Chapter 399: LAUNCH (DOUBLE UPDATE, 21.3K)

Several days ago, in Jicheng.

"I'm currently integrating their total data to deconstruct the principles behind the flesh Zhizhuang from the Deep Red World, and with the information being studied at the White City Research Institute, I'll sync it all to you later." Wangyue Shinsuke said calmly.

"Uh… okay." Lin Xian asked seriously: "Am I being too abrupt like this?"

"It's already beyond abrupt."

Lin Xian: …

"It seems powerful psychics have all caught the Deep Red World's attention."

As he was leaving, Lin Xian mentioned to Wangyue Shinsuke: "But you probably aren't worried—you're not a psychic yourself."

"You're mistaken," Wangyue Shinsuke said, his expression calm as he looked at Lin Xian. "From the initial experimental subjects we've acquired, a large portion are ordinary people—or rather, those who haven't awakened psychic abilities. Clearly, the Deep Red World's research into individuals follows multiple pathways."

"What do you mean?"

"Is that hard to understand?" Wangyue Shinsuke said. "Psychics are used to study psychic development, as well as the Human-Ghost and Zhizhuang systems. But what the Deep Red World truly wants to master is the process by which humans awaken psychic abilities."

Lin Xian remembered Wangyue Shinsuke's words, and after seeing the massive clone population in the chamber hall, it reminded him of Chu Yan's earlier revelation: the Deep Red World had obtained her DNA to clone humans, aiming to replicate her bug-level Star Abyss ability—psychic-type powers—but all attempts had failed.

So, after last night's conversation with Chu Zhaonan and then discussing the Deep Red World's fanatic logic with Chu Yan on the way here, Lin Xian had been pondering one question.

Why had the Deep Red World so easily allied with Chu Zhaonan, providing him with mycelium-brain interface tech, suppressors, and restraint arrays? From the failed A-class Zhizhuang beneath Jinhai, Lin Xian had once assumed their goal was to obtain this S-class corpse for experimentation—but now, that corpse had been turned into a Breakthrough Device, ready for launch. After Chu Zhaonan disbanded the Federation Council and handed control to the Phoenix Society, what could the Deep Red World possibly take from here—facing the Garrison Commander of Dawn City, the Phoenix Society's Iron Guard Brigade, and millions of survivors?

It couldn't be that they did all this just to eliminate their own people and then flee in panic after Dawn City used them.

Impossible. Logically, Chu Zhaonan was using the Deep Red World, and the Deep Red World must have been using Chu Zhaonan in return.

Chu Zhaonan's warning to Lin Xian last night, combined with Julius's words now, only strengthened this certainty.

Giant God Peak Launch Site, White Hall.

Julius's expression had turned completely dark. He narrowed his eyes at Lin Xian, then smiled—cold, arrogant.

"Chu Zhaonan is a man whose thoughts are so meticulous they're nearly flawless. Dealing with him is far more troublesome than handling politicians like Zhou Mingyuan. I once believed he'd be willing to destroy the world for the Vanguard Project. But… you're here. That means his principles have wavered…"

"I guess the main control of the Galactic Heart is now in your Phoenix Society's hands. Ah, human civilization progresses slowly precisely because its thought and reason lack rigidity—that's why it has weaknesses. Unfortunately, I've made some preparations too."

At that moment, a hiss echoed from the floor—a hatch opened. Behind Julius, a row of large cryo-chambers rose. Each stood several meters tall, filled with various forms of Red Ghosts.

Some were massive, others human-sized—ten total. Each radiated violent dark invasion energy, their Soul-Disrupting Values flaring violently. Bound by restraints and suppression tubes, their mere appearance caused the hall's lights to flicker unnaturally. The surrounding "Julius" clones, previously dormant, underwent mass zombie transformation—thrashing and screaming in their liquid tanks, veins blackening, blood oozing and contaminating the fluid, claws scraping at the chamber walls.

Julius raised his hands, his tone tinged with regret as he spoke to Lin Xian: "You had a chance to lead most people away at dawn. After all, this replication experiment was meant to observe how the weak, ordinary people, transform under despair—how fear triggers evolution and psychic awakening. But I've changed my mind. I think it would be far more interesting to turn the city's heavy weapons and drones on the seven million survivors. Don't worry—we'll be selective. We'll leave some behind… for the experiment."

"You're dreaming," Lin Xian replied coldly.

Julius smiled and shrugged. "Goodbye. I'll come back to collect your bodies later—they have some research value."

With that, he turned to leave.

Beep!

A piercing alarm blared. Instantly, all ten cryo-chambers activated. The suppressors on the Red Ghosts shut down. Their heartbeats thudded like war drums. Ten pairs of blood-red eyes locked onto Lin Xian.

"Kiki!"

Lin Xian shouted at Kiki. She understood instantly, activating her telekinesis to seize Julius.

But suddenly, black water surged from the floor, spraying outward like arrows. Kiki's face changed—she reflexively raised a telekinetic shield to dodge.

Boom!

Like a tidal wave striking, dozens of water arrows exploded against Kiki's shield.

Aaagh!!

The ten Red Ghosts launched simultaneously. One massive Butcher roared, tearing free its cable restraints, and spat a torrent of flame straight at Lin Xian.

Fire psychic ability!

"Fall back!"

Kiki reacted first, stepping forward and blocking with a telekinetic wave. The flame exploded outward, shattering half the cryo-chambers, engulfing the "Julius" clones in fire. Some mutated zombies staggered out, screaming; others burned alive.

"Don't let him escape!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than terrifying Ghost figures emerged from the flames on both sides, charging Lin Xian's team.

Ding!

After emptying his magazine at a shadowy figure, Zhou Jin stepped forward, his body transforming into silver-black metallic skin. He charged forward with a Iron Mountain Shoulder Bash—releasing a massive shockwave. The ground beneath his feet cracked in concentric rings. He looked up to see a black man clad in heavy armor, his skin fused with the metal, eyes glowing dark red. In the next instant, a violent counter-force slammed him backward.

"Hah!"

Zhou Jin grunted and relayed: "Xiao Yan, Li Su, protect Team Leader Lin!"

Xiao Yan, dual electric knives in hand, arcs flashing, leapt nimbly from a double attack by two Ghosts and arrived beside Lin Xian: "Team Leader, I've got your back!"

Lin Xian activated his AT force field, simultaneously engaging his mechanical psychic ability to control and devour. He shredded the armor and weapons of a towering Ghost before him, blasting two bloodied holes with his Xienengpao —but it caused little damage.

Kiki rushed over, using telekinesis to seize a small Ghost mid-air, then shoved Lin Xian and Shizhi toward the rear corridor.

Wengwengweng —Lin Xian's drone swarm now rained fire across the white hall, lasers and magnetic pulses suppressing the Red Ghosts and zombie-transformed "Julius" clones.

"Grace!"

【I'm here!】

Bang! Bang!

Grace, who had been tearing open a Ghost's skull with her fingers, heard Lin Xian's command. She leapt down, landed, and shielded Lin Xian as he sprinted into the rear corridor.

As soon as they exited the research corridor, Lin Xian pinpointed the location of the main control room.

Boom!

A sudden impact struck from above. Lin Xian reacted instantly, grabbing Shizhi and yanking her back. Kiki, using telekinesis, also retreated. A black object—like a meteor—crashed through the floor where Lin Xian had stood, plunging downward and smashing a gaping hole. It was a heavily armored Red Ghost!

The shattered floor triggered a chain reaction. The ground beneath everyone began collapsing. Lin Xian, caught off-guard, activated his power armor's jet boosters, grabbed Shizhi, and twisted mid-fall to land on a platform.

"Lin Xian!"

Kiki leapt toward him. As soon as he landed, Lin Xian spun and fired a Xienengpao!

Pfft!

A blue beam pierced the air, striking a dark figure rushing toward Kiki. He then summoned four "Iron Veil" drones to shield Shizhi. With a thought, his energy exploded—a magnetic pulse with a diameter over ten meters erupted from his center. White-hot plasma sparks detonated, violently repelling a fist about to smash into his back.

Triple assault!

Doo! Before the first wave subsided, another barrage of bullets swept toward Lin Xian and Kiki. Lin Xian raised his AT field, dodged, and surged forward.

"There's a psychic—Angel-class!"

Before the words finished, a man in power armor appeared like a ghost before Lin Xian. His hand flashed red light, preparing to slash down at Lin Xian's face.

Click!

Instantly, his armor joints locked. The strike shattered his own arm armor. Surprised by Lin Xian's speed, the man hesitated—then pulled back. An electric knife, arcing with energy, sliced through the air. He retreated in a flash of red light and vanished.

Xiao Yan charged forward, snatching back her knife—only to be slammed aside by another Ghost. Li Su arrived, firing pulse cannons—Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Team Leader, watch out!"

Lin Xian stepped back. From the smoke, a shockwave erupted. A woman in a black bodysuit was blasted out by Kiki's telekinesis. Above, Zhou Jin leapt two floors, punched through a woman-Ghost with a steel fist, and, as red Ghost fire rained down his back, grabbed a massive concrete slab and hurled it at the woman. She had no power armor—yet as the slab struck, her body dissolved into black mist mid-air, then reformed elsewhere.

Boom! The concrete shattered a wall, echoing.

"Water psychic ability?" Kiki stared in shock. She'd seen Han Jun control rainstorms—but never someone who could elementalize. Even Fire Brother couldn't do this. Did psychic abilities undergo a qualitative shift beyond Angel-class?

Lin Xian's face darkened. He scooped up Shizhi—who was still restoring his mental energy—and slung her over his shoulder. He scanned with his mechanical psychic ability: neither of the two had any brain-interface devices. They weren't clones like Qin Feng. They were independent individuals.

"Watch out—two of them are psychics, not Ghosts!"

No sooner had he spoken than his mechanical ability detected something. He activated his jet system and leapt—but the floor beneath him shattered. The massive shadow from earlier reached out, grabbing his foot, trying to drag him down.

"You dare!"

Kiki reacted instantly. Her eyes blazed with psychic energy. Tens of thousands of tons of telekinesis crushed the black hand, compressing it to a third its size. Metal shrieked. In midair, Lin Xian activated three superstring reactor phase rings. The air crackled with ionization. He struck downward, mechanically disassembling the hand's mechanical components. In an instant, a bloody, mangled monster hand appeared before him.

As Lin Xian prepared to strip it entirely, the hand's owner sensed the danger and detonated violently. A red shockwave rippled out, shaking the underground city's floors. Dust exploded. Four entire floors collapsed. Kiki raised her telekinetic shield, grabbed several people, and blasted them upward through the smoke, rescuing Lin Xian and Shizhi.

Ten Red Ghosts plus two Angel-class psychics. Neither Lin Xian nor Zhou Jin had expected the Deep Red World to hide such formidable forces here.

"Lin Xian!"

At that moment, Chu Yan's voice crackled over the comm: "I'm chasing Julius. You handle the Galactic Heart. Don't let the Deep Red World take control of Dawn City!"

"Understood!"

Lin Xian, carrying Shizhi, activated his jet boosters and shot upward through the broken floor. Suddenly, a red flash streaked through the air. Lin Xian's eyes flashed like lightning. He summoned his AT field as fifty "Iron Rain" drones, each group of ten circling, descended at hypersonic speed—slicing past him. The man hadn't expected such precise drone control. One Iron Rain drone struck him mid-flight, sending him tumbling.

Seizing the moment, two hundred "Lei Sun" drones hovered above, charging. Two hundred pulse beams fired simultaneously.

Shhh! Shhh!

Superheated beams instantly sliced through an entire floor. The black-armored Ghost surged forward, punching at Lin Xian's face. Ding! Grace appeared, kicking precisely onto the fist. Her slender foot, though small, pierced through the armor with sheer material strength—metal shards exploded outward.

Lin Xian immediately directed two Iron Rain drones to fly back to the main control level. He saw Kiki alone, overwhelmed by the bodysuit woman and three Ghosts. Zhou Jin, Li Su, and Xiao Yan were overwhelmed. Meanwhile, besides the red-light speed psychic, a brutally strong black-armored Ghost, and other Ghosts were closing in on him.

A red flash passed—dozens of drones were destroyed and fell. The Ghosts charged him. Lin Xian used his Backstep to dodge. The instant speed stunned the man—he stared at Lin Xian, eyes wild, murmuring low:

"Can mechanical psychic ability really be this strong in single combat?"

"Then you're seeing it today!" Lin Xian raised a finger and fired a Xienengpao.

The man smirked strangely, vanishing from his spot. In the next instant, he appeared behind Lin Xian. Lin Xian's power armor instantly activated its thrusters—but the man seized his shoulder armor.

"Too slow. Too slow an evolution!" The man said, forming his hand into a blade. Red psychic energy flared—he prepared to pierce through Lin Xian's armor.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave, crackling with electricity, froze the man's smile. A hexagonal transparent barrier appeared behind Lin Xian, blocking the blade. Instantly, eight mechanical chains emerged like serpents, coiling to bind him.

The man reacted, using his ability to retreat, snarling: "Clever… but still too…"

Boom!

Before he could finish "slow," a train carriage appeared vertically above him and crashed down, smashing through his floor and him—plunging him deep underground.

The man never imagined a train would suddenly appear in the underground city and strike him.

Lin Xian retracted the Black Star Forge, carried Shizhi, and sprinted into the main control room—only to find the internal network terminal destroyed. His face darkened. He checked the time: less than six minutes left!

He immediately summoned all manufacturing and maintenance drones, handing control to Grace.

"Grace, assess the damage!"

Scanning complete. Performing internal network terminal maintenance.

Detected internal cable fracture.

Lin Xian frowned: "Can you pinpoint the location?"

Yes, but it will take considerable time. And if it was deliberately severed, the number of breaks is uncertain.

Hearing this, Lin Xian's heart turned cold. He froze for several seconds, his eyes flickering as he turned toward the massive Gray Mist Messenger outside the window—and instantly understood.

"It's definitely sabotage. The Gray Mist Messenger's launch requires connection to the Galaxy Core. This channel can't be broken. We can tap into it from here!"

"Lin Xian!"

After a massive shockwave, Kiki's voice crackled through the comm: "One more problem—this is the internal network's root server configuration point. If Julius deliberately damaged the terminals and cables, he likely also set a key."

Fuck!

Splash!

At that moment, a torrent of water surged into the main control room, sweeping Lin Xian and dozens of drones away. A black arm emerged from the murky water, gripping Lin Xian's neck. Countless streams began seeping through the gaps in his powered armor.

Simultaneously, a man flickering with red light stepped from the shadows and spoke softly.

"No more chances. Give up, mechanical adept. You might still join us..."

Beep-beep-beep-beep!

Lin Xian stared at the alarm on his armor's holographic panel and activated a magnetic pulse Zhendang. Instantly, blinding white arcs exploded, vaporizing vast amounts of water. As soon as he broke free, the black-armored Gui descended from above and punched straight for his chest.

But then, a particle shockwave slammed into the black-armored Gui, hurling it against the wall, shaking the entire building.

At the same time, multiple adept signatures erupted across the area. A storm of bullets swept in, instantly relieving pressure on Lin Xian, Kiki, Zhou Jin, Li Su, and Xiao Yan. The red-light man fled swiftly.

Lin Xian looked up and saw that Zino's squad had finally arrived to reinforce them.

"Sorry we're late!"

Zino leapt down from the floor, unleashed a row of resonance waves that blasted a fire-spewing Gui away, and shouted to Lin Xian: "What's the situation?"

"No time to explain! Hold off these Gui —I'm going to reconnect the cable. Watch out—they've got two Angel-class adepts!"

Without hesitation, Lin Xian activated his powered armor's thrusters and shot toward the Gray Mist Messenger with Shizhi.

Countless black raindrops, like bullets, streaked toward Lin Xian—but before impact, a powerful updraft swallowed them all. Kiki hovered midair and said: "Go. We've got this."

More and more of the earlier red-figured Gui descended through upper-level corridors. In the main control room's access tunnel, Zhou Jin's squad fought desperately. Outside, across multiple underground city levels, Kiki, Grace, the drone legion, and Zino's detachment battled the two adepts and countless augmented Gui in brutal combat.

Lin Xian reached the Gray Mist Messenger's docking launch rack. Mechanical scanning quickly located the data connection terminal. He then constructed a relay device and began reconnecting the cable to the main control room.

The closer he got to this massive S-class augmentation, the stronger the dark invasive force became, gnawing at his sanity. Shizhi's face twisted in terror as she poured all her adept energy into suppressing it.

Hummm!

Lin Xian now activated the Superstring Reactor's Phase Rainbow Ring, boosting his adept peak output. His Mechanical Heart spun wildly.

Hollow...

At that moment, Lin Xian heard strange, rhythmic movements from deep beneath the underground city—as if countless dark creatures stirred, stirred by the darkness itself, or perhaps by resonance from the S-class Gray Mist.

"There seem to be many monsters down there. Something's holding them back."

"Valves."

Lin Xian recalled how Kezi had led them through the sealed underground transit system upon entering the city—all those tunnels were blocked. But below... it seemed connected to something else.

He immediately opened the underground fortification map Zhou Jin had given him. Several access points lay beyond Wall One. If opened, billions of Gui would pour into the city from these subterranean passages—and the city would become hell.

Shizhi realized it too, her face pale with dread: "If those monsters come in here, where will they reach?"

"Underground City One!"

Lin Xian's gaze turned icy: "The Dawn City center. The Crimson World wants to turn Underground City One into a monster geyser. When night falls, panic erupts, enemies attack from within and without—Dawn City becomes their vast experimental ground. Millions become their test subjects..."

"This... this is terrifying!" Shizhi whispered.

Meanwhile, Chu Yan and her squad fought through a gauntlet of red-figured Gui chasing Julius. The battle raged fiercely.

At the Giant God Peak launch shaft entrance, a trail of blood. Several red-figured Gui lay dead. Young lives of Chu Yan's squad members were left along the path. On a platform at the launch site's edge, a small transport vessel rested.

The remaining squad members still battled two Gui. Chu Yan had reached the transport vessel's platform.

Julius stood at the boarding ramp—when another Julius, dressed in a suit, stepped down from the vessel.

Chu Yan's expression shifted slightly.

"Surprised?" The Julius calmly surveyed the corpses along the path. "Thanks to you. To counter your psychic squad, I had to plan ahead."

The two Julii smiled at Chu Yan, one on each side.

Flash!

A streak of red light struck. Chu Yan used psychic Zhendang, her mechanical body twisting to barely evade it.

"Do you know why I waited here for you?" One Julius sneered. "I'm curious—do Phoenix Society members even know what despair means?"

Chu Yan's delicate face was streaked with blood. Her gaze swept between the two Julii, wary of the red-light speedster.

He moved too fast. Though he couldn't close in within her psychic field, she couldn't lock onto him to strike.

Julius laughed coldly: "Psychic adepts—you kill with a thought. A perfect ability, almost divine. Hah! The North American Alliance's Wangpai —why hesitate now?"

"Oh, because you can't kill me. You still need to extract full information about the Dark World from me. Ye Lan must've told you—this might be humanity's last chance to seize the initiative."

Chu Yan didn't respond. She stayed alert, contacting Lin Xian via comm.

"Lin Xian, how's your side? Can you secure the Galaxy Core?"

"It's not that simple..." Lin Xian, drenched in sweat, had emptied all Black Star Forge manufacturing sequences to fabricate cables and internal terminal equipment.

When he connected the relay to the internal cable, he confirmed Kiki's warning: the entire Giant God Peak launch site was locked with a tight authentication key. His face darkened. "We have a problem. To reconnect to the central control, we need Julius's iris authentication."

Chu Yan frowned: "Can we force it open?"

"Root server iris key—dual encrypted. No time. We need the real him!"

"I've got issues too," Chu Yan said, watching the two Julii. She synced her status with Lin Xian.

Lin Xian frowned: "Do you know which one is the real one?"

"I can detect subtle psychic fluctuations between individuals. Clones differ due to time and training—but these two seem identically trained. Or perhaps neither is Julius himself."

"So sneaky—what do we do?!"

If neither was the real Julius, they couldn't determine who had connected to the Dark World.

Chu Yan realized this too.

Bang! Bang!

Chu Yan unleashed her adept energy again, fighting fiercely. Behind her, a squad member killed a red-figured Gui and rushed to help—but against the red-light speedster, they were overwhelmed. Two remaining teammates were wounded.

Seizing a moment to retreat, Chu Yan spoke to Lin Xian:

"We must solve the Galaxy Core issue first. The Zhentian Ship and the 83rd Iron Guard Brigade are en route. We don't know how long until dawn. If the weapon systems are seized, both inside and outside the city are finished!"

"I know!" Lin Xian, drenched in sweat, frantically worked on repairs, shouting: "The Crimson World tampered with the underground network. The Gui can enter the city directly from the launch site or other routes. They want to conduct a full-city experiment under total panic!"

Chu Yan's eyes flashed. "Regardless of whether these two are the real Julius, I'm certain of one thing!"

If authentication is required, the activation of the Gray Mist Messenger is included, so the one capable of iris verification must be among them!

"If authentication is needed, activating the Gray Mist Messenger is included. So whoever can perform iris verification must be among them!"

Lin Xian understood: "Makes sense. With Julius's caution, he'd ensure the Crimson No. completes full-city central takeover—or all their preparations are wasted."

Lin Xian's mind raced: "Chu Yan, don't let Julius escape. I'm coming to you. I have a way to solve this remotely!"

Chu Yan wiped the blood from her face and whispered:

"Got it!"

Beep... beep... beep...

【Launch sequence imminent. Launch shaft opening.】

Far beyond Dawn City, in the suburban zone, buildings trembled. The ground split. A massive gate, hundreds of meters wide, slowly opened.

Instantly, countless ruins and debris, along with hordes of Gui sprinting through the night, rained from the sky.

Boom!

Thunder rumbled through the launch site. Rain poured from above, drenching the Gray Mist Messenger and all engineering supports.

Seeing this, Lin Xian installed the relay and handed a photonic storage device to Shizhi: "Shizhi, I'm almost done. When I finish, you'll insert this control key."

"Huh?!" Shizhi's face turned deathly pale. She stammered: "I... I..."

"Listen!"

Lin Xian gripped her shoulder, his voice grave: "We have three minutes. At exactly 10: 0, the Galaxy Core will open its port when the Breakthrough Device activates. The Crimson World will exploit this to seize control. Julius set a key on his server—but he doesn't know that Chu Zhaonan deliberately left a 10-second offline window. Since Crimson No. needs 10 seconds to seize full-city control, we'll have exactly 10 seconds to retake the central hub!"

"But..." Shizhi's face was terrified. She never imagined Lin Xian would entrust her with such a vital task.

Lin Xian panted, whispering close to her ear: "Don't be afraid. I believe you can do it."

"I... I..." Meeting Lin Xian's unwavering gaze, Shizhi's face flushed red, then she nodded firmly.

"I understand."

Lin Xian gave Shizhi the control key because she, beside Chu Yan, was the only one minimally affected by the dark invasion.

He'd originally considered Grace—but now Grace had to fight red-figured Gui while managing drones to repair terminals. Only Shizhi had the capacity left.

Lin Xian finished connecting the cable, then, with Shizhi, used thrusters to fly back to the main control room's floor. Most surrounding streets and levels had collapsed. The entire command center swayed precariously.

"Zhou Jin, Zino—protect the main control room and Shizhi!"

"Understood!"

On the other side, Kiki struggled to breathe under the crushing weight of the invincible black water. Her telekinesis hit like waves against the ocean and air—she was exhausted.

The black water shifted between mist and flowing streams, impossibly fluid.

Lin Xian saw this and realized: "She has a physical body! This water is just her controlled form!"

"Grace! Find the adept's true body!"

"Grace!"

【Grace understands!】

Whirring! Hundreds of drones spun like a storm, scanning—and finally spotted a dark shadow on a higher floor. Instantly, countless drones opened fire on the target. The black water surged upward to escape.

Kiki seized the opportunity to press forward; both sides began exchanging psychic blasts.

Lin Xian slipped into the main control room and summoned Iron Curtain drones and construction drones to surround the entire chamber.

"Captain Lin!" Zhou Jin, his body encased in iron plating, lumbered over: "There are more Gui s appearing!"

"Hold this main control room!"

"Understood!"

Instantly, all team members fell back while fighting, converging toward the central control hub. Lin Xian activated his power armor's jet system and directed several drones upward toward the launch field.

As if sensing Lin Xian's move, the building suddenly erupted with a torrent of black water arrows—like a downpour trying to stop him.

Boom! A psychic wave slammed into him. Kiki arrived swiftly, gritting her teeth, unleashing her full psychic energy to form a protective barrier shielding Lin Xian. Blood gushed from her nose.

Lin Xian saw this and moved to help—but Kiki didn't look back. She unleashed a psychic force, lifting him higher.

"Don't worry about me—go now!"

Only two minutes left!!

Lin Xian had no time to hesitate. Riding Kiki's psychic surge and the jet system, he charged straight through the storm of rain and debris, finally bursting through the surface.

At this moment, the sky and earth were indistinguishable in darkness. Beyond the outer wall of Dawn City No. 1, a storm of explosions and artillery barrages rained down like a deluge. An endless tide of Gui s surged against the walls—towering forms clawing and smashing. The reinforced concrete and metal-plated wall was already riddled with cracks and gaps.

Hundreds of thousands of survivors in the sky above the city fought against the sky and the mutated masses. Smoke from battle rose like dark clouds. Even ten kilometers away, Lin Xian could smell the blood and char through the rain.

Toward the main control room.

Zhou Jin saw Shi Zhi holding the Continuity Key and instantly understood their mission. At that moment, the black-armored Gui charged toward him. He gritted his teeth, roared, and charged head-on—unafraid.

"Li Su, Xiao Yan—hold this place at all costs!"

"Received!"

"Old Qi, don't you dare collapse the command post—separate the battlefield!"

"I know!" Qi Nuo, drenched in blood, trembled in both hands. His four squads had fought since last night—from underground tunnels to now. Of the forty-some men, fewer than twenty remained.

A flaming red Gui burst from the tunnel. Qi Nuo charged forward with two teammates.

"Wei Chen, Zhang Xufei—block its mouth!"

"Got it!"

Boom!

Inside the main control room, countless drones rapidly repaired terminal equipment. Violent battles raged at both ends: Li Su, Xiao Yan, and several Nightwalkers squads fought desperately in the tunnel; outside, multi-floor combat raged—bloody and brutal.

Shi Zhi stood before the server rack, the Continuity Key in hand, eyes locked on the timer. Through the window, she saw the massive S-class bio-armor outside, radiating terrifying, world-ending black energy.

One minute left!

Under automatic systems, the fuel tower's cables began detaching; hydraulic support towers slowly separated.

Beep! Beep!

Yellow alarms blared throughout the Titan Peak launch tower—each tone like a hammer blow.

In the tunnel, Xiao Yan, her chest pierced through by claws, screamed her last cry before jamming both electric knives into the red Gui 's lower jaw—piercing its skull.

Li Su, now with only one arm, detonated explosives placed along the tunnel, burying himself and the incoming Gui s—completely sealing the corridor to the hall.

Outside the main control room, Nightwalkers squads had been crushed to the outer perimeter, reduced to fewer than ten. Zhou Jin, his body armored in steel bone, gripped the black-armored Gui and smashed through multiple concrete walls. The black-armored Gui was terrifyingly strong—it snapped Zhou Jin's metal-skinned wrist joints. Zhou Jin's blood boiled; he bit down on its neck, tearing off a chunk of flesh, breathing tube, and jaw.

Bloody battle!

On the other side, as Lin Xian burst from the launch shaft, his eyes locked onto Chu Yan fighting desperately beside a small transport ship—and two "Julius" units.

"Watch out!"

Before he could speak, Chu Yan's voice crackled through the comm.

Whoosh! A red flash streaked toward him mid-air. He instinctively raised his AT force field shield—but the impact hurled him like a cannonball into the ground. Before he could rise, another red Gui raised both fists, aiming straight at him.

Thud! At the critical moment, a female member of Chu Yan's squad arrived swiftly, slicing half the red Gui 's arm off with an air blade, then blew Lin Xian clear—only to be struck square in the back by the other fist. Blood erupted from her mouth.

Lin Xian yanked the woman from under the fist, slapped a Destroyer drone onto her, activated the Black Hawk armor's back thrusters, flipped them both mid-air, and slammed a plasma hammer punch into the red Gui 's head—driving it face-first into the Destroyer drone.

Boom!

A massive explosion erupted. In a flash, Lin Xian activated his Superstring Reactor Phase Ring, unleashing a large AT force field around himself. The shockwave blasted both of them dozens of meters away.

Smoke cleared, debris flew. All Lin Xian could hear was his own breathing inside the helmet. The explosion felt like his entire skeleton was coming apart.

The power armor's holographic display flickered relentlessly—the seconds ticking away.

He wiped dust from his helmet visor, glanced at the woman beside him—unknown if alive or dead. He staggered to his feet, preparing to move toward Chu Yan—then realized the red-flash man had vanished.

Lin Xian instantly went on alert. Then, Chu Yan's voice finally came through clearly.

"Lin Xian… Lin Xian, can you hear me?"

"I hear you."

"Launch is imminent—has the internal network been restored?"

Lin Xian looked at the holographic interface—Grace's progress update.

98%.

"Absolutely," Lin Xian said grimly. "One person here has iris authentication. Maybe… that person knows the Dark's secrets…"

Julius watched Lin Xian struggle up from the rubble, a sneer on his face.

"Chu Zhaonan proved the theory of 'Humanity's Defeat' through action—he broke the rules, but also taught the Phoenix Society a lesson."

Julius glanced at his watch, then held it up to the two.

"Oh, you seem out of time."

Lin Xian and Chu Yan looked—time had just jumped from 9: 9 to 10: 0.

【Launch sequence initiated. Propulsion ignition countdown!】

Boom!

A quake shook Titan Peak launch site. Mechanical voices announced: alarms ceased.

Simultaneously, on the distant No. 1 wall, weapons and auto-cannons fell silent.

Yet the sky remained dark. Beneath the rainstorm, the violent tide of Gui s surged forward.

The garrison soldiers and millions of survivors on the walls suddenly felt the world grow eerily quiet. Instantly, a deep terror took root in every heart.

"Weapons have stopped!"

"Out of ammo?!!"

Garrison soldiers shouted. The commander's face was slick with sweat: "Individual weapons—return fire! All mechs—deploy to the walls!"

With all automated weapons offline, Dawn City's defensive firepower dropped by two-thirds. Instantly, countless Gui s swarmed the walls. Massive forms slammed into the already breached sections. The sky filled with swarms of flying creatures. Inside the city, screams and despair echoed everywhere.

At Titan Peak launch shaft, mechanical voices began announcing the launch countdown.

【Launch sequence countdown initiated, 10】

【9】

"Lin Xian!" Chu Yan's face hardened. Without hesitation, she shouted: "Listen to me—I'll control Julius. You scan his iris, then—"

【8】

Julius, watching all weapons fall silent, finally smiled coldly: "Look at this magnificent sight. I won't kill you—you two remain my most promising specimens."

"Now, let the Phoenix Society clean up this mess. Run from my test site—maybe your remaining vehicles can save a couple million. Heh. But honestly, it doesn't matter. The elderly, sick, children—the weak—they're useless to you. The big convoys, the advanced-evolved Qiangzhe —they'd all be glad to shed these burdens. So the Crimson World is actually helping you, isn't it?"

"I'll kill your mother!" Lin Xian said to Chu Yan. "If he's dead, can you still use psychic dreams to steal his memories?"

"Even if his brain dies, neurons don't instantly lose activity. Micro-electrical signals persist. All 'thoughts,' 'memories,' 'judgments,' 'sensory perceptions' remain for several minutes…" Chu Yan replied.

Lin Xian checked the internal network repair progress: 98%!

"Then kill him!"

【7】

Julius heard this, calm as ever: "How naive. Do you really think my body holds Dark World data, just sitting here for your psychic teams to steal?"

"I won't fall for the same trick twice."

With that, both Julius units moved toward the transport ship.

【6】

Chu Yan shouted: "Lin Xian, grab him!"

"None of you are leaving!" Lin Xian roared. He activated his mechanical ability—instantly twisting the transport ship's boarding ramp into two Jiaolian chains, binding both Julius units.

【5】

Julius frowned—he saw Chu Yan's eyes glowing with psychic energy.

Boom!

Instantly, both Julius units' eyes bled, their minds blank—forcibly controlled by psychic power.

【4】

At that moment, the red-flash man suddenly appeared—but instead of attacking Lin Xian or Chu Yan, he plunged a dagger straight into the right Julius's temple.

"Sorry. I anticipated this move. If a psychic target dies in their own mind, the psychic dies too."

The red-light man grinned strangely.

But Lin Xian's face showed no shock—only one finger extended toward him.

【3】

His face turned pale. He tried to retreat—but space behind him twisted. A tiny black hole instantly swallowed his red aura and flesh. The man's eyes widened in terror—his Speed Force couldn't escape!

"Impossible?!"

Lin Xian gritted his teeth and roared: right hand summoned the Gravitational Lens, left hand called forth the Black Star Forge.

【2】

Humming!

In midair, a massive thundercloud revealed a terrifying mechanical gate slowly opening; from within, an entire network of root servers and internal terminal equipment, along with cables, uncoiled like black pythons, converging at the front into a terminal iris scanner that lunged straight toward Julius, whose temple was pierced by a dagger!

This scene was like a mechanical marvel!

At that moment, on Lin Xian's holographic panel, the internal terminal repair reached 100%.

Network data flickered; cables writhed like spirit snakes; the recognition screen swept across Julius's face—*beep*—and flashed green!

The sound was faint, yet at that instant it rang like a great bell, jolting Julius on the left awake from mental control.

【1】

BOOM!!

Beneath Giant God Peak, eight ultra-heavy plasma thrusters of the Gray Mist Envoy ignited with a roar; their immense thrust shook the ground for kilometers, and a violent updraft erupted from the launch shaft, scattering all rain curtains, while searing heat waves melted every launch rack and support structure.

At this moment, the hundreds-of-meters-tall S-class bio-armor slowly rose into the sky!

"What have you done!?" Julius roared. Before Lin Xian could respond, every automated weapon on the walls of Dawn City ignited at once, unleashing another torrent of firepower—but these barrels were not aimed at survivors or the Garrison Commander, but still locked onto the Dark Monster Tide, unleashing a furious storm of human industrial metal!!

"How is this possible!?" Seeing this, Julius's face turned ashen: "Red Three was supposed to have seized Dawn City already!!"

Click!

A mechanical motor hummed. Lin Xian stood opposite him, his Xienengpao aimed at Julius's forehead, and said coldly:

"Clearly, you don't understand what it means to be human."

Julius, furiously enraged, snarled: "Lin, I swear you will all—"

BOOM!

The Xienengpao pierced his forehead; the cloned Julius collapsed before he could finish his sentence.

Lin Xian immediately rushed over to lift Chu Yan up; at this moment, blood streamed from her eyes, nostrils, and lips. She tried to open her eyes but trembled uncontrollably, her head convulsing, her mechanical implants screaming alarms.

【Heart rate overload, heart rate overload…】

【Life signs about to cease—AED system activating automatically】

Wu ~ziiii!

Chu Yan's AED system activated automatically; a crackle of electric discharge shuddered through her. She seemed to regain a sliver of awareness, still eyes shut, trembling, struggling to speak.

Lin Xian watched, pressing his ear close.

"This… is the only… choice… Lin… don't… abandon me…"

Her breathing faded. Lin Xian slowly lifted his head. The woman before him had ceased to breathe; her beautiful face now bloomed with crimson blood like a flower.

Lin Xian stood up. In his earpiece, Kiki's voice came through.

"Lin Xian… we've retrieved the Galaxy Heart."

In the command room, Shi Zhi had just inserted the Continuity Secret Key into the control panel at the final moment—Grace had captured the core consciousness of Red Three before it could fully seize the Galaxy Heart.

Around them, the air reeked of blood. At the entrance, Zhou Jin, his chest completely torn open, had died alongside the Black Armor Man. Qi Nu had lost half his lower leg and leaned against the corner, lighting himself a cigarette, while Shi Zhi, her face streaked with tears, tried to treat him.

Qi Nu's gaze swept over the fallen—every one of his former teammates, his comrades.

Lin Xian's drones, save for a few construction units, had all been destroyed. Grace pulled the exhausted Kiki from the rubble and carried her to a corridor outside the command room.

Rumble!

The few survivors stared at the boiling heat and smoke filling the launch shaft after the Gray Mist Envoy's launch, as if waking from a dream.

Lin Xian stood at the mouth of the massive launch shaft, gazing upward through the surrounding fires as the towering Gray Mist Envoy slowly ascended into the black rain-soaked night. Simultaneously, at Dawn City's Starport, seven colossal starships, shielded by countless anti-air weapons and aerial warcraft, streaked across the sky in a brilliant arc.

That arc was like humanity's final torch before nightfall—illuminating the heavens even as it seemed to carry away Dawn City's last light.

Hearing the Galaxy Heart reclaimed, Lin Xian felt an indescribable turmoil within him. He knew they had survived the night—but he also knew that what remained of humanity might now be nothing but the last desperate flight for survival.

(End of Chapter)