Qingjian City, Divine Management Bureau.

On the 28th floor, the third squad of the Dragon Spine Camp was engulfed in dead silence.

The intermittent reports from the Songdu Branch were like cold steel needles, piercing into everyone's hearts one by one.

"Molting Level Life Ghost," "Divine Chosen Rebellion," "Core Area Uncontactable," "Heavy Casualties," "Fang Qingyu's Squad Disappeared Deep Inside"...

Lin Kang sat on a shiny metallic folding chair in the corner, head bowed, shadows covering his entire face, making his expression unclear, with only his knuckles showing a ghastly white due to excessive force.

Without any warning, Lin Kang suddenly stood up.

The chair legs scraped a sharp, piercing sound on the metal floor as he moved to his equipment locker, his actions mechanical yet carrying a resolve to sever all hesitation.

With a "click," he opened the lock, taking out the well-maintained, neatly folded Mysterious Black Combat Suit, followed by a tactical vest and a spare first-aid kit.

Lastly, his Life Bone Battle Saber, which had followed him for years, its edge faintly showing fine nicks.

Without a word, without a glance at the team members beside him.

Lin Kang silently donned his gear piece by piece, meticulously, as if simply performing an ordinary patrol duty.

The heavy footsteps echoed in the quiet corridor, striking at everyone's nerves.

Lin Kang walked directly towards the elevator to the underground parking lot.

The heavy alloy door slid open, and the cold air of the garage rushed to meet him.

However, just as he strode toward the familiar off-road vehicle, his steps abruptly halted.

Beside the car, a silhouette stood waiting.

Duan Ling stood there, holding her iconic Dragon Head Saber, her posture straight as a rod, with sharp eyes on her face. Qu Zhe stood with arms crossed, leaning against the car door, his usual playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a grave aura.

Also present was Li Hu, one of the stronger team members, fully equipped, standing silently in the shadows. Their gazes collectively fell on Lin Kang, silent yet as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Lin Kang's lips pressed into a cold, straight line, his eyes swept over them with no intention to inquire or explain.

He directly reached out to pull the driver's side door handle.

"Lin Kang!"

A voice, carrying fatigue and agitation, rang out.

Director Wu Yu almost burst out from the shadows of a nearby command vehicle, hair disheveled, with deep eyebags, evidently worn down by the emergency situation.

He stepped in front of the driver's door, voice laced with suppressed anger and deeper unease:

"You damn well stand still! The order from Shangjing is to stay put! What is the situation in Songdu now? It's a meat grinder! No matter how many you put in, it's not enough. Fang Qingyu... he got trapped in there! What good will it do for you to go now? To die there?! Even the Miss from the Su Family with three Grandmasters is stuck! What use is a Peak of Profound like you?!"

Wu Yu almost shouted, spittle nearly spraying onto Lin Kang's face.

He pounded on the tough hood of the off-road vehicle, producing a dull thud, trying to wake up the veteran soldier in front of him as if he were in a trance.

Lin Kang's movements halted.

Finally, he slowly raised his head, his gaze landing on Wu Yu's face for the first time.

In that gaze, there was no anger, no argument, not even much emotional fluctuation, only a bottomless, frozen coldness.

It was a kind of indifferent dead void that Wu Yu had never seen on him before.

He ignored Wu Yu's body blocking the car door, his arm remained steadily reaching for the door handle, as if Wu Yu was nothing but an obstructive wad of air.

"Damn it!"

Wu Yu was utterly exasperated, almost lunging forward, his hands tightly gripping the half-open car window frame, half of his body delving inside, his face red from exertion as he yelled at Lin Kang who was already sitting in the driver's seat:

"Listen to me! Let me finish! Shangjing, over there, they have reacted! Two very important figures have already set off for Songdu! They're on the 'Mystic Bird' ultra-high-speed airspace shuttle! They must be faster than this broken car of yours! As long as Fang Qingyu is tough enough, hanging onto a breath, once they arrive, they'll have a way!"

"Mystic Bird? Important figures?"

Lin Kang's hand, prepared to turn the key, suddenly froze.

Maintaining that pose, he slowly turned his head, his gaze locking onto Wu Yu's anxious face.

Still, there was no expression on his face, just a barely perceptible twitch of his lips, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping rock, uttering two cold words:

"Martial Saint?"

Wu Yu's fingers clenching the car window frame instantly tightened, knuckles turning white.

He gazed into Lin Kang's bottomless eyes, his throat convulsing with difficulty, finally, wordlessly, he nodded.

The air seemed to freeze.

Outside the car, Duan Ling, Qu Zhe, and the others held their breath.

Inside the car, Lin Kang remained unmoved in his position, ready to turn the key.

Under the hood, only the faint electrical hum of the vehicle's standby system hissed in the dead silence.

In the force field.

Deep within the pit...

"It should be here."

Wei Banmeng's gaze strained to seek traces amidst the surrounding rubble in the pit.

This was already the place they had held previously, moving further down several hours into the deep underground.

"Old Qin, over here!"

Qi Hao lowered his voice, pointing to a slab of rock marred with shocking, axe-like giant cracks.

The edges of the cracks bore unnatural charred blackness, as if instantaneously scorched by extreme heat.

"It's Qingzi's blade, undoubtedly! Only his Sword Qi leaves behind such domineering scorch marks!"

"There's more here!"

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