Chapter 552: On the Eve of the Great War

"Enju, where did you get this thing?" Satomi Rentaro gripped the box Tina had handed him, his voice trembling slightly.

"This? Xiaona gave it to me!" Enju said, squinting her eyes.

"Xiaona? She just gave away something this valuable?" Satomi Rentaro looked astonished.

"Xiaona said that nothing is more important than my safety. In a dangerous moment when we're surrounded by Gastrea, I just need to throw what's inside the box!" Enju said.

"Throw what's inside the box?" Satomi Rentaro opened the box.

Resting in the center of the box were four items that looked somewhat like grenades. However, on the shell of the grenades, there were ethereal etchings resembling clouds and mist, the unique mark of Lingyun Town.

"Could this be the secret weapon Lingyun Town used to crush the Scorpio back then?" Looking at these four grenades, Nagisawa Shoma couldn't help but whistle.

"Lingyun Town's secret weapon?" Tendo Kisara couldn't help but lean in toward Satomi Rentaro, gazing at the grenades in the box with curiosity.

"Xiaona said these are just weakened versions, but the power is enough to get us out of a pinch!" Aihara Enju said.

"Weakened versions?" Satomi Rentaro was a bit disappointed, but he quickly pulled himself together. "But that makes sense. A weapon capable of annihilating a Stage Five wouldn't be so easy to manufacture. These must be what Lingyun Town could spare for us after ensuring their own safety."

"Lingyun Town previously announced their withdrawal from the underground shelter quota lottery, stating they didn't need the Tokyo Area's protection. This must be their trump card!" Another man leaned in toward Satomi Rentaro and said with a grin.

This person was named Katagiri Tamaki, who had crossed paths with Satomi Rentaro before. He was ranked 1,850th in the IP rankings and was a fairly famous Civil Security Officer in the Tokyo Area.

"Very likely!" Satomi Rentaro nodded.

"Tsk tsk, to think they even lent you such a weapon of mass destruction. Lingyun Town really has nothing to be faulted for when it comes to valuing Cursed Children!" Katagiri Tamaki's Initiator, Katagiri Yuzuki, said with some envy.

"Oh no, everyone, look at the Monolith!"

Suddenly, Nagisawa Shoma pointed at the Monolith not far away, his tone filled with unconcealable fear and surprise.

Hearing Nagisawa Shoma's words, Satomi Rentaro looked up toward the direction of the Monolith, his pupils shrinking violently.

Lingyun Town, conference room.

Lingyun looked at the stack of photos in front of him, wondering what he was thinking.

"Brother, looking at these photos, the Tokyo Area's Self-Defense Force has already modified their combat deployment. It seems the information Brother passed on has been accepted by them!" Senju Kayo, who was on the side, put down the photos in her hand and said to Lingyun.

"Although they changed their combat deployment, they still exclude the Civil Security Officers. How should I describe their approach?" Lingyun spread his hands helplessly. "If the Civil Security units and the Self-Defense Force were mixed together, they might have the ability to fight these Gastrea. But looking at them now, they seem to have no intention of joining forces with the Civil Security Officers. If any sudden accident occurs, the reaction speed of the Civil Security Officers will definitely be much faster than theirs."

"Lingyun, the wind direction today is a bit off!" Nangong Nayue appeared beside Lingyun.

"The wind direction is off?" Lingyun repeated, somewhat puzzled.

"That's right. The wind is a bit strong today. After the Monolith was eroded by the Varanium-eroding liquid, it became quite fragile. Under the impact of strong winds, the top layer is very easy to shatter. After that, it will trigger a chain reaction, causing the entire Monolith to collapse," Nangong Nayue said.

"No, the collapse has already begun!"

Lingyun's gaze suddenly looked into the distance, toward the direction of the Monolith.

With Lingyun's eyesight, it was easy to see that the first thing to collapse was a corner at the top of the Monolith. Immediately after, like a chain reaction, countless cracks spread downward. With the appearance of the cracks, the entire Monolith began to collapse downward as if an avalanche had occurred.

Although the sound of the Monolith collapsing could not be heard in Lingyun Town, just watching the silent collapse of the Monolith from afar was enough to shake the hearts of many.

After the Monolith collapsed, a powerful tremor and roar were transmitted over. On the outer wall of Lingyun Town, strands of colorful light flowed, neutralizing the huge shockwave, and even the intense tremor was weakened significantly.

"The Third Kanto War is finally about to begin!" Lingyun said slowly.

Near Monolith No. 32, Civil Security Officer base.

Satomi Rentaro and his group lay on the ground. The moment the Monolith collapsed, they felt the bad news. They made the most correct response almost immediately. Satomi Rentaro stuffed the four grenades into his arms as fast as he could. Then the group immediately found a sturdy shelter and lay down on the ground, holding hands.

The moment the Monolith fragments collided violently with the ground, a strong tremor accompanied by a loud boom and a shockwave struck Rentaro and his group. They pressed their bodies entirely to the ground, using the shelter to withstand this violent impact. The strong tremor shook their internal organs from the ground, and the shockwave blew away the surrounding rubble and old signs.

"Damn it, why did the Monolith collapse a day early?" After the first shockwave passed, Katagiri Tamaki couldn't help but curse loudly.

"This doesn't make sense. There should have been another day before the collapse. Could it be that the calculations on Seitenshi's side weren't precise enough?" Satomi Rentaro also said with a puzzled look.

Suddenly, a strong wind swept past them, making a whistling sound, causing Satomi Rentaro's clothes to puff up.

"The wind, it's the wind. Today's strong wind became the last straw that pushed over the Monolith! Even now in 2031, it is still very difficult to perfectly predict the weather, and the randomly blowing air currents are even harder to calculate. Those people in Seitenshi's hands miscalculated the wind factor." Satomi Rentaro's face turned extremely ugly.

"How should I put this? Is this what we've always heard Lingyun and the others say, that 'man proposes, God disposes'?" Tendo Kisara said.

"Now is not the time for idle talk. We must immediately rush to the frontline base and rendezvous with the other Civil Security Officers!" Satomi Rentaro said anxiously.

"Let's go!" The group turned around at the same time and rushed toward the gathering place of the Civil Security Officers.

Under the influence of today's strong wind, the Third Kanto War finally kicked off, at a timing no one had guessed.