42: get away

"Alright, the hero time is over. Time to think about what to do myself."

Five minutes later, Zhang Huaiyuan opened his eyes, his face somewhat pale. He felt his body swaying uncontrollably, unable to even stand steadily.

Although the vast majority of data processing was handled by the intelligent assistant, the remaining ten-thousandth of it still pushed his load to the limit.

He hurriedly injected a pale purple "Advanced Cell Activation Potion," which made him feel a little better.

"Asroth, what's the situation?"

Zhang Huaiyuan asked.

Now that Viscount Kane had left, thanks to the authority previously granted by him, Zhang Huaiyuan was the highest-ranking person in charge of the entire Imperial Mining Zone.

"Master, the situation is not optimistic. There's one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

"The bad news. I'm already in so deep, a little more debt won't crush me."

Zhang Huaiyuan raised an eyebrow in surprise. This guy had become increasingly intelligent since connecting to the mining zone's network and upgrading its own servers. Now it was even playing these kinds of games.

"The bad news is, I just took the opportunity to use the warp fluctuations to create a bit of camouflage, making those few SS-Class Star River Beasts think their prey escaped to a false location 1.2 light-years to the south. They've chased after it and won't be back for a while."

"That doesn't sound too bad?"

"Yes... but the problem is, before those three SS-Class monsters left, they completely smashed the Reis-Stan-class defense system. More than ten million monsters are now breaking through the atmosphere."

"Seems like there's no difference. It's still just death."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head.

"No, Master. It might be worse."

Asroth analyzed: "Judging by the data, if it were the three SS-Class Star River Beasts, there's a high probability all remaining life on this planet would be painlessly destroyed in an instant. But now, with tens of millions of Galaxy Beasts invading, all remaining life will become food."

"It really can't get any worse... Asroth, connect to all remaining detectors and stream the live feed to me."

"Yes, Master."

A moment later, hundreds of light screens were neatly arranged before his eyes.

On the screens.

Countless massive Galaxy Beasts descended from the sky, biting and attacking everything they saw.

With Viscount Kane's elite troops gone and no support from the strong Transcendents of the Transcendent Association, there was no longer any means to restrain their assault.

Most of the mercenary corps in various regions had already been wiped out.

Only a handful of large corps were still struggling to hold on, but it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed by the beast tide.

These monsters were like a flood that swept away everything, drowning the hard-built prosperity.

Through the high-definition detectors on the streets, one could see them smashing buildings one after another, swallowing the lives hiding inside whole.

Blood and dismembered limbs covered the collapsed ruins. Piercing screams and cries for help echoed through the lightless night sky.

"This is Patrol Squad 011. We've encountered a massive Galaxy Beast assault outside the T5 residential area. There are over 500 civilians here. Requesting support from headquarters, requesting support from headquarters!"

"Repeat, this is Patrol Squad 011..."

At that moment, a series of distress calls suddenly came through the tactical device in his ear.

Most of the mining zone's higher-ups had evacuated with Viscount Kane. He was essentially the only upper-level leader left on Blackstone Star now.

The intelligent terminal naturally relayed the information to him.

Zhang Huaiyuan was momentarily stunned, then his gaze swept across the various light screens.

"T5 residential area... found it, here."

He saw a squad of over twenty people, taking cover behind the wreckage of a starship, frantically pouring out firepower, trying to hold back the enemy.

Opposite them, over a hundred Galaxy Beasts were steadily approaching, and their numbers were increasing.

As a patrol squad, they wore the most standard-issue gear. Without heavy firepower support, even delaying the enemy was a luxury.

"There is no more support... Please seek shelter in the nearest available location."

Zhang Huaiyuan suddenly felt a sharp pang in his heart, his voice hoarse as he spoke.

The advanced equipment and powerful Transcendents had already fled. The remaining regular forces, barely considered combat-effective, had held the front line against the initial Galaxy Beast invasion and were now completely annihilated. Those mercenary corps were also struggling to save themselves.

There were no usable combat forces left.

And this Warp Device required at least a month's cooldown after use before it could be activated again.

They... had all been abandoned.

Meanwhile, the squad leader of Patrol Squad 011, upon receiving the feedback, suddenly froze.

"What's wrong, Captain?"

"Are you alright, Captain? What did headquarters say? When is support arriving? Damn it, these monsters are too fierce. This third-gen rifle alone can't kill them. We need those Transcendent lords to deal with them."

"Headquarters says... there is no more support... They told us to seek shelter in the nearest available location." The captain spoke with difficulty.

"What... no more support? Ah...!"

A soldier who was desperately trying to contain the monsters was momentarily stunned upon hearing the response through the tactical device. This brief pause caused him to fail to dodge a spike spat by a Galaxy Beast, piercing his chest. He fell silent.

"Little Seven!"

"Little Seven...! Damn it, you vile beasts!"

The nearby soldiers' eyes turned red with fury. They grabbed their weapons and opened fire wildly.

But the disparity in strength was too great. After killing a few C-Class Galaxy Beasts, they were all swept up by the tongue of a toad-like monster and swallowed.

"No!"

Watching his squad members fall one by one, the captain roared in agony, bloody tears streaming down his scorched face.

"Hahaha... seek shelter... where is there to shelter..."

He looked around at the ruins surrounding him, then suddenly burst into mad laughter. He tied all the high-explosive grenades from his backpack to himself, his exoskeleton suit propelling him forward with a sudden burst of power.

"I am... Captain of the Empire's Blackstone Star Patrol Squad 011. My duty is to protect the civilians here. How could I possibly hide from you all!"

"Die!"

"..."

The explosion's fiery light filled the entire screen, then vanished, leaving only the densely packed Galaxy Beasts, seemingly unaffected, continuing to charge toward the residential area.

Similar scenes were commonplace across the hundreds of light screens.

"Damn it!"

Zhang Huaiyuan clenched his fists.

He felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness. He could only watch, unable to do anything.

Boom!

Suddenly, violent explosions erupted from all directions across the planet. The ground shook violently. The hundreds of light screens before him all vanished almost simultaneously, turning completely black.

"What happened?"

"Master, a large number of A-Class Galaxy Beasts have reached the surface and are launching indiscriminate attacks. All detectors have been destroyed. Furthermore... aside from you, there are no living beings left on this planet."

"Because the defense system has been continuously active, it has temporarily masked your presence. However, Galaxy Beasts are already approaching. At most, you have one minute before this location is discovered."

"One minute... that's enough."

Zhang Huaiyuan's face showed neither sorrow nor joy. He silently retrieved a full set of tactical gear from his storage device and put it on.

"Deactivate the defense system. Even if I die, I'm taking a couple of them with me."

"Wait, Master. Actually, there is one piece of good news..." Asroth suddenly spoke up to stop him.

"Good news?"

Zhang Huaiyuan was slightly taken aback, suddenly remembering what the other had said earlier about one bad news and one good news. He hadn't had a chance to ask about it yet. He let out a self-deprecating laugh:

"What good news could there possibly be now? Fine, let's hear it."

"Earlier, you asked me to focus on researching the Warp Device... In fact, I not only infiltrated this system but also secretly attempted to replicate a smaller version of a Warp Device... Perhaps we can give it a try..."

"What!"

Zhang Huaiyuan whirled around, exclaiming in surprise, "Where is it!"

"Right beneath your feet."

As Asroth's voice fell, the ground suddenly parted to both sides, and a smaller device slowly rose.

"How did you manage... never mind, it's not important. Are you sure it can be activated?"

"Of course, Master. However... due to the lack of some core technology, this Warp Device has significant instability and cannot perform directed transmission... In other words, I don't know where it will stop."

Asroth's voice held a hint of frustration.

"You've already done very well. No matter what, it's better than waiting here to die. Prepare to activate it."

Zhang Huaiyuan looked back at the world outside the protective device. He could vaguely see massive, hill-sized, ferocious monsters advancing toward this location.

A flicker of determination and resolve crossed his face.

"If I manage to survive this time..."

"I will definitely become a master capable of controlling everything..."

"I absolutely will not... ever again be as powerless... as helpless... as I am today..."

"I swear..."