When Dawn City entered darkness earlier than expected and global radio signals vanished, the atmosphere inside the European Storm Alliance’s city command center in Reykjavik was overwhelmingly silent. Outside, in the safe shelter district, the tents of a convoy camp housing over four million survivors stretched endlessly. It was still daytime here, but everyone could feel a dark cloud slowly covering the European sky.

At the Dawn Center by the Qinggu Strait in Tianji, hundreds of thousands of various apocalypse-armed vehicles were parked across the strait plain—from base vehicles to off-roaders, from rail trains to armored trucks, from aerial carriers to marching troops. Nearly eight million homeless survivors had gathered here. There were dozens of large convoys, each exceeding fifty thousand people. The Dawn Center’s chief commander, Li Heping, stood solemnly in a trench coat and military uniform, his sharp eyes like an eagle’s. After Ye Lan’s voice came through, everyone fell silent. Countless convoys and lookouts climbed atop vehicles, gazing southward.

Phoenix City in Ushuaia, South America;

the United Front in Alaska, North America;

Noah and the Republic Shelter Islands in Oceania… Survivors scattered across the globe suddenly grew urgent for humanity’s survival. Countless prayers rose, hoping Dawn City could overcome this dark trial and usher in a new dawn for humanity!

[Oxygen Remaining: 95%...]

[Detected Low-Temperature Zero-Gravity Environment, Power Armor Life Cycle System Activated]

The mechanical female voice echoed in Lin Xian’s ears, and he seemed to hear the breathing valve cycling inside his power armor’s mask.

Lin Xian slowly opened his eyes. Before him was an inverted starship cabin space. Countless fragments, instruments, and cables floated in midair like a bizarre, silent mime performance.

An extreme chill surged from all directions. Despite wearing stellar-class power armor, Lin Xian immediately felt a powerful dark invasion crashing against his consciousness, rivaling the force within Star Abyss No. 5.

His mental power twisted wildly, awareness fragmented, vision blurred, and the cold was bone-piercing!

Hey.

The automatic obstacle-avoidance system in his armor continuously emitted subtle jet bursts, helping him stabilize his float without colliding with the cabin or sharp metal fragments.

Lin Xian kept gasping, adjusting his state. Although prepared in advance, the raging dark invasion still made him feel swallowed by a deep sea. Meanwhile, the first time undergoing such a vast-scale teleportation gave him a sharp sense of extreme time distortion, as if he wasn’t simply spatially teleported but sucked through a node in some dark star abyss before suddenly appearing here. Though it seemed instantaneous, it actually took an incredibly long process.

He furrowed his brow slightly, reaching out to grab the flickering bullet floating in the air—sealed by him inside a lead box.

“Why does it feel like an abnormal entity is flickering behind me as night falls...”

Lin Xian tightened his frown, looking toward the time with a grim expression.

17:44

“Two hours... how could so much time have passed?”

Lin Xian’s head throbbed. He looked up and realized he was inside the scientific experiment cabin on the Civilization Vanguard where he and KIKI had previously infiltrated. However, the main cabin wall was now torn open by a ten-meter-long crack. The metal edges twisted and curled as if bitten by a giant beast. Through the gap, he saw the pitch-black void of space—silent, cold, utterly dark, like being beneath an abyss.

The cabin had long lost its air and pressure. Frost lined the crack’s edges—a trace of leaked liquid oxygen instantly freezing in the vacuum.

A young woman’s corpse floated by, wearing glasses and a lab coat. Her beautiful face had turned bluish-purple, mouth agape as if silently screaming. Her hand remained outstretched, seemingly trying to grasp something.

He recognized that face—it was the man they met when leaving the starship.

Blue Star quickly turned toward the spherical experimental device, activating the thruster to push over. She pressed against the observation port and shone a searchlight, finding the outside corrosion cells had long since whitened, losing vitality. Blue Star then located data cables and prepared to restart the internal circuits using mechanical supernatural power to reconnect.

But as the Mechanical Heart operated, a strange spatial ripple spread across the seven-cube space, like a ripple in the fabric.

This made Blue Star cautious. She immediately dispatched Xu Zhenyue and several mechas to retreat and scan from the cabin crack and passage direction, but they found nothing—only an endless, pale, empty cosmic space.

Woo~

As Blue Star activated the hyperstring reactor’s phase rainbow ring, part of the cabin’s power restarted, and lights flickered on.

“Xu Zhenyue, connecting you... to the star system.” Blue Star said, enduring the immense pressure.

[Error]

Xu Zhenyue slowly adjusted his posture, crouching under the experiment device, morphing his finger to plug into the data port, beginning data integration.

[Your current low orbit has exceeded Chu Jing’s geostationary orbit altitude. Due to perturbations, orbital parameters are drifting.]

“So if we re-enter the atmosphere, we’ll need the thruster, right?”

[Yes. According to shipboard data, our current altitude is 46,852 KM from the surface. To re-enter the atmosphere, a Hohmann transfer must ignite at high orbit to descend to low orbit, calculating velocity increments and performing at least two decelerations to ensure correct re-entry angle.]

Lin Xian frowned. “Quickly get the data on corrosion cells absorbing dark invasion energy from this device. Also check if there are any survivors or non-offline propulsion cabin sections.”

[Understood, data acquired. Additionally, an unknown emergency signal from the main bridge was detected, but the cabin section has detached, making retrieval impossible.]

“That fast?” Lin Xian asked as he flew with Grace toward the upper deck’s main bridge.

[This starship’s emergency transmitter is sending signals to Blue Star and all directions in space. After command log queries, it was confirmed as a perpetual order issued by Captain Chu Jing. As long as the system or emergency circuits activate, Civilization Vanguard will continuously cycle transmissions.]

“A distress signal?”

Lin Xian cut open a twisted, damaged automatic door with pulse laser. His gaze sharpened the next moment.

Outside, the entire bow of Civilization Vanguard had broken open at a right angle, revealing a wide-open gap. Starship debris and human corpses floated in the endless cosmic darkness. The 500,000-ton giant human ship’s main structural keel and cabin fractures were fully exposed, forming a horrifying and tragic scene.

Grace’s voice came in his ear.

“No, these signals include—”

[1. Energy data of corrosion cells absorbing dark invasion.]

[2. Ionization reflection, spectrum, neutron and radiation dosage data during Sky Veil Barrier breach.]

[3. Low-frequency radio spectrum data for researching cosmic dark age signals (NCLE).]

[4. Vital sign anomaly data of all personnel encountering dark energy storms, including Captain Chu Jing.]

Lin Xian activated thrusters, dodging debris all the way, entering the main bridge passage. He pushed aside tangled cables, bypassed dead bodies, and finally entered the massive main bridge of Civilization Vanguard. The huge command room was deathly silent;

broken portholes let in a single slant of sunlight illuminating the bridge.

At the captain’s seat sat a frost-covered corpse in full military uniform. He was strapped in, seemingly fearless, having sat there from the start, facing everything head-on.

Upon hearing Grace, Lin Xian looked at the captain’s body with solemnity.

He knew this man was Chu Jing’s son, Chu Zhaonan.

Lin Xian recalled passing a young colonel in the corridor when leaving Civilization Vanguard. Now he realized it was Chu Jing.

“Don’t worry. The signal you sent won’t be swallowed by darkness. I’ll bring you back...” Lin Xian said softly, gazing at Chu Jing’s frost-covered face.

“Thank you, Colonel Chu.”

[Signal received. It was a communication order sent by Natural Selection to a geostationary space station. The order has been acknowledged.]

Lin Xian turned his head. “What coordinates?”

[Parsing...] Grace looked up at Lin Xian. [According to starship orbital coordinate indexing, the station is the Dragon Kingdom Planetary Orbital Defense Project—Southern Celestial Gate.]

Lin Xian’s pupils constricted sharply. “They connected with the Southern Celestial Gate?!”

[Yes. The message was sent by Southern Celestial Gate 5 hours and 21 minutes ago. The reply command was: System completing immediate reboot, adjusting orbit position.]

“Adjusting to where?”

[Here.]

Grace whispered, pointing outside the main bridge window.

“No way...”

Lin Xian immediately activated jets and shot out the broken porthole. Maneuvering amid space debris, he soon saw the massive planetary orbital defense device once only seen in news reports. Suspended at Blue Star’s geostationary orbit altitude of 52,660 KM, it floated like a towering sword in the silent starry sky!

The 12-kilometer-diameter giant ring-shaped energy storage array equipped with “Ganliyan” deep space radar and 24 “Zhulong”-class constrained particle beam arrays could instantly intercept and vaporize small meteoroids within 500 meters. It was a defense platform created by the Dragon Kingdom United Federation for planetary and Moon ring ecological safety.

Platform Codename: Southern Celestial Gate!

“Indeed, the Vanguard fleet’s first move after breaking through the Sky Veil Barrier was to try to contact Southern Celestial Gate.”

Lin Xian gazed at the massive artificial space station, noting its signal lights still flickered, but all operational cabin sections were dark and silent. The entire station seemed enveloped by boundless black mist.

Just as Lin Xian prepared to fly behind a broken cabin section for a closer look, his power armor and senses simultaneously detected a strange fluctuation. Lin Xian immediately called Grace and hid in the shadow of the floating cabin section.

At that moment, countless black tendrils resembling cable-like filaments spread from the broken propulsion cabin of the Star Shepherd, increasing rapidly like vascular veins clinging to the starship’s hull, quickly infiltrating and tearing apart the cabin seams.

“What is that thing...” Lin Xian’s gaze darkened. “An abnormal entity?”

Those black tendrils appeared as if materializing from nowhere among the starship remains, spreading bigger and bigger. Lin Xian slowly deployed a drone from the wreckage to observe, and shockingly saw behind the broken Star Shepherd’s body a huge biological mouthpiece resembling a black hole’s accretion disk slowly opening wide. The tendrils stretched like a vast net, continuously spreading from one starship wreck to another!

At this time, the drone’s view suddenly caught a giant silhouette far beyond Blue Star’s atmosphere, on the other side.

Three massive overlapping space city rings floated silently in endless darkness, illuminated by sunlight and moonlight!

Lin Xian instantly recognized it: humanity’s largest space infrastructure project—the Moon Ring!

This tidal and solar energy-harvesting space city, with a diameter exceeding 300 kilometers, loomed like a cosmic leviathan suspended in Blue Star’s distant orbit.

But now, this colossal civilization miracle seemed to be swallowed by a black energy storm spawned by the dark cosmic thunder. Below it, massive ocean storm clouds rolled over Blue Star’s Pacific, a scene resembling the apocalypse!

At that moment, the strange suction-cup creature in front suddenly emitted a tangible dark energy wave.

“Damn it!”

Lin Xian shivered and cursed, immediately activating thrusters to dash back into the bridge ruins through the Civilization Vanguard’s porthole. He quickly used a spiritual value detector to check himself. Upon seeing no dark mark on him, he exhaled deeply but could not help sweating coldly recalling the scene.

Southern Celestial Gate, Moon Ring, it seemed all were corrupted by a dark cosmic ring around Blue Star. Lin Xian had thought there might be human mutants here, but there were actually abnormal entities among the space wreckage!

[Detected massive biological movement. Emergency evacuation recommended!]

Grace said calmly.

“I know.”

After acquiring the data, Lin Xian had planned to immediately head toward the Gray Mist Envoy, but the current situation made him cautious. He dispatched dozens of drones at once.

“Grace, check the route. Scan if the Gray Mist Envoy has any abnormal entities clinging to it!”

An S-level dark energy wave would not be small. The recent disturbance warned him: if other abnormal entities were attached to the Gray Mist Envoy, it wasn’t just about rescuing Chu Yan. Getting marked by darkness in space could mean encountering terrifying things. Like that suction-cup creature that unfolded in two dimensions—he couldn’t even judge its level.

[Planning path and scanning biological entities. Signal relay anchors need to be set.]

While Grace controlled drones to scout, Lin Xian quietly peeked out the porthole, gazing toward the Southern Celestial Gate thousands of kilometers away, calculating in his mind.

[Scan complete. No active organisms found. Grace advises immediate action. Biological entities detected approaching Civilization Vanguard.]

“Got it!”

Half a minute later, Lin Xian piloted his power armor flight device at high speed out of the wreckage zone, gradually nearing the massive abnormal entity colony floating in space.

The Gray Mist Envoy hung inverted. Eight heavy plasma thrusters on its back were partially scorched black. It rested on the suppression device behind its mech brain, scanning mechanically while operating the control unit.

Under Lin Xian’s manipulation, one tubular suppression device slowly slid out. He opened a hidden cabin below, revealing a full-metal life capsule rising from the cold. Simultaneously, inside the mech’s control central cabin, a robot nearly identical to Grace was suspended by numerous cables.

Lin Xian opened the life capsule and saw none other than Julius lying inside!

Compared to the previous clones, this Julius looked visibly older by about ten years and somewhat emaciated. He was fully immersed in a kind of biomass fluid, with his skull fully opened. Outside the transparent biomass tank, numerous white mycelia wrapped him, resembling an incomplete cocoon.

“She is Crimson No. 3 Viola, my online version. Julius uploaded digital life consciousness through her, evolving the human circuit with ‘self-personality’ awareness. Though I captured this portion during Operation Crescent Moon, her offline version should also exist in storage memory. Her armor material uses the same standard as mine, stronger than ‘Dancer No. 1.’ Please be very careful.”

“That’s easy!”

Lin Xian yanked out the main control cable. “Grace, help me overwrite her system.”

“Understood.”

Grace approached, inserting nerve cables into Viola’s rear data port, then said to Lin Xian:

“Viola is the main AI controlling this entire armored mechanical unit of the colony. Do you want to keep her action module?”

“No need.”

Lin Xian exhaled deeply. He’d already been tricked once and wouldn’t be careless again.

Though… regarding Hua Xiaoling, no harm had come, but with this kind of smart brain, Lin Xian preferred full control.

“Your plan is to reboot this colony system and re-enter the atmosphere. This will be very dangerous. According to Vanguard Initiative logs, dark-side storms and large-scale mutations are likely linked to some effect from S-level breakthroughs of the Sky Veil Barrier. Under such circumstances, dark invasion could infect you.”

“I know. That’s why I want to try...”

Lin Xian broke into a cold sweat while pulling out a device already manufactured by the Black Star Forge. He made a dark energy resonance device developed by Mochizuki Shinji and connected it directly to the Gray Mist Envoy’s action brain. Now, with Civilization Vanguard’s energy conversion device, he could fully convert dark energy through the Envoy’s action brain.

Beep!

The small conversion device started. Lin Xian instantly felt the S-level abnormal entity’s torso and armor shudder as an invisible faint light rapidly spread. The chilling dark invasion feeling around him disappeared immediately, the distortion of his consciousness vanished, and even his vision cleared significantly.

“Success... it really works!” Lin Xian said excitedly.

At this time, Grace finished overwriting Viola’s system and asked Lin Xian:

“Are you planning to upload Chu Yan’s consciousness into Viola so she can survive as digital life?”

Lin Xian looked at Julius in the capsule, his eyes sharpening.

“She probably doesn’t intend that...”

“Then how do you plan to bring her back?”

“There’s only one way.” Lin Xian looked at the numerous mycelia behind Julius’s capsule. The mycelia ran along system pipelines through the suppressor directly to the Gray Mist Envoy’s action brain.

“Grace.”

Lin Xian looked at Grace and spoke.

“I have a task for you, maybe only you can accomplish it.”

Grace stood proudly in a ballet pose, hands behind her back. “Grace is honored.”

In space, Grace carried Lin Xian’s small thruster device, flying through the star wreckage zone toward the Southern Celestial Gate thousands of kilometers away!

The heavy cabin door closed, the tubular suppressor retracted and plugged back in. Inside the suppressor’s cabin, despite the huge mechanical colony covering it, Lin Xian still smelled a formaldehyde-like stench mixed with humus.

Lin Xian went behind Viola, reinserted the cables, and operated mechanical supernatural power to restart her.

Beep~ Viola’s chest core lit up, her entire body’s motors resonated. Powerful computing surged, quickly scanning the entire Gray Mist Colony system. Then, a female voice very similar to Grace’s sounded.

“Hello, Lin Xian. I am Viola. I have copied Grace’s system data. From now on, I will serve you in Grace’s stead.”

Lin Xian took a deep breath, his expression grim. He approached a survival pod he had just made and took off his armor.

“Viola, scan the colony system and Gray Mist’s vital signs!”

“Understood, scanning now. Safety protocols activated.”

“Report: Armor integrity at 92%. LCL apostle inhibitor intact. Suppressor device online, detecting large unknown bioelectric currents.”

“Plasma thruster power remaining 34%. Units 1 and 4 circuits burned out;

thruster 8 offline.”

Lin Xian immediately released all maintenance and construction drones. At the same time, scanning signals arrived. The Black Star Forge’s six construction sequences all activated, ready to build.

“Viola, calculate repair time.”

“Based on your repair and manufacturing efficiency, estimated repair time is 4 hours 12 minutes 51 seconds.”

Lin Xian glanced at the time and swallowed hard. He sat inside the life pod, handing over repair work to Viola.

“I’m going to test connecting the action brain. If my abnormal heart rate or vital signs die for over 3 minutes, cut off the mycelium brain-machine and activate my AED system immediately.”

Viola paused for a second, then said:

“Understood.”

Lin Xian lay back in the pod, his heart racing. He tried to calm his breathing and stay alert.

The mycelium brain-machine interface slowly attached from the back of his head. A biological electric current surged instantly.

Lin Xian’s pupils suddenly dilated, his eyes flooded with countless blood-red veins.

...

20:05, Dawn City—black clouds rolled in, thunder cracked violently. Between heaven and earth, it seemed only the sound of destruction remained.

High above, Silent City and the Skybreaker Ship unleashed countless artillery rounds at the deep cloud layers. Huge explosions flared among the clouds, illuminating terrifying atmospheric lifeforms.

On Silent City’s urban decks, Tianye Jun soared in power armor, smashing flying abnormal entities with iron fists. Takahashi Ryunosuke expanded a powerful control field, crushing waves of flying entities into dust. Qian Suxun’s expression was grim as he commanded thousands of mechas in rotation. Over ten thousand Silent City residents joined the battle. Countless drones and city weapons, under Mochizuki Shinji’s control, surged in counterattack.

“Shinji, that big one’s defense field area is too large. It shouldn’t last this long,” Qian Suxun frowned, constantly watching data from AC robots.

“We always thought the S-level driven abnormal entity tide attack was a kind of ‘command’ action. But now it seems that might be only one reason.”

Inside the main bridge, Mochizuki Shinji stood with hands behind his back, calm despite the millions of monsters.

“Abnormal entities can convert dark invasion power for themselves. So those defeated monsters are the ‘endurance energy’ for these large S-level monsters. They consume troops, both depleting enemies and strengthening themselves. This is the simplest hunting logic.”

Around Twin Star Tower, hundreds of air patrol fleets burned the air into a scorched stench. Various drones, single-flight devices, and aerospace fighters flew wildly. Besides many monster corpses falling, human fighter jets crashed and burned. A ray-class starship lowered altitude through the storm, missiles and main cannons firing densely at the sky. Suddenly, several giant tentacles like meteorites plummeted from clouds, instantly piercing the starship’s bow and propulsion cabin.

Boom!

A tens-of-thousands-ton flying craft emitted dying ‘killing’ sounds, the starship hull and armor burst open layer by layer. The energy and weapon cabins exploded, igniting a massive mushroom cloud on the horizon.

The firelight nearly illuminated half the sky. Several fleet vessels avoided the blast. Commanders watching monitors saw comrades falling like rain, hundreds rolling and dropping through the air. Some futilely grabbed broken fuel pipes, others clung to guns and fought back mid-fall. Beneath the monstrous horde, thousands of humans fell like ants into the abyss.

“Emergency report: Watcher downed with battle damage. Echo formation rapidly redeploying to Zone 13 to fill the gap. Do not let the air defense line break!”

Buzz!

The massive crash turned city streets below into a sea of flames. Half the streets were rubble. The Watcher’s burning wreckage remained while another fleet rapidly filled the extinguished fire net.

Inside the city, defense lines in every district had become an apocalypse ocean. Abnormal entities weren’t repelled yet. Many survivors and troops were mutating. One wrong move could cause a chain reaction wiping out entire squads or convoy camps.

On the streets, Daluo, Liang Lei, Li Guangwen, and other melee ability users were covered in abnormal entity blood plasma, slashing through invading entities on the city wall. After hours of bloody fighting, their Gatling cannons were emptied.

“There are too many of these things!” Li Guangwen shouted from a rooftop, bloodied, punching and smashing a bat-like entity.

“Watch out!” Liang Lei charged with his full-metal skin, blasting a winged demon away.

“Careful!”

An acid-spitting diving abnormal entity rushed from the sky. At that moment, Daluo’s steel-cutting great sword flew through the wind, piercing it through and pinning it to the wall.

Rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat.

Behind the defense line, Hu Lushou, clad in advanced battle armor and steel helmet, fired furiously at a group of abnormal entities in an alley.

“I’ll kill you all!”

Dazed.

But as his bullets ran out and fire paused, the entities suddenly leapt at Hu Lushou, stepping on their fallen comrades.

Hu Lushou’s hands trembled as he hastily loaded bullets, face pale, retreating constantly.

“Wait, hold on, reload...”

Just as the clawed monsters were about to pounce, a mechanical iron fist surged in, crackling with red electricity, smashing a monster to bloody pulp. The shockwave killed all monsters in the alley.

Sun Chang clenched her iron fist, glanced back at the terrified Hu Lushou sitting on the ground, and whispered, “Be more careful.”

“Thank you, wife, for saving my life!!!” Hu Lushou sobbed, tears streaming as Sun Chang’s divine weapon descended like heaven’s wrath.

On City Wall No. 1, dense firepower poured like waterfalls behind the black curtain. Outside the city was already a blood sea. The mecha regiment’s artillery had to stand on abnormal entity corpses piled high.

Roar!!!

A furious black centipede burst from the horde, biting and destroying a Vulcan armor before charging into the mecha cluster.

Buzz!

A dark red laser swept across, instantly slicing the black centipede into pieces. Sun Yuzhen and A Bai flew in the air, maximizing the laser’s power.

“Divine Infinite Flame Sword!”

A giant crimson flame pillar swept the battlefield, igniting a sea of fire. A sword tornado formed by thousands of blades pushed through the darkness.

“Fire Bro, watch the sky!” KIKI shouted.

Outside the city battlefield, Fire Bro, KIKI, hundreds of Annihilator-level and several Seraph-level ability users unleashed ferocious combat power!

Inside Twin Star Tower’s command room, battle reports updated constantly.

“Report: Patrol drone detected S-level creature No. 19, ‘Wanderer,’ 35 kilometers south of the city!”

On the battle screen, a terrifying many-legged moving creature appeared amid smoke-covered ruins!

Under its massive shadow, entire blocks collapsed. An acidic shockwave rapidly dissolved surrounding reinforced concrete.

“Report: Defense Sector 8, posts 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, and 52 lost signal simultaneously. Strong seismic waves detected. Frontal torso profile of S-level creature No. 11, ‘Earth Surge,’ observed!”

Xu Zhenyue and several senior officers gathered around Ye Lan, eyes grave as they watched the command screen.

“Ability user teams concentrate firepower. Do not let Earth Surge breach the city walls!” Xu Zhenyue commanded the frontlines. “Deploy unmanned intervention units to attempt altering target trajectory.”

“How’s the mutation situation?” Ye Lan asked.

“Reached level three deterioration. If these two abnormal entities arrive, it may escalate to level four,” Xu Zhenyue replied. “At level four, frontline troops may encounter serious issues.”

Besides Xu Zhenyue, generals Lu Tianye and Huo Jiang commanded the front. Ye Lan watched the battle screen calmly.

“How’s the City Ring energy tower deployment?”

“Deployment complete,” Su Jin, former Federation Far Star Project leader responsible for this, reported. “Multiple power lines established. Silent City’s device is in place. Corrosion cells remain active. Once Lin Xian breaks through the Sky Veil Barrier and data transmits, the dark energy resonance tower will activate immediately.”

Su Jin’s expression darkened as she watched casualty numbers and fleet losses climb on the battle screen, alongside fallen streets and crumbling southwest defense sector city walls. She said grimly:

“It’s only a matter of time...”

“There’s enough time,” Ye Lan said without turning. “Emperor Project’s Divine Group is in position. Notify the front: single combat power, fall back!”

At City Wall No. 1, southwest defense zone, the garrison and Iron Guard Brigade’s key defense area, the sky roared.

Huo Jiang stood in the defense command post, looking at the lights inside cloud layers. His expression hardened.

“It’s finally here!”

He stepped forward. “Connect the Qin brothers and Bai Ye Su Rui immediately!”

“Yes!”

“All units, beware. Enemy and friendly identification A-1 Emperor Suzaku and A-2 Emperor Xuanwu signals uploaded to intelligence center. Prepare for impact!”

Garrison commander Lu Tianye heard this and ordered gravely: “Special armed power battalion fall back along the line. Zones 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 artillery cover!”

“Emperor mechs are here! Retreat!” commanders across regiments shouted.

“Ability team, air cover for transport!” Seraph Division chief Luo Ming commanded from a transport ship’s edge, shouting into the comm.

Woo!!!

Power armor squads at the frontline city wall received orders and fell back.

All survivors fighting in Dawn City suddenly noticed the sky to the east torn apart by clouds.

Two towering ‘figures’ resembling gods appeared amid infinite artillery fire and air defense under thunderclaps. The roaring of dozens of ‘Hercules’-class super-heavy transport helicopter vortex engines grew louder like ancient beasts’ breaths. Steel cables tightened in the hurricane, slowly lifting a massive black shadow piercing through the thick fog.

These were two latest-model Emperor Project Divine Group war machines, each larger than Unit-01. Their super-carbon carbide alloy composite armor gleamed coldly under searchlights, like titans from myths!

The left mech was deep blue all over, roaring twin orange-yellow plasma beam nuclear fusion turbo engines. This was a heavily armored replica of Unit-01, Pangu. Plasma streams flickered at joints. Inside the cockpit, the Qin brothers, Qin Yue and Qin Chuan, achieved a rare 98% neural synchronization, their eyes sharp, movements and gait nearly identical.

“Target: creature No. 11, Earth Surge.”

“Xuanwu, ready!”

“Xuanwu, ready!”

“Fire!”

Clang!

Dozens of giant steel cables released simultaneously from the transport ship, and the 26,000-ton mega humanoid mech dropped straight down from 400 meters!

Beep!

A violent gust sounded as Emperor Xuanwu crashed into Pujiang River southwest of Dawn City. Water erupted into hundred-meter waves. Xuanwu kneeled, inserting the magnetic rail shield into the Bund pier. Its instantly activated defense field shattered a 300-meter radius of abnormal entity tide and buildings into dust!

Inside the cockpit, the Qin brothers stared coldly at the holographic interface. Under the black mist silhouette, the mountain-sized creature No. 11, Earth Surge, loomed. Their hands spread wide.

“Destroyer launch!”

“Destroyer launch!”

The armor layers on Emperor Xuanwu’s chest opened, revealing a 120-missile destroyer battery, firing twenty giant missiles!

On the other side, Emperor Suzaku flowed with crimson energy. It was a high-mobility, high-burst assassin-class mech using new anti-impact materials. Piloted by the couple Qin Baiye and his wife Su Rui, both air force academy graduates, the mech’s leg thruster nozzles released phoenix tail flames as steel cables dropped. Violent wind pressure slammed the ground, cracking earth and raising dust clouds!

Facing the incoming many-legged and acid-rain-spewing creature No. 18, Wanderer, the couple exchanged fierce glances and assumed combat stances.

“Activate Suzaku plasma diffraction swords!”

“Activate Suzaku plasma diffraction swords!”

The agile giant mech spread its arms. Two red plasma beam diffraction swords illuminated the entire battlefield’s darkness.

“Come on!”

“Come on!”

The couple shouted in unison!

Under the raging thundercloud sky, the battles of the three S-level abnormal entities began in earnest. The defense of Dawn City had entered a white-hot stage!

At this moment, floating in deep space orbit 46,852 KM above the surface, a 160,000-ton humanoid mechanical colony quietly drifted among starship wreckage. Its eight plasma thrusters behind resembled angelic wings, majestic in scale.

Lin Xian felt his consciousness tear open instantly. Countless cracks oozed thick dark red at the edges of his vision. A powerful zero-gravity sensation pulled him deep beneath ten thousand meters of sea. Countless screams echoed like hellish wails in his ears. If previously approaching the black mist meant hearing billions of people crying, now Lin Xian felt as if he fell into a sea of the living dead.

Suffocation, zero gravity, consciousness tearing—the darkness was no longer darkness but a living entity, constantly writhing and multiplying. From dots to circles, triangles to Euclidean geometry, every edge twisted, flipped, and self-consumed in defiance of logic. His brain tried to comprehend, but the edges pierced his thoughts, churning cognition into a stinking viscous soup.

Lin Xian felt he was falling from space toward Blue Star’s surface, passing through the atmosphere and thunderclouds. Continental shelves and oceans collapsed. A massive black deep hole spread chaotically on the ground.

His head ached fiercely. His consciousness seemed to traverse countless universes, then planets, dust, molecules, atoms, neutrons, protons… all the way to an unknown black hole space!

At this moment, Lin Xian felt his consciousness became 360 degrees—or more. It wasn’t just space but countless overlapping spaces and worlds. His body was gone. As he kept falling through this repeating dark space, suddenly a hand grabbed him!

Everything seemed to quiet down. The overlapping spaces vanished. His vision focused on a black void area. Lin Xian’s sight locked onto the hand pulling him—it was Chu Yan!

Before him, Chu Yan was no longer that mechanical prosthetic body but a fully embodied consciousness.

Her entire body was radiant.

“Lin Xian.” Chu Yan looked at him in surprise. “How are you here?!”

“That’s a long story...”

Lin Xian felt this entirely new consciousness state. He had no idea how much time had passed but knew that seeing Chu Yan meant he had survived temporarily!

He immediately told Chu Yan about the Phoenix Society and his plan. Hearing Lin Xian’s insane plan, even the mentally strong Chu Yan found it hard to believe.

“Madman!”

Chu Yan frowned. “You only said the flickering bullet can return to Civilization Vanguard but didn’t consider how to control the Gray Mist Envoy to get back.”

The Envoy’s colony only had suppressors and auxiliary action armor. Controlling its thrusters was no problem, but activating its action brain to break through the Sky Veil Barrier? Lin Xian hadn’t planned that.

He shook his head. “Indeed, I didn’t consider that.”

But he looked at Chu Yan. “I just figured you’d have a way, so I came up. Maybe a bit rash, but no better option.”

Chu Yan’s expression turned complicated. After a moment of silence, she said:

“Julius’s life is at its limit. His plan was to use the Sky Veil Barrier’s S-level recognition to fully assimilate him into the same life form. But he miscalculated. There is indeed a darker existence above, but to darkness, he is just a living tissue to reactivate the action brain…”

Lin Xian shrugged. “Now this biological battery has become me. So as long as I don’t die, I can use myself and the Gray Mist action brain to bring your spiritual consciousness back. I think... that should be right.”

“According to your previous connection with me, theoretically, maybe.”

“But I was near death before, and your body is temporarily dead,” Lin Xian said what she wanted to say. “But I think it’s fine. We have to try.”

Chu Yan avoided Lin Xian’s gaze. “You’re right. Civilization Vanguard’s dark energy data is vital for human war and survival. I admire your courage.”

“Save the lofty talk. Let’s be practical. I’ve already taken control of Crimson No. 3’s main brain,” Lin Xian said sharply, looking around. “Where exactly are we? And how do we get back?”

Chu Yan said seriously, “You can think of this place as a neuron opened by mycelia using human brain matter in the Gray Mist abnormal entity’s action brain. Two civilizations’ neurons collide for the first time. Our consciousness temporarily exists here, but our life forms are fundamentally different, so direct dialogue or communication is impossible. We can only reason logically through experiments. Also, the dark creature’s survival medium corrodes us, so the Crimson World’s constraint locks and suppressors inhibit its nerve activity over 70%. Since this is only an action brain, according to Crimson World’s data, about 420 healthy young human brains’ mental power can balance it.”

“In other words, it’s a consciousness contest. Whichever side’s mental power is stronger dominates.”

Lin Xian confirmed, “So 420 people’s brains are needed to balance one S-level action brain suppressed over 70%?”

“Exactly.”

“And us?”

“With me, it’s enough.” Chu Yan said. “My mental power exceeds the combined peak of at least 1,000 people!”

Lin Xian breathed easier, looking at Chu Yan. “Looks like I gambled right.”

“Merging mental power isn’t easy. It’s different from nerve synesthesia. Besides synchronizing frequencies, we must resist the Gray Mist’s dark reactions.”

“No problem.”

Chu Yan had powerful mental abilities, and Lin Xian was an angel-level mechanical ability user with experience resisting darkness. He was confident.

Chu Yan tilted her head slightly and said to Lin Xian, “Also, after our consciousness merges, you’ll have no secrets from me.”

Lin Xian frowned, looking at the now-naked Chu Yan. “I think, at this point, none of that matters.”

“You’re right.”

Chu Yan turned. With her powerful mental energy surging, the surrounding darkness began to recede. Lin Xian’s perspective seemed to zoom out. Ahead appeared a blurry space scene, as if he was viewing the starship wreckage zone from the Gray Mist Envoy’s perspective.

At that moment, Lin Xian saw the violent mental power surging around. Countless dark tides rolled like tsunamis toward them, thunderous bombardment exploding in space. He shouted loudly:

“So, what do we do next?”

Chu Yan’s gaze sharpened. She slowly raised her right hand toward Lin Xian and said loudly:

“Grab my hand!”

“And then?!”

Lin Xian immediately reached out, interlocking fingers with Chu Yan. Instantly, under her overwhelming mental power, the raging thunder seemed to vanish, and the world grew silent.

Only Chu Yan’s voice thundered in his mind:

“Our minds are one!”