Qin Wuyue flew backward, landing on her toes, steady and balanced.
She looked up at the King Beast, her eyes growing heavier with solemnity.
Rain fell on her body but quickly evaporated, raising wisps of white mist.
If someone touched her at that moment, they would find her body temperature far beyond that of a normal human.
“Indeed… minimal effect…” she murmured.
In truth, despite the impressive display of those two strikes, the actual damage inflicted on the King Beast was less than the insult.
Big is good, numerous is beautiful—that saying holds true most of the time.
The immense difference in size meant Qin Wuyue could only cause pain to the King Beast. Beyond that, the effect was quite limited.
She naturally understood this principle, so she didn’t intend to do more—just attract the King Beast’s hatred.
If necessary, she would lure it elsewhere and leave it to others.
As she expected, the King Beast was thoroughly enraged by those two strikes. No longer heeding the mysterious command in its mind, it only wanted to kill the tiny human before it that had caused it pain.
To crush her, to grind her to dust!
—
Outside the radiation zone, inside a makeshift command tent.
Mu Qingqing’s expression was stern, an indefinable bitterness hidden in her eyes.
She kept one eye on the nearby battle between Lin Mowei and the humanoid creature, while waiting for a response from Huanxing Town.
Just now, the signal had suddenly cut out. They had barely mentioned the King Beast’s appearance before losing contact—it was hard not to overthink.
To stabilize morale, she ordered the few who knew the truth to keep silent. But what good would concealing it do?
This counterattack had drawn most of their forces. Those left in the fortress, though not exactly weak, were mostly logistics personnel unskilled in combat. Once the defenses were breached, their fate was predictable.
She had secretly dispatched a small unit with the Hunter team to return, not for rescue, but to scout the situation. If possible, to “clean up” preemptively and prevent the scene from becoming too ugly.
Things had reached this point—there was absolutely no possibility of retreat or withdrawal. The next positron cannon shot must hit the Black Tower. No one could change that.
Only victory could alleviate the grief of losing the rear base and the casualties.
When she was a student, she had only read about similar events in books. Now, she never imagined she would have to make the same choice.
There’s no other way—those four words carried too much helplessness and tragedy.
She had to steel herself, even if it went against her usual principles.
At that moment, the communicator indicator, which had been dim for a while, lit up again.
Almost instinctively, she pressed the button and waited for the other side to call.
Szz… szz… After a burst of unstable static, a gradually louder voice came through. “Reporting, reporting. This is the Huanxing Town Communications Office.”
Mu Qingqing took a deep breath, suppressing the unease in her heart, and said calmly, “Received. Go ahead.”
“Chief Mu, we have safely evacuated from Huanxing Town. No casualties.”
Hearing that, sighs of relief echoed throughout the tent.
Mu Qingqing was among them, then asked in confusion, “What happened?”
The reply came quickly, the voice barely containing its excitement. “It was Doctor Qin. She diverted the King Beast’s attention, allowing us to set up a temporary communication station at the resort.”
At that title, the tent instantly became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Mu Qingqing looked around and found everyone staring at her. She guessed her expression was the same as theirs—stunned and bewildered.
“Ahem,” she cleared her throat. “So now, how is Doctor Qin?”
Perhaps she didn’t notice, but her tone carried an involuntary note of disbelief.
Fighting the King Beast one-on-one? Rumors said Chief Lan Lan could do it, but among the Chiefs throughout history, only she had. Such an absurd feat had never been heard of.
“Doctor Qin has the upper hand! She’s beating the King Beast so badly it’s fleeing in panic!”
The excitement and admiration for Qin Wuyue were unmistakable in her voice.
“…”
The tent fell into dead silence for the second time. Everyone’s expression was dazed, unsure if they had misheard or were hallucinating.
As the individual posing the greatest current threat to humanity, precisely how to kill it had always been an immense problem.
Hearing that a human was beating it into a rout was like listening to a fairy tale.
Moreover, if she was really that strong, why hadn’t she acted sooner?
Mu Qingqing took in the expressions around her—excitement, shock, and… barely hidden anger.
Human nature is complex. Different life experiences make everyone’s behavior patterns, principles, and personalities completely different.
It was perfectly normal for someone to have such thoughts and emotions.
Mu Qingqing understood this and said no more. “Good. Continue monitoring. Maintain contact. Reinforcements are already on the way. Have them assist Doctor Qin.”
“Roger!”
After closing the communication, Mu Qingqing turned to look at Lin Mowei’s figure on the screen.
Chief… what would you do at a time like this? Sigh…
Just as she was troubled, an observer on the other side made a new discovery.
“Report! An object is flying over our base! Altitude 8,000! Speed 700!”
“What?”
After all the unexpected incidents, everyone was now like birds startled by a bow; they dreaded hearing about more surprises.
The observer continued analyzing the data. Soon, he hurriedly flipped through a manual, then said with a strange expression, “This signal identifier has never appeared before, but according to the manual, it’s an orbital vehicle launched from outer space—it’s… one of ours?”
Even he sounded unsure. He knew about that thing—it had been built but never used, left to gather dust in the equipment depot.
“One of ours?” Mu Qingqing frowned. “Who’s inside? It can’t be empty, can it?”
As soon as she finished, she heard the observer gasp, then stammer, “A communication came from inside… It’s, it’s Chief Lan Lan…”
The frequency of shocks had numbed everyone. They felt that even if another King Beast appeared in the next second, it wouldn’t be unacceptable.
At the same time, a reassuring feeling emerged involuntarily. Lan Lan’s appearance told everyone that no more accidents would occur.
The last time Lan Lan appeared on the battlefield was twelve years ago.
At that time, because peace had lasted too long, a sudden Rift Beast attack caught everyone off guard. An hour after the invasion, Nest City No. 3 only began organized resistance, but it was already too late.
The orbital elevator had been destroyed. Lan Lan took a shuttle and diverted from the nearest Nest City, arriving three hours later.
Wreathed in lightning, she descended like a heavenly god.
That night, aside from the firelight in Nest City No. 3, only her radiance was the most dazzling.
Her code name, “Electro-Light Shadow,” was the best description of her ability, “Electric Current”—the strongest Ability User, possessing both speed and power.