Chapter 662

The airflow generated by high-speed movement dispersed the congested crowd.

The speed was so fast it startled everyone.

Before this second-rank could react, that white shadow had already instantly rushed into the inner city.

The newly appointed city guard soldier's hand trembled, and alarms on the defense line sounded one after another.

Damn it, they neglected their duty!

Something actually rushed in!

In the shock, he instinctively wanted to trigger a higher-level alarm.

"Lower your guard! Don't activate skills!"

Fortunately, under the repeated rebukes of an Awakened One, he hesitated and stopped his action.

Just now, what monster rushed in with that speed!?

The squad leader guarding nearby saw his fright and couldn't help but give a light smile:

"Don't worry, it should be Miss AnXia."

As he spoke, a flicker of reverence flashed in the squad leader's eyes.

I don't know what happened in the inner city, but it actually made AnXia so agitated.

In the rumors, this little girl in a white dress possesses unfathomable strength.

Just her speed alone is enough to overwhelm everyone.

Recently, she even instantly killed a second-rank mutant that was chasing the supply team.

I truly don't know how the power hidden in her seemingly frail body can be so strong.

Therefore.

In private, there are rumors that...

Miss AnXia not only has a close relationship with Lin An, but she might not even be human.

Her existence might be a trump card of Long'an Base...

"Lin An!! Sniffle..."

Like a gust of wind rushing into his embrace, Lin An somewhat helplessly hugged the rushing AnXia.

The tremendous impact nearly knocked him off balance.

Fortunately, his strength has been greatly enhanced...

"It's fine..."

"I'm back."

His eyes flickering, Lin An softly comforted AnXia, slightly nodding to the people inside the core fortress.

Meanwhile, Xiong Hanzi hehehed, pulling out several shiny props from his pocket, full of pride.

After calming the young one, he cleared his throat, feeling somewhat emotional as he looked at the thousands of excited people gathering around:

"Brothers, Squad Leader Lin is back!"

"Whoever has provoked our Long An recently, speak up. Let Squad Leader Lin wipe them out!"

At the very last second of the transmission, the nuclear retaliation strike was also instantly launched.

The fireball rising again was like a second red sun.

Said and done.

Although I don't know why Squad Leader Lin insisted on throwing that nuclear bomb, tit for tat.

But it also gave the opposing side time to evacuate.

In doubt.

Lin An did not over-explain.

It merely seemed as if there were some kind of plan.

However, in Xiong Hanzi's and everyone's view, Lin An's decision was correct.

Even without explanation, it was still right.

Therefore, while chatting casually on the fighter jet, Gao Tian and the others casually complained about a trouble, and Xiong Hanzi took note of it in his heart.

This led to him, upon returning, becoming excited and wanting to launch a war, to blast flat any force that lacks vision.

As for peace, only nuclear flattening can bring it.

The entire venue fell silent.

The excited cheers stalled, and many people stared at Zhang Tie in bewilderment, their expressions strange.

Following the returned An Jing Tian, he gave a light cough and tugged at Zhang Tie's arm.

He whispered:

"The trouble we spoke of... isn't that someone has attacked us...."

In the small meeting room, the base's core personnel sat facing each other.

For efficiency, Lin An only summoned the members of the Rescue Squad, plus Huang Haitao and company.

Originally, Huang Haitao was still somewhat excited, wanting Lin An to listen to the base's recent developments in the newly built Long'an Hall.

But Lin An firmly postponed it.

The most important matters now are: first, to clarify what happened in the Huanjiang Military Region; second, to trigger the trial tower mission.

Among Gao Tian and others, the affair of the Huanjiang Military Region seems rather thorny.

There, the supernatural incident has remained unresolved to this day, instead showing a trend of escalation.

Fully aware of the terror of such incidents, Lin An simply decided to first get to the bottom of it.

If the situation is urgent, then we can only first go resolve it before heading to the trial tower.

Speak up, what happened there in the Huanjiang Military Region?

Chu An, didn't you cooperate with you all to resolve that place?

Some doubt.

Logically speaking, given Colonel Chu's ability, Lin An doesn't believe there's anything Chu An can't solve.

The questioned An Jing Tian, after hearing, hurriedly replied:

"Brother Lin, Chu Da said he has more important things."

"He... hasn't been involved in base affairs for a long time."

Lin An raised his eyebrows upon hearing, gesturing for An Jing Tian to continue speaking.

"Chu An, wasn't it said he wanted to 'return' a powerful Long An to himself?"

"How come he instead shows an attitude of indifference?"

Although the time is short, only two months.

But the base's basic development—you, Chu An, should at least take part, right?

At the other end of the line, An Jing Tian paused briefly to organize his words:

"That's how it is."

"All troops of the Huanjiang Military Region have withdrawn; we previously also sent Awakened Ones, including Gao Tian, to go there to resolve the supernatural incident."

"Near the military region, we encountered a patch of white mist."

"In the white mist, the five senses, including spiritual perception, sharply decline; our perception becomes worse than that of ordinary people."

"Moreover, once inside, one can hear anguished pleas and cries, as well as incessant gunshots and pleas for help..."

He still felt lingering fear.

Jing Tian took a deep breath and continued:

"In the white mist, I feel a sense of being assimilated; the longer I stay, the more my consciousness will melt."

"According to the guide, soldiers who had previously encountered early white mist described..."

"If one stays in the white mist beyond a certain limit, they will see unknown terrifying things."

"There was once a hundred-strong squad, led by Awakened Ones, that tried to uncover the origin of the white mist."

"But in the end, only the rearmost survivor remained alive."

"He hadn't been inside long either, but when he emerged, he was completely insane."

"The others were all wiped out."

He tapped his fingertips on the table.

Lin An habitually fell into thought, casually asking a few key points:

"White mist... is it fixed in a certain area or what?"

"Did the former Huanjiang Military Region provide any other clues, or attempt to resolve it again?"

Huang Haitao, who had been in charge of contacting the military region, upon hearing, repeatedly replied:

"Lord Lin An."

"There are."

"That white mist has expanded from an initial hundred-meter range to several kilometers now, which is also why the Huanjiang Military Region set up bases elsewhere."

"As for resolution and clues."

Huang Haitao hesitated and shook his head, recalling what the military region's higher-ups had previously told him:

"None."

"The only clue is the surviving mad soldier."

"After he came out, he lived only about two hours, but the military region had interrogated him and recorded it."

While speaking, Huang Haitao hastily produced a portable recorder from his pocket and handed it to Lin An.

"The recording is inside."

"We had people test-listen; there's no problem."

"It's just... a bit creepy..."

Recalling the recording's content, Huang Haitao couldn't help but shiver.

"The content isn't scary, but the speaker's fear while speaking is highly contagious."

"That is... a deep, deep despair."

After taking the small recorder, Lin An pondered for a moment and then stored it in his ring.

White mist... recording... spreading?

This matter sounds somewhat tricky, but it shouldn't cause major problems in the short term.

Although it can spread, the speed is not fast.

After thinking, Lin An still decided to resolve this matter after the trial, upon reaching third rank.

After confirming there were no other matters, he decisively stood up.

"Let's go."

"We're heading to the base core to prepare for an upgrade."

After suppressing his unease about the supernatural incident, Lin An revealed a faint smile.

"Once the base is upgraded, many spiritual-energy buildings can be constructed."

Thinking of the construction list he had previously examined, he couldn't help but feel some anticipation.

"Especially, the all-important trial tower."

"The spiritual-energy core suffused with dark blue light."

Lin An somewhat unexpectedly saw Chu An, who had been waiting already.

After a moment of hesitation, the two nodded at each other.

"Do you want to upgrade the base level?"

"Perfect, I've recently thought of some new things."

With a smile on his face, Chu An forced a stiff smile, as if unaware that Lin An had discovered traces in the Secret Realm that seemed to have been left by him.

Lin An took a deep breath and nodded.

Forget it, I'll ask about Chu An's matter after this is over.

He looked at the base control panel extending from the ground ahead.

His gaze was somewhat dazed.

Just a few short months.

From the moment he obtained the base vehicle, he never imagined he would reach this point.

It felt like a dream.

In his peripheral vision, he noticed Chu An had changed into a white coat; though usually meticulous and neat, he now looked somewhat disheveled and exhausted.

He had no idea what Chu An was actually doing.

His thoughts were in disarray.

Amid the expectant gazes of the crowd, Lin An slowly reached out his hands and pressed them onto the base control panel.

The spiritual energy reserves, which had never been full before, were now overflowing, far exceeding previous levels.

There was more than enough spiritual energy needed for the upgrade.

The moment his palm pressed down, a golden light flashed instantly.

"Detected owner of the Doomsday Base Vehicle."

"Honorable Commander, please select your command."

"1. Retract the base vehicle and transform, 2. Initiate self-destruct procedure, 3. Upgrade base level, consuming spiritual energy reserves..."

With a determined gaze, Lin An unhesitatingly chose to upgrade the level.

He had waited a long time for this moment.

He pressed down again in an instant.

"Hum!!"

A vast amount of spiritual energy vanished in an instant, and a soaring column of light shot from the top of the spiritual energy tower into the sky.

"Beep, the base has begun upgrading, the building list is unlocked."

"Beep, spiritual energy enhancement speed increased, triggering the Fire Thief title, reducing upgrade consumption..."

"Beep..."

"Global announcement:"

"Long'an Base Safe Zone, owner Lin An, safe zone level upgraded, current level d (upgraded from e to d), earned 200 prestige points."

"As the world's first d-level safe zone, Long'an Base gains a 30-day invulnerability period, during which it will not be attacked by mutants, special events, magical beasts, etc., natural disasters, heavenly calamities, catastrophes..."

"Obtaining a spiritual energy shield (30 days), during the protection period, damage from technological weapons is reduced by 90%, and immunity to duels to the death mission-level safe zone battles."

"Beep..."

"The Trial Tower opens, apocalypse progression rate +30%, third-rank upgrade unlocked!"

After the lengthy, information-packed global announcement ended.

Around the world, countless survivors listened in shock to the long-absent system broadcast.

Just as Lin An was curious and wanted to check the protection rewards.

The next second, a spiritual pressure sweeping across the globe echoed in the mind:

"Little bugs."

"Congratulations."

"Cataclysm..."

"It officially begins!"

The mocking, cruel voice rang out, fresh in everyone's memory, as if etched into their bones.

That was a voice that had appeared before the apocalypse broke out.

Inside the base, Lin An opened his mouth in shock for the first time in his life, his eyes full of disbelief.

He instinctively looked up toward the horizon, trying to see through the layers of obstruction.

In the mental perception image, the noon sky instantly fell into boundless darkness.

The sun seemed to have been extinguished.

No matter which corner of the earth, sunlight was completely devoured.

Countless wails bursting from within filled the mind.

What happened!!

In my past life, there was absolutely no such final voice!

Before the control panel, Lin An forced himself to look at his own hands while suppressing his fear, a strong sense of unease enveloping him.

I feel like... I did something wrong!!