Mister Zero, Her Story: Chapter 67 – Anomaly at the Furnace
“Who?”
Luo Yan struggled to regain her senses, but to no avail.
She could only drag herself out of the ice coffin, her body heavy, and instinctively stumbled out of the small room.
The dimly lit Wall of Resentment was the same as before, but now Luo Yan could see clearly without using the breathing technique.
Or rather, the surroundings appeared directly in her mind, not through her vision.
The narrow corridor could barely fit two or three people side by side. Extinguished oil lamps hung on the walls, and the smooth floor was spotless.
Luo Yan clutched her head, her body heavy, each step a struggle.
She stumbled towards the exit, the closed doors of the Wall of Resentment offering no resistance.
After a brief moment of dizziness, she stepped outside.
The relentless downpour showed no signs of stopping, but as the rain was about to fall on Luo Yan, it parted around her, as if in fear.
She stood in the rain, miraculously dry, not a single drop touching her clothes.
“Where… am I going…?”
Luo Yan’s mind was filled with a jumble of fragmented thoughts and sensations, her senses overwhelmed, only her sixth sense—her spiritual perception—remaining clear.
In her spiritual vision, a towering structure nearby shone like a beacon.
“Is this… my destination…?”
Luo Yan looked up at the Ember Furnace, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
But her body moved before her mind could process.
Her stiff limbs moved unnaturally, her stumbling figure approaching the Ember Furnace, unnoticed by anyone.
All the guards, including Sun Biwu atop the Furnace, were blind to her presence.
No one could focus on Luo Yan; she stumbled into the Ember Furnace unchecked.
Inside the Furnace, the chaotic memories and images in Luo Yan’s mind finally stabilized, no longer fragmented pieces and tangled threads, but coherent memories.
She saw small, frail figures around her, a tall, silent figure before her, cold yet warm buildings rising from the ground, a blurry impression lingering in her memory…
This was… home.
She had a home.
She was home.
Joy and warmth filled Luo Yan’s heart, faint cheers echoing in her ears, celebrating the birth of their “home.”
But then, the joy and cheers faded, and the newly built “home” was consumed by an eternal flame, engulfing everything, including everything she held dear.
“No…”
Luo Yan instinctively reached out, trying to save it.
But a silent figure appeared before her, blocking her path.
Luo Yan looked up and saw a face.
Not beautiful, ordinary even, with a fierce, almost cruel, expression.
The face looked at her with cold, indifferent eyes, its lips moving, as if speaking.
But Luo Yan couldn’t hear.
Chaotic memories flooded her mind, consuming her thoughts.
Even her spiritual perception, her only clear sense, was overwhelmed, its final feedback a warning of her impending loss of control.
But just then, a familiar, old voice echoed in Luo Yan’s ear, filled with shock.
“S-Sister…?”
Mister looked at the small, icy-blue figure swaying before him, his usually calm demeanor replaced by shock and disbelief.
He had never expected to see his sister… like this… again.
Chaotic yet pure spiritual energy surged within her frail body, restrained, yet its powerful fluctuations emanated from the Ember Furnace, instantly spreading throughout Yan City.
…
Meanwhile, at the Yan City wartime command center.
Located dozens of meters underground, the command center was the most secure location in Yan City, besides the Wall of Resentment, only activated during emergencies.
In the decades since Yan City’s founding, it had only been used a handful of times.
But in the past two months, it had been activated twice.
Dozens of small rooms, connected by a network of corridors, housed hundreds of government officials and Anomaly Management Bureau personnel, working tirelessly.
Li Ping, the commander-in-chief, sat in a small room at the bottom, multiple screens displaying rapidly changing information before him.
His expression was serious; numerous anomaly reports had just arrived.
“Intense spiritual energy reaction detected near the ‘Ember Furnace’ in Yan City’s core district, exceeding ‘Peril’ level and still rising!”
“Large energy fluctuations detected near the ‘Wall of Resentment,’ suspected activation of the ‘Ice Coffin Weapon’!”
Despite these alarming reports, Li Ping remained calm, only sighing softly.
“Has Mister… entered…?”
Li Ping tapped his fingers on the desk, his seemingly calm demeanor betrayed by his increasingly rapid tapping.
“Yes,” Lin Cheng’s voice on the communication channel was unusually tense. “But I didn’t expect such a strong reaction…”
“After all, this is the passing of an ancient legend, it can’t be… quiet, can it?” Li Ping rubbed his temples. “Anyway… we can’t stop him, no, not even Noah’s sanctuary could probably keep him out, could it?”
“That’s true… but I’m worried these fluctuations will destroy Yan City…”
Lin Cheng sighed. He had maintained a calm facade during his conversation with Mister, but inwardly, he had been terrified.
After all, he was facing one of humanity’s strongest…
And this “one of” might not even be accurate… he could very well be the strongest.
It was always best to overestimate an ancient being who had lived since the Old Era.
Such a being wasn’t something Yan City could handle, even “Noah” would need at least three of their top-ranked Saints to confront him.
If Mister had even a sliver of malice, Yan City was doomed.
“Well, before entering, Mister did say he hoped we would continue to build this place, so he probably won’t destroy Yan City on his way out,” Lin Cheng shook his head, dismissing the thought, then recalled his brief conversation with Mister.
…Mister was indeed Mister. Having lived for so long, his perspective was no longer limited to the petty squabbles between “Dawn” and the “Free Federation.”
Lin Cheng had sensed a grandfatherly kindness and concern from Mister.
But for this war between Dawn and Yan City, he, nearing the end of his life, could no longer exert any influence.
“We anticipated this, and Mister’s attitude was more amicable than we expected,” Lin Cheng composed himself and asked, “What’s the current situation?”
Li Ping took a deep breath.
“The second line of defense is holding, and the reinforcements from Qing City will arrive in half an hour, about the strength of a Dawn team, but in this situation… it’s just a drop in the bucket.”
Qing City was twelve hours away via the lifeline; assembling and sending reinforcements within ten hours of the war starting was already a remarkable feat.
And having the equivalent strength of a Dawn team didn’t mean they could defeat one.
In war, even a slight advantage in power could be decisive.
A one-on-one resulting in mutual destruction didn’t mean a two-on-one would result in a fifty percent victory.
It would be a complete victory.
Before the balance of power shifted significantly, another team wouldn’t make much difference…
But they were still reinforcements, and reinforcements meant hope.
And besides Qing City, other mega-cities were also sending aid.
More importantly, Yan City’s strongest trump card, Hua Qingling, was on her way back.
She wasn’t like Sun Biwu, whose “Peril” level was achieved through secret techniques and drugs. With the “Ember’s” power amplifying her abilities, she could even hold off Dawn’s top two Cadres for a while.
According to the information from “Noah” and the current situation, Dawn’s top-ranked Cadres weren’t involved in this war.
At least the top two were occupied with another matter.
“In short, time is on our side,” Li Ping’s expression relaxed slightly. “The scales of victory… are tipping in our favor.”
“Mm… I just hope it ends soon,” Lin Cheng sighed. “The ‘Ember’ has already overexerted itself, and with Mister’s… consumption… I’m worried that Yan City’s development will be stalled for at least ten years.”
Although the “Ember’s” energy was practically limitless, its output rate was limited.
Like a well that produced a fixed amount of water every day, endlessly.
But now, in a state of war, that wasn’t enough.
Therefore, Yan City had used a special technique to stimulate the “Ember,” increasing its output temporarily.
But this stimulation had side effects. Afterward, the “Ember” would weaken, its output significantly reduced.
Combined with the war’s destruction and the loss of life…
The cost would be far greater than losing District Two during the “Ghost Town” incident.
If possible, Yan City didn’t want to prolong this war, even though time was on their side.
The longer it lasted, the greater the cost.
“Then let’s pray… there are no more… unpleasant surprises,” Li Ping shook his head. “We can still handle the current losses…”
Before he could finish, a sharp alarm blared from the communication channel, startling both Li Ping and Lin Cheng.
“Li Ping! You and your jinxing mouth!”
Lin Cheng glared at him.
“How was I supposed to know?!”
Li Ping was also stunned. He had just been making a casual remark; he hadn’t expected it to actually happen.
This was a top-secret command channel; unless it was an emergency, no one besides them could access it (Qin Wen’s earlier intrusion being an exception).
In other words, any incoming communication… meant it was so urgent that it couldn’t follow the standard reporting procedures and had to be relayed directly to the highest command.
Despite their shock, they didn’t hesitate and immediately answered the call.
“Beep… beep…”
“Director-General Li! City Lord! Look… look out the window!”
A panicked, breathless voice came through, filled with terror.
“The window?”
Li Ping and Lin Cheng looked out the window simultaneously.
A beautiful, starry night sky, a crescent moon hanging in the tranquil night, a scene of peace and serenity.
…Wait, a starry sky?
Wasn’t it pouring just now…?
“Just now… the rain… it suddenly stopped!” the communicator continued, his voice trembling. “And then, on the western side of the second line of defense… a sandstorm appeared!”
A sandstorm?
Yan City wasn’t in a desert; where would a sandstorm come from…?
Could it be… some kind of ability?
Li Ping and Lin Cheng’s breaths hitched as they realized a terrifying truth.
This torrential rain, which had forced Yan City to consolidate its defenses in the core district, wasn’t a natural disaster, but a man-made one!
How powerful would someone have to be to create such a massive, prolonged downpour…?
“The sandstorm has breached the western front, our defenders…”
The communicator’s voice became increasingly faint, until only static and fragmented words remained. “Retreating… failed… casualties…”
“Beep… beep… beep…”
The connection was lost.
This was a direct line from the front lines. A lost connection meant…
“The western front line has collapsed! Detecting spiritual energy fluctuations exceeding ‘Peril’ level! High probability of an ‘Destruction’ level ability user!”
How… was this possible?
Only the sound of rapid breathing remained on the channel.
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