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The convoy traveled on the road, the main route leading to the city, with a broken surface. However, the rough road surface posed no challenge for the fortress-like vehicles with high chassis, thick tires, and powerful engines.
The progress of the squad was slow, even though people had only explored one-third of the city so far.
The city, or rather, the distribution of dark creatures, was constantly changing. Therefore, no matter who the commander was, they didn’t dare to rush into the city.
Sitting in the Falcon vehicle, Old Xu looked through the window at the dim daylight and the distant, broken buildings resembled gigantic tombstones. He sighed. "Civilization in the Inverse Universe, City 127, is truly similar to ours. Look at the appearance and structure of these buildings. What's the difference from our fortress?"
"This metropolis is much larger than our Sky Tower," Han Shu said, stretching his legs and leaning back in his seat. "Moreover, the city of the Inverse Universe doesn't require outer protection, nor can we see anything like artillery platforms. This indicates that before they turned into this ghost state, they were in a relatively peaceful and secure condition."
Cang Du murmured from behind, "A world without the threat of monstrous creatures? That's truly enviable."
Ji Yu, who was driving, smirked. "What's there to envy? Do you like it the way it is now?"
Old Xu chuckled twice, trying to mediate, "At least before it became like this, it should have been an enviable world. According to the information we've gathered, the metropolis is equivalent to the size of our two Sky Towers combined. There's a major fault line to the west that divides the city, and we don't know much about that area."
"But in this part, the roads are well-connected, and there are no checkpoints. This suggests that the city's residents in those days had the freedom to come and go as they pleased, it seems. They might have had social classes, but the hierarchy should not have been prominent. As for the buildings, the tallest ones reach up to 80 floors. It's unimaginable how many people such a building can accommodate."
"If nothing unexpected happened, the metropolis could have housed tens of millions of people. On our side, only the super-fortress cities like Glorious Bastion could achieve that scale."
Han Shu added, "Don't forget they had automobiles too. We even found train-like vehicles beneath the city. It seems their transportation system was advanced, and they had some strange contraptions resembling steel birds. Some scholars say those things might have been some kind of aircraft. Ha! Can you imagine that? Such bulky things flying in the sky!"
"That's nothing. The lunatics from the Azure fortress even wanted to fly to the moon. But that joke has been circulating for a hundred years, and there's no news of their success," Old Xu said, unable to hold back his laughter.
Tianyang looked out the window of the combat vehicle and casually said, "If there were residents in the metropolis before it became like this, where did they go after it was destroyed?"
The atmosphere in the vehicle suddenly became tense. Tianyang paused, wondering if he had asked an inappropriate question.
Old Xu smiled awkwardly. "Tianyang, this kind of thing..."
"Dark creatures," Han Shu suddenly interjected.
Old Xu cleared his throat. "Captain?"
"It doesn't matter; he'll know sooner or later." Han Shu shook his head.
Tianyang was completely puzzled by their conversation.
Then Han Shu continued, "Kid, what do you think dark creatures are?"
Tianyang was taken aback. He had read many books, but none of them mentioned the origin of dark creatures. Almost everyone assumed one thing, regardless of which numbered Inverse Universe it was, there were numerous evil and ugly creatures.
Those were the dark creatures.
The dark creatures in each Inverse Universe had different forms, but they shared one common characteristic—a Will Cage.
However, since the appearance of the Clough Gate, no scholar has discovered the origin of dark creatures.
Could it be...
Tianyang suddenly had a terrible idea, and his fingers trembled slightly due to this horrifying thought.
Han Shu glanced at him and lit a cigarette, biting it between his lips. "It seems like you've guessed it. Yes, the original inhabitants of the Inverse Universe have likely all transformed into dark creatures. This can explain why, in such a huge Inverse Universe, you can't find a single living person, only those disgusting things!"
Old Xu gave a bitter smile and added, "The Azure fortress once submitted a report to the Golden Court, but I don't know the exact contents. However, there are rumors that those lunatics believe dark creatures have the ability to reproduce. That's why they can exist indefinitely, never-ending in their killing. Furthermore, based on the common characteristic of their Will Cage, they believe that all Inverse Universes may have originated from the same place."
Tianyang was shocked. "How big must that place be to create hundreds of Inverse Universes?"
Old Xu shrugged. "I have no idea. In any case, there are too many secrets in the Inverse Universe. Just thinking about them, even for a moment, will make you unable to sleep at night."
Han Shu blew a smoke ring and said, "Coward!"
Old Xu laughed and didn't argue.
Being afraid of the Inverse Universe was not a disgrace. To fear nothing was the utmost foolishness!
Beep beep beep…
The control panel of the vehicle emitted a series of sounds. Ji Yu checked it and relayed, "Captain, we've received a distress signal."
"Play it," Han Shu said, taking off his cigarette, his expression serious.
After a moment, a hoarse, blurry voice came from the speaker, "... Can anyone hear me... trapped... requesting support, coordinates are..."
The faint roars that accompanied the voice made it instantly obvious that it was not made by humans.
Han Shu picked up the intercom and said, "I am Han Shu, Captain of the Raven Squad. What squad are you? Please respond!"
Unfortunately, the other side seemed unable to hear Han Shu's voice. The broadcast looped three or four times, and then the signal was cut off.
After the distress signal disappeared, the voices of other squad Captains sounded on the vehicle's public communication channel.
"Captain Han, did you receive the distress signal?"
"The provided coordinates are nearby. Should we go there?"
Han Shu didn't respond immediately. He pondered for a moment before saying, "Send the broadcast content back to Lighthouse Base and let the command center there dispatch additional personnel for the rescue. Our mission is to recover the Pillar of Star. Let's not distract ourselves with other matters."
"Well, that works too."
"You are the operations commander; your decision matters."
Seeing that no one else had any objections, it was at this moment that Chen Liu's voice spoke up.
"I object!"
Chen Liu firmly stated, "If we wait for the base to reassign personnel, the people who sent the distress signal may already be dead by the time they arrive. The Pillar of Star won't budge. What difference does it make if we go a little earlier or later?"
"On the contrary, the people currently trapped are the ones who truly can't afford to wait. Regardless of how we consider it, I believe our priority should be to save lives!"