Ghost Car

After accepting everyone's congratulations, Xun did not let joy go to her head. On the contrary, she was remarkably calm. She only asked whether studying under Luo Shan came with a stipend, because she still had a family to support and a sick father to care for.

Luo Shan seemed to have known about Xun's difficulties all along. Not only did she agree to apply to the Fortress for a stipend, she also promised to help get Xun's father admitted to a hospital once the mission was over.

Only then did the girl smile, relief easing her expression.

In the end, she left the tunnel with Luo Shan.

None of those who remained proved as fortunate, so Han Shu announced that recovery work would begin.

Two hours later, recovery of the Star Marrow Pillar was complete. It had been cut apart and properly stored.

When the last member of the Recovery Team left the tunnel, Tianyang and Han Shu's group also prepared to withdraw. Just then, a low, muffled sound came from deep inside the tunnel.

Tianyang immediately noticed the loose, silvery-gray strands over his forehead stirring gently.

"There's wind." The boy turned to look at Han Shu.

Han Shu's thick brows knitted together. He picked up his communicator and said, "Start all vehicles. Prepare to leave..."

Before he could finish, the tunnel suddenly shook. The violent tremors nearly knocked Tianyang and the others off their feet.

Cracks spread across the tunnel's vaulted ceiling, sending showers of sand and dust through the gaps.

The ground heaved section by section, as though a wave were rolling through it!

"Move! This place is coming down!" Han Shu roared, grabbing Tianyang and sprinting toward the exit.

They raced along the tunnel. Thunderous crashes erupted behind them as sections of it collapsed, one after another.

As he ran out of the tunnel, Tianyang glanced back. Dust billowed in its depths. In the darkness beyond, two faint lights appeared, like the headlights of a train.

Then the entire tunnel collapsed. The torrent of falling debris buried everything, leaving Tianyang no way to discover what he had just seen.

After he and Han Shu's group escaped the tunnel, the ground continued to crack. The collapsed area spread across nearly a hundred square meters before it finally stopped.

Standing at the edge of the collapsed road, Tianyang panted lightly and looked ahead. Almost an entire block of roadway had caved in.

The buildings in that area tilted every which way, like toy blocks knocked over by a mischievous child. Flying dust made the already murky world even harder to see.

Only then did Han Shu let out a breath. "Scared the hell out of me. For a second there, I thought I was going to be buried alive."

Old Xu patted his shoulder and laughed. "Looks like the War Lord isn't ready to receive you yet."

Han Shu snorted. "I'm not one of his worshippers anyway."

Then he sighed. "With the road wrecked like this, we can't use our original route. Looks like we'll have to go around, then..."

The ground began shaking again!

In the collapsed area three hundred meters ahead, a mound of rubble suddenly rose like a small hill. A second later, it burst apart, flinging stones of every size in all directions.

At that moment, a huge black shape erupted from the earth, hurtled through the air, and crashed into a building ahead of the convoy.

In that instant, Tianyang caught glimpses of dim yellow headlights, grime-covered train carriages, and enormously long arms!

He had no idea what it was, but fear and panic welled up instinctively-the natural human response to an overwhelmingly powerful creature.

The boy had held up relatively well. Some Recovery Team members and soldiers were so frightened that they fell straight onto their backsides. Clearly, they had seen it too.

A series of thunderous crashes came from the building the thing had struck. Several buildings in succession tilted, seemingly knocked down by its charge.

Han Shu turned and roared, "Don't just stand there! Get into the vehicles! Ready the energy cannons and Three-Dimensional Armament. All Ascenders, stay alert. We may have company!"

The convoy finally reacted. Several soldiers climbed into the Hunter Chariots and activated the Astral Flare Cannons, putting them on standby.

The Storm Squad's two units of Fifth-Generation Armament disembarked from their transport vehicles. Their pilots busily checked every function, preparing for combat.

The Ascenders from several squads formed a defensive formation with the remaining soldiers, watching the collapsed building nervously.

A tremendous metallic scraping sounded from within the building as something dragged against the rubble. Suddenly, a hideous hand, almost impossible to describe, reached out from behind a building and pressed against the ground.

Something writhed across that hand, though it was impossible to tell whether it was fluid or muscle. From a distance, it looked like a mass of fat maggots huddled together, squirming incessantly.

"Turn on every light! We need to see what we're fighting!" Han Shu roared.

The combat vehicles, the Recovery Team's vehicles, the Three-Dimensional Armament transports, and the field medical vehicle all switched on their lights, illuminating the area around that hand.

Then, at last, it emerged.

Tianyang did not know how to describe the thing before him. It resembled a gigantic, soft-bodied crawling creature, its body densely covered in fleshy growths that glowed yellow like Will Cages.

Its rear end was tucked into several metal carriages like a hermit crab in its shell. Yes, they were train carriages.

Through the carriage windows, they could see its dark green body. Human corpses still clung to its surface. They had not even been reduced to skeletons; only a thin membrane covered them.

That fleshy membrane joined seamlessly with the creature's body. It looked as though the train's passengers had now become part of it.

The creature's body was broad at the front and narrow at the rear, with more than a dozen enormously long arms growing along its sides. Their structure was no different from human arms. They could even see fingernails on every finger!

There was no telling where its head was, nor could they see anything resembling eyes. Beneath its body, however, was a horrifying mouth. When it opened fully, they could see three concentric rows of sharp teeth inside.

"What the hell is that thing?" Cang Du had been on several missions, but even he had never seen a monster like this. The ponytailed young man could not help shouting.

Old Xu's expression turned grim. "It's a Ghost Car... These Children of Darkness live underground and are especially fond of tunnels. They tuck part of their bodies into trains. Over time, the trains fuse with their bodies until separating them becomes almost impossible."

Han Shu cursed as well, then said, "The last reported encounter with a Ghost Car was eight years ago. Four Nightwalkers squads went in, and only three people survived. Two of them lost their minds. The remaining survivor described the entire encounter, but even he couldn't explain where this thing's Will Cage was!"

Chen Liu's voice came over the comms. "If we don't know, then just blanket it with everything we've got!"

Hearing Han Shu and Chen Liu's exchange, Tianyang recalled his fight with the Demon Hound. His ability, [Weakness Sense], could locate the Ghost Car's Will Cage, allowing them to concentrate their fire and destroy it!

But just then, a piercing shriek rang out. Every fleshy growth on the creature called the Ghost Car blazed with yellow light. Its arms churned in alternating strokes as it charged straight at their defensive formation...