That faint green speck of light flickered stubbornly amid the snow and garbled text on the screen, like a lone star in the night.
Bruno's hoarse cry shattered the deathly silence in the Command Center.
"Stay calm!" Bruno shot to his feet. Excitement strained his voice, but his gaze was razor-sharp. "It's an extremely faint life signal. In fact... no, it's not just a life signal. There's an unusual energy fluctuation too! But it's so weak it could disappear at any moment!"
His words doused the hope that had just flared in Season Star and Tiga Lingyu. They sobered at once, but neither could still her racing heart.
"The guild leader... is he alive?"
Season Star's lips trembled, and tears blurred her vision.
She stared at that tiny speck as though she could sear it into her soul.
Tiga Lingyu slowly unclenched her fists, only to ball them up again. Her nails dug into her palms, and the pain kept her clearheaded. "Mr. Bruno, can you tell what's happening? The guild leader... how is he?"
Bruno's hands flew across the Control Console as he tried to extract more useful information from the chaotic stream of data.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. His brows were knitted tight, his expression grave.
"There's too little data... The energy interference in that area is too strong. It's a miracle our backup channel picked up even this much." Helplessness edged Bruno's voice, but beneath it lay excitement he could barely contain. "But the nature of this signal... it's strange. It doesn't match any energy signature Shadow has shown before. Instead... it feels more like a newborn power, sprouting from annihilation!"
"A newborn power?"
Season Star and Tiga Lingyu exchanged a look. Each saw the other's confusion—and a surge of joy too