Panshi Military Region. Rather than a military region, it was more like a giant apocalyptic beast that rose from steel and blood.
When the massive armored convoy rolled over the last suburban ruins and drove into the steel defense line composed of hundred-meter-high concrete walls, layers of alloy gates, and countless dark muzzles, even the survivors, who had long been numbed by death, couldn't help but let out suppressed gasps.
The city walls, like continuous mountain ranges, cast huge shadows under the lead-gray sky.
A cold metallic sheen flowed across the wall's surface, a sign of special alloy poured into it.
On the wall, dense automatic turrets resembled a steel forest, their thick muzzles slowly rotating under the drive of hydraulic devices, and crimson scanning beams, like the single eye of a demon, coldly swept every inch of land outside the wall.
Giant searchlights, like swords of light, pierced the gloomy sky, emitting a chilling glow that made one's heart palpitate even during the day.
The convoy stopped in front of the heavy alloy gate.
The half-meter-thick alloy gate slowly slid open to both sides. Behind the gate was a deep, wide, steel passage, like the esophagus of a giant beast. On both sides of the passage were dense firing ports and fully armed soldiers with eyes as sharp as eagles.
The firearms in their hands gleamed with a cold metallic luster, their muzzles slightly lowered, yet carrying a deadly oppressive feeling of being ready to spew the flames of death at any moment.
The air seemed to solidify here. A strong mix of steel, engine oil, disinfectant, and a faint smell of blood combined to form a unique and oppressive apocalyptic atmosphere.
The convoy slowly drove into the passage, the heavy engine sound echoing in the confined space, making people's eardrums throb.
The light suddenly dimmed, with only the pale emergency lights on the top casting cold spots of light, making everyone's face appear ghostly.
"Everyone! Get out of the car! Prepare for inspection!" A cold, emotionless electronic synthesized voice came from the loudspeaker.
The armored vehicle's rear hatch opened with a bang. Survivors, guided by soldiers, walked out of the vehicles one by one like silent lambs, lining up in several rows in the open space in the middle of the passage.
Ling Chen was still placed on a stretcher, carried by two medics. Because the inspection work had been done in advance, the severely injured Ling Chen was directly carried into the Medical Center.
He "weakly" closed his eyes, his breathing faint and even, as if he was still in a semi-comatose state. But the cold will of the Soul Jade Physique scanned everything around him like the most precise radar.
Anyway, although the process was a bit bumpy, he still managed to get in.
Immediately after, even before a rough inspection of the survivors could be conducted, the air defense alarm above Panshi Military Region blared, piercing and shrill.
"Warning! Warning! Large-scale corpse tide energy response detected! Direction: Northwest! Distance: Thirty kilometers! Magnitude: Over one hundred thousand! Threat level: Destruction level! Repeat! Destruction level threat!"
"Warning! High-energy mutated beast energy sources detected! Quantity: Three! Energy intensity: Bone Eater Realm! Repeat! Bone Eater Realm!"
The cold electronic synthesized voice echoed in the broadcast like a death sentence! Every word was like a heavy hammer, pounding hard on everyone's hearts!
"Corpse tide?! One hundred thousand?! Bone Eater Realm?! Three of them?!" Zhou Zhengyang's face instantly turned ashen! He lunged at the one-way glass window, staring intently at the sky in the northwest direction outside the window!
He saw that at the end of the lead-gray sky, a rolling "black cloud" as thick as ink was spreading at a visible speed! That wasn't a cloud! It was countless flying ghouls flapping their rotten flesh wings and emitting piercing shrieks!
In front of that deathly sky, three massive dark shadows, like moving mountains, were advancing towards the Fortress with earth-shaking steps!
Every step they took seemed to be accompanied by a dull drumbeat deep in the heart! A violent, bloodthirsty, terrifying aura, like molten lava from the abyss, pierced everyone's soul like a tangible ice pick, even from dozens of kilometers away and through the thick city walls!
Destruction level threat! Well deserved!
"Enemy attack! Highest level enemy attack!"
Zhou Zhengyang roared into the communicator, his voice distorted by extreme shock!
"All non-combat personnel immediately enter shelters! Ability User Special Training Camp! Combat troops! Immediately enter first-level combat readiness! Quick! Hurry!"
The entire Panshi Military Region instantly erupted into chaos! And the Medical Center, where Ling Chen was currently located, which had been orderly, instantly turned into a chaotic vortex!
Inside the isolation ward, the few technicians who were about to perform another "brain region probe" scan on Ling Chen suddenly froze!
"What are you still standing there for?! Retreat! Quick, retreat into the underground shelter!"
The leading technician shrieked, tearing off the cables connected to the instrument and frantically retracting the deadly probe, which glowed with a faint blue light, back into the instrument!
The few of them worked together, roughly pushing the heavy instrument into the corner, no longer caring about the "severely injured and comatose" C-level ability user on the bed!
"Old Man Zhang! Director Zhou! We must transfer immediately!" A nurse rushed into the observation room, her voice choked with tears.
Old Man Zhang, the chief expert of Panshi Fortress, his usual sharpness and inquisitiveness were now replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.
He stared intently at the rolling black cloud of death outside the window, especially the three figures like demon gods, his pupils behind his gold-rimmed glasses contracting violently! Bone Eater Stage Peak! Three of them! And a hundred thousand corpse tide! An attack of this scale... unprecedented! Can the Fortress... hold them back?!
He turned sharply, his gaze like a hawk sweeping over the "comatose" Ling Chen in the isolation ward again. The young man still lay quietly on the bed, his face pale, his breathing weak, as if oblivious to the world-ending scene outside the window. But the strong doubt in Old Man Zhang's heart, like a venomous snake, had not dissipated; instead, it became even sharper because of this sudden attack!
Too coincidental! Too coincidental! Right at this critical juncture! Just when he was about to use the "brain region probe"!
"Old Man Zhang! No time! Go!" Zhou Zhengyang grabbed Old Man Zhang's arm and forcibly dragged him away from the observation window, rushing towards the emergency evacuation passage! The chaotic flow of people engulfed them, instantly disappearing at the end of the red-lit corridor.
Inside the isolation ward, only Ling Chen remained. The piercing alarm and chaotic clamor were muffled by the heavy soundproof door, but they still pounded on his eardrums like dull drumbeats. The "beep beep" sound from the monitoring equipment was exceptionally clear in the dead silence.
On the bed, Ling Chen... slowly opened his eyes.
No longer the previous weakness, blankness, or haziness. Those bottomless dark eyes, now like a cold pond that had not melted for ten thousand years, were cold, sharp, and so deep that they seemed to swallow all light! Below his left eye, the fifteen blood patterns, illuminated by the alarm's red light, flowed with a restrained and dangerous faint glow like molten lava!
The corner of Ling Chen's mouth curved upward in an extremely subtle, cold arc.
His thoughts stirred slightly. The cold will of the Soul Jade Physique, like an invisible spider web, instantly penetrated the thick walls and chaotic energy field, precisely capturing the core of the black cloud of death in the northwest direction!
Not a corpse tide. Or rather... not entirely.
That rolling "black cloud," those three massive figures like demon gods... their energy fluctuations, their movement trajectories... all bore traces of being... carefully guided and manipulated! Especially those three "mutated beasts" at the Bone Eater Stage Peak... deep within their souls, a very faint but incredibly familiar... mental imprint was branded!
Zhuang Han!
Ling Chen's "Dark Claw"! In just one day, he not only successfully "catalyzed" and "driven" a huge corpse tide but also... "captured" or rather... "enslaved" three mutated beasts at the Bone Eater Stage Peak?! Although it was only temporary and crude enslavement, this power... was enough to shake the defense line of Panshi Fortress!
Chaos... is the best cover, and also... the best stage.
Ling Chen slowly closed his eyes. The will of the Soul Jade Physique, like the most precise radar, scanned the entire Medical Center.
Chaos... fear... the sound of soldiers running... the panicked shouts of medical staff... and also... hidden beneath the chaos, several cold gazes, like venomous snakes, locked onto this isolation ward.
Zhou Zhengyang and Old Man Zhang... indeed did not completely abandon their suspicions. Even at such a critical moment, they still left behind secret sentries.
However... it doesn't matter.
Ling Chen's thoughts, like invisible tentacles, quietly connected to the cold monitoring instruments in the ward. Heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen... all the data, under his will's control, began to undergo extremely subtle changes, yet consistent with the stress response of a severely injured person under immense shock—heart rate suddenly soared! Blood pressure fluctuated wildly! Blood oxygen saturation slightly decreased! The body began to experience slight, involuntary tremors!
Perfect disguise. A severely injured person on the verge of collapse, startled by a sudden destruction-level alarm.
At the same time.
Deep within Panshi Fortress, Ability User Special Training Camp, Zone S.
This was a space completely different from other areas of the Fortress. Pure white alloy walls emitted a soft glow, and the air was filled with a faint, clean energy scent. Training grounds, meditation rooms, energy guidance pods... all kinds of advanced facilities were available. This was the most core and secretive area of the Fortress, only accessible to ability users with A-level potential and above.
Inside a simply furnished yet technologically advanced lounge.
Lin Wei sat alone on a soft sofa, unconsciously twisting the corner of her clothes. Deep within her amber pupils, the shock and... a lingering sense of bewilderment from entering Zone S still remained.
A-level potential. Zone S. Highest priority.
These words, like a heavy crown, were unexpectedly placed upon her head. She was just an ordinary student, a girl who only wanted to survive and protect those around her. Suddenly being pushed to such a height, surrounded by countless gazes of awe, scrutiny, and even... jealousy, made her feel at a loss.
The lounge door slid open silently. An elderly man, dressed in a crisp general's uniform, with golden stars on his epaulets, and a face as imposing as a mountain, strode in, accompanied by two officers whose aura was as deep and calm as an abyss.
The old man's gaze, like a tangible searchlight, instantly fell upon Lin Wei. In that gaze, there was scrutiny, inquiry, and a hint of... excitement and... complex, unreadable emotions.
Lin Wei instinctively stood up, somewhat uneasily looking at the old man who was imposing without anger. She recognized him. When she entered the Fortress, she had seen his image on the electronic screen in the passage—Qin Weiguo. The supreme Commander of Panshi Fortress. Commander-in-Chief of the 77th Army Group. One of the highest military officials in the Western Theater of Hanxia. A... legendary existence.
"Student Lin Wei." Qin Weiguo spoke, his voice deep and resonant, carrying the authority of one long in a high position, yet he deliberately slowed his speech, revealing a hint of... imperceptible gentleness? "I am Qin Weiguo."
"Commander... Commander Qin..." Lin Wei's voice carried a hint of nervousness and respect.
Qin Weiguo walked up to her, his imposing gaze lingering on her face for a few seconds, as if confirming something. Suddenly, he raised his hand and gently patted Lin Wei's shoulder. This action made a hint of unconcealed surprise flash in the eyes of the two officers beside him!
"Child... you've suffered." Qin Weiguo's voice was low, carrying an indescribable heaviness and... a deeply hidden pain, "To be alive... is good."
Lin Wei was slightly stunned. Child? This address... so intimate? So... natural? She looked at Qin Weiguo's deep, abyss-like eyes, and beneath that imposing facade, she seemed to catch a hint of... an indescribable... affection and... guilt?
"You... you know me?" Lin Wei asked subconsciously.
Qin Weiguo was silent for a few seconds. He slowly took out an old photograph from his close-fitting pocket, its edges worn but perfectly preserved. In the photo, a young man in military uniform, dashing and heroic, held a swaddled infant in his arms. The man's eyebrows and eyes bore a seven or eight-tenths resemblance to Lin Wei! And the background of the photo... was surprisingly the early construction site of Panshi Fortress!
"Your father... Qin Feng... was my son." Qin Weiguo's voice carried a hint of imperceptible tremor. He gazed at the man in the photo, his eyes filled with reminiscence and pain, "Twenty years ago... he sacrificed himself on the front lines of the first international conflict suppression... At that time... you had just turned one month old..."
He gently placed the photo in Lin Wei's hand, his fingers trembling slightly: "These years... I've been looking for you... but I never expected... you were at Linghui Academy... and even awakened... such an excellent ability..."
Lin Wei felt as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning! Her mind instantly went blank! She stared blankly at the photo in her hand, at the man in the photo who resembled her, at the tiny infant in the man's arms... Mother? Qin Weiguo... was her... maternal grandfather?!
"You are the only bloodline of our Qin family. To protect you, I deliberately let you take your mother's surname."
The immense impact of information instantly deprived her of the ability to think! Tears welled up in her eyes without warning! Twenty years of being an orphan... vague longing for her parents... suddenly learning of her background... and... this powerful old man before her, whose eyes were filled with pain and affection...
Qin Weiguo placed the old photograph in Lin Wei's palm, his fingertips brushing over the military collar insignia of his daughter Lin Xue in the photo:
"Your mother... took her grandmother's surname, Lin. Back then, I opposed her going to the front lines... We had a big argument..." Lin Wei looked at him, her throat bobbing as she swallowed the bitterness of being an orphan for over a decade.
"Why did it have to be like this?! You didn't tell me anything! Do you know what I've been through these past ten-plus years?!" Lin Wei said with red eyes, "My surname is Lin, not Qin! I'll earn my own life!"
Hearing this, Qin Weiguo sighed, then clenched his fist tightly, the general's stars on his shoulder trembling slightly: "Now you'll also have the surname Lin... Good! But your life—Grandpa will protect it!"
"From today on, this is your home. No one... can harm you again." His gaze swept over the two officers beside him, his eyes instantly turning as sharp as knives.
"My order! Lin Wei's identity is classified as top secret! Zone S security level is raised to SS! Her training and growth will be personally supervised by me! No unauthorized personnel are allowed within a hundred meters of her!"
"Yes! Commander!" The two officers saluted solemnly, their eyes filled with awe and... a hint of understanding.
So that's it! No wonder the Commander valued her so much! This A-level potential genius girl... was actually the Commander's long-lost granddaughter!
Grandfather... Supreme Commander... Top Secret... SS-level security... All of this came too fast, too suddenly! Feeling a touch of absurdity and unreality in this world, she subconsciously clutched the photo in her hand, but her gaze involuntarily... drifted towards the Medical Center.
Ling Chen... Is he alright? That severely injured and comatose... young man who was sent to the intensive care unit... Can he... survive this destruction-level corpse tide?
A hint of indescribable worry quietly surfaced in her heart.
If Ling Chen knew her thoughts, his expression would probably become incredibly strange.
He had considered all possibilities of Lin Wei meeting her grandfather, but he never expected that this girl... actually had feelings for him!