Chapter 350: Gazing at the Moon, Shinji (10K, Requesting Double Moon Tickets!)

"Red Person Ghoul?"

"No! They're human!"

Upon hearing this, the short-haired woman flipped midair; her powered armor's arms and feet activated micro-thrusters, executing a sharp angular turn to shoot straight toward Grace, who was about to be engulfed by debris.

"I'll handle this one first, Long Zhijie—stop them!"

"Understood." The hooded man spoke in a low tone, spun midair, and swept his hands outward—immediately, bricks, stones, metal, cars, and lampposts from the surrounding streets rose into the air, spinning into sharp, uneven projectiles that hovered horizontally before him, radiating formidable energy.

"Don't let your guard down—I sense a powerful Soul-Resonance fluctuation!" The girl named Shi Zhi stood in the center, each hand releasing a pale green energy wave that connected to Long Zhijie and Tianye Lan, instantly amplifying their aura as if resisting the encroaching darkness.

Scrape.

At that moment, Long Zhijie also sensed an unusual presence speeding toward him from down the street; his eyes narrowed slightly, and his red katana automatically unsheathed, hovering beside him.

Suddenly, a crimson flame erupted high above, instantly expanding from a tiny point into a massive fireball a hundred meters in diameter, nearly illuminating the entire street above, roaring straight toward Long Zhijie.

"Fire Fist!"

"Fire-based ability?" Long Zhijie thrust both hands forward; all the sharp projectiles before him shot out at once, while simultaneously he unleashed an invisible shockwave upward.

BOOM!

The flames exploded against the shockwave, blazing brightly as searing heat radiated downward across the square.

Long Zhijie's shockwave met immense impact force; he frowned slightly—the fire's intensity exceeded his expectations—but the sharp projectiles, wrapped in his power, did not melt; instead, they pierced straight through the flames toward the target above.

Before Long Zhijie could confirm whether he'd hit the fire-user, he immediately sensed he'd been locked onto.

THUD!

A muffled sniper shot rang out; countless stones and steel fragments instantly fused into a massive wall before Long Zhijie—but the 12. mm armor-piercing round pierced through the defense instantly, arriving at his face.

Long Zhijie's eyes glowed with psychic energy; ZZZZZ, his immense control force forcibly halted the deformed bullet mere centimeters from his face.

At the same time, behind her, two female figures appeared—one charging toward her, the other toward Shi Zhi in the center.

Ningjing and Xiaoqing!

"Xun! Support Shi Zhi!" Lan barked coldly, then spun to face her enemy and punched straight at Ningjing.

THUD!

Their fists collided; a violent sonic boom erupted, the ground beneath Lan's feet instantly collapsed, shards of stone exploding outward. The opponent's overwhelming strength startled her—had it not been for her armor's special material and powerful electromagnetic joints, she would have been thrown back; yet the armor on the opponent's hands had already shattered, revealing she was fighting purely with raw physical strength—Tianye Lan had never imagined someone could surpass her in pure power!

Meanwhile, Xiaoqing swung on a grappling hook toward Shi Zhi—only for a silver-black heavy assault mech to suddenly burst from the cracked ground, swinging a high-frequency electric axe straight at her.

The mech stood over two meters tall, heavily armored, radiating explosive power.

Xiaoqing blocked with her blade; two gunshots slammed into the black mech's body, then she flipped backward. The surprise mech lunged forward two steps, preparing to grab Xiaoqing—when suddenly, a dark red laser beam shot from behind her, striking the mech's chest head-on; the mech's surface erupted in high-frequency vibrations, blocking the impact for an instant, then it whirled around—the laser had scorched a red line across its arm.

On the other side, Grace, having broken free from Long Zhijie's control, immediately prepared to attack Tianye Lan—but as she moved, her radar system detected danger from the shadows behind; she spun around, and another heavy mech burst forth, seizing her head and dragging her along a building wall, sparks flying everywhere.

But Grace suffered no damage; during the impact, she twisted her waist, wrapped her legs around the mech's arm, clutched it tightly, and wrenched hard—immediately snapping one of its right-arm bearing joints. The mech sensed the anomaly and activated its right-arm ultra-high-pressure electric hammer—ZZZZT! Blue sparks erupted, blasting Grace away.

On a high-rise balcony far away, a slender boy wore a full-holographic interface, controlling two heavy mechs in battle; beside him stood a smaller mech.

"Incredible… they don't seem like people from the Crimson World…" he murmured, intensely operating the mechs.

On the battlefield, Tianye Lan now sensed the opponent's overwhelming offensive; she immediately released Ningjing's force, spun around, and prepared to eliminate Grace together with the heavy mech before retreating.

"Xun, protect Shi Zhi—I'll take out that AI first!"

Strangely, everyone—including Tianye Lan—treated Grace as the core target; she sidestepped Ningjing's punch, then shot forward toward Grace, the heavy mech joining in a pincer attack—but instantly, she sensed a high-speed figure approaching; in an instant, a golden flash appeared before her, a foot kicking straight for her chest!

Qian Dele!

He was the fastest, aiming to eliminate the rear threat—but the masked woman was no slower; midair, she raised her hand and blocked his kick, then performed a backward flip, and in the same motion, a short knife flew toward Qian Dele's face.

Qian Dele stood still, watching the short knife glide through the air like slow motion, his eyes filled with deep meaning.

First, this woman's speed and skill were exceptional—blocking his kick with one hand alone proved her physical strength and armor material were extraordinary. Qian Dele tilted his head slightly, studying the knife as it passed before his face.

"Rikisha?"

Rikisha—also called small tachi—is a weapon from Nihonzhou; the Wangyue Consortium and Silent City both originated from Nihonzhou, under Dragon Nation.

"Everyone, they might be from Silent City!"

Qian Dele immediately shared his assessment—just then, the short-haired woman launched a burst-step straight at him, moving faster than a blur.

Qian Dele was about to dodge—but suddenly, the ground's soil and stones surged like living things, gripping his feet!

Telekinesis?

The opponent's squad clearly coordinated flawlessly—in an instant, they had formed a lethal trap around Qian Dele.

But as the short-haired woman's fist neared Qian Dele's face, her pupils suddenly widened; she forcibly redirected all her power, jerking backward half a meter.

SHHHH!

An invisible sonic blade sliced vertically through the air before Qian Dele's face, cleanly cutting a narrow groove through a row of cars and the ground.

Lan's gaze snapped sideways—she saw a woman in rose-colored powered armor standing atop a distant rooftop; the invisible cutting technique had sent a jolt through her nerves—she immediately retreated and locked onto Mo Nika's position with her armor.

Meanwhile, Long Zhijie, sensing a sniper, seized cars and concrete from the ground, spinning them rapidly into a powerful barrier beside him; at the same time, he noticed Mo Nika and Chen Sixuan's positions—his eyes hardened, and he raised both hands, unleashing a massive shockwave meant to blast Mo Nika, Chen Sixuan, and the entire battlefield away.

BOOM!

The shockwave erupted violently across the sunken square, radiating outward like a blast wave—but just as it was about to engulf all surrounding buildings, Long Zhijie suddenly realized his shockwave was being suppressed by an invisible force, then forcibly compressed back toward him!

High above, Kiki hovered in midair, her eyes glowing brilliantly; she clenched her fists and forcibly suppressed the shockwave's expansion, crushing it back!

Beside her, Lu Xingchen flew with a ball of fire in one hand, not attacking, merely waiting.

"Strange… so many psychics."

On the distant balcony, the mech operator spoke lazily but with seriousness, reporting while monitoring all surveillance units.

"Long Zhijie is also suppressed, Shinji—something's off here."

"Xun, you're being targeted." The small mech beside the boy spoke.

"Huh?"

【ALERT: UNKNOWN TARGET APPROACHING】

At that moment, the youth named Xun realized his mech was continuously issuing alerts—but the mech itself stood frozen in place.

【ALERT: MOTION MODULE OFFLINE. WEAPON SYSTEM OFFLINE…】

Xun now sensed something was wrong; he abandoned his casual demeanor, pressed his chest—and a lightweight nanosuit instantly enveloped him.

But before he could sync with his team, dozens of spherical drones slowly descended from the sky, their eye-like pulse emitters focusing and locking onto him completely.

"Oh, shit!" Xun muttered.

On the rooftop above, Lin Xian wore the Black Hawk battle armor, one hand controlling the powered mech's power source, the other controlling Lei Sun drones, his gaze sharp as he observed the opponent's movements.

Qianxiu Xun didn't turn around; hearing the voice, he slowly raised his hands: "You're not killing me outright… let me guess…"

"No need to guess, Xun."

At that moment, the mech controlled by Lin Xian emitted an external voice—clear as a boy's, yet carrying a mature, cold calmness.

"You're not from the Crimson World, right? Didn't you notice your ACS core is online, but all motion and weapon modules are being controlled by some force? Wow, the guy behind you must be Lin Xian, right? Hello, Lin Xian. Nice to meet you. This is a misunderstanding. No one's hurt yet—why don't we all stop, and while we still have this brief window of safety, we… uh, talk? Or I've got some nice tea—oh, coffee too, though I don't like black coffee."

Lin Xian stared at the mech emitting the voice: "Wangyue Shinji?"

"Yes, hello hello~! I've heard of you—I'm very interested. Mechanical psychic ability? Amazing! A few hours ago, we spotted that Crimson robot. My team didn't know it was yours, so I apologize for this conflict."

"Uh, honestly, I didn't expect this either—oh, I mean, meeting you this way. Your friend Mr. Hu told me a lot about you, but I'm not fond of that lying guy—he talks too much."

Lin Xian frowned—he realized Wangyue Shinji was communicating remotely from a secure location; what surprised him was that Hu Lushou had been rescued by Wangyue Shinji…

"Everyone, stand down."

Lin Xian said through his comm.

Instantly, upon receiving the order, the fighting across the square ceased; Xiaoqing, Grace, Qian Dele, Ningjing, and others broke off combat and retreated; Tianye Lan stood with the two mechs in front of Shi Zhi, alert.

The shockwave dissipated into the air; Long Zhijie landed slowly, his gaze sharp as he stared at Kiki and Lu Xingchen, who descended beside him—the air between them crackled with tension.

Mo Nika, Chen Sixuan, Bai Bai, and others emerged from afar.

"Kiki, this person's ability seems like yours?" Chen Sixuan walked beside Kiki, whispering.

"Kind of…" Kiki frowned; the opponent's remote object control was identical to hers.

Tianye Lan stared at the group, her eyes flickering; Shi Zhi in the center looked even more astonished—her expression suggested she hadn't expected strangers to possess such power, capable of directly challenging Long Zhijie.

Then, the two heavy mechs suddenly transmitted Wangyue Shinji's voice.

"Hmm… probably different. Long Zhijie's ability is non-organic matter control within a field; Kiki's is telekinesis. Similar functions, but distinct. Still, none of that matters now—the commotion must've drawn the Red Person Ghoul. I suggest you return quickly. Oh, Shi Zhi—did they get marked by the Darkness?"

"N-no…" Shi Zhi glanced at the powerful strangers and replied softly.

"OK, bring them back. They've got the same troubles we do."

Wangyue Shinji's voice came again, adding:

"Of course—if they're willing…"

Far away, Lin Xian descended from the drone; the youth named Qianxiu Xun arrived on the square with his mech.

"Captain Lin," Ningjing said over comms: "They're from Silent City. The mech operator is Qianxiu Xun—we saw him during the Dragon Mountain No. all-terrain drive upgrade. He's in charge of Tech City in Silent City."

Not just Ningjing—others were also confused. After the Mother Nest vanished, Grace was suddenly attacked; scanning data confirmed the opponents were human—so Lin Xian led his team into battle without hesitation.

These opponents' formidable strength made Lin Xian's reconnaissance team immediately assume they were a Crimson World-style descent faction.

"Lin Xian," Chen Sixuan looked at him, seeking his judgment.

Lin Xian took a deep breath; seeing Silent City's forces, he realized his original plan might need adjustment.

"Let's go. Mr. Hu was saved by them."

"Silent City?"

"No—somewhere else."

In Silent City, Qianxiu Xun led the team; Lin Xian noticed the city was littered with information relay devices and surveillance equipment—all Wangyue Shinji's work.

Qianxiu Xun scanned the group and said: "Time's short. I suggest we move before the Red Person Ghoul finds us."

He turned to Shi Zhi: "Shi Zhi, filter them."

Shi Zhi nodded, stepped forward, and said to Lin Xian's group: "I… my ability can clear some of the Darkness' corruption and restore your energy. Don't misunderstand."

The girl spoke timidly, then extended her hand; a faint green light, like tentacles, shot out and swept over Lin Xian and the others in an instant.

Instantly, a deeply familiar sensation surged through him—the icy, twisted fear clinging to Lin Xian's body was largely dispelled, lifting his spirits. He immediately realized: this wasn't the effect of the Hetero-Cube?

It even came with a boost of energy from Hell Black Chrysanthemums—truly a divine technique!

No wonder the girl had been able to support Tianye Lan and Long Zhijie against Kiki and the others' assault just now—she was a powerful support in the dark.

Within the Star Abyss, whether it was Kiki, Fire Brother, Qian Dele, or Mo Nika, their abilities were all suppressed, primarily because they had to expend vast amounts of mental energy just to resist the dark invasion and maintain their sanity.

At this moment, everyone on Lin Xian's side showed expressions of astonishment.

"Eliminating dark invasion… such an ability exists?" Xiang Ningjing couldn't help saying.

"Can it remove dark marks?"

"Not this one…" Shizhi whispered.

At this moment, Qiansu Xun immediately led his squad away.

Soon, Lin Xian's group began following Qiansu Xun swiftly toward the southern district of the city. They passed through a residential area, then entered an underground parking lot.

"You're hiding in the basement?" Kiki trailed behind, watching their strange route, unable to help asking.

"Not entirely."

Qiansu Xun spoke calmly: "Bigger than that…"

At this moment, the group suddenly turned from the underground parking lot into a passage leading directly into a mountain tunnel, then burst out of that passage. When they looked back, they were already beyond Baicheng, racing at full speed along a winding mountain path. Since all of them wore powered armor and ran at top speed, they soon reached the end of the mist-shrouded forest trail, arriving at the foot of a mountain.

There, before them, stood a dilapidated entrance to a massive underground nuclear shelter.

Lin Xian stared, surprised. The great Silent City had been extinguished atop the eastern mountain ridge, yet Wangyue Zhenji had hidden himself in a nuclear facility beneath Xishan—what was the logic here?

"Old underground nuclear project site of Baicheng…"

"You're all hiding here?" Kiki exclaimed. "Then where's your Silent City?"

"Temporarily," Tianye Lan replied. "We'll explain the details later."

Lin Xian said nothing. Judging by the distance, it was close to Baicheng—accessible by vehicle. Clearly, Hu Lushou and Lu Zhao's convoy had taken refuge here together.

At this moment, Qiansu Xun activated two heavy mechs to forcibly pry open the rusted, decaying gate. As the group shone their lights inside, they saw only damp decay, thick with dread. But then Qiansu Xun input something into the handheld computer on his powered armor's arm—and a strange sight appeared.

As the holographic projection vanished, the damp entrance and piles of debris instantly disappeared, replaced by a brand-new silver-steel blast door. The door split open vertically, revealing a bright corridor within.

"We don't have much time."

Saying this, Qiansu Xun led them swiftly inside. As Lin Xian and the others followed, they realized the corridor had multiple layers of protection. Beyond the outer, decaying gate, there were at least three distinct isolation zones. After passing through the final door, they entered a tunnel extending hundreds of meters into the mountain's core—brightly lit, with fresh construction marks, clearly newly built.

After passing through the tunnel, they entered a downward-sloping main tunnel. Once inside the underground fortress, Qiansu Xun retracted his powered armor's faceplate, exhaled deeply, and introduced the place to Lin Xian and the others.

"This was once a large underground nuclear facility—over eighty years old. We made minor modifications; now it's our temporary refuge."

"Minor modifications?"

Lin Xian exclaimed. As the group stepped out of the tunnel's end, a vast, bright hall appeared before them. The silver-white alloy dome soared over dozens of meters high, its surface flowing with pale blue holographic projections simulating clouds, blue sky, and sunlight. Hundreds of drones hovered slowly overhead: terrain-modifying construction drones, transport drones, 3D-printing manufacturing drones for various materials, and maintenance robots—all working in orderly fashion.

Some drones were repairing and modifying the fortress's structure; others maintained internal life-support systems. The entire mountain's interior had been hollowed into a vast, multi-tiered hollow fortress. Construction drones were 3D-printing new shelves, spraying liquid metal from nozzles that instantly hardened upon cooling—no sparks, no noise, only a faint hum of growing metal.

Beyond the first level, each lower tier was a temporary residential zone. Looking down from the edge, they saw people moving about.

"Even here, you can't resist the dark invasion's power," Mo Nika crossed her arms, walking behind Lin Xian. "Especially in the Star Abyss. I'm curious—why build such a refuge? Even with drones, this must've taken immense time."

Lin Xian's group could see that most of this place had been hastily modified, and the sheer scale of the work was only possible thanks to the vast, precisely coordinated drone swarm.

Yet despite Mo Nika's skepticism, Lin Xian still felt the conditions here were noticeably better than outside. Though nowhere near as safe as the United Train Camp protected by the Hetero-Cube, it proved they possessed some technology capable of mitigating part of the dark invasion's effects.

Thinking of this, Lin Xian opened the faceplate of his Black Hawk armor and asked Qiansu Xun:

"Are all tens of thousands of your Silent City residents here?"

Qiansu Xun's nanofiber armor retracted, revealing a youthful face with slightly tousled black hair. He shrugged at Lin Xian.

"Only a few hundred for now. But if you count the group that arrived yesterday, it's over a thousand."

"Huh?!"

Xiang Ningjing exclaimed: "Tens of thousands reduced to a few hundred?"

"Not at all," Qiansu Xun said, sounding weary. "Before we were pulled in, Zhenji activated Escape Protocol Two. Most Silent City residents fled beyond the Star Abyss—they're now near Luling. But our main city, for various reasons, remains trapped there."

He looked at Lin Xian. "You're here because of the Fish-Lion Statue too, right?"

Lin Xian nodded. "Time is urgent. Can we exchange information quickly?"

"Captain Lin?!"

Just then, a familiar voice rang out. Lin Xian turned to see Hu Lushou approaching with a group from across the hall. He froze upon seeing Lin Xian, rubbed his eyes hard, confirmed he wasn't imagining it, then rushed over with tearful excitement.

"I didn't imagine it—you're really here! Oh my goodness!!" Hu Lushou burst into tears, looking at Lin Xian with a pained expression. "I thought you'd all escaped! How did you get pulled in too?"

Behind him, Lu Zhao, Xie Guan, Sun Chang, and others followed.

"Old Hu, weren't you cursing yesterday, blaming the Train Group for running too fast? Why the sudden change of heart?" Lu Zhao, surprised by Hu Lushou's rapid shift, blurted out.

Hu Lushou's face paled. He glared at Lu Zhao, then hurriedly explained: "Hey hey hey, that's not what I meant! I wanted Captain Lin and his team to escape—only then do we have a chance to survive!!"

He turned to Lin Xian, looking desperate. "Captain Lin, seeing you is a relief. As long as you're here, we can work together and find a way out of this hell."

Lin Xian scanned the group. They were no better off than the United Train crew—many had been lost, all were battered, their powered armor caked in blood. The few survivors from the Windrunner convoy Lin Xian had rescued in Luo Bu were now just a handful; the father-daughter pair was gone.

Qiansu Xun turned to Lin Xian and spread his hands. "Now I understand how you got pulled in—also triggered by the Fish-Lion Statue's expansion of the Star Abyss anchor tides?"

"Yes," Lin Xian replied.

"How long have you been here?"

Hearing the question, Qiansu Xun understood Lin Xian's intent. "Not long—about two months. Your estimates might differ."

He continued: "We did have a chance to escape—but at great cost."

Lin Xian frowned slightly. "The Silent City?"

"Clever."

Qiansu Xun said: "We didn't want to abandon our main city. Also, there are other reasons…"

As he spoke, Qiansu Xun paused, as if hearing something through his earpiece, then sighed with a wry smile. "Hmm, I'll take you to Zhenji directly. He'll answer your questions—he's also very interested in you."

"Captain Lin, I'll be waiting for good news—we're comrades in misfortune!" Hu Lushou chimed in.

Lin Xian nodded at him. "Don't worry. We all want to escape."

"Yeah yeah yeah!" Hu Lushou nodded eagerly.

With that, Qiansu Xun led Lin Xian's group alone on an elevator down to the lowest level. No one else was here—only drones. Beyond a bright corridor stood a massive cooling door. As they approached, it opened automatically, revealing a large, isolated room resembling a command center. Three walls were covered in holographic screens; countless cables, like black serpents, converged neatly onto a cylindrical machine at the center.

There, a figure stood with hands clasped behind his back, smiling at Lin Xian's group.

Beside him, several elegant female robots carried trays of steaming tea.

Lin Xian's gaze fixed on the figure—and he was stunned. The man looked sixteen or seventeen, with a pale, clean face, dressed in a plain, deep-blue robe resembling a Taoist monk's garment, his hair tied into a small topknot—he looked exactly like a young acolyte from some pre-collapse scenic temple.

Wangyue Zhenji smiled with half-lidded eyes, warm and approachable. "Ah, you must be Lin Xian. In my mental database, your name ranks ninth in search priority. Apologies—I'm unusually interested in you."

"There's an old saying: 'Fellow sufferers on the same road, why must we have met before?' I never expected to meet you under these circumstances—but such coincidence is statistically improbable. There must be other factors involved."

"You're Wangyue Zhenji?" Kiki exclaimed. "But you're supposed to be… over fifty!"

Though most had never seen him, Wangyue Zhenji's name had been legendary for decades—long before Kiki was born. He could not possibly be sixteen or seventeen.

"He's not human."

Lin Xian focused his gaze. Through Wangyue Zhenji's half-closed eyes, he saw the faintly glowing nanoscale pupils rapidly adjusting focus. His mechanical heart scanned—and confirmed: Wangyue Zhenji was a robot, identical to Grace.

"This is a robot?"

Everyone was stunned. Qian Dele spoke up: "They say Wangyue Zhenji led the Digital Life Project. So you uploaded your consciousness into a machine?"

"Not entirely accurate," Wangyue Zhenji turned to the massive cylindrical device behind him. "Strictly speaking, this is my brain—well, part of it."

He pointed to Grace behind Lin Xian. "But unlike the Crimson AI, I possess a fully independent, autonomous personality. She's still lacking. Only if the Crimson-3 core integrated a complete digital consciousness could it reach the initial level of human consciousness decomposition."

"Okay~" Wangyue Zhenji smiled, turning to Lin Xian. "Enough talk. Please, have tea. Out of courtesy, Xun will explain the reason for the conflict. Xun?"

Hearing Wangyue Zhenji's words, Qiansu Xun turned to Lin Xian.

"We've been monitoring the Fish-Lion Statue and the Red Menace in Baicheng. A few hours ago, we detected your robot and dispatched a squad for continuous surveillance. Just after the inner tide receded, she reappeared—so our team moved. We mistook your robot for a target from the Crimson World. It was a misunderstanding."

Wangyue Zhenji added: "Still, acquiring this Crimson AI robot is astonishing. From what I know, the Crimson World considers such units high-tier assets. Quantum processors of this computational power are exceedingly rare in the current world."

"Inner tide? What does that mean?" Lin Xian caught a key term.

"What you've witnessed," Wangyue Zhenji said. "Here, the inner tide rises every thirty minutes, falls every sixty. After the tide rises, you see the aberrations. After the tide rises, if you have no dark mark, you get sixty minutes of safety."

Xiang Ningjing frowned. "What? Those monsters don't appear with the dark?"

Wangyue Zhenji nodded. "Excellent question. It involves two concepts: one, what darkness means to the monsters; two, what darkness means to us."

He tapped the air, and a massive holographic projection appeared.

Wangyue Zhenji, with the rapid, chatty tone of a boy, spoke quickly: "For us humans, darkness is visual, thermal. But for these creatures, it's not. Many misunderstand dark creatures—they think the aberrations appear only because of darkness. But clearly, they don't vanish under light."

The hologram showed a vast Star Abyss, like a vortex over a blue planet. Under Wangyue Zhenji's finger, the vortex expanded.

"Most people take 'dark tide' literally. But tides aren't ocean waves. Think of it as a stretchable fabric, or the surface of a balloon. High tide means the fabric or balloon is stretched, its area expanding. Low tide means it contracts. This fabric? It's the region where these creatures can survive—or where they overlap with our world."

"Region? More academically—it's a dimension."

Wangyue Zhenji tucked his hands into his robe sleeves. He looked like a young Taoist acolyte, yet explained scientific concepts—strangely incongruous.

He continued: "You've also noticed the time dilation effect here, right? Correct. When you stand on this fabric, time stretches."

Lin Xian's expression sharpened. Thirty-minute tide rise—he suddenly understood. If Wangyue Zhenji was right, their train camp's position at the moment of the Silver Dragon's Ten Thousand Mistake explosion hadn't just cleared dark marks—it meant that moment coincided with low tide. All the monsters vanished, and they'd gained a fleeting, critical balance of safety!

"So you're hiding here to find a way to move the Silent City?" Lin Xian said directly.

Wangyue Zhenji smiled, glancing at him. "The Silent City is under my direct control—I can move it anytime. But certain problems must be resolved first."

"What problems?"

"First: the Silent City's nuclear core is locked by a Star Abyss behemoth. If we activate it, there's over a 99% chance of immediate destruction. But recently, the creature moved toward Xilan City. Current observations suggest the threat has lessened somewhat."

Wangyue Zhenji's words sent a shock through everyone present.

All immediately recalled the earlier battle at Xilan City—the Cloud Black Spike scout's attempt to lure a terrifying entity toward Xilan City. Now, combined with Wangyue Zhenji's words, the connection was clear.

"Star Abyss behemoth… S-class?"

"No." Qian Suxun, who had been silent beside them, spoke up: "Based on observations, that is undoubtedly the dominant creature of Star Abyss No. 5. Zhenji now refers to such beings as..."

"Abyss Demons."

"What's the second question?" Kiki asked immediately.

Wangyue Zhenji now turned his gaze toward Lin Xian and the others, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Then we must address the question of why we met here—according to calculations, something appears to be..."

"... hat doesn't want us to leave."

(End of Chapter)