The hovercar's anti-gravity engine hummed as it pierced the night and plunged into the underground helipad of the Reality Alliance's central base.
Lin Yi rubbed the pulsating Star Key in his palm with his fingertips, and could clearly feel the starlight drilling into his heart through his blood vessels—just like the vibration that came from under the stone tablet when Xuan Mingzi said "choice is freedom" in the temple last time.
"The base's defense system has been activated at the highest level of alert." Su Qing's data stream projected a pale blue screen onto his retina. "Long Wu's communication request has been marked as urgent."
Lin Yi pressed the headset, and Long Wu's voice boomed with static: "Boss! The security scan in the central conference room detected seven waves of abnormal energy fluctuations. I had Lao Zhou set up three thermal detectors, and they're keeping an eye on it now—those old geezers are probably plotting how to shift the blame again!"
"Hold on." Lin Yi tugged at his collar; the coolness of the temple stone tablet still lingered on his skin beneath his tactical uniform. "Give scanning access to Su Qing. I need to confirm the biometrics of each participant." He pushed open the car door; the hovercar's searchlight cast long shadows on the metal ground. Twenty meters away, the blast door was slowly opening, and behind it, several figures in embroidered gold Tang suits could be vaguely seen—people from ancient martial arts families. Elder Cangsong, the leader, was stroking his goatee and talking quietly with Dr. Chen from the Technology Alliance.
The air pressure in the conference room was lower than Lin Yi had expected.
The round conference table was surrounded by people: on the left were superhumans wearing tactical vests, on the right were mechanics wrapped in nanosuits, and in the center, three semi-transparent figures floated in the holographic projection—the branch leaders from the three continents. The projections were tinged with a pale red, indicating that they had just experienced a short space jump.
“Mr. Lin,” Elder Cangsong spoke first, his teacup clinking against the table. “Last time, during our joint attack on the ‘Throat of Annihilation,’ our Cangwu Mountain lost twelve inner disciples. You said the key could break the deadlock, but what we need is—” He tapped his knuckles on the table, “…the hope of survival.”
"Hope lies here." Lin Yi pressed the Star Key onto the energy bar in the center of the conference table.
The starlight exploded instantly.
The dark black tabletop rippled like a lake surface tossed with pebbles, and the phantom images of four keys rose from the ripples: to the east was the "Key of Cause and Effect" in Lin Yi's hand, which shimmered with starlight; to the west floated a semi-transparent "Fragment of Time"; and to the north and south were the "Space Prism" and the "Destiny Seal".
Golden chains of light stretched between the four, weaving a miniature star map above everyone's heads.
“All four keys are now available.” Lin Yi stared at the red dot that suddenly lit up on the star map—the coordinates of the Night Owl’s nest. “But the Night Owl’s sensory network is expanding. Three days ago, the moment he crushed the crystal ball, I could feel…” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he recalled the pair of red eyes in the alternate dimension. “He was laughing.”
A collective gasp filled the conference table.
Professor Li from the Mechanics Alliance pushed up his anti-radiation glasses: "So, we're basically running through a forest with torches in our hands?"
"Not only that." The voice of the shadowy figure came from the doorway.
His enforcer uniform was still covered in grass clippings from outside the temple, and the tassels of the sword at his waist trembled wildly in the night wind. "The opposition within the higher civilization has contacted me. They are willing to provide twelve 'Astral Cannons,' but they require us to hold the front line—" He slammed a holographic document on the table, "including the Annihilation Throat, the Void Rift, and..." His gaze swept over Elder Cangsong, "...the protective array of Mount Cangwu."
"On what grounds?" A young disciple from Cangwu Mountain slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Our protective mountain formation was passed down from our ancestors—"
“Because Night Owl’s advance team has already reached the back of Cangwu Mountain.” The shadowy figure drew his sword, the blade reflecting the disciple’s deathly pale face. “Three hours ago, I intercepted their communications outside the temple. The keyword was ‘ancient martial arts barrier loophole’.”
The meeting room fell into dead silence.
Lin Yi watched as Elder Cangsong's fingers trembled slightly under the table—a sign of disordered internal energy.
He knew the old man was waiting for a way out.
“I was once a creation of the Old Gods system.”
The hoarse voice sounded like sandpaper scraping against an iron plate.
Everyone turned around and realized that Xuan Mingzi was standing in the corner of the conference room at some point.
His Taoist robe was faded from washing, and the bronze bell hanging at his waist jingled softly with his breath. "The old gods used reincarnation to lock up millions of civilizations, and the key..." He raised his hand, his fingertip pointing to the center of the star map, "is the last copper core in the keyhole."
Elder Cangsong's teacup clattered to the ground.
"You mean..." Dr. Chen's voice trembled, "that the key can break the cycle of reincarnation?"
“Yes.” Xuan Mingzi walked to Lin Yi’s side, and the starlight of the Star Key suddenly surged, condensing into a light mark in his palm. “I once witnessed the previous reincarnator holding half a key, leading his civilization out of the chessboard of advanced civilizations.” He turned to look at everyone, his wrinkles at the corners of his eyes glistening with tears. “Now, this child has four.”
"I, Cangwu Mountain, agree." Elder Cangsong bent down to pick up the teacup, his knuckles turning white from gripping it so tightly. "I only beg Mr. Lin not to let another person from Cangwu Mountain perish."
“The Mechanics Alliance will provide all the backup power.” Professor Li adjusted his glasses, and the branch managers in the holographic projection nodded in agreement.
"The superhumans on the other side..." The woman in the dark green dress on the left chuckled, "Su Qing sent the resonance data of the key to our terminal a long time ago. It is indeed the key to breaking the deadlock."
Lin Yi clenched his palms, the stinging sensation in his fingertips bringing him back to his senses—this wasn't gratitude, but a weighing of options after the stakes had been reached.
He looked at the shadowy figure: "Deployment map of the Astral Cannon."
"It's been synchronized to your terminal." The figure sheathed his sword at his waist. "I need to lead three teams of enforcers to deploy defenses at Annihilation's Maw. We'll depart in three hours."
"Long Wu," Lin Yi turned to his earpiece, "How's the contact with the remnants of the Time Air Force?"
There was a two-second silence in the headset.
“Boss.” Long Wu’s voice suddenly turned somber. “Seventh Brother’s communication code matches, but he said that Whitebeard’s last words before he died were ‘The key is in the north’—but Whitebeard’s last words before he died…” He paused. “I was the one who kept vigil. His last words were ‘Take good care of these bastards for me.’”
Lin Yi's pupils contracted slightly: "Locate his position."
"Training ground on the back of Cangwu Mountain." Long Wu's footsteps suddenly quickened. "I'm going there now. Su Qing, send me the thermal scan—damn! There are six heat sources, three of which..." A metallic clang rang out. "Three are living people, and three are mechanical mimics!"
"Eliminate them." Lin Yi's voice was as cold as an icicle. "Leave no one alive."
"Understood!" Long Wu's tactical dagger buzzed through the communicator. "After I'm done cleaning up, I'll swear an oath at Whitebeard's training ground—as long as I, Long Wu, live, I will not let the blood of my brothers be shed in vain!"
The moment the call ended, the air in the conference room suddenly distorted.
Su Qing's data stream suddenly wrapped around Lin Yi's wrist, this tremor carrying an unprecedented urgency: "Abnormal fluctuations detected in the deep sea of data! Chu Yao... Chu Yao's consciousness is reviving!"
Everyone looked up.
A pale blue stream of data coalesced in the center of the conference table, gradually outlining the silhouette of a young girl—Chu Yao's hair still dripped with the fluorescence of the data sea, and the beauty mark at the corner of her eye shimmered with a ghostly blue. "Lin Yi," her voice was like crushed stardust, "the resonance frequency between the keys is changing, Night Owl..." She suddenly coughed, cracks appearing on her data body, "He found the core of the 'First Will,' in..."
"Where?" Lin Yi grabbed her wrist, his fingertips touching not a physical object, but a stream of cold data.
“Deepest within the Mother Nest.” The crack in Chu Yao’s skin spread to her chest. “He wants to use the core…” She looked up, her pupils reflecting Lin Yi’s taut jaw. “To reset the choices of all civilizations.”
The data stream suddenly collapsed.
The meeting room fell silent once again.
Lin Yi looked at the Star Key in his palm; its starlight was dimming at a visible speed—as if something was absorbing its light.
"All troops, prepare for battle." His voice wasn't loud, but it struck everyone like a heavy hammer. "Target: Night Owl's Nest in three hours."
"Then the front-line defenses..." Dr. Chen hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
"The defense line is guarded by Shadow and various divisions." Lin Yi stood up, his tactical boots clicking crisply on the ground. "We went to pull out Night Owl's teeth."
The sound of footsteps echoing as the meeting ended.
Lin Yi stared at the red dots that gradually lit up in the holographic projection—that was the support fleets of various forces gathering.
He pulled out his communicator, about to send a message to Long Wu, when he saw Su Qing's data stream flashing before his eyes: "The advance teams of the three major forces have arrived at the front-line base. Your high-level military meeting..."
"Postpone it." Lin Yi tugged at his collar, gazing at the starship fleet gradually lighting up outside the window. "Wait for Long Wu to return, wait for everyone who's supposed to be here to arrive."
In the darkness, dozens of blue lights pierced through the clouds—the shuttles of the Time Legion were returning to their unit.
Meanwhile, in a more distant alternate dimension, the night owl in the Black Crystal Palace is dripping the last drop of purple blood onto a crystal ball.
"The little bugs are finally coming." He licked his lips, his red eyes almost overflowing with excitement. "Perfect timing, my newly forged 'Reincarnation Furnace' is in need of a batch of sacrifices."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com