175: Search for spiritual energy

Long Huaxing quickly calmed down, shaking his head with a bitter smile.

He couldn't place his hopes on a deity; after all, he had 1.4 billion people behind him! This was no child's play!

Long Huaxing said in a deep voice, "Notify everyone to prepare for battle. It's time to test the results of our army's years of development!"

Soon, a low, rhythmic roar tore through the city's tranquility.

Looking up, dozens of stealth fighter jets, forming a formation like silver-winged goshawks, cut through the clouds and sped towards the southeastern coast in a combat formation.

They gleamed with a cold metallic luster, their contrails drawing long white lines, like sharp swords piercing the sky.

It wasn't just the sky.

The ground began to shake—rows of dark green main battle tanks slowly rumbled across bridges, their tracks grinding against the asphalt, emitting a dull, powerful "clack-clack" sound.

Pedestrians stopped to gaze, some wanting to take out their phones to record, but were politely dissuaded.

A steady and serious voice came over the broadcast: "Attention, citizens, all actions are for national security. Please do not panic, and do not spread unverified information."

In places unseen by ordinary people—

In the command center, red lights flashed, and dozens of large screens displayed real-time dynamics of the air, sea, and electromagnetic space.

Commanders, wearing headphones, spoke calmly: "Multiple foreign aircraft detected approaching from the east. Early warning aircraft have taken off, and two-plane formations are heading out to intercept!"

"Squad leader, is it really going to be a fight?" a young soldier asked in a low voice.

The veteran wiped his gun, his gaze firm: "The nation tells us to sleep with our guns not for sightseeing."

At the same time, militia reservists received urgent recall orders, and medical teams, engineers, and communications personnel entered 24-hour shifts.

Subways and tunnels in some cities began wartime function conversion drills, and underground civil defense facilities activated emergency lighting.

And in cyberspace, the national-level network defense System "Great Wall Shield" automatically intercepted thousands of overseas attack attempts.

Millions of data streams clashed invisibly every second; a war without smoke had already begun.

The entire nation was like a waking lion.

There was no noisy declaration of war, no emotional slogans.

Only silent mobilization, precise deployment, and overwhelming power gathered in silence.

Level one combat readiness was not an exercise.

It was the sword drawn, the arrow nocked, the entire nation's backbone straightened, united as one, facing the storm.

Long Huaxing stood in the highest command hall, looking at the nationwide coordinated combat readiness map, and said softly:

"Let them see what it means—ants trying to shake a tree, overestimating themselves."

This was the official showdown!!

The unofficial showdown was equally fierce!!

At least tens of thousands of black gate mutants invaded China through various means.

Even Boundary City, the fifth-tier city where Lu Chen was located, received a mutant from little japanese. He was Oniwa Gengetsu, one of the four deacons of Tokyo's Black Moon organization, a B-Rank mutant.

Currently, the strongest known mutant Rank in the world is A; S and SS have not yet emerged.

To achieve a Breakthrough to A-Rank, one must go to China and absorb an energy called Spiritual Qi. This post, whose origin is unknown, went viral globally. Whether true or false, the mutants believed it and tried every possible way to infiltrate China... The cab of the refrigerated truck was filled with the mixed scent of instant noodles and cheap tobacco.

Zhang Jianguo lit a cigarette with a lighter adorned with the sexy figure of Teacher Mikami, spitting on the steering wheel: "Old Tang, if we finish this job, do you think Lord Oniwa might formally take us in? I also want the black gate potion. I heard that after injection, you can punch through steel plates!"

Tang Weidong sneered, twisting the radio dial. "My Motherland" was playing: "Dream on! Do you know how much a bottle of black water is sold for on the black market? Tens of billions, or even priceless. How could it be given to us two nobodies? It's already a great favor for Lord Oniwa to let us help her!"

Zhang Jianguo nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Old Tang, you're right!! I heard a million troops are approaching the Chinese border. Hehehe, that's great. Soon our China will join this free world and smell the air of freedom!"

Both were truck drivers, in their forties, highly admired little japanese, and enjoyed boasting and criticizing the country. Ten years ago, they were recruited as spies for little japanese, using their truck driver identities to frequently take photos and collect intelligence.

Lu Chen, separated by the cab, made a grabbing motion with his five fingers.

Instantly, all of their memories were searched by Lu Chen.

He understood the whole story.

The United States used advanced technology to decompose the black gate infection liquid and created an energy detector. Originally intended to monitor mutant energy, it accidentally discovered that it could also search for Spiritual Qi energy.

Soon, various mountains, rivers, and cities in China were scanned.

Spiritual Qi has been found in places like the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, the Great Wall, and Mount Shu.

Most cities lacked Spiritual Qi, with only a few, such as Beidu, Chang'an, Chaoge, Jinling, and Chongdu, historical ancient capitals of China, possessing it.

But strangely, although Boundary City was a fifth-tier city and not historically famous, apart from being the birthplace of Guiguzi, there were no other historical records. Yet its Spiritual Qi concentration ranked among the top ten in all of China, which is why many black gate mutants came to Boundary City.

Lu Chen glanced at the three dying The Other beside him, and with another grab of his five fingers, he searched their memories.

It turned out that these three, two males and one female, the female named Su Jiuning, was an excellent sniper from the Jiaolong Special Forces. She had dark skin and a crew cut, like a tomboy, with black nail polish, but the index fingers of both hands were bare, possibly for pulling the trigger;

The long-haired man, named Chen Yan, was an excellent scout.

The other man, with a burn scar on half his face, was named Zhang Ziyang, a member of China's black gate research team.

All three came from an organization established by the Chinese government—the Supernatural Investigation Bureau!!

Half a month ago, the Chinese military launched the "black gate Project," secretly screening 1024 subjects from special forces. Su Jiuning and Chen Yan belonged to the seventh experimental group.

After injecting the black gate Ganran liquid, the subjects were confined in lead alloy isolation chambers.

Purification liquid was injected once daily to prevent infection from devouring their consciousness.

47% of the subjects were brain-dead in the first week, the rest failed in the second week, with only 13% succeeding.

Some grew compound eyes, others had everted bones.

Su Jiuning and Chen Yan were lucky to survive.

Su Jiuning's mutated organs were her eyes, which could penetrate walls, ignore all obstructions to lock onto enemies, and also possessed stealth capabilities, allowing her to blend with her surroundings.

Chen Yan's skin hardened; tests showed he could withstand grenade explosions without a scratch.

Zhang Ziyang was an accident; he was originally a researcher who was accidentally infected, becoming a very rare elemental mutant who mastered fire.

Inside the cabin, the three sat side by side, heading to Boundary City.

The roar of the engine was continuous. Su Jiuning leaned against the window, Chen Yan sat in the middle, and Zhang Ziyang by the aisle. Their combat uniforms were immaculately pressed.

This was their first official mission, and their young faces showed undisguised excitement.

"When we complete the mission and return," Chen Yan broke the silence, "we might even make the military newspaper's front page."

Zhang Ziyang grinned: "Our photos will be hung at the base entrance then."

Su Jiuning gently shook her head, but the corners of her mouth also slightly turned up: "Let's first think about how to come back alive before boasting." Despite her words, her eyes sparkled, clearly imagining the scene of triumph.