585: To be continued tomorrow

Their Qi was already completely exhausted, and at this moment, they were nothing more than ordinary mortals with no power to truss a chicken, unable to even protect themselves—no different from complete and utter "useless trash."

Their eldest brother, a Golden Core Late Stage Cultivator, had been killed by the opponent with a single blow that shattered his head, leaving no corpse intact. If they dared to move, their fate would be exactly the same.

Beside them, Jiang Lu suddenly felt the stiffness in her body dissipate entirely; she could finally move her limbs freely. After all, with Hu Zhi dead, the Qi that had sealed her Acupoints had naturally dissipated as well.

However, the horrific scene of that laser shattering a head had already been deeply branded into her mind, leaving her terrified and breaking out in a cold sweat. She dared not make a single rash move.

Her gaze was fixed intently on the strange weapon in the Imperial Soldier's hand, which shimmered with a pale blue, lethal light. She knew with absolute certainty that if she made even the slightest rash move, the next person to bleed out on the spot and be decapitated would be her.

Therefore, even though her clothes had been roughly torn open, exposing her undergarments and leaving large patches of pale skin on her shoulders and waist bare in a disheveled mess, she couldn't bring herself to pull her clothes together to cover up. She just sat frozen in place, her back held stiffly straight, her fingertips digging fiercely into the dirt beneath her. She even consciously kept her breathing extremely light, terrified that the slightest sound might disturb these mysterious people who were so decisive and ruthless in their killing.

"Change target."

The lead Imperial Soldier spoke coldly, his tone indifferent and devoid of any fluctuation.

A Soldier beside him immediately nodded in acknowledgment. He once again retrieved that button-sized device from the storage compartment of his battle armor. Holding the device between his fingertips, his gaze quickly swept over the shivering bandits nearby, finally settling on Jiang Lu, who was sitting alone on the ground, still shaken. He then lifted his foot and walked steadily straight toward her.

Watching the Imperial Soldier clad in strange battle armor approach slowly with steady steps, Jiang Lu's nerves tightened instantly. A thin layer of cold sweat broke out on her back involuntarily, and she kept her breathing extremely light.

She had never seen people dressed like this before and could not guess where they came from. She had no idea what consequences their appearance would bring for her—whether it would be life or disaster—she knew nothing.

The panic in her heart churned ceaselessly, but with the fate of Hu Zhi still before her, she dared not make the slightest rash move. She could only watch helplessly as the lead Soldier walked up to her.

The next second, the cold device was precisely pressed against her temple. It felt slightly cool, carrying the cold, hard texture unique to technology.

Jiang Lu instinctively closed her eyes and held her breath. The scenes she had imagined—the intense pain, dizziness, and stabbing pain in her Divine Soul—swirled through her mind countless times. But after waiting for a moment, other than that fleeting coolness, there was no abnormality at all; she didn't even feel the slightest discomfort.

She opened her eyes hesitantly, her gaze filled with confusion and anxiety.

"Can you speak?"

A low, cold, and emotionless voice suddenly rang out, breaking the stagnant silence.

Hearing this, Jiang Lu was suddenly startled. She slowly raised her lowered eyes to look at the Imperial Soldier before her whose face she couldn't see. Her face was full of unprepared surprise, and for a moment she forgot to respond, just staring blankly at him.

"Can you speak?"

The same question was asked again, the tone now tinged with obvious impatience. The Soldier's fingertips moved slightly, as if he were quite dissatisfied with her dazed appearance, and he muttered to himself.

"Could she be scared stupid? Can't she even speak?"

This urging finally pulled Jiang Lu's wandering mind back to reality. She realized her loss of composure and quickly suppressed the confusion in her eyes. Her throat bobbed, and with a trace of lingering fear, she spoke hurriedly.

"I can... P-please, who are you people? Why have you appeared here?"

The moment her words fell, the phrases from Jiang Lu's mouth were precisely captured by the device on her temple, turning into streams of dense data. At a speed invisible to the naked eye, they were instantly transmitted and stored in the brain-computer database, completing the rapid analysis, identification, and synchronization of the language. The entire process took only a snap of the fingers, silent and seamless.

Seeing this, the Imperial Soldier ignored her question and expressionlessly raised his hand to remove the analysis device from her temple.

"Put on your clothes and come with us."

The cold, hard command was issued. Without waiting for Jiang Lu to react, the Soldier reached out, grabbed her arm, and with a slight exertion of force, pulled her up from the ground.

The force was steady and irresistible, carrying the decisiveness unique to a Soldier.

Jiang Lu's heart trembled; she dared not resist rashly. She quickly lowered her eyes to gather her disheveled clothes, her fingertips hurriedly tying the loose knots. Every action she took was filled with cautious panic.

With her arm held by the Soldier, she was made to stand in a row with the bandits who had long since collapsed to the ground, their faces full of terror. Like lambs awaiting slaughter, they were pushed along toward the behemoth not far away.

That was a landing craft. The lines of its hull were sharp and cold, completely different from the flying boat in Jiang Lu's understanding, exuding a cold, technological air that kept people at a distance.

"What is this thing?"

One of the bandits couldn't help but exclaim in shock, his eyes filled with horror and confusion. He reached out to touch it but was sharply reprimanded by the Soldier and given a hard shove.

Jiang Lu was also dumbfounded, looking up at the towering iron giant before her. A stormy sea surged in her heart, and she murmured subconsciously.

"What a strange flying boat... I have never seen one that looks like this..."

The group didn't have time to look any further before they were forcibly fitted with restraints by the Soldiers. Their wrists were locked in energy shackles that shimmered with a cold light, and thin yet indestructible suppression collars were placed around their necks. A trace of coldness spread along their skin, completely sealing off the meager Qi remaining within their bodies.

Subsequently, everyone was escorted into the open hatch of the landing craft. The heavy metal hatch slammed shut behind them, cutting off the light from the outside world, leaving only the cold white lights inside the ship to reflect on everyone's terrified faces.

...

After the landing craft returned to the starship, an officer stepped forward quickly to report to the captain.

"Report, Captain. All target personnel have been captured. On the way, one person refused to cooperate and resisted violently; they have been executed on the spot according to protocol."

"Good. Return immediately and rendezvous with the main fleet."

"Understood!"

In that cold metal space, Jiang Lu clenched her palms, gazing into the deep darkness ahead. Her heart was filled with the panic of the unknown, not knowing where this mysterious iron flying boat would ultimately take her.

...

In the interrogation room deep within the main ship, the light was cold white and glaring. All four sides were made of thick alloy walls, exuding a murderous and cold aura that kept people at a distance.

He Dong stood outside the one-way glass, his gaze falling heavily on Jiang Lu inside the room, his eyes churning with intense curiosity.

Jiang Lu was firmly fixed to a special chair, her limbs locked in energy restraints that shimmered with a pale blue light. The suppression collar around her neck was pressed tight against her skin, and her eyes were covered by a thick, light-blocking blindfold, completely cutting off her vision. She could only perceive the strange and oppressive atmosphere around her through her senses, and the panic and unease in her heart piled up layer by layer.

A moment later, He Dong raised his hand to push open the alloy door of the interrogation room, his steady footsteps echoing in the empty room.

He walked up to Jiang Lu and stood still. He waved his hand casually, and the Imperial Soldier accompanying him immediately stepped forward, neatly and gently removing the blindfold from Jiang Lu's eyes.

The sudden light made Jiang Lu instinctively squint. It took a long while before she slowly adapted and looked up to see everything before her.

Everything that met her eyes was a metal structure she had never seen before; the walls were as smooth as mirrors, and instruments in the corners flickered with dim blue light. The air was permeated with a faint metallic coldness and an unfamiliar energy aura, and even the chair beneath her exuded the cold, hard texture unique to technology.

All these strange things were completely different from the world in her understanding, and they even overturned all her past knowledge.

Jiang Lu's heart jolted violently, and a terrifying thought instantly swept through her whole body.

She had likely inadvertently stumbled upon the deepest secret of the Forbidden Ground. Beneath this Forbidden Ground, there was actually such an unknown force lurking that had never been known to the world!

It was as if she had stepped into a completely strange new world; past knowledge seemed to have lost its meaning here, leaving only full-hearted shock and confusion.

"Name?"

He Dong's voice was low and steady, interrupting Jiang Lu's daze. He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze as sharp as an eagle, falling straight onto Jiang Lu's face with unquestionable scrutiny.

Jiang Lu came back to her senses, pursed her lips slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then replied in a low voice.

"...Jiang Lu."

"What is your status? What happened with the others? Tell me everything in detail, say it all."

He Dong's tone was flat, but it carried the pressure of someone in a superior position, brooking no concealment.

Hearing this, Jiang Lu instinctively focused her mind to look inward, probing the Qi Meridians within her body.

Upon this check, her heart sank to the bottom.

Not only was her body the same as when she was previously controlled by the bandits—completely devoid of Qi—but there was also a strange, sluggish force lingering between her Meridians, as if they were tightly locked by invisible shackles. Even if she had Qi now, she would be completely unable to mobilize even a fraction of it.

She knew that resistance was futile; in front of this mysterious and powerful force, she was nothing more than an ant waiting to be slaughtered.

With a light sigh, Jiang Lu finally resigned herself, suppressing the struggle in her eyes. She raised her eyes to look at He Dong and spoke slowly, recounting her identity and origin, as well as the entire process of being robbed by bandits, forced into the Forbidden Ground, and eventually discovered and captured by the Imperial Soldiers. She told it all without missing a word, her tone calm, yet it was hard to hide the trace of loneliness and helplessness deep in her eyes.