Chapter 311: Nuclear Strike
The sunlight was dazzling, the ten-mile silver beach offering a stunning seascape, yet there weren't many people around at this time.
Dongxia's real estate economy had weakened over the past two years, and most investors who had once flocked to the Ten-Mile Silver Beach under the jurisdiction of Weihai City had met their Waterloo here.
Nowadays, aside from a few young people lying flat and living transient lives, popularity was very low. In some seasons, you could hardly see any signs of life in certain residential compounds.
At this moment, under a solitary sunshade planted on the beach, a man with messy hair cascading down his back and sunglasses on his face lay on a lounge chair, hands behind his head, drinking fresh coconut juice.
There were many white granules condensed on his skin—likely salt crystals left after soaking in the sea for a long time and drying in the sun.
"Zhiyuan, sunbathing again..."
On the beach, an old man picking up trash looked at this decadent fellow with a helpless tone.
In this city, apart from those lying-flat youths, only old people of his age who didn't want to leave their hometown remained.
He usually picked up trash on the beach, both to maintain the 'city appearance' and to exercise.
But he was a 68-year-old man with no more pursuits in this world. This An Zhiyuan, who looked only thirty or forty, being so decadent made him unable to watch.
An Zhiyuan turned over, ignoring the old man's rambling. He simply said:
"Uncle Mo, don't worry about the beach these few days. Go stay with your son in the provincial capital for a while. Let me have some peace and quiet."
Uncle Mo knew the other party found him nagging, but when one gets old, one tends to have a lot of misplaced 'good intentions.' He walked under the man's sunshade, intending to continue his lecture.
But in the next moment, a low sonic boom exploded from the sky.
The source was extremely high up, yet the sound of the air being torn apart still reached them.
Uncle Mo shielded his eyes from the sun and looked at the sky. He only saw something resembling a comet speeding through the azure sky, the trail cloud behind it almost slashing a giant tail across the blue expanse.
"Young An, is that...?!"
Uncle Mo had lived a long life, but he had truly never seen such a thing appear before.
An Zhiyuan sighed. He knew the world situation had reached its worst point.
The first true collision between Reincarnators and national-level military power had finally begun.
Unlike the petty squabbles of so-called high-risk Reincarnators in the past, or the punishments where countries blacklisted individuals from entry.
This was an attack genuinely intended to test if the other side could be annihilated.
"Uncle Mo, you're sleepy. Take a nap first."
Uncle Mo didn't hear the answer he wanted. Baffled, he insisted his energy was fine.
"I'm not... sleepy... ah..."
As he said the last word, immense drowsiness surged in his heart, and he fell into a deep sleep.
An Zhiyuan placed the old man on his chair and thoughtfully put the sunglasses on him. Then, he took a step forward and arrived in the sky.
Standing above the sea of clouds, he watched the intercontinental ballistic missile carrying a nuclear warhead tear through the sky, bombarding the South Pacific from tens of thousands of kilometers away.
Silver-white luster flowed in his eyes, as if massive streams of information were constantly appearing, operating, and calculating.
This battle would bring huge changes to the future world pattern. Even he couldn't stay out of it.
At this moment, he could see a large number of Reincarnators waiting for the result through various means.
"One by one, really worrying..."
Watching the ICBM flying at supersonic speed, An Zhiyuan suddenly raised his hand and pointed remotely at the missile.
"That's not like you, Old Salted Fish~"
A hearty voice appeared. A man wearing flowery shorts, flip-flops, and revealing lean, bronzed muscles broke through the sea of clouds and arrived here as well.
Even though the move was very subtle, he still sensed it. An Zhiyuan had manipulated probability and influenced reality.
An Zhiyuan didn't need to turn around to know who had appeared. He couldn't be bothered to explain, only saying:
"Possessing the power to stop everything, yet you three just watch helplessly as it all happens. Such conduct truly brings shame to [Azure Sky]."
"Hey, hey. You, a stinky salted fish who quit the gathering halfway, have no right to say such things."
The two were clearly old acquaintances, their conversation very familiar.
Cao Qi, the founder of [Azure Sky] and one of the most mysterious top-tier Reincarnators in the Nexus. Although he didn't hold the title of [Supreme Being], he had coordinated conflicts between Supreme Beings with the leaders of [Destiny] and [Virtuality's Throne] many times.
An Zhiyuan turned around. Behind him was a boundless sea of clouds surging wildly. With the sun behind him, An Zhiyuan looked especially dazzling at this moment. Cao Qi pretended to shield his eyes from the glaring sunlight, but he was actually hiding the nostalgic look in his eyes.
Only at moments like this could he see a few traces of the past in An Zhiyuan.
"The world always changes, doesn't it?"
Cao Qi stepped on the air above the cloud sea, speaking meaningfully.
"Even if we stopped [The Final Day], [Silent Fate] would do the same. Even if we stopped [Silent Fate], perhaps [Blossoming荼蘼] would also walk this path."
"The rise of Reincarnators cannot be stopped. The world's order cannot be maintained forever. I am merely... conforming to the development of fate."
He seemed to be explaining himself, or perhaps describing an inevitable trend.
Hearing the other party's words, the emotion on An Zhiyuan's face vanished.
Often, people who had glimpsed [Fate] lost all motivation—whether it was the motivation to live or the motivation to speak.
Things like [Fatalism] were boring and disgusting.
An Zhiyuan took one last look at his old friend and didn't attempt to do anything more. He had merely ensured that this single missile would definitely hit its target. That was all.
"Cao Qi, I hope you guys won't regret it..."
Cao Qi watched An Zhiyuan leave without stopping him. Those with different paths cannot make plans together. They had long ceased to be people on the same road. Besides...
He shook his head with a bitter smile.
"You really overestimate me. For an event of this scale, how could I possibly see all the possibilities? Any tiny change will lead to a vastly different final outcome."
Reincarnators were a group extremely difficult to estimate. There were too many anomalies and lunatics in this group who couldn't be judged by common sense.
Some threw terrifying cursed objects and memes into the real world just because it was 'interesting.'
Others, just to 'support their family,' wore seven or eight different masks, eventually unable to distinguish their own faction.
And some were pure perverts, finding joy in abusing the weak.
But there were also those who, due to their great power, developed higher and stricter moral pursuits, becoming heroes and knights who helped the weak in the darkness.
With so many Reincarnators, anyone could change the direction of the ending in this battle.
At this very moment, perhaps many teams were secretly plotting something.
Cao Qi simply sat down on the sea of clouds. The rolling clouds beneath him changed shape, transforming into a giant sailing ship. He sat at the bow, waved his hand, and the ship made of clouds began to sail across the cloud sea.
"My Lord, the USS Kennedy Carrier Strike Group has appeared in the South Pacific."
A giant artificial island covering an area of over 100,000 square kilometers appeared in the South Pacific with a perfectly circular shape almost impossible in a natural environment.
The ground was completely black. Although construction hadn't started everywhere, various buildings were rising all over, and land planning was complete.
The periphery of the island flashed with the light of a massive barrier.
This was the location of [The Final Empire].
The huge building in the very center of this artificial land was the Royal Palace, adopting a Western architectural style.
[The Final Day] stood on the second-floor terrace, with subordinates constantly collating information from everywhere beside him.
[The Final Day] stared intently at the embryonic empire he had forged, not surprised by the arrival of the aircraft carrier.
"Let [Char] sortied. Let humanity witness the technology of the future. Aircraft carriers... should retire from the stage of history."
Moments later, a massive mecha emerged from the edge of the island.
Standing 76.2 meters tall and weighing 1,850 tons, [Striker Eureka] stepped into the sea, advancing towards the carrier fleet.
On the other side, a Reincarnator clad in black robes suddenly looked surprised and reported:
"My Lord, the cognitive interference on the island seems to have been affected. An intercontinental ballistic missile is heading towards us. It is estimated to hit the Empire's mainland in 1 minute and 42 seconds."
[The Final Day] looked up, a pitch-black luster lighting up in his eyes. He spoke, his voice low and deep.
"No matter. If we don't let that kind of thing hit once, those nations won't despair..."
Several subordinates exchanged glances, bowed in affirmation, and quickly began personnel deployment. Facing a nuclear attack, the energy impact was only one aspect; the troublesome radiation was what required special handling, otherwise, this land would likely lose the environment to grow food.
But they felt no fear at this moment. Instead, they were quite excited. They were likely to be the first team among this generation of Reincarnators to face a nuclear strike head-on in the real world.
~~~
Guys We cross the 300 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 400 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 2 extra chapters
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter