"Qing Ning, don't rush," Lin Zhao quickly organized his thoughts and said, "Send me your 3D location, which district and which building's rooftop you're on, and I'll find a way to help you. Stay calm, don't panic."
"Mmm..."
Qing Ning, with a tearful voice, sent her location and specific address to Lin Zhao. But the moment she sent it, a sudden scream was heard, followed by a complete loss of communication.
"Qing Ning!"
Lin Zhao's shout was met only by the dial tone. His mind was in a mess. Frowning, he immediately initiated a video call with Leng Yan, who answered in the next second, "What's wrong?"
"Something's happened in Zhenjiang."
Lin Zhao's heart was in turmoil. He frowned and said, "Our Crimson Moon Knights member Qing Ning's family is on the rooftop, with no one to rescue them. A Yan, your Ningcheng is the closest to Zhenjiang. I'll give you Qing Ning's location, floor, and contact information. Can you dispatch a rescue transport plane to save them? Please..."
"I can."
Leng Yan pursed her red lips and said, "A few minutes ago, our Xu Corporation's transport fleet had already departed. I'll inform them to allocate a transport plane and prioritize the rescue of Qing Ning's family."
"Mmm, thanks."
Lin Zhao ended the call and patted Shen Xingchen's game pod beside him. A few seconds later, Shen Xingchen also logged off and asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"
Lin Zhao briefly explained Qing Ning's situation. Shen Xingchen immediately got up, took his hand, and said, "We can't rely entirely on A Yan. We should head to Zhenjiang City too."
"Mmm!"
Lin Zhao nodded. The two of them quickly went downstairs. Nangong Jielin had already started one of the Shen family's VTOL transport planes. After Lin Zhao and Shen Xingchen boarded, it immediately took off, soaring into the sea of clouds.
...
Ten minutes later.
The transport plane approached Zhenjiang City. At this moment, Zhenjiang City's energy shield had been breached by sea beasts. A significant portion of the northern city wall had collapsed, and visible to the naked eye, sea beasts several meters tall were pouring into the city. At the breach, VTOL fighter jets hovered in the air, attacking with dense firepower, yet they couldn't stem the tide of sea beasts flooding the city.
"Young Miss!"
Nangong Jielin looked at the scene in Zhenjiang City and frowned. "According to military research, these sea beasts have a tail over ten meters long that can be used to strike aerial targets. They can also spray highly corrosive venom up to thirty meters. So, we can't get too close, or it will be dangerous."
Shen Xingchen nodded.
Lin Zhao sent Qing Ning's coordinates to Nangong Jielin and said, patting his shoulder, "Jielin, let's check that building."
"Mmm!"
The fighter jet, leaving a trail in the sky, flew at extreme speed. At this moment, less than a hundred meters from the ground, many things were clearly visible. As Lin Zhao surveyed the city from above, he saw people desperately fleeing in the streets, while sea beasts were rampaging on the walls of buildings, tearing them open and madly devouring innocent civilians.
On the ground, screams, cries, and calls for help blended into a cacophony.
"Lin Zhao, it's not good."
Nangong Jielin pointed ahead and said, "The gray building is our target, but..."
Lin Zhao looked down, and his heart felt as if it were being brutally squeezed. The rooftop of that building was empty. Only a few sea beasts shrieked in the wind, their claws stained with blood, and at their feet lay mangled limbs.
"Qing Ning..."
Lin Zhao clenched his fist, feeling immense pain. He then messaged Leng Yan, "A Yan, did you manage to rescue Qing Ning on your end?"
"No."
Leng Yan replied softly, "When our rescue team arrived, the rooftop had already been occupied by sea beasts... I'm sorry, Lin Zhao..."
"It's okay..."
Lin Zhao looked weary, gazing at a city being swallowed by the tide of sea beasts, at the people crying for help. Hours ago, they were like him, living in human cities, believing everything was safe. But in an instant, the city was breached, with countless casualties.
"Young Miss."
Nangong Jielin frowned, "What do we do?"
"Since we're here,"
Shen Xingchen pointed to the right and said, "There are still people on the rooftop of that building calling for help. We'll save as many as we can until we're full."
"Yes!"
The fighter jet slowly approached.
"Captain, there are sea beasts on the wall," a crew member warned.
"Turn the aircraft right, prioritize shooting them!"
"Yes!"
The fighter jet banked, its mounted cannons spewing fire, instantly reducing two sea beasts clinging to the wall to a pulp. The aircraft then approached the rooftop and slowly descended.
"Clack."
Lin Zhao was the first to leap from the five-meter height onto the rooftop. The Xi He-class individual combat armor immediately activated.
"Lin Zhao, what are you doing?"
Shen Xingchen watched anxiously and couldn't help but shout. There were definitely sea beasts inside this building, and the danger was unimaginable.
"It's fine."
Nangong Jielin smiled. "He's wearing Xi He-class combat armor. Killing sea beasts is like child's play for him. At the very least, he can protect himself. Young Miss, you don't need to worry."
"Oh..."
Shen Xingchen pursed her red lips and stood by the cockpit, leaning on the pilot's chair, trying not to take up space in the cabin.
"Hurry!"
Nangong Jielin shouted at the civilians who had narrowly escaped on the rooftop, "Get on the plane, quickly!"
The civilians, as if seeing a lifeline, surged forward.
"Slowly, slowly."
Lin Zhao helped support some elderly people and children. But in an instant, he felt a chill down his back. Turning around, he saw a sea beast peeking its head from the other side of the stairs, its serrated mouth biting the head of a little girl. With a cackling sound, it bit down and swallowed the girl's head.
Screams erupted from the crowd, and people pushed against each other, causing the bottom of the fighter jet docked on the rooftop to scrape against it, making squeaking noises and risking losing balance.
"Don't panic!"
Nangong Jielin stepped off the plane. "I'll handle it."
Lin Zhao waved his hand. "You maintain order, I'll do it!"
Saying so, Lin Zhao stepped forward.
...
The sea beast's pair of piercing blue eyes stared intently at Lin Zhao. Suddenly, its neck retracted, and it spat out a stream of corrosive blue venom. In that instant, Lin Zhao's reaction was swift. He raised his left arm, activating the combat armor's shield. A translucent, light-golden energy shield blocked all the venom. The venom splashed onto the wall, corroding it relentlessly. Lin Zhao charged forward, his right fist encased in a ball of fiery energy, much like when he trained with Chen Xue. But this punch was clearly imbued with greater killing intent. With a "boom," the sea beast's head exploded into pieces, and its massive body toppled backward.
"Hmph..."
Nangong Jielin smiled slightly. This skill, trained by Chen Xue, was indeed quite impressive.
Not long after, this transport plane, designed for 40 people, was overloaded with over 60 people. With Lin Zhao, Nangong Jielin, and others on board, it was severely over capacity.
"Let's go, no one else."
Lin Zhao scanned the area with the combat armor's life detection system. There were no more living humans on the ten floors below, but several sea beasts were rapidly approaching.
"Let's go!"
Nangong Jielin nodded, grabbed Lin Zhao's arm, and pushed him into the plane first. Then he boarded himself and said grimly, "Go, to a safe zone."
In the cockpit, Shen Xingchen looked at Lin Zhao with her beautiful eyes, confirming he was alright, and then she relaxed. Lin Zhao gave her an apologetic smile, feeling guilty for putting her in danger this time.
The fighter jet slowly ascended to a safe altitude and then slowly moved away.
As Lin Zhao looked down at the land, he could still see transport planes circling in the sky. However, on countless rooftops, there were still crowds of people crying for help, yet those transport planes only took a few people before leaving, far from being full. Lin Zhao frowned and contacted the transport plane's wireless equipment via the combat armor channel, saying, "4050, there are many people on the rooftop still needing rescue. Why are you leaving after carrying only five or six people?"
"Mmm?"
The pilot was initially surprised, then chuckled faintly, "Who are you? You've got a lot of nerve. I'll save who I want, and I won't save who I don't. Is it your place to tell me what to do? Those people combined are worth maybe a few thousand universal coins. Is it worth it for me to risk my life for a few thousand universal coins? Are you blind, or what? Didn't you see the traces of sea beast claws on the building walls? The sea beasts are smarter than you. They might have already ambushed inside. I'm not that stupid, I won't risk myself for those dirt-poor commoners."
"..."
Lin Zhao frowned, "Where are you from?"
"Cannan Transport, number 4050. Any problem?"
"No."
Lin Zhao's expression was weary. He couldn't be bothered to argue and simply turned off the communicator. He looked into the distance, knowing such tragedies were happening everywhere. This world was like this; without money, you couldn't even save your own life.
On the city streets, cars crashed and jammed together, with a dense tide of sea beasts following behind.
Was this world peaceful?
Not at all.
Inside the cabin, there was no longer any space to sit, so Lin Zhao stood straight against the cabin door. Shen Xingchen, seeing this from afar, felt a pang of heartache and pointed to a temporary space beside her. Lin Zhao smiled and shook his head, it was too far, and there were too many people in between, he couldn't squeeze through. Nangong Jielin, however, felt a little dejected. *Young Miss, why aren't you being polite to me about that seat?*
...
Just then, with a "beep," Lin Zhao's communicator rang again. It was Qing Ning's number: "My family and I have been rescued by a municipal transport plane. My phone was broken, so I'm borrowing someone else's phone to let you know I'm safe. I'm fine, don't worry."
Finally, Lin Zhao let out a deep sigh of relief. This was probably the only good news.
Immediately, he quickly informed Leng Yan, so she wouldn't blame herself.
Not long after, the fighter jet landed in Xicheng, handing over all the rescued civilians to the Xicheng government's refugee camp for reception. Their subsequent arrangements would depend on the government.