Chapter 173: Little Fireball
In the city center, traces of ability user battles were everywhere. Buildings were frequently set ablaze by flying spirit energy missiles and spirit art fireballs. The fierce fighting around Ziliu Sea made nearby residents realize for the first time the dangers of living in the city center.
When the unrest first began, many onlookers, unaware of the full situation, gathered to watch the spectacle. But as stray projectiles increased and the chaos intensified, the spectators in the city center began a frantic exodus.
High-tier ability users fighting in the city were no different from bulldozers. Wherever the two sides clashed, the surrounding buildings were demolished; even reinforced concrete structures became riddled with holes and craters during the intense battles.
Ordinary residential buildings seemed fragile and powerless before impact forces measured in tons. With their mobility, the entire city of Tianqing quickly descended into chaos.
"Orders from above: All police personnel in Tianqing City, anyone with a gun, are to proceed immediately to Ziliu Sea to suppress the rebellion!"
"But, in that case, what about security in other areas..."
"No buts! This is an order! That's the source of the chaos."
"Yes, sir!"
The police forces, who could have maintained a degree of order, were instead urgently ordered by superiors, determined to defend Ziliu Sea at all costs, to concentrate their forces for support, further exacerbating the city-wide breakdown of public order.
Incited by United States spies, a small number of people took advantage of the chaos and began looting, smashing, and robbing activities in Tianqing's outer districts.
"Everyone, be careful. Ziliu Sea is equipped with a large number of weapons that are still experimental. Most of these weapons are our products; the remaining few were designed and deployed by another secret organization," Li Mofu explained to the researchers preparing for battle under his command.
"Chen Fú, where are your people?" Li Mofu roared into the walkie-talkie after finishing his explanation. "I'm not going to send my people to their deaths just for you to reap the rewards!"
"Li Mofu, you don't act like a researcher at all. We're here, we're here, set up the cannons immediately!" A middle-aged man in military uniform led a team of clearly well-trained ability users running up behind him.
"Whether I act like one isn't for you to say; it's what the higher-ups say that counts."
"Begin equipping the spirit energy railguns!" Li Mofu encouraged his researchers. "Aim for those weak points. This encircling shield around Ziliu Sea? We sent many people to oversee its installation. If we can build it, we can certainly dismantle it!"
"Dismantle it!" The group of researchers was visibly overexcited, their eyes bloodshot.
"The stimulant's quite effective. Even those quiet kids who usually just bury themselves in research are now daring to carry railguns to blast open the city gates." Li Mofu's face also held an expression of excitement, though it was entirely feigned. As a high-tier ability user, such minor physical disguise techniques were child's play.
New Special Combat Department Headquarters.
"You!" Several high-tier ability users in military uniform clutched their chests.
After receiving the signal to initiate the plan, Xiao Hao and Zheng Cha were the first to launch a sneak attack on the military ability users stationed at the headquarters, severely wounding four in one fell swoop.
"Everyone, hurry! Finish off the remaining military personnel, then we'll all attack Ziliu Sea together!" the two shouted after delivering the finishing blows.
"Alright!" But to their surprise, among the dozen-plus captains and vice-captains present, only a mere five responded.
"Weren't the subsequent actions already planned out? This isn't what we agreed upon!" The two suddenly had a bad feeling.
"You should go," Ye Zi said, standing at the center of the crowd.
"Sister Ye's meaning is, she won't interfere with you, but she won't help you either," Rong Jingya explained from the side.
"You!" Xiao Hao had never imagined that the group, who had agreed so well before, would all turn neutral, completely disrupting his plans.
"Before the rest of the military forces surround us, you should also leave quickly." With that, those present who had decided to follow Ye Zi and become neutrals began to depart Tianqing.
"Too late! You killed several of our comrades and still think you can leave? Attack!" A high-tier ability user, dressed in military uniform, led a large squad of similarly well-trained, heavily armed ability users rushing in behind him.
"Are you sure you want to make a move?" Ye Zi asked in a cold, clear voice.
"You're all in this together! Kill them!" After several of his close comrades were killed, the commanding officer was momentarily overcome by rage and cursed without thinking.
"Calm down." Within a radius of several hundred meters, the heat from the air rapidly transferred to Ye Zi's fingertips, and the temperature dropped to nearly negative fifty degrees Celsius within seconds.
The officer himself and the high-tier ability users behind him weren't significantly affected, but the other mid and low-tier ability users immediately began to shiver uncontrollably.
All the heat was highly compressed into an intensely bright point on her fingertip. The light within it resembled a beast ready to escape and devour people at any moment, displaying an extremely unstable posture.
"Light." She whispered, then flicked the point of light high into the sky.
"Boom!" After losing its constraining force, the point of light began to expand with explosive speed, instantly transforming from a mere dot into a massive fireball nearly a hundred meters across. The fireball, like a miniature sun, illuminated the darkened Tianqing City.
"Good thing it wasn't aimed at me." The surrounding cold didn't impede the commander's steps much, but the explosion of such a massive fireball truly jolted him awake from the rage over his comrades' deaths.
After this display of power, Ye Zi and her group had seemingly vanished into the night.
An explosion of this magnitude, even on such a chaotic night in Tianqing, still drew countless eyes. Or perhaps, precisely because it was such a chaotic night, even more people paid attention, everyone wondering if 'it' was friend or foe, already a massive weight capable of swaying the balance.
"Retreat!" After the neutrals departed, the few who followed Xiao Hao took advantage of the military's stunned state and immediately began a strategic retreat. Their goal was to assault Ziliu Sea, not to fight a death match against the army here.
"Pursue!" The commander's troops were also well-trained units. Although momentarily stunned by such a cataclysmic attack, they quickly reacted.
"Since Luo Yi can turn avatars into spirit arts, that means there's definitely room for optimization. Avatars... perhaps they can be made smaller?"
Bai Mo, lying in the clouds, felt that after completing the Divine Wind Clear Moon, both his perception and the precision of his control had improved significantly compared to before. Therefore, he began to ponder whether he could reduce the mass of his avatars.
He continuously simulated and refined the avatar creation method in his mind, combining it with his previous research into the avatars' inherent structure. Before long, he gained some insight.
"One... two... seven." After his brain operated at full capacity for a considerable period, Bai Mo finally completed the preliminary optimization of his avatar ability.
"From one avatar possessing seventy percent of my power, it's become seven avatars, each with only ten percent of my power..." Seven glowing orbs revolved around Bai Mo like stars orbiting the moon, drifting everywhere. "Unfortunately, my brain's control is still insufficient, limiting my potential for further division."
Comments