Chapter 123

Kevin pondered, "Based on the previous situation, unless Ai Yue himself comes here, his attack range should not be enough to directly cover the entire factory. So as long as there is a time difference, the main control center can always preserve something."

That is indeed the case.

Prometheus quickly finished processing the remaining data in the main control center and then displayed it as a projection. Unfortunately, the content did not contain much intuitive information; it was mostly various text records, making it difficult to identify the problem at a glance, unlike the previous videos.

Fortunately, Prometheus himself can analyze this data.

"There are anomalies in the data here."

Prometheus bolded and enlarged one set of data and showed it to everyone. "This data is used to detect the Honkai Energy concentration near the factory. As you can see, in the instant before the factory stopped operating, the Honkai Energy concentration around it dropped precipitously."

"Does this once again confirm our suspicions?"

Elysia nodded. "As expected, Ai Yue's power will affect Honkai Energy."

"And this trajectory seems to be the trajectory of a long-range shot?"

Kevin looked thoughtful. "Could Ai Yue project his power in this way? Then the attack on the plane before must have been a similar situation."

"Furthermore, data shows that the factory actually only suffered one attack."

Prometheus projected the complete model of the factory, then outlined a passage-like structure in red. "This attack entered directly from above the factory gate, hitting the factory's energy system squarely, which then triggered an 'explosion,' paralyzing the factory."

"An explosion? But there are no signs of an explosion here,"

Kevin then looked around the factory again. "Could there be a mistake?"

"My description was incorrect. This explosion was not a physical explosion, but rather the attack itself caused a spread after hitting the energy system."

The image projected by Prometheus changed again. The red section, which originally ran in a straight line through the entire factory, suddenly spread out at the rear of the factory, turning half of the factory red.

"In other words, Ai Yue's power spread after hitting the energy system, causing the entire factory's energy system to dry up?"

Dr. Mei quickly realized what was happening, a hint of horror in her voice, "Power can be used like this?"

Among the Herrscher that humanity has encountered in the past, very few Herrscher have been able to manipulate their powers in a refined manner. They often wield their power recklessly, destroying everything in their path like the most brutal and savage beasts.

Even the most cunning Eighth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Consciousness, only planned to use a certain characteristic of power to try to pull all of humanity into a dream. However, Ai Yue is conducting some special research on power.

Although his methods so far haven't been particularly outrageous, this trend has given Dr. Mei a bad feeling.

"I don't want to admit it, but that's the truth. The factory has at least three independently operating energy systems inside, and it would have been impossible to destroy them all at once if it hadn't been done this way."

Prometheus said, "The good news is that if the trajectory of this attack still follows the laws of physics, then I might be able to trace back to its approximate location."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Rose."

Dr. Mei sighed, "Although I don't think Ai Yue could stay in the same place, it's at least a clue."

"But the most urgent task right now is to establish contact with Queen, isn't it?"

Elysia said, "As the person who currently has the information about Australia, Queen certainly knows far more than we do."

"I tried to activate a drone that was already mostly assembled."

Eden approached from afar, "But unfortunately, its internal circuitry and energy system were also destroyed. I'm afraid Ai Yue's power is far more terrifying than the data suggests."

"Then there's only one way left."

Dr. Mei shook her head. "Go to Star of Light, the last line of defense for Australia, and the location of Queen's mainframe. We should be able to contact her from there."

However, at this moment, Kalpas, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, "I don't recommend doing this."

"Why?"

Kevin asked in response, almost instinctively.

"...intuition."

Kalpas slowly uttered two words, seemingly knowing that this was not enough to convince everyone, "Haven't you felt it yet? We've already been targeted."

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

"Prometheus, can we analyze the time when this factory was paralyzed from the existing residual data?"

Dr. Mei was the first to react and looked directly at Prometheus.

"The exact time of the paralysis cannot be determined, but it can be judged based on the stamps,"

Prometheus said, "It was still operating at least five minutes before we arrived at the factory."

"So, the factory wasn't already paralyzed, but was attacked as we were moving towards it?"

Elysia realized at that moment, "Did we expose it?"

Compared to the others, Kevin reacted more decisively. He leaped up from the spot, smashed through the factory roof, and rose into the air. Then, he unleashed a huge burst of energy and swung his sword fiercely towards the Australia outback.

The raging flames transformed into a tangible firebird, which flew into the distance and then suddenly exploded in mid-air.

After doing all this, Kevin finally landed back on the ground.

"Ai Yue must have located us through some means, but we can't determine exactly what method he used,"

Kevin frowned. "If that's the case, then we really can't go to the Star of Light, because that might lure Ai Yue there as well."

He had just tried to use an energy burst to obscure any potential locking behavior from the other party. Although he didn't know how effective this method would be, it should at least mislead Ai Yue.

"But as the master of the Star of Light, how could Ai Yue not know its location?"

Elysia looked puzzled. "Could it be that the Star of Light can move?"

"That's true, Elysia."

Prometheus responded to her question, "The Star of Light is itself a mobile fortress, but it is usually half buried in the ground, so people don't know about it."

"Such explosive news, and you just said it so casually?"

Elysia gave a strange look. "I really want to say something, but I'm actually speechless for a moment..."

"In that case, the plan needs to be changed."

Kevin frowned. "Just like Kalpas said, if we are really being watched, then the most reasonable thing to do now is... to split up."

90

Chapter Ninety: Is it hidden well? As if hidden.

"Isn't doing this a bit too risky?"

Upon hearing Kevin's words, Dr. Mei immediately objected. "You already have a small number of people. If you split up, your combat strength will be further weakened!"

"But this is indeed the best way."

Kevin said, "No matter what means Ai Yue uses to target us, doing so will make him spend more energy, and once he thinks he has a chance to take us down one by one, he will easily expose his weaknesses."

"You mean, we should use this method to lure him into making the first move?"

Elysia shook her head. "Knowing Ai Yue as I do, he shouldn't fall for such a low-level trap."

"I think so too."

Kevin glanced at Kalpas had fallen silent again, and said, "If it weren't for Kalpas's reminder, we might still be being led by the nose by the other side."

If it weren't for Kalpas's intuition, Kevin and the others might have actually gone to look for the Star of Light experimental base. With Prometheus as their assistant, not only would it be much easier to find it, but they might even be able to make the Star of Light appear on its own through contact with Queen. In that case, Ai Yue's goal might be achieved.

If Ai Yue manages to destroy the Star of Light experimental base before Kevin and the others, the combat effectiveness of the drone swarm will be greatly reduced. Without the advantage of the drone swarm helping to clear the Honkai Beast, Ai Yue might not even need to show his face, and Kevin and the others might be trapped in the sea of Honkai Beast and unable to escape.

In that situation, if Ai Yue were to launch another sneak attack using his strange powers, the fate of everyone would be predictable.

"Although this may seem inappropriate at this time, I still have to ask a question,"

Eden, standing to the side, asked doubtfully, "Is Kalpas's intuition really that reliable?"

As a non-combatant, Eden had never had any contact with Kalpas before. All her knowledge of this man came from other people's accounts and impressions. Therefore, apart from knowing that he had an eccentric temper, was exceptionally strong in combat, and had not Fused Warrior, she didn't know much about Kalpas.

"This is not easy to explain."

Even in front of Kalpas, Dr. Mei's words were somewhat ambiguous, "But I believe his intuition is trustworthy."

"I also agree with taking Kalpas's opinion into consideration."

Sakura chimed in, "Besides, given the current situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light, being more cautious is definitely not a bad thing."

Let's get back to the main topic.

Kevin interrupted their conversation, "Choosing to split up isn't just about luring Ai Yue into action; more importantly, it's about trying to resolve the issue of us being targeted by the enemy."

The inability to pinpoint Ai Yue's location already made it difficult for Kevin and his team to proceed with the next phase of the operation, and now they're even being targeted by the enemy – it's practically a reversal of fortune.

If this problem cannot be solved, then their every move will be clearly exposed to Ai Yue. Even though Kevin is confident that with his strength he is not afraid of any unorthodox methods, he cannot help but waver when he thinks that the enemy he is facing is Ai Yue.

He owes his strength to Ai Yue's care. If he were to confront the enemy head-on when he is at a disadvantage in terms of intelligence, would he really have a chance to win?

"Tell me your specific plans."

Dr. Mei did not argue further. She knew that her experience in this area was far inferior to Kevin's. Since that was the case, it would be better to modify the plan according to the other party's plan and improve the success rate. "If everyone has no objections, then I will not object either."

"The plan is simple. First, we can confirm that Ai Yue only has Honkai Beast under his command, which are creatures that lack intelligence. Honkai Beast are unlikely to be of much help in tracking things like this."

Kevin explained, "In that case, the only ones who can lock onto us are Ai Yue himself and the technology he may possess."

"Are you planning to increase the cost and effort it takes for the other side to target us by splitting up your operations?"

Elysia understood Kevin's meaning. "So that means you don't plan to just split into two teams, right?"

"Yes, if possible, I would like everyone to disperse and move in different directions."

Kevin nodded. "The farther apart we are, the less likely Ai Yue is to track us all down. Once someone is out of his reach, things will take a turn for the better."

"But how can we be sure we've left his detection range?"

Sakura looked puzzled. "We don't even know how we were targeted."

"This... I'm still thinking about it."

Kevin's expression turned somewhat awkward. "But at least with the energy I just unleashed, Ai Yue can focus most of his energy on me, which will increase your chances of escaping the lock."

"What kind of split operation is this?"

Dr. Mei finally couldn't help but speak up, "Isn't this just using yourself as bait!"

Although she did not explicitly express her disagreement, even Kalpas could hear the strong opposition in her words.

Moreover, the feasibility of this plan is indeed not high, since even Kevin himself was hesitant when he spoke about it.

The atmosphere became tense again.

"Speaking of which, didn't Ai Yue include any means to deal with this kind of problem in his pre-planned scheme?"

Elysia suddenly came to her senses. "Since he could predict that he would become Herrscher, he should also be able to take some countermeasures against what will happen later, right?"

As if in response to Elysia's question, a gentle voice reached everyone's ears at that moment.

"He did anticipate this, but I'm a little late. Sorry, everyone."

"Su?"

Kevin was the first to react, then a look of joy appeared on his face. "Why are you here?"

Su was in charge of a new experimental project on the moon, which Kevin and the others all knew. Therefore, although Ai Yue had made arrangements for him as well, no one had high expectations for it.

But I never expected that he would actually be able to get here.

"Of course, it was Ai Yue's arrangement,"

Sue said with a smile, "However, I have just come down from the moon, and it will take me a little while to get to Australia."

"Su, do you mean Ai Yue arranged for you to solve the current problem?"

Elysia followed up with, "Do you have a way to help us evade Ai Yue's lock?"

"First of all, the term 'locked down' is not entirely accurate, because based on my observation, Ai Yue did not lock down your specific location."

Su said, "You should already have some understanding of Ai Yue's powers, right?"

Kevin nodded and then shared their guesses.

"That's where the problem lies."

Su said with a smile, "If this premise is true, then Ai Yue should have determined your location by the Honkai Energy waves emanating from your bodies."

"That makes perfect sense. The power to directly interfere with energy must also possess a keen perception of energy,"

Dr. Mei agreed with Su's conclusion, "Moreover, compared to ordinary people, the radiation readings on Fused Warrior are indeed much higher. Even if Ai Yue doesn't use his powers, given his ability level, I even suspect that he could use drone materials to temporarily build a monitoring system himself."

"Therefore, splitting up to act is not necessarily ineffective, but the risks and rewards are not proportional, and I do not agree with this plan."