234: Reversal: At the final countdown

Eight!

Seven!

Time ticked by, second by second, and despair, like an icy tide, gradually engulfed everyone.

Many officers either bowed their heads or closed their eyes in anguish, unwilling to witness the arrival of the final moment.

Six!

Five!

Ye Baoguo also slowly closed his eyes, a profound sense of powerlessness seizing him, his throat feeling as if it were choked with a burning coal.

However, at this very moment, Ye Chen, who had been sitting in front of the data analysis console with an expressionless face, suddenly adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and spoke in a voice that was almost devoid of inflection:

“The volatility peak is followed by a sharp drop… It seems we made it.”

Four!

The AI voice countdown continued.

Three!

Two!

One!

The sharp alarm that was expected to blare when the countdown reached zero did not sound in the Command Center as anticipated.

Instead, on the main screen, the colossal, inky black crack (rift) that spanned the heavens and earth, its edges flickering wildly for a few moments, abruptly ceased its expansion.

Immediately after, under the astonished, bewildered, and then incredibly ecstatic gazes of everyone in the Command Center—

The rift actually began to slowly retract and close at a gradual pace.

“The rift… the rift! The rift is shrinking?!!!”

A young officer suddenly sprang from his seat, screaming in an undignified manner, breaking the deathly silence of the Command Center.

“They succeeded?! They succeeded?! The decapitation strike was successful! Oh my God!!!”

The euphoria exploded like ignited dynamite within the Command Center.

Everyone could barely believe their eyes; some pinched their thighs hard, while others excitedly pounded on tables and laughed loudly.

Ye Baoguo, who had already prepared himself for the worst outcome, suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing the miraculous scene on the screen, a surge of immense joy impacted his mind, making him feel a bit dizzy for a moment.

But then he abruptly turned his head to look at Ye Chen, who was still unusually calm next to him, even beginning to quietly pack his belongings.

Recalling Ye Chen's earlier whisper, his expression instantly became very interesting.

All of this, could it be… “Ye… Dean, you…”

Ye Baoguo’s voice was somewhat hoarse with excitement.

However, Ye Chen didn't even acknowledge him, merely packing his items with a calm expression, then directly stood up and left the Command Center.

His movements were unhurried, as if everything that had just occurred, this earth-shattering reversal, had long been within his expectations and wasn't even worth much surprise.

Ye Baoguo watched his disappearing back at the doorway, opened his mouth, and finally, all the swirling questions transformed into a complex sigh of emotion.

This decapitation strike was orchestrated by Ye Chen from start to finish. It seems that besides what was on the surface, Ye Chen had also hidden one or more secret lines within it. This truly is his consistent style.

Shaking his head, he looked again at the rift on the screen, which continued to shrink steadily, and the army of mutated beasts on the surrounding monitor screens that had begun to scatter. A sigh of relief and a joyful smile finally appeared on the face of the iron-blooded Commander.

No matter what, the Demon Capital was saved!

…Time rewound to one minute before at the Demon Capital’s tidal flat defense line.

When the countdown mercilessly entered its final minute, Lu Chuan felt as if a piece of his heart's puzzle had been pulled away.

He slumped powerlessly to the ground, staring blankly at the still-expanding, inky black rift.

The defense line Commander was still hoarsely issuing commands, organizing the final resistance, but the sense of powerlessness deep in his voice was clearly audible to everyone.

Forty seconds left.

Lu Chuan stared blankly at the rift, which was still slowly expanding, as if to engrave it deep into his soul.

Just then, the corner of his eye seemed to catch a glimpse of two extremely familiar figures, flashing and vanishing into the rift.

Lu Chuan suddenly jolted, rubbing his eyes hard.

Looking again, there were only mutated beasts constantly pouring out of the rift's entrance; there were no human figures.

“Was it an illusion… because I wished for a miracle too much?”

Lu Chuan gave a bitter laugh.

However, a faint spark was ignited deep in his heart.

If it was real… if it was that mysterious Old Dean Hu Xuan… in the last thirty seconds, perhaps… perhaps there really could be a turn for the better… In this agonizing and contradictory anticipation, time ticked by, second by second.

Five seconds!

Four seconds!

The rift seemed to show no change!

Sure enough… was it an illusion?

Lu Chuan closed his eyes, unable to bear watching the final moment arrive.

The thought of He Jingrui possibly having died filled his heart with profound grief.

Just then—

“It moved! It moved! The rift! The rift is shrinking! It’s really shrinking!!! A Chuan! Look!!!”

Ding Xinyang’s excited, cracking shout suddenly exploded in Lu Chuan’s ears!

Lu Chuan abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp glint bursting forth, staring incredulously at the sky.

He saw the colossal black line that connected heaven and earth, its edges gradually dimming and receding.

Its size was shrinking at a visible rate.

“They succeeded… they succeeded…”

Lu Chuan murmured to himself.

The anomaly of the rift instantly triggered a chain reaction on the battlefield.

The army of mutated beasts seemed to instantly lose its backbone and unified command, falling into immense chaos.

Some wandered aimlessly in place, emitting confused hisses.

Some seemed to just realize where they were, scattering in panic.

Others let out unwilling roars, frantically rushing towards the shrinking rift, seemingly wanting to return to their mother nest.

Even more, some simply stiffened, collapsed, and died on the spot, as if the core energy maintaining their lives had been drained away.

And those strangely shaped genetic warriors and mysterious armed forces were even more flustered.

“Baka! The plan failed! Retreat! Retreat quickly!!!”

The leading officer roared in terror.

They no longer cared about fighting, like stray dogs, they frantically rushed towards the riverbank, only wishing to quickly board the speedboats they had arrived on and swiftly escape from here.

“Trying to run?! Kill all these bastards for me!!!”

The defense line Commander, now in high spirits, began to command, vowing to leave behind all these beasts who had invaded their territory.

And Gao Lingfeng and the other “madmen,” who had just regained some sanity, instinctively gave chase, continuously tackling one after another of the panicked fleeing prey.

The entire battlefield instantly became a chaotic, boiling pot of porridge.

The dawn of victory had already appeared, but the final reckoning was just beginning!

Lu Chuan stood rooted to the spot, his heart a mix of emotions.

Joy that the crisis seemed to be averted, grief over the sacrifice of the warriors, confusion over Hu Xuan’s appearance, and even more worry about He Jingrui’s life or death… His gaze once again turned to the slowly healing scar in the sky.

He Jingrui, are you still… alive?