The massive force field dome hung in the distance like a grim scar in the sky, yet the lives of ordinary people remained undisturbed, maintaining a sense of fragile resilience in everyday life.

The efforts of the Divine Management Bureau at least sustained a facade of peace in this half of the city.

The off-road vehicle finally stopped beside a relatively wide main road at the edge of the force field.

This area had already been temporarily controlled by the Divine Management Bureau, with caution tape set up and several large white inflatable tents erected as temporary command and rest points.

"Let's go."

Fang Qingyu calmly got out of the car.

He walked into the tent set up by the staff.

The staff looked momentarily stunned and asked, "Which unit are you from?"

"Third Squad of the Dragon Spine Camp, currently executing Operation Beacon."

Fang Qingyu said flatly.

Before his words had even faded, he reached out to place his hand on the barrier of this super-large force field.

Buzz——!

A deep and grand buzzing instantly spread out!

An invisible spatial ripple surged dramatically like water waves, forming a circular entrance that could just accommodate six people, bending the light in front of them!

Without hesitation, Fang Qingyu stepped inside!

Following him closely were Qin Hui, Old Qiao, Qi Hao, Lv Chen, and lastly, the small figure of Jiang Wei.

As soon as their six figures completely vanished into that distorted entrance.

It was as if the entire world was forcibly torn and flipped!

The warm afterglow of the sunset, the hustle and bustle of the streets, the noise of the crowd, the honks of cars... all sounds and scenes belonging to the "normal" world were wiped away as if by an invisible giant hand in an instant!

In their place was dead silence!

Stifling, heavy dead silence!

Then, a stench mixed with the heavy smell of blood, scorched earth, metallic rust, decaying organic matter, and some indescribable sulfur and ozone hit their noses like a tangible fist! So strong it could almost make one retch!

The visual landscape underwent an earth-shattering change!

Before them was no longer a peaceful sunlit street, but a doomsday ruin intertwined with silence and desolation!!

The sun still hung in the west, but its light seemed covered by a thick layer of gray haze, presenting a kind of dying, muddled dark red.

This light weakly fell, illuminating a scene full of devastation.

Beneath their feet was no longer solid ground, but a thick layer of rubble, mixed with broken building fragments, twisted metal, scorched soil, and some kind of dark purple viscous substance.

Stepping on it made a teeth-grating "creak," each step possibly sinking into unknown pits.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but broken walls and ruins.

Once towering office buildings looked as if gnawed by giant beasts, leaving only twisted steel frames piercing the dim sky.

Broken glass curtain walls dangled, reflecting the dirty sunset like huge, pus-dripping eyes.

The streets had vanished without a trace, completely blocked by collapsed walls, overturned vehicle wrecks, and piles of debris as high as mountains. The air reeked with the acrid smell of burning, a dense scent of blood, and an indescribable, visceral stench of rotting organs being singed.

In the distance, a vast shadowy area lay like a crouching giant beast, revealing a cluster of buildings not completely destroyed, though most windows were shattered, gaping like numerous large mouths, with occasional eerie light flashes or shadowy movements inside.

Silence! Absolute silence!

No wind, no birdsong, no urban noise.

Only the slight sounds of feet treading on ruins, and... from the depths of the debris, corners of shadows, insides of distorted buildings, came countless rustling, low growls, bones creaking... an unnerving array of incessant sounds!

This is the world isolated by the super-large force field!

A half of Qingjian City ravaged by the Life Ghosts in mere days, turned into a ruinous purgatory!

The sunset glow added a layer of despairing dark gold over this wasteland, not bringing warmth, instead highlighting the silence and decay, with a mocking apocalyptic beauty.

Prosperity and apocalypse...

In just an instant!!

"Hiss..."

Qi Hao drew a sharp breath, clenched his weapon tight, his knuckles whitening with force, the scene before him far more shocking than any data or imagination.

Qin Hui and Old Qiao's eyes were gravely stern, quickly standing back-to-back, cautiously scanning the surroundings of tattered ruins, their experience telling them that danger lurked everywhere in such environments.

Even Jiang Wei wrinkled her small nose, fanning the air before it with a little hand.

Fang Qingyu swept his cold eyes over this purgatory-like scene, his voice breaking the silence, low yet clear, like a stone cast into a dead water pond, instantly dispelling the oppressive feeling brought by the new environment.

"The last coordinates of the Beacon, three kilometers east of Dock C7."

The Dragon Tiger Strength, dark as ink, flowed silently over his body, with faint golden traces vaguely visible in the dim light, emanating a weighty, thunderous might, providing the team with the most solid psychological anchor.

"Qin, Old Qiao, guard the sides. Qi Hao, Lv Chen, watch the ground and the upper building remnants. Jiang Wei, provide backing in the middle."

"Understood!" the team responded in unison, swiftly assuming combat readiness.

Qin Hui and Old Qiao were like two moving walls, positioned beside Fang Qingyu, their sharp eyes scanning the high shadows of the ruins on either side.

Qi Hao and Lv Chen gripped their weapons tightly, their breathing slightly heavy but their eyes resolute.

Jiang Wei was shielded in the center, her small nose slightly wrinkled, seemingly discerning finer dangers in the air.

The team moved along a barely discernible path of rubble that had once been a main road, advancing quickly towards their target coordinates as if they were ants traversing the intestines of a giant beast.

However, just a few hundred meters behind them.

In an upper level of a half-collapsed office building, shrouded in heavy shadow and broken concrete.

Four figures lurked quietly like predators blended into the shadows.

They emitted a faint scent mixed with blood and some indescribable stench, but other than that, appeared much like ordinary people.

Except for the terrifying parts on their bodies where materials had been forcibly merged with the Life Ghosts.

"Boss, another team is coming to their deaths," said a modified martial artist with an arm transformed into a ghastly white bone blade, red eyes flashing with greed as he locked onto the spot where Fang Qingyu's team disappeared. "Judging by their gear, they're from the Divine Management Bureau. Must have a lot of spoils on them."

The man called "Boss," had a thick, pale bone tail extending from his tailbone, ending in a vicious hook, wagging silently like a scorpion's tail.

His cold eyes swept over the last location where Fang Qingyu's team vanished: "Six-member team, standard setup. One Breaking Mortality, four Martial Arts Apprentices... huh? And a deadweight little girl?" His gaze paused where Jiang Wei's small figure had disappeared, speaking with a hint of disdainful mockery, "Ha, taking a child Divine Cultist into this place? Must have a death wish. Standard fat sheep team, probably stuffed in here for some gilding by a connected family."

"That little girl's got tender skin... hehe..." Another modified martial artist, with dozens of bone spines extending from his shoulder blades, let out a low, sinister laugh.

"Shut up, Vulture," the scorpion-tailed leader cut in coldly, "Fat sheep or not, let's make it quick. The usual tactic, bone spikes, disable the rear, grab supplies and leave. As for the Breaking Mortality... 'Poison Fang', you handle it."

"Prepare to move in!"

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