xiao He nodded and looked at the weary old men: "Professor Guo, what did you mean just now?"

"We've spent years testing precisely to detect dark marks on the human body. Talking about unmanned tests? This is a joke! Wei Kexue must've lost his mind," Professor Zhang, beside Guo Lao, said, gesturing wildly at the snowstorm.

"Ah, this…"

"Professor Wei said he consulted you and that you approved the plan," a female researcher from the convoy looked at Guo Lao, confused.

"Approved? When did I ever approve?! Such critical calamity plants and detectors can't be tested without live subjects! If they're damaged, how can we face the soldiers on the front lines?! Where is Wei Kexue?!"

Xiao He's face darkened. As a soldier, he didn't understand the science—but Guo Lao's reaction made him uneasy. He immediately turned to the research team.

"Where's Professor Wei? Where's Group Leader Yu?"

Jing Tian of the Nightwalkers also looked around, suspicious.

"Professor Wei is still deploying the computing modules," several researchers said, walking over from the hangar.

But before they finished speaking, two powerful engine roars echoed from afar. At the sound, Xiao He and Jing Tian's faces turned pale.

Whoosh! The young ability user Fang Chen immediately spread his wings and shot into the sky. Moments later, a voice crackled over the comms.

"Two Tongxing aircraft have taken off!"

"No good!!" Xiao He immediately pressed his comm: "Professor Wei!"

"Kakak…"

Wei Kexue's voice came through: "Captain Xiao, I'm sorry—I couldn't explain properly due to the emergency. Yu Group Leader and I have already taken off to capture the target. Please look after Professor Ding and Professor Guo."

"What?! They went up together?!"

"This…"

"Damn it," Jing Tian's face darkened. Two unarmed scientists facing an S-class anomalous entity? He couldn't imagine any chance of survival.

Guo Sicheng snapped back to reality, his face turning ashen. He roared into the comm: "Wei Kexue, come back immediately! The ultra-pure germanium detector's capture sequence is extremely narrow—it requires precise distance control. This won't work… it simply won't work!"

"But there's still a 5% chance, right?"

Wei Kexue's voice echoed through the frequency. Everyone froze.

The command center fell utterly silent—only Wei Kexue's voice remained.

"Teacher, I remember when I took your first class—you told us about Röntgen's 1895 discovery of X-rays, when he accidentally found unknown rays penetrating black paper and making a fluorescent screen glow. That probability was about 0. 1%. You told us then, seriously: science is like this—even when the odds are minuscule, even when you don't know if the path ahead is right, someone still presses forward. With a 5% chance, I believe… if it were you, you'd make the same choice."

!

Guo Sicheng opened his mouth, frozen. He turned to look out the command center window at the pitch-black sky. His steady hands now trembled slightly.

After a long silence, he finally spoke: "That damn kid… remember to adjust the neutrino signal transmission frequency."

"Understood, Teacher." With Guo Lao's approval, Wei Kexue's voice brightened.

"Professor Guo…" Professor Zhang beside him looked at him with complex emotion. As a longtime colleague, he saw the resolve in the eyes of the man who had just been cursing Wei Kexue on the way here.

Guo Lao raised his hand, turning to the research team: "What are you all standing around for? The young ones are risking their lives up there—we old bones can't just sit idle. Track the data, prepare the measurements."

"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison.

He then turned to Xiao He: "Captain Xiao, have everyone move all the instruments here. We'll work right here."

Xiao He looked at the group of scientists, a deep respect rising in his heart. He turned sharply to his men and barked: "Everyone—move! Transport the equipment, guard the airfield access—no insect, not even a single mosquito, gets through!"

"Yes!"

…

Boom! Boom! Boom! Thud! Thud! Thud!!

High above, the blizzard howled. Two Tongxing aircraft soared like twin blue meteors, climbing straight into the sky.

Through the cockpit windows, Wei Kexue and Yu Yuheng saw Xilan City below—sky lit by artillery, countless convoys swallowed by monsters and flame, fighter jets crashing. Their expressions turned grim.

"Professor Wei."

Yu Yuheng was tense, adjusting his glasses nervously over the intercom: "We're screwed. We didn't even think about how to find the monster."

"No need to think," Wei Kexue looked up at the storm-lit sky, took a deep breath: "We're carrying the calamity plant. I think it'll notice us."

"Then… we only get one shot."

Wei Kexue glanced at the hell-black chrysanthemum in the cultivation chamber—pitch black, no glow at all.

The computing system was now linked to the light-sensitive sensor attached to the hell-black chrysanthemum. The moment it glowed, the ultra-pure germanium detector on Yu Yuheng's aircraft would capture energy fluctuations within nanoseconds—and the particles detected would yield the final experimental result.

"Professor Wei, honestly—I never thought I'd be flying an aircraft to hunt an S-class anomalous entity," Yu Yuheng let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I did once—but it was a team project. I was just a supporting researcher."

"Same here…"

Wei Kexue replied: "I once joined a rescue mission. I saw a jellyfish as big as a mountain—the S-class Sky Jellyfish. That's when I met Team Leader Lin."

"I heard about that mass evacuation—pulling tens of thousands into the sky. Sounds insane," Yu Yuheng said.

Wei Kexue's eyes flickered: "That mission got a Level 5 mark too. Even though we succeeded, we lost heavily. By the time we reached the Wei River, the whole team was gone…"

For a moment, Wei Kexue remembered many familiar faces.

"You think… what kind of monster is this one in Xilan City?"

"Jellyfish? Shark? Hah—doesn't matter. It's not anything nice," Wei Kexue laughed.

Yu Yuheng smiled too, then quickly grew serious. He whispered: "Professor Wei… I'm really nervous."

"Me too," Wei Kexue said, looking at his trembling hands.

"Someone once called me a bookworm. I know what I am—I just wanted to stay in the lab, protected, even in the apocalypse, safer…"

"It's fine. I don't think 'bookworm' is an insult."

"Then… if we succeed, will we be heroes?"

Wei Kexue stared out at the stormy sky and sighed: "Maybe… we will."

Whooosh~

The two aircraft flew above the clouds, far from the sound of artillery. Fog obscured the windows. Wei Kexue and Yu Yuheng could only communicate via radio. Their aircraft kept trying to reconnect with ground stations—but as altitude rose, communication had long been lost.

Their expressions grew heavier as they vigilantly monitored every shift in the surrounding airspace.

Aside from the howling vibration of the aircraft, it was eerily silent.

Beep.

At that moment, the radars on both aircraft flickered once, then vanished.

This sudden change instantly tightened their hearts.

"Professor Wei, did you notice that?"

"Yes, the radar just lit up."

Beep.

Just as the two were puzzled, the radar lit up again.

This time, Wei Kexue specifically paid attention—he noticed the radar didn't flash a single red dot, but turned entirely red, as if a transparent red film had briefly covered it.

He couldn't help but adjust his glasses and lean closer.

"What's going on? Is the radar malfunctioning?"

Zzzzz…

At that moment, all communication systems on the aircraft suddenly erupted with intense electrical static, and at the same time, both Wei Kexue and Yu Yuheng felt the aircraft's propulsion stall for an instant, plummeting hundreds of meters like a free-falling object.

"Ahh!! What's happening?!" Wei Kexue yanked hard on the controls; luckily, the aircraft stabilized quickly.

At that moment, the aircraft had just emerged from a layer of clouds, and their view opened up considerably.

Beep-beep-beep—the aircraft issued an alarm.

As Wei Kexue was looking down at the alarm information on the flight instruments, his headset suddenly erupted with Yu Yuheng's shout.

"Professor Wei, it's above us!!!"

…

Boom-boom-boom!

At 2: 5 a. ., the night battle had lasted nearly eight hours; flames lit up the entire Xilan City, streets littered with snow fiends and human corpses, the blizzard beneath the dark sky intensified, and the air reeked of fear and death.

Thud!

At that moment, a thunderclap rang out from the heavens—not an ordinary thunderclap, but like some colossal starburst, instantly sweeping across the stormy sky, a flash of white light blotting out the entire Xilan City district in an instant.

"What was that?!"

"Did something explode in the sky?"

"What weapon was that?"

"Look, those monsters!!"

"What's going on?!"

As the white light flashed, all snow fiends, snow demons, and winged demons beneath the night sky let out piercing shrieks; the previously frenzied hordes began retreating wildly, the strange aerial entities darted off into the sky, and the ground swarms fled en masse into the snowdrifts and sinkholes.

This bizarre scene caught every surviving defender and Investigator Corps soldier in the midst of life-or-death resistance completely off guard.

On the northern city wall defense line, He Zhen watched the horde retreat like a receding tide into darkness; beneath the wall, a mountain of corpses had piled up several meters high. His pupils narrowed, and he immediately grabbed his communicator.

"Zhang Chengzhi, send out two reconnaissance teams immediately to check the situation."

"Yes."

"This is He Zhen. The horde has retreated entirely from the north line. Lao Zhao, how's your side…"

On the eastern city wall, the Gatling cannons of the mecha legion fell silent, their barrels steaming with heat; the horde in the valley had vanished entirely. Zhao Yu looked up at the sky—the monsters harassing the Invincible-class units were gone too. He spoke over the comms.

"The horde has retreated from the east too. Wen Zhuo, what's the situation inside the city?"

Above the Michel Cathedral, Wen Zhuo hovered in midair, hundreds of massive metal girders and armor fragments spinning around him like a storm; the square was piled high with corpses. Dozens of Nightwalkers occupied every corner of Zhongyangdajie—some in alleyways, some on rooftops, some in the street center, some in parks—all drenched in blood and mud, eyes bloodshot from killing.

Even Zhou Wuer, Pengpeng, and dozens of other Nightwalkers from the Postal Team stood atop a pile of snow fiend corpses, staring at the retreating horde with unreadable expressions.

"Director Zhao, all hordes near Zhongyangdajie just retreated—very strange. It might be connected to that massive sound."

Meanwhile, Han Jun from the North Pole Wind Alliance in the northeast, Qian Dele in the north, Qin Xueming, Zhang Tianfang, and Chen Xiao in the south all reported over the command channel that the hordes had retreated.

On the western city's container rail platform, outside the United Train camp, mountains of corpses and blood covered the ground; not a speck of snow remained in the minefield—only smoke and the stench of charred corpses filled the air.

Thousands of people panted wildly, staring in disbelief at the retreating hordes.

"They ran?"

"Did we drive them off?!"

"We won!!"

"Oh my God, we survived!!"

"That's great."

"Unbelievable…"

Suddenly, cheers and shouts erupted across the convoy.

On Lin Xian's side, Kiki, Huo Ge, Shu Qin, Chen Sixuan, and others arrived, joining Shi Diyuan, Ningjing from Fengshan No. 1, and Wu Shu, Luo Yang, Li Yi, and Shen Yao from the United Convoy.

"What's going on?!"

"The hordes retreated from the west too," Lin Xian reported over the command channel using the Phoenix Command.

Shi Diyuan's face grew grim. "Just got word—it's not just us. The hordes have retreated everywhere."

"Did we drive them off?" Ningjing frowned.

"I don't know," Lin Xian panted, his gaze sweeping over the battered battlefield. "Something definitely happened."

"Quick, clear the battlefield!"

It was still night. Whatever the situation, now that they had breathing room, Lin Xian's first instinct was to replenish ammunition and prepare for another possible attack.

The sudden halt in assault left everyone in the city stunned.

Thirty minutes later, as Lin Xian was manufacturing and replenishing ammunition, a voice suddenly crackled over the communicator.

"Captain Lin, Captain Shi, this is Xiao He of the Seventh Investigator Corps. We're heading toward Fenglan Mountain. A research team's aircraft crashed—the exact location is unclear. Can you send someone to assist in the search?"

"Aircraft crash?" Lin Xian frowned. At that moment, Ding Junyi's voice suddenly rang out.

"Lin Xian, Wei Kexue and Yu Yuheng flew their aircraft to make close contact with an S-class anomaly. Their signal is lost. I sensed the approximate location through Hell Chrysanthemum—I'm sending you the coordinates. We're on our way!"

Lin Xian's expression darkened. Close contact with an S-class anomaly?

He felt a creeping unease, and immediately called out to Shi Diyuan: "Brother Shi, something's happened on the mountain. I'm going first. You handle this."

"What's going on?" Shi Diyuan looked bewildered—but Lin Xian had already called for Kiki, and the two shot off toward Fenglan Mountain.

Vvvvv~

Several aircraft were now speeding from the northern airport toward them. Onboard, Ding Junyi's face was pale, her eyes deep with a chilling, profound fear—something beyond her usual indifference to death. Her chest heaved as she struggled to maintain rational clarity.

Beside her, Xiao He watched her face and said gravely: "Professor Ding, are you certain it's this direction? The aircraft signal vanished toward the east."

"It's this way."

Ding Junyi offered no further explanation. Meanwhile, the Nightwalker team arrived behind them.

Xiao He nodded, asking no further questions, and whispered into his communicator: "Search according to the terrain analysis provided by Director Ding. They should be on the northwest slope of Fenglan Mountain. Watch for distress signals."

In the darkness, aircraft communication range was under three kilometers; the entire city relied on the Phoenix Society's relay system. But the western region was sparsely populated, with sparse coverage near Fenglan Mountain—they could only search by scattering and circling to locate Wei Kexue and Yu Yuheng.

Meanwhile, Lin Xian and Kiki had already flown up Fenglan Mountain. This two-thousand-meter range was steep and rocky, its black peaks piercing the clouds. Most of the snow on its slopes had collapsed and slid away during the earlier fiend tide, leaving bare, barren rock.

After crossing a mountain pass, they reached the northwest face of Fenglan Mountain. Howling winds tore through, and deep gorges vanished into darkness. Through the night blizzard, only blurred silhouettes stretched before them.

"What happened? Why did Wei Kexue's aircraft crash here?" Kiki activated her psychic shield to block the wind as they flew, asking.

Lin Xian shook his head. "I don't know. But I suspect it's connected to the horde's retreat."

Kiki looked at him in surprise but said nothing. Both searched carefully.

Suddenly, Lin Xian's powered armor's electro-optical targeting system detected something—the targeting reticle focused ahead. He followed its direction and saw, far off on a slope, a tiny red glow flickering faintly.

"There!"

Without hesitation, they flew toward it.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh~

As they descended from the air, wind speeds increased dramatically, howling like a monstrous roar. As they drew closer, they saw it—a crashed aircraft resting on a plateau, its engine blazing fiercely, its wings shattered and buried in the snow, leaving a hundred-meter-long skid mark.

"Found it. Send a signal."

"Got it!" Kiki nodded, channeling her psychic energy to launch one of Lin Xian's signal poles into the sky.

Then Lin Xian and Kiki flew over—and saw a figure frantically digging through the snow, pouring it onto the aircraft as if trying to extinguish the fire.

Closer inspection revealed it was Yu Yuheng.

"Group Leader Yu!!"

Yu Yuheng, still frantically digging, thought he'd heard wrong. He spun around—and saw Lin Xian and Kiki flying toward him. His eyes widened, his hands froze, and his mouth opened but no words came out.

"Kiki, put out the fire!!"

Vvvvv!

A psychic wave from Kiki instantly snuffed out the flames, leaving only endless black smoke billowing.

"Captain Lin!" Yu Yuheng finally spoke, scrambling toward Lin Xian on his hands and knees, pointing behind him.

"Quick, help me retrieve the ultra-pure germanium detector—we found it, we found it, we found the Dark Mark!"

Yu Yuheng's face was streaked with blood, his lips cracked from frost, his expression frantic, hysterical—whether from anxiety or terror, he screamed at them:

"It was that monster that triggered the horde. It's the one that emitted the Level-5 Mark. We were all wrong. No, no, Professor Wei, Professor Ding—we were right…"

"It's waiting. It's observing. It's leading us. It won't show itself—because it's a…"

"Scout!"

Boom-boom-boom!!

Above Fenglan Mountain, a frigid vortex churned, thunder cracked, and the stormy sky flickered in and out like a cosmic devouring beast.

Both Lin Xian and Kiki felt a chill run through their entire bodies.

In the pitch-black mountain peaks and deep valleys, the howling blizzard sounded like a low chant of lament from hell!

(End of chapter)