Chapter 484: A Quiet Night

Crimson.

Before Lin Xian actually saw that scene, he never imagined it was a color of heaven and earth; now, whenever he recalled it, a strange unease settled in his chest—if the original Dark Tide had forced one to confront the terror of darkness, then when crimson engulfed the land, it gave the feeling that the world itself had twisted, leaving humanity with nowhere to escape.

He didn’t know what it was, and perhaps Phoenix Association didn’t know either, since less than a month had passed since the Great Battle of Dawn City—but Lin Xian knew it was certainly no good omen.

The night over Hawaii Island was quiet and profound, the starry sky speckled, sparse starlight like fine dust scattered across a velvet black canopy, waves gently lapping the shore, bringing a near-hypnotic calm.

The city lay utterly silent, no lights illuminating its gray-white buildings, only faint starlight outlining their silhouettes, ruined buildings and ruins half-hidden in the night, like a forgotten ghost realm.

Countless zombies wandered silently through the streets, their forms twisted like spectral shadows, accompanied by indescribable eerie whispers and writhing black shapes flickering in and out of the darkness—this sight should have sent chills down one’s spine, but in Lin Xian’s eyes, after enduring so many crises over this period, the screaming dead and bizarre forms had lost their terror, instead becoming familiar silhouettes.

He stood before the bridge, gazing at the dead city and unexpectedly finding a rare peace—as if the silent stars and steady waves had quietly washed away his inner unrest, turning the twisted reality into a brief harbor of calm.

【Captain Lin, your breathing and heartbeat indicate you are extremely calm—this is very uncommon.】

Inside the bridge, only Viola remained, all others having returned to their rooms to rest.

Lin Xian looked up at the sky, stretched lazily, and said softly: “There are many worries, but none of them have reached the point where I need to worry yet. Phoenix Association’s mission is only half-complete, and we still can’t reach the pole directly—but the expected goal has been met, so I can afford to let my mind go blank for now.”

He gestured toward the vast coastal city and smiled: “There’s little danger here—maybe I can sneak in a little rest.”

【That’s an excellent idea.】

Viola stood with arms behind her, posture proud and steady, calmly replying: 【According to Dark Tide calculations, the next 13th Star Abyss polar night will cover this area in at least 261 days; our journey via the circumstellar Zhixianguidao to Panama is estimated at 113 hours, but by flight it would take only 23 hours. Factoring in transit time through the Dawn Center across North America, you can fully afford to stay here for 15 to 20 days to rest and recharge, and use this time to enhance your mechanical ability—we’ve acquired abundant supplies sufficient for the team’s rest and resupply.】

“Fifteen days?” Lin Xian chuckled: “No way—I’ll be lucky to get one or two.”

He pulled out the Dark Gear, scanning it with his gaze: “The Holy Revelation paid a heavy price to target me—I suspect this isn’t over yet. Shengcheng, Holy Revelation, the Foundation, and that giant monster in the sea… even though we barely escaped the superstorm, I won’t stay long on this island. Joining the main force sooner will save me trouble.”

“Based on your judgment, what’s the nature of this forbidden object?” Lin Xian handed the Dark Gear to Viola.

Viola did not take it, remaining poised in place: 【All my sensors, except the Soul-Resonance Detector, are unable to perform effective scans of this object, so I cannot analyze it from a perceptual standpoint. However, combining known characteristics of forbidden objects and containment data, I believe the ‘retinal countdown’ and ‘mini Star Abyss eruption’ phenomena are not attacks initiated by the object’s container against you.】

Lin Xian nodded, weighing the heavy black gear in his hand: “If they had such overwhelming power, they’d have used it already. Chen Yanxiu deliberately left this for me to plant a bomb—apparently, I ‘contained’ this black gear under some completely unknown circumstance, and that countdown… might be some kind of…”

【Side effect.】

“Side effect?” Lin Xian raised an eyebrow slightly: “That does sound plausible.”

Lin Xian stared at the black gear, his expression grim: “Ever since Wu Ge’s Infinite Ring and Yueyue Zhenji’s Flash Bullets, I’ve almost lost my sense of danger toward forbidden objects. Remember how the 1542 Radio nearly killed me? Early Angel Project data showed forbidden objects everywhere were linked to massive evil and death—this thing triggers a mini Star Abyss. The scale and range—if not for my energy leap and gravitational lensing, I’d be dead. And worse, it even blocks my containment of other forbidden objects. It’s just too sinister.”

【Your analysis is remarkably insightful. From the Descenders’ targeted hostility toward humanity, disabling your Flash Bullets, closing the Southern Heaven Gate, and killing you would be an action with extremely high return—but they failed.】

Lin Xian stared at the Dark Gear, his gaze puzzled.

Without the countdown haunting him, Lin Xian realized he indeed felt some kind of connection to the black gear—he didn’t know how Chen Yanxiu had transferred its containment to him, nor how to use it, and it gave him a headache. But since the countdown hadn’t reappeared, he sighed in relief. He had too many things on him already; he didn’t need to figure it out right away. His priority now was to make full use of this rare night and the island’s abundant supplies.

Viola turned slightly toward him: 【Your alertness and wisdom are astonishing, Viola deeply admires you.】

With that, Viola bowed her head slightly in greeting.

Seeing her gesture, Lin Xian couldn’t help but smile: “You don’t need to flatter me.”

【Praise and flattery significantly increase human satisfaction of social status and self-approval in Maslow’s hierarchy. As your assistant, I should provide emotional value at appropriate times—monitoring your mental and physical well-being is part of my duty.】

Lin Xian nodded solemnly, then took a deep breath and said to Viola, watching the unmanned aerial vehicles steadily transporting supplies toward the Skytrain: “Sync all high-value mechanical clusters to me. Tonight, I’m going to devour them all.”

【Understood.】

Hum~

Viola turned, and a holographic map of the city appeared before Lin Xian.

【Oahu Airport, Green Industrial Park, Las Vegas Casino Street—seven concentrated mechanical clusters identified. Additionally, over nineteen parking lots, two amusement zones, and three estates containing yachts and aerial cruisers have been located.】

“Alright, got it.”