Sky Rift

April 22, 12:17 a.m. Resonance technicians from various corporations and their hired resonators began relentlessly breaching government platforms to probe for information. On the Center City government's side, a large number of resonators mounted counter-measures, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle of field offense and defense. Even without access to the Fumu's field, the government leaned on its absolute resource advantage and home turf to hold the line. Yet the back-and-forth struggle tied up a massive share of field communication resources, leaving intermittent blind spots across the light screen—marking areas that temporarily lost field signals and full monitoring coverage. At that moment, the female assistant placed her hand on her boundary credential as if listening to something. A moment later, she looked up and said, "Commissioner, the Government Hall requests that the Defense Department deploy more inactive conscious entities." Commissioner Liang said, "It is not time yet. Reject their request." This was merely the Fumu's first fission, still far from the most uncontrollable stage. His reserve of inactive conscious entities was meant for the most critical juncture. Because the corporations were currently only probing and no faction had yet sent forces to seize anything, the emergency response teams across the various districts located and recovered the first wave of split offspring in just an hour. Watchtower's voice soon rang out: "Confirmed. All split offspring from the first wave have been captured, with none unaccounted for." Hearing this, the personnel in the command hall visibly relaxed a little. After all, it was a good start. Commissioner Liang retained his grave expression. He knew it was far too early to relax. In the beginning, the Fumu's split offspring were few, numbering only in single digits. Center City had pre-estimated their most probable locations, and without significant interference, they could act swiftly. Subsequent waves would be a different story. As the cycles progressed, the number of split offspring would multiply, creating more and more blind spots that would inevitably slip beyond control. The later it got, the more chaotic it would become. Another critical issue demanded attention: during the Fumu's fission and breeding cycle, even if every split offspring was recovered one by one, the world fissures spreading because of them would not vanish. They had to station personnel or guards near every fissure, which would further dilute their forces. Once certain corporations and power factions finished gathering their data, they would surely seize the chance to snatch the split offspring. That was when the true battle would begin. An internal clerk walked up to him, saluted, and handed over a document. Commissioner Liang took it and looked through it. It was a report issued by Watchtower, projecting that the third wave of split offspring would exceed twenty and continue to climb in subsequent cycles. This was unavoidable. To reduce sudden and violent upheavals, artificial conditioning had broken down what would have been massive split offspring into a greater number of relatively smaller individuals. Yet that increase brought another headache: recovery became far more tedious and difficult. He thought to himself, hoping the prior preparations would be enough to weather what lay ahead. An hour and a half passed quickly. At 1:39 a.m., the Fumu underwent its second fission, this time yielding nine split offspring. Watchtower immediately provided precise coordinates and estimated recovery times. This run went smoothly as well. The information warfare along the outer field perimeter continued, though the frequency of attacks and defenses had fallen noticeably. This did not mean the other side had given up. Rather, the probing corporations and factions had gradually acquired the intelligence they needed. Beyond digital theft, their informants stationed across every district could gather situational data through direct observation. At 2:20 a.m., the second wave of recoveries concluded. Commissioner Liang rubbed the inner corners of his eyes beside the bridge of his nose. He saw his female assistant offer him a cup of tea, thanked her, and took it. He glanced at the countdown timer above. The third wave was scheduled for 3:25 a.m. He said in a low voice, "With the third wave, the Fumu will enter an unstable phase. The outer field will fail completely, and every manner of hidden vermin will crawl out into the open." He took a sip of tea and asked, "Have you felt anything on your end?" The female assistant shook her head. Commissioner Liang looked at the steam rising from his cup and said slowly, "It seems they are hiding very deep. We must remain patient." *** Out on the waters of the Yinglu District harbor, a ship that had been lingering offshore was pulling up to the docks. Nagahide Miyahide and a group of disciples from the Fenglin Dojo stood on the deck, hands resting on the long sabers at their waists. Behind them hung clouds tinted like the glow of sunset, and the sea breeze whipped their traditional combat robes about them. Nagahide Miyahide closed his eyes to sense his surroundings. His spirit was growing increasingly active. Having passed through the Ghost Gate, he was now about to attempt crossing the Heavenly Gate. A moment later, he opened his eyes and said, "Junior Brother Guan, a duel awaits me. We shall part ways here." Guan Shangjing bowed deeply toward Nagahide Miyahide. "Senior Brother Miyahide, I leave it in your hands." Nagahide Miyahide turned and solemnly returned the bow. He then led his accompanying fellow disciples off the ship and boarded the vehicles waiting at the pier, driving toward the Center City metropolitan area. Meanwhile, within the Xihui Opera House, Astrid donned a suit of knight's armor and strapped on her pre-arranged specialized combat tools. This entire set of gear had been provided by the Bolun Company. Both the armor and weapons were crafted from specialized materials tailored to complement her abilities perfectly. While she was checking her equipment, a voice came from behind. "Artis..." Astrid turned around. A woman clad in black armor leaned against a pillar. She had black hair and dark eyes—Sigrid, the actress who played the female knight in the production. Despite wearing a full suit of armor, she had approached without making a sound. She said, "Artis, the company instructed me to assist you. I will be your tetherer." "Siggy, can I trust you?" Astrid met her dark gaze. "After all, we have fought so many times I have lost count." "Of course. Who else could you trust besides me?" Sigrid offered a playful smile. Astrid smiled faintly. She picked up the helmet sitting on the table, slipped it over her head, and joked, "A knight cannot be trusted, but I am merely a shepherdess." With that, she reached up and pulled down her visor. She then picked up the spear leaning against the table. With a gentle twist and a sharp snap, it collapsed into a short spear, which she slotted onto her back. "All right, everything is ready." She stepped forward, held out her hand, and slapped palms with Sigrid. "Siggy, time to move out." She turned and walked toward the exit with crisp, clattering steps. Sigrid turned around, watched her in silence for a few seconds, put on her own helmet, and followed. *** An hour passed in a flash, and the Fumu's third fission arrived as scheduled. This time differed from the previous ones, manifesting with immense commotion. First, tremors rippled across every district in Center City. Then the tears in the sky abruptly widened, branching outward into jagged, tree-like fractures. A powdery, crystalline red substance drifted down from their edges, making the entire sky resemble a mirror on the verge of shattering. As this state persisted, bolts of lightning-bright light surged from within, accompanied by rumbling vibrations spilling outward. Something seemed to be making its way through the fissure. Sitting in deep meditation, Chen Chuan snapped his eyes open. In that single instant, he felt his spirit make contact with a world. Understanding dawned on him at once. The Heavenly Gate... had opened! Having waited so long, he immediately channeled the Spiritual Illumination Reflection Method. Threads of cool, refreshing essence seeped into his spirit, but along with them came an inexplicable taint. He knew this was the celestial impurities Teacher Xue had warned him about. He had to absorb the essence while simultaneously neutralizing and expelling the filth. Doing both inevitably split his concentration. If he could devote his full focus to absorption, his efficiency would be far higher. Without hesitation, he tried having his second self take on the burden. In an instant, the second self took on a faint blurriness, while he himself was freed from the taint. Yet he soon felt another barrier looming overhead, blocking larger quantities of essence from arriving. It was like grains of sand trickling down an hourglass, or a thin, sluggish brook. Even if he could ignore the corruption, he still had to expend substantial energy searching for it. To break this stalemate, there was only one way, just as Teacher Xue had told him: drive his spirit upward. He slowly raised the Xuejun Saber in his hand. Only continuous combat could elevate the spirit, driving it deep enough into the other side to leave an imprint. Yet he aimed to do more than just that—he would use this opportunity to push his second self into the third limit as well. Once both converged, his combat capability would soar, and his spiritual strength would become vastly more abundant. Now, all that remained was to find a sufficiently worthy opponent. *** Inside the command center, the atmosphere was far more tense than before. Several emergency response units had run into unexpected resistance, clashing with unidentified forces and making no headway anywhere. Although they could leverage their communications advantage to redirect nearby teams for reinforcement, the clashes cast a pall of uncertainty over the operation. Just then, Watchtower issued an abrupt warning: "Report. A massive fissure has been detected in the coastal waters off Jiyang District, and it continues to expand." "Coastal waters?" Commissioner Liang's expression tightened. He ordered immediately, "Patch through the feed." The light screen flickered, revealing a shoreline where rolling waves churned in the distance. Over the water now stretched an expansive, gaping fissure. The fog within obscured what lay beyond, but a dull, rolling roar could be heard. Was that... thunder? As the mist receded, shadowy silhouettes emerged. As they advanced and the fog cleared away entirely, everyone could finally see clearly, their eyes snapping wide. Rank upon rank of armored cavalry appeared, both riders and mounts fully barded, bearing lances. Above their formations fluttered a forest of banners stretching as far as the eye could see. "That is... the Sharp-Armored Cavalry of the former imperial house!" ...