The shaking lasted for more than thirty seconds.
“Is it really an earthquake?” a burly officer asked, looking confused.
A female officer suddenly grabbed her button radio and listened intently for a moment before shouting excitedly, “The psychics are starting to retreat! Quick, listen!”
Wang Jixuan perked up his ears and strained to catch what was being said.
“Run! It’s a half-mechanical creature from the front lines!”
“Damn it! That bastard Kong Nu made us fight this kind of monster!”
“Retreat! Everyone retreat! Back to the upper city! If she locks onto you, you’re dead! Hurry! Let those C-levels handle it!”
“Watch out for her laser cannon… buzz—”
The radio erupted with a piercing noise, and the entire fortress trembled slightly again.
Wang Jixuan and his four companions exchanged glances.
Suddenly, they all heard a calm voice in their headsets:
“Elevator No. 7 is ready for you to come down directly.
“There are seven or eight psychics who have escaped, and they took a route far from your position. There are still three C-level psychics here, and we’re suppressing them with firepower. They will be cleared out soon.
“Your small team has done well, eliminating five psychics with minimal firepower.
“Please come down immediately to regroup and assist me in the investigation.”
Wang Jixuan felt a strange sense of insult from this message, though he couldn’t quite understand why.
Finally, they got on the elevator;
Although it wasn’t the luxurious and comfortable central elevator,
the spacious No. 7 elevator had three rows of long benches and various safety and explosion-proof devices to ensure they could sit securely.
The elevators in the fortress were similar to buses in the golden age of human cities.
When Wang Jixuan and his team arrived at the 45th floor of the fortress, they found hundreds of law enforcement officers in light blue uniforms gathered, guarding the usual passageway to the 46th floor.
This was a common route for the ‘nobles’ of the middle and upper cities heading to the City of Joy. There was a simple hydraulic elevator between the floors, but it had been blown up, and several burning handmade cars were scattered along the spiraling road down, along with some dismembered body parts.
Clearly, there had been intense fighting here.
Wang Jixuan and Zhou Zhengde were both in law enforcement uniforms, which made things much easier.
The five of them quickly negotiated and carried their weapons into the spiraling road, easily passing through the law enforcement checkpoint and entering the central area of the 46th floor.
Light.
A lot of light.
Almost all the light sources in the City of Joy were turned on, and in the distance, gunfire from gang fights echoed. A thick cloud of smoke rose in one area, with vehicles carrying gang members fleeing from there.
Just as Wang Jixuan led his team a few steps forward, a loud rumbling sound came from below, and a small mushroom cloud slowly rose.
Since the fortress was a semi-enclosed space, the shockwave from the explosion turned into a wave of heat that brushed against Wang Jixuan and his team, leaving a bit of warmth.
Following that, a purple laser beam suddenly appeared, shooting straight up at an angle, burning a red area into the ‘metal ceiling’ above.
“Oh my god…”
Zhou Zhengde swallowed hard:
“How can we make this battle compliant?”
Wang Jixuan thought for a moment: “The psychic is using heavy firepower illegally.”
Zhou Zhengde snapped his fingers: “Exactly!”
Lingtong’s voice came through the headset: “Please bring over the No. 2 equipment box, thank you. It contains specialized gear for hunting psychics.”
“Got it.”
Wang Jixuan responded, running while forming a sword gesture with his hands, and eight movement talismans flew out, sticking to the outer thighs of Zhou Zhengde and the others.
He pointed ahead, and the speed of the five-person team increased again.
To ensure the talismans weren’t exposed, the last bit of spiritual energy in these talismans would be used to self-destruct.
Wang Jixuan had thought seriously about this issue.
The reason he could take down D-level psychics at the Qi Refining stage was essentially that he had mastered many skills like spells, talismans, and formations.
This was his unique advantage.
Psychics have a lot of energy within them, which can be manipulated by spells.
This meant that if his spells were learned by the opponent, they could easily master how to use their own energy, greatly increasing their strength.
Of course, the mixed energy would affect the power of the spells.
Wang Daolong felt that he was now at odds with the Thirteenth Institute, and this Thirteenth Institute… really didn’t seem like good people…
Even that Zheng Shiduo, Wang Jixuan didn’t trust him at all for now.
Therefore, he wouldn’t share his spells, talismans, or other skills with anyone, even if he were captured and dissected by the Thirteenth Institute, until he reached the peak of his cultivation again.
If he could reach the peak of cultivation and ascend, it wouldn’t be impossible to eliminate the powerful beasts wreaking havoc in this world and leave behind some spells, talismans, and cultivation methods that didn’t involve sect rules.
Laws are not lightly passed down, as the morality of living beings is unpredictable.
These were just Wang Jixuan’s thoughts; he hadn’t yet considered how to ensure that what he left behind would be used for a good purpose.
Of course, he actually preferred… not to leave anything behind.
He wasn’t here to preach.
As his thoughts flowed, Wang Jixuan and the others had already reached the area near the explosion.
Lingtong’s voice rang out again: “Group Leader Mu, find a flat area and lay the box down according to the markings.”
“Understood,” Wang Jixuan jumped onto a low building nearby.
Zhou Zhengde shouted, “We’ll head forward to support!” and quickly led his four teammates ahead.
Wang Jixuan crouched down to handle the metal box and soon heard the sound of an engine running inside. With a hissing sound, the top panel of the box rose up by itself, and metal tubes flew out, unfolding as they headed toward a dance hall building three hundred meters away.
The dance hall was flashing with bright lights, and Wang Jixuan could barely see several figures moving back and forth.
Then what to do?
Wang Jixuan was puzzled when he heard Zheng Shiduo’s loud voice in his headset.
“It’s fine! No need to rush! Leave it to our battle princess! Come over here! Look what I got! Wow! The industrial fortress is so rich!”
Wang Daolong felt a bit confused. The metal box in front of him closed by itself, so he picked it up again and leaped onto a rooftop outside the dance hall where a fierce battle was taking place.
After a moment, Wang Jixuan felt several black lines appear on his forehead.
A few dozen meters away on another rooftop, Zheng Shiduo had somehow brought over several huge speakers and had forced a few gang members to help him set them up, which he had just finished.
“Let’s play some music, something energetic!”
“Soldiers! It’s time for us to do our job! Group Leader Mu! Aren’t you coming over? Alright, Captain Zhou, come join us… Haha! Yes! Everyone grab two glow sticks, line up facing the battlefield, and move to the rhythm! Shake your butts like this, let the glow sticks swirl around, one two three four, switch directions, and do it again! Yes! Just like that! We’re making a huge contribution to this battle!”
At the call of this psychic, five figures lined up in front of the speakers, spotlights shining down on them, and they began to dance in perfect unison.
Wang Jixuan: …
Just as he was about to complain and remind them that there were still some powerful psychics to deal with, a sudden explosion came from the dance hall.
The rooftop of the dance hall suddenly collapsed, and a figure shot up.
It was Lingtong!
Wang Jixuan instinctively crouched down, his gaze fixed on Lingtong as he gripped his sniper rifle.
Lingtong had a pair of steel wings sprouting from her back, and her left mechanical arm pierced through the chest of a man covered in brown fur, pinning his body against the ceiling and creating a shallow shockwave.
The metal tubes that had flown out earlier had extended into metal plates, forming these steel wings.
Lingtong retracted her left arm, letting the body fall freely, and looked down.
On the collapsed rooftop of the dance hall, two injured psychics glared up at Lingtong in anger.
Lingtong slowly turned around, her long hair flowing back as the light from the steel wings flickered, giving her delicate features an almost holy aura.
A cold, holy aura.
The two figures below jumped simultaneously!
Lingtong tilted her head slightly, raising her right mechanical arm with fingers spread wide.
Boom!
The steel wings fully unfolded!
In the next moment!
A flurry of iron feathers shot out like arrows, and Wang Daolong saw a scene of burning iron rain reflected in his eyes!
The sharp whistling sound of the projectiles and the dense explosions drowned out the music from the speakers.
Zhou Zhengde and the others, who were still dancing, crouched down, covering their ears, while Zheng Shiduo continued to shout and laugh.
The entire dance hall was instantly filled with the light of the explosions, and the building began to collapse rapidly, burying those two ‘valuable’ C-level psychics in the process.
Lingtong’s voice echoed in the headsets of the others, calm and emotionless:
“Cleanup complete.”
…
So amazing!
No Qi cultivation, no soul condensation, no spirit gathering, just relying on clever techniques to control so many weapons!
Wang Jixuan’s heart was shaken by this scene.
He began to understand what allowed humanity in this world to survive fiercely against the beast invasions.
Science and firepower!
Wang Daolong wasn’t sure how to categorize the battle princess’s combat strength, but he felt that this firepower system was quite impressive, and psychics were actually quite inferior in comparison.
This was partly because he indeed looked down on psychics…
Lingtong descended, her wings retracting as the ‘pages’ rolled back into the shape of steel tubes, speeding toward Wang Jixuan with a trail of flames.
Wang Jixuan understood and immediately laid the metal box flat. The box opened automatically, releasing a thick white smoke to clean and cool these steel tubes.
The light around Lingtong’s elbow extinguished.
She landed next to Wang Jixuan, then… stumbled.
Wang Jixuan quickly reached out to support her mechanical arm.
The mechanical arm was quite hot, but it wasn’t a big issue.
Lingtong’s forehead had beads of cold sweat, and she frowned slightly in pain.
“Are you hurt?”
Wang Jixuan glanced at his teammates, who had also noticed Lingtong’s condition and hurried over.
“I’m fine.”
Lingtong quickly regained her composure and said softly:
“That’s why I’m on leave. I suffered a mental shock from a high-level blade beast during a previous battle.”
She stood up straight, her posture still graceful and upright.
Wang Jixuan carefully released her arm, admiring, “You’re really strong.”
“Strength comes from my support team,” Lingtong replied softly, “I’m just a driver and operator, part of the team.”
“I meant your willpower,” Wang Jixuan added.
Zheng Shiduo floated over, being the first to reach them.
“Lingtong, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Should we continue to split up?”
Zheng Shiduo suggested:
“If you’re worried, let Zhou Zhengde and Mu Liang stick with me. You can investigate here. With all the noise we’re making, Kong Nu is probably trying to escape!”
Lingtong asked, “Captain Zheng, do you think I lack intelligence?”
“Not at all! You’ve been smart since you were little.”
“I won’t allow you, representing Professor Zhuang, to act alone.”
Lingtong said calmly:
“My investigation into Kong Nu is just a process.”
Zhou Zhengde and the others were still circling below.
Zheng Shiduo paused for a moment, sighed, “I knew it; you’re really investigating Professor Zhuang. Kong Nu is nothing but trash; every level has its own struggles, and it’s really disgusting!”
“If Kong Nu tries to escape by plane, he will be shot down by the defense forces directly.
“Our current mission is to enter the 49th floor.”
Lingtong raised her left arm, and two small modules on it activated, projecting a simple screen.
“Great, I’ve gained command over the cleanup team here…”
Zheng Shiduo pursed his lips, looking thoughtful, then raised his head, his eyes shining with a ghostly green light as he looked at the back of Lingtong’s head.
Balanced psychics have a very comprehensive set of abilities; they can also perform mental shocks and sleep-inducing techniques like blade beasts…
Suddenly.
A figure appeared behind Lingtong, their light golden eyes cutting off Zheng Shiduo’s gaze, and their eyes locked.
(End of Chapter)