Chapter 178.2 – Key (21)

◎ Long time no see, Uncle ◎

Suddenly, from the cockpit, Lu Xiaoyu clicked his tongue, “We’ve got trouble.”

Everyone looked up and was surprised to find that, through the thin fog, they had unexpectedly returned to the location where they had just fought.

“Navigation malfunctioned?” Zhuang Qingyan frowned.

“No,” Lu Xiaoyu quickly checked, “the device is working fine.”

He thought for a moment, then turned off the automatic mode. “I’ll drive manually, you guide.”

Zhuang Qingyan had seen the map before; his memory was almost photographic. Upon hearing this, he sat in the passenger seat, acting as the manual navigator.

An hour later, V587 returned to the starting point.

“Could it be a ghost wall?” Lin Youyou exclaimed.

“It’s an awakened ability,” Zhuang Qingyan said in a deep voice.

He opened the hatch, and bodies lay scattered on the ground. In the distance, the abandoned city’s horizon stood oddly, like a mirage in the desert. The skyscrapers on the edge were half normal, while the other half were pieced together with elevated walkways.

“S-level territorial ability, ‘Blood-Red Building Blocks.’ The wielder can control the blocks within the territory, stitching different scenes together by changing their positions. However, activating the ability requires life force as a sacrifice,” Zhuang Qingyan explained slowly.

“Do you still remember those bounty hunter bodies? They should be the driving medium; the more people die, the larger the range of the building blocks.”

“I have a question,” Lin Youyou turned around and glanced. Song Ke had expended some awakened energy due to injuries and was now sleeping soundly with closed eyes and slightly open mouth. She lowered her voice, “The person just now, did he really come for Song Ke?”

The more Lin Youyou thought about it, the more strange it seemed. “Even if he didn’t know that Song Ke had already advanced, trying to kill an S7 with those people is just a joke, right?”

“What’s the point of trapping us here?”

Zhuang Qingyan looked at her without saying anything.

Lin Youyou looked embarrassed and scratched her cheek. “We heard your conversation with Lu Xiaoyu. Actually, we all heard it.”

Zhuang Qingyan was not surprised. Entrusting trust was a difficult thing for him. As teammates, they didn’t deliberately avoid Lin Youyou and the others when talking, but there were many things he didn’t plan to disclose proactively.

“If there’s danger, you guys can run first.”

Zhuang Qingyan smiled as if bathing in a spring breeze. “No one will blame you. Anyway… it’s not the first time.”

It took Lin Youyou a while to react. “Hey, you!”

Always touching the sore spots, poking knives into people’s hearts, the betrayal at Mirror Lake was like a thorn stuck in Lin Youyou’s heart. Even if no one mentioned it, it didn’t mean she didn’t care.

*

Fenak’s outskirts.

Qiong Mingcheng, with his arm around Duanmu Qi, envisioned the future, his eyes filled with longing: “What do you guys think District B will be like? I heard it’s similar to before the apocalypse, no zombies, no fierce beasts, and no need to live in fear every day.”

Fan Peng squeezed in between the two, “When we get rooms, Aqi and I will share one.”

“Go away,” Qiong Mingcheng pushed away Fan Peng’s head, “You go live with Brother Chen, Aqi is mine.”

The four of them grew up in the same neighborhood, attended the same school, worked in the same company, even awakened their abilities around the same time. Although they often bickered, their friendship was deep, and they were all willing to listen to Duanmu Qi.

Xiao Chen, the calmest among them, said calmly, “There’s no need to discuss this; I’ll live with Aqi.”

Fan Peng and Qiong Mingcheng instantly changed their expressions, rolling up their sleeves ready to fight him.

Duanmu Qi helplessly rubbed his forehead, “The matter hasn’t even been settled, and you’re already celebrating halfway.”

Qiong Mingcheng grinned, “Why hasn’t it been settled? Didn’t Song Ke say she would write a recommendation letter for us?”

They were moving forward at a not-so-slow pace, just a few hundred meters away from leaving Fenak. Fan Peng even took off his isolation mask ahead of time.

Due to the weakening radiation, occasionally, fierce beasts would dart across the road, and busy ability users followed behind to capture them.

Duanmu Qi sighed lightly, “They helped us even though we’re not close, we can’t just accept it without giving anything in return, right? We need to think about what gift to send.”

Qiong Mingcheng added, “But I don’t see them lacking anything.”

As Duanmu Qi was about to speak, the sky darkened suddenly as ominous clouds covered it. He raised his head, sensing something. A massive spatial tunnel cracked open, and a fully armed fleet jumped in. These starships were pitch black, different from any style they had seen before.

The turbulent air scared away zombies and fierce beasts. Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking up in astonishment.

A group of figures in black uniforms descended from the sky.

“We have eyewitnesses on the scene.”

“Roger, eliminate them all.”

Like a grim reaper wielding a scythe, before anyone could react, the passing awakeners had already fallen. Their legs went weak, minds blank, utterly unable to resist. A terrifying pressure overwhelmed them, and in their moments of death, the despair in their pupils reflected the pattern on the ruthless vulture emblem on their assailants’ uniforms.

—It was the emblem of a merciless vulture.

Duanmu Qi felt a chill in his heart, his face filled with horror. These people, astonishingly, were all S-rank!

The black-clad woman in the crowd noticed them. She slightly raised her right hand, and an invisible kite string flew out, cutting off the heads of awakeners along the way. Due to inertia, the headless bodies stumbled forward a few steps until they collapsed with a resounding crash, and blood slowly gushed out.

Next, the kite string flew towards Fan Peng and Xiao Chen.

“Get out of the way!” Xiao Chen roared.

The two rolled on the ground, and Xiao Chen managed to avoid it with some difficulty. However, Fan Peng wasn’t as lucky. He happened to be in the same straight line as the person in front of him. As a B-level, he felt powerless against the S-level ability. Although he avoided a fatal blow, his entire arm was still severed.

“Ahhhh!” A scream rang out, and Xiao Chen and Qiong Mingcheng quickly helped Fan Peng up.

People around them fell one after another. Duanmu Qi cursed under his breath, no longer hesitating. He took out a camping lamp, inserted a bright red crystal, then pulled his companions. The four shadows flickered and disappeared in an instant.

After the leading man slaughtered the awakeners on the scene, he looked towards a certain direction. “Blood Bat, you made a mistake; four of them escaped.”

“The other party has a spatial teleportation device,” the black-clad woman said. “The domain has already been activated; they can’t escape. Wolf Spider, as instructed from above, there can be no witnesses this time.”

The man with the code name “Wolf Spider” nodded. “Understood.”

He turned around, his tone cold and emotionless. “Find them, and kill them.”

*

At an abandoned school.

Duanmu Qi and his three companions appeared out of nowhere, the glow of the level 4 crystal faded, turning into an ordinary stone.

Fan Peng lost an arm, his breath was like gossamer, and his face was as pale as gold leaf.

Xiao Chen gritted his teeth, bandaging him. “Fan Peng, listen carefully. You’re not allowed to sleep no matter how tired you are.”

Fan Peng, covered in cold sweat, managed to force a smile. “I… won’t sleep. Aqi is right. How can we celebrate halfway… opening champagne?”

“Who are those people?” Qiong Mingcheng’s eyes were bloodshot. “Why do they casually kill people?”

Duanmu Qi’s face turned pale, forcing himself to calm down. “I’ll contact Song Ke immediately; they have healing-type awakener!”

He took out his terminal, but his actions suddenly froze. “…No signal.”

The random teleportation range was only ten kilometers. Waiting in the same place was equivalent to waiting to die; the enemy would catch up soon.

“First, figure out how to get out.” Xiao Chen carried Fan Peng on his back, and the four helped each other leave.

Duanmu Qi tightly gripped the last level 4 crystal in his hand.

*

Three hours had passed since V587 left the trapped street.

Zhuang Qingyan’s original words were, “Take Taotao, for example. Territorial abilities are not flawless. As long as you continuously attack the weak points, you can determine the location of the initiator.” So, relying on careful calculations, he finally found the approximate location of the territorial awakener.

Only by killing the owner of “Blood-Red Building Blocks” could they leave.

Zhuang Qingyan drew a cross on the map, eliminating incorrect options. “It’s a 50-50 chance. Song Ke, come and draw lots.”

Song Ke, wearing spiritual weapon knuckles on the top of the starship, took a deep breath and threw a punch towards the distorted boundary.

Boom!

The earth shook, rocks shattered, and the heavy iron fist ruthlessly smashed the weak point of the territory, forcefully disrupting the stability of the magnetic field.

The scene changed, “Blood-Red Building Blocks” reassembled, and V587 was teleported back to the previous checkpoint.

Zhuang Qingyan sighed helplessly. “Even with a 50-50 chance, we can still be wrong.”

Song Ke: “…” Wasn’t it you who asked me to choose?

However, thanks to Song Ke’s relentless attacks, the territorial awakener was probably spitting blood at the moment, experiencing fluctuations in his awakened energy.

Zhuang Qingyan drew another cross on the map. Although they wasted some time due to bad luck, they were getting closer to the target.

In the outskirts of Fenak, in the desolate radiation pit, V587 found the owner of “Blood-Red Building Blocks.”

The opponent was not alone; a row of pure black starships was parked in the distance, and over a hundred awakeners were staring intently, as if waiting for a long time.

Song Ke noticed that besides the middle-aged man leading the group, there was also a thin and weak young man with a pale face and bloodstains around the collar, staring fiercely at them. It seemed to be the unfortunate territorial awakener.

“Long time no see.” The sickly middle-aged man took the initiative to speak. He carefully examined Zhuang Qingyan’s face, from facial features to every detail, couldn’t help but sigh, “So alike, really alike. No wonder for so many years, no one could find you.”

Lin Youyou and Fang Zhixu had puzzled expressions on their faces. What was the old man muttering about?

Zhuang Qingyan’s face remained cold, silently looking at him.

The man coughed twice, his face waxen. “What? Your appearance has changed, and the etiquette you have had since elementary school has been lost? I came all the way from Utopia, and you’re not even willing to call me Uncle?”

Song Ke slightly widened her eyes. This person claimed to be from Utopia, the floating city that countless people admired?

Zhuang Qingyan’s lips curled up, casually speaking, “Long time no see, Uncle.”

Is he really a relative? Lin Youyou thought inwardly, but judging by the situation, it didn’t seem like a reunion between relatives.

“Since you still acknowledge me as your uncle, then do what you should do.” The man breathed heavily, as if he might not catch his breath in the next second. He struggled to lift his hand.

One of the starship’s rear compartments opened, revealing a giant apparatus with the logo of Qinglan on it.

“This thing has been sealed for thirteen years. If you unlock it, I’ll let you go.”

“What is that?” Song Ke secretly asked the mechanical expert, Lu Xiaoyu.

Lu Xiaoyu answered, “Obviously, it’s a storage hub.”

Song Ke exclaimed in surprise, “So big?”

Zhuang Qingyan looked at the familiar hub, and his smile gradually disappeared, his eyes deepening.

Seeing that Zhuang Qingyan was still not making a move, the man looked up at the sky. Anxious and excited, his voice trembled as he urged, “Hurry up, unlock the hub before they arrive!”

“Uncle, don’t bother,” Zhuang Qingyan mocked with a smirk. “You’re so afraid of death, but aren’t you living quite well?”

“I remember you like philosophy, right? Life is just an illusion; death is the only truth. Don’t believe those rumors. Dying early or dying late, you’ll still die. Why not retire peacefully in Utopia and stay away from these matters…”

The man couldn’t contain his anger and shouted his name in utter frustration, “Xie Zhuo!!”

Xie Zhuo.

These two words were like a spell, casting a momentary silence over the entire scene.

Zhuang Qingyan’s heart skipped a beat, and he reflexively looked at Song Ke.

But soon, he froze.

Song Ke was surprisingly the calmest among everyone. There was no hint of surprise on her face, as if she hadn’t heard those two forbidden words. She waved the blade threateningly at the territorial awakener.

Xie Ping trembled all over, his face turning purple. He was on the verge of fainting, and his assistant quickly handed over a respirator.

“Do you… do you… after thirteen years, have you never felt any guilt?!” he exclaimed.

“The Eternal Life Project has stagnated because of you. The entire Beijun has remained secluded because of you. Are you so selfish and indifferent, disregarding your father’s wishes, insisting on going your own way, and watching humanity march towards destruction?”

“Uncle, please step aside.”

Song Ke spoke softly, and a burst of blue light flashed in her palm. The blade flew out of her hand, the threat of piercing through the heart of the initiator of “Blood-Red Building Blocks.” At the critical moment, another awakener used his body to block the attack.

Song Ke smiled innocently, her dimples showing. “Hurry up, go home.”