Chapter 154 What Happened?

Chapter 154 What on Earth Happened?

Fang Ran stared at the screen for a while.

“Wen Qi isn’t where he’s supposed to be.”

Earlier, their attention had been solely on the imposter posing as Fu Zhangzhou, and they hadn’t noticed when he vanished.

Lu Wenshan frowned. “Should we go back and check?”

“Rumble!!!”

Another roar of explosive energy echoed from the distance.

Fang Ran shuddered.

He turned to look—it was still coming from the direction of the lake.

Recalling the monster’s earlier words, his heart sank. “No, we should hurry over there instead.”

......

For safety, Lu Wenshan didn’t teleport them directly to the lakeside.

He and Fang Ran appeared in a small grove near the lake.

As soon as Fang Ran opened his eyes, the place felt somewhat familiar.

Uneven trees, a faint glimpse of azure water in the distance...

He glanced around and noticed a cave entrance, half-hidden by vegetation, beneath a cliff not far away.

Pieces of memory slowly clicked into place.

Indeed.

This was the very spot where Fu Zhangzhou had been severely injured during a mission, and where the two of them had hidden...

If that was the case, the lake ahead must be where the basilisk variant had appeared.

They’d actually returned to this place again...

Lu Wenshan was also observing their surroundings. “Fang Ran, there’s plenty of cover here. Find a spot to hide while I go check the situation at the lake.”

“No.” Fang Ran recalled the monster’s words. “I’m coming with you.”

“I’m afraid something might have happened to Fu Zhangzhou—”

Before he could finish, another terrifying roar ripped through the air from the lake.

“Roar!!!”

A massive column of water erupted from the lake’s surface not far away, tossing dozens of dark shadows into the air.

The distance was too great for Fang Ran to discern whether they were sentinels or monsters, but they all seemed trapped by an invisible barrier, struggling frantically yet unable to break free or fall back down.

A few seconds later, “Boom, boom, boom!!!”

One burst of energy after another exploded in the air, raining down a mist of blood.

The metallic scent of blood instantly spread to where they were.

Fang Ran closed his eyes.

Insisting on going to the lake now would be reckless and would likely only hold Lu Wenshan back.

“I’ll stay here.”

He opened his eyes and looked intently at Lu Wenshan. “If something happens to him, please—”

“I’ve got him.”

Lu Wenshan’s expression was serious. “Fang Ran, please trust me.”

Fang Ran nodded, watching as the sentinel turned and left.

He stared blankly at the retreating figure, his thoughts in complete disarray.

“Fu Zhangzhou’s consciousness has been erased by me...”

The monster’s words echoed in his mind like a curse, and an uncontrollable sense of panic rose from the depths of his heart.

Impossible.

Fang Ran shook his head.

Just as Lu Wenshan had said, it was probably just a bluff.

He knew Fu Zhangzhou’s strength all too well.

He had to trust his sentinel...

Steeling himself, Fang Ran began surveying his surroundings.

Behind a large tree several dozen meters away was a patch of waist-high grass with dense stems and faint yellow tips.

He remembered seeing this plant during their last mission—even when mutated, it only glowed at night, making it relatively safe.

It was a good hiding spot.

With that in mind, Fang Ran started slowly making his way over.

He bent down to pick up a branch and carefully parted the thick stems.

He heard a rustling sound suddenly.

There was movement in the grass.

A few seconds later, someone whispered in alarm, “Who’s there?”

Someone grabbed the branch in Fang Ran’s hand, and they pushed down the grass, revealing several frightened faces.

These people looked haggard and soaked, clearly shaken. They had injuries on their faces and hands, and like him, they wore the guide uniforms of the Center, but with an additional stripe on their sleeves.

“Are you... guides from District 5?”

The person who had grabbed the branch seemed a bit braver and looked Fang Ran up and down.

“You... are also a guide from the Center?”

“Yes.”

The person visibly relaxed upon hearing this, stepping back a few paces to make some room.

“It’s dangerous out there. Come inside first.”

Fang Ran thanked him and stood by his side.

“You guides... what exactly happened to the hovercraft you were on?”

The man looked at him in alarm, “Weren’t you with us when we went down?”

“No,” Fang Ran shook his head. “I got here accidentally afterward.”

“I see, no wonder you’re not hurt.” The man lowered his gaze, still shaken up. “The hovercraft we were on was hijacked by a group of raiders.”

“They were hiding on board and suddenly jumped out once the hovercraft took off. There weren’t many Sentinels on the vehicle at the time—we were no match for them.”

“After seizing control, they immediately changed course. By the time we tried to report to the center, it was too late. The whole vehicle plunged straight into a rift...”

The man paused, as if recalling the scene, his face turning ashen.

“Luckily, the emergency systems activated, so the casualties weren’t that bad.”

“What about the raiders?” Fang Ran asked. “What did they do after forcing the hovercraft down here?”

“I’m not sure...” The man shook his head. “After we arrived, those people seemed to have disappeared.”

“The moment the hovercraft hit the lake, we all blacked out. Fortunately, a few Sentinels from the center stayed conscious and rescued everyone.”

Sentinels?

Fang Ran immediately thought of Lu Tang and the others. “Were any of them from District 4?”

The man thought for a moment, then nodded. “Two of them... I think they were Sentinels from District 4.”

Fang Ran let out a sigh of relief—at least this meant Lu Tang and Lu Wenbai were still alive.

Wait, what about Shen Ke?

He glanced at the group of guides behind the man. “Are you the only ones here? What about the other guides...”

The man frowned. “After we were rescued and brought ashore, a large group of mutated monsters suddenly appeared. In the chaos, everyone got separated... There’s no communication signal in this forest, so we had no choice but to hide here.”

“Monsters?”

Fang Ran looked toward the direction of the lake. “I saw a lot of activity over there earlier.”

“Exactly. Those monsters went berserk—not only attacking us, but even... turning on each other.”

“A huge black beast was especially terrifying.”

The man’s eyes went wide, a look of fear spreading across his face.

“It was like a monster straight from hell. Even an S-class Sentinel couldn’t stand up to its flames... No, I doubt even a 3S Sentinel could hold it off.”

“Black giant beast... flames?”

Fang Ran repeated under his breath, a bad feeling rising within him again.

“Was that beast... like a wolf or dog, with a tail burning with flames?”

The man was stunned. “How did you know?”

Damn.

Fang Ran froze, his face pale, his mind racing. Only one thought remained.

What on earth happened?