329: Chapter 329 You've worked hard

The Vanguard's avatars were visibly weakening.

Less than ten minutes after cutting off their energy supply, nearly half of the dozens of silver patrol units had stopped moving.

They hovered in mid-air, their silver light flickering on and off like lamps about to go out.

The speed of those still moving had dropped to a third of what it was before.

The once impenetrable patrol network was now full of gaps.

The large gaps were wide enough for twenty people to walk through side by side.

Lin Yuan and Ye Qingxue only needed enough space for two.

"Let's go."

Lin Yuan stepped forward.

Ye Qingxue followed by his side, half a step behind.

The two crossed the ice field, heading toward the silver vortex.

No running.

No sneaking.

Just walking at a normal pace.

At first, Ye Qingxue maintained a posture of alertness—

her Superpower half-activated, ready to deal with any sudden situation at any time.

But after walking about two hundred meters, she realized her vigilance was somewhat unnecessary.

Because there was nothing on the road.

Truly nothing at all.

The closest of the patrolling avatars were three or four hundred meters away, and they were moving in the opposite direction.

Not to mention the deactivated ones—

they could barely maintain their own forms, let alone detect two humans.

Ye Qingxue relaxed a little.

But only a little.

"This is too smooth," she whispered.

"It's not smooth."

Lin Yuan said, "It's that the plan was well-made."

Ye Qingxue glanced at him.

"Can you be a bit more subtle when you praise yourself?"

"I am stating facts."

"...Fine."

The two continued walking.

The ice field was unrealistically quiet.

The silver vortex in the distance was getting closer and closer.

The rotation speed seemed a bit slower than before—

after losing the energy supply, even the operation of the core itself was affected.

They walked for about ten minutes.

The entrance to the rift core appeared before them.

It wasn't a cave or a door.

It was a vertical curtain of silver light, hovering half a meter above the ice, about three meters wide and five meters high.

The surface of the light curtain rippled slightly like water, and one could faintly see silver light flowing within.

Lin Yuan stopped in front of the light curtain.

He reached out, his fingertips touching the surface of the light curtain.

silver light patterns spread from his fingertips, like a stone being thrown into a pond.

Then the ripples in the light curtain stopped.

It became smooth.

Like a mirror.

"Safe," Lin Yuan withdrew his hand.

"You just touched it and knew it was safe?"

"Mm."

Ye Qingxue waited for two seconds, realizing he had no intention of explaining.

She was already used to it.

Asking Lin Yuan "How do you know," the answer received was always "Mm," "I just know," or silence.

One of the three.

Never an exception.

Lin Yuan stepped into the light curtain.

Ye Qingxue took a deep breath and followed.

The feeling of passing through the light curtain was strange.

It wasn't cold, it wasn't hot, and it didn't hurt.

It was a brief sensation of weightlessness.

It was like her whole being was pulled out of the original space and stuffed into another.

It lasted about a second.

Then her vision suddenly opened up.

A silver void.

No sky.

No ground.

No up, down, left, or right.

In all directions, there was silver light—soft, flowing, and boundless silver.

There was a solid feeling underfoot, but no ground could be seen—

like stepping on a layer of transparent glass, with an endless silver abyss beneath it.

Ye Qingxue instinctively leaned closer to Lin Yuan.

It wasn't fear.

It was just that this environment was too unreal, and she needed a fixed reference point.

And Lin Yuan was that reference point.

No matter how absurd the surrounding environment was, he was always the most stable existence.

"What is that?" Ye Qingxue pointed ahead.

In the very center of the silver void, a ball of light was floating.

Not big.

About the size of a basketball.

But it was pulsating.

Expanding and contracting, expanding and contracting, like a beating heart.

With every pulsation, silver energy ripples spread outward.

This was the energy body of the rift core.

The source of the silver light catastrophe.

The source of the Vanguard's power.

The foundation for the existence of the entire microcosm.

Lin Yuan looked at that ball of light, his eyes showing no fluctuation.

No awe.

No greed.

No nervousness.

It was the indifference of "Oh, it's right there."

Like seeing a package he ordered online left at the door.

"Same origin," he said.

Ye Qingxue didn't understand: "What?"

"This thing shares the same origin as the power within me."

He didn't explain any further.

He took out the resonance device and pressed the start button.

The dark gold crystal lit up, releasing a golden light.

The golden light formed a stark contrast with the silver void—

One warm, one cold; one bright, one dark.

Then a strange thing happened.

The ball of light floating in the center of the void began to move.

Slowly.

Toward Lin Yuan.

It wasn't being pulled over.

It was approaching on its own.

Like something that had been wandering outside for a long time and finally found its way home.

Powers of the same origin naturally attract each other.

No need to snatch it by force.

No need to take it forcibly.

It would come back on its own.

The ball of light approached Lin Yuan, and the golden light wrapped around it.

The absorption began.

Lin Yuan closed his eyes.

Golden light surged from within his body.

Merging with the silver energy of the ball of light, forming a cocoon of intertwined gold and silver light.

The light cocoon completely wrapped around Lin Yuan.

His expression was very calm.

As if he were doing something completely ordinary.

Ye Qingxue stood by his side, her Superpower fully activated, entering a combat state.

Her task was simple—

during the time Lin Yuan was absorbing it, block all possible threats.

Two minutes.

Lin Yuan said he only needed two minutes.

Ye Qingxue felt that two minutes wasn't long.

But she also knew that in battle, a lot could happen in two minutes.

Outside the core.

Ling Shuanghan led Huo Yan and 800 Centennial Warriors to guard the north side.

Ji Wushuang, Luo Qinghan, and Ye Qingyue led the Goddess Squad and the Blue Star female members to guard the south side.

The two parties did not cross paths, each guarding their own side.

Huo Yan crouched behind an ice rock, his gaze scanning the ice field ahead.

The Vanguard's avatars were still weakening.

But the Vanguard's main body was still hovering high in the sky, its silver light shadow constantly contracting and expanding, as if gathering strength.

"It is hesitating," Ling Shuanghan stood behind Huo Yan, her gaze cold.

"Hesitating about what?"

"Whether to dive down or not."

"So is it going to dive or not?"

"If it senses the anomaly inside the core—it will dive."

Huo Yan swallowed hard.

"Then can we stop it?"

Ling Shuanghan did not answer.

Huo Yan felt that this silence was more unsettling than any answer.

South side.

Ji Wushuang leaned against an ice pillar, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the Vanguard's main body in the high sky.

Luo Qinghan stood beside her, expressionless.

Ye Qingyue crouched on the ground, drawing circles on the ice with her finger.

"Boring," Ye Qingyue said.

"Wait," Ji Wushuang said.

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for it to move."

"What if it doesn't move?"

"Then keep waiting."

Ye Qingyue sighed and continued drawing circles.

She drew a stick figure of the Vanguard.

A blurry mass of silver light.

Then she drew a little person next to it.

The little person had their hands in their pockets.

"Who is this?" Luo Qinghan glanced at it.

"Guess."

Luo Qinghan didn't guess.

Because there was no need to guess.

In the whole world, there was only one person who could face the Vanguard with hands in their pockets and still look nonchalant.

A minute passed.

Inside the core, the absorption was halfway through.

The cocoon of intertwined gold and silver light became brighter, and the energy fluctuations grew stronger.

Ye Qingxue felt the change.

Not from the light cocoon.

It was from the outside.

The silver void began to vibrate.

A faint but continuous vibration.

As if something was striking this space from the outside.

Then she heard it.

A screech.

The Vanguard's screech.

Sharper and angrier than any time before.

It had sensed it.

The energy body inside the core was being absorbed.

Its source of power was being taken away.

The Vanguard no longer hesitated.

Outside the core, everyone felt the change in that aura simultaneously.

The silver light shadow in the high sky suddenly shrank into a point—then dove down at a terrifying speed.

Straight toward the core.

"It's here!" Ling Shuanghan's voice rang out in the communication channel.

Huo Yan's heart skipped a beat.

He saw it.

That silver light, descending from the sky, its speed so fast the naked eye could barely keep up.

Like a silver meteor.

Crashing toward the direction of the rift core.

Crashing toward the direction where Lin Yuan and Ye Qingxue were.

Inside the core.

Ye Qingxue felt the approach of that power.

The vibration of the silver void became more and more intense, and cracks began to appear at the light curtain entrance.

The Vanguard was going to force its way into the core.

Ye Qingxue did not hesitate.

She walked in front of Lin Yuan, facing the light curtain entrance, and raised her hands.

Her Superpower erupted with full force.

A translucent energy barrier formed in front of her, covering the entire entrance.

Her strength was among the top tier of all Ability Users on Blue Star.

With the Vanguard's energy supply cut off and its strength significantly decreased, she was confident she could block it for some time.

At least two minutes.

She only needed to block it for two minutes.

The light curtain entrance exploded.

A torrent of silver energy flooded into the core, charging straight at Ye Qingxue's barrier.

Boom—

The barrier vibrated violently, and Ye Qingxue's feet slid, leaving two marks on the transparent ground.

The impact was even greater than she had anticipated.

Although the Vanguard's supply had been cut off, it was fighting with its life.

An existence about to lose everything often unleashes power that defies common sense.

Ye Qingxue gritted her teeth, veins bulging on her arms, pushing her Superpower output to the limit.

The barrier developed cracks under the impact of the silver energy.

But it didn't shatter.

She held on.

The first wave.

Then the second wave came.

Even fiercer.

The cracks on the barrier widened.

A trace of blood spilled from the corner of Ye Qingxue's mouth.

But her gaze did not waver.

Behind her, Lin Yuan was wrapped in the gold and silver light cocoon, the absorption still continuing.

Steadily.

Neither fast nor slow.

As if the battle outside had nothing to do with him.

Not cold-blooded.

It was trust.

He believed Ye Qingxue could hold on.

Just as Ye Qingxue believed he could complete it within the time.

Before the third wave of impact arrived, an ice-blue light shot in from the light curtain entrance.

Ling Shuanghan.

She had fought her way in from the outside.

Ice-blue Superpower erupted around her, forming a layer of ice armor, and she crashed directly into the silver energy torrent.

"I'll share the burden."

Her voice was cold, but very steady.

Ling Shuanghan's ice-blue energy and Ye Qingxue's barrier overlapped, instantly doubling the strength of the defense line.

Two women, one in front and one behind, stood before Lin Yuan.

Ye Qingxue in front, primary defense.

Ling Shuanghan on the side, diverting the flow.

There had been no prior cooperative training between them.

But they were as in sync as if they had worked together for many years.

Because their goal was the same—

Hold on.

Hold on until he finished.

The third wave of impact slammed into the dual defense line.

Boom—

A corner of Ye Qingxue's barrier shattered, and Ling Shuanghan's ice armor developed cracks.

But the defense line did not collapse.

If it shattered, they mended it; if it cracked, they repaired it.

Both of their Superpowers operated frantically, repairing the defense while enduring the impact.

The silver energy surged in one wave after another like a tide.

Each wave was fiercer than the last.

The Vanguard was making a desperate gamble.

Ye Qingxue's face grew paler, and the blood from the corner of her mouth dripped down her chin.

Ling Shuanghan's ice armor had shattered more than halfway, revealing the pale skin beneath.

But neither of them retreated.

Not even a step.

Ye Qingxue's peripheral vision swept behind her.

The light of the gold and silver cocoon was getting brighter.

Almost there.

She didn't know exactly how much longer it would take.

But she could feel it—it was almost there.

"Can you still hold on?" Ling Shuanghan's voice came from the side.

Ye Qingxue spat out the blood in her mouth.

"What about you?"

"I'm asking you."

"I can hold on."

"Then I can too."

The two women exchanged a glance.

No smile.

No extra words.

Just continuing to bear it.

The gold and silver cocoon behind them had reached its peak brightness.

Lin Yuan's absorption entered the final stage.

Outside the core.

Huo Yan looked at the energy fluctuations constantly erupting in the direction of the core, his face grim.

He couldn't do anything.

The Vanguard's main body had rushed into the core; his 800 men couldn't stop an existence of that level at all.

All he could do was guard the north side, ensuring nothing else rushed in during the chaos.

Ji Wushuang on the south side was in the same situation.

All they could do was guard their own positions.

The rest—

Leave it to those three people inside.

Huo Yan clenched his fists.

He suddenly understood something.

Lin Yuan said, "Avoid casualties if possible."

But he didn't say "no one will get hurt."

Nor did he say "no one will risk their lives."

He just left the "risking their lives" part to those most capable of risking them.

Ye Qingxue.

Ling Shuanghan.

And himself.

This was not cold-blooded.

This was what a leader should do.

Leave the most dangerous tasks to the strongest people.

Let the others live.

Huo Yan took a deep breath, shifted his gaze away from the core, and refocused on the area he was responsible for.

Guard his own position.

This was the only thing he could do now.

And it was what he should do.

Inside the core.

The fourth wave of impact.

Ye Qingxue's barrier shattered completely.

She didn't have time to rebuild it, so she blocked the silver energy with her body.

Her Superpower formed a final layer of protection on her body, taking the hit head-on.

Her body slid back three meters, her feet plowing two deep marks into the ground.

A large mouthful of blood surged from her mouth.

But she stood her ground.

Ling Shuanghan's ice armor shattered completely at the same time.

She was knocked back several steps by the aftermath, kneeling on one knee, one hand supporting herself on the ground.

Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.

But her eyes were still fixed ahead.

The Vanguard's silver energy was gathering, preparing to launch the fifth wave—the most violent wave of impact.

Ye Qingxue wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and stood straight again.

Ling Shuanghan also stood up from the ground.

The two stood side by side.

Facing the final strike that was about to come.

Then—

The light behind them went out.

Not disappeared.

It was condensed.

All the gold and silver light condensed back into a single point in an instant.

Condensed back into Lin Yuan's body.

Absorption complete.

Ye Qingxue felt the aura behind her change.

An indescribable change.

As if the person standing behind her had suddenly become more… complete.

She looked back.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes.

Golden light flashed and vanished in his pupils.

He looked at the blood at the corner of Ye Qingxue's mouth.

Then looked at Ling Shuanghan's shattered armor.

Then he took a step forward.

Walked past Ye Qingxue.

Walked past Ling Shuanghan.

Walked to the very front.

Facing the torrent of silver energy that was gathering.

"You've worked hard."

He said those two words.

Then he raised his hand.