Earth Star, downstairs from Qilin's home.
As if sensing something, Qilin looked up--
Azhui led Su Bai down slowly from the sky.
Unlike watching her through a livestream, this was Qilin's first time seeing a real angel with her own eyes.
Qilin couldn't help letting her gaze linger on Azhui for a moment:
Snow-white wings, battle armor shimmering with light, and an imposing air that could never belong to the mortal world...
Everything was different from what she had imagined, yet even more breathtaking.
At last, their feet touched the ground.
Su Bai immediately waved happily at Qilin:
"Qilin!"
Qilin came back to herself and walked over with a smile.
"You're back?"
Su Bai nodded vigorously, his eyes sparkling:
"Mm-hmm, I'm back!"
Qilin extended her hand, palm up, her voice gentle:
"Let's go. I promised you--a feast of snacks."
At that, Su Bai's eyes lit up instantly.
Without hesitation, he placed his hand in Qilin's palm and nodded hard:
"Mm!"
Qilin smiled faintly, then turned to Azhui beside her:
"Miss Angel...would you like to join us?"
The corners of Azhui's lips lifted slightly as she replied softly:
"Mm, thank you for the invitation, Miss Qilin. Just call me Azhui."
Night had deepened, but the lights along Snack Street had grown even more dazzling.
The aroma of food mingled with the voices of the crowd, creating the unique warmth and bustle of human life.
Qilin held one of Su Bai's hands, while his other hand was already pointing impatiently at a grilled squid stall in the distance:
"Qilin! That one!"
"I know, I know." Qilin answered with a laugh, but first turned to Azhui beside her.
"Do you have anything you don't eat, Azhui? Or is there anything special you'd like?"
Azhui gently shook her head and smiled.
"No need to make special arrangements for me, Qilin. I stayed on Earth for a long time, so I'm fairly familiar with it."
Hearing that, Qilin didn't ask any further. She simply let Su Bai pull her excitedly from one snack stall to another.
Compared with the relaxed and carefree pair,
"King, the vanguard squad...has lost contact." A Taotie Soldier knelt on one knee and reported to Shi Yan in a tense voice.
"Oh?" A trace of surprise flashed through Shi Yan's eyes. "Did they encounter resistance on the target, Earth Star?"
According to the intelligence they had gathered, Earth was merely an ordinary Pre-Nuclear Civilization. It should not have possessed the ability to wipe out a vanguard squad.
"No..." The soldier lowered his voice further. "They lost contact near the exit of the Great Wormhole Bridge near Pluto."
"Hm?" Shi Yan's mechanical eyes suddenly lit up.
Did this mean the vanguard squad had been destroyed before it had even begun probing Earth?
"Did they send back any images or data?" Shi Yan asked in a low voice.
The soldier shook his head. "N-no. The signal was completely cut off in an instant. No useful information was sent back."
Shi Yan fell silent for a moment as an ominous premonition quietly rose within him.
He waved his hand, signaling the soldier to withdraw.
In the empty main hall, Shi Yan's respectful voice rang out:
"My god."
A hooded phantom quietly appeared before him.
"Shi Yan, what is it?"
Carl's voice was indifferent and steady, giving away no emotion.
Shi Yan didn't dare delay in the slightest. He immediately reported the news he had just received truthfully:
"My god, the vanguard squad we dispatched to the Milky Way...has lost contact."
"They were completely wiped out near the Pluto Great Wormhole Bridge, and no useful intelligence was sent back..."
"And judging from the fact that the signal vanished in an instant, I speculate...they were very likely dealt with in a single moment."
After hearing Shi Yan's account, Carl seemed to take a slight interest.
"Oh? Dealt with in an instant..." he murmured softly. "There aren't many beings in the Known Universe with such strength."
Shi Yan remained silent and did not respond.
He thought the same.
It was just that he couldn't figure out the other party's motive for acting.
Angels? How could those self-proclaimed guardians of justice launch a surprise attack of their own accord?
Lieyang? They had never had any dealings with the Taotie. Why would they intervene?
Demons? Those fellows were busy avoiding the angels' pursuit. Why would they show themselves voluntarily?
Shi Yan waited quietly.
After Carl finished speaking, he directly activated the Great Clock and began making deductions.
Soon, fragments of the scene from before the vanguard squad's destruction were sent back.
But...
"Oh? An angel..." A hint of surprise seeped into Carl's voice. "That really is unexpected."
At that, the doubts in Shi Yan's heart grew even stronger.
It really had been the angels?!
But that completely contradicted the angels' usual style.
According to their conventions, the angels would intervene in a dispute only after the Taotie invaded a planet and that planet agreed to accept the protection of the "Justice Order."
"Hm?"
Before Shi Yan could continue pondering, Carl's slightly puzzled voice rang out again.
"Interesting..."
As if he had discovered something worth investigating, he issued an order to the Great Clock:
"Increase the processing power."
[Increasing processing power--] [Analysis in progress...] [Analysis progress 1%...1.01%...1.001%...]
"Stop."
[Stopping analysis of the target.]
"Shi Yan."
"My god." Shi Yan immediately bowed respectfully.
"Do not be anxious. Proceed according to the original plan." Carl's voice remained calm. "I will have Sno go over and assist you."
"Lord Sno?" A flash of astonishment crossed Shi Yan's eyes, immediately replaced by irrepressible excitement.
"Yes! My god! Your most loyal believer will surely offer you even more death!"
Carl gave an almost imperceptible nod before cutting off the communication.
The projection vanished, and silence returned to the main hall.
Only Shi Yan remained, his eyes burning with fervent light.
The angels were certainly powerful--
But in his heart, Death God Karl was the supreme existence of the Known Universe.
With Lord Sno personally taking action, this operation...was bound to succeed.
Academy of Death Songs.
After the communication ended, Carl's gaze remained locked on the deduction scene before him.
More precisely, it was fixed on the figure beside Angel Zhui in the scene--
The figure that remained blurred beyond recognition no matter how it was analyzed.
Even after mobilizing the Great Clock's full processing power, he still could not penetrate that layer of mist and see the target's true appearance.
The recording was very short:
Angel Zhui brought that blurred figure to the hiding place of the Taotie vanguard fleet. Then, the figure seemed to do something.
After that, the entire vanguard fleet fell into some kind of "stasis."
That was right. Not only could the target itself not be analyzed, but even regarding the method the other party had used, all Carl could obtain was a blurry image full of noise and devoid of meaning.
"An existence even the Great Clock cannot analyze..."
"And somehow connected to the angels..."
Carl muttered softly, his gaze deep within the shadows beneath his hood:
"Angels...this really is bad news."
Before you continue