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Chapter 172: Ascending to the Heavens

"The nation needs you more." Bai Mo replied with a smile.

After hanging up the phone, he began to ponder what was next.

"Fighters generally have a top speed of around Mach 2, with normal cruising speeds exceeding Mach 1, similar to my avatar's speed."

"But if I propel myself with psychic power, like I'm doing now, my maximum speed would probably only be around 150 meters per second. The speeds aren't even on the same level."

"Shooting down these planes would be easy enough; my avatar's speed is sufficient. I could just have the avatar chase them down and use psychic power to dismantle their engines."

"However, shooting down a few planes is meaningless to me. I can't eat them, so I might as well fly to the top of the stratosphere and lie high in the sky to watch the show."

Bai Mo continuously elevated himself with psychic power, quickly reaching an altitude of over thirty thousand meters above the ground, slightly higher than the ozone layer.

The air here was already too thin to sustain normal human breathing, containing trace amounts of ozone, and the temperature had plummeted to negative one hundred degrees Celsius.

But for Bai Mo, who had long since shed his reliance on oxygen and continuously locked down any heat loss, the only sensation was a slight coolness.

"Spirit Qi is indeed directly correlated with air density. If I were to fight at this altitude, energy replenishment would be a major issue. However, this high-energy world brimming with ultraviolet light is more like a paradise to me."

He watched with an appreciative gaze as various ultraviolet rays, of colors he couldn't quite name, continuously converged into his body in slightly distorted forms, feeling as if he were devouring countless rainbows.

Unlike Bai Mo, who crossed the ozone layer as casually as strolling through a backyard garden, the three individuals behind him, tasked with reporting his movements, were having a much tougher time.

Among them, the two who used their Spirit Hubs for jet-propelled flight felt that the surrounding air density was no longer sufficient to support their continued ascent once they reached around twenty thousand meters. Although the temperature of roughly negative fifty degrees Celsius was still within their acceptable range, propulsion issues halted their progress.

The primary reason the third person could remain at high altitudes for an extended period was the anti-gravity Spirit Hub within their body, which allowed them to counteract gravity through the consumption of Spirit Energy.

As the altitude increased, the low temperature and low Spirit Qi environment continuously aggravated their burden, forcing the last person to stop at twenty-eight thousand meters.

"How in the world did that monster reach thirty thousand meters without any protection? I pride myself on being able to ascend that high, but the higher you go, the more severe the cold's drain on Spirit Energy becomes. Without resupply, it's impossible to last long."

"Reporting, Captain! The target has directly reached the upper stratosphere, over thirty thousand meters above sea level. Tracking is no longer possible."

"What? Reached the top of the stratosphere?" Da Su Fen was also stunned upon hearing his teammate's report. "Alright, stop tracking. All of you, come down. Continuing to venture forward would only give him opportunities to pick you off one by one."

"Yes, Captain!"

He also knew that the maximum operational altitude for military fighters was generally around twenty thousand meters. With a vertical distance of over ten thousand meters still separating them from the target, the likelihood of those planes being able to attack was about the same as hitting a fighter flying at ten thousand meters with anti-aircraft guns from the ground.

Moreover, finding a single person in the vast high altitude was an even more remote hope. With a severe lack of intelligence, Da Su Fen no longer held any hope for this encirclement and elimination operation.

"Command, this is Da Su Fen of the Federal Special Operations Group. The target is now at an altitude exceeding thirty thousand meters; conventional tracking methods are no longer effective."

"Maintain current positions and stay on alert for now? Yes."

He felt a touch of disappointment. He had originally thought the target was a close-combat Ability User, who, like most Ability Users on their side, could only remain airborne for short periods. To break out of the encirclement, the target would inevitably have to face the assault of their group, and then directly charge the heavily armed forces waiting in full battle array twenty kilometers away.

"Beep... beep..." Da Su Fen tried to contact the Huaxia liaison again, but no one answered the phone.

"Damn it, looks like things have already started on their end."

"Staying here for a long time, like a sunflower, seems quite nice. All these experiments can be handled by my avatars." While continuously absorbing ultraviolet energy, Bai Mo discovered through his divine sense that his two Spirit Pictures were slowly growing at a micrometer-level speed.

"Ever since I started wearing these high-energy radiation materials a few months ago, my various Spirit Hubs have been growing and extending at an extremely slow pace. Now that I'm in a high-altitude, strong-radiation zone, that speed seems to have increased just a little. After I return, I might consider conducting related experiments in even higher-intensity radiation zones."

Meanwhile, as Bai Mo lay among the clouds, enjoying the scenery, a clash between old and new powers erupted in Tianqing, the capital of Huaxia.

The time was five in the morning. Shortly after Bai Mo's phone call with Cheng Mu, the conflict suddenly erupted.

"Boom!"

"Activate the Spirit Energy shield immediately!"

"Hold them! Don't let the rebels break through! Trust in the shield's power!"

"How much longer until the rapid response unit stationed outside Tianqing arrives?"

"..."

"Boom!"

High-tier Ability Users continuously assailed the Spirit Energy shield covering the entire Ziliu Sea, and the shield quickly began to shake violently.

Command after command was issued from the Ziliu Sea, fending off the external onslaught. Although they had received relevant intelligence several hours in advance, the disparity in high-end combat power between the two sides still shocked Cheng Mu and the others.

Even with the advantage of acting first, a mere few hours of intelligence superiority were not enough to turn the tide. The current situation remained a desperate struggle to maintain a fragile balance.

"The emergency Spirit Energy shield has temporarily slowed the assault of the high-tier Ability Users among the rebels, but support is still desperately needed."

"As for the Spirit Energy Research Institute, most of the researchers have been incited by the pretense of 'establishing a Republic of Scientists' and, under the command of Director Li Mofu, are preparing to launch an attack here!" Major General Du Guo, temporarily in charge of commanding this civil war, had his adjutant Zhao Ru Mei report the specific situation to the elders seated in the center of the Ziliu Sea.

"Li Mofu ultimately sided with them." The elders all furrowed their brows tightly.

"Intense fighting is currently ongoing within the Special Combat Department. High-end combat forces are roughly divided into three factions: one supporting us, one supporting the rebels, and the remaining portion being neutral. The faction supporting us has temporarily gained the upper hand and has already urgently dispatched three high-tier Ability Users to reinforce the outer defense line of the Ziliu Sea," Zhao Ru Mei continued, reporting on the front-line situation.

"According to our estimates, the several defense lines we've deployed can hold for four hours. We believe this will be enough time for reinforcements from nearby combat zones to arrive."