Chapter 66. The SS Secret Realm Manifests Now...

Two figures floated not far from the torn area, enveloped in thick clouds and mist, with only one figure appearing to be exceptionally tall.

An impatient male voice could be faintly heard through the clouds: "Damn it, those administrators actually managed to break the magic array above the capital in just one month."

Another soft, charming female voice, gentle yet full of malice, spoke: "It's alright, there's Plan B. We'll materialize this SS-level secret realm into reality and have the monsters in it besiege the capital. That will drag it out for three or four months, and the mission there will be completed no matter what."

The male voice grew increasingly agitated: "Ugh, these damn managers, I'll chop them into mincemeat sooner or later."

...

Below the vortex was a brown object, 3 meters long and resembling an arrow, floating in mid-air. It emanated an ominous aura of black and red light, and its arrowhead pointed towards the capital.

A dark red light illuminated the area.

Each enormous monster that landed on the ground, after being bathed in light for two or three seconds, had its originally clear eyes turn bloodshot and ferocious, as if guided, and then it rushed madly toward the capital.

Two hours later, an S-level air raid siren sounded over the capital: 'Beep—'

After the one minute and thirty-second-long S-level high-risk protection alarm sounded, the citywide broadcast, which had not been activated for nearly seventy years, immediately followed.

Then the mayor's familiar voice blared from countless loudspeakers throughout the capital, its message deafening: "I have some serious news to share... Two hours ago, a large number of demonic beasts were detected..."

"Upon investigation, it's highly likely that a previously undiscovered secret realm has been breached, and the demonic beasts within have materialized into reality. It's very likely a secret realm of S-rank or higher, possibly even SS-rank..."

"We will work together with all the warriors in the Operations Department to do our best to protect our homeland... The Imperial City Municipal Administration, in conjunction with the Operations Department, has issued a battle order: all squads of C rank and above, and all professionals of fourth job advancement and above, must participate in this battle."

"Finally, please do not panic and follow our instructions."

Not long after the broadcast stopped, the top floor of the Imperial Capital Operations Command Tower, which had been sealed off for years, was opened again, and a large hand wearing a black glove pressed down hard on a large red button about half a meter in diameter.

Ten minutes later, a beam of light rose from the top of the command tower, shooting into the sky. After the light at the top reached a certain height, it drooped down and spread outwards in the shape of a giant morning glory.

Before long, a protective shield, shimmering with seven colors and as fragile and beautiful as a bubble, yet exceptionally tough, enveloped the entire capital.

The professionals in squads of C rank and above changed out of their casual clothes and put on their professional attire, heading towards the city gate closest to them (there are four city gates in the capital: the East Gate, the West Gate, the South Gate, and the North Gate).

Squads below Rank D are tasked with assisting municipal staff in evacuating and calming rioting civilians and arranging for ordinary citizens to proceed to shelters in an orderly manner.

Inside the Xiao family home after the broadcast was turned off.

Xiao Weizhi pulled Lin Xiaoxiao down to the family treasury located on the third basement level of the Xiao family estate.

His expression was grave, and his voice was very serious: "Xiaoxiao, how much space do you have left?"

Lin Xiaoxiao used her mental sense to probe the remaining space, her voice somewhat uncertain: "There's probably about half left?"

"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Weizhi nodded: "Half? That should be enough."

A moment later, the two stood in front of a solid black metal door.

As Xiao Weizhi pressed his left hand against the fingerprint verification screen by the door, a needle tip slowly rose from the screen, piercing his index finger. Immediately afterwards, a drop of blood oozed from his fingertip and was absorbed by the screen.

As the treasure vault's instruments made their verification, the next second, a cold, mechanical female voice rang out from the screen:

"Verification successful. Xiao Weizhi, the 23rd generation heir of the Xiao family, welcomes to the Xiao family's backup warehouse."

The ground trembled slowly, and the metal gate slowly slid open to both sides, revealing the lights inside, which illuminated the interior with a dazzling glow.

"Wow!" Lin Xiaoxiao stared in surprise at what was inside.

The space in front of me, whose size I couldn't quite make out, was filled with piles of gold coins that looked like small mountains.

The small hill contained a mix of props, special metals, and gemstones...

Each hill is piled up to almost the ceiling, leaving only a narrow path for one person to pass through. At first glance, it looks like entering a golden, priceless, and jewel-filled dragon's treasure vault.

Xiao Weizhi pulled Lin Xiaoxiao inside, pointing to the mountain of gold coins in front of them and saying, "Collect as much as you can. Fill up the rest of your space. Before we head to the assembly point, we need to go to the weapon master to retrieve the weapons we sent back for modification."

Lin Xiaoxiao looked at the equipment, gems, and metal ores mixed in with the gold coins, and frowned slightly: "It will take some time."

There are too many 'other' things mixed in with the gold coins, and it may take a long time to sort them out and only take the gold coins.

"Beep beep beep beep..." Xiao Weizhi's communicator rang.

He immediately understood her idea and replied gently, "Just stuff it in, and when you need to use it, put it in while picking it out."

After saying this, he picked up the communicator, and a multi-person communication screen appeared, with his comrades' voices ringing out:

Wang Hao's lively voice was the first to ring out: "Boss, which door are we going to?"

Xiao Weizhi thought for a moment, and combined the addresses of the team members' accommodations, quickly set the address as South Gate: "Meet at South Gate, you guys go first, Xiaoxiao and I will arrive later."

As expected of someone who grew up with Xiao Weizhi, Chen Feng immediately guessed why Xiao Weizhi was late and replied, "Weizhi, Cheng Cheng and I will be passing by the vicinity of Master's house later. We've retrieved the weapon for Xiaoxiao. You two head straight to the South Gate."

Xiao Weizhi nodded: "Okay, let's meet at the South Gate."

Liu Huihui: "Junxuan, we'll be passing by your area later, so we'll pick you up on the way."

Li Junxuan: "Okay."

Jiang Tao: "Brother Yijin, I'm here to pick you up."

Chen Yijin: "Okay."

Just as Lin Xiaoxiao was diligently filling her space with gold coins.

The team members have quickly made arrangements and are deciding who they can pick up along the way when heading to the South Gate.

A dozen minutes later, more than twenty gold coins were gone from the warehouse, and Lin Xiaoxiao's space was completely filled, her 'ammunition' replenished.

Half an hour later, a ten-seater flying car drove away from the Xiao family's underground garage.

Besides Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi, there were also Uncle Jiang, Sister Luo, Sister Chen, Uncle Liu, Uncle Wang... a total of seven people in the car.

They changed out of their everyday work clothes and into professional attire that had some scratches and looked worn, as if they hadn't worn it in a long time.

On the way to the South Gate, everyone in the car remained silent.

It's just an hour's drive away.

Lin Xiaoxiao watched as the uncles, elders, and sisters she used to live with shed their gentle and harmless demeanor and transformed into a sharp and fearless aura, like peerless cold weapons that had been wrapped and sealed in their sheaths, once again unsheathing their cold and ruthless side.

The flying car arrived at the South Gate smoothly. Uncle Chen, who was driving, parked the flying car in the parking lot and silently walked to Uncle Jiang and the others.

Jiang Bo, dressed in a tight-fitting black assassin's suit, had no mask on, but instead hung it around his neck. His gray hair was all tucked into the hood. His eyes, which were usually smiling and curved into crescents, were now wide open, filled with a cold fighting spirit, and the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.

Jiang Bo gently placed his hand on his heart and bowed slightly to Xiao Weizhi: "Young Master, please be careful with everything you and Miss Lin do. We will finish dealing with things over there as soon as possible and come back."

Xiao Weizhi's gaze swept over the group of uncles and aunts who had watched him grow up and were not relatives but were closer than relatives.

He lowered his eyes and pursed his lips, a whole host of things he needed to say stuck in his throat, but in the end, he could only manage a soft reply: "Okay, be careful!"

Uncle Jiang understood the personality of the child he had raised, so he didn't say anything more.

Sister Luo was wearing a rose gold suit of armor and carrying a two-meter-long broadsword on her back. Her smile remained gentle: "Young Master, Miss Lin, we're leaving now. After we win this battle, we'll have Old Wang cook a big feast to celebrate when we get back."

Lin Xiaoxiao held the black cat in her arms and had the treasure-hunting mouse in her pocket. Her eyes were filled with worry, but she nodded firmly: "Okay, Sister Luo, after the battle, let's have a celebration banquet together."

Upon hearing this, Sister Luo and the others exchanged knowing smiles.

After a brief exchange, these uncles, aunts, and sisters, carrying their respective weapons, walked out of the protective shield without looking back.

Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao watched them leave. Xiao Weizhi put his arm around Lin Xiaoxiao's shoulder and said in a calm tone, as if explaining and comforting her, "Don't worry. Uncle Jiang and the others were a legendary SSS-level team when they were young, but they retired later for some reason."

It is precisely because of the existence of this group of people.

Xiao Weizhi was able to grow up safely despite his father's disappearance, his grandfather's serious illness, the disappearance of 80% of the family's elite members, and being surrounded by wolves, and to keep the Xiao family standing for many years.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, Jiang Tao rode a hoverbike with Chen Yijin on his back and rushed up to Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi: "Boss, we're here."

As soon as Chen Yijin stopped the motorcycle, he slapped Jiang Tao hard on the back of the head, where Jiang Tao was wearing a safety helmet, and cursed in a low voice: "You little brat, I told you to slow down, slow down, but you're twisting the throttle like you're crazy."

Jiang Tao didn't dare to get angry even after being hit. He took off his helmet, chuckled awkwardly, and put away his motorcycle.

A few minutes later, Liu Huihui and Huang Yuwei arrived with Li Junxuan in their car.

A while later, Chen Feng and Cheng Cheng arrived with the weapons they had obtained from the master.

The last to arrive was Wang Hao, who didn't have a car. When he got out of the flying taxi, he said helplessly, "Once this is over, I'm definitely going to buy a flying car. It's so hard to get a taxi right now."

Wang Hao lived the furthest away. In the past, either Chen Feng and the others would come to pick him up, or he would take a taxi. He felt he didn't need a car and never even considered buying one.

Seeing that the team had assembled, Xiao Weizhi solemnly gave the team the battle plan before setting off: "Everyone must keep 20% of their mana. Once it drops to that value, they must step back and rest. They are not allowed to use it unless it is a critical moment."

In such large-scale battles, preserving some physical and magical energy to fight back is a consensus among all professionals.

Even so, Xiao Weizhi would say this before every battle.

Because he knew the troublesome personalities of the team members very well, once they really got into a fight, they would be grateful if they didn't risk their lives, let alone conserve their stamina and mana.

"Received!" they said in unison. *9

Hearing this unanimous reply, Xiao Weizhi sighed helplessly, hoping that they would really keep their word.

Lin Xiaoxiao stood beside him, and with a strong voice, she joined her friends in shouting "Received!"

After explaining everything, the entire Dragon Fang team, armed with weapons, headed towards the densely packed army of demonic beasts outside the protective shield.

Upon reaching the protective shield, numerous professional teams were already engaged in battle with the densely packed army of monsters. Ranged, melee, and wide-range skills were all unleashed upon the monster horde, creating numerous explosion zones of varying sizes.

Dust billowed in the air, accompanied by the howls of monsters and the roars of warriors.

Amidst the vast plumes of smoke from the explosions, severed limbs occasionally appeared, along with a few items, scraps of coins, animal teeth, or metal.

Xiao Weizhi raised his staff with his right hand, and a light shone from the top of the staff. The light reflected off his glasses, concealing the emotions in his eyes.

He commanded in a deep voice: "Junxuan, activate your shield; Huang Yuwei, activate your aura; Wang Hao, long-range attacks; Xiaoxiao, wide-range short-range attacks; Yijin, wide-range poison attacks from the front; Cheng Cheng, keep a close eye on Junxuan's health; Chen Feng and Huihui, guard the flanks; Jiang Tao, move freely."

Following Xiao Weizhi's battle command, everyone activated their skills, formed an attack formation, and quickly stepped out of the protective shield to join the battle outside the city.

Lin Xiaoxiao took out one of the new weapons that Cheng Cheng and Chen Feng had retrieved from the master.

This new weapon is a 1.7-meter-tall pink-gold turret - [Sweet Storm Cannon (Silver Grade)].

The turret features a circular metal handcuff connector that links to the body's magical power; on the right side is a concealed rectangular funnel-shaped inlet, 30cm x 40cm, containing a 10-square-meter ammunition depot; the turret also has a handle for directional movement...

The firing port has two modes:

One type is an extra-large circular cannon with a diameter of 90 centimeters. Each attack can use energy to form a net around hundreds or thousands of gold coins into a ball and quickly shoot it toward the target.

Another type has hundreds of flat, elongated firing nozzles, capable of firing hundreds of coins per second, and can continue firing until the user's mana is depleted or the ammunition is exhausted.

Lin Xiaoxiao first took out baskets of gold coins from her spatial storage and added them to the ammunition depot of the fortress.

Only after the ammunition magazine was full did she attach the connector to her right arm, stand behind the turret, grip the directional control handles with both hands, and switch the mode to rapid fire mode.

In just a few minutes, the group had already wiped out a considerable number of the blood-red-eyed monsters that had charged at them.

This monster is 3 meters tall, with a wolf-like and tiger-like appearance, but its tail resembles a little devil's tail. Its entire body is covered in gray fur, which crackles with electricity. Its attack methods include: lightning balls, lightning claws...

They are a type of monster called the "Thunderous Beast".

Lin Xiaoxiao gripped the handles with both hands, the metal handcuffs on her right wrists lit up, and skill energy flowed into the turret along the connecting lines.

She gripped the fire button on the handle with her right thumb, and in the next second, countless gold coins shot out and landed in the horde of monsters a few meters away.

One explosion after another rang out, and the damage kept piling up.

Wherever the gun emplacement is pointed, a series of explosions will erupt.

[Congratulations to the Dragon Fang Squad for defeating the Level 56 Thunderous Beast, gaining 367,823 experience points.]

Congratulations to the Dragon Fang Team!

...

Lin Xiaoxiao's damage output ranking in the first random shooting attack jumped rapidly from last place.

He surpassed Li Junxuan (last place), Huang Yuwei (second to last), Cheng Cheng (third to last), and Chen Yijin (fourth to last) to climb to sixth place in the team's damage output ranking.

The black cat nestled in a relatively stable spot on the cannon platform, lazily glancing at the horde of monsters before it. Deeming the situation not too serious, it continued to feign sleep with its two front paws tucked under its body and its eyes closed.

After discussing with its Uncle Black Panther about helping to protect Lin Xiaoxiao, Red Tail stretched its body, grew larger, and jumped into the monster horde, wreaking havoc on all sides.

Thirty minutes later, Lin Xiaoxiao, who had stopped to rest with only 20% of her mana remaining, looked at her third place in the damage rankings and smiled with satisfaction.

With Red Tail's combined output, her total damage output reached eight figures, surpassing all the other teammates except for Xiao Weizhi and Wang Hao.

No wonder my teammates are always so obsessed with damage rankings; it's so satisfying to watch!

Cheng Cheng cast another [Holy Light Healing Spell (Gold Level)] on Li Junxuan, and when he caught Lin Xiaoxiao stop attacking, he immediately cast a mana-restoring spell on her.

With a smile, she praised, "Xiaoxiao, you're great! If you keep up the good work, you can surpass Xiaohao's output ranking."

Wang Hao, carrying the cannon, had just unleashed a group attack skill when he heard this and immediately replied with a smile, "Then I'll have to step up my game. I can't let Xiaoxiao suppress my ranking."

Li Junxuan, leaning forward with his hands gleaming, stood in a steady horse stance, panting heavily as he teased, "Haozi, if you don't work harder, you won't be able to stay in second place forever; you'll only be able to stay in third place forever."

At this moment, Jiang Tao, who had just returned from a flash, laughed loudly upon hearing this, saying, "Third brother? At his age, he can probably only be a mistress."

As soon as he said that, everyone in the team burst into laughter.

Wang Hao glared at Jiang Tao angrily: "Get lost, what do you mean by 'third brother' and 'mistress'? Can't you speak properly?"

Xiao Weizhi's lips curled slightly, and he tapped the ground with the bottom of his staff. An earth-yellow magic circle appeared on the ground not far away.

Immediately afterwards, a huge pit appeared out of nowhere, and the monsters piled up in front of Li Junxuan, like dumplings being put into a pot, all rolled into it in one go.

Xiao Weizhi struck the ground twice more with his baton, causing the soil to churn and bury all the monsters in the pit deep into the earth, buying Li Junxuan a few seconds to catch his breath.

Once Lin Xiaoxiao and the others had recovered enough mana, they got up and continued their previous tasks: pouring gold coins and controlling the turrets to attack.

If you run out of mana, take a break. Once you recover, repeat the exact same actions as before.

Over the course of several hours, her experience points steadily increased, and Lin Xiaoxiao was almost at level 65.

As darkness fell, the number of monsters in front of us did not decrease; in fact, it seemed to be increasing, and their attacks were becoming more and more ferocious. A large number of lights were put up inside the protective shield near the south gate.