164: Chapter 164 Fate changes the moment you see it.

It was a blow from the real world!

The appearance of an Immortal City in the Qinling Mountains, even if Huaxia used the lame excuse of a 'film and television base' to cover it up, could not fool the wolves lurking at the pinnacle of the world.

They had finally come.

Director Li Guoan's voice was as steady as ever.

"Qinling Defense Zone, disengage all proximity defense systems and authorize autonomous engagement! Order the 'Thunderbolt' team to scramble and seal the airspace!"

Order after order was issued by him systematically, and the entire massive command structure instantly entered a state of maximum operational speed.

"Notify Academician Qian and the others to immediately enter the underground bunker!"

Director Li Guoan added the final instruction, his gaze sharp as a torch.

However, Chen You's brow suddenly twitched at this moment.

An intense, inexplicable sense of unease rose in his heart, a feeling even stronger than when facing a BOSS in the Source Realm.

"I'll go take a look."

He dropped these words, his figure flickered, and he had already dashed out of the command center's main door.

Director Li Guoan and the others were momentarily stunned, then immediately followed him.

As soon as they stepped out of the door, the slightly cold night wind rushed toward them, mixed with the fresh scent of mountain forests, vegetation, and earth.

However, this moment of tranquility was quickly shattered.

"Buzz—"

A muffled sound echoed from the mountainsides in all directions.

The armored plates disguised as rocks and bushes quickly slid open.

A series of menacing proximity cannons and clusters of missile launch nests slowly rose up.

High above the western gate of the White Jade Capital, a flat, bat-like black silhouette tore through the night sky at a speed barely perceptible to the naked eye.

It shot straight toward the core area of the Immortal City.

"Fire!"

Accompanying the command, the steel beasts hidden deep within the Qinling Mountains instantly awakened.

Boom, boom, boom—!

Blazing tongues of fire erupted, and hundreds of tracer rounds converged into dazzling torrents of steel.

The ammunition wove into an inescapable net, precisely covering the ultra-high-speed drone.

The night sky, at this moment, became as bright as day!

The drone displayed extremely high maneuverability, constantly executing incredible evasive actions within the dense net of fire.

However, under the cost-ignoring saturation strike of the national defense system, all struggles seemed futile.

"Boom!!"

With a massive explosion, the drone was directly hit by several proximity cannon shells above the southern wall of the White Jade Capital, exploding into a spectacular fireball in mid-air.

"Target destroyed!" Confirmation came from the command center, and everyone subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet, Chen You, standing outside, looked even more tense.

Crap!

His cultivation at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining granted him dynamic vision and perception far exceeding ordinary people.

To others, it was just a violent explosion.

But in his sight, within the bursting flames, several inconspicuous, palm-sized metal fragments scattered and flew out.

They seemed imbued with life, speeding toward the physical research institute area of the White Jade Capital with a more concealed and swift velocity!

The thick, inerasable gray aura above Academician Qian Zhonghua’s head, and those ominous black threads, flashed through Chen You's mind.

So... this is where it should be!

His gaze shifted rapidly as he continuously calculated the trajectory of the fragments in his mind.

Simultaneously, near the side entrance of the Physical Materials Research Institute, Academician Qian Zhonghua, escorted by two fully armed guards, was hurrying toward the entrance of the underground bunker.

The old man seemed to sense the distant explosion and subconsciously looked up, a trace of scholarly curiosity still on his face.

Neither he nor his guards noticed the piece of metal fragment descending from the sky like the scythe of the Grim Reaper!

"Academician Qian!!"

Chen You roared, his voice echoing through the valley.

"Hurry back!!"

Too late!

The fragment only needed less than two seconds to reach above Academician Qian Zhonghua's head!

And for this nearly ten-kilometer distance, even he couldn't teleport across it.

Chen You tried to capture any sound coming from near the research institute.

"Sounds good, huh?"

No use, like the clones, the real world was useless!

Time seemed to slow down infinitely at this moment.

Chen You could clearly see that the metal fragment had a smooth surface and incredibly sharp edges.

He could even see the expression of the young guard beside Academician Qian changing from vigilance to a slight relaxation.

No time left!

Everything was too late!

No!

In a flash of lightning and flint, Chen You's eyes suddenly turned icy cold.

He abruptly raised his right hand, forming his fingers into a sword, pointing toward Academician Qian Zhonghua's direction from afar, the spiritual energy within his body burning madly at an unprecedented speed!

In his Dantian Qi Sea, the spiritual energy vortex roared violently, and boundless spiritual energy surged out along the meridians, pouring into his fingertips.

"Go!"

A low shout, as if containing some fundamental principle of heaven and earth, a decree.

Whoosh—!

A golden stream of light shot up from his waist, instantly breaking the sound barrier, emitting a piercing, grating roar!

It was the Innate Spiritual Treasure, the yuhuang sword!

The golden sword light drew a straight, brilliant trajectory in the night, moving with extreme speed, like a divine punishment thunderbolt descending!

This was the first time Chen You had fully commanded his flying sword with all his might in the real world!

But... it was still too late.

This distance, for the yuhuang sword, truly couldn't be called instantaneous.

Fine sweat beaded on Chen You's forehead; his mind was tightly connected to the flying sword, urging its speed faster, faster, faster, with unprecedented focus!

On the other side.

The fatal metal fragment had silently arrived directly above Academician Qian Zhonghua's head.

Pulled by gravity, the fragment descended silently like a precisely thrown throwing knife!

The target was aimed directly at the old Academician's crown!

"Be careful!!"

Only at this moment did the young guard, who had maintained vigilance at all times, finally notice the fleeting glimmer above his head.

He abruptly reached out, intending to push Academician Qian away.

But his movement, in front of the high-speed falling fragment, was as slow as a frame-by-frame silent film.

Academician Qian Zhonghua looked up blankly, only seeing a cold metallic shadow rapidly enlarging in his field of vision.

The shadow of death had never been so clear.

It's over.

Everyone who saw this scene had these two words of despair surface in their minds.

Just as the metal fragment, shimmering with a faint light, was less than three inches away from Academician Qian Zhonghua's thinning white hair—

A hand appeared abruptly.

It was a hand not wearing any protective glove.

Just as the iron piece glimmering with dark light was about to strike the Academician, the palm reached out precisely, arriving later but reaching first, firmly grasping it!

Puff—!

The sound of metal piercing flesh was light, yet exceptionally clear at this moment.

The young guard's hand had only just touched Academician Qian when it froze.

Immediately following that, the yuhuang sword flashed past.