Lin Shuo sat in the cockpit, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.
Suddenly, a solemn voice came through the earpiece.
"... Major Lin, let me confirm this with you one last time."
"There is severe signal interference within the Erosion Zone. We can currently only transmit radio signals up to about 50 kilometers, while the target area is located 500 kilometers away."
"This means that beyond 50 kilometers, for the remaining distance, you can only rely on the onboard map and your personal experience to judge the distance yourself..."
"Do you understand?"
Lin Shuo opened his eyes and replied:
"I see!"
So, are you ready?
"Ready!"
"Well..." the voice in the headset seemed more serious now, "Please!"
"Um."
With a heavy sigh, Lin Shuo looked up at the figures at the end of the track.
Raise your hand in salute.
The other party returned the gift at almost the same time.
A moment later, the bomber shot straight up into the clouds.
"Maintain course... Altitude stable... Signal strength beginning to weaken..."
Communication was relatively clear at the beginning.
However, as the odometer ticked, the sound coming through the headset gradually became blurry and distorted.
The noise became increasingly dense, and finally, after a certain critical point, the sound disappeared.
All that remained was the roar of the engine and the flow of his own blood.
Lin Shuo took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure.
He continued flying forward, following the onboard map.
I initially thought the target would be a bit difficult to find, but once I got closer, I realized it wasn't difficult at all.
The moment Lin Shuo saw it, he knew he had found his target!
Towering peaks, tens of thousands of meters high, stand proudly on the earth...
Lin Shuo started moving, maneuvering the aircraft forward while simultaneously pulling it upward.
A moment later, an alarm suddenly sounded inside the cabin.
Lin Shuo frowned.
Are some altitudes exceeding the maximum altitude for stable flight?
After some thought, he decided to maintain the current altitude for the time being and then continue to climb when they were close to their destination.
As they drew closer, Lin Shuo saw the road leading to the mountaintop and the numerous Calamity Beast.
However, these Calamity Beast did not stay at very high positions; they were generally not seen above two-thirds of the way up the mountain.
Why didn't these Calamity Beast continue upwards?
Lin Shuo was a little puzzled, but he didn't dwell on it; he just needed to carry out his mission.
Under the watchful eyes of those raised heads, the aircraft began to climb, and the alarm sounded again.
But this time, Lin Shuo ignored it.
The aircraft shook violently, and the alarm blared.
Lin Shuo pushed the control lever forward with all his might, watching the mountain rise higher and higher in front of him.
Finally, he saw the view from the mountaintop.
I initially thought this mountain was like some volcanoes where the summit collapsed, but the reality seems to be...
Was it cut open?
and...
Looking at the white palace that stood a thousand meters high, and the figure with open eyes looking towards it.
Even though they were quite far apart, Lin Shuo inexplicably felt that the other person had seen him.
What was the purpose of that palace?
There really is a Sixth Tier Calamity Beast guarding this place! If it chases after me, I might not be able to escape!!
The base has no information on this palace. Should I fly back now?
Lin Shuo's body trembled slightly, his mind filled with all sorts of thoughts, making him momentarily forget what he was supposed to be doing.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed before his eyes, and Lin Shuo came back to his senses.
He quickly checked the distance.
Fortunately, although we're almost there, there's still some distance to go.
Lin Shuo couldn't help but ponder the question he had just asked.
Although he had been informed in advance that this mission was highly likely, he still felt some hesitation and fear when he actually faced the moment.
Should I go back?
But... if I fly back myself, the other Calamity Beast might not be able to catch me. Those Sixth Tier Calamity Beast could definitely keep up with me...
Just then, a black shadow, like a whip, swept past his eyes again.
Lin Shuo was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked down in the direction from which the whip shadow had swept.
That one glance was enough to make him freeze in place.
In my field of vision, fleshy blisters were rising from the hand holding the joystick, and what had just swept past my eyes was a tentacle extending from the arm.
Lin Shuo stiffly looked up and, with the faint reflection from the windshield, saw his face.
Similar to the situation on his arms, fleshy blisters also appeared on his face, like worm-like growths wriggling on his face.
A strange yet familiar power stirred within him.
Is this... out of control?
Lin Shuo suddenly remembered what the staff member had told him when he exchanged Origin Crystal at the base before.
Each person can only attempt to awaken using Origin Crystal three times; exceeding this will result in loss of control!
But I clearly realized that after failing to awaken, I was already...
Seemingly remembering something, Lin Shuo looked ahead, gazing into the interior of the palace.
Chaos, Distortion...
"Ha, ha, ha ha ha..."
Lin Shuo suddenly burst into laughter. He didn't know why he was laughing, but he just couldn't control himself.
During this process, the speed at which his body underwent changes accelerated even further.
Lin Shuo realized that something was wrong with his condition, and that even if he went back, he might not be able to recover.
He looked at the palace, which seemed almost close due to its immense height, and laughed maniacally:
"Come on! Come on!! Let's die together!!!"
With his frenzied roar, the automatic doors beneath the bomber opened, and a nuclear bomb slowly descended.
Before the palace, the towering lion-shaped figure frowned and slowly stood up.
"Pop--"
Ripples, like waves on water, swept across everyone's eyes.
Shen Heng stood on the track, slightly startled, and turned his gaze to Zhou Zhenguo beside him.
"It seems the operation at Number Three City has ended!" Zhou Zhenguo said slowly.
He also saw the same ripple from before, the ripple that represented spatial fluctuations.
With increasingly accurate data from equipment that detects stable spatial conditions, they can now precisely determine the yield of a nuclear bomb that can be dropped without damaging the Erosion Zone.
Shen Heng turned his gaze back to the two bombers in front of him and said:
Were these two aircraft carrying nuclear weapons?
"No, if things go smoothly, we might need to go out and bomb frequently. Where are we going to drop so many nuclear bombs?" Zhou Zhenguo said.
"This time, if it weren't for the desire to make the Sixth Tier Calamity Beast realize that we have the ability to threaten their important locations, and thus make them defend those places as much as possible, we wouldn't have dropped the nuclear bomb!"