Chapter 289

A torrent of steel surged down from the Upper City District, carrying the momentum to crush everything, and rushed into the narrow passage of the underground black market.

Leading the charge were three ten-meter-tall "Judgers," crafted by the Diamond Conglomerate's most advanced technology, their combat power rivaling that of the Gray Crows, though less agile.

Behind them were thousands of "Scavenger"-type mechanical puppets, these three-meter-tall killing machines all possessing fifth-tier strength.

The commander of the Third Legion of the City Eleven Internal Defense Forces, Li Wei, sat in the cockpit of a "Judger" mech, indifferently watching the battlefield map displayed on the screen.

"All units, attention: the target area has been locked. Initiate indiscriminate attack; within fifteen minutes, I want to see the life signals in this area reduced to zero."

"Received."

"Received."

Li Wei's finger pressed the attack command.

However, nothing happened.

On the holographic screen before him, the red button representing the attack command turned gray.

A system alert tone sounded in his ear.

【Command Error: Insufficient Authorization.】

Li Wei froze.

Insufficient authorization?

He was the supreme commander of the Third Legion, possessing the highest military authority in the city aside from the four overseers.

He tried issuing the command again, but the response remained the same cold line of text.

"What's going on?" Li Wei roared over the comms, "Control center, check this immediately!"

No response.

The comm channel fell into dead silence, only a hissing electric noise.

Not only him, but the two other "Judger" mechs behind him, as well as the thousands of "Scavenger" puppets, all froze as if their power had been cut.

At the entrance to the underground black market, this steel legion capable of flattening a small nation turned into a pile of lifeless scrap metal.

Just as Li Wei was bewildered, he noticed the two "Judger" mechs behind him suddenly swivel their guns and aim at him.

At the same time, the thousands of "Scavenger" puppets turned in unison, pointing their energy blades and shock swords at each other.

"No! Stop!"

Li Wei let out a desperate howl.

He tried to manually operate the mech, but discovered all control permissions had been locked.

The next second, brilliant fireworks burst within the narrow passage.

Particle cannon beams pierced allied chest armor, energy blasts from the blast guns shattered companions' skulls, and high-frequency vibro-blades sliced through their bodies.

A feast of mutual slaughter unfolded at the entrance to the underground black market in an extremely bizarre and ludicrous manner.

No enemies, no resistance.

The mechanical legion that the four conglomerates prided themselves on was disassembled by their own weapons into a heap of parts smoking black.

……

……

Upper City District, top floor of the Heavenly Source Conglomerate branch.

Lin Si stared at the main screen where the signal had abruptly cut off, and at the chaotic footage of allied forces attacking each other that was transmitted last, his whole body as if struck by lightning.

"How could this be……"

His voice became hoarse from extreme shock,

"Our command system……has it been hacked?"

"It's not an intrusion."

Beside him, Iron Face, the computational core of that mechanical brain had begun to sputter electric sparks from overload,

"It's a takeover; they've taken control of us!"

"To be able to silently seize control of the entire legion's command in such a short time……"

"Contact headquarters immediately!"

Lin Si finally snapped out of his shock, rushed to the communications terminal, and tried to reach the highest conglomerate.

But the transmission sent out vanished like a stone into the sea.

He then tried contacting the overseers of other cities, with the same result.

All outward transmissions were completely cut off.

This city had become an isolated island.

Just as the four fell into despair, the office's main screen suddenly lit up on its own.

What appeared was not a response to a distress signal, but an enlarged, slightly disheveled face of a middle-aged man.

The man sported two huge dark circles under his eyes, his hair messy like a bird's nest, as he yawned and waved at the camera.

"Hey, four bosses, good afternoon."

Gu Xuan Ce's voice came through the speaker, carrying a lazy, just-woken-up tone,

"Let me introduce myself, I'm…… uh, an elder of the Ancient Immortal Sect."

He paused, then revealed a smile that made the four overseers' scalps tingle.

Inside the secret chamber of the air-raid shelter.

A-Qi watched the battlefield blankly through the water mirror that Gu Xuan Ce had casually conjured.

Those once-invincible mechanical puppets now lay like a heap of toys broken by children, scattered in disarray.

He swallowed, then turned his head to look beside him at the white-clad immortal sipping tea while avidly watching the screen.

Is this the power of an immortal?

No need to act, not even need to show up.

In the midst of chatting and laughing, an army capable of destroying a city turned to ashes and smoke.

The vanity and arrogance that had just sprouted in his heart because of power were crushed to powder at this moment.

In its place came a deeper awe and fear springing from the depths of the soul.

He finally understood his petty little thoughts of jumping up and down over this.

In the eyes of an immortal, it probably doesn't even count as a farce.

……

On the other side, the four supreme rulers who had governed Tian Shu Eleven City for decades now looked like four statues whose souls had been drained, staring blankly at the smiling face with dark circles on the main screen.

"You... who exactly are you?"

Lin Si's voice was hoarse; he tried to find a flaw, a weakness he could exploit, in the other party.

"Me?"

Gu Xuan Ce scratched his messy hair, thought for a moment,

"That's not important; now this Tian Shu Eleven City is my Gu Family's property—this is a notice, not a negotiation."

The four stewards' faces turned deathly pale.

They knew the other party wasn't joking.

Everything they relied on for survival and rule had been completely grasped in the hand of the disheveled-looking man before them.

And the Gu Family?

What is that?

The person behind the Ancient Immortal Sect?

They could establish a family and still have this kind of power... how could they possibly not know about it until now!