Chapter 157 – Shock

Chapter 157 - Shock

The live broadcast couldn't be replayed, so the comment quickly disappeared after briefly appearing for a few seconds, sinking without a trace.

Amidst the surrounding chaos of war, other citizens were frantically evacuating to the safety zone in panic, but only Lu Yan and Feng Xiangming stood outside. These two attention-seekers huddled together, whispering to each other. No one knew what they were saying, but they shook their heads and sighed, acting just like old men gossiping at the village entrance.

"Hey! What are you two idiots doing down there! Are you trying to make things even more chaotic! When the wanderers come, they'll eat you first! Get your asses into the safety zone right now!!"

The patrol captain, standing high above, roared in anger, veins bulging on his neck, wishing he could directly shoot them. Upon hearing this, Lu Yan and Feng Xiangming were taken aback. They quickly retreated a couple of steps to stand within the safety zone's perimeter, but in less than ten seconds, they were pushed out by the crowded crowd inside.

Lu Yan stumbled a couple of steps and barely managed to steady himself, while Feng Xiangming fell flat on the ground, face-first.

The television station's live broadcast captured this scene, causing netizens to nearly cry from laughter: "Hahahaha!!! Where did these two attention-seekers come from!!"

Half of the hundreds of thousands of viewers in the live stream were laughing, while the other half remained silent, staring at the screen in deep thought. They vaguely felt that the black figure looked familiar, but they weren't quite sure. They could only wait and see how things unfolded.

The safety zone had limited space, and there were too many residents near Cloud Road. They feared that if they fell behind, they would be devoured by the wanderers. They all scrambled to get inside, regardless of the patrol team's warning shots. Still, many elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people were pushed out.

Lu Yan and Feng Xiangming, also considered among the weak and disabled, couldn't squeeze in anymore and could only stand outside, dazed. Seeing this, the patrol captain jumped down from the makeshift defensive wall and kicked each of the strongest men inside who were fighting the hardest:

"You damn bastards! All the men get out, let the elders and children go in first. If anyone tries to grab again, I'll blow their brains out!"

Seeing the dark gun barrels pointed at them, the young men had no choice but to retreat one by one. The originally crowded safety zone suddenly emptied by more than half.

The patrol captain, a young man with a rugged face and eyes as sharp as an eagle's, stared at the group of tall men before him and said in a deep voice, "Listen up, everyone. The wanderers are about to break through Sky City soon. We will all die together then. Anyone who knows how to use a gun and isn't missing any limbs must take a gun and kill the wanderers! Killing one is for company, killing two is a profit. You must hold the east side for me. Do you understand?!"

An older man wearing glasses panicked, "Hey! Why should we go up there? We don't know how to kill monsters!"

The patrol captain pointed down and shouted angrily, "If you don't want to kill, get the hell out of the safety zone! And anyone else who doesn't dare to go up, get out now!"

At least in the safety zone, there were still the patrol team and ability users in front of them. Going down meant certain death. Hearing this, everyone looked at each other, but no one dared to step out. In the end, several college students gritted their teeth and stepped forward voluntarily:

"We all know how to use guns. Staying here means death anyway, so we might as well fight it out!"

With their lead, many others spoke up:

"I also know how to use a gun! I'm going with you!"

"Let's do it! Kill all those wanderers!"

In the end, even Feng Xiangming raised his hand: "I also know how to use a gun!!"

Lu Yan turned in disbelief, "How do you all know how to use guns?!"

Feng Xiangming was puzzled, "Who in Sky City doesn't know how to use a gun? Almost everyone has one. Don't worry; you won't need it anyway. Just follow us up later."

Unlike the slums of Devil City, those who could live on Cloud Road and in Sky City were all incredibly wealthy. As long as they had some connections, they would try to obtain some firearms and stockpile them at home. After all, apart from ability users, firearms and heavy weapons were the only way ordinary people could deal with wanderers.

The patrol captain ordered the soldiers guarding the ammunition to quickly distribute guns and bullets to everyone. He led them hurriedly up the sky ladder. Turning around, he saw Lu Yan standing in the crowd empty-handed and pulled him out. He was on the verge of exploding, "Where's your gun?! Didn't I say everyone needs a gun?! Are you ignoring my orders?!"

Lu Yan awkwardly touched his nose, "I don't know how to use a gun."

The patrol captain pulled out a gun from his back waist and rudely stuffed it into his hand, "Damn it, learn how to use it if you don't know. What's the use of being tall and strong if you can't even use a gun? You guys come over! Teach him!"

Upon hearing this, the few college students were stunned. Realizing what was happening, they quickly pulled Lu Yan over and whispered, "Hurry up and follow us up. We'll teach you how to shoot when we get there. It's very simple!"

Now, the wanderers gathered densely overhead, so there was no need to practice aiming. Even shooting blindly could bring down a large number of them.

As Lu Yan climbed the defensive wall with them, he understood the situation through their conversation. There were three entrances to the sky ladder, one in the middle and one on each side. Now, Xing Yuan's team was holding the most intense central entrance, while the other teams were assisting from the sides. The remaining left and right sides were left to the patrol team and the military equipment team.

The loud-voiced patrol captain earlier was called Chen Yan. He was responsible for defending the right side, but due to heavy casualties in his team, he was struggling to hold on.

The defensive wall was hundreds of meters high, making those with a fear of heights dizzy. The wanderers gathered densely overhead, occasionally swooping down to devour living beings. In the blink of an eye, they would crush skulls, and the air was filled with a pungent stench, making people feel dizzy.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, which was probably Xing Yuan's team using their abilities to exterminate wanderers. However, because it was too far away, the situation couldn't be seen clearly. It only made people feel that the scale was massive.

The pale-faced college students stood behind the defensive wall, clearly terrified. They quickly demonstrated to Lu Yan how to load bullets and pull the trigger, their voices trembling slightly: "Later, just aim at the sky and pull the trigger. Don't aim at the crowd. When you're done shooting, reload the bullets..."

Before they could finish speaking, Feng Xiangming interrupted anxiously, "Oh, you don't have to worry about him. Come over and support us quickly. We really can't hold on here!"

The headmaster repeatedly emphasized over the walkie-talkie that they must defend the entrance. Patrol Captain Chen Yan personally went outside the defensive wall to kill wanderers. The wall was under heavy fire, with dense gunfire almost piercing the eardrums.

The deputy commander saw the approaching swarm of wanderers and was so anxious that he almost shattered the wallhead with his fists. He roared, "Chen Yan! What the hell is going on! Corner A is about to collapse!! Hurry up and defend it!"

Chen Yan's eyes were bloodshot, and veins bulged on his forehead, "My brothers are dying left and right! How am I supposed to defend?! Send over the ability user team quickly, or we really won't be able to hold on!"

The deputy commander subconsciously looked towards the main entrance of the sky ladder. He saw that the battle was raging fiercely, and sweat dripped down his forehead. If he could dispatch the ability user team, he certainly would. The problem was that most of the ability users were currently in a state of depletion and couldn't be pulled out to be useful!

"Hold on for another half hour! When Team Ten recovers, I'll send them up!"

From the moment Lu Yan climbed onto the defensive wall, he had been secretly gathering power to summon lightning. However, for some reason, it seemed as if an invisible force was crazily absorbing the lightning elements from nature, competing with him.

Lu Yan frowned tightly, his expression solemn. Without thinking, he knew it must be Xing Yuan. Like him, the other party was also a lightning ability user. Because of his high level, he was directly sucking away all the nearby lightning elements when charging up a powerful move.

Damn, is this what they call two tigers not coexisting on the same mountain?!

Lu Yan directly summoned the system, "Is there any way to transfer the lightning elements from other areas here? I can't release a group-killing skill now!"

Ability users' powers were to allocate the elements in nature for their own use. In essence, it was borrowing strength from heaven. Lu Yan could indeed compete with Xing Yuan, but doing so would undoubtedly affect the battle situation on the other side. After a moment of thought, he directly gave up.

Perhaps due to the urgency of the situation, the system spoke in a straightforward manner, "Exchange for a teleportation card, which can transmit lightning elements from other areas here through the air. Three hundred points!"

Lu Yan couldn't help cursing, "Damn it, are you still robbing me at a time like this!"

The system asked languidly, "Do you want it or not?"

Lu Yan gritted his teeth. "Of course I do! What kind of nonsense is this?"

If he didn't act now, the Stragglers would really break through, leaving no choice at all!

The moment Lu Yan chose to redeem it, a black hole card appeared in the air, visible only to him. Countless lightning elements were continuously transported from within, finally alleviating the depleted lightning elements in this part of the sky.

Abilities had distance limitations; the closer they were to the target, the greater their power.

Seeing that Chen Yan was about to be overwhelmed, Lu Yan leaped off the outer perimeter of the defensive wall to help. Everyone else was retreating in panic, but he charged forward, his black figure nimbly weaving through the hail of bullets, standing out starkly.

Chen Yan's expression changed when he saw this. He had called those rookies up just to hold the line temporarily, not to send them to their deaths. He shouted fiercely at Lu Yan, "Get back here right now! Who told you to charge over here? Are you tired of living?!"

"Hurry, quickly switch the camera angle!"

The reporter broadcasting live brightened at the sight, sensing the makings of a news story. He hurriedly signaled for the cameraman to switch the angle. In that instant, he even thought of tomorrow's headline—

"Ordinary Citizen Defends Sky City, Sacrifices Heroically; Patrol Captain Grieves on Battlefield"

It might be cliché, but wasn't it positive energy?

However, just as the cameraman switched the angle, the anticipated bloody scene did not appear. Instead, the black-clad man leapt onto a high point, and countless Stragglers swooped down toward him. Just as Chen Yan was preparing to rush over and kick this reckless fellow down, a deafening rumble of thunder suddenly echoed overhead:

"Rumble—!"

This sound wasn't piercing, but it sent an inexplicable chill down everyone's spines. Lightning streaked across the thick clouds, illuminating the surroundings as bright as day. The dense swarm of Stragglers swooping down was instantly obliterated by a barrage of lightning, their agonized screams overlapping.

Lu Yan stood tall on the high point without flinching, his clothes fluttering in the wind. His slender and upright figure, against the backdrop of chaos, resembled a sharp sword. His hands rapidly formed seals, and countless lightning elements appeared around him, flickering with a pale blue glow like fireflies. Then, under the force of an invisible power, they were forcibly gathered into a vast electrical grid that decimated the wave of Stragglers approaching from afar.

Dark clouds rolled, and a red sun hung in the sky. As time quietly passed, all buildings turned into black silhouettes. The Stragglers fell like wingless crows, but before they could touch the ground, they exploded into dust.

The thunder was deep and powerful, like the roar of an angry deity, as if trying to awaken something long dormant.

All around, voices fell silent. At that moment, all the shouts and curses quieted down, and everyone stared dumbfounded at the scene before them.

Chen Yan's body froze mid-rush. He was stunned, never expecting Lu Yan to possess such formidable abilities, easily repelling the Stragglers they struggled to fend off. Even the reporter was dumbstruck, his mouth agape, shocked to utter a single sentence:

"It's a lightning ability user…"

At such a terrifying level, how many ranks of strength did he have?!

On the other side, Team One of the ability users was fully resisting the swarm of Stragglers at the main entrance. Amidst the rolling thunder in the sky, Xing Yuan's sharp eyes turned a terrifying crimson due to the stimulation. In a place unseen by others, a towering shadow suddenly appeared behind him, resembling a Grim Reaper wielding a scythe from afar.

Xing Yuan's expression was grim. His long, bony hands swiftly formed seals, controlling the lightning within a ten-mile radius, driving the Stragglers to flee in terror, emitting cries of pain and despair.

The remaining Stragglers retreated in panic, not because of the raging power emanating from him, but because of the shadow behind him that could blot out the sun, exuding absolute dominance. It was like lowly subjects encountering a king who commanded their obeisance.

Sky City's number one powerhouse was terrifyingly strong.

Luoyang was a mental ability user. He and Yan Feng, a fire ability user, assisted Xing Yuan from the side, along with the cooperation of the other team members. Within less than an hour, they resolved the crisis before them.

Sweat dripped from Luoyang's forehead. Seeing the tide of Stragglers recede, he finally exhaled slowly. Then, he nudged Xing Yuan with his elbow and teased with a grin, "Finally taken care of. It had to be our Team One stepping in personally. Lightning abilities are indeed invincible in destructive power. Xing Yuan, your skills have improved this time…"

Before Luoyang could finish, his expression changed. Xing Yuan had already stopped his seal-forming attack, yet the muffled thunder in his ears hadn't ceased. All the ability users realized something was amiss and looked to the right, where a tall black figure stood in front of the defensive wall, forming seals to summon lightning. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled around him, his power seemingly more potent than Xing Yuan's, causing their pupils to constrict in shock—

When did another lightning ability user emerge in Sky City?!

Seeing this scene, Xing Yuan's icy eyes slowly narrowed, unable to hide his astonishment.