Bi Lansheng gripped the steering wheel and drove out of Bai Chunian’s apartment complex, heading back toward the IOA.
“Are we really just going back like this?” Lu Yan sat in the passenger seat, hugging his phone worriedly. The screen was still open to the message page, containing only a short line:
Are you guys safe?
It had been sent to Bai Chunian, but there had been no reply.
Xiao Xun sat in the back seat, reaching one hand forward to rest on Lu Yan’s shoulder reassuringly.
“When Brother Chu is out on missions, he usually turns off his phone. No reply doesn’t mean something went wrong. Besides, at this point they probably haven’t even reached the destination yet.”
“Mm…” Lu Yan still drooped his ears dejectedly.
Outside the car window, the flow of people and traffic suddenly seemed to lose all order. At the red light ahead, a convoy of Alliance Police Department vehicles, red-and-blue sirens flashing, sped down the center of the road while civilians ran frantically in the opposite direction.
Lu Yan suddenly sat upright.
“What happened? Hurry, let’s go check!”
Bi Lansheng silently pressed his lips together and calmly turned the car around. He took an emergency police beacon from the glove compartment and temporarily mounted it on the roof, driving against the panicked stream of traffic to follow the Alliance police convoy.
Xiao Xun pulled out a communicator and used his J1 ability, Universal Dashboard, to tune frequencies and connect to the police vehicles’ communication channel ahead.
“This is IOA Investigation Division Agent Xiao Xun, serial number 8349297. What’s the situation?”
More than ten seconds later, an urgent reply came through:
“Gray undead summons have appeared at Seaside Plaza. We’re carrying out an emergency evacuation mission. A large number of seaside residents have been affected. Officers responsible for evacuation have come under attack, casualties are severe, and we’re requesting headquarters support.”
Xiao Xun said:
“Describe the characteristics of the undead summons.”
The officer responded:
“According to intelligence, the target is a half-mimic rattlesnake alpha. His eyes can float in the air, and every officer who makes eye contact with him has suffered petrification attacks.”
The moment those characteristics were described, all three of them felt their bodies tense.
Lu Yan turned around and stared at Xiao Xun in shock.
“Isn’t that Snake Gaze?”
The final boss they had faced in the ATWL exam had been Experimental Subject 1513, Snake Gaze. As long as one made eye contact with him, their entire body would gradually freeze and petrify. He was an extremely dangerous experimental subject.
“What do we do? There are definitely going to be massive casualties.” Lu Yan was frantic, gripping his phone and not knowing whom to call. Bai Chunian and Lan Bo had surely already left the city by now, and his dad was on a flight back from England.
Bi Lansheng’s hands sweated on the steering wheel, his breathing becoming hurried, though not panicked. He pulled up the vehicle map and glanced at Seaside Plaza’s location, roughly estimating the distance before calmly speaking:
“The gear’s all in the trunk. Two Uzis with stocks, two belts of 9mm ammo, an M24 sniper rifle case, spare communicators.”
“Right now, the only ones with experience fighting Snake Gaze are us. You two get out and support the police at Seaside Plaza. I’ll go back to the IOA and coordinate with the new Head of Investigation.”
Bi Lansheng slammed on the gas, accelerating instantly, ignoring the speed limit and weaving skillfully through traffic.
“Undead summons can only maintain seventy percent of the original body’s strength. We’ll be fine.”
The car sped beneath an overpass. Bi Lansheng sharply turned the wheel and slowed down—but didn’t stop.
“Get out. Now.”
Xiao Xun and Lu Yan were already used to Bai Chunian’s sudden commands. Bi Lansheng had completely inherited Bai Chunian’s style—quick decisions, no hesitation once a plan was made.
The moment the order was given, neither of them hesitated.
They unbuckled their seatbelts, clipped on the Free Bird badge of the Investigation Division Special Agent Team, and obeyed.
Xiao Xun jumped out of the car, rolling twice across the ground before getting to his feet. Lu Yan climbed out through the car window, pulled equipment from the open trunk, slung ammo belts across himself, and tossed the rifle case to Xiao Xun.
The two climbed upward along the supports of the overpass, vaulting over the railing. A subway train emerging from the tunnel had already been calculated into their timing.
Lu Yan flipped himself onto it, his body flashing forward several times. Using the train’s momentum, he activated his companion ability, Supersonic, leaving only a string of afterimages behind him in the air.
“For freedom.”
As they departed, the two habitually used the phrase to test whether the communicators were functioning.
“For freedom,” Bi Lansheng replied.
The car had only slowed temporarily. After dropping them off, he accelerated again, police lights flashing as he drove against traffic back toward IOA headquarters.
The atmosphere at headquarters was even tenser than Bi Lansheng had imagined.
Researchers and agents hurried through the hallways. Some were in such a rush that they didn’t even wait for elevators, sprinting up stairwells instead.
Bi Lansheng simply took the stairs too, rushing at top speed to the Investigation Division office. He unlocked the door with a key, scanned his fingerprint, and pushed it open.
The room was empty.
He licked his dry lips and pulled out his phone to call the team leader’s secretary, but the line stayed busy. So he directly called the team leader.
After a long while, Cang Xiaoe finally answered. Her voice sounded hoarse, as though she had already been dealing with countless difficult situations.
“Chief, where’s the new Head of Investigation? It’s urgent. Seaside Plaza is under attack by Snake Gaze undead summons.”
“What? Another one…” Cang Xiaoe pinched the bridge of her nose. “The new Head of Investigation was transferred over from the Armaments Division, but with the sudden undead terror attacks across Aphid City, the Armaments Division is even busier. I sent him back there first.”
“Then what about the Investigation Division?”
Bi Lansheng couldn’t stop himself from raising his voice.
“There are sixteen agents already involved in operations throughout the city. Communication between them isn’t fast enough. Without someone directing them, they can’t function at maximum efficiency. And we fought Snake Gaze during the exam—we have experience.”
Cang Xiaoe was simultaneously issuing other orders on her end of the line. Finally finding enough energy to answer, she exhaled.
“I’m already coordinating with the military. The PBB has forces deployed in the city. Xiao Xing, stop causing trouble and go do what you can manage. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Chief—”
Before Bi Lansheng could finish, the call was hurriedly disconnected. Calling back only gave him a busy tone.
He paced around the office twice, then quietly sat down on the couch.
Opening his palm, he realized the note Bai Chunian had left had somehow already been crushed to pieces in his grip. The sharp edges of the Free Bird badge had numbed his palm, pressing out tiny beads of blood.
Yet he didn’t feel helpless.
Instead, sets upon sets of different tactical plans kept flooding through his mind. When under the greatest pressure, his brain somehow turned faster than usual.
Back at the special training base on Aphid Island, Bai Chunian had first assigned him to Instructor Dai Ning’s class to learn combat. Once he had trained enough to defend himself, he had been snatched away by Instructor Red Crab of the tactical class.
During that time, Instructor Red Crab would often shove him into Instructor Zheng Yue’s profiling class to sit in.
And every time Bi Lansheng discussed what he had learned with Bai Chunian, Bai Chunian always acted as if he had already known.
If none of this had Bai Chunian’s approval behind it, it was basically impossible.
He could feel that Bai Chunian hadn’t just been carefully training him—he understood nearly every trainee’s strengths and weaknesses perfectly. His methods were brutally ruthless, almost horrifyingly harsh, yet those highly targeted hellish training sessions had undeniably brought every single one of them the greatest improvement.
Bai Chunian could effortlessly control the bigger picture, even calculating his own fate with absolute clarity.
It was as if he had known all along that one day he would leave.
And when he left, he wouldn’t irresponsibly abandon everything behind. Instead, he had already left the Investigation Division with a future capable of continuing on.
The note had been crushed apart in his hand, corners falling to the floor.
Only then did Bi Lansheng notice a nearly invisible line of tiny writing in the corner of the back side:
“An obedient good student can’t become a commander. I’m never wrong about people, just short on proof. Do you admit it?”
Bi Lansheng sat in silence for a moment.
Poison seeped from his palm, dissolving the note into nothing.
Then he wiped his hands clean, sat down in Bai Chunian’s seat, turned on the computer, and started searching for the encrypted operating program.
Everything came naturally to him.
Even if the new Head of Investigation had officially taken office, they would not have been more familiar with the job than he was.
Because during the time Bai Chunian had been nearing deterioration and forced to rely on dissociation agents to maintain his sanity, it had been Bi Lansheng doing the work in his place—forced into becoming familiar with everything the Head of Investigation had to handle every day.
The police officer responded: “According to intelligence, the target is a half-mimic rattlesnake Alpha. Its eyes can float in the air, and all officers who made eye contact with it were subjected to petrification attacks.”
Once these characteristics were mentioned, the three of them all tensed up. Lu Yan turned around and looked at Xiao Xun in shock: “Isn’t that Snake Woman Eye?”
The final boss they faced in the ATWL exam was the experimental subject 1513, Snake Woman Eye. Anyone who made eye contact with it would instantly undergo full-body freezing petrification. It was an extremely dangerous experimental subject.
“What do we do? There’s going to be heavy casualties,” Lu Yan said anxiously, holding his phone and not knowing who to call first. Bai Chuanian and Lan Bo had probably already left the city, and his father was on a flight back from the UK.
Bi Lansheng’s hands on the steering wheel were sweating, his breathing also growing rapid, but he wasn’t panicking yet. He pulled up the in-car map and quickly scanned the location of the seaside plaza, roughly estimating the situation, then said calmly: “All equipment is in the trunk. Two Uzi submachine guns with stocks, two belts of 9mm ammo, an M24 sniper rifle case, backup communication devices.”
“Right now, the only ones with experience dealing with Snake Woman Eye are us. You two get out of the car and go support the police bureau at the seaside plaza. I’m going back to IOA to coordinate with the new chief of the search department.” Bi Lansheng slammed the accelerator, instantly accelerating past the speed limit, weaving through traffic with precision.
“The undead summon body can only maintain 70% of the original strength. No problem.” As the car reached the overpass and slowed without stopping, Bi Lansheng turned the wheel sharply. “Get out now.”
Xiao Xun and Lu Yan were already used to Bai Chuanian’s sudden commands. Bi Lansheng had fully inherited Bai Chuanian’s style of combat—fast decisions, no hesitation after forming a plan. Once the order was given, they followed without any confusion.
Xiao Xun jumped out of the car, rolled twice on the ground, and stood up. Lu Yan climbed out through the window, grabbed equipment from the open trunk, strapped on the ammo belt, and threw the rifle case to Xiao Xun. The two of them climbed along the bridge pillars, flipped over the railing, and left the overpass. The subway that emerged from the tunnel arrived right on time according to calculation. Lu Yan leapt onto it, his figure flashing forward multiple times. Using his super-speed ability, only afterimages remained in the air.
“For freedom.” The two of them habitually said this phrase when leaving, to test whether the communication device was working properly.
“For freedom.” Bi Lansheng replied.
The car merely slowed temporarily. After dropping them off, he immediately accelerated again, lights flashing, driving against traffic toward the IOA headquarters building.
The atmosphere inside the headquarters was even more tense than Bi Lansheng expected. Staff and operatives rushed through the corridors; some were so anxious they didn’t even wait for the elevator and ran up the stairs instead.
Bi Lansheng also ran up the stairs, reaching the search department office as quickly as possible. He unlocked the door with his key, verified his fingerprint, and pushed it open.
Inside—there was no one.
He licked his dry lips and called the department secretary, but the line was busy. He then directly called the department head.
After a long moment, Xiao Mao finally picked up. His voice was hoarse, likely already overwhelmed with urgent matters.
“Chief, where is the new head of the search department? I’m in a hurry. The seaside plaza is under attack by a Snake Woman Eye undead summon body.”
“What? Another one…” Xiao Mao pressed his temple. “The new search chief was transferred from the armory department, but an undead outbreak suddenly occurred in Mantis City. The armory department is busier, so I told him to go back there first.”
“Then what about the search department?” Bi Lansheng raised his voice uncontrollably. “There are sixteen operatives in the city participating in operations, and communication between them isn’t fast enough without unified command. We can’t reach maximum effectiveness without leadership. And we’ve already fought Snake Woman Eye in the exam—we have experience.”
Xiao Mao paused, still issuing orders on the other end of the line, then finally managed to respond: “I’ve already contacted the military. PBB has deployments in the city. Xiao Xing, don’t cause trouble. Do what you can. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Chief—” Before Bi Lansheng could finish, the call was abruptly hung up. When he tried again, only a busy tone remained.
He paced the office twice, then sat down on the sofa. In his palm was a crumpled note left by Bai Chuanian, the edges of the Freedom Bird badge pressing into his hand, leaving numb puncture marks and beads of blood.
He didn’t feel helpless. Instead, his mind kept generating battle plans—faster and clearer than usual.
During training at the Mantis Island base, Bai Chuanian had first placed him in Coach Dai Ning’s combat class. Once his skills improved, he was taken by Coach Red Crab to the tactical class. Occasionally, he was even sent to Coach Zheng Yue’s side to attend side observation classes. Every time Bi Lansheng reported his progress, Bai Chuanian would respond as if he already knew everything. It was almost impossible that none of this had been arranged by Bai Chuanian.
He could feel Bai Chuanian wasn’t just training him—he understood every trainee’s strengths and weaknesses. His training methods were brutally strict, almost inhuman, yet every targeted exercise brought massive improvement.
Bai Chuanian could easily control the entire situation, even calculating his own fate precisely. It felt like he knew he would leave someday, and when that day came, he would not abandon everything irresponsibly—but instead leave behind a functioning future for the search department.
Only then did Bi Lansheng notice a faint line of writing on the back of the note, almost invisible:
“The obedient top student cannot become a commander. I’ve never misjudged, but I have no proof. Do you admit it?”
Bi Lansheng fell silent for a moment. The venom in his palm dissolved the note, erasing it completely. He wiped his hands clean, then sat in Bai Chuanian’s seat and opened the computer, accessing the encrypted system.
He moved with complete familiarity—so smooth that even a newly appointed search chief would not be more efficient. During the period when Bai Chuanian was on the verge of deterioration and had to rely on dissociation drugs to maintain sanity, it was Bi Lansheng who handled his work and became forced to master the daily operations of the search department.
“Is this all part of his calculation too…”
Once the encryption program started, messages and inquiry pop-ups from active operatives flooded the screen. Bi Lansheng skillfully prioritized reports from Mantis City and arranged them by district, making each incident immediately clear.
From field reports, three undead summon bodies had already appeared at the edge of the city and were advancing toward the center. The most destructive was the Snake Woman Eye entity at the seaside plaza.
Bi Lansheng connected to the seaside plaza communication channel, pulled up surveillance from multiple angles, and requested a drone from the tech department to provide aerial coverage.
The tech department, seeing the request, assumed it came from the new search chief and approved it immediately, dispatching two drones.
With real-time aerial footage, the situation became clear.
Snake Woman Eye was perched atop a building spire at the seaside plaza. Its eye sockets were hollow, while two gray lingering eyes floated in the air, chasing fleeing civilians. Anyone who looked back at them would instantly stiffen, screaming as they gradually turned to stone. Once fully petrified, the eyes would detach from the victims’ sockets and rise into the air, forming new floating eyes to continue the hunt.
Some civilians tried clever tricks, using mirrors and makeup compacts to avoid direct gaze—but even reflected images caused petrification.
The number of floating eyes in the sky exploded exponentially, like dense swarms of hornets.
Police officers had to close their eyes while shooting, but the floating eyes were small and erratic. Even successful hits could not keep up with their reproduction rate.
The IOA Medical Association set up a temporary aid station outside the plaza. Intern doctors in white coats with red cross white dove IOA armbands, led by Dr. Han, worked frantically preparing ampoules and administering medication to relieve localized petrification pain, soothing terrified civilians.
Snake Woman Eye was drawn to the screams and rushed toward the aid vehicles—but was intercepted head-on by Lu Yan.
Lu Yan used a sports headband from a seaside shop to cover his eyes. His M2 ability, Four-Dimensional Split, activated, creating sixty parallel versions of himself across timelines. One of them removed the blindfold and sacrificed himself to provide positional data.
The Snake Woman Eye was overwhelmed by the sixty rapidly moving figures weaving through its hunting range. It took repeated damage from gunfire and was forced to retreat toward District 2.
The rescue vehicle was safe.
Dr. Han’s A3 ability, Heavenly Wing, could remove negative status effects, but only for civilians. Once tissue was already damaged by petrification, it remained damaged, and pain only increased.
More and more civilians and officers were petrified, and Dr. Han’s energy consumption increased rapidly. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a reflection on a distant church roof—something glinting like a sniper scope.
At that moment, several floating eyes broke through the police line and approached the rescue vehicle. Dr. Han raised his gun, but without looking at reflections, hitting them was nearly impossible.
A sniper bullet grazed past his coat sleeve and precisely pierced a floating eye, which burst into gray-white mist and disappeared. Several more shots followed—each one perfect, eliminating all nearby eyes.
Dr. Han seemed to sense something and checked his phone. The first message was from Xiao Xun:
“Please continue your work. Nothing will interfere with you.”
Dr. Han frowned and replied: “Even long-distance eye contact causes petrification.”
Xiao Xun replied: “I’m blindfolded.”
——
On the church roof, Xiao Xun tore a strip of fabric from his T-shirt and tied it over his eyes. Using M2 ability Hunt Return Lock for targeting and J1 ability Universal Instrument Panel for precise measurement, he fired with sniper-level accuracy.
Inside the church, people hid in fear. Even so, some accidentally looked up and made eye contact with the floating eyes outside the stained glass, collapsing in agony.
Satan sat quietly in a pew, holding a Bible. He slowly stood and walked to a victim writhing in pain. Raising his hand, a golden pocket watch hung down, its hands ticking backward.
The petrification on the person rapidly reversed.
“Child, you must repent for your untimely curiosity,” Satan sighed softly.
He looked up through the highest stained-glass window and saw the young sniper on the church roof, and the golden Freedom Bird badge on his chest.
For a sniper, shooting blindfolded meant not only difficulty—but putting life behind the mission. With no close-combat support, safety was not guaranteed.
A voice came through the communicator:
“Xiao Xun, reposition, reposition. You’ve been exposed. Snake Woman Eye is within 100 meters. Floating eyes are approaching. Stand up, don’t remove your blindfold. Yes—run in your current direction. Ten meters ahead, 85-degree slope—jump!”
Xiao Xun knew very well he was running across a high church roof. Without visual support, he had nothing to rely on—only the voice in his communicator, Bi Lansheng’s instructions, which he followed without hesitation.
Bi Lansheng said, “Three seconds later a foothold will appear. Use all your strength to jump forward again.”
He complied and leapt. His body dropped rapidly. Just as he was about to lose balance and fall, a small platform suddenly appeared beneath his feet, supporting him long enough to gather force for another leap. He sprang again and landed safely on a larger platform.
After successfully transferring, Xiao Xun removed his blindfold and glanced back. Beneath him was a rooftop dozens of meters high. The platform that had just supported him was, unexpectedly, an IOA missile drone. He had no time to feel lingering fear and immediately ran toward the next concealed high ground with his sniper rifle.
At this moment, there were sixteen operatives inside Mantis City, eighteen in total including Xiao Xun and Lu Yan. Red Fox Omega Feng Yue was also among them.
Listening to the unfamiliar—and still somewhat youthful—alpha voice in the communicator, Feng Yue felt uneasy.
In past large-scale terrorist incidents, the special operations unit would typically deploy only two or three operatives for support. With Bai Chuanian overseeing the entire system, he would coordinate their actions. The operatives were used to solo combat, each with their own unique response style. Without a proper commander to integrate them, tactical conflicts were inevitable.
This time, however, all sixteen operatives were deployed simultaneously across the city. It was enough to show how severe the crisis in Mantis City had become. And in such an unprecedented emergency, the command seat was not occupied by Bai Chuanian.
Through the comms, voices were chaotic. Clearly more than one operative was dissatisfied with the change in command. A particularly aggressive Bengal cat Omega openly challenged: “Who are you? How dare you sit in that position? Bring back Brother Chuan.”
The female operative’s voice carried arrogance and hostility. She had never been fond of Alphas; she had already caused trouble when Bai Chuan first took over, and she had even less patience for a newcomer who sounded inexperienced.
On another channel, a Snow Tiger Omega chuckled faintly. “I know him. He’s Brother Chuan’s student—nineteen years old, M2-class Yew Poison Alpha, trained personally by Red Crab. His results are pretty good, huh.”
The female operatives were still willing to respond, but most others said nothing.
Feng Yue, having a good relationship with Bai Chuan, stepped in to help. “Little brother, can you handle this? If not, we’ll split up on our own.”
Bi Lansheng did not respond. Whether he was nervous or blushing, no one knew. The mocking in the channel gradually faded as people began preparing for leaderless combat.
Feng Yue’s position was closest to the seaside plaza, near a church. She had witnessed Xiao Xun’s rooftop transition firsthand. The boy had leapt forward blindfolded without hesitation. A missile drone flew in precisely at his lowest drop point, briefly supporting him so he could complete a second jump onto the opposite rooftop.
Executing such a seamless escape while blindfolded required judgment that even veteran operatives found astonishing. Could a young member of the Lynx family really be this capable?
Then a calm command came through the comms:
“Feng Yue, put on your blindfold.”
Feng Yue froze. “Are you kidding me?”
Bi Lansheng repeated calmly, “Feng Yue, put on your blindfold. Snake Woman Eye and over a hundred floating eyes are approaching you.”
She lowered her head and saw shadows spreading beneath her feet. With no other option, she put on the blindfold.
She did not dare look up, but she could feel several floating, elastic spheres brushing against her body.
Bi Lansheng continued, “You’re surrounded by floating eyes, but they don’t have close-range attack capability. Now switch your submachine gun for a rifle. Can you hear the drone?”
“Yes.”
“Follow it. Snake Woman Eye currently has no vision. Get behind it. The drone will stay ahead of you in a straight path. Follow its sound. I’m controlling it—you won’t hit any obstacles.”
Feng Yue subconsciously obeyed. Blindfolded, she ran following the drone’s buzzing sound as it guided her precisely through collapsed vehicles and broken billboards.
Though the command voice was still youthful, the longer one listened, the more it felt like Bai Chuan three years ago—someone who concealed tension beneath calm control. It was like a new cycle had begun, with the boy in the command seat taking his place.
Bi Lansheng said, “Bengal Cat, your position is closest to Feng Yue. Drive to the marked intersection, then get out and put on a blindfold. Follow a different drone sound. Don’t confuse frequencies.”
“Hmph. Unauthorized command is a capital offense, kid. You’re dead meat.”
The Bengal Cat Omega leaned against a convertible, spit out her gum, picked up her light machine gun, got into the car, and sped off toward the marked location.
Bi Lansheng continued, “Snake Woman Eye has two hearts—one in the upper body and one in the serpent body. Destroying only one will trigger immediate regeneration.”
Feng Yue and the Bengal Cat reached optimal positions under drone guidance. But floating eyes returned to Snake Woman Eye’s sockets, briefly restoring its vision.
“Warning. It has regained sight. Its M2 ability is swampification—it will soften the ground. On my count of three, leave the ground. Three…”
Snake Woman Eye roared and activated its ability, turning the road into a collapsing swamp.
“Two.”
The ground rapidly softened. Vehicles were swallowed. Buildings cracked and collapsed under immense strain.
“One.”
Feng Yue and the Bengal Cat leapt at the same time. Two missile drones hovered beneath them, lifting them upward and transferring them behind Snake Woman Eye.
Bi Lansheng said, “You are behind it now. It cannot see your eyes.”
The missile locked onto the gland at the back of the snake woman’s neck and launched with a thunderous blast. The leopard woman raised her machine gun and fired wildly at the snake woman’s upper body.
Fengyue drew out a tactical dagger, holding it in a reverse grip. He tore off his eye mask and leapt down, driving the blade straight into the snake woman’s second heart.
Both hearts and the gland were destroyed at the same time. The snake woman’s body erupted into a mass of black mist, gradually dispersing and drifting toward the direction of the sea.
With the main body dead and dispersed, the floating eye immediately exploded into black mist on its own, scattering with the current toward the coastline.
Fengyue let out a breath of relief. He originally wanted to praise Bi Lansxing a few words, but it seemed the call on that end had already ended. He could only hear Bi Lansxing on the public channel saying:
“Undead summoning entity Snake Woman Eye has been cleared. New District 2 confirmed safe. Hospital equipment is undamaged. Civilians can be received and treated.”
The leopard woman turned her head and looked around. Indeed, there was a large hospital nearby. During the battle, Bi Lansxing had deliberately guided them to pull the Snake Woman Eye in the opposite direction. It turned out he had been directing the kill while still having the energy to protect the hospital from being attacked.
“Hmph.” The leopard woman chewed another piece of gum and gave a thumbs-up toward the drone while carrying her light machine gun on her shoulder.
The drone flew toward the seaside plaza.
Dozens of identical Lu Yan across the four-dimensional timeline pulled off their eye masks, guarding the coastline. At this moment, the sky was overcast, like broken clouds twisted by a hurricane growing darker and darker, while the sea surface also gradually became turbid.
He heard a distant, distorted whale call—strange and ethereal.
The sea churned. A snow-white figure broke through the surface. Lightning exploded in the sky, purple electricity snaking down through the clouds. The violet bolts illuminated a leaping white skeleton of an orca.
Schools of orcas leapt from the sea, all made of white bone—ghostly skeletons—crying out mournfully within the purple lightning.
A merfolk boy with a pure white fishtail sat atop the skull of a skeletal orca. His slightly curled white hair was draped with an undead cloak. His lifeless blue eyes stared at the people on shore as if surveying a group of corpses.
Yet he himself also bore many wounds. His fishtail was covered in them, the pale pink siren scales dim and lifeless.
The immortal undead lay beside him, propping up his only remaining left hand to support his cheek, legs swinging idly. At a glance, he spotted the Lanbo statue wishing fountain in the center of the seaside plaza.
“Hehe, big water bubble, go smash that statue. I’ll go kill that little rabbit.”
Zhenzhu frowned and shook his head: “He has the aura of the big rabbit.” The suppression shadow of the S4-level gland was deeply etched into his memory. He did not want to get involved with such an opponent again.
The immortal undead’s smiling expression suddenly turned gloomy.
“Their father beat us badly. I want his son to die just as miserably.”