Chapter 171: Rescue

Chapter 171: Rescue

In the dead of night at three in the morning, when all the residents of Sky City were fast asleep, a shrill and piercing air-raid siren suddenly shattered the silence. Everyone was jolted awake from their beds, only to hear something being shouted over the loudspeakers outside. All communication devices displayed a red emergency text message:

"Stray from Prison No. 7 has escaped; the entire city is under lockdown. All citizens must secure their doors and windows, strictly prohibited from going out, wait for official notification!"

Upon seeing the message, the residents' faces changed dramatically. What?! The strays have escaped?!

What kind of place was Prison No. 7? It housed the most vicious and malevolent strays, numbering in the hundreds at least, and they were all key research subjects of the Monitoring Institute. Now, they had all broken out overnight. Exaggerating slightly, the impact could be more severe than the last siege, as that time the strays attacked from the outside, but this time they had come right inside!

The upper echelons of Sky City convened an emergency meeting in the middle of the night, activating the first-level contingency plan. They dispatched almost all available troops. The Chief Director nearly smashed the table in anger in the meeting room. The first to bear the brunt was the guard unit responsible for overseeing the prison: "How could the cages, which were locked up tight, suddenly be breached?! What are you people even doing?! Several of the escaped strays are of Rank 4. We went through great lengths to capture them back then. Can you afford the responsibility if there are any casualties among the citizens?!"

The head of the guard unit looked grim. "Chief Director, tonight's moon turned red for no apparent reason. I suspect the strays might have been influenced by the power of the Red Moon. Their escape is a minor issue, but if they become agitated like last time, it would be troublesome!"

Mentioning the previous Red Sun anomaly, everyone fell into silence. Sky City was already severely weakened, and another incident like that would be too much to bear.

The Chief Director felt a throbbing headache. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face, his graying hair exposed under the light. "First, find a way to seal off Sky City. Don't let those strays escape to Devil City. Have the ability users do their best to hunt them down and ensure the safety of the citizens."

Someone said worriedly, "It may be difficult. The ordinary low-rank strays are easy to intercept, but it's hard to restrict the aerial activities of those above Rank 3…"

Upon hearing this, the Chief Director slammed the table again, silencing everyone. His angry voice echoed through the speaker, causing a buzzing sound. "So what if it's difficult? You still have to handle it! Team Ten is stationed at the checkpoint and can't be spared. The other teams should disperse to protect the citizens. The pursuit and elimination of the strays will be fully entrusted to Xing Yuan. Teams One to Nine will be under his command. You must bring back those escaped strays!"

Xing Yuan sat in his seat, wrapped in a thick black coat. Under the cold light of the meeting room, his complexion appeared somewhat pale. He lazily lowered his eyes, seemingly indifferent to everything. But when he heard the Chief Director's words, he finally lifted his eyelids.

What did this mean? He was supposed to clean up the mess made by the guard unit. Did he look like a living bodhisattva? Being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night was already bad enough, and the Chief Director's words were like pouring oil on the fire.

Xing Yuan sneered inwardly but didn't show it on his face. "I don't have that kind of capability. This matter should, of course, be fully entrusted to Director Yan. Team One can assist from the side. Time is pressing, I'll lead my team out now. If there's anything, contact me via the communicator."

After saying this, he directly pulled out his chair and stood up, heading straight for the door. Luoyang and the others also got up and left upon seeing this, leaving Director Yan sitting there with a greenish face.

"Chief Director, Xing Yuan is being too uncooperative!"

"Uncooperative? Of course, he wouldn't listen to orders if he doesn't want to clean up your mess! I don't care if you have to beg or plead, or even carry a gun and go into battle yourself. You must resolve this situation, or it won't just be a resignation that can solve it!"

The Chief Director was so angry that he felt his heart disease acting up. There were very few capable individuals in all of Sky City, and Xing Yuan was one of the few with formidable strength. Unfortunately, his personality was arrogant and unruly, making him impossible to control.

Almost all the teams that could be mobilized in Sky City were out tonight. Dozens of flying vessels soared overhead, while the ground was filled with patrol cars. Gunshots rang out incessantly, like fireworks during the New Year. The residents, watching the chaos outside through their windows, reached the peak of fear and unease.

Xing Yuan personally led Team One in pursuit of the fleeing Rank 4 strays. His figure moved so quickly in the darkness that it left only a trail of afterimages. Every time lightning flashed around him, a high-rank stray was struck to ashes. Luoyang and the others cooperated to deal with many of the escaping T3s, but the numbers still didn't match up.

"Damn it! The Monitoring Institute says those strays have been running in the direction of Devil City. Dozens of them have already broken through the aerial sentry posts!"

Xing Yuan stood on a tall building, as if only a step away from the red moon. The night wind blew against him, and he could feel his body's power boiling under the moonlight. A monster's nature was gradually awakening within him, screaming to tear something apart, preferably something bloody, sweet, and bony…

He closed his eyes and forcefully suppressed that desire, spitting out a single word coldly. "Chase!"

Those strays wouldn't flee towards Devil City for no reason; it seemed more like they were responding to some sort of summons. He urgently needed to confirm something and led his team in pursuit.

On the other side, Lu Yan was not idle either. As soon as Xing Yuan received the emergency summons and rushed off to the meeting, Lu Yan quietly slipped out.

The system forced him to fight monsters during the previous Red Sun anomaly, and it certainly wouldn't let him off the hook with this Red Moon.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for triggering the side mission—Red Moon Operation! Please assist in exterminating the escaped strays. For more than ten strays above Rank 4, the reward is an ability upgrade. For those below Rank 3, rewards are accumulated based on points. Rewards will be settled the next day. Would you like to accept?"

This mission was difficult, considering how tough it was to kill Rank 4 strays, especially ten of them. But the rewards were also generous, as upgrading abilities became increasingly challenging the higher they went. Opportunities like this were rare. After a moment of thought, Lu Yan didn't hesitate much before accepting.

There were at least five or six hundred strays that escaped from the prison this time, filling the sky densely, stretching as far as the eye could see. Chen Yan and his teammates stood on the patrol car, aiming their guns at the sky and firing continuously. Their wrists bled from the recoil, but they didn't dare stop. If they were lucky and encountered low-rank strays, a dozen shots would turn them to dust. However, if they were unlucky and met high-rank strays, one swoop from the latter could leave them with only half their bodies intact.

Chen Yan was covered in blood, unable to distinguish whether it was his own or someone else's. The strong smell of blood and gunpowder filled his nostrils, but he shot almost mechanically. He saw the strays start to crazily smash into the windows and doors of residential buildings and roared, "Are you all starving?! Why aren't you killing them yet?! There are only three hours until dawn. Even if you have to use every ounce of strength you have, you must hold on for me!!!"

The patrol soldiers didn't have abilities; they were just ordinary people who were slightly better at handling themselves. Most of them came from Devil City, selected by luck to join the teams, working hard every day to earn time points to support their families. They lived one day at a time, and if they died, they would receive a small compensation at most.

Chen Yan grew up in Devil City. When he was seventeen, a wave of strays attacked, wiping out his entire family. He could never forget the scene when the strays broke in that day. His parents' first reaction wasn't to run for their lives, but to panic and stuff him into the basement, transferring all their life points to him, while they threw themselves at the strays to lure them away.

At that time, Chen Yan only had one and a half years of time points on his wrist. Three people in the family, adding up to only one and a half years of time points. Through the crack in the basement, he clearly heard the sound of the strays chewing on his parents' corpses. Finally, after they were full, they didn't bother to search the house further and flew off to the next street. That was how Chen Yan survived.

Later, he relied on his physical strength and mixed with a mercenary group, living on the edge of danger. A few years later, Sky City recruited new soldiers, and he was unexpectedly selected. He fought his way to his current position.

Countless people surged into Chen Yan's life, and countless others died on the battlefield.

They reached the end of their lives at the prime of their youth, as if nature had endowed humans with a lifespan not of a long century, but with thirty years being the limit.

There were thousands of ability users in Sky City, half of whom had to guard military strongholds and couldn't be easily mobilized. The other half went to Central City to protect the high-ranking officials and dignitaries. The outer circle could only rely on the patrol soldiers to eliminate the strays.

Blood and sweat dripped into his eyes, stinging painfully, and tears welled up uncontrollably.

Sky City, representing prosperity and stability, was in such a state, and life in Devil City would only be more dire. Chen Yan had countless times felt that he shouldn't be standing here. He knew that Devil City was the place that needed protection more, where the people living there were the hardest and most helpless. This city above the clouds might be the last pure land left by the gods, but humans treated it as a ladder to divide the noble from the base.

Gunfire was dense, mixed with unreleased anger.

"Kill!!!"

Suddenly, a Rank 3 stray swooped down from the sky, biting onto the youngest patrol soldier in the team. He looked no older than nineteen, struggling in panic, his face contorted in pain as he yelled, "Captain! Save me!!!"

Chen Yan's expression changed, and he immediately rushed forward. "Ah Yao!!"

He remembered this young soldier. He was the youngest in the team, having only joined three months ago. Every time he received his salary, he would happily count it alone in a corner, saying that once he saved enough money, he would bring his grandmother to live in Sky City.

Others laughed at him for being foolish, knowing how expensive houses in Sky City were, how costly the passes were, and that he might not save enough in his lifetime. Ah Yao wasn't upset; he scratched his head and smiled foolishly, vying for the toughest jobs, just to earn a little more time points.

Just last night, he cheerfully said that he could go back to Devil City to see his grandmother this weekend and buy a lot of tonics.

With red eyes, Chen Yan rushed forward, and even nearby teammates desperately helped shoot. However, bullets couldn't harm a Rank 3 stray, and they could only watch helplessly as Ah Yao was carried into the air like prey by the stray, screaming his lungs out:

"Ah Yao!!!!!!"

"Boom—!"

The thunder in the sky came unexpectedly. Suddenly, a dense grid of blue-purple electricity appeared in mid-air, circling precisely around that stray. Sensing the oppressive aura, it immediately spat out the human in its mouth and tried to escape, but in that instant, it was enveloped by the rapidly contracting electric grid, disintegrated into ashes, emitting a painful screech.

A Yao fell to the ground like a kite whose string had been cut, landing heavily beside the patrol car. His right shoulder was torn and bloody, and he choked on several mouthfuls of blood.

"A Yao!"

Upon seeing this, Chen Yan and the rest of his teammates rushed over to help him up, their voices barely concealing their panic. "Hang in there, I'll take you to see a doctor!"

"Te… Team Leader…"

A Yao's young and innocent face was covered in blood. He widened his eyes and laboriously pointed at his wrist, where the data representing his life force was rapidly fading. With his last breath, he said, "Take… take it away… quickly take it away…"

His final words were, "Don't waste…"

He wanted Chen Yan to take his life force.

Don't waste that life, don't waste that time.

This was the dying wish of most poor people.

Chen Yan's eyes turned red, and he nearly ground his teeth to dust. "What do I want your life force for! You damn well hold on, if you die, no one will take care of your grandmother!"

After saying this, he hastily took off his watch, wanting to transfer life force to A Yao. However, the time on the other man's wrist was passing ten times faster than normal, just like the blood gushing from his shoulder. No matter how much life force was transferred, it was quickly depleted.

At that moment, a hand with distinct knuckles suddenly pushed through the crowd. The man's deep voice sounded familiar, like a stone calming everyone's panic. "Let me see his wound."

Chen Yan subconsciously turned around and found that the newcomer was Lu Yan, who had just taken care of that third-rank wanderer. But A Yao's condition was too critical, so they hadn't paid attention to him until now. Hearing this, everyone scattered to make room.

Lu Yan squatted down and lifted A Yao up, finding that he still had a breath left. He fed him a small bottle of restorative potion he had exchanged for points from the system. The rate at which the life force on the other man's wrist was flowing visibly slowed down, and his pale, bluish complexion finally showed some relief.

Lu Yan pried open A Yao's eyelids and looked inside before turning to Chen Yan. "Do you have a medic? Hurry and get his wounds bandaged and stop the bleeding."

Hearing this, Chen Yan finally came to his senses and rambled, "Yes! Yes! Quickly, quickly, call the medic over!!"

The hospital gates were tightly closed, and only a few basic medics were present. A Yao had already gone to the brink of death, but Lu Yan pulled him back from the edge. Chen Yan wiped his face, unsure if it was blood or tears, and felt like crying and laughing at the same time. The tough man actually had tears in his eyes. "Brother, you've saved us again. I… I really don't know how to thank you."

"It's nothing, don't mention thanks."

Lu Yan had just happened to pass by. After saying this, he looked up at the sky and noticed that the wanderers hovering above hadn't dispersed. He frowned slightly. "Why is only the patrol team here? Where are the ability users?"

Chen Yan shook his head. "Sky City is short on manpower. The ability users are protecting the core leaders. We're responsible for the outside areas, but those high-rank wanderers have already broken through the aerial checkpoints."

Breaking through the aerial checkpoints meant they had all gone to Devil City.

Hearing this, Lu Yan's expression changed slightly, and he instinctively rushed to check it out. But remembering something, he took two steps and then turned back. Suddenly, a massive grid of electricity shot out from his wrist, enveloping all the wanderers hovering densely overhead.

"Boom—!"

Dark clouds rolled across the horizon, accompanied by rumbling thunder and continuous lightning strikes. The wanderers that the patrol team had been unable to clear after an hour were instantly reduced to ashes. Their agonized screams nearly tore through the night sky, creating a shocking scene that left everyone stunned.

Lu Yan cleared out most of the wanderers in this area, only stopping when he felt his abilities were starting to wane. Unbeknownst to him, Chen Yan and his teammates were standing nearby, dumbfounded. Even the soldiers on the patrol car who were performing shooting duties had stopped. Their bewildered and mixed gazes pierced through the darkness and the crowd, all landing on that tall figure.

Chen Yan subconsciously stepped forward. He couldn't hide his shock, and his lips moved several times before he could speak. "Brother, you…"

Standing in the distance, Lu Yan gave him an OK sign. "My name is Lu Yan. If you need any help next time, find me. I have something else to do, so I'll be going."

He was rushing to chase those fourth-rank wanderers. After saying this, his figure flashed, and he instantly disappeared into the darkness. Seeing this, the other patrol officers rushed forward, their emotions stirred as they asked in a flurry,

"Captain, who is he? He's too amazing!!!"

"When did you meet such a powerful ability user!"

"It's already late at night, where is he going?"

Chen Yan's mind was muddled, and he didn't hear the first few sentences clearly. He only heard the last one. He slowly took off his hat, squinted his eyes, and looked into the distance. The smell of blood lingered in his nostrils as he sighed,

"He might have gone to Devil City."

Although he used the word "might," Chen Yan strangely felt certain that Lu Yan had indeed gone there.

There was a group of abandoned people living in an abandoned city, where the sun rose and set countless times, but light never shone upon them.

Nature had not eliminated them; it was a utopia in the clouds that kept them firmly locked out.

Chen Yan thought that the precarious city had not completely collapsed after all. Even if only a few among thousands were willing to go against the tide, the spark would not be extinguished.