"The Hall of Supreme Harmony is ready."
Xu Yuan spoke into the walkie-talkie.
Several breaths passed.
A voice came over the radio:
"Our airliner is ready too. Are we clear to take off?"
"Go. Remember to parachute out in time," Xu Yuan said.
"Copy that."
The call ended.
Then came the long wait.
A few minutes later,
A roar of aircraft suddenly came from Heaven.
The plane!
The Civilian Airliner Xu Yuan had prepared rose slowly into Heaven, accelerating away from Border City toward the distant horizon.
Xu Yuan held the walkie-talkie and waited in silence.
A voice sounded beside his ear:
"Third time."
This was the third time the emperor had mobilized people to help.
Xu Yuan's mouth twitched.
You're awfully petty for an emperor.
Isn't this serving the people? Isn't it keeping your Imperial Dynasty stable?
No fun!
A voice crackled over the walkie-talkie:
"An Oddity has appeared. Repeat, there's an Oddity on the plane!"
Xu Yuan spoke:
"Proceed with the original plan—"
"Detonate!"
Boom!
At the edge of the city, deep in Heaven, a deafening explosion rang out.
The plane packed with bombs had exploded!
Countless Ghost Entities swarmed over to investigate.
But—
the Hall of Supreme Harmony stood in the exact opposite direction, on the far side of Border City's central axis!
That explosion was what Xu Yuan had been waiting for.
"Now."
He patted Jingzhe.
Jingzhe had long since grown impatient. His spirits surged, and he bellowed:
"Everyone aboard!"
The little girl, Jiang Xueyao, Yang Xiaobing, Zhang Pengcheng, and Qianqian's group of three climbed onto the dragon's back along with Xu Yuan.
Jingzhe soared into Emptiness and burst out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
"Jingzhe, fly close to the ground."
A thought struck Xu Yuan, and he spoke suddenly.
This breakout could not afford