Return! In short, heaven and hell!

That voice was so calm, it was as if he were saying, "I'm heading out."

But the moment it reached the Dragon Country Command Center,

The entire world fell silent.

Qin Pojun's slowly closing single eye snapped open!

His whole body seemed to be struck by lightning, freezing in place.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely at this moment.

Three days and three nights of despair.

The harsh accountability from the General Headquarters.

The deathly still gazes of his colleagues.

And that pitch-black [Guixu] zone, representing absolute nothingness.

Scene after scene flashed frantically through his mind.

Finally, it froze on that nonchalant phrase: "I'm back."

A hallucination?

Had he been driven mad by the pressure, experiencing auditory hallucinations?

The Longxiang Army Colonels behind him also revealed expressions of bewilderment and terror, exactly like his own.

"General..."

An Adjutant's lips trembled; he wanted to say something, but found his throat blocked as if by cement, unable to make a sound.

Qin Pojun ignored everyone.

As if sleepwalking, he moved step by step toward the command console.

His hand trembled as it reached for the switch of the public communication channel.

That hand shook so violently it seemed as if it no longer belonged to him.

He took a deep breath.

Then another deep breath.

Finally, using every ounce of his strength, he roared two words in a voice so raspy it hardly sounded human.

"Who is it?!"

The sound of static crackled again.

Then came that calm, unwavering response.

"Lin Yuan."

Boom!!!

Qin Pojun's mind completely exploded!

His bloodshot single eye instantly turned a deep, swollen red!

"Ah—!!!"

He suddenly threw his head back and let out an earth-shattering roar—a mixture of ecstasy, grievance, anger, and relief that had been suppressed for three days and three nights!

He laughed.

He cried.

Like a madman, he smashed his fist hard against the solid alloy command console!

Bang!

The entire console shook violently, and the alarm lights flashed frantically.

"Haha! Hahahahaha!"

"He's back! He's back!!"

"You son of a bitch! You're finally fucking back!!!"

He roared incoherently, and hot tears could no longer be suppressed, surging out from his single eye!

In the Command Center, after the initial shock, all the Longxiang Army officers were completely swept into an ocean of jubilation!

"He's back! Your Excellency Lin Yuan is back!"

"I knew it! I knew there was no way Your Excellency could die in a place like that!"

"Wuwuwu... This is great... This is truly great..."

The despair and deathly silence of the past three days were completely ignited at this moment, turning into a mountain-shaking tsunami of cheers and shouts!

They didn't even stop to think about what that "World-Ending" alarm was about.

They only knew one thing.

That man was back.

The sky of Dragon Country had not collapsed... Meanwhile,

In the White Eagle Country Command Center,

The smile on Mike Jason's face was still frozen at the corners of his mouth.

At his feet lay the high-quality red wine glass he had just shattered.

The piercing alarm was still frantically tearing at his nerves.

He stared fixedly at the holographic radar, at that terrifying red dot representing "World-Ending" hovering above the Demon Suppressing Pass.

"Why is the interception System not responding?! Are you all dead?!"

He roared frantically, trying to use his anger to cover the sliver of unease spreading through his heart.

However, just then,

The public communication channel of the Command Center was also forcibly accessed.

That calm voice rang out clearly in the ears of every White Eagle Country officer.

"I'm back."

"..."

Mike Jason's roar came to an abrupt halt.

The expression on his face froze.

"Lin Yuan."

When the second name sounded,

Mike Jason's body swayed violently.

At this instant, his brain finally connected all the clues.

The Lin Yuan who had disappeared three days ago.

Guixu.

The sudden appearance of a "World-Ending" target whose speed could not be calculated and whose Rank could not be determined.

And... this phrase, "I'm back."

An answer that he himself found absurd, one that made his Soul tremble, surfaced in his mind.

That red dot... that "World-Ending" threat... was Lin Yuan?!

Impossible!

This was absolutely impossible!

Shouldn't he have died in Guixu, with not even a bone remaining?!

How could he possibly come back?!

And how could he possibly have turned into a "World-Ending" monster?!

"No... no..."

Mike Jason's face turned deathly pale at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The schadenfreude on his face, the smugness and delight in his eyes—all were wiped away at this moment as if by an invisible giant hand!

In its place was that boundless Fear from the depths of his Soul, the same Fear he felt that day upon seeing the intel on the "Void Light Devourer"!

And this time, it was a hundred times—a thousand times—stronger than before!

"General?"

His Adjutant, seeing him look as if he had seen a ghost, spoke up cautiously.

Slap!

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Mike Jason suddenly delivered a vicious slap to the Adjutant's face!

"Shut up!"

He shrieked, losing control.

Fear had completely devoured his sanity.

At that very moment,

On the radar screen, the red dot representing "World-Ending" moved.

It began to descend.

The speed was not fast; it just slowly dropped toward the gates of the Demon Suppressing Pass.

As it descended, that terrifying energy reading that had nearly overloaded the entire radar System actually began to rapidly contract and disappear.

Finally,

When that figure's feet landed lightly on the yellow sands outside the Demon Suppressing Pass,

The red dot on the radar screen vanished completely.

It was as if that world-shattering alarm from just now had only been a hallucination.

In front of the main gate of the Demon Suppressing Pass,

Lin Yuan looked up at the massive, weather-beaten wall engraved with the words "Demon Suppressing."

He was still wearing that same simple combat suit.

It was spotless.

It was as if he hadn't just ventured into some deadly forbidden zone, but had merely gone out for a stroll.

Rumble—

The heavy city gate was forcibly opened from the inside in the crudest manner.

Qin Pojun was the first to charge out, like a maddened bull!

Behind him followed all the high-ranking officers of the Longxiang Army who had heard the news.

When Qin Pojun saw that figure standing quietly on the yellow sand,

His footsteps came to a sudden halt.

His blood-red single eye stared fixedly at Lin Yuan.

He wanted to rush up and punch him.

He wanted to grab him by the collar and ask him where the Hell he had been for the past three days.

But he couldn't do it.

He just stood there, looking at that figure, his body trembling violently with emotion.

All the Longxiang Army soldiers who had rushed over also stopped in their tracks.

They formed a human wall, watching from a distance.

No one spoke.

In the entire world, only the sound of the wind remained.

After a long time,

Qin Pojun finally found his voice. He took a few steps forward, his voice raspy beyond recognition.

"Your Excellency... You..."

There was too much he wanted to ask.

What exactly was inside Guixu?

What about candle dragon?

And what was that World-Ending alarm all about?

But all the questions, when they reached his lips, turned into the simplest sentence.

"You... are you all right?"

Lin Yuan looked at his disheveled state, a mix of tears and laughter, and calmly shook his head.

"I'm very well."

He paused, then added,

"Better than ever before."

After speaking, he bypassed Qin Pojun and walked straight toward the city.

As he passed Qin Pojun, his pace didn't falter as he nonchalantly left behind a few words.

"candle dragon is gone."

"Send the bill to the White Eagle Country Command Center."

"Make them pay a hundredfold compensation."