53: Chapter 53: The D-Rank Arrives! Sorry, this is still within my script.

Military transport aircraft.

The dim light inside the cabin, the low-frequency vibration of the engines traveling through the metal floor into everyone's bones, like some kind of ceaseless, weary heartbeat.

Section Chief Han Zheng sat on a simple folding seat against the side of the cabin.

An encrypted laptop was spread out on the small folding table in front of him, the screen's light illuminating his perpetually tense, square face.

On the screen was a world map.

Fourteen red coordinate points were scattered across six countries.

Twelve of them had already been crossed out—grey crosses, representing "Surveyed, No Findings."

Three days.

After Qin Province, he and Wang Hao had traveled without rest, moving through Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan.

Three ruins, nothing gained.

Wang Hao took the bronze piece, tracing it inch by inch against the stone walls.

Section Chief Han Zheng followed behind with a full set of equipment, from geological radar to energy detectors, wishing he could turn the entire mountain upside down.

In the end, the bronze piece remained ice-cold.

No golden light, no resonance, no reaction whatsoever.

It was as if that time in Qin Province had exhausted all its energy, and it had fallen into a deep slumber afterward.

Wang Hao leaned against the cabin wall with his eyes closed, his right hand always tucked in his pocket—the location of the bronze piece.

When they came out of the last ruin, he had missed his step on the way down the mountain and almost tumbled down.

Section Chief Han Zheng grabbed him, and the two stood on the mountain path for half a minute without speaking.

"No rush."

Section Chief Han Zheng finally said.

Wang Hao gave a bitter smile.

"You're the one who's not in a rush. I don't even dare tell my wife where I am when I call her. Huzi calls on video every day asking when I'm coming back to pick him up from school."

"Soon."

Section Chief Han Zheng patted his shoulder without saying anything more.

He didn't even believe the word "Soon" himself.

But he said it anyway.

Section Chief Han Zheng's gaze fell back to the computer screen, pulling up information on the European ruins.

The coordinates were located in the inland of Southeastern Europe, in the ruins of a medieval monastery.

Historical records showed that this monastery was completely destroyed by a massive fire in the early 12th century.

The monk's diary left behind descriptions of "blood-colored cracks falling from the sky" and "armored knights battling black-fog demons."

Data from the Echo Center showed that an abnormal signal lasting 0.1 seconds had appeared at these coordinates in 1973, ranking third in global recorded intensity.

Within seventy-two hours after the activation of the Qin Province ruins, a faint energy resonance appeared at these coordinates.

Section Chief Han Zheng clicked on the satellite map, zooming in to a fifty-kilometer radius around the coordinates.

His hand stopped.

The area where the monastery ruins were located—it was an active armed conflict zone.

Two local armed factions had been exchanging fire for over three months.

UN peacekeeping forces had established a buffer zone on the periphery, but the core area remained a no-man's-land of constant artillery fire.

Section Chief Han Zheng's brows knit tightly together.

An archaeological team entering a conflict zone?

He picked up the encrypted satellite phone and called headquarters.

"I need the latest battlefield situation assessment. Coordinates—"

After reporting the coordinates, there was silence on the other end for five seconds.

"Section Chief Han, this location is in the heart of the combat zone. There have been three airstrike records in the last week."

"I know."

"We strongly recommend delaying—"

"No delay."

Section Chief Han Zheng's voice was as hard as a nail.

"Arrange armed escort and evacuation plans. I arrive tomorrow."

He hung up the phone.

In the opposite seat, Wang Hao opened his eyes.

His hearing seemed to have improved somewhat after being infused with the golden light, enough to hear Section Chief Han Zheng's call clearly in the noisy cabin.

"War Zone?"

Wang Hao sat up straight.

Section Chief Han Zheng looked at him.

"Scared?"

Wang Hao made a sound of dismissal.

"I wasn't scared the day I drove into that steel beam wall either."

The corners of Section Chief Han Zheng's mouth moved—a rare, near-smile arc.

"Alright. Stick close to me when we get there."

---

Torch Base.

Su Chen sat under the ancient tree, a notebook and mobile phone placed in front of him.

He drew out a few wisps of mental energy, tapping into the remote perception state of Henry Bernstein's bronze piece.

Henry's flight had already landed.

The bronze piece's signal plummeted from thirty thousand feet to ground level, then stopped.

It stopped at Zurich Airport.

His heart rate was steady, but not the kind of calm stillness—it was the kind that settles into peace after making a major decision.

Then, the signal moved.

Not towards the city—but towards another terminal.

Henry didn't go home.

He transferred terminals inside the airport.

Su Chen pulled up the global flight information database—the system Lin Xiaoman had built could already do this much.

A list of flights departing from Zurich within two hours of Henry's arrival.

One of the flights had a destination of the closest civilian airport to the Southeastern European War Zone.

Su Chen stared at that destination for three seconds.

The corners of his mouth under the mask curved silently.

"Everything is under control."

He wrote a line in his notebook—

"Henry Bernstein. Has departed for the Southeastern European War Zone according to the preset trajectory."

The tip of his pen moved down two lines.

"Section Chief Han Zheng and Wang Hao. After hitting continuous walls with domestic ruins, they have locked their target onto Europe. Expected to arrive within 24 hours."

The next line.

"Three lines converging. The stage is set."

Su Chen put down the pen.

His fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the notebook.

Tap, tap.

He had long anticipated that the domestic ruins would no longer react.

That performance in Qin Province was to give the authorities confidence, to make them believe in the authenticity of the "Xinhuo ruins."

And the subsequent lack of findings was to shift their focus from domestic to global.

And Henry was the guide he had personally selected to raise the curtain on this act.

Just as he was about to close his notebook—

The system alarm exploded.

Not a normal notification sound.

It was a red, full-screen, highest-level warning with a piercing buzzer.

"—Emergency Warning—"

"Large-scale spatial fluctuations detected!"

"Coordinates: Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Dnieper River"

"Energy analysis: D+! Repeat—D-Tier energy signature! Accompanied by multiple E-Tier energy fluctuations!"

"Estimated arrival time: Within seven days."

"The scale of energy fluctuation far exceeds all previous records!"

"Host, please prepare in advance!"

Su Chen's fingers froze on the notebook.

D-Tier.

And multiple E-Tiers.

More than one.

"D-Tier Anomaly/Strange Beast: Extraordinary Tier 2 upper-level combat power. Possesses rule-level special abilities, such as Space Distortion, mental domain coverage, elemental immunity, etc. Suggested minimum configuration for solo kill: Tier 3: Fire-Bearer, or two or more Tier 2 Watchers working in coordination."

Su Chen's gaze fixed on "Tier 3: Fire-Bearer."

He was Tier 2 now, but he had Space Cut in his hand.

Combined with fire and teleportation, D-Tier wasn't impossible to fight.

But the margin for error would be suffocatingly low.

And—the location was in Europe.

Section Chief Han Zheng and Wang Hao were about to arrive there.

Henry Bernstein was flying there.

An active armed conflict zone.

Civilians, refugees, peacekeeping forces.

If a D-Tier anomaly descended in that area—it wasn't a matter of protecting ten or twenty people anymore.

Su Chen closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, in the depths of his pupils, the ripples caused by the surprise had completely subsided.

Replacing them was that cold, excitement-tinged scrutiny of a chess player seeing an unexpected variable appear on the board.

He turned to a new page in his notebook.

He wrote five words at the very top.

"Act VI: Heavenly Judgment"

The pen tip paused for a moment. Then he wrote rapidly.

"D-Tier arrival, seven-day countdown. The location highly overlaps with Section Chief Han Zheng's archaeological target and the War Zone Henry is heading to."

"Variable appears: D-Tier anomaly. But this is not a crisis, it is a catalyst. It will perfectly play the 'villain' missing from my script."

"Section Chief Han Zheng's group + Professor Henry + War Zone civilians, all exposed to the core area of the anomaly's arrival."

"Liu Yuyan: Extraordinary Tier 1. Facing D-Tier alone—impossible."

"Lin Xiaoman: Not awakened. Combat power is zero."

"The only option—all hands on deck!"

He drew two lines under the last line.

"But this time, it's not just about killing monsters."

"D-Tier crystal + Professor Henry's soul trial + Section Chief Han Zheng's deepening understanding of Kindling + Lin Xiaoman's cognitive enhancement + my Tier 3 breakthrough."

"Five goals, one battle."

He closed the notebook and looked up.

The golden light of the ancient tree expanded and contracted under the pale golden firmament.

The rhythm of his breathing was steady as usual.

Su Chen stood up.

He picked up the mask from the stone steps and pressed it onto his face.

The cool, skin-fitting sensation of the bronze mask allowed him to complete the switch from "Su Chen" to "Flame Keeper" within a second.

He looked toward the void of the firmament, as if he could pierce through this independent space and see that land about to be shrouded in war and anomalies.

"A carefully arranged stage play, and suddenly an uninvited protagonist bursts in."

Beneath the mask came a soft chuckle.

"Interesting."

"Then let's make this play even grander."

"Seven days."

He whispered.

"That's enough."