Chapter 109
Chapter 109
“The offensive is accelerating.”
Qin Lan keenly noticed the changes in the surrounding fissures.
Stronger waves of curse energy. More 3-Star anomalies. They poured continuously from fissure after fissure.
Even with his recent leap in strength, Qin Lan felt mounting pressure.
His communicator sounded the [Requesting Support] alarm without pause.
The change left him increasingly uneasy.
Stranger still, the anomalies did not emerge from only one or two fissures. They appeared randomly across all of them, almost as though their sole purpose was to buy time.
“Are they trying to keep us from reinforcing the Fallen Zone?”
Qin Lan crushed a 3-Star anomaly’s skull under one foot and casually drew out its curse energy. His expression only grew graver.
Despite his distance from the exit, he could faintly sense the astonishing battle fluctuations and that chilling, malevolent presence.
He did not know whether Lu Xingshan and the two other Anomaly Hunters could hold it back.
“Over here! Another one! No… two of them!”
“Can anyone help us? We can’t hold much longer! If this keeps–aah!”
Screams continually sounded over the public channel. One Anomaly Hunter coordinate after another went dark, signifying the complete loss of vital signs.
Death confirmed.
Qin Lan was already racing between fissures as fast as he possibly could, but the Anomaly Hunter casualties continued to rise.
“Luo Yue, can you hear me?”
His face seemed covered in frost as he quickly called the encrypted channel Luo Yue had established.
The moment it connected, chaotic sounds of battle spilled through, followed by Luo Yue’s exhausted voice.
“We’re about to lose this position…”
“Do you have any good news?”
Qin Lan fell silent for a moment, then spoke quietly.
“It’s time for you to leave.”
However unwilling he might be, Qin Lan had to make the call.
Safe Zone 088 was going to fall.
Dong Haoran, drenched in blood, had finally collapsed after fighting for more than twenty consecutive hours. The other 3-Star Anomaly Hunters were badly injured. Two had even died in battle.
At this rate, the Safe Zone’s complete collapse was only a matter of time.
“Leave?”
Bitterness filled Luo Yue’s voice. “I can leave. What about the civilians?”
“Where can they go?”
Qin Lan had no answer.
He knew the civilians who could not be evacuated were hiding in underground shelters, anxiously awaiting news of the Anomaly Hunters’ victory.
They still had hope. They believed this was only a temporary disaster and that the anomalies would eventually be driven out.
In truth, the number of Anomaly Hunters was steadily falling while the number of anomalies only increased.
The civilians could expect nothing but slaughter.
Qin Lan clenched his fists. His nails sank deep into his palms until thin streams of crimson blood appeared.
He could not accept it.
Rage nearly burned his heart and lungs to ash.
“You have to leave,” Qin Lan said hoarsely. “I’m not discussing this with you, Sister Luo Yue.”
“I can still buy you some time… If the attack frequency changes again, you won’t be able to leave even if you want to.”
He paused, his tone softening.
“Take Tang Qingqing and leave Safe Zone 088.”
“I’ll owe you one.”
Luo Yue choked up on the other end, but still forced her voice to sound light.
“Will you even be able to repay that favor?”
“You’re so young, yet you sound just like Uncle Lu. ‘I’m not discussing this with you’… What, are you trying to act mature and manly?”
She understood, of course.
Qin Lan had resolved to defend the Safe Zone to the death.
Even if he died here, he would fight until the last drop of blood left his body.
“Hello, hello?”
Xue Chuan suddenly cut in, his voice smug. “Friends, I just one-shot a 3-Star anomaly with an incredibly dazzling move. Where’s my applause? Where are the cheers?”
“It’s such a shame none of you saw it. My heroic back was definitely worthy of Safe Zone’s Top Ten Most Charming Men of the Year!”
No one answered.
Xue Chuan laughed awkwardly. “Haha… Why’s the mood so depressing?”
“Want to hear some good news? Fresh, juicy, straight-off-the-vine good news?”
At Xue Chuan’s words, Qin Lan seemed to glimpse a chance of survival.
“Talk!”
Xue Chuan chuckled over the channel.
“You know my Talent, right? Dimensional Pocket. A special spatial Talent…”
“After spending so long in contact with alternate spaces, I’ve picked up a little understanding of spatial matters. All right, not much understanding, but I still noticed something.”
Luo Yue grew impatient. “Stop wasting time! Get to the point!”
Even through his voice alone, they could sense Xue Chuan shrinking back.
“All right, all right. No need to rush me…”
“I discovered that the fissures inside the Safe Zone are actually interconnected.”
“They lead to an independent space that works like a transit hub. One end connects to our world, and the other connects to theirs.”
“And anomalies aren’t the only ones that can come through. We can enter from our side and travel the other way.”
“All we need is one badass to storm in and camp their spawn. Then we can–”
Before he finished, Luo Yue flatly rejected the idea.
“Impossible!”
Her tone was severe. “We’ve tested it repeatedly. Even anomalies endure an extremely painful process when they cross over. That’s why they need time to adjust to the environment after emerging…”
“The fissures carry an intense curse impact. Even if we tried to send someone in, their chance of survival would be extremely low!”
Xue Chuan snorted smugly.
“Wrong!”
“Here’s what you don’t know. From what I can tell, the curse impact changes according to the target’s strength, and it has an upper limit.”
Absolute confidence filled his words.
“The impact on someone at peak 3-Star would be severe, but completely survivable.”
“Of course, sending in an ordinary person would work too. We could find some unlucky weakling, load him up with weapons of mass destruction, and have him rush inside and blow himself up with those dumbass anomalies…”
Qin Lan and Luo Yue selectively ignored the second half.
“You’re certain someone at peak 3-Star can cross?” Qin Lan asked solemnly, waiting for Xue Chuan’s answer.
Luo Yue immediately understood his intent.
“Wait, you actually believe him?!”
“There are swarms of anomalies on the other side. Even if you get in, what can you possibly do?!”
She was no fool. Qin Lan clearly intended to risk his own life.
“If he’s right, I can save a great deal of time instead of running between fissures,” Qin Lan said quietly.
“If I remain in their world, I might be able to stop every anomaly before it crosses through.”
“That would reduce our casualties to a minimum. And–”
Luo Yue’s volume shot up before he could finish.
“And then what? You die over there? We don’t even recover your body, and you rot beside a bunch of fucking anomalies?”
“Even if you cross over and actually stop them, how long can you last?”
“One hour? Two? A day? Stop being a fucking idiot!”
It was the first time Qin Lan had heard Luo Yue swear.
The ordinarily gentle, warm woman sounded exceptionally agitated.
Xue Chuan, on the other hand, remained optimistic.
“You never know… Old Qin is strong. Almost no anomaly below 4-Star can survive three moves against him. If he holds out long enough, he might last until Director Lu–”
Before he could finish, the entire Safe Zone shook.
More precisely, an unbelievably powerful fluctuation erupted outside the exit leading to the Fallen Zone.
Everyone fighting involuntarily stopped. Even the anomalies that knew only slaughter froze as one.
Human and anomaly alike turned toward the same place.
Above the Fallen Zone, an enormous curse inscription slowly took shape like divine punishment descending from heaven.
Silver-white, red, blue, gold, and many other colors churned within it.