179: Chapter 179 Something's happened in the wasteland? The Omnic Crisis Erupts!

The light of the holographic projection flickered wildly in the living room, accompanied by extremely unstable electrical noise.

The moment the image finally cleared, a thick, pungent smell of blood, as if it could pierce through dimensions, instantly hit them.

"Thump!"

In the projection, a figure as massive as a mountain fell heavily to its knees.

It was Grand Commander Lei Zhen.

But at this moment, The President no longer had his usual imposing appearance. His heavy power armor was completely ruined; the chest plate had been ripped open, revealing the mangled flesh and broken ribs inside. Half of his face was caked in blood, one eye swollen until only a slit remained, and the barrel of the iconic heavy machine gun in his hand had been burned red and twisted.

The background noise was no longer the sound of wind, but deafening explosions, screams, and a cold, mechanical, synthesized electronic voice.

"Your... Your Majesty!"

Grand Commander Lei Zhen's voice was hoarse, flecked with blood, sounding as if it were being dragged out of a bellows:

"Something happened! The sky has fallen!"

"Dawn City... cannot be held anymore!"

These few words were like a basin of ice water, instantly extinguishing the lingering romance and tension in the living room.

Jiang Wanqiu's face turned paper-white in an instant.

She lunged toward the projection, her hands trying to grab Grand Commander Lei Zhen's shoulders, but she only caught empty light and shadow:

"Grand Commander Lei Zhen! What are you saying?!"

"How long has it been since I left? Weren't we just celebrating victory? Who did this? Is it remnants of the Brotherhood of Steel? Or a mutant beast tide?"

"No... it's not humans..."

Grand Commander Lei Zhen coughed violently, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth with every cough, "It's that ruin! That alien ruin in the Far North!"

He struggled to turn his body, aiming the camera at the battlefield behind him.

Jiang Chen and Academician Chen Shuyin both gasped in shock.

In the image, the outer walls of Dawn City, which were once impregnable, had now turned into a sea of fire.

And in the sea of fire, countless silver-white figures were surging forth like a tide.

They were not humans, nor were they beasts.

They were a group of battle robots with streamlined metal bodies, wielding high-energy particle weapons.

They had no fear, felt no pain, and marched with uniform steps, like a precision-running killing machine, ruthlessly harvesting every life.

The Wasteland warriors' homemade rifles only sparked harmlessly when hitting them. And every time the laser cannons in their hands flashed, they could easily vaporize humans along with their bunkers.

"The Machina Legion..."

Academician Chen Shuyin beside him pushed up her glasses, her voice trembling—it was the fear of a scientist seeing a nightmare come true:

"That is the autonomous Machina Legion that legend says destroyed the previous civilization era!"

"Didn't they go dormant? Why did they suddenly wake up?!"

In the projection, Grand Commander Lei Zhen's desperate roar provided the answer:

"It was us... we dug too deep!"

"That old madman Zero, he cracked the core gate at the lowest level of the ruin! He said it was a treasure vault, a divine repository! But as soon as the door opened... it was full of these monsters!"

"They were awakened by some kind of signal! It was a signal of destruction!"

"Your Majesty! Run! Don't come back!"

Grand Commander Lei Zhen wiped the blood from his face and roared hoarsely into the camera:

"Stay in the God Realm! As long as you are alive, the spark of Dawn City is not extinguished!"

"Brothers! Fight these scrap metal piles to the death! For the Empress! For the Father God!"

"Boom—!!!"

The image shook violently, then abruptly cut off. Clearly, the communication base station had been destroyed.

The living room fell into a deathly silence.

Only Jiang Chen's heavy breathing and the "creak" of Jiang Wanqiu's nails digging into her palms could be heard.

"Lost..."

Jiang Wanqiu stared blankly at the black screen, her body trembling slightly, "My home... is gone."

Those subjects who cheered for her, those children who had just started to get enough to eat, those soldiers who fought to protect their homeland...

At this moment, they were being slaughtered.

And the Empress, whom they regarded as their guardian deity, was standing in another peaceful world wearing a ridiculous JK uniform, watching all of this happen like a useless person.

"No... no way!"

Jiang Wanqiu lifted her head abruptly.

In those red eyes, the tears had already evaporated, replaced by a sense of determination and madness capable of burning the heavens.

She ripped off the delicate bow on her neck and casually tore open the white shirt that was originally meant to please Jiang Chen, revealing the form-fitting black nano-combat undersuit beneath.

"I cannot stay here!"

"My subjects are bleeding! My city is burning!"

Jiang Wanqiu turned around, rushed to the entryway, and grabbed the alloy greatsword she had left at the door.

The heavy greatsword was as light as a feather in her hands, the blade vibrating, emitting a mournful cry that thirsted for blood.

"Jiang Wanqiu! Are you crazy?!"

Academician Chen Shuyin came to her senses and rushed over to stop her, "Going back now is just suicide! Those are the Machina Legion! They are war machines! How many can you kill alone? A hundred? A thousand? Even if you exhaust yourself to death, you won't be able to finish them off!"

"Move!"

Jiang Wanqiu's eyes were red, and she waved her hand violently, a wave of air pushing Academician Chen Shuyin back several steps.

"That is my country! Those are my people!"

"Even if I die, I will die on the path of the charge! On the walls of Dawn City!"

She turned her head and took a deep look at Jiang Chen, who was standing in the center of the living room and had not spoken the whole time.

In those eyes, there was attachment, reluctance to part, and even more so, a farewell.

"Father God..."

Jiang Wanqiu's voice choked up, and she slowly knelt down, kowtowing heavily to Jiang Chen:

"I'm sorry."

"Wanqiu... cannot bear a divine child for you anymore."

"This outfit... although you like it, it cannot protect my subjects."

"If there is an afterlife, Wanqiu will serve you like an ox or a horse again!"

After speaking, she stood up resolutely, carrying the greatsword, and rushed out of the villa door without looking back.

That figure was desolate and tragic, like a hero destined to fall.

"You stop right there!"

A roar suddenly came from behind.

Jiang Chen finally moved.

He rushed up in a few steps and grabbed Jiang Wanqiu's wrist. His strength was great, so great that even Jiang Wanqiu, who possessed enhanced genes, felt a sharp pain.

"Father God, let me go! I must go..."

"Go to hell with that!"

Jiang Chen interrupted her roughly, pushing his handsome face right in front of Jiang Wanqiu, his eyes fierce like a wolf protecting its food:

"What do you take me for?"

"Did I ever say I would let you go and die alone?"

Jiang Wanqiu was stunned, looking at Jiang Chen's eyes burning with rage, and for a moment, she forgot to struggle.

"You..."

"You what you!"

Jiang Chen let go, turned around, and looked at Academician Chen Shuyin, who had been stunned by this sudden change of events, and Pikachu, who was shivering in the corner.

He took a deep breath and tidied his slightly messy collar.

That usual slacker attitude, that profiteering merchant's snobbishness, all disappeared at this moment.

In their place was a suffocating pressure belonging to a "Tech Overlord" and a "Primordial Ancient God."

"Academician Chen Shuyin!"

Jiang Chen's voice was low but carried an unquestionable command:

"Notify the West Suburb Base! All personnel on Level 1 combat readiness!"

"Tell Zhao Gang to get the 'Sweet Potato Defense Company' out for me! Bring all the heavy weapons! Load all the EMP electromagnetic grenades and high-energy laser cannons from the inventory onto the trucks!"

"And!"

Jiang Chen pointed violently at the pitch-black night sky outside the window, at the massive steel warship hovering in low Earth orbit that blotted out the stars:

"Launch the 'luan bird'!"

"Preheat the Anti-gravity Engine! Open the cross-dimensional jump field!"

"Since that so-called Machina Legion wants to play..."

Jiang Chen's lips curled into a cruel and crazy smile, his eyes overflowing with killing intent:

"Then I will play with them properly!"

"Daring to touch my wife's maiden home?"

"Daring to tear down my backyard?"

"I think they are—looking for death!"