Chapter 241: The Explosion and the Aftermath

Before she could finish, Jianna suddenly snapped back to reality. Wearing that rose-colored dress with the bone-supported corset, she rushed toward the stairwell and clattered down.

Seeing this, Lu Mian signaled for Louis and Sakota to maintain order in the Breeze Dance Hall, then chased after her.

Jianna's face was etched with urgency and panic, her expression bordering on a breakdown.

She made no effort to hide that she was a Beyonder, using all her strength to sprint across Market Avenue as if she were about to take flight, entering the street leading to the southern part of the Market District.

It was fortunate that the sky was dim, the gas streetlamps had yet to be lit, and the pedestrians on the road were all panicked by the massive explosion, creating a chaotic scene; otherwise, someone would have long since noticed a woman running at such a speed.

Lu Mian was faster than her. Before long, he caught up, tapped her on the shoulder, and said in a hurried tone:

"Stay in the shadows!"

With her mind entirely focused on reaching the Goodville Chemical Plant as quickly as possible, it took Jianna a moment to realize what Lu Mian meant. She slightly altered her course, ducking into the dim areas along the street where the lamps hadn't been lit, and blended into them.

"Assassins" possess the ability "Shadow Concealment."

Jianna's emotions were turbulent and uncontrollable, and being in a state of full-speed running, she struggled to maintain the effect of this ability. Her figure would flicker in and out of existence, but compared to before, she was essentially no longer attracting the gaze of passersby.

Lu Mian, smelling the lingering scent of her perfume, sprinted along the edge of the shadows, ignoring the occasional suspicious glances cast by pedestrians.

He pushed his "Hunter" speed to the absolute limit, fast enough to be jaw-dropping.

This would certainly invite some suspicion, but he didn't care.

With two Beyonders who had enhanced their physiques running at full tilt, they arrived at Saint-Gilles Street, near the Trier city walls, in less than ten minutes.

The area was filled with factories, and the sky was already shrouded in a grayish-black, yellowish fog, blocking out the remaining rays of the sunset.

Emerging from the shadows, Jianna saw at a glance the massive metal tanks currently ablaze, the Goodville Chemical Plant churning with flames, and the firefighters desperately trying to extinguish the fire and conduct rescues.

Some of these men wore strange, full-coverage masks with long, pointed bird beaks, others had things resembling mechanical octopuses clinging to their faces, and some wore black helmets that seemed to have many layers. Their common trait was that they all carried things on their backs that looked like steam backpacks but were significantly different, with thick rubber hoses extending from them and connecting to their "masks."

Without a second thought, Jianna prepared to rush into the Goodville Chemical Plant, which was still experiencing secondary explosions.

Lu Mian, whose sense of smell was nearly overwhelmed by the acrid odor in the air, grabbed Jianna by the shoulder and said in a deep voice:

"Do you know which factory building your mother is in?"

Jianna froze for a moment:

"I don't know."

"Do you have equipment to protect against chemical pollution?" Lu Mian changed the question.

"No." Jianna shook her head blankly.

"Then are you going in there to commit suicide?" Lu Mian scolded. "Maybe your mother has already been rescued. Let's go to the place where the injured are being placed first. Do you want to go in there and get in the way of the rescue workers?"

Jianna's mind was in turmoil; she wanted to go into the chemical plant to find her mother, but she had to admit that what Lu Mian said made a lot of sense.

After being pulled by Lu Mian, she followed for a few steps as if she had lost her own will, then seemed to come back to life and sprinted toward the Whistle Church not far from Saint-Gilles Street.

That was the cathedral of the Church of the "God of Steam and Machinery" in the Intis Market District.

Jianna had just seen the rescued injured being carried in that direction.

Within a few dozen seconds, she and Lu Mian arrived at the square outside the Whistle Church.

The square was already filled with workers from the Goodville Chemical Plant. Painful groans rose one after another, but a large portion had already fallen into a coma, and some had even stopped breathing.

Doctors and nurses in white coats moved among these people, busily performing simple emergency treatments, sending those they felt still had hope onto two-story carriages parked at the edge of the square, marked with different emblems or holy symbols, to be taken to several large hospitals in the Quartier des Nobles.

Jianna's body trembled uncontrollably, her gaze sweeping over the corpses and the injured, afraid to see the scene she didn't want to face.

Lu Mian simply grabbed her arm and led her through the square, searching for Elodie, who might be there.

The gas streetlamps around the square had been lit, providing them with basic illumination.

A few minutes later, relying on the keen eyesight of a "Hunter," Lu Mian spotted an injured person who looked like Elodie.

Alerted by him, Jianna sprinted over, crouched down, and looked at the face of the unconscious person.

The blonde wig on the injured person's head had been mostly burned away, revealing the flaxen-colored natural hair that was also partially charred.

Her eyes, still wearing eyeshadow, were tightly shut, her face covered in soot marks, her body covered in large patches of burns, and her lips a strange, bluish-purple. It was indeed Jianna's mother, Elodie, a cleaner at the Golden Rooster Hotel.

"Mom! Mom!" Jianna instantly lost her strength and collapsed beside Elodie.

When she realized her mother was unconscious and her body was twitching from time to time, she stood up abruptly and muttered to herself:

"I'll go find a doctor, she needs to be sent to the hospital immediately!"

After confirming the identity of the injured, Lu Mian focused his mind and observed Elodie's fortune, discovering that her condition was very poor. Even if she were sent to the hospital now, she might not last long.

He hurriedly grabbed Jianna and said in a deep voice:

"Help me block the view from over there."

Jianna looked at him in astonishment, infected by his composure, and turned her body completely to block the view from Elodie's left side.

"I have a mystical healing potion, let's try its effect first." Lu Mian explained in a low voice while moving to Elodie's right side, using his own back to block the other line of sight.

A mystical healing potion... Jianna's eyes lit up, and a look of hope appeared on her face.

She watched intently as Lu Mian took out an iron-colored metal bottle, unscrewed the cap, and poured the liquid inside into her mother's mouth.

After a dozen seconds, Elodie seemed to regain a bit of consciousness and gulped down the healing potion in her mouth.

Seeing this, Jianna relaxed slightly, as she intuitively felt that her mother's condition was a bit better than before.

She felt that time was passing abnormally slowly, and she felt as if she were about to stop breathing. To her, one minute felt as long as a day.

Finally, she saw the burns on Elodie's body begin to heal at an astonishing speed, and the bluish-purple on her lips gradually faded.

Jianna lifted her head in surprise and looked at Lu Mian opposite her.

Many words rushed to her lips, but they were blocked there, difficult to turn into sound.

Lu Mian glanced at her, nodded, and said in a low voice:

"This kind of potion is very good at treating external injuries and can also alleviate illnesses caused by inhaling chemical gases. It can turn a near-death state into a serious injury, a serious injury into a minor one, and a minor injury into a full recovery."

"Your mother was seriously injured just now, but for now, there is no immediate danger to her life. It's just that she will need a long period of treatment afterward, otherwise, her condition could easily deteriorate."

Hearing the words "no immediate danger to her life," Jianna's vision blurred instantly.

She had been holding back her tears just now, so as not to affect the search and rescue.

Tear after tear slid from the corners of her eyes. She raised her hands, wiping them away haphazardly while saying in a choked voice:

"Thank you... thank you..."

Accompanying these words were the cries and screams rising one after another in the distance.

A few families of the deceased had arrived.

Lu Mian was just about to use a mocking tone to help Jianna recover her emotions when a muffled thunderclap suddenly sounded in the air.

Rumble!

Lu Mian subconsciously looked up and saw a thick, dark cloud appearing over Saint-Gilles Street, where flames were still rising and secondary explosions were occurring.

The dark cloud wasn't large, covering only a few streets.

Silvery-white lightning darted between the clouds, constantly emitting muffled thunder, making everyone's soul feel as if it had been shaken.

Whoosh, a torrential rain fell, concentrated on Saint-Gilles Street, concentrated on the Goodville Chemical Plant.

The grayish-black, yellowish fog was quickly pierced through and settled to the ground. All the flames there were rapidly extinguished, and no more secondary explosions occurred.

The rain came quickly and stopped quickly. The dark clouds dispersed rapidly, and the sunset on the horizon brought a fire-like glow.

In this golden-red light, a massive object flew over Saint-Gilles Street.

It was a dark gray airship, its gasbag elongated and oval-shaped, suspending a cabin that emitted a loud humming sound.

The rear of the cabin had propellers spinning wildly, and its surface was covered with many cannon ports and bomb bays. At this moment, it was spraying a translucent, greenish liquid onto the Goodville Chemical Plant below.

The acrid odor permeating the air began to recede.

Is this the official authorities resolving the disaster? The dark clouds, lightning, and rain just now didn't look natural. Did they come from some Beyonder or Sealed Artifact? It was almost like the work of a god... Lu Mian withdrew his gaze, somewhat shaken.

Jianna also saw what had just happened, but she didn't think that much, her attention focused mainly on her mother's injuries.

The burns on Elodie's body had mostly improved, with only a few areas still showing slight scorch marks. Her breathing had stabilized, and while her lips had lost their color, they no longer looked like a major problem at first glance.

The healing potion had fully taken effect, and her condition had initially stabilized.

Jianna closed her eyes and wiped her face haphazardly again.

At this moment, someone nearby shouted loudly:

"Cherry!"

Jianna turned to look and waved her hand:

"Julian, over here!"

A young man nearly 1.75 meters tall sprinted quickly to Elodie's side. He wore a grayish-blue worker's uniform, his hair was flaxen, his eyes were the same blue as Jianna's, and his features were quite handsome.

He looked at Elodie and asked urgently:

"How is Mom?"

Jianna pursed her lips and said:

"She's injured, quite seriously, but not to the point of dying."

Julian breathed a sigh of relief and turned his head to look at Jianna:

"Why are you dressed like this... and who is he?"

Jianna only then realized she was wearing a rose-colored little dress and hurriedly said:

"I came straight from the theater. He is my friend, Charles, who helped me a lot just now."

"Thank you." Julian thanked Lu Mian sincerely.

Lu Mian nodded and said:

"Go find a doctor and arrange for a carriage to take her to the hospital as soon as possible, otherwise her condition might deteriorate."

"Okay." Julian immediately sprinted toward the nearest doctor and nurse.

Lu Mian turned to Jianna and said:

"If you can't get a carriage in a short time, hire one yourself."

Jianna said "Mm," her gaze looking at her still-unconscious mother with tenderness and worry, and said in a low voice:

"It's fortunate that I had you this time..."

PS: Begging for monthly votes for the last half day. There will be a first bonus update for monthly votes at 12:05 AM.

(End of chapter)