The Spark Stolen, Mystery Remains No More

Covering most of the city, these silver-gray locusts, swarming and gnawing at cement and metal, perched on vehicles, buildings, and even the surface of streets, rise up and fly towards you.

What was it like?

Thanks for the invitation. I'm currently in Gambia and just boarded Flying Eagle.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!"

The Himo's Eagle took flight, whipping up a whirlwind as it soared into the distance, a buzzing sound trailing behind it. The gathering swarm of storm insects swept across the sky and earth like a tornado.

As Kang De ran, he turned around to take photos and videos. In the 44-square-kilometer city, swarms of locusts rose up in dense numbers, making it impossible to grasp the concept of quantity. When they gathered together, it was like a flood or tsunami. The world was left with only one sound: the booming of their wings!

He tore open the scroll, activated the spell model, and a gale gathered, lifting the giant eagle and accelerating it.

Behind them, the raging locusts resembled a bloodthirsty swarm of bees. Amidst the silvery-gray tide, specks of red light flashed one after another—those were the eyes of these insects, radiating a terrifying crimson glow!

The satellite phone connected urgently, and Kang De shouted, "The photos! Do you see them?!"

"Received! The logistics support team is analyzing the data!" Qin Mengjin's voice was no longer gentle and sweet as before, but filled with decisive and capable spirit. "Mr. Kang De, please withdraw immediately!"

Kang De pressed the microphone and said, "How was it!"

Horus's reactive armor activated its rangefinder, and Horus's voice said, "Calculations show the enemy swarm is moving at approximately 60 kilometers per hour, and this is with the aid of wind. The conclusion is that we are not currently surrounded. Father, please closely monitor the surrounding situation using Phoenix Vision and be ready to return to Comora at any time. As for whether to retreat now, my answer is, I do not recommend it!"

"That's what I think too!"

Kang De put down the receiver. "The swarm's flight speed is limited, I'm not in immediate danger. I'll decide when to retreat. These things are terrifying; we must find a way to contain them!"

Hearing is deceiving, seeing is believing; photos are deceiving, the scene is real. This shocking scene of swarming insects filling the city is something that was not seen in the photos I had seen before.

Having witnessed it firsthand, Kang De's mind was filled with alarm. The suggestion to relocate the population of Comora and concentrate all citizens in Moyani for easier defense was futile; with such a massive swarm, billions upon billions of locusts approaching Moyani...

--If he wants to hold on, he'll probably have to resort to Mass Projection!

Therefore, we need to find a way to figure out the truth! We need to find out the origin of this thing, who controls it, where it is, whether it has any insect hive consciousness, where it originated, what its weaknesses are... We need to find out all of this!

"We have already submitted the video footage and suggested sharing it with the governments of other countries." Qin Mengjin's tone was solemn, and her words were crisp and concise. "Mr. Kang De, your feedback is firsthand information about this crisis. We acknowledge your judgment and would like to consult you on your views. Our first question is, how do you think we should respond?"

Kang De gazed at the vast, swirling swarm of insects. Even though the Himo's Eagle was faster than them, its speed was limited. Being relentlessly pursued by the howling, buzzing, terrifying insect swarm was enough to send chills down his spine.

He said, "Seriously, the first thing I wanted to do when I saw this was to drop a nuclear bomb and blow this place up."

"Nuclear weapons are always a crisis management option, but always a last resort. Zhuerban is the capital of a sovereign state, and even the United States wouldn't dare take such a political risk."

Qin Mengjin sighed and tactfully told Kang De that this option was not feasible for the time being.

As for nuclear weapons, all the major powers possess them, but who will drop the bomb, who will be the villain, and who will spill the blood of innocent people? In any case, the American Empire that values freedom, democracy, and human rights, would most likely refuse.

A whisper came from the other end of the phone, and the liaison officer asked, "Mr. Kang De, did you observe any signs of human movement when you approached Gambia?"

Kang De frowned and said, "No... I wasn't close enough."

At least within visual range, the Phoenix Eyes did not detect any life signals.

He looked back at the terrifying swarm of insects, a chill running down his spine.

Do these insects... eat people?

Back home, there was a brief silence, then Qin Mengjin's voice rang out again, this time with a hint of unease. "Mr. Kang De, if possible... please try to verify this."

She paused for a moment, then added, "This is important."

"Knew."

The other end gave some further instructions, such as matters that Kant hoped Kang De would investigate as much as possible, concerning the locusts themselves and the Zhuerban City, before ending the communication.

Now is not the time to chat.

The Himo's Eagle sped away, relentlessly pursued by the swarm of insects. Kang De took a few deep breaths, calming his thoughts, and said, "Alright, rather than whether there are any survivors here, we need to figure out one thing first."

"The first thing is, how did I attract this inexplicably high level of hatred? That is, why is the swarm relentlessly pursuing us? Is there something about me that's attracting them, or...?"

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "--Someone is controlling them?"

If simply taking out a camera would trigger a swarm of insects to fly over and eat it, it wouldn't warrant such a massive scene. Many previously transmitted videos only showed a swarm of locusts attacking the camera; they never showed an entire colony of insects attacking it.

Horus asked, "Could it be Big Bob?"

"Perhaps," Kang De said, "But not necessarily."

How so?

Kang De's eyes flashed. "Big Bob is a legendary figure, the king of Africa mercenaries. He launched dozens of coups in his lifetime, killed four heads of state, and managed to do so much without being killed. This shows that he at least knows when to advance and retreat. If it were him, having gained such power in Gambia, shouldn't he have first developed his strength discreetly? Now he's making such a big fuss and showing himself in the world. Does he think the Americans' nuclear weapons are getting too big for their britches?"

"Hmm... that seems to make sense."

"Right," Kang De said calmly. "And if he's manipulating the swarm and recognized me, hence the relentless pursuit, our main grudges are, firstly, ruining his plans, and secondly, killing his son. Now that he has power, the revenge for his son's death should be his top priority. He wants revenge for his son, and since he's in a stronger position, why doesn't he make a scene, shout a few words, curse me a few times, and show off?"

At this point, he used a historical anecdote. "After all, Xiang Yu once said that if a person, when seeking revenge, doesn't show off his power and skills in front of his enemy, enjoy their defeated expression, and let the whole world know, it's like walking in the dark wearing fine clothes."

"I don't think Xiang Yu said that, did he?"

"To believe everything in books is worse than having no books at all—you must grasp the spirit of the text. By the way, do you even know Xiang Yu?"

Damn, at least I read the history books. Not bad, not too far off the mark.

Horus said, "Yes, I know, he's Xiang Shaolong's son."

"No! That's fiction! It's made up!" Kang De retorted at first, then his expression changed drastically. "You've even read 'A Step into the Past'? How many pornographic books have you read?!"

Iron Son calmly said, "Father, is this the time to talk about this?"

"... If you keep dealing with me like this, I'm going to have to resort to family discipline!"

Arguing as they flew, the Himo's Eagle swept across the plains of Gambia, its swarms of insects forming a tornado. The alchemical creations were tireless, but they needed to replenish their crystals, and their enchantment arrays and structural parts needed replacing. However, Goth's National Alchemy Center provided such services, and the alchemical weapons seized from that elven alchemy master had been refurbished... But even they were powerless against such an insect plague.

At this scale, even most of humanity's tactical weapons would likely struggle to handle it.

It's called "land cleanup," but it often covers areas of tens of square kilometers, and might even be more extensive. How much military spending would be wasted on this kind of cleanup, and how effective would it be? Nobody knows.

Kang De felt a little heavy-hearted when he thought of this. Although such a disaster happened in Gambia, which was thousands of miles away from his homeland, he thought of the female ghost he had encountered in his hometown, and how the country, while valuing people with superpowers, was not extremely shocked. He also thought that Big Bob had only revealed a little of the secret of the Comora, yet the France government had quickly taken the bait and staged this grand spectacle.

This shows that governments around the world have long been aware of the existence of supernatural forces.

As the maintainers and rulers of the world order, they are aware of all the major and minor events happening around the world.

Kang De had a vague feeling that the calamity that Gambia today might not be an isolated case.

What will happen next?

Where will it be?

And what should I do?

His experience of traveling to another world, the White Mist World that replicates the entire face of Earth, the ancient spirits in Tacitus who know the name of the Fire Thief... Earth and the other world, which should be unrelated, are connected in this vast land of West Africa. Kang De always felt that things were not so simple.

The Himo's Eagle drew a wide arc from the southwest.

Gambia is a coastal country, with its capital Zhuerban located on the St. Mary's Peninsula. This city is not only Gambia's capital but also its largest port city, facing the vast Atlantic Ocean to the west.

Kang De attempted to lure these insects into the sea, letting the sea breeze, the scorching sun, and the moisture teach them how to be insects.

He circled around the sea from the southwest, with new insects constantly joining him along the way. The sea breeze howled in his face, and the fishy smell of the sea filled his nostrils. From here, he could see the direction of Zhu'erban Port. The deep-water pier, capable of accommodating 10,000-ton ships, was also covered in silver. The ships in the port were also crawling with dense swarms of locusts, their steel hulls being gnawed at, some already broken and sunk in the water.

Kang De flew westward along the sea.

The swarm of insects roared behind them.

The waves rolled, the sea was deep blue, but the sky was covered by a dense swarm of insects, like dark clouds pressing down. Kang De observed his surroundings while gazing ahead. If it weren't for the American Empire aircraft carrier docked in the distance, it would be double the joy. He would definitely lure the Japanese... no, the insects there.

Unfortunately, no.

Just then, the phone rang. Kang De answered, Qin Mengjin spoke slightly quickly, "Mr. Kang De, we've noticed that your cell phone signal has entered the waters near Gambia. Do you intend to lure the swarm to the deep sea?"

Kang De said, "Give it a try."

The other party advised, "Please be careful. What if these insects are carried to North America and Europe by the monsoon..."

Kang De exclaimed happily, "Isn't this a good thing?"

"..." Qin Mengjin sighed, "Mr. Kang De..."

"Okay, I got it. It was just a joke. You guys are being too cautious."

In fact, if the locust swarms were controlled by Big Bob and had an unlimited range, with the ability to breed and nest anywhere, he would have already airdropped worker locusts all over the world, and there would be no need for Kang De to cite him.

Kang De was about to explain when he casually turned around and exclaimed, "Oh!"

Qin Mengjin asked, "What's wrong?"

It has stopped.

In his field of vision, the swarm of insects stopped a few thousand meters from the coast. Most of the swarm began to turn back. Kang De spurred his eagle and flew back a short distance. The swarm that had been lurking over the city rioted again, baring its fangs and claws, sweeping towards him in a massive, overwhelming attack.

Back off.

Stop.

He informed the domestic authorities of this phenomenon, and the emergency response team immediately erupted into a frenzy of discussion. After a while, Miss Qin said, "This might mean that the swarm has a limited range of activity! Please also conduct containment and guidance operations on land. If the swarm's activity range is a circle, then the center of that circle is our target!"

"--no."

"Ah?"

Kang De shook his head, directing the eagle to fly in an arc, stepping on the swarm's reaction limit. With elementary geometry knowledge, the center of a circle can be determined by an arc. He only needed to make a rough estimate to determine that this was definitely not the swarm's radius of movement—the distance he had flown backward on land to lure the swarm into the sea from the southwest had already exceeded this radius.

The emergency response team received the same answer.

Kang De said calmly, "They don't have boundaries to their activities; they just consciously try to avoid the sea."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Let me take another look."

Kang De hung up the phone, looked at the stopped swarm of insects, and said, "Sure enough, I'm more concerned about why they chased me than whether they have a range or a center point. I don't have any cough syrup."

Horus said, "The instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm... that's a natural instinct in living beings, not quite like Big Bob's manipulation."

Kang De countered, "If not, why did these strange locusts, mostly from the tombs of King Gambia, react so violently to us and relentlessly pursue us?"

The answer is obvious.

The father and son said in unison, "Tacitus."

The ancient artifacts in the Comora Royal Tombs, sealing away the old royal tombs, their bodies sealed within the tombs of Gambia... Is this some kind of premonition?

On that day at the western airport, Tacitus Power of the Fire Thief. The knowledge of ascension contained within was poured into Horus's Spark by Kang De, while another part was consumed by Tacitus himself.

Kang De shrugged, placed the cell phone and landline on the back of the Himo's Eagle, and left the coordinates.

Give it a try.

A black light flashed, space opened up, and the next moment, Kang De stepped back onto the eagle's back. Horus, which served as the power exoskeleton covering his shoulders and back, had already returned to the White Mist World.

Give it a try.

The Himo's Eagle stepped forward.

The locust swarms were no longer as rampant and chaotic as before.

The aura of Tacitus has already reached another world.

As for the portion of Tacitus absorbed by Kang De, it was clearly not perceived by the swarm.

Because he was the Fire Thief.

With the Spark stolen, the mystery vanishes.

He took a deep breath, and the Himo's Eagle flew away along the coastline to prepare for the chaos of the insect swarm.

Then we entered the city, and then Banjul.

Let's examine where the people who disappeared from this city went and what they went through.

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PS1: Update... Ah, the courier service is finally back in operation! I can finally buy some food! Speaking of which, I planned to eat at all my favorite restaurants three to five times this Chinese New Year, but I didn't get to eat there even once! Waaah...