At that very moment, streaks of hurtling missiles crisscrossed the sky with whistling roars, descending from above as they plunged back toward their original owners under satellite guidance.
Down on the ground, far more than just the two observation vehicles sent to inspect the battlefield were hit. Farther out on the snowfield, the wilderness marauders who had enthusiastically mobilized for the exorbitant bounty, the opportunistic scavengers trailing behind hoping to fish in troubled waters, and even the convoys of the four major conglomerates—Echo, Xinyuan, Tiancheng, and the Northern Realm—all received a generous reward.
It was just like kind kindergarten teachers bringing out baskets of candy.
One piece per person, everyone gets one—line up nicely, children, no fighting!
Yet the instant people looked up and saw fireworks raining from the heavens, countless faces turned pale, and furious curses erupted.
"Fuck your mother, Northern Realm! Didn't we tell you that you can't fucking use that shit?! Are you completely deaf, unable to take in a single damn word?!"
Who else in Huangzhou could pull off such an outrageous spectacle besides those lunatics from the Northern Realm?!
In an instant, blazing bursts of fire and shockwaves rose in succession from the earth, staining the dancing auroras across the dim firmament with patches of crimson.
By the end, outside the clamorous city of Heihe, the bustling rally opening ceremony venue had descended into total chaos. The shrill wail of air raid sirens echoed as the frantic crowds scattered in every direction.
Meanwhile, a single, wobbly missile flew leisurely in from the distance, detonating with a tremendous roar across the wilderness right before everyone's grim faces.
It showered the land with fire and virulent poison, delivering a distant greeting.
Along the way, it kicked the Northern Realm straight into a pit of mud, leaving them to face interrogations and inquiries from all sides...
From even higher up, far beyond the vault of heaven in the vacuum of space, satellites imperceptibly adjusted their angles, coldly looking down.
Behind an invisible data link, an unseen hand reached out, effortlessly orchestrating everything across the immense expanse of space, before melting away into countless signals and static like a phantom.
The instant Ji Jue had detected the satellite transponder on the enemy's vehicle, everything that followed had already been set in stone.
Just as An Ning had wondered, Deus Ex Machina indeed couldn't interfere with missiles from such an astronomical distance. But from the very beginning, the positioning data received by the missiles was fake!
Long before that, the Hand of Isis had ridden the satellite signals, infiltrating the launch encampment and silently seizing total control.
After all, not even Ji Jue himself had expected that when he tentatively asked if there was any high-end navigation available, Lyu Yingyue would casually pull satellite operational authority for a Haizhou garrison base straight out of her pocket, along with deployment authorization for the Chaocheng Supercomputing Center—the largest in Haizhou.
With just a passing remark of "don't leave any loose ends for people to grab onto," she had tossed such a lethal tool into Ji Jue's hands for him to play with as he pleased.
That utterly nonchalant attitude made it impossible to fathom where her confidence truly lay.
However, in Teacher Ye Xian's words: Lyu Yingyue had always been that way. As a partner, her reputation was stellar and steady, but once detached from mutual interest, you would struggle to find even a shred of virtue in her. Even if there appeared to be any, it was nothing more than outward camouflage.
If she had possessed any humanity in her earlier years, she had now thoroughly embraced Tianyuan, becoming an outright creature of power. The only remaining resemblance between her and carbon-based humanity was probably her physical appearance.
As a mere pawn, it made no difference to Ji Jue whether the big boss above was merciful or ruthless. At the very least, she paid generously, approved permits promptly, and was willing to take the blame—which already made her better than the vast majority of leaders in the world.
Now, amidst the flashes of light rising across the distant snowfield, Ji Jue raised his hand and pointed toward the two observation vehicles frantically reversing and trying to flee under the threat of missile targeting.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
He downed the remaining tea in his cup in one gulp, hopped down from the hood, and walked toward the cockpit.
"The fireworks are over. Time to get to work."
"Holy shit—"
In a sheltered spot on the snowfield, Shi Ran, the navigator for Team Chonghui who had just been swinging a shovel to dig out their car, looked up and stared at the distant firelight, dumbfounded.
Even the driver beside him, who was slacking off with a cigarette, froze and poked his head out. "Are they going this far this year? How the hell are there missiles?"
Shi Ran said nothing, his expression dark.
Soon, the satellite phone rang, and a familiar voice came through the receiver.
Delivering an order.
"Ran, withdraw from the race."
"Withdraw?" Shi Ran frowned. "Right now? We just started."
"This is no longer a game."
The person on the other end sighed. "Remember what I told you last time... Everyone has raised their stakes. This Desert Sea Rally has become one of their gambling tables.
"Right now, the four conglomerates have gone insane. They've put their channels and positions on the line to bet against the Haichao faction to settle this once and for all.
"At a crucial juncture like this, we cannot get involved. No—if you stay on the course, those bastards will definitely find a way to drag you in!"
He paused, then solemnly reminded him, "Yunzhou takes no sides, remember?"
Yunzhou obeyed Midtown's arrangements; whoever ruled Midtown was whom they obeyed.
At such a critical moment, they absolutely could not be swept up in this storm.
One could foresee what kind of meat grinder the Desert Sea Rally route would become. If anything went wrong, even Shi Ran's status would hardly guarantee his survival.
"Wait—"
Just as Shi Ran was about to speak, faint noises came through the other end of the line, sounding like a report. Then followed a protracted silence, and finally, a soft sigh:
"We just received word. The Southern Director of the Northern Realm jumped to his death after being exposed for graft, corruption, and accepting bribes from Imperial spies."
"The Northern Realm's Southern Director..." Shi Ran gasped in shock. "Isn't that Lyu Tianhao's own uncle?"
"It's just an uncle. If that settles the inquiries from Midtown and the Military Department, they should thank heaven and earth."
The voice on the phone sneered. "Just an uncle? The four conglomerates have staked their entire fortunes on this table now. Lyu Yingyue dragged this out for so long that she backed them into a corner. Do you really expect them to have any bottom line left?!"
Shi Ran went blank, rendered speechless.
"Other families have vast assets, so uncles and elders are cheap. Ran, our family doesn't have that many people. I only have one nephew, and Team Chonghui will eventually be left to you to run. Understand?"
"I... I understand."
Shi Ran sighed helplessly. He looked back at the snowfield, furiously kicked the tire, and spat a curse.
"Let's go."
He waved to the driver. "We're withdrawing."
Amidst the wails of countless gamblers, the news spread five minutes later: on the opening day of the Desert Sea Rally, Team Chonghui withdrew due to an accident.
Immediately after, a spokesperson for Juguang Group announced that Team Juguang had withdrawn due to the driver's health condition.
Right on their heels were Shengyu and Ditong...
In just half an hour, more than five teams suffered setbacks and chose to drop out under the influence of the severe weather, leaving spectators on tenterhooks regarding the fate of the remaining dozen or so teams.
***
"Ah, what a pity..."
In front of the shattered, burning vehicles, amidst scattered corpses and pools of blood, An Ning looked up, gazing into the distance at the black speck fading into the sky. "He got away."
Unlike the ragtag rabble from earlier, the two vehicles sent to observe the results and deliver the finishing blows were practically battle-hardened elites.
Even with Ji Jue's assistance, they had nearly failed to take them down.
Even so, one had managed to escape.
The Entropy practitioner, who had maintained distance from start to finish, had immediately ridden the gale and soared to a greater height the moment he sensed his teammates faltering. Furthermore, he carried several alchemical creations on him, activating them at all costs to shield himself and flee, already putting himself out of pursuit range.
"Sorry, Brother Ji Jue."
An Ning shook her head regretfully. "I didn't bring much Bitter Day with me. Just to be safe, for your protection, I didn't think it was worth wasting on trash like him."
"He won't get away. Don't worry."
Ji Jue glanced up at the almost vanished black speck. Reaching out, he pulled the dormant Pan Ying from Little Niuma's bloodstained steel claws. The broken blade hummed softly as it touched his hand, its ringing vibration temporarily sealed by flowing quicksilver.
"Use this."
He offered it hilt-first. "Throw it."
"Huh, what's this? Ooh~ so fierce. Did you make this too?"
An Ning held Pan Ying, clicking her tongue in admiration as she examined it closely, not caring in the least that the black speck was getting farther away. Once she had looked and fiddled with it enough, she finally looked up.
After hopping back a few steps, she raised a finger to gauge the distance, then nodded.
One step, two steps, three steps.
In an instant, her figure flashed forward, sweeping like the wind without a sound, building momentum across three strides. In her grip, Pan Ying suddenly shrieked and vibrated as silver light erupted, the seal shattering under her brutal command.
It flew from her hand.
Unlike the faint glimmers from before, this was like a vast, surging torrent of blood!
Thunder roared and blood-red light twisted. The moment Pan Ying was released, its seal broke. Breaking the sound barrier, it spun and swayed, impossibly fast, surpassing the speed of sound—and then faster still.
Even though it wasn't a weapon or material crafted specifically for Flying Light, under the enhancement of her peerless pitch-pot technique, it instantly transformed into crimson lightning.
Crossing the vault of heaven, it plunged straight toward the terrified figure ducking into the cloud cover.
From beginning to end, it never altered its trajectory, shooting dead straight.
From an onlooker's perspective, it looked as if the opponent had deliberately crashed into it. The moment it left her hand, it had already predicted and locked onto the direction of the enemy's dodge!
No roar was heard.
Only a flash of crimson fire erupted within the thick cloud cover. Then, the majestic blood-red light swept backward, trailing a thunderous boom as it flew back.
Spinning through the air, the hilt landed perfectly into An Ning's fingers.
It even saved Ji Jue the trouble of going to fetch it.
"How was that, how was that?"
An Ning turned around, completely ignoring the sinister corruption. Grinning proudly, she said, "Brother Ji Jue, was I cool just now? Was I!"
Unfortunately, Ji Jue didn't seem to hear.
Beside the twisted, burnt-out frame of a vehicle, he lowered his eyes, gazing down impassively at the mangled body in the pool of blood and the convulsing, dying face.
"One of you is actually still alive," he murmured.
"Spare... spare..."
The Vortex Celestial Chosen coughed violently, vomiting a mouthful of visceral fragments. Even though he had been scorched by fire, riddled with corrupted bullets, and had his body torn apart until only a fraction remained, he was miraculously still breathing.
It was truly a miracle of life.
Unfortunately, this fleeting miracle was about to be thoroughly snuffed out.
"P-please..."
Under the gaze of those pitch-black eyes, the man's battered face twitched in despair, his choked plea desperate. "I... I... I have a child... I..."
"What if—"
Ji Jue suddenly asked, "What if I were the one begging for mercy right now? Would you let me go?"
In that instant, the choking sobs cut off abruptly.
The survivor froze, unable to speak. His contorted expression twitched, wanting to provide an answer, yet he could produce no sound.
No words were needed.
The answer was already laid bare before them.
"That's just reality, right? No need to feel ashamed. We're all the same, really."
Ji Jue shrugged with regret and patted the man's remaining shoulder, offering comforting words: "Look on the bright side. At least I won't kill your child, right?
"Then again—"
He paused, then abruptly asked, "Will he come seeking revenge against me in the future?"
In that instant of dead silence, the man's face froze. Shattering into terror and madness, he let out a frantic hiss, writhing like a dying beast in an attempt to bite the man before him to pieces.
Yet under Ji Jue's foot, he could not move an inch.
He was ground down into the frozen pool of blood and mud.
"See? Being afraid is only normal. It's not just death; there are plenty of things far more terrifying than dying in this world," Ji Jue sighed. "You're not the only one who's scared. I'm scared too. I'm far more terrified than you can imagine."
If I hung my head and admitted defeat, would you let me go?
If Yan Jian had begged for mercy while hung up and beaten, would you have stayed your hand?
If Lu Feng had dropped his rifle and fled, or Chen Yubo had thrown up his hands and surrendered, would you have shown leniency? If Mother Lu and Xiao Ling had wept, would you have displayed mercy?
Even if I knelt and begged, would there be a way out?
Even if I had slit my own throat long before this, would you have left any of the others an avenue of survival?
The answer had been decided long ago.
Ji Jue could accept losing. He could accept dying without a burial.
Yet from the moment they tried to drag innocent bystanders into this, he had resolved never to accept any of it again...
"I don't want to die."
Ji Jue looked down and told him, "So you, all of you, everyone here and everyone not here—must die."
In that split second, Pan Ying chimed, rising with a tremor.
It flew into Ji Jue's hand of its own accord.
He said:
"—I didn't come here for victory, nor did I come to win. I came to ensure every last one of you dies completely."
The broken blade swept across.
Silently, boundless crimson light condensed, sank into the blade, and vanished.
Pan Ying sheathed itself between the opening steel claws, sinking once more into darkness.
In the dead silence, save for the patter of falling snow and the soft crackle of growing ice crystals, no other sound remained.
"Let's go, An Ning."
Amidst the scorched earth and wreckage, Ji Jue turned back, gesturing to her. "Let's go kill them all."
An Ning stared blankly at his expression, gazing at the curl of his lips. In the reflection of his eyes, she seemed to see a ferocious beast that had momentarily broken free of its shackles, finally surging forth in pursuit of the White Stag.
And so, she could no longer hold back a brilliant smile.
"Okay!"
Just like that, they leaped onto Little Niuma, leaving the charred embers behind as they set off once more.
Heading toward the wilderness ahead, thick with briars and death.
Amidst the receding engine roar, faint voices drifted on the wind: "By the way, that move earlier really was pretty cool."
"Really, really? How does it compare to A-Ran?"
"Well, Xiao An is definitely cooler."
"Why?"
"No reason. Xiao An is just cooler..."
"Ah, pull over up ahead."
"For what?"
"...To catch a little mouse!"
Chapter 358