Zhao Long’s pupils shrank again.
Four Level 3s fighting together didn’t even have a chance to strike back?
That meant at least a Level 4...
No, maybe even a Level 4 Mid Stage, or higher.
He subconsciously glanced at the four—Cold Wind and the others. These four Level 3 Ability Users were now standing silently to the side, their faces unreadable.
But the wounds on their bodies and their exhausted expressions all confirmed the commander’s words.
“Sir...” Zhao Long took a deep breath, suppressing the fear in his heart. “What do we do now?”
The commander didn’t answer immediately.
He turned to look at the Command Vehicle.
On the roof, the antennas and radar equipment were unrecognizable, the communication gear was completely destroyed, and the navigation system had failed.
“Has Headquarters... still not responded?” the commander asked.
Zhao Long shook his head. “No. With our level of clearance, we can only contact the Outer City Command Office, but there’s been no response at all. We don’t know what’s going on with Colonel Yan...”
The commander was silent for a moment, then nodded. “I see.”
He turned and walked toward the Command Vehicle.
“Sir?” Zhao Long followed. “Are you going to...”
“Report the situation and request reinforcements.” The commander’s voice was calm, but Zhao Long noticed his hands were trembling slightly.
Although the Command Vehicle’s communication equipment was destroyed, the portable communicator the commander carried was still functional.
It was emergency communication equipment issued internally by the City Defense Force, specifically for designated personnel.
Although its power couldn’t compare to vehicle-mounted equipment, it should be enough to contact the Outer City branch command office in an environment like the Ruin Zone.
The commander walked to the side of the vehicle, pulled out the palm-sized communicator from his uniform, and pressed the power button.
The indicator light turned on, emitting a faint green glow.
He took a deep breath and pressed the call button.
“Command Office, Command Office, this is the 3rd Mobile Brigade...”
...
Outer City branch, Command Office.
Yan Pengcheng suddenly snapped his eyes open, his consciousness struggling out of a chaotic void, like a drowning man surfacing for air.
The back of his head still throbbed with a dull pain, that stinging sensation reminding him that he had been attacked.
Who was it? When?
He propped himself up by the armrests and sat straight, his gaze sweeping across the office.
Everything was normal.
The door was closed, the curtains were drawn, and the documents on his desk were still spread open to the page he had been reading before he lost consciousness.
If not for that lingering prickling pain at the back of his head, he would have almost thought he had just taken a nap.
“Beep—Beep—Beep—”
The communicator on the desk suddenly let out a rapid alert tone, a red light flashing as the shrill sound echoed through the silent office.
Ignoring his headache, Yan Pengcheng grabbed the communicator.
The screen showed an incoming signal from the 3rd Mobile Brigade.
“Command Office, Command Office, this is the 3rd Mobile Brigade.”
The commander’s voice came through the communicator—hoarse, exhausted, and carrying an indescribable fear.
Yan Pengcheng pressed the call button. “This is Yan Pengcheng. Speak.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
Then, the commander’s voice sounded again, lower and heavier than before. “Colonel Yan, something happened here... the unit is gone.”
Yan Pengcheng’s hand suddenly tightened.
“One hundred and twenty infantrymen, four Predators, one fire-support vehicle...”
“All gone...”
The sound of the commander’s suppressed breathing came through the communicator, accompanied by a slight tremor.
Veins bulged on the hand Yan Pengcheng used to grip the communicator.
“What exactly happened?” His voice was as cold as ice.
“We were likely attacked by a Level 4 Ability User,” the commander said.
“We encountered a mysterious individual during the march. That person controlled Aberrants to attack our unit and lured us into the Non-Safe Zone, where we were hit by a Blood-Scythe Ant swarm...”
The commander’s voice was intermittent as he recounted the events.
A mysterious person, an Aberrant attack, being lured into the Non-Safe Zone, a Blood-Scythe Ant swarm, the total annihilation of the unit...
Yan Pengcheng listened silently, the expression on his face slowly freezing.
His gaze subconsciously drifted to the clock on his desk.
In that instant, he felt his blood run cold.
Over three hours.
He had been unconscious for over three hours.
During those three-plus hours, he had known absolutely nothing about what was happening in the outside world.
Yan Pengcheng’s gaze fell on the communicator’s call log.
Missed calls... seventeen times.
Communication requests from the 3rd Mobile Brigade had started calling two hours ago, once every few minutes, persistently.
But not a single one had been connected.
Because he was unconscious.
Because he had been attacked.
Because someone, without him even noticing, had precisely crushed his consciousness, leaving him slumped in this chair like a pile of mud, sleeping for over three hours.
Fine beads of cold sweat broke out on Yan Pengcheng’s forehead.
Zhuang Heng’s side...
Zhuang Heng had given him full command of this operation and told him to report any news immediately.
Yet, at the most critical moment of the operation, he had lost consciousness.
Three hours.
A full three hours!
Zhuang Heng’s thin face and the cold light shooting from those half-closed, triangular eyes flashed through Yan Pengcheng’s mind.
His fingers trembled slightly.
Dereliction of duty.
This was absolute dereliction of duty!
If Zhuang Heng held him accountable, his life...
Yan Pengcheng took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
Just then, the commander’s voice came through the communicator:
“Colonel Yan... that mysterious person... the four of us Level 3s fought together, and we didn’t even have a chance to strike back against him. He’s at least Level 4, maybe even higher.”
Yan Pengcheng’s pupils shrank slightly.
A Level 4 Ability User.
The commander’s voice continued: “That person came from the direction of the Terminal Station. He must be related to the Terminal Station!”
“So we request reinforcements! We request Headquarters to dispatch a Level 4 Ability User for support!”
Yan Pengcheng’s hand holding the communicator paused slightly.
A Level 4 Ability User... coming from the direction of the Terminal Station... related to the Terminal Station...
What if the person who attacked him was this Level 4 Ability User?
Yan Pengcheng’s heart rate suddenly accelerated.
He had been unconscious for over three hours and knew nothing about what happened outside.
But if... if the person who attacked him wasn’t some unknown enemy, but that mysterious person from the Terminal Station?
A Level 4 Ability User being able to crush his consciousness without him noticing and leave him unconscious for hours—that made perfect sense.
And for such a powerful expert to sneak into the Outer City branch, get close to his office, and launch a mental attack...
With his strength, it would have been impossible for him to defend himself.
Yan Pengcheng’s breathing gradually steadied.
If that were the case, then his failure wouldn’t be dereliction of duty, but rather... an irresistible force.
In that case, wouldn’t the responsibility on his shoulders be much lighter?
After all, a Level 4 Ability User was an existence he couldn’t possibly rival.
Yan Pengcheng’s gaze fell on a piece of equipment in the corner of the command room.
Rate on N.U.
