Chapter 156: Simulating The End

She turned her head and looked at A Xing, who was crouched beside her, quietly observing the outside environment through the observation window.

The gray‑haired girl's face still wore that unglamorous calm, as if the infiltration she'd just completed weren't a dragon's den but a post‑meal stroll into a neighbor's backyard.

"Hey, do you have any other tricks?"

Du Ya nudged A Xing lightly with her elbow, "That plan only goes as far as 'successfully infiltrate and locate the target'; it doesn't say 'how to extract a Sleep Pod while everyone's on high alert'. Hurry up and use it, don't keep it hidden."

A Xing heard that, slowly turned his head, and his golden eyes looked at Du Ya.

She said nothing, just raised one hand, extended her index finger, gently held it to her lips, making a "shush" gesture.

Then her other hand pointed to her ear, then upward, and finally mouthed silently:

"Wait a moment."

Du Ya frowned.

(Wait? Wait for what? Wait for the Tian Ming Guardians to collectively doze off? Or wait for Aotuo to suddenly have a conscience and ship Li Su Shang to us?)

Just as the sarcastic commentary in her mind was about to flood the screen—

A wave of "feeling" swept over her without warning.

It wasn't sound, nor light, nor a physical impact.

It was a pure shiver born from the deepest instinct of life.

Her heart seemed instantly clenched, blood flow surged oddly, and a teeth‑numbing chill rose from deep within her marrow.

A sense of "insignificance" and "danger", like icy seawater, instantly drowned all her senses.

"Ugh—!"

Du Ya let out a low hum, her complexion turning pale, and fine cold sweat beading instantly on her forehead.

She clutched her chest hard, gasping, feeling as if she'd been thrust into a ten‑kilometer‑deep ocean, bearing unimaginable pressure.

(What—what just happened?!)

She looked up in terror, staring at A Xing.

The gray‑haired girl remained crouched, but Du Ya keenly noticed her body also stiffened for a moment.

However, A Xing quickly regained his composure.

Meanwhile, at Tian Ming Headquarters, the Bishop's office.

Aotuo sat gracefully in a spacious office chair, idly twirling a finely crafted miniature Kalian figurine between his fingers.

A faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

The next second, that smile froze abruptly.

He sprang up from the chair in one swift motion, the movement so sudden the figurine nearly slipped from his grasp.

His emerald eyes instantly sharpened like a hawk's, snapping southward as if they could pierce layers of walls and clouds to the distant far side.

The office door swung open almost simultaneously, and a capable girl wearing goggles and white braids—Amber—strode in, her face unusually grave and urgent.

"Bishop! The global monitoring network has detected an anomalous high‑energy reaction! Coordinates: latitude ██° S, longitude ██° W, South Pacific interior! Corruption Energy reading…"

Amber's voice faltered, as if even she could hardly believe the numbers she was about to report, "…is rising sharply, already surpassing every historical peak! Preliminary estimate…over 100,000 HW and still climbing! Energy signature…highly similar…to a 'The End' fluctuation!"

Aotuo's complexion darkened completely.

Even this five‑century‑old fox showed a flash of genuine doubt and gravity in his eyes.

At such a remote distance, a mere whiff of "breath" could trigger his soul‑steel body's instinctual alarm…

(The End? Early? No…not right…this fluctuation…)

"Immediately!"

Aotuo's voice was decisive, stripped of his usual leisurely sarcasm, "Recall Yulan Dail and Rita! All A‑rank and above Valkyries in standby, go to maximum combat readiness! Order all Floating Island defense systems to full power! Recon units, at any cost, confirm the actual situation at those coordinates!"

"Affirmative!"

Amber took the order and turned away swiftly.

Ni Zhang, a secret‑base laboratory somewhere.

"Finally, I've tuned the Titan's energy‑core overload protection threshold to perfection today! Now see if those iron clods dare to crash at will!"

Dr. Tesla proudly patted a massive Mecha gleaming with metallic sheen beside her, then grabbed an energy drink nearby and gulped a large mouthful.

Her gaze inadvertently swept over a screen beside her displaying global Corruption Energy monitoring data.

"Puff—!!!"

Red liquid spurted from her mouth in a jet, precisely showering the experimental table before her.

"Cough cough!! I—what the—!!!"

Tesla's face flushed bright red from the choking, she didn't bother wiping it, her trembling fingers pointed at a wildly flashing, bold red figure on the screen, "HW?!!"

She rubbed her eyes hard, then pinched her own thigh fiercely.

"It hurts! Not a dream?! Chicken‑nest head!! **Come quick and see!!"

She practically shouted, "************?! Or did I, after pulling a 72‑hour all‑night binge, just hallucinate?! What the ** is that Corruption Energy level?!"

The lab's automatic doors slid open, and Dr. Einstein hurried in, his usually calm blue‑gray eyes now bearing a rare seriousness.

She ignored Tesla's roar, walked straight to the main console, and his fingers flew as he pulled up a more detailed analysis.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Tesla."

Einstein's voice remained steady, though his speech was noticeably faster, "The monitoring network is operating normally, cross‑validation of data sources shows no error. The anomalous energy burst point lies in the Southern Hemisphere. Energy signature…highly abnormal; simulated analysis indicates its 'quality' bears strong 'The End' characteristics, even though the 'quantity' scale appears controlled…"

Tesla's flushed complexion drained instantly, she plopped onto the nearby chair, expression collapsing as she muttered, "Damn… it really came? This ** script isn't written like this…"

The perspective shifted back to the Helheim Experimental Area, ventilation‑duct compartment.

That terror‑laden pressure that swept the globe arrived like a tide and receded just as fast, lasting less than ten seconds before vanishing.

The previously orderly patrol footsteps became chaotic and hurried, a clamor of armed personnel being mobilized rang out from all directions, and even the lighting inside the experimental area flickered a few times, switching to a higher‑intensity emergency mode.

The originally regular patrol footsteps turned chaotic and hurried, the noisy clamor of large numbers of armed personnel being mobilized came from all directions, even the lighting inside the experimental area flickered a few times, switching to a higher‑brightness emergency mode.

Du Ya gasped heavily, her back against the cold metal wall, her bangs soaked with sweat.

She looked at A Xing, still shaken, her voice trembling: "Just, just now... what the hell was that?!"

A Xing had already stood up, patting nonexistent dust off her. She looked at Du Ya, speaking in a calm tone, clearly uttering four words:

"Simulate The End."

Du Ya: "...?"

Her brain felt like rusted gears, turning with difficulty, trying to grasp the meaning of those words combined.

(Sim... ulate? The End?)

(Can this thing even be "simulated"?! Do you think this is a management sim?! SimCity? Simulate The End?!)

Du Ya felt her worldview emitting an unbearable creaking sound.

She opened her mouth, but found she could not find suitable words to express the shock inside her at that moment.

A Xing seemed not to expect her understanding or response.

She went straight to the exit control panel of the compartment, her fingers tapping a few times quickly, disabling the lock.

"Action."

She turned her head and said to the still dazed Du Ya, "Taking advantage of the diverted attention."

Having said that, she slipped out of the compartment like a gray shadow, soundlessly, merging into the slightly chaotic hallway outside due to the alarm.

Du Ya shook her head, forcing herself to snap out of the shock from "Simulate The End."

(Who cares! Task first!)

She took a deep breath, suppressed the surging shock in her heart, and quickly caught up.