The Heroic Group had already foreseen the possibility of Yang Zicang arriving aboard the –Matt Chao Train– to rescue people.
–So swift—it means Yang Zicang had no time to bring any other experts along.–
–A rabble? Coming here only to replenish our Chronos.– Lyu Bu said coldly, gazing at the warped air in the distance.
Nearly two kilometers away, the air was disturbed by an invisible force, as if a giant hand had swept rapidly from afar, contorting and compressing the atmosphere.
BOOM!
Bursting through the wind pressure, the train materialized, leaving a single carriage lying horizontally across the grassland ahead.
Lyu Bu’s body radiated a thick crimson mist of blood; he raised his right hand, where a red thread as fine as silk flickered between his index finger, thumb, and middle finger, its light tracing the ever-shifting lines of Quad.
–Almost ready.–
He looked up toward the sky.
……
The three figures from the Monster Hunters Alliance headquarters burst out from their concealed terrain at high speed, charging toward the train.
–Zhou Heng.–
Lyu Bu’s voice, amplified by his inner energy, echoed far across the wilderness.
Zhou Heng, wearing glasses, turned his head to glance at the figure standing on the grassland under the dark clouds, as if he could feel the other’s stern and icy gaze from the tiny, distant silhouette.
–Ignore him, hurry. We must not stop.–
Yang Zicang’s train appeared at the expected location. Although it was still nearly two kilometers away, Tong Wenqi, Zhou Heng, and Su’e beside them felt as though they had been given a second chance at life. This time had been truly perilous.
The train began to turn direction, heading toward them. In just a dozen seconds, the three of them would be saved.
–We lost so many people this time.–
Once the threat to his life was lifted, Tong Wenqi couldn’t help but feel a surge of hatred toward the enemy.
Su’e said, –After all, they had the advantage of premeditation and were favored by both timing and terrain. It was already an ordeal for us to escape from the fully mobilized Xiongying Group.–
The rusty-yellow train door slid open automatically.
Suddenly, the three of them looked up at the sky in unison.
–What is that!–
A trace of shock flickered in the woman’s eyes.
A distant voice drifted over.
–Haven’t you always wanted to know what my ability is? Now, let me show you. If you can escape from its grasp, then so be it this time.–
An indefinable aura of emptiness spread across the sky.
A tiny point of light appeared on the horizon. Zhou Heng exclaimed in horror, –Su’e!–
A flickering triangle of light appeared on the woman’s chest, expanding slightly to envelop the two-meter area around her. Zhou Heng and Tong Wenqi pressed close beside this graceful figure.
From afar, Lü Bu’s voice drifted over.
–Its name is ‘Fang Tian’!–
Su’e pursed her lips solemnly, her eyes lifting to the sky with worry. The three of them were bathed in the glow of Chronos.
A tiny point of light sparkled.
Whoosh!
A beam of light fell from the heavens like a silken ribbon, slicing through the clouds with a cold, radiant brilliance, descending to the earth at the speed of light!
[I counteracted it by 13,332 N!]
[I counteracted it by 13,332 N.]
[I counteracted it by 13,332 N.]
The three vanished in an instant, reappearing a kilometer away. The nightmare train stirred up dust as it howled, adjusting its trajectory.
Yang Zicang, feeling the deathly threat, controlled the train to rush toward them.
–So, that woman over there is the one with teleportation ability. They say there’s a suppression period of over ten seconds, right?–
That aura appeared again at the horizon!
After the teleportation, Zhou Heng stood frozen in place, unable to move—and finally understood why the owner of that cold voice had become the leader of the Xiongying team.
Why this man had managed to hide his ultimate technique for three and a half years.
Why has no one ever disclosed the details of Lü Bu’s abilities, and why has no one ever witnessed his accompanying nightmare entity?
Because all who had witnessed his abilities were dead.
Not a single one survived!
–Yang Zicang!–
After activating her ability, Su’e stood stiffly in place, a look of pain on her face. Zhou Heng, his eyes bloodshot, shouted at the image of a train charging toward them through the air. The three of them felt their skin crawl, a suffocating crisis of death looming over their heads.
This time, Tong Wenqi’s chest flickered with light, and certain timelines began to expand.
[Give each of us more Chronos—ten thousand years or more wouldn’t matter, as long as we get through this crisis…]
Boom! The moment the words were spoken, the earth erupted with a blinding light, swallowing all sound.
The Nightmare Train, hurtling forward at breakneck speed, rolled and tumbled into the wind with a deafening roar, too terrified to face the torrent of light head-on. The gale churned in spirals, arcing closer once more toward the three figures rooted to the spot.
The headquarters of the Monster Hunter Alliance hesitated. Tong Wenqi had requested over ten thousand years of Chronos support… while simultaneously sending the three of them away… once they were gone, they would have little bearing on the events here.
Besides, even if we give them Chronos now, they cannot leave—this is within the Crossroads. Even with over ten thousand years of misalignment, one must first stabilize the Crossroads before proceeding!
So…
In the office, several directors, eyes reddened and fists trembling, perceived through their mental connection the scenes on the other side almost too fast for the eyes to distinguish due to the time lag.
–Ah!–
The sky exploded as if torn silently! The flashes flickered and cascaded down.
Seated, they closed their eyes.
If one could say Matt Chao’s menacing presence made sleep elusive and the night unbearable to face alone, then from this day forward, this person’s existence makes them fear the sky at every waking moment.
Tong Wenqi, after being struck twice, muttered under his breath. In the white light, he struggled to lift his head toward the sky, and every ounce of pride in his own abilities was utterly shattered in that moment.
All because that was the nightmare born from a laser satellite.
This is the power of the leader of the Xiongying Group.
The light flashed again!
{My name is Fang Tian; I am the celestial light itself.}
The beams cascading toward the ground struck like spears thrust down by a wrathful deity.
In the blinding, deafeningly white radiance, Zhou Heng and his two companions felt as though their souls were ripped from their bodies, painfully wrenched out by the impact.
In the millisecond before the light descended, a blurry white monstrous figure slammed into them, tearing out their spirit bodies.
[I canceled out 10 N.]
Tong Wenqi, whose consciousness had suddenly grown sluggish, struggled dazedly to think, yet his mind barely functioned as he stared ahead, as if witnessing his own body rapidly charring and blackening in the light.
……
Crack! The chair leg scraped against the floor with a grating noise.
Morris, trembling, half-rose to his feet and said:
–Is that the extent of your enemies’ capabilities over there? No wonder your Silver-White ranking is so low; in another Hubville, I’m afraid your city’s ranking would be extremely high.–
Popoli gaped, his eyes wide, silently tearing at his hair with both hands.
My god, is this a satellite demon’s strike?!
–Swap for me—–
–Investing 8152.3N into Morris for me.–
–Morris adds 9999N into my investment.–
In the light, the form of Paleshade Wyrm was nearly shattered, losing its shape.
Now, with Yang Zicang lending his full support to control it, the Mind Dragon, clamping three psychic bodies in its mouth, gave a shake mid-air, twisted its form, and charged once again toward the smoke-choked ground, where three charred, bald bodies lay.
Just before they made contact, a swift figure rushed in from the distance, throwing a spectral shadow wreathed in red flames with even greater speed from his hand.
Smack!
Almost simultaneously with the carriage making contact with the three charred husks, that thrown projectile smashed through one of the pitch-black humanoid forms, shattering it into chunks!
The headquarters personnel could no longer replenish its Chronos, forced through the final feed to watch helplessly as, amid the chaotic smoke and dust, a charred black human shape burst into fragments.
The chunks and the other two humanoid black shadows landed onto the carriage.
Just before that celestial light descended again, the train plunged into the expanding air and vanished without a trace.
Lyu Bu narrowed his eyes, gazing at the disappearing train.
–That thing actually chose without hesitation to become a tool for the enemy.–
–After all, it’s not human—what loyalty could it possibly have?–
Zhao Yun approached him, –But that guy is quite formidable. Finally, the other side has a worthy opponent.–
Zhou Yu, carrying an electric fan, ran over with a grin on his face: –What’s the point of being strong? Every time I think of the Fangtian hanging above our heads with the power to strike with light, I feel a sense of ease.–
–Yo, the dimwit’s finally awake?– Grandma Wolf cast a disdainful glance at Zhou Yu from the side.
–I just got a little dizzy, alright? Damn it, who’s going to sleep with me from now on?–
–Who’d want to sleep with a bastard like you? Get the hell out of here.–
Lü Bu turned his head to glance at them.
–Jokes aside, this is indeed a problem that demands careful handling. From now on, we have to stay vigilant every midnight.–
……
Boom! Boom!
On the somewhat loosely arrayed rock plaza, a train burst through the violently twisting sonic boom, crashing into view before everyone.
The spreading blast of air lifted and fluttered the hems of their coats unsettledly.
–This is the once top-ranked, now second-ranked, attendant nightmare of Ketsubutsu Academy’s Hero Course!–
Although it was already known that the most miraculous demon possessed by the Hero Academy had changed hands, facing the subway train now appearing before their very eyes, people couldn’t help but stir with agitation.
–This guy I’ve heard about so much over the past two years that my ears are practically calloused, and he’s been taken down just like that, with even the train snatched away.–
–Don’t you know it yet? Those monsters have no sense of loyalty whatsoever. As long as someone stronger shows up, the train was bound to be taken sooner or later.–
Yang Zicang’s figure appeared at the open carriage door.
–A terrifying newcomer—thank goodness he’s on our side.–
Several figures in high-collared trench coats stepped out from the queue and made their way toward the middle section of the train that had come to a steady halt.
This group arrived beside the carriage, stepped aside to let someone approach, and the young man emerging from the train froze the moment he saw the figure.
–You’re that—–
The man, with his broad, sturdy face and a gaze both warm and piercing, stood like a ruler who balanced kindness with severity, as if nothing could escape his perception. He extended his palm: –Indeed, that’s me—Chen Yu.–
Staring at the familiar face before him—a film star he had only ever seen in movies—now stood real and tangible in front of his eyes.
Chen Yu spoke courteously, bearing no hint of arrogance whatsoever.
–Are they doing okay?–
–After the match of returning to the psychic entity, only two people had faint signs of life.–
Yang Zicang shook his hand. The crowd, already waiting, quickly got into the car and carried the wounded away.
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