Chapter 145 As If Arranged

Chapter 145: As If Predetermined

Fang Liyu’s expression shifted, and she frantically shouted into the terminal, “Lu Tang!”

“Lu Tang! What’s happening?”

The communication on the other end was still delayed, Lu Tang’s voice remaining intermittent, too broken to form coherent sentences.

“Raiders… they… the vehicle.”

“Boom!!!”

Moments later, a deafening crash echoed from afar.

It sounded as if something hard had collided with the ground, and a massive energy wave swept through, causing the entire hovercar to tremble slightly.

The communication was instantly cut off.

Fang Liyu clutched the terminal, frozen in shock. She immediately tried to contact Shen Ke’s terminal, but couldn’t get through at all.

Fang Ran’s heart began to pound wildly, an ominous premonition rising from within him.

Something had definitely gone wrong.

“Lu Tang, Shen Ke, and Lu Wenbai,” Zhong Wan said, terrified. “The hovercar they were on… could it have been attacked by raiders?”

“That possibility cannot be ruled out.”

Fu Zhangzhou frowned, took Fang Ran’s hand, and stood up.

“The crash just now sounded like it came from the mountain.”

“The mountain?” Fang Ran looked at him. “Isn’t that where the incident is happening?”

“Exactly,” Fu Zhangzhou nodded. “The energy fluctuation originated from that direction.”

“But the new waiting point isn’t there.” Fang Liyu’s forehead was now beaded with sweat. “I just contacted the Zone 5 staff on the vehicle again, but there was no response at all.”

Fu Yanhua also stood up. “Let’s check the cockpit. The vehicle’s systems are all linked; we can confirm the locations of the other hovercars.”

Everyone immediately opened the cabin door and entered the cockpit.

The front of the cockpit featured a curved dynamic screen that offered a multi-angle view of the surroundings outside.

Thick, billowing smoke rose from the mountainside, piercing the gray sky. Below, the smoke churned, with what looked like flickering flames.

This scene was no different from when they had first arrived.

Fu Yanhua walked over to the control panel, entered the data, and several light points immediately lit up on the screen.

He looked up at the screen, his expression gradually growing tense.

“The radar signal is very weak.”

“One hovercar has indeed veered off course and is heading toward the mountain.”

As he spoke, he pressed the communication button.

The system AI’s voice immediately chimed in.

“Attempting to connect to Hovercar 43A1…”

“Connection failed.”

“Attempting to connect to Hovercar 43A1 again…”

“Connection failed.”

Fang Ran listened as the AI’s voice repeated over and over, his ominous premonition growing stronger.

All of this felt as if it had been predetermined.

Just then, Lu Tianlin’s terminal buzzed.

He frowned and pressed the answer button.

“Father.”

On the other end of the terminal, Lu Wenshan’s voice sounded. “A hovercar appeared overhead a few minutes ago and crashed directly into the mountainside. I suspect the impact point is near the rift.”

Lu Tianlin was silent for a moment. “Get to the site first and report the actual situation to headquarters. We’ll be there shortly.”

“Understood.”

After the communication ended, the entire cockpit went eerily silent.

Fang Liyu took a deep breath, clenched her fists, seemingly forcing herself to calm down.

“That hovercar was carrying over a hundred guides from Zone 5… Lu Tang, Shen Ke, and the others were on it too.”

Fu Yanhua stood in front of the control panel and turned to everyone in the cockpit.

“Do you need to go to the site now? I can adjust the route immediately.”

Lu Tianlin thought for a moment. “First, go near the rift and drop off Lu Wenshan and the others. Then, send a few guides to the new waiting point.”

“Alright.”

Fu Yanhua nodded and immediately gave the AI the instruction.

The hovercar in the air slowly changed direction, heading toward the mountainside where thick smoke was billowing.

Ahead, the smoke thickened, and visibility grew lower and lower. The flames below seemed to burn even brighter than before.

The hovercar now picked up speed.

The closer they got, the louder the roars of the monsters became, and the more frequent the sentinel energy bursts.

Everyone remained in the cockpit, watching as bursts of light flared across the mountain, as dense as a torrential downpour.

Lu Wenchuan looked at Fu Zhangzhou. “The fighting seems more intense than before.”

“Yeah.”

Fu Zhangzhou grunted but didn’t elaborate, though he squeezed Fang Ran’s hand harder.

Their mental connection had not yet broken, and the purification was still ongoing.

The sentinel was doing a bit better compared to before.

The energy within his Spiritual Sea, which had been churning and boiling uncontrollably, nearly on the verge of raging out, had now mostly subsided. Yet he still felt emotionally complex and unsettled.

Fang Ran let out a silent sigh.

Fortunately, his pheromones had a powerful soothing effect on Fu Zhangzhou.

The words Fu Yanhua had spoken earlier had whipped up a tempest in the sentinel’s Spiritual Sea, causing the energy to become extremely chaotic. The oasis, which Fang Ran had purified multiple times, was almost completely submerged.

Thankfully.

Thankfully, Fu Zhangzhou trusted him wholeheartedly.

Even in such a state, he still allowed Fang Ran to enter his Spiritual Sea without resistance, enabling him to bring the situation under control in time.

Knowing that the sentinel still had a tough battle ahead, Fang Ran could only continue to increase his mental energy output, doing his best to help steady Fu Zhangzhou’s state.

At that moment, Fu Zhangzhou closed his eyes.

He could feel the frenzied energy within his Spiritual Sea being steadily soothed by Fang Ran.

The crisp citrus scent quietly lingered between them, dispelling restlessness and unease.

What his father had said… whether it was true was still unclear.

But suddenly, he didn’t want to hate anymore.

Those events had nearly destroyed the first half of his life, yet fate had brought Fang Ran to his side…

How things turned out didn’t seem so hard to accept after all.

He lowered his head and silently looked at his guide for a moment.

“Are you tired?”

Fang Ran shook his head and replied softly, “I can keep going.”

Just then, Zhong Wan suddenly shouted.

“Look! What are these???” He pointed to a corner of the screen.

Fang Ran followed the direction he indicated.

On the lower left part of the screen, a swarm of dark specks was moving rapidly.

“This is…” Fu Yanhua frowned. “This can’t be—”

He immediately issued a command to the AI, “Capture the footage of this area.”

“Command confirmed. The view has been locked.”

The screen flickered, and the image was instantly magnified.

Everyone was shocked.

It was actually a large group of boar-like creatures, running in packs and churning up dust as they headed up the mountain.

On the screen, several sentinels arrived on the scene. Blasts of light shot out, and energy bursts detonated on impact.

“Boom~”

Dozens of boars were instantly killed or injured.

Their formation was thrown into chaos, and they began scattering in all directions.

Just then, an enormous boar broke through. Its body was blue-black, with four tusks, and it roared furiously at the sentinels, releasing a huge wave of energy.

The sentinels had not expected such power. Several of them couldn’t move fast enough, and one was struck directly, letting out a piercing scream before collapsing to the ground.

Everyone in front of the screen went pale.

“These… aren’t they just D-level Calydons?” Fang Liyu said with disbelief. “I remember… these mutated creatures aren’t supposed to hit this hard.”