Lin Mowei remained hidden nearby, observing from a distance. She was equally curious as to why this Rift King Beast had made no further moves.
Since it had appeared, the Rift King Beast had done nothing aggressive beyond that initial, intimidating roar, which defied all logic.
While most of her attention remained locked on the King Beast, she kept a sliver of her focus on Mu Liuli out of the corner of her eye.
This woman had played a part in her brother’s death in the past.
If she could, she would have loved nothing more than to see this woman die right before her eyes.
However, her reason told her she couldn’t. She couldn’t let her emotions dictate her actions.
After Mu Liuli shouted her warning, Lin Mowei had been startled. Seeing the group trapped, she had almost charged in immediately.
But in the next second, she froze. The situation seemed different from what she had expected.
The Rift Beasts… weren’t moving.
Something was wrong.
Those dark red tentacles that had burst from the ground were merely pinning them in place, making no move to crush or kill them.
The surrounding pack of Rift Beasts, though watching like hawks, only let out low, threatening growls without lunging forward.
It was bizarre.
Losing the ability to move on a battlefield was a death sentence, especially when surrounded by Rift Beasts.
Ordinarily, the four of them should have already been torn to shreds and devoured by the swarming beasts.
Yet, the scene before her looked more like… a capture?
Lin Mowei was able to analyze the situation calmly, but on the other side, Captain Xin Yao saw her teammates pinned by the tentacles and unable to move. Her brain felt like it had been hit by a heavy blow, and a tightly wound string in her mind suddenly snapped.
Similar images flooded her mind uncontrollably. Years ago, her husband had also been surrounded by several Rift Beasts after reaching the point of exhaustion, and in the end…
“Ahhh!”
A shrill, broken scream pierced the oppressive air.
Xin Yao’s eyes were bloodshot, her reason completely swallowed by a surging tide of fear and memories.
She discarded the firearm in her hand, and with a *clink*, she drew the alloy combat blade from her waist. Recklessly, she charged toward the teammate closest to her, wanting only to sever those damned tentacles!
“Captain! Don’t come any closer! Get out of here!” the teammate shouted in desperation, his voice cut off as the tentacles suddenly tightened.
This was undoubtedly a suicidal move.
Sure enough, as Xin Yao approached, another lurking tentacle burst from the ground, wrapping around her waist and arms, binding her just as securely.
She struggled, her combat blade falling to the ground along with the communicator at her waist.
Having completely lost her ability to resist, despair swallowed her whole.
She closed her eyes, waiting for the expected death.
However, several seconds passed, and the anticipated tearing of flesh never came.
She opened her eyes tremblingly, only to see the surrounding Rift Beasts still maintaining their encirclement and growling, but none moved forward.
Instead, the Rift King Beast, which had been standing still by the lake, began to move its massive body. It took heavy steps that shook the ground, heading toward the Black Tower.
‘A live capture… They really are taking them alive!’
Lin Mowei felt a chill in her heart upon seeing this.
Rift Beasts actively taking human ability users alive?
This had never appeared in her memories of her past life or in any known intelligence.
‘What do they want? To take these people to the Black Tower?’
Countless questions flooded her mind, but she had no time to delve into them.
She had heard Xin Yao’s earlier shout.
She had heard the mention of 5 minutes, but after 5 minutes, it would be too late for anything.
She needed an opportunity, and she only had one chance.
Based on the commanding characteristics of a King Beast, all Rift Beasts within tens of miles would gather around it, meaning Lin Yu’s location was actually very safe now.
Thinking of this, she bit her lip and hesitated for a moment before withdrawing the Spacetime Beacon she had placed near her brother.
With her current abilities, she couldn’t maintain two at once.
“It’s okay…” she whispered to herself, as if trying to be convincing. “Little Yu has become very steady now. When he sees the beacon disappear, he’ll definitely be able to guess my intentions. He won’t panic.”
The King Beast’s pace seemed slow, but its stride was enormous.
Coupled with the fact that she had detoured a long distance to maintain her hidden observation, there was simply no time to go back and inform her brother of the details.
She could, of course, choose to ignore the small team in their desperate situation for the sake of her brother’s absolute safety.
However, ‘could do’ and ‘can do’ were two different things.
On one hand, there was a high probability her brother would remain unharmed; on the other, there were five lives. Even if one of them was someone she loathed, they were almost certainly dead if she stood by and did nothing.
The trade-off didn’t feel equal in her heart; her brother’s safety outweighed everything.
But she also knew that if she turned and walked away now, she would be haunted for the rest of her life by the shadow and guilt of having watched them die.
‘I can do this… I can do this! Believe in yourself, Lin Mowei, and believe in Little Yu. He can take care of himself!’
She slapped her cheeks twice with force, her gaze becoming determined.
She stole one last glance toward her brother’s location, picked up her gear, and turned to chase after the retreating King Beast.
***
Lin Yu stared blankly for a moment after seeing the beacon beside him disappear.
However, just as Lin Mowei had expected, he did not panic.
He knew his sister’s abilities and guessed that she had probably canceled the beacon here to save the people in that squad.
‘Capturing humans…’
Lin Yu’s brow furrowed tightly. This truly exceeded the scope of his knowledge. Whether in his past life or from information in this one, there had never been an instance of Rift Beasts engaging in such kidnapping behavior.
He forced himself to calm down, thinking quickly about what he could do now.
Even though his combat power was lacking, he couldn’t just sit and watch.
As his gaze swept over the lake area where the battle had just broken out, something reflecting a faint light caught his eye. It was the dropped communicator.
He immediately got up and rushed down the slope, picking up the communicator, which was stained with a bit of mud.
Fortunately, it didn’t look damaged.
He operated it quickly, tuning it to the emergency communication channel.
“Static… Captain Xin? What’s the situation on your end?” An anxious woman’s voice soon came from the other side.
“I’m not Captain Xin. I’m Lin Mowei’s brother, Lin Yu. They’ve been captured by a Rift King Beast. My sister is following them to attempt a rescue. Turn around immediately and head toward the Black Tower to intercept them.”
Lin Yu didn’t waste any words, quickly stating his identity and the current situation.
The silence on the other end lasted only a few seconds before a quick response came: “Understood. I’ve got it. Stay where you are and don’t move.”
“Okay.”
He put down the communicator and looked toward the lake.
However, his current mood was completely different from the now-calm waters.
He was hesitating, torn. If he went to help his sister and the others, even if they couldn’t kill the King Beast, escaping should still be possible.
But if he did that… he would be exposed.
He stood there, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists, looking up at the dark clouds in the sky.
“A cloudy day… I really hate it…”
Just then, a powerful surge of palpitations suddenly hit him!
It felt as though an invisible hand had grabbed his heart and twisted it ruthlessly.
His breath hitched, and a cold sense of panic instantly pierced through his thoughts.
The “telepathy” often spoken of in the old era was no myth in today’s world; some psychic ability users could achieve emotional resonance or even communication over long distances.
Lin Yu was not a psychic ability user, but as a “Resonator,” the essence of his ability was the perception and resonance of special fluctuations.
In his daily life with his sister, Lin Mowei, this resonance had unintentionally formed a weak but very real one-way link.
He could vaguely sense when his sister’s emotions fluctuated violently, especially when she was in danger or pain.
And the feeling coming through now… was cold, sharp, and full of unease.
‘No, it can’t be! Nothing will happen to her!’
This thought exploded in his mind like a clap of thunder, instantly dispelling all hesitation and calculation.
His body moved before his brain could. He ran back behind the slope and lifted the mountain motorcycle.
Vehicle operation was a mandatory course at the Dome Academy, and he was reasonably proficient.
He twisted his wrist, and the exhaust pipe let out a low, rumbling roar.
His gaze was fixed on the direction where the King Beast had departed, where the dust had not yet fully settled.
‘Sis, hold on! I’m coming!’