Translator: CinderTL
"Arrogant!"
"This man is beyond contemptible!"
"He dared to kill Farrell right in front of us!"
In the heart of the cratered and collapsed ruins, Chen Feng's words ignited fury among the Federation Councilors and high-ranking military officers aboard the aircraft and warships.
They had already offered concessions and terms, yet this man dared to treat them as nothing?
Worse, he had publicly executed a legendary-grade mech warrior!
Even the usually composed Commissioner Moke's expression darkened as his gaze lingered on the blood mist where Farrell had exploded.
Farrell had been his most trusted general and loyal security chief.
Now that he was dead, the cost of training a replacement would be astronomical.
"Commissioner Moke?"
An Old Covenant Faction Councilor spoke from within the aircraft, his face flushed with anger and humiliation, urging Moke to uphold justice.
"Give the order!"
"If it comes to war, so be it!"
The voices of Councilors and hawkish military officers roared through the comms from the warships.
Moke's eyes flickered, the weight of their demands pressing down on him.
His gaze shifted, finally settling on the black-robed youth hovering in mid-air.
Whoosh!
With a casual gesture, the youth snatched away the bio-engineered eyeball sealing Andrei's consciousness.
As if a casual gesture could obliterate Andrei's consciousness, the New Covenant Faction members, who had been shouting for war moments before, froze mid-sentence, their expressions stiffening.
"This..."
Their faces shifting, the New Covenant Councilors exchanged uneasy glances.
Regardless of Andrei's flaws, he was a key asset to their faction, a top-tier combatant.
If most of his consciousness were erased, his combat power would plummet, rendering him unable to wield his peak form. He would regress to the level of an ordinary Legendary-grade warrior, or even a mere Flying General.
The atmosphere turned icy. Seeing Chen Feng's blade-like gaze, no one dared doubt his ruthlessness or resolve.
And, most critically...
Boom!!
A comet-like celestial body descended from the upper atmosphere, igniting the air with a thunderous roar.
The entire sky blazed into a sea of fire as a colossal shadow, stretching over ten thousand meters, engulfed everything. Even suppression-class warships seemed insignificant in its presence.
Instantly, alarms blared, red lights flashed violently within the warships and aircraft, and the vessels shuddered violently.
The crowd, moments before clamoring for war, now felt as if they had been plunged into an ice cellar. The legendary-grade modified human guarding Commissioner Moke's side wore a grave expression as he asked, "Commissioner?"
He felt an overwhelming pressure, uncertain if he could withstand such an attack.
The other members of the Old Covenant Faction reluctantly snapped out of their daze, their gazes shifting uncertainly before finally settling on Commissioner Moke, their leader.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The thunderous roar from outside reverberated through the cabin, shattering the silence.
The ten-kilometer-wide comet continued its descent, tearing through the atmosphere with gale-force winds and searing heat, growing ever closer.
Standing by the explosion-proof window, Commissioner Moke felt the tremors of the cabin shake beneath his feet.
Ignoring his subordinates' questions, he stared intently at the comet outside, his gaze locking with Chen Feng's.
Flames danced in his Scarlet Gold eyes, radiating an unyielding coldness and domineering arrogance.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Ten kilometers, one kilometer, hundreds of meters...
As time ticked by, the burning comet, like a celestial meteorite, hurtled closer.
Boom!
A fire hydrant in the street below exploded violently, sending a geyser of water skyward.
The crushing gravity suppressed everything. The light shield of the high-altitude warship shuddered violently, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface.
In Black Harbor City, neon-lit skyscrapers and floating staircases trembled and shook. The air visibly distorted, cracks snaked across the ground, and plumes of dust billowed into the sky.
The sheer power of this celestial force was palpable.
It felt like being caught in a tsunami, where every aircraft and warship was reduced to a small, bobbing boat under the overwhelming pressure.
A tremor ran through Commissioner Moke's heart, and he sighed inwardly.
Any lingering hope vanished as he felt Chen Feng's overwhelming dominance and his absolute ruthlessness, disregarding all consequences.
"Give me three days!"
Buzz!!
The high-altitude comet suddenly halted, sending shockwaves rippling across the city.
The warship shuddered, its light shield shattered. Federal military officers inside stared up at the colossal behemoth looming overhead, their faces pale. A flicker of relief flashed through their eyes as they were enveloped in its shadow.
Perceiving everything clearly, Chen Feng cast a cold glance at Commissioner Moke.
A gale raged, whipping his trench coat around him.
"One day."
"You have only one day."
Buzz!
As his words landed, the storm subsided.
He clenched his fingers around the biomimetic eyeball and slowly descended.
His black leather shoes crunched on the cracked asphalt road, flanked by collapsed buildings reduced to rubble.
Federal personnel huddled in corners, watching him with fear. Twisted, mangled vehicles lay scattered near broken utility poles and streetlights.
"C-Councilor Chen?"
Chairman Li Yun opened his mouth, the first to step forward from the dazed crowd.
Members of the delegation snapped out of their stupor and rushed forward, their eyes fixed on Chen Feng's young, virile face.
Gratitude, astonishment, admiration, awe, and worry—a complex mix of emotions flooded Chen Feng's perception. He surveyed the crowd before finally nodding.
"Let's go," he said.
"Back to the embassy."
Tap, tap!
Footsteps resumed as he led the group away, unhindered.
No one dared to stop them, not even the federal military personnel aboard the high-altitude warships and aircraft. Despite their fury and bulging eyes, they could only grit their teeth and watch helplessly.
Countless gazes followed Chen Feng's retreating figure as he boarded the motorcade, which slowly pulled away.
During the departure, someone instinctively looked up.
The colossal shadow had vanished, as if the meteor comet had never existed.
The turbulent winds subsided, and the scorching heat gradually dissipated.
The only remaining evidence of the earlier cataclysm were the shattered cloud layer stretching across the sky and the lingering wisps of crimson flame drifting away.
"Just one day..."
"Velatu is dead. The Roth Family won't accept this easily, will they?"
Inside an aircraft, the sole remaining white legendary withdrew his gaze and spoke in a low voice, offering a warning.
Commissioner Moke remained silent for several seconds, watching the Red Nation motorcade disappear completely.
"Do you think we had any room to object just now?" he finally asked calmly, his aged voice cutting straight to the heart.
The loyal white legendary paused, then let out a bitter chuckle.
"The Roth Family has always been a cornerstone of the New Covenant Faction."
"Now that Andrei is alive and Velatu is crippled, this is our opportunity."
Commissioner Moke's voice remained cold, suppressing his turbulent emotions and regaining his composure.
The loyal white legendary understood the implications, dimly foreseeing future conflicts and divisions within the New Covenant Faction.
With Farrell's death, the Old Covenant Faction had suffered a crippling blow, though not a complete collapse.
Now, the New Covenant Faction was clearly in no better shape.
"I understand," the white legendary nodded, saying no more.
Only then did the other occupants of the aircraft and warship begin to murmur among themselves.
Discontent, arguments, contradictions.
Amid the clamor, Commissioner Moke ended the communication, a question quietly surfacing in his mind.
Farrell had been a second-stage legendary modified human, an extremely rare and difficult talent to cultivate.
Yet despite the massive disturbance earlier, it had attracted no attention whatsoever, and the resulting compromise had met with no interference.
This was his lingering doubt, and he knew that many within both the New Covenant Faction and the Old Covenant Faction likely shared similar bewilderment.
Commissioner Moke stood by the window, gazing up at the crimson haze-tinged sky, now gradually returning to its twilight hues.
Why didn't those five exalted and mighty beings intervene earlier?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Simultaneously, in an undisclosed underground experimental base, a series of explosions echoed relentlessly. White-coated researchers scrambled in panic, cold sweat soaking their bodies.
"How could this happen?" Ouna exclaimed, her face pale with shock. Beside her, Mr. Longjia, a legendary-grade security personnel, stared in stunned silence at the experimental light wall.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the display instruments, and precision mechanical components exploded one after another, rapidly shutting down.
The source of this chaos?
The virtual ocean within the light wall had erupted into a series of tsunamis.
The once-brilliant, crescent-shaped sun was now rapidly dimming, defying all attempts to stop its descent.
Life magnetic field, consciousness fluctuations, energy level data—all parameters plummeted precipitously, nearing zero.
This catastrophic scenario had completely defied the expectations of everyone present.
Has Master Velatu been killed?
The unthinkable thought flashed through their minds. The white-coated researchers paled further, gripped by terror.
"No! It can't be!"
Ouna finally snapped out of her daze, her face pale as she turned to the senior modification experiment experts within the Roth Family.
"We have to find a way!"
"By any means necessary, we must retrieve Master Velatu's consciousness!"
Her voice was nearly hysterical, betraying a panic and confusion she herself didn't realize she felt.
If even Master Velatu had fallen at that man's hands, and the means of consciousness descent had been countered and destroyed...
How could they possibly face such an enemy in the future?
Beside her, Longjia's heart trembled violently, his composure shattered. The calm and collected demeanor he once possessed had vanished completely.
Three second-tier legendary figures had joined forces, only to be severely wounded. Could that Martial Artist truly be a monster?
Hum!
At that moment, as if receiving a signal, a light screen materialized, hovering within the experimental base.
"What exactly is going on here?"
The stern inquiry came from the middle-aged white man on the screen, his face contorted with fury.
Ouna and the others froze, until one of the experiment experts forced himself to explain.
The atmosphere plummeted into icy silence.
Immediately afterward, another light screen appeared, displaying an elderly white man in silk robes and a curly-haired woman in a long black dress.
One by one, the core power holders of the Roth Family received the news and immediately projected themselves into the room.
"Velatu was supposed to be working with Andrei. How could he have failed too?"
"Who authorized his mission?"
"I knew this would happen! Now how are you going to explain this?"
A chorus of angry accusations erupted. Ouna's face paled, while the middle-aged white man who had arrived first—the Roth Family Head—wore a grim expression.
"Enough!" he barked, cutting off the recriminations. He turned to the experimental expert. "What about the consciousness seeds we preserved?"
His cold tone made Ouna's face tighten, but a flicker of hope suddenly appeared in her eyes.
Longjia and the other family executives also turned to the expert.
This was the latest technology, capable of preserving the Origin Fire Seeds of high-level consciousnesses. Though still unstable, they had invested heavily in its development, striving to safeguard these vital essences.
"We've already begun the revival process!" the expert replied urgently. His assistants manipulated the remaining intact equipment, attempting to awaken the consciousnesses.
In an instant, all eyes turned to the luminous screen. Within the extinguished sun, a faint glimmer of light suddenly appeared.
The plummeting data abruptly halted, even beginning a slow climb.
The stern middle-aged man's expression softened slightly, and the other core executives, who had been poised to voice their objections, nodded in agreement.
Ouna, who had remained silent throughout, exhaled in relief, a flicker of gratitude in her eyes.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness Lord Father had insisted on preserving a backup Fire Seed, no matter the cost.
There had been resistance at the time, but now...
"No!"
Suddenly, the experimental expert's enraged shout shattered the moment, his face contorting in horror.
Everyone froze, then saw a wisp of Scarlet Gold flame materialize within the light wall's projection.
A moment of stunned silence.
Then—
Boom!!
The light wall shattered, and the newly awakened consciousness seed instantly disintegrated into chaotic electromagnetic waves.
Instrument fragments rained down as the entire laboratory shook violently, threatening to collapse.
Ouna's face froze, the hope in her eyes extinguished like a snuffed candle.
The Roth Family's core executives darkened, their eyes burning with fury and cold malice.
"What a Martial Artist!" Ouna's father growled, his gaze radiating bone-chilling killing intent.
No one doubted the identity of the murderer, but they were also deeply shaken by the so-called martial arts techniques.
The Deep Sea was an intangible virtual realm. How could someone with a flesh-and-blood body achieve such a feat?
As the thought flashed through their minds, a core member of the Roth Family glared coldly, seeking revenge.
"Velatu couldn't even stand against him. Who do you propose we send to their death?" Ouna's father warned coldly, sending a chill through the group as the critical point struck home.
Velatu had been annihilated in a direct confrontation, while Andrei couldn't even resist, his consciousness sealed. Farrell had even sacrificed his life in the attempt.
Such an enemy...
"Are we just going to stand by and let him humiliate us like this?" Another core member, unable to contain his anger, retorted coldly.
Ouna trembled, instinctively looking up at her father.
"Of course not."
Unexpectedly, Ouna's father didn't argue further. Instead, he sent a message that appeared on everyone's communicators:
"The New Covenant Faction has reached an agreement with the Old Covenant Faction. They demand we hand over Han Mingchuan tomorrow in exchange for Andrei."
"We have no choice but to comply."
As the words landed, the group's expressions varied, but most furrowed their brows in displeasure.
"Cooperate? Just let it go like that?"
"No."
Seeing their confusion, Ouna's father shook his head coldly.
"How we cooperate is our own affair."
"Moreover..."
His gaze turned icy as he gestured for them to finish reviewing the information.
Ouna and the others exchanged puzzled glances before scrolling down to reveal several surveillance images.
The footage showed an underground base under attack. Unidentified assailants had killed Sixth-Tier security personnel, seemingly using some form of martial arts.
Near the estate, hidden sentries had also detected signs of surveillance and stalking. A grainy image captured from a high-rise rooftop showed a fleeting glimpse of a human figure.
"He wants to take Han Mingchuan?"
"Then let's see if he dares to make that choice."
The cold words echoed through the room, and the group relaxed, a hint of vengeful smiles creeping across their faces.
However, some still harbored concerns, imagining the worst-case scenarios.
Ouna's father offered no further explanation, his gaze shifting to the opposite side of the laboratory.
There, at great expense, lay another Virtual Deep Sea—a simulated ocean realm.
Only he knew its exact location; others could only observe it remotely through monitoring data.
Splash!
As if sensing their focused gazes, a blinding light suddenly erupted from the pitch-black wall.
It was a crimson sun, seething with boundless madness.
Now, it was blooming wildly within the Virtual Deep Sea, growing ever brighter.
Dark spots began to surface on its surface, unsettling those who watched. Upon closer inspection, they realized these were chains of consciousness coiling around it—ten, a hundred, a thousand.
Ouna's heart trembled, and fear flickered in her eyes.
The other high-ranking members of the Roth Family also stiffened, their expressions shifting.
A dark memory resurfaced in their minds as the underground base returned to its icy silence.
(End of the Chapter)
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