"Lin Xian, Lin Xian!"

A buzzing filled his ears, the overwhelming sense of detachment from the world made Lin Xian feel dizzy and disoriented. Gradually, the voices around him grew clearer. His eyes focused ahead on a machine cabinet that was slowly powering down. With the shutdown of his hyperstring reactor, the central control room of the entire city ring went dark once again. Meanwhile, the dense sound of artillery fire continued unabated, accompanied by Chu Yan’s shouting.

“How’s it going?”

Seeing Lin Xian’s complexion gradually return to normal, Chu Yan immediately asked.

Lin Xian took two deep breaths and glanced at the time—8:36. The search across the entire city had consumed more than ten hours!

“Found it. Southeast of Dawn City, Sector E, about 35 kilometers out beyond the city. Originally it was the unfinished No. 2 underground dungeon base, now repurposed into a place called... Giant God Peak Launch Site.”

Focusing, Lin Xian hurriedly relayed the information in one breath: “People from the Crimson World are there too. Not just the action brain;

they... they plan to launch the entire S-level together into the sky to use it as a barrier-breaking device!”

Upon hearing this, Chu Yan immediately pressed her headset.

“Sector E, 35 kilometers, Giant God Peak Launch Site, move out immediately.”

Rat-tat-tat!

Outside the Twin Star Tower, cannon fire roared thunderously. Zhou Jin’s voice came through: “Understood, we’ll move through the underground network!”

“Is the fighting still going on outside?” Lin Xian came back to his senses and asked in surprise.

“The Polar Night of the three star rifts is accelerating closer. The bizarre entities have been attacking all night. Now, the 83rd Iron Guard Brigade and the Skybreaker Ship have reached the north and east sides of the city to provide support,” Chu Yan said to KIKI: “Take care of him.”

KIKI’s face was weary. At this moment, several Operation Crescent Moon squads were already stationed atop the Twin Star Tower. The garrison forces had been heavily mobilized to resist the aerial assault.

“I’m fine.”

Lin Xian glanced at Shiori, exhaled, and took out the remote control key Chu Zhaonan had given him. He said to Chu Yan: “I’ll go with you. They have brain-machine devices;

I can prevent their self-destruction!”

At that moment, the Nightwalker Organization team led by Qinuo stormed in from outside: “Hurry, time’s running out!”

Lin Xian donned his Black Hawk power armor. Fully armed, the group began descending underground, preparing to enter the network. The elevator dropped swiftly. Lin Xian walked to the window. Under the rainy night, the vast arc of Dawn City’s No. 1 city wall was a sea of flames. The air was thick with acrid smoke and the stench of blood.

The attack of the bizarre entities had not ceased all night. The outer city beneath the No. 1 wall had long been reduced to ruins, piled high with bizarre entity corpses like a sea of bodies. Incendiary bombs burned through the night over the ruins and corpses. Countless destroyed, charred mechas and soldiers in power armor lay dead, survivors scattered among them. All city gates had been sealed shut, and all firepower was concentrated on the walls and inside the city, firing outward.

Relentless shifts of combat all night!

Witnessing this disastrous scene, Lin Xian’s eyes flickered constantly. Under such circumstances, he wondered if there were any other survivors from the Yunjiang Plain who could still reach Dawn City, and what about Ning Jing and Qian Dele over in Jinhai—he didn’t know if they had returned safely.

There was no other choice now. They had to obtain information about the connected S-level from the Crimson World before the Vanguard Initiative launched. Only by grasping equivalent information would humanity have a chance in the dwindling time. Meanwhile, Lin Xian also needed to seize control of the Heart of the Galaxy’s central hub after the Vanguard Initiative launched.

Chu Zhaonan had left only ten seconds. He had to seize the moment;

otherwise, if all city weapons went offline and the battle line stalled, it could directly lead to the city walls being breached. The consequences were unimaginable.

“Now, few small convoys have been sent to support the rear lines of the city walls. Outside the city, multiple disturbances occurred overnight due to the mutation. But the problem is, very few convoy vehicles survived last night’s fighting. Mostly large convoys abandoned their vehicles to retreat.”

At the surface fortifications, several large squad members disembarked from the maglev transport vehicle, ending their retreat toward the city.

Under the vehicle, KIKI briefed Zhou Jin on the situation. At this time, the aftereffects of the radar regression mechanical scan were ending, sending piercing pain through the head that even blurred his vision.

“Why are there more people now?” Zhou Jin asked.

“Tong Qilei, heavy machine gunner of the Lius Battalion;

two flying ability users from the Yan Feng squad. Only a few people died resisting last night,” Yan Feng said to Zhou Jin.

Zhou Jin’s expression darkened. He looked at Lius, Li Su, Lin Xian, and others under the vehicle—all battle-worn and disheveled before the fight. For Yan Feng, scanning the entire city felt like only a few minutes had passed, yet so much time had elapsed. The squad casualties weighed heavily on Zhou Jin’s mood. He spoke: “Are you thinking you can determine who is connected through the gray mist? What if the big heart kills them?”

Qinuo spoke seriously: “He might understand that Crimson World organization deeply. You’ve tracked and investigated Crimson World for a long time and caught several low-ranking members. That organization isn’t simply anti-human or opportunistic. In a sense, our ideological foundations are the same as those Federation members Yan Feng flies with. This isn’t a thought seal of 'humans must fail.' Added with digital life technology, it fundamentally changes our understanding of survival. To put it simply, we don’t want civilization’s extinction or humanity’s death. Instead, we aim to communicate with, assist, and even assimilate the white-dark creatures through human power, ultimately achieving coexistence.”

“In Crimson World’s eyes, the dark civilization brought by the star rifts is merely another form of life ruler. Therefore, they worship it, are fanatical about it, pursue it, and even try to change their existence form to merge with it. They call this a ‘higher life form,’ and ability users are the initial 'desecrators' affected by this.”

“Desecrators?” Lin Xian frowned. “Why?”

“Because it’s not yet perfect. Ability users cannot fully survive in dark invasion zones, and life remains fragile.”

The maglev transport sped through the underground network, air pressure bursting eardrums. Chu Yan continued: “So the S-levels we see are like gods to Crimson World. To connect with such gods, to glimpse a completely alien life form and civilization, they would never let ordinary people or test subjects do it.”

KIKI nodded: “I get it. Like the red human ghosts—they connect S-levels not just for information but to become S-level beings themselves through this mode?”

Chu Yan nodded: “Exactly.”

“A bunch of lunatics.” Lin Xian said.

Opposite him, Qinuo tried to light a cigarette but failed and said: “Freud’s core idea of death drive is that humans have a subconscious instinct toward destruction, including self-destruction. When fear surpasses endurance, it can transform into a pathological obsession with destructive power.”

“Combined with humans acquiring evolved abilities from the dark, it only strengthens their conviction in this idea.”

“Exactly.”

Lin Xian nodded: “Then the one connecting S-levels is probably Julius. But how many clones and copies does he have? I remember you dealt with one at the Bailutan star observation station.”

Chu Yan said: “He has many clones managing secret labs. Besides that, Crimson World has several ‘co-creators’ like him whose identities are unknown.”

Lin Xian frowned: “Is it possible the one connecting S-levels is his original body? After all, such a tempting thing...”

“That’s possible,” Chu Yan said. “But from my many dealings with him, he is cautious and highly intelligent.”

Lin Xian glanced at the time: “Just over an hour left. The barrier-breaking device will definitely activate a second time. We only need to catch him then.”

Chu Yan looked at Lin Xian deeply: “Lin Xian, you’re not in good shape now. When we clash with Crimson World people, don’t go too far forward. Intercepting information is my main task. You must ensure the Heart of the Galaxy isn’t compromised.”

“Understood.” Zhou Wei also said: “My squad’s job is to protect you. If the city’s weapons offline too long or are taken over by Crimson World, we’re done for.”

“Ten o’clock, dawn should be about then.” Lin Xian closed his eyes slightly. “Hope everything goes smoothly. If we survive until dawn, the bizarre entity tide will retreat.”

At nine o’clock, the maglev transport entered a sealed underground passage and stopped at the far end where a huge blast-proof door stood.

Various [Danger] [Quarantine] signs shone brightly under flashlight beams.

Zhou Jin was first to get off and checked the ground: “The track is clear, but it splits into two completely isolated systems here. That’s why it was so hard to find earlier.”

“All supplies and equipment must be transported via rail. This place should be extremely secure.”

Crunch!

At that moment, Lin Xian brought out four large armored vehicles from the Black Star Forge space and approached the blast door, preparing to open it.

Suddenly, Shiori called out: “Careful! There are monsters behind this door!”

At once, all squads raised their weapons and became alert.

Qinuo raised a hand and gestured. The four ability squads immediately spread out and formed formations: “Zhou Jin, Chu Yan, you take Lin’s team onto the vehicles. We cover and then secure your rear.”

“Got it.”

Time was tight;

no one wasted words. Zhou Wei led his squad onto the first vehicle, preparing to charge, while Lin Xian, the other two, and Chu Yan’s squad boarded the middle vehicle. The last two vehicles were reserved for Qinuo’s thirty-plus people.

The atmosphere instantly tensed. Moments later, once the Nightwalker teams were ready, Lin Xian immediately used his mechanical ability to control the blast door and forcibly opened it.

Whooo!

The huge blast door slowly parted in the middle. A cold, dark wind blew out, revealing a pitch-black tunnel before them.

The tunnel inside was far larger in scale than the outside fortifications, an order of magnitude bigger. Chu Yan drove, KIKI sat shotgun, eyes fixed on the tunnel where only a few rows of green emergency lights stretched into the depths. At the front, Zhou Jin’s squad was already on the vehicle, guns raised on alert. The headlights shone over a pale, ghastly area.

Huff, huff.

A muffled breathing sound, like someone wearing an oxygen mask, echoed from deep within—hoarse and eerie, chilling to the bone.

Then, a shadow over two meters tall slowly emerged from the darkness. Alongside it came two Gatling machine guns gleaming with black light!

Red Human Ghosts!

Upon seeing this red human ghost, Lin Xian’s pupils suddenly contracted. Compared to those encountered in White City, this one was clad in heavy power armor, with butcher-like jagged stitching on its head and neck. Its face was covered by a dual-tube breathing mask. One eye glowed red, a terrifying fusion of ghost and mecha.

“Watch out!”

Whoosh!

Instantly, the two Gatling guns spun rapidly, unleashing a metal storm of bullets. At that moment, a female ability user from the Nightwalker squad suddenly exhaled a vast cloud of red smoke, instantly flooding the tunnel entrance. The furious hail of bullets was completely blocked by the smoke, reminding Lin Xian of the strange abilities of the ghosts in the star rifts.

The female ability user pushed the red smoke further in, triggering massive explosions. Lin Xian immediately used his mechanical ability to disassemble the two Gatling guns, silencing the gunfire.

But then came several shockwaves bursting out.

Boom! Boom!

KIKI instantly used her telekinetic shield to block them. After the violent explosions, the armored red human ghost charged out of the darkness, accompanied by a roar.

Under the vehicle lights, several extremely fast ability-human ghosts appeared—male and female, agile and nimble. They wore mechanical suppressors and lightweight armor. Roars rang out, abilities clashed, and weapons fired with explosive sounds.

KIKI’s telekinetic ability immediately grabbed a few. During the brief openings, Lin Xian quickly disassembled their armor with mechanical ability. Oddly, these ability-human ghosts had no brain-machine interfaces, seemingly tamed monsters controlled by suppressors. When the suppressors were disassembled, they did not die but grew even more violent.

“These aren’t red human ghosts!” Lin Xian said.

Boom!

A large electromagnetic bomb exploded. Qinuo’s squad launched a counterattack, quickly blasting a path.

“Quick! No time to waste! Let’s charge through!”

Zhou Jin stomped the accelerator. The armored vehicle’s engine roared wildly. The crew atop the vehicle mounted machine guns and fired all out. Chu Yan’s vehicle followed closely behind.

The Nightwalker Organization and Zhou Jin’s squad unleashed full firepower. Abilities and firearms cleared the way. The two vehicles charged down the tunnel toward the city’s outskirts.

Roar!

Once inside the tunnel, everyone immediately sensed an intensifying cold invasion of darkness. At the same time, numerous ability-human ghosts with suppressors emerged from the deep darkness and climbed out of the tunnel walls, swarming toward the convoy.

Qinuo’s rear squad also boarded and rushed in. Ability explosions tore through the air, covering Lin Xian’s group’s retreat. The red human ghost rose from the debris of the explosion. Half of its heavy armor was shattered, but its flesh wildly grew back. It roared and unleashed a massive shockwave at the convoy.

Boom!

The tunnel reverberated like a metal drum being struck, shaking the air violently. Even the emergency lights in the passage shattered!

“The Nightwalkers couldn’t kill it quickly despite concentrated fire. These modified red human ghosts’ ability levels and vitality are increasing!” Chu Yan said as she drove.

“They must have used higher-level ability users as test subjects,” KIKI said, blasting the charging ghosts away with telekinesis.

Their main goal now was not to kill the blockers but to reach Giant God Peak Launch Site before the Vanguard Initiative launched.

Rat-tat-tat!

Zhou Wei’s armored vehicle squad fired back fiercely. The wheels screeched against the metal ground. Lin Xian used an AT force field to block attacks from both sides. At the same time, hundreds of attack drones were released by him.

From the Lei Xun 2000, red pulse beams fired;

“Thunder Prison” exploded an electromagnetic field;

the piercing whistle of “Iron Rain” echoed dazzlingly through the tunnel.

Clang, clang.

Dozens of “Iron Curtain” drones deployed defense armor, flying in formation around the two vehicles to form a flying shield.

Pressure instantly eased. Seeing the drone army precisely attacking in the tunnel, Chu Yan looked at Lin Xian in the rearview mirror and said: “Did you create these drones yourself? How can they be so fast?”

She had actually wondered about this last night because Lin Xian not only deployed drones for combat but was also manufacturing devices to repair the city ring. Naturally, she assumed these drones were conjured at his fingertips.

“Sort of,” Lin Xian said, handing control over to Grace and checking the route.

With these hundreds of drones supporting firepower and radar-guided precise strikes, the threats surging from the darkness were quickly repelled. Soon, lights appeared ahead, and visibility cleared. The number of ability-human ghosts greatly decreased, as if their appearances could be regionally controlled.

Breaking through the human ghosts, the two armored vehicles gradually entered a huge underground construction. The space became vast.

The armored vehicles exited the tunnel, revealing the outline of a giant vertical city shaft several hundred meters in diameter. Suddenly, dense suppressive fire rained down from the front. Numerous drones swarmed out of the underground city, entering the tunnel to engage Lin Xian’s two squads.

Crack, crack, crack!

In an instant, Lin Xian felt overwhelmed by a barrage of fire. Dense bullets and pulse beams obscured his vision. His ears rang with the roar of bullets and metallic collisions.

“Watch out!”

“To the left!” Zhou Jin shouted over the comms. The two armored vehicles crashed through an iron wire fence on the left, charging into an unfinished underground city block. The ground was made of standard concrete prefabricated modules. Brand-new office walls, never put into use, were already abandoned.

In panic, the vehicles knocked down light steel walls and entered an internal street.

Without Lin Xian’s “Iron Curtain” drones and his AT force field, the momentary barrage would have melted the armored vehicles.

Meanwhile, Lin Xian’s drones engaged in a fierce battle with the pursuing enemy drones. Lin Xian used his mechanical ability to disable drones in swarms. But in another direction, numerous Crimson World armed personnel in power armor began pursuit.

A frantic chase ensued. A fully armed flying vehicle rose from below, closely following the two armored vehicles, firing dense pulse rays. High-temperature beams pierced walls and concrete pillars in swaths. The “Iron Curtain” drones’ armor had many perforations.

At this moment, Chu Yan sharply turned the wheel, drifting the armored vehicle. Her mechanical arm raised and smashed through the front grille. Then, her eyes glowed red briefly, unleashing a massive psychic ability shockwave. Lin Xian and others in the back felt their bodies tingle. Dozens of armed personnel on the flying vehicle suddenly erupted blood mist inside their face armor and fell motionless.

Lin Xian’s eyes widened: “This is what you said was just a little headache?!”

“Indeed a headache,” KIKI couldn’t help but joke.

To instantly kill people without even breaking power armor was the first time Lin Xian saw Chu Yan use her ability. His scalp tingled.

“Killing humans is easier than killing bizarre entities,” Chu Yan said calmly. “That’s why my ability is better suited for star rift intelligence work.”

“No way forward!” Zhou Jin shouted. The special ops team blasted a bloody path.

At this point, hundreds of Crimson World armed personnel appeared in the multi-layered underground city tunnels, firing at their vehicles but not using heavy weapons. The vehicles entered a dead end, their tires completely destroyed. Both squads had to dismount and take cover behind barricades.

“Grace, go!”

After eliminating many drones, Lin Xian ordered Grace to lead his drone army to sweep the enemies. Meanwhile, KIKI and Chu Yan used their abilities to clear large groups of Crimson World forces. Chu Yan was right—compared to bizarre entities, humanity’s greatest strengths were flexibility and firearms. With defensive armor and abilities blocking cold guns and bullet rain, they quickly suppressed the enemy.

But too many cold guns meant Lin Xian couldn’t rely on his AT field and power armor to fight head-on, so he sent Grace out directly.

At the same time, more newly manufactured drones were released into battle.

Receiving Lin Xian’s command, Grace instantly summoned over 800 drones forming a dense swarm around her. Their immense computing power and optoelectronic radar locked onto enemies across multiple floors and various flying vehicles and drones within 0.01 seconds. Precise firepower rained down.

Enemy drones seemed controlled by some powerful AI, attacking Lin Xian’s group’s key figures rapidly. But Lin Xian, as a mechanical ability user, saw these drones as nothing more than mosquitoes to EMPs. A single mechanical control sweep blacked out dozens of drones, causing them to crash.

Shiori, not good at fighting, nervously followed Lin Xian’s rear, occasionally casting green repair abilities on him, then hiding again.

Grace quickly took over combat. With Lin Xian, KIKI, Chu Yan, and Zhou Jin’s powerful abilities, the armed guards and drones were soon massively wiped out.

“This is the launch site and Crimson World’s S-level research base, so there are no red human ghosts here!”

Seeing the drone feed, Lin Xian immediately synchronized with Chu Yan and Zhou Jin.

“Old Qinuo’s team is holding those monsters in the tunnel. We need to hurry.” Zhou Jin responded.

Lin Xian and the squad pressed downward through the launch site tunnel, clearing enemies with Grace’s drone swarm. After the last armed personnel fell, gunfire abruptly ceased.

The deeper they went, the brighter the lights became, as if the construction vitality originated below and spread upward. Steel roars echoed through the cylindrical underground cavern like the breath of some giant beast. This unfinished underground city was originally planned as a one-million-person residence and backup city connected to Dawn City, but was now brutally transformed into a giant launch site.

Between unfinished concrete skeletons, thick hydraulic supports propped up the dome and underground walls. The central vertical shaft exceeded 500 meters in diameter, with layered maintenance platforms embedded along the shaft wall, now lit by orange warning lights.

Lin Xian and Chu Yan’s squad rode an engineering elevator platform slowly downward. Gradually, an increasingly large and complex launch device appeared. Around the original underground city courtyard, metal pipelines coiled, fuel injection towers arrayed, and hoisting platforms stood vertically.

“There’s a strong dark energy below!” Shiori’s face turned pale, cold breath steaming from her mouth and nose. It felt as if the temperature dropped further with every step down.

“Look!”

KIKI suddenly exclaimed. Everyone’s eyes turned downward. At three hundred meters underground, the silhouette of a gigantic creature appeared.

It resembled both a living being and a super-large mecha device. Its sharp head armor integrated numerous restraint arrays. Suppression devices beneath the armor glowed a dark green. Under various warning lights, this giant barrier-breaking device grew larger in their sight. Its white outer armor was identical to starship armor. Probably due to pre-launch preparations, only automatic devices were operating below.

Seeing this imposing armored figure, Lin Xian recalled the gray mist envoy with gray-white skin and bone spikes from his dream and his meeting with Chu Yan. Everyone gasped, holding their breath.

“Oh my god, they combined a starship with an initial unit and mounted it on an S-level!” Zhou Jin’s pupils narrowed in shock.

“More than that... eight starry heavy thrusters. Counting it up, at least four starships...” Li Su murmured nearby.

“Can something this big even fly?”

“The core support is the S-level gray mist’s torso. As long as the main structure holds, it should...” KIKI also looked surprised: “...be able to.”

“After all, it’s a joint project of Dawn City and Crimson World, designed entirely for flight. The only goal is to send this thing into the Sky Veil Barrier.”

Lin Xian realized why Dawn City was fully building starships: many components were destined for this. This differed from the Phoenix Society’s Emperor Plan in essence. The Emperor Plan was more difficult to manufacture. This mainly used Crimson World’s brain-machine suppressor technology, layered with starship thrusters and armor. If just making a super-large mecha, human materials couldn’t build such a supporting structure at this scale, at least not under Earth’s gravity.

The engineering elevator descended to a platform located at the gray mist’s chest armor—its nuclear reactor position. The entire floor had been transformed into an engineering research institute. When Lin Xian’s group entered, they discovered countless dead researchers and engineers littering the floor.

Zhou Jin kicked open the nearest corpse, frowning: “Just died. Before we came down.”

Chu Yan scanned the research institute corridors as they moved forward, finding offices, labs, command centers filled with hundreds of bodies precisely killed by drones. Some were clones Lin Xian had seen in White City;

others were ordinary people.

“They were all silenced,” Chu Yan said.

“Silenced? Why?” Lin Xian immediately asked.

Before he finished, a magnetic voice suddenly sounded from the command center’s intercom.

“Because the sacred mission is complete. They will all be reborn.”

“Julius!” Upon hearing this, Chu Yan said immediately: “He really is here!”

Hiss~

At that moment, a main control door slowly opened ahead. Everyone looked cautiously. Inside was a huge white hall.

The group reached the door and found the view suddenly open and bright. The entire hall floor was neatly arranged with countless cylindrical devices. Transparent pods inside were filled with pale green liquid, and each pod contained a floating human body.

The strangest thing was that all these bodies were the same person!

In the center of the hall was a white desk. A middle-aged white man in a suit gracefully enjoyed red wine and a plate of beef in front of him.

There was no one else in the entire hall.

“Oh, oh, oh, what a rare occasion, Chu Yan, Lin Xian, the two ability users I most want to study appear before me at the same time. Seems today is my lucky day.”

The middle-aged white man before them was none other than Julius Litt, whom Lin Xian had seen in dreams and at the Bailutan star observation station. And those transparent pods were all him!

“Julius, we meet again.” Chu Yan’s face was grim as she spoke first.

Julius put down his fork, raised his wine glass, took a sip, then frowned slightly and said to Chu Yan:

“Actually, this is our first meeting. You understand, based on ‘individual life.’”

Hearing this, KIKI whispered beside Lin Xian: “With so many clones, which one is the real him?”

“Damn, at least hundreds!” Zhou Jin looked around. Everywhere were transparent pods containing identical bodies, like copies.

Julius seemed quite pleased with their reactions. He raised his napkin to wipe his mouth and smiled at Lin Xian and Chu Yan:

“You should know, from current information, S-level beings—or those reaching this disaster level—are the true entities born from the dark. Communicating with the dark is humanity’s first dialogue with civilizations beyond Earth. It’s...” Julius shrugged and smiled faintly: “quite fascinating.”

“Of course, also quite dangerous.”

He glanced over a group of his clones: “Losing 145 assets just from half an action brain connection. That’s only half an action brain. My god, what scale of life force is this.”

Zhou Jin’s squad raised their guns at Julius: “Chu Yan, what’s the move?”

Chu Yan shook her head: “He deliberately killed all experiment personnel just so we’d know only one Julius has the information we want.”

Lin Xian pondered: “He’s waiting for us.”

“Don’t be nervous, friends. I know why you’re here. We are cooperating with Dawn City now, and the Vanguard Initiative will launch soon. Even Ms. Ye Lan of the Phoenix Society surely told you not to sabotage this operation, right?”

“What do you want?” Chu Yan asked coldly.

Julius smiled faintly: “I admire you, Miss Chu Yan. You are smart, psychic ability user, able to survive in star rifts. For new era life, you’re undoubtedly the perfect one.”

He looked at Lin Xian next: “And you, Mr. Lin Xian, mechanical ability, able to replicate human industrial civilization. From humanity’s perspective, you’re also the perfect ability user.”

Lin Xian frowned: “You want me and Chu Yan for research?”

Julius scrutinized Lin Xian: “That’s a good idea, but not what I want most right now... not for now.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Something simple—the Heart of the Galaxy!” Julius said to Chu Yan and others. “Or rather, the city’s central hub.”

Lin Xian looked at Julius in confusion: “Your cooperation with Dawn City is just for an AI?”

“No! No! No!”

Julius laughed strangely, looking at Lin Xian with interest: “Mr. Lin, you don’t think we’re doing all this just to seize Dawn City, control mechanical rebels, and use all survivors as test subjects for some evil plan you saw in a movie, right?”

“Are you not already capturing enough?” Lin Xian retorted coldly.

“Seems you misunderstand us deeply,” Julius said, pointing at Lin Xian. “If so, what’s the meaning of our cooperation with Dawn City? What benefits did Chu Zhaonan offer us? Dawn City will be consumed soon anyway. Does it matter if it’s sooner or later?”

He glanced subtly at Lin Xian: “Mr. Lin, you must understand, time is on my side, not yours.”

“Why should we give you the Heart of the Galaxy?” Lin Xian asked.

Julius raised a finger and slowly approached: “Because I have the information you want—about the dark, about the apocalypse, about how long the tens of millions abandoned by Chu Zhaonan can survive, about a chance for choice. Am I right?”

Actually, this information wasn’t that valuable to me. I just need to confirm Chu Zhaonan hasn’t tampered with the Heart of the Galaxy. After I rewrite it with Crimson No. 3, I can immediately share this info with you. Oh, by the way, before then, you can take your weapons completely offline. Dawn is coming soon anyway, and you’ll evacuate Dawn City—a city soon swallowed by the Polar Night. It won’t matter to you.”

Hearing this, Lin Xian’s expression changed.

Seemingly anticipating this, Julius smiled: “Surprised? I don’t want to take over the weapon systems or care about your resistance. In some ways, I want the Vanguard Initiative to succeed.”

He snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the entire back wall of the hall opened, revealing a transparent curtain. Outside, facing the gray mist colonizer, eight starry heavy plasma thrusters condensed frost as it fell.

“Look, what a magnificent new era life form. We call it ‘Angel.’ Imagine if humans evolved to this form, with such vitality, destructive power, and intelligence. Our civilization could leap to a whole new age. Under such power, interstellar colonization and civilization wars would become much easier.”

Julius turned and glanced at the time: “Ten minutes to launch. We can wait here for the Vanguard Initiative launch. Then you’ll get the information you want, or, once you know, shoot me dead. I’ll accept it gladly.”

Lin Xian frowned: “That simple?”

“That simple.” Julius smiled broadly. “I don’t fear death. Death isn’t the end. History shows civilizations are reborn through destruction. Chu Zhaonan’s Vanguard Initiative is just an escape, while our Crimson World represents humanity’s true future. But... you won’t live to see that day. Ha, what a pity.”

“Oh.” Lin Xian nodded thoughtfully, murmuring: “So you painstakingly cooperate with Dawn City’s Vanguard Initiative for an empty city and an AI. You don’t want weapon control, just to let us resist the bizarre entity tide and retreat?”

Julius was silent. Chu Yan looked at Lin Xian.

Let me think. I don’t know if you’re too dumb or I’m too smart. You didn’t grasp the technology to solve the dark invasion in the star rifts. So if Dawn City is swallowed, you’ll die too. Yet you want the Heart of the Galaxy. If you strip away weapon systems, what’s left? Citywide surveillance, sensors, traffic, ecology, water, air, oh... and underground rail and strategic fortification access.”

Julius’s brow slowly furrowed, his face growing cold.

Lin Xian continued: “Last night, during Polar Night’s outbreak, hundreds of survivors in the outer city abandoned vehicles to enter. Strangely, many convoy vehicles inside the city were destroyed overnight. Where could they go at dawn? Nowhere. But what if the underground rail system and fortification tunnels all opened?”

Julius’s expression darkened.

Other squad members couldn’t help but frown.

Lin Xian sneered at Julius: “You don’t want nothing. On the contrary, you want everything. When the entire city is trapped and darkness comes, you can use Dawn City’s full system to conduct a comprehensive, clear, planned large-scale study. And this study is to observe how millions mutate and awaken abilities. What you want is to restart a...”

“The apocalypse disaster of the day of revelation!”