"Activate maximum alert!"
Murong Feiyue said with a grim face as she watched the drone feed. Only the head of the Kui armor beast emerged from the water, its body stirring up underwater currents. The naval soldiers who fell into the water were immediately swept away. The beast seemed to be intentionally creating currents to kill humans, and its gaze was fixed on the drone, as if it knew that the human high command was monitoring it.
"Pfft!"
With a light sound, a sac on the Kui armor beast's head ejected green venom, which directly melted the drone's rotors. In an instant, it plummeted into the water, and the real-time monitoring feed disappeared.
"Activate all nearby drones and track the mother beast's position."
Murong Feiyue rubbed her fists gently and said, "Order the main engine of the first fleet's flagship to be started immediately. I will personally lead the first fleet to hunt down this Kui armor beast."
"General!"
Ning Yu frowned. "The deep sea is the territory of sea beasts. If we proactively hunt them there, we will be at a significant disadvantage. Moreover, we know very little about the Kui armor beast. Such a rash sortie is too inadvisable."
Murong Feiyue turned her head and looked at a middle-aged man in a suit who had just entered the control room holding an operation panel. With curly hair and a furrowed brow, he said, "It really is a Kui armor beast! It really is a Kui armor beast!"
"I know."
Murong Feiyue said, "Consultant Lin, what I want to know is why this Kui armor beast suddenly broke into our defense zone and why it's so aggressive, attacking our ships."
"It's spring."
Consultant Lin frowned. "It's the season for mother beasts to lay eggs, and the crustal movements in the Pacific deep sea have been extremely frequent lately. Just last year, there were over a thousand earthquakes above magnitude 6 in the deep sea. This Kui armor beast originally lived on the North American continental plate, near the old site of the United States. Now, it has been forcibly driven to the Asian continental plate, which has relatively stable crustal activity."
He looked at Murong Feiyue. "If I'm not mistaken, it's here to lay eggs. As for its temperament, mother beasts during egg-laying season become extremely irritable, let alone a top-tier sea beast like the Kui armor beast."
"Then what should we do?"
Murong Feiyue said, "You are a Ph.D. in marine beast biology. I hope you can give us some useful advice."
"..."
Consultant Lin took a deep breath and spoke rapidly. "Currently, we have three solutions. One is to release interference flares to disrupt the Kui armor beast's egg-laying behavior. However, this is very likely to enrage it and directly cause it to charge onto land. The second option is to send troops to drive it away, but driving away a Kui armor beast is no easy task. Our losses will inevitably be significant. The third option is to do nothing."
"Do nothing?"
Murong Feiyue said, "If we do nothing, will it not attack us proactively?"
"It will not."
Consultant Lin shook his head. "The location where sea beasts lay their eggs will not be too deep, as excessive water pressure would damage their eggs. Therefore, this Kui armor beast will definitely lay its eggs in a location near the coast. Once it lays its young, its protective instinct will be triggered, and there will be a greater than 99% chance of it launching an attack on land."
Murong Feiyue's gaze was calm. "Then there is only one path forward. Send the fleet and aircraft to destroy it and the young in its belly. There can only be one master on Earth, and that master must be humanity."
Ning Yu and Consultant Lin nodded in unison.
...
Not long after, the gates of the fortress mother port opened, and warships sailed out. The largest among them was a Xuanwu-class flagship, a retro battleship with a full displacement of over sixty thousand tons. This Xuanwu-class ship was not only heavily armored and highly survivable, but it was also nuclear-powered and equipped with a large number of advanced weapon systems. Accompanied by cruisers and destroyers, and armed with two railguns and numerous torpedoes, it was a fearsome post-era weapon that instilled dread.
Inside the Xuanwu-class command center.
Murong Feiyue, with her arms crossed, connected the communication with her superior.
Appearing on the screen was a middle-aged man in military uniform, the Commander of the Second War Zone, Chen Cong, a General. He commanded a force of over 250,000 troops and was responsible for guarding the defense line along the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a feudal lord.
"Commander."
Murong Feiyue saluted and said, "An S-class Kui armor beast has appeared in our eastern waters and has already destroyed one of our cruisers. We have now locked onto the Kui armor beast's position using a beacon from a drone. I am about to lead the first army out to sea. The best outcome would be to kill it in the deep sea."
Chen Cong frowned. "Feiyue, are you confident?"
"No."
Murong Feiyue said, "To date, there have been no recorded instances of human forces directly confronting a Kui armor beast. Previously, the mother port in the Sumerian region was attacked by a Kui armor beast leading a horde of sea beasts, resulting in a complete defeat. There are no decent combat records, so I am not confident. However, I must go. I cannot just wait for this Kui armor beast to attack our base."
"I understand."
Chen Cong said solemnly, "I will send fully loaded bombers to provide support. If possible, try to resolve it without bloodshed."
"Mm."
Murong Feiyue nodded. "I hope so, but the chances are slim. Ordinary bombs can do nothing to its energy shield and carapace. Only precision weapons have a slight chance of destroying this Kui armor beast. I will do my best."
"Good."
Chen Cong said, "Then I will await news of your victory celebration. If you can eliminate an S-class mother beast, the United Government will at least award you the rank of Lieutenant General."
"Okay."
Murong Feiyue didn't say much more, closed the communication, and ordered the fleet to venture deep into the sea.
In the dead of night, the sea was rough with towering waves, and it was raining in the sky. The weather quickly turned extremely bad. Ning Yu, standing nearby, held onto a handrail, her brows deeply furrowed. Ever since she began following Murong Feiyue, she had never faced such a situation. In fact, since the great war a hundred years ago, the human army had not truly confronted a Kui armor beast.
Those creatures slumbering in the deep abyss had finally awakened, intending to contend for the throne of Earth's ruler with humanity.
...
Early morning.
Lin Zhao woke up leisurely in his studio. Nowadays, he spent his days in the base learning to operate various advanced machinery, his mind filled with knowledge. It was much more tiring than simply playing games. As a result, he woke up with a slight headache and decided to play on his phone for a while before getting out of bed.
"Beep--"
As he was playing, a holographic call suddenly came through. It was from his cousin, Murong Feiyue.
Lin Zhao quickly tidied his hair and collar, then leaned against the headboard to answer the call. Murong Feiyue was sitting in the captain's seat, smiling at Lin Zhao. "Still not awake?"
"I'm awake. I've been playing on my phone for a bit."
Lin Zhao said sheepishly, "The women dancing on the video sites are so pretty, sis..."
Murong Feiyue chuckled. "If you have time, ask Chen Xue to dance for you. She's much prettier than those women."
"I wouldn't dare. I'm afraid Chen Xue will beat me up."
"Then fight back!"
Murong Feiyue said with a light laugh. "If you can subdue her, she'll obediently stay by your side and never leave you. Ah, speaking of which, the Lin family should continue their lineage..."
"Tsk tsk."
Lin Zhao ignored her suggestive hints and looked at the environment around Murong Feiyue. "Sis, are you on a warship?"
"Mm."
Murong Feiyue said softly, "Yesterday, an S-class mother beast appeared in our coastal waters. We are tracking its position. This time, who knows if we'll come back alive, so I'm calling you. In case your sister is gone, you can still remember some of my voice and appearance before I left."
"Ah?!"
Lin Zhao sat up abruptly, his brow furrowed. "Sis, is it really that dangerous?"
"Mm, S-class..."
Murong Feiyue said, "The sea beasts we fought before, even A-class ones, were quite formidable. This S-class one will certainly be more troublesome. In short, I will try my best to return alive."
"Okay, be careful!"
Lin Zhao frowned. "Once you kill this mother beast, or if you return to land safely, remember to report back to me!"
"Alright, don't worry."
"Mm!"
After Murong Feiyue hung up, Lin Zhao began to feel restless. Originally, Lin Zhao's troubles were only from the game. The people at Shandianyuan were almost all dead, which made him very sad. However, those were virtual characters in the game. Now, a real-world catastrophe seemed to be coming. The appearance of an S-class mother beast and a tide of sea beasts—who knew what the future of humanity would be.
For a time, he was filled with unease and lost all desire to sleep. He immediately got up, had breakfast with Wang Ju and Xiao Juzi, and then went to the base to continue his training. As for Chen Xue, Shen Xingchen, and Roman, they still needed more sleep. They had been fighting version wars every day recently, and they were indeed exhausted.
...
Evening.
Lin Zhao finished his day's training and would focus on theoretical knowledge in the evening.
When he lay down in his office and put on his VR helmet, he found that his character was still "imprisoned" at the foot of Wuwang Mountain. However, there seemed to be some improvement today. He could access the forum and some official data packs in the game.
It was the third year of the Ten-Year War. The demon race launched a fierce attack on Shanhaiguan, while the demon race divided its forces to attack Yangping Pass. Many events occurred this year.
Among them, the Sect Master of Qingluan Sect, Xiao Muhan, perished.
In addition, Xiao Muhan's four direct disciples perished along with him. In exchange, the thirteen-realm great demon Huosì was jointly killed by Xiao Muhan, Long Dongjun, and Lü Fengxian. His head was even hung on the city wall of Shanhaiguan.
At Yangping Pass, under the fierce assault of Su Chan's 300,000 demon cavalry, Li Chunyang led the Linlu Army and a collection of ragtag troops in a desperate counterattack. After repeated city battles and field engagements, both sides suffered losses. However, the combat power of the demon cavalrymen far surpassed that of humans, so Li Chunyang's losses were greater. Within a year, Li Chunyang killed 50,000 demon cavalrymen, but his own losses amounted to nearly 200,000 troops!
Lin Zhao frowned, only hoping that Shanhaiguan and Yangping Pass would be breached later, especially Shanhaiguan. After all, behind Shanhaiguan was the flat plains of Yunzhou, while behind Yangping Pass was the dangerous Yan Prefecture. Lanxi City was much farther from Baidi City than Tianji City was from Baidi City, and there were many more difficulties and dangers along the way.