155: World turmoil

At the same time, the Professional Association headquarters, located in the largest underground fortress in Dragon Capital City, was in utter chaos, like an ant’s nest into which a giant rock had been thrown.

The piercing alarms were not from a single area, but from every alarm system at every level throughout the entire headquarters!

From the most basic intrusion alert to the highest-level national crisis warning, all were forcibly activated at the exact same moment!

Countless shrieks of different frequencies and pitches wildly overlapped, converging into a terrifying sound wave that could tear eardrums and shatter nerves, reverberating and crashing repeatedly through the vast underground space.

Walls, floors, and ceilings subtly vibrated from the high-frequency sound waves, and emergency lights flickered erratically under the impact of the sound.

“Zzzzzt!”

“Warning! Warning! National spatial stability is at critical collapse! Detecting large-scale spatial tearing phenomena! Coordinates: Qingyuan City, Beiman City, Donghai City, Xiling Fortress, Southern Border Bulwark... Repeat! National spatial stability is at critical collapse!”

A cold, synthesized electronic voice tried to overpower the torrent of alarms, but every place name it reported was like a heavy hammer striking the heart of everyone in the control center.

“Report! Qingyuan City branch emergency communication! A spatial rift has appeared in the city center plaza! Energy reading... Transcendent-level! Confirmed! It’s a Transcendent-level energy signature! Something has emerged! It’s attacking the city’s protective shield!”

An operator’s voice was completely distorted. On the screen in front of him, the area representing Qingyuan City was covered in a blinding crimson.

A massive, constantly writhing rift symbol dominated the center, and the wildly fluctuating energy peak graph next to it had already broken through the red threshold line representing “Transcendent-level.”

“Beiman Defense Line! Beiman Defense Line has collapsed! Outposts three, seven, and nine outside the defense line have simultaneously lost signal! The rift... the rift has appeared inside the defense line! We’ve been torn apart from the middle! Requesting support! Requesting Transcendent-level support!!”

A nearly desperate roar came from another communication channel, mixed with deafening explosions and the sharp screeches of some non-human creature.

“Donghai City! Donghai City main communication link interrupted! Backup line... backup line signal is weak! Last transmitted image... a tsunami! A massive tsunami! And... a rift! There’s a giant rift above the sea surface! Large numbers of flying units are pouring out! Oh my god...”

The female operator responsible for Donghai City communications covered her mouth tightly with both hands, tears streaming uncontrollably. The screen in front of her was completely black, with only a few blurry, shaking frames of the last transmitted image remaining.

Towering black waves crashed against the city’s defensive structures, and in the gloomy, ink-stained sky, a spatial rift, spanning the horizon like a colossal scar, opened menacingly, with countless dense black dots pouring out of it.

“Report! Xiling Fortress...”

“Southern Border Bulwark emergency! A rift has appeared in...”

“Fertile Plains...”

“Steel Smelting City...”

Bad news, like a breached dam, surged from every corner of the control center and every communication channel.

On the massive, wall-sized holographic map of Dragon Capital, the soft blue representing safe zones was being swallowed at a visible rate by the crimson representing high-risk and extreme danger.

Blinding red dots, like maliciously lit signal fires, flared up wildly across the vast territory, spreading and connecting into a despair-inducing crimson web.

Each appearance of a red dot was accompanied by a heart-wrenching distress signal from a branch base city, signifying that a human settlement had been instantly dragged into the abyss of hell.

“This... this is impossible...”

A white-haired old researcher slumped in his chair, staring blankly at the map, which looked as if it had been drenched in blood.

“Simultaneously... hundreds of them... How is this possible?!”

“The spatial structure... the spatial structure is collapsing as a whole! It’s like... like a piece of tattered cloth being torn from different directions at once!”

The chief scientist in charge of spatial monitoring spoke with a hoarse voice, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the wildly scrolling data streams in front of him. The numerical curves representing spatial curvature and dimensional stability had completely spiraled out of control, turning into a chaotic, deathly electrocardiogram.

“Energy source... behind all these rifts is connected the same... or the same type of... unimaginable terrifying existence! They are... resonating!”

“CRACK!”

A crisp shattering sound echoed from the main control console, momentarily overriding the clamor.

The cup of top-grade Cloud Mist tea that Zhang Xianzong, the President of the Dragon Capital Professional Association, had just brewed and hadn’t even had a sip of, along with the valuable celadon teacup, fell to the ground, smashing into pieces on the cold alloy floor.

Hot tea, mixed with tea leaves and ceramic shards, splashed onto his neatly pressed trousers.

Zhang Xianzong didn’t look down. His tall frame stood straight as a spear, but on his resolute, rock-like face, all traces of authority and composure were now covered by an extreme coldness.

His gaze, sharp as a tempered blade, was fixed on the wildly expanding crimson on the holographic territorial map, which seemed to threaten to devour the entire Dragon Capital territory.

The crimson glow reflected in his unfathomable pupils, like two clusters of flames about to incinerate everything. In the control center, a deathly silence instantly descended.

Only the omnipresent, maddening alarm sirens, and the desperate or roaring cries for help from across the nation coming through the communication channels on various consoles, continued to assault everyone’s eardrums and nerves.

Hundreds of spatial rifts!

Each rift meant a devastating blow to at least a C-grade base city!

From each rift, Transcendent-level terrifying enemies poured out!

This was no longer a localized war, no longer a border skirmish.

This was a catastrophe!

The prelude to genocide!

It was the second truly existential crisis for the nation and its people since the advent of the era of universal job advancement!

“Pre... President...”

A senior staff officer’s voice was dry, with an uncontrollable tremor.

“What... what should we do? Although our Transcendent-level combat power has increased in number... there are simply too many rifts, and they are scattered everywhere. It’s impossible to reinforce hundreds of points simultaneously!”

“And... and according to the energy readings, the enemies... are too numerous! Too strong!”

Zhang Xianzong slowly raised his hand.

This action seemed to carry immense weight, instantly quieting all the chaotic noise. All eyes in the control center focused on his distinctly jointed hand, which was now subtly trembling.

It was not fear, but power suppressed to its extreme, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

“Highest alert, codenamed ‘Dragonfall’.”

Zhang Xianzong’s voice was deep and hoarse, yet it struck everyone’s heart like cold iron, carrying an undeniable resolve.

“Effective immediately.”

“Dragonfall!”

As these two words were uttered, the faces of all the veterans in the control center who had experienced the “Shadow Tide” that nearly tore Dragon Capital apart back then instantly turned paler than paper.

This was the highest-authority ultimate alert of the Association, signifying that the nation had entered its final moment of life or death, all conventional methods had failed, all resources would be unconditionally diverted to the war, and all hidden powers, all forbidden methods, would be activated at all costs!