CH 88.1

Chapter 88.1 – Finding the Empire

It was hard to describe what kind of scene it was.

Black crystals burst out of the monsters’ bodies, layers upon layers, jagged and grotesque, putting them to death in a matter of seconds.

The human-faced birds fell from the air, tumbled, and screamed on the ground until their heads were submerged by crystals. The claws of the wolves were covered with crystals, they tried their best to escape but their robust bodies could not be faster, and they were frozen in the crystals.

Everyone saw this scene.

The terrifying waves built by the black crystal flooded most of the city. It was like a power possessed by the gods. It was as powerful as a firecracker. When it stopped, birds, animals, insects, fish, flowers, plants, and trees…These vigorous and ferocious infected creatures were eaten and devoured, and time was frozen at this moment. In that beautiful translucent crystal, birds spread their wings, beasts roared, long snakes showed their fangs, and a flower was budding, stopping at the most beautiful moment when it was about to open.

The buildings and streets were also covered with crystals.

They sparkled in the sun, like a mythical city made of crystals.

The world came to a stop.

There was a dead silence.

“…what happened?” some people murmured, “what the hell happened?”

The soldiers were also at a loss, and the quick-responding people shouted in the channel: “Wait for instructions! Continue to evacuate the crowd! Do not approach any unknown objects!”

With a sharp wind-breaking sound, a team of aircraft passed over their heads and flew to the train terminal in the western district.

*

The lights in the operating room were on for more than ten hours, and Shi Yuan had been waiting outside.

Professor Guan came twice and brought him bread and water. Shi Yuan barely ate a little and continued to wait.

Professor Guan sat with him in the corridor.

Shi Yuan said slowly: “I infected them all… what should I do next?”

“There is still time.” Professor Guan pinched his shoulder to show comfort, “If it weren’t for you, the city would have fallen, now at least…we still have a little time. Don’t think so much about it, wait for him to come out, and then I will explain the situation to you clearly.”

Shi Yuan continued to wait.

While he was waiting, the people in the city couldn’t believe that they had survived the catastrophe. They took to the streets and looked at the crystals in the distance, all with dazed faces.

They heard that all the monsters in a radius of nearly 100 kilometers were dead. The other monsters were intimidated and did not dare to approach for the time being.

For the first time in more than 70 years, the city was safe, and they could even walk freely in the wasteland.

Everything was incredible.

But at what cost?

Those black crystals look too disturbing. Once the instrument was close, the pollution index would explode and couldn’t be displayed.

And Chairman Chai Yongning performed extraordinarily strong.

Chai Yongning had no military power and had always been in a semi-head state, but in the end, he was a representative figure of the Alliance, and he could hold it at a critical moment – perhaps, on the day Lu Tinghan confessed to him the identity of Shi Yuan, Lu Tinghan had already expected that there might be today’s situation.

Chai Yongning knew the inside story, and his experience in the old days made him understand what to do. The army got his instructions and began to command the crowd. At the same time, he delivered a speech, saying that black crystal was a phenomenon studied by the research center, and the specific situation would be made public within a few days. At least, he could guarantee that the city was temporarily safe.

After this set, some people were still anxious, but most people were no longer afraid and could follow the arrangements.

Lu Tinghan was sent to the ICU after 15 hours of surgery.

The operation was successful, but he was not out of danger. Shi Yuan entered the ICU to accompany him, sitting by the bed, looking at the familiar face under the oxygen mask.

Rarely seen pale and weak.

He was so sad that his tail was tied in a dead knot.

It was like he was back to the last time, also in the ward, and Lu Tinghan was seriously injured, and no matter how he called, Lu Tinghan would not respond. It was just that Lu Tinghan was injured for the Alliance before, and this time, it was for him.

Shi Yuan just held the knotted tail and waited for three days.

On the fourth day, Lu Tinghan woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, Shi Yuan cried immediately.

“…” There was a layer of water mist on the oxygen mask, Lu Tinghan whispered, “…why are you crying again?”

Shi Yuan’s tears couldn’t stop at all.

He sniffled, his eyes were red, and he looked at Lu Tinghan with a forced smile: “Because, my tail is knotted.”

Lu Tinghan also smiled: “Then I’ll help you untie it.”

Five days later, Lu Tinghan helped Shi Yuan untie his tail.

Ten days later, Lu Tinghan saw the city covered with black crystals by the window, spectacular, weird, and grotesque.

Shi Yuan waited anxiously, whispering that he had no choice at that time, the aircraft could not come to save people, and he could only kill all the monsters.

He asked, “Lu Tinghan, will you hate me?”

But whenever one monster finished evolving, it was a disaster of extinction. What’s more, this time it was a group of monsters, the Alliance could not have any chance to be able to resist.

Lu Tinghan stared into the distance for a long time.

Then he hugged Shi Yuan and whispered, “How come? I heard the adjutant tell the situation, the city should have been gone on that day, it was you who bought us time.”

Shi Yuan looked up at him: “Really?”

“Of course.” Lu Tinghan said, “As long as people are alive, there is still hope.” He kissed Shi Yuan on the forehead, “Thank you.”

Shi Yuan became happy.

Professor Guan also explained the situation clearly during his visit.

He said: “Thanks to our observation of Shi Yuan’s infection wavelength in the past year or two, we have a certain understanding of this black crystal. Our team has speculated and simulated countless times. It is basically certain that for the smallest infected creatures, such as normal-sized butterflies, spiders, ants, etc., it takes 3 to 4 months for them to complete their evolution, while for larger infected creatures, it is likely to take 10 months to more than a year.”

Lu Tinghan said: “In other words, the city will be safe for at least 3 months.”

“Not quite accurate.” Professor Guan pushed his reading glasses, “First of all, the threat of the smallest infected creature is probably not as great as imagined. Shi Yuan told us that he had infected a blue butterfly, which was later released into the wasteland. The blue butterfly was seen by other soldiers. This is something that you must have an impression of, General Lu.”

Lu Tinghan nodded: “I have read the report.”

The soldiers reported in surprise that they had encountered an immortal butterfly.

Professor Guan: “Yes. According to the soldiers, the blue butterfly with the black crystal hanging from its wings was indeed much more aggressive than its counterpart, but it was still killed – of course it didn’t really ‘die’, but came back to life… The point is, we can kill it relatively easily, the smallest infected creatures are so weak themselves that even if they evolved, ascended, and had hundreds or thousands of times higher abilities, they would still be useless. It’s like 0.01 times 1000, which is just 10, the base is there.”

Lu Tinghan understood: “The earliest group of evolved creatures will not be a very big threat.”