68: Chapter 68 Weakness is the original sin, firepower is the truth! The laws of the apocalypse!

Fuyao Alliance Main Base.

Inside the steel hall, holographic images flickered. In the center of the screen, snow and wind raged at the entrance of the Extreme Cold Rift, where tens of thousands of warplanes were lined up like worker ants.

The camera zoomed in. A massive dark passenger plane was mixed into the queue.

Its weapon modules were fully retracted, and its radar was silent. Aside from its massive size, it appeared completely non-aggressive on the surface, obediently moving forward with the line.

Li Min leaned back on her throne, swirled the wine glass in her hand, and a clear look of contempt flashed in her eyes.

“This is the 'powerful outsider' you were talking about?” Li Min looked at Xu Qingyao on the light screen and let out a scoff.

“I thought he’d have the guts to blast straight through the Di Sha Alliance's defense line. Turns out he's just another one obediently lining up to pay protection fees?”

Xu Qingyao sat in the cockpit of the storm guest plane, watching the distant dark passenger plane with a complicated expression.

She bit her lower lip as a sense of powerlessness washed over her. Had the man who had been so arrogant and overbearing in front of her finally bowed his head when faced with a truly great alliance?

“Alliance Leader, should we still go to support him?” Xu Qingyao asked in a low voice.

“Support? Like hell we will.” Li Min downed the red wine in one gulp, her voice cold.

“I won't gamble the lives of the tens of thousands of sisters in the Fuyao Alliance on a spineless coward. Offend the Di Sha Alliance and the Tianxia Alliance for him? He’s not worth it.”

“All members stay put. Once he pays the toll and enters the mountains, take your people to detain him and interrogate him for the source of the super nano crystal steel.”

The communication cut off. Li Min casually smashed the empty wine glass, her eyes filled with disappointment and boredom.

...

At the same time, on the periphery of the Kunlun East Entrance, at the War God Alliance temporary headquarters.

“That stupid woman Li Min is truly all brawn and no brains.”

Xiao Zhantian, the leader of the War God Alliance, had just hung up the communication. He slammed his fist onto the holographic sand table, making the entire command post hum with the vibration.

The scar on his right cheek twisted with extreme excitement as he stared intently at the high-definition capture of the dark passenger plane on the screen.

“Alliance Leader, that kid has backed down. Why are we still getting involved?” the adjutant asked, puzzled.

“Backed down? Are you freaking blind!” Xiao Zhantian grabbed the adjutant by the collar and pressed him against the screen, pointing at the dark passenger plane's armor.

“Look closely at the luster of this coating! Deep blue, understated, and not a single seam! This is freaking super nano crystal steel armor with over 80% purity! You couldn't scrape together this much even if you emptied every ruin on the server!”

The adjutant's pupils shrank as he gasped.

“The one trading super nano crystal steel for low-tier materials on the 360 Regional Channel is this very Living Yama!” Xiao Zhantian let go, his eyes fanatical and certain.

“He didn't retract his weapons and line up to pay a toll; he's closing the distance to find the Di Sha Alliance's high-ranking officials! This kid is going for a decapitation strike!”

Xiao Zhantian spun around, his voice like thunder.

“Pass down my orders! The War God Alliance First and Second Elite Squads are to take off immediately. Cancel radar silence!”

“As soon as the front line opens fire, the entire army will charge over to help him tear through the flank defenses! Helping a man in his hour of need is better than adding to his success. Today, I'm betting my entire fortune on this kid!”

...

Extreme Cold Rift.

Gale-force winds mixed with hail pounded relentlessly against the cockpit windows.

The rift, several kilometers wide, was one of the vital passages into Kunlun. On either side stood the Kunlun Giant Mountains, tens of thousands of meters high, piercing the clouds and blocking even radar.

The dark passenger plane hovered low-key in the middle of the queue.

Yu Feng sat in the pilot's seat, an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth, his eyelids half-drooped.

“Brother, that’s a huge model you’ve got there. The fuel consumption must be insane, right?”

A gruff voice suddenly came through the left channel. An Lv.6 Iron Wing Heavy Transport Plane, completely covered in new armor, pulled up alongside him.

Yu Feng turned his head. The holographic screen automatically displayed the other party's information.

[Player ID: Jue Ying. Lv.6 Iron Wing Heavy Transport Plane.]

Jue Ying? Yu Feng's eyebrows twitched slightly. This was the solo player who had traded him the stasis scepter for super nano crystal steel last night.

“It’s alright. Just trying to get by.” Yu Feng’s tone was flat, not revealing that he knew him.

“Sigh, it's a tough world for solo players. These bastards from the Di Sha Alliance are blocking the gate and robbing people, and the Tianxia Alliance's warplanes are backing them up from behind.”

Jue Ying grumbled in the channel, then his tone shifted to one of generosity.

“But I like the look of you! Brother, I recently met an anonymous big shot and traded some gear and most of my supplies for materials. I just upgraded to a Level 6 plane, and the defense is rock-solid.”

“Once we pay the toll and get inside, stay close to me. I, Jue Ying, will cover you!”

A solo player who had only just reached Level 6 was confidently thumping his chest and promising to protect him.

The corner of Yu Feng's mouth curled into a playful arc as he replied nonchalantly, “Sure, then I'll be counting on you, Brother Jue Ying.”

Inside the cabin, Shen Tiantian was typing furiously on her keyboard, her shoulders shaking as she tried to stifle her laughter.

The pleasantries ended.

The dark passenger plane was now only seven kilometers away from the Di Sha Alliance checkpoint.

The atmosphere inside the Captain's cabin instantly dropped to the freezing point.

“Captain Brother.” Shen Tiantian stopped smiling, her large eyes flashing with absolute rationality and focus.

“high-frequency booby-trap droness self-check complete. Over eighty enemy peripheral firepower points have been locked. As soon as you give the order, we can cut off their air defense network at any time.”

“Fire Eagle Squad is in position,” Ling Yanshuang’s cold voice came through the internal line.

“Thirty Tier 4 Flame Giant Eagles carrying high explosives are already lying in wait within the thick thunderclouds above the rift. They are ready for suicide-bombing air drops at any time.”

Yu Feng spat out the cigarette and swept his sharp gaze across the holographic radar.

Two kilometers ahead, the Di Sha Alliance's defense line was heavily fortified.

Over five thousand heavily modified armed warplanes were arranged in echeloned fire formations according to squad and company units.

Heavy machine guns and aircraft autocannons covered each other, making the defense as watertight as an iron fortress. Their tactical proficiency was extremely high.

“These grandsons actually have some skill.” Yu Feng tapped his fingers on the console.

But what he really cared about wasn't these five thousand pieces of cannon fodder. He scanned the holographic radar three times but found no signal signatures of any Level 7 planes.

“This Vice Alliance Leader of the Di Sha Alliance is quite cautious.” Yu Feng sneered.

“He must be hiding at the very back of the defense line. If we open fire now, the distance is too great; he might escape at any time.”

Yu Feng's thumb gently rubbed the fire control button. “Hold steady. Keep moving forward with the queue. Once we break through the first line of defense and enter the optimal firing range, we go straight for the decapitation.”

Progress at the checkpoint ahead was slow.

A dilapidated Level 3 civilian plane was forcibly cut off in mid-air by two Di Sha Alliance heavy armed fighters.

“Toll is 70% of your supplies! Plus three hundred units of fuel!” A yellow-haired Di Sha Alliance thug leader stood on the wing, holding a Gauss rifle and arrogantly banging on the Level 3 plane's bulletproof glass.

Inside the cockpit, a frail young man looked desperate, his hands shielding the young woman beside him.

“Officer, we really don't have anything left! We've flown all this way, and our fuel was exhausted long ago! Please, have some mercy...”

“No supplies?” The yellow-haired thug spat and stared lewdly at the trembling young woman in the co-pilot seat.

“No supplies is fine. Leave this woman behind to pay off the debt. Vice Alliance Leader Cao likes them fresh like this.”

“You animals! I’ll kill you!” The young man's eyes turned blood-red as he slammed the engine throttle forward, attempting to ram them.

“Overestimating yourself.”

The yellow-haired thug sneered. A nearby Di Sha Alliance fighter adjusted its nose slightly, and with three dull thuds of its autocannon, it roared.

The Level 3 plane's cockpit was instantly shredded.

The young man's upper body was torn into mincemeat by the thick armor-piercing shells, blood and internal organs splashing across the glass in a radial pattern.

The woman's scream pierced through the wind and snow.

The yellow-haired thug waved his hand expertly, and several subordinates forced open the broken hatch. Ignoring the woman's frantic struggles, they grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out.

“Send her to Vice Alliance Leader Cao as a gift.” The yellow-haired thug laughed wantonly, then turned and pointed at the crowd of solo planes waiting behind.

“Look closely, all of you! This is what happens when you can't afford the toll!”

As the image was broadcast, a deadly silence fell over the entire channel.

All the solo players in line, including Jue Ying, who had just vowed to protect Yu Feng, were now gripping their control sticks tightly, eyes burning with rage, yet not one dared to move.

The gap was too large. Facing that dark mass of five thousand heavy-firepower warplanes, charging forward meant certain death.

Inside the dark passenger plane.

Shen Tiantian watched the bloody and brutal scene on the holographic screen. Her face was pale, and her frail body trembled uncontrollably.

She remembered the scene when her own brother was brutally killed by the Di Sha Alliance. She could feel the desperation of watching a loved one being slaughtered.

“Captain Brother...” Shen Tiantian's eyes were red, her fingers digging into the edge of the auxiliary console.

A broad, warm hand pressed heavily onto her shoulder.

Yu Feng stood behind her, his eyes showing no emotion, as cold as a polar glacier.

“In the apocalypse, weakness is a sin. Without strength, you can't even protect your own woman. Being killed is only a matter of time.”

Shen Tiantian bit her lower lip, forcing back her tears.

“I'm not here to be a savior.” Yu Feng turned his head, staring intently at the coordinate data on the radar screen as the distance continued to shrink.

The abducted woman was being escorted by a small transport plane toward a giant Ice Rock Shelter deep within the defense line.