"Senior!"
After the danger passed, with Eyjafjalla supporting him, Bai Ling sat down by the roadside and took a long time to catch his breath.
At the same time—while neither of the two girls noticed—he kept observing the Command Seal pattern on the back of his left hand.
Right now, it was the ram-horn design, symbolizing his contract with Eyjafjalla. But earlier, he had indeed switched it back into the original "eagle-horn" form—and forcibly used a "Command Seal" on Niephis.
All three Command Seals' effects had been realized.
Make her listen to him seriously.
Make her unable to move.
Make her answer his question.
Even though it lasted only briefly—maybe not even a full minute—there was no doubt: all three seals had done exactly what he intended.
This thing… was even more miraculous and special than he'd imagined.
After resting for quite a while, the three stood up again.
With the bridge blocked by countless corrosion stone pillars, Bai Ling reached out to touch them.
Under pressure from the energy within, these pillars were as hard as iron ore. Clearing something like this would be anything but easy.
"…Looks like we can't get through here."
It was supposed to be the shortest route, yet it was impassable—an infuriating feeling.
"We'll probably have to take another way."
At the same time, as if sensing something, Bai Ling lifted his head and looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds were gathering—like a downpour was brewing.
But in truth, something far more terrifying was happening.
Within Bai Ling's field of vision, four unknown objects streaked across the sky like meteors, falling to the horizon he could see.
And one of them landed exactly in the core area he was trying to reach—the Hub District.
Staring at the direction where that streak of light finally vanished, Bai Ling could only turn back and speak softly:
"This place is high, but… if we don't go this way, we probably won't make it in time."
"…We can't reach any of the other areas anymore?"
Qin Jiangchi stared at her comms list—every other key contact was unreachable…
She'd originally wanted to invite the Administrator to see what Valley No. 4 had become after so long of development—but everything had been thrown into chaos.
A suddenly formed anchor point had turned the outer perimeter of the hub center into ruins, caused heavy casualties, and triggered the mass emergence of Angels.
The entire Valley No. 4 felt like it was welcoming the apocalypse.
They'd already sent a distress request to Endfield Industries, but the hub district's losses were simply too massive… If this dragged on much longer, they would lose all ability to resist.
But then—at that moment—a familiar figure activated a mechanism from the top of another building and approached slowly. At her side was a presence Qin Jiangchi trusted absolutely.
"Supervisor Perlica… and the Administrator?!"
Looking at the black-haired girl whose face was mostly hidden behind a mask, Qin Jiangchi felt her tension melt the instant she saw her.
"You finally made it."
"How bad is the situation on-site?"
"…The anchor point landed in the old industrial zone. The sheer number of Angels it's producing has pinned our armed personnel indoors. We have no way to hold them back."
Once they had a clear picture, the two moved immediately.
Angels were everywhere—cleanup every ten steps. Along the route, they also saw Groundbreaker corpses, which made Perlica's unease deepen.
In the underground of the old industrial zone, inside Andre's lab, the anchor point radiated a deeply unsettling aura. A Groundbreaker wielding a huge axe stared Andre down—if no one had barged in, he'd likely have been dead.
Just when the Administrator and Perlica defeated the Groundbreaker and thought the danger was over—
They watched it force up one last breath, raise its axe, and slash viciously toward Andre.
At that instant, through the massive hole the anchor point had smashed in the ceiling, a figure flashed down—precise and clean—finishing the Groundbreaker.
"Special Ops Operator, Chen Qianyu. Looks like I'm the first one here?"
Azure dragon horns. A ponytail…
Her whole presence was lively, brimming with a youthful energy that felt strangely comforting.
"…Looks like we're late?" Bai Ling greeted them from the entrance of the old industrial zone, his clothes dirty and scuffed. At his side, Eyjafjalla and Eldera gave an embarrassed little nod, confirming they were there too.
The moment Chen Qianyu saw Bai Ling, she reined in her "cool pose"—but when she noticed the two little sheep behind him, her brain stalled for a beat.
"Huh? Two Elderas?"
"…No. She's called Eyjafjalla. This one is Eldera."
Bai Ling seriously helped Chen Qianyu tell the two sheep apart, while Perlica stared at the three in visible confusion.
If she remembered right, Bai Ling's landing point should've been the Power Highlands.
Getting from the Power Highlands to the hub center—under anchor point and extradomain corrosion effects—was extremely difficult.
And yet they'd arrived this quickly…
What on earth happened?
"I used a special travel technique—took a one-time 'shortcut.' Though 'short' isn't really the word…"
Bai Ling casually dodged the question, then turned serious.
"A Nesting Condor has appeared in the valley passage. All residents there have suffered varying degrees of harm—the situation is likely even worse than what's happening at the hub center."
"What?!"
Groundbreakers appearing alongside an anchor point was already strange enough. Add to that the sudden large-scale invasion of the Bonegrinder clan in Valley No. 4…
This was absolutely not a simple incident.
Just then, a broadcast rang out, cutting off the discussion.
"…All armed personnel, report to the base entrance and assemble."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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