145: Chapter 145 Missing

"What... what is this thing?"

Zhou An looked up, staring at the railgun looming ten thousand meters in the sky, his eye twitching uncontrollably.

"Hehe, this is my trump card, my precious baby!"

Inside the mecha, Luo Ning's slender fingers danced rapidly across the control panel.

On the holographic screen, those Beast Clan warships that had been furiously pouring out fire were already locked firmly in the crosshairs of countless red targeting reticles.

"Target locked, coordinates calibrated... Heaven's Judgment, fire!"

As Luo Ning pressed down hard with her fingertip, the hundred-meter-long railgun barrel, positioned eighteen thousand meters high in the sky, suddenly erupted with a blinding blue radiance. The plasma on the magnetic rails instantly boiled to its limit.

"BOOM—!!!"

A laser beam several meters in diameter, like a spear of judgment falling from the fingertips of a god, shrieked across the thousand-meter distance and arrived in an instant.

The scene seemed to freeze at that moment.

Those Beast Clan warships attempting to activate their defensive barriers and escape saw their originally thick shields melt away silently, like remnant snow meeting the scorching sun, the moment they made contact with the laser beam. Immediately afterward, the entire warship underwent a violent collapse from within as it was pierced by the beam, subsequently turning into an incredibly dazzling fireball that completely evaporated in the night sky.

The shockwave rippled out, clearing a massive vacuum area in the surrounding clouds.

The battlefield, which had been noisy just a moment ago, fell into an eerie silence.

Xila, who had been recovering wreckage, stopped her actions and looked up at the empty night sky, her cold, clear eyes filled with shock; even Zhou An in the distance subconsciously swallowed hard. This power had already exceeded the category of ordinary LV5 weapons.

"Boss, Xila, don't just stand there staring!"

Luo Ning's voice, filled with a hint of pride and playfulness, rang out over the communication channel.

"Take advantage of the fact that the reinforcements have been scared witless and finish them off! Don't let a single one get away!"

"...Understood."

Zhou An snapped back to reality, a helpless smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

The next half hour became an unsurprising, one-sided slaughter. Zhou An and Xila systematically eliminated the werewolves who had luckily escaped from the wreckage of the warships.

As the last werewolf corpse fell into the clouds, the battlefield returned to complete tranquility.

After the battle, the interior of the Cloud Top Fortress returned to warmth and quiet.

Zhou An and Xila, having just washed off the stench of blood, arrived at the hall one after the other.

Zhou An had changed into comfortable loungewear, while Xila wore a simple tracksuit; her originally tense nerves finally relaxed upon seeing their companions.

"Luo Ning, 'fess up."

Zhou An sat down on the leather sofa and took the hot tea handed to him by Li Muzi, but his gaze remained fixed on Luo Ning, who was happily eating dessert opposite him.

"That railgun in the sky... when did you build it? That power is just too exaggerated."

Luo Ning swallowed the small cake in her mouth, blinked playfully, and casually pulled up a panel:

"Actually, I figured out the blueprints for that railgun a long time ago. But back then, you hadn't returned, and our warehouse supplies were tight. I didn't have the means to build such a money-guzzler even if I wanted to."

She spread her hands and continued, sounding perfectly justified: "Now that you're back, of course I had to make it a reality! This is a top-tier weapon, through and through; its rarity is Moon-Glitter Grade!"

Luo Ning pointed to the parameters on the panel: "It's only in its initial form right now, and I'm confident I can upgrade it another level. But even at its current level, hitting those bulky LV5 warships is just like cutting tofu."

Speaking of which, Luo Ning's voice suddenly dropped a little. She peeked at Zhou An's expression and muttered, "However... although this thing is fierce, it burns through money way too fast. Just that one shot, including preheating and charging, consumed at least eight hundred thousand LV5 energy resource units..."

She stuck out her tongue, looking a bit guilty: "Boss, you... you won't think I'm too wasteful and plan to dismantle it, right?"

After listening, Zhou An was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Eight hundred thousand per shot?"

He set down his teacup, leaned back leisurely against the sofa, and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest.

"It's certainly not cheap, but as for being wasteful... it's not that bad."

"As long as a problem can be solved with firepower, it's not a problem."

"Upgrade it however you want; there are plenty of supplies."

Luo Ning froze for a second, then erupted into cheers, jumping up and throwing herself into Zhou An's arms: "Wow! I knew that following you means good eats!"

Xila, watching the two of them fooling around, couldn't help but reveal a faint smile.

Xila walked up to Zhou An and presented with both hands the most precious loot from this salvage mission.

"Boss, these are the Five-Source Energy Cores extracted from the cores of those two warships; there are two of them in total."

Zhou An glanced at the two energy cores emitting five-colored flowing light, but didn't reach out to take them. Instead, he said calmly, "Keep one for yourself."

"Boss?"

Xila was stunned.

"I've already used my talent 'Level Up!' to reinforce all the remaining treasure chests."

Zhou An waved his hand, and several platinum and diamond treasure chests landed in front of Xila.

"These are for you as well. Open the blueprints inside and, while supplies are plentiful, upgrade your vehicle and armaments fully to LV5."

"By the way," Zhou An picked up his teacup and asked casually, "How long do you feel it will be until you reach Tier 5 physique?"

Xila hesitated, a bit unsure: "I feel like the energy in my body has reached a critical point, but I always feel like I'm missing that last layer of paper... I can't quite explain it."

Li Muzi, who was sitting quietly nearby, softly interjected: "It's already very fast. According to the two tempering processes set by Xingyue, as long as you go through them two more times, you should be able to successfully step into Tier 5. At the most, it should be within half a month."

Zhou An nodded, satisfied with this progress. He then looked up into the air: "EVA, report the total earnings from this time."

"Command confirmed."

"This battle resulted in the disassembly and recovery of two million units of Level 5 resources, six legendary grade blueprints, and various epic grade and lower blueprints..."

"Two million..."

Zhou An's fingers tapped lightly on his knee.

"Not bad, this battle wasn't a loss. EVA, continue to maintain the fifty-kilometer drone perimeter and increase detection power. Any flying objects approaching in this direction should be warned first; if they dare to continue approaching, shoot them down directly without needing to ask for instructions."

"Understood."

After finishing the trivial post-battle statistics, the hall fell into a brief silence. Zhou An looked at Xila's slightly dejected expression and, as if remembering something, suddenly asked, "Xila, has Ivy still not replied to your messages?"

Hearing the name "Ivy," Xila's body trembled slightly, and the worry in her eyes could no longer be hidden.

She shook her head bitterly: "No, it's been several days already... Even in the past, while executing the most dangerous missions, the Captain never lost contact for this long."

She wanted to say something but stopped, her hands wringing together uneasily. She wanted to request something but didn't dare to speak. After all, every minute was extremely precious.

Zhou An set down his teacup and looked directly at her: "Do you want to go back and look for her?"

Xila looked up abruptly, meeting Zhou An's deep gaze, and finally gritted her teeth and nodded: "Yes... I'm very worried about her. The situation in the White Feather Guild is very chaotic right now, and I'm afraid something might happen to her."

She had expected Zhou An to hesitate due to the risk, but to her surprise, he just chuckled and said in a calm tone, "Then let's go back and look for her."

Xila widened her eyes in disbelief: "Boss, are you saying... for my Captain, we are going to change course?"

"How many times have I said it?"

Zhou An stood up and walked over to Xila.

"Xila, remember, in the Cloud Top Fortress, don't hide things. We are all family here; if you have any thoughts, just say them directly."

"Exactly!"

Luo Ning also jumped over from the sofa, hooked her arm around Xila's neck, and laughed boisterously.

"Since it's someone you want to find, whoever dares to touch her, I'll blow up their warship!"

Li Muzi also stepped forward and comforted her softly: "Don't worry too much; Ivy is, after all, a Tier 5 powerhouse and has the ability to protect herself. Let's go plan the shortest route now."

At this moment, Lin Qing, who had been standing not far away, also walked over gently. She took Xila's arm and patted the back of her hand like a big sister: "Xila, relax. As long as the Boss is here, there is nothing that cannot be solved."

Feeling the warmth from her arm and looking at the expressions of her companions, which took it all for granted, Xila's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled at this moment. She nodded heavily, her eyes slightly red, but her voice became firmer than ever.

"Thank you, everyone."