Chapter 524

“Huh~”

Lin Xian plopped down on the sofa, the silver Civilization Sphere still warm in his hand; he exhaled slowly and looked at Kiki: “Do you know how they established a mental link with me?”

“I’ve guessed a little.” Kiki leaned back, legs crossed, analyzing calmly: “The Civilization Simulation Sphere’s synchronization implies an information network built using non-human technology—Phoenix Society must have realized this and used Chu Yan’s psychic ability to launch a reverse infiltration?”

“Brilliant,” Lin Xian murmured in awe: “I almost forgot you’re a genius hacker.”

“Pfft~” Kiki smiled faintly, her eyes gleaming: “The Foundation must have leveraged this Tower People technology to infiltrate Phoenix Society—so your mental link with them was made possible through the Tower People’s ‘internal network.’ But there must be a cost, and it’s impossible to achieve through conventional means.”

Lin Xian nodded: “Chu Yan used the S-Class operational brain in Dawn City to split and upload part of her consciousness—so this communication between Professor Ye and me had a touch of ‘secret passage.’”

Kiki’s gaze fixed on Lin Xian: “So Chu Yan’s defection was actually part of Ye Lan’s secret plan?”

“Probably not.” Lin Xian recalled his conversation with Professor Ye, voice low: “The professor didn’t tell me much, but it sounds like Chu Yan did this because she realized something—splitting her consciousness, in a way… the one who left isn’t entirely the original Chu Yan anymore.”

“So does that mean Chu Yan might have truly defected?”

Lin Xian shook his head: “I can’t imagine what it feels like to have your consciousness split—even though I understand her to some degree, I can’t be certain now. But the Foundation has always valued Chu Yan’s psychic ability; back in Akse, she told me both the Crimson World and the Foundation listed her as their top target. Given her strength and the Foundation’s interest, I think she’s still alive. As for the rest…”

He changed the subject: “Thanks to this fragment of Chu Yan’s mental energy, Phoenix Society traced back many sources of Civilization Sphere contacts and uncovered numerous internal traitors. In this regard, she’s already given too much for humanity.”

Lin Xian didn’t finish his words—he had witnessed with his own eyes how Chu Yan was completely consumed by the [Angel] inside the simulation game, all to protect him. Now he was beginning to understand the meaning behind her words.

“It’s hard to understand from a human perspective.”

“But Lin Xian, I hope you always stand from a human perspective.”

“Traitor?” Kiki asked: “Those brainwashed rebels?”

“Yes.” Lin Xian snapped back to attention, looking at Kiki: “Professor Ye believes the Descent Faction can’t truly command the Dark Beings—even their own situation in the Crimson isn’t much better than ours. So…”

“The skirmish in Colorado and Hako was deliberately planned?”

“Almost certainly.” Lin Xian sighed heavily: “The Dawn Center battlefield was split, the Luqiao Bridge destroyed, Phoenix Society’s reinforcements kept arriving too late—three million troops in a heavily armed train fortress group were scattered across twelve different railway lines, then completely cut off. When did the Weird Bodies become this clever?”

Kiki’s eyes widened instantly as she realized: “I thought earlier it was like what happened on Haiyan Island—where the Foundation deployed a large decoy bomb. But this… the Descent Faction has been planning this for a long time.”

“Exactly.”

Lin Xian spoke gravely: “Their goal was to annihilate humanity’s main forces in one blow. From Asia-Pacific to North America, Dawn Center launched countless rescue operations—hundreds of battles, saving countless survivors and supplies. The Descent Faction waited until all forces converged, until the main armies began their mass migration, then struck the fatal blow!”

“Sigh~ We’re caught between internal betrayal and external threats.”

Kiki sighed softly: “The Night Monsters, the Star Abyss, the Crimson were already enough to crush hope—we didn’t even know how many months we had left. Now, on top of that, we’ve got traitors inside and these Descent Faction turncoats…”

She looked at Lin Xian: “Ye Lan reached out to you specifically—she wants you to return to the Polar Region as soon as possible, right?”

Lin Xian paused thoughtfully: “She knew I wouldn’t return immediately after learning this news, so she agreed to let me go support the front—and Phoenix Society will mobilize forces from Ushuaia and Polar Kunlun to assist.”

“Whoa!”

Kiki cheered: “Now that’s more like it! Looks like Phoenix Society really trusts you.”

“They don’t have a choice.” Lin Xian sighed helplessly: “Even without me, Phoenix Society couldn’t abandon those three million people. So far, Phoenix Society, Nightwalkers, the North American United Front, the Interstellar Army, and the European Storm Alliance have all sent dozens of rescue teams deep into the zone—but achieved nothing. Ushuaia’s garrison keeps sending troops northward, but they’re suffering heavy losses. Only places like Shi Weidong’s fortified strongholds are still fighting in the Crimson… but from Lei Meng’s words, even those are dwindling…”

“I’m a mechanical psychic—I’m the only one suited to fix the train tracks. And because of this fragment of Chu Yan’s mental consciousness, I’m the only one who can remotely contact Polar Kunlun. So no one else fits better.”

Lin Xian looked at Kiki: “They’ve appointed me as overall commander of this rescue mission—you’re my first soldier~”

“Pfft~” Kiki burst into laughter, bending over: “So our special ops team is just the two of us—you’re a general with no army, and you still think you’re giving me orders?”

Cough, cough~

Lin Xian cleared his throat: “For now, yes—but in North America, there are two Taitiewei brigades, six special forces units, and three aerial fleets.” He pulled out the crimson Phoenix Token: “The roster’s been updated—this is how we’ll find our own people.”

“Alright, let’s get real.” Kiki’s laughter faded; she looked at Lin Xian seriously: “By now, Chen Jia and the others have been in North America for over fifty days. Even accounting for travel time, no news for this long—how could three million people still be alive? Even if most survived, if they’ve been trapped this long, they must be stuck. Logically, Chen Jia, Mo Nika, and the others have the Skytrain, Long Zhijie can levitate trains, not to mention Viola and your thousands of engineering drones—if even all that can’t break free, there must be something far more dangerous than broken tracks. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.”

She paused, her eyes flickering, voice growing darker: “Even this is still the optimistic guess…”

Lin Xian nodded—he’d thought of Kiki’s analysis too—but right now, he couldn’t speculate further. At least contacting Phoenix Society gave him a clear direction. As for the situation in Arizona, they’d only know once they arrived—and they’d have to survive crossing this Crimson zone.

“By the way.”

Kiki asked Lin Xian: “Did this commander tell you what Phoenix Society’s plan is for the Polar Region? With the Star Abyss stirring and the Crimson descending, their original strategy must be shattered. The Crimson will swallow the Polar Region eventually—it’s only a matter of time. Humanity has nowhere left to retreat. If there’s no viable survival plan, the survivors won’t wait for the Tower People to descend—they’ll all mutate from despair.”

“Yes.”

Lin Xian drew a deep breath, his gaze fixed on the empty air ahead: “You can guess it—under these circumstances, humanity’s only chance is to break through the Celestial Veil.”

Kiki nodded instinctively, lowering her head; she used telekinesis to make the water in the cup on the table swirl slowly, murmuring softly:

“So even if we abandon Earth, the Tower People won’t let us go…”