175: Return to the East, the conspiracy of the three major families

The roar of the military transport plane's engines gradually ceased, and the cabin door slowly opened.

Su Lei stepped out of the cabin, and the biting border wind hit him, ruffling the hem of his black trench coat.

In the distance, the searchlights of the military base cut pale beams of light through the twilight.

A major in a crisp uniform jogged forward to meet him.

His gaze lingered on Su Lei's epaulets for a moment.

Though there were no military insignia and he didn't know the other's identity, he dared not be careless in the slightest.

This 'Night Owl' fighter jet, emblazoned with a bladed insignia, was the exclusive ride of the Federation's Supreme Command... The major puffed out his chest and saluted crisply.

"Report, sir! Commander Liao is waiting in the command center; please follow me—"

"No need." Su Lei raised a hand to interrupt, his voice calm but brooking no argument.

He looked east, where the sky glowed with an abnormal, dark red hue.

"Relay my order: immediately withdraw all Martial Artist troops from the front line."

The major's expression instantly froze, his saluting right hand stiff in mid-air.

"W-withdraw?"

"But... the Eastern Theater Command is currently engaged in battle; if we now—"

"This is not a suggestion."

Su Lei turned his head, and a golden light seemed to flash in his eyes. The major suddenly felt a dizzy spell, as if an invisible force had gripped his throat, "It's an order."

A drop of cold sweat trickled down the major's temple.

He instinctively reached for the communicator at his waist, but under Su Lei's gaze, his movements froze: "Sir... this requires written authorization from Supreme Command..."

Before he could finish, a sudden gust of wind whipped up a sky full of sand and dust. The major had to raise his hand to shield his face, completely unaware that his military cap had been blown away. When the sandstorm settled, the tarmac was already empty.

"S-sir?" The major looked around in a daze.

The base gate was unmoved, and the sentry soldiers were still patrolling normally.

He pinched his thigh hard, the pain surprisingly real.

The next moment, the communicator at his waist suddenly rang.

The major fumbled to answer, and a suppressed voice of inquiry came through.

"What's going on?!"

"Radar shows an unidentified object broke through the defense line at Mach 3 and went east!"

The major looked at the darkening eastern sky and opened his mouth.

There, an almost invisible, colorful stream of light cut through the clouds, vanishing in an instant.

"R-report."

The major's voice trembled slightly, "A sir who rode in the 'Night Owl' fighter jet was just here..."

"...Who was he?"

"Unclear. Before he left, he ordered our front-line troops to i-immediately withdraw."

The other end of the communicator fell into a deathly silence.

After a long while, a sigh came through.

"Notify the Third and Seventh Legions to retreat twenty kilometers. Execute immediately."

"This, what if the people from the Three Great Families..."

"Execute the order, Major."

"Some things... are not for us to meddle with."

As dusk deepened, Su Lei passed through the combat zone and officially stepped into the territory controlled by the Three Great Families.

He stood at the entrance of a military base on the front line.

His Mental Energy spread out like ripples, instantly enveloping the entire base.

A patrol of soldiers passed by, but they seemed to have their attention forcibly diverted by some power, their gaze always avoiding his direction.

The surveillance cameras trembled slightly, and the image showed subtle static interference.

Su Lei calmly walked through three security gates, the alarm System maintaining an eerie silence.

Taking the elevator directly to the top floor, he arrived at the conference room at the end of the corridor, where angry shouts and the sound of tables being slammed suddenly erupted from within the room.

"You bunch of useless fools! You must take stronghold number three before dawn!"

The conference room door automatically pushed open.

The door lock clicked softly and slowly slid open.

The middle-aged man behind the desk suddenly looked up,

Watching Su Lei slowly enter, his face instantly darkened.

"Who are you..."

His words abruptly stopped.

The other party's pupils became unfocused, and he stood frozen in place like a puppet on strings.

"General... General?"

Inquiries kept coming from the communicator.

"Operation canceled."

"All Martial Artists on the front line... immediately return to base."

Ignoring the inquiries from the other end of the communicator, Su Lei placed his hand on the man's head, silently examining the memories in his mind.

Situ Ming, Lieutenant General, Martial Arts Grandmaster, Front-line Commander-in-Chief... In the holographic projection, Lei Mietian personally gave the order... Three days later, return to the East Sea Dragon Cave to participate in the promotion ceremony... Su Lei withdrew his finger, his brow slightly furrowed.

Beyond this, there was no information about Demonic Beasts.

Nor did he know what the Three Great Families were preparing... He stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, where the eastern sky in the distance glowed with a sickly dark red.

Su Lei frowned slightly and gave an instruction.

"Go to the East Sea Dragon Cave."

Situ Ming, as if sleepwalking, took out a set of car keys from a drawer.

Then they left the office together.

The guards in the corridor paid no attention to the two, as if looking at thin air.

When the military jeep drove out of the base, the sentry even actively raised the barrier... As the vehicle drove east, the scenery outside the window gradually became eerie.

The once dense forest began to show large areas of wilting, the tree trunks twisted into unnatural shapes.

Black viscous liquid seeped from the road surface where the tires rolled, and the air was filled with a putrid, sweet smell.

"Stop." Su Lei suddenly spoke.

The vehicle slowly stopped by the roadside.

Su Lei got out and lightly touched a half-rotted wild grass.

The grass blade immediately turned to ash, but in the instant before its annihilation, he captured a familiar energy fluctuation—

Exactly like the Demonic Beasts in the west, it was the decaying aura characteristic of a dark Qi field.

Su Lei looked east.

On the distant horizon, the outline of a city was faintly visible.

But the high-rise buildings, which should have been brightly lit, were now shrouded in an eerie black mist, unusually quiet... or rather, lifeless.

Only a few sporadic dark red lights flickered, like the eyes of a giant beast.

Su Lei's expression grew serious.

From here to the East Sea Dragon Cave, he still had to cross two provinces, a full 1,300 kilometers.

Yet such severe pollution had appeared—

Either the Demonic Beasts had completely broken free from the Seal, or... the Three Great Families were actively cooperating with the Demonic Beasts!

...Half an hour later, the military jeep drove onto the city's main road, the tires making a sticky sound as they rolled over the surface.

Su Lei looked out the window; the entire city was terribly silent, traffic lights still mechanically changing, but there were no vehicles passing through.

In the cups at the roadside cafe, the coffee had long since dried into black crystals.

"Beep—"

The communicator suddenly activated automatically, displaying a holographic image.

Chairman Cheng appeared in the frame, his face unusually solemn.

Behind him was a chaotic command center, with a dozen screens simultaneously flashing red alarm lights.

"Su Lei, something has happened."

"The first batch of Materials transport planes were attacked; the starfall iron and Nether Sand are all lost."

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