The Thunder Javelin-like beam carved a clear diagonal trajectory through the atmosphere. Most importantly, it was incredibly fast. The sky flashed bright, then darkened again. By the time Long Qi's eyes adjusted, its leading edge had already crashed down somewhere on the horizon where earth met sky.
Long Qi yelped. "That Target Number One cleanup thing—this is how they clean it up? That's just cheating!"
"In theory, there was indeed no need to travel three hundred kilometers."
"What?"
Long Qi did not understand what Mountain Lord meant. But he had his own method of logical judgment. "Single shot or rapid fire? One shot, one kill, or..."
Since the Aberration Era began, no matter the type of attack, range and accuracy were merely icing on the cake. Ultimately, destructive power was the most direct measure. Otherwise, what was the point if it could not even penetrate an Aberrant Species' armor and Defense Force Field?
Before he could finish speaking—in truth, only four or five seconds after the beam had streaked across the sky—a faint tremor came from the ground. It could not be felt inside the jolting off-road vehicle. Yet Long Qi caught the detail from the ripples spreading across the surface of the Swamp Zone they had just passed.
Long Qi cursed, then simply pressed down harder on the accelerator. The wheels crushed through the mud as the vehicle charged toward the marked coordinates.
The vehicle's Smart Brain faithfully relayed the message from Mountain Lord's communicator:
``` Target Number One eliminated. Category Three Pollutants have overflowed. Environmental sterilization procedures are being prepared. Personnel, please proceed to your stations promptly.
Fortress has entered cruising mode. Target Number Two is being defined.
Multiple threat responses confirmed within the detection range. Manual identification is underway.
Reminder: Personnel, please proceed to your stations promptly.