Chapter 549: Invasion and Battle
Hu Li held her head and hopped around in front of the black 'wall,' howling in pain. When she finally quieted down, a large red patch had appeared on her forehead, and an average-sized bump had risen.
The great fox spirit gently rubbed the bump, her eyes glistening with tears.
Irene, who had been casually thrown to the ground by Hu Li, lay there motionless like a corpse. After a long while, she suddenly seemed to reestablish a connection with her body and jumped up with a start, pointing at Hu Li and chattering, 'Stupid fox, next time you go on a rampage, can you please not drag me along! You nearly snapped my waist in half! Do you have any idea how hard it is to fix a broken joint in the waist...'
Hu Li didn't say a word, just continued rubbing the bump on her head.
Irene paused for a moment, looking at Hu Li's head, then turned to look at the black wall that had pierced straight through the laboratory—it was, of course, part of the Shattered Tower (Boundary Bridge), made from mysterious materials not of this world and obviously beyond imagination in hardness.
It might even be harder than Luna's battleship armor shell.
'How tough is your skull, you stupid fox?' the little doll couldn't help but marvel. 'You smashed into this thing and only got a bump?'
'I—we this branch of foxes all practice body cultivation,' Hu Li said in a muffled voice, as if she had also bumped her nose. 'When there were no lessons at the academy, the elders would take us to the mountains to open mines with our claws and heads...'
Irene: '...Holy crap.'
At that moment, Luna also walked in through the large hole in the lab's outer wall, carrying two stray mass-produced dolls she had picked up on the way. She casually tossed the two dolls to Irene, then looked up at the black wall and spoke slowly, 'No entrance.'
The surface of the wall was seamless, with regular patterns of unknown purpose, but no doors or windows were visible. Luna stepped forward and scratched it with her 'nails,' only to find its strength astonishing—even her blades couldn't leave a single mark.
Then she and Hu Li saw Irene pad over to the wall and begin fumbling around on its surface.
'Do you know how to get in?' Hu Li asked curiously from the side.
'I... I know?' Irene's reaction was strange, more like she was asking herself than answering. She fumbled on the rough surface of the 'Boundary Bridge' for a while, her gaze growing gradually dazed. Suddenly, it was as if she had remembered something, and a look of nostalgia slowly spread across her face. 'Ah, right, I know. We all built this together... Get in? Right, you can get in. Yu Sheng is inside...'
She pressed her hand against the outer wall of the Boundary Bridge. Strands of black threads seeped out from her fingertips, spreading across the wall's surface, weaving into a cobweb, and gradually penetrating inward.
The black 'stones' at the edges of the cobweb took on a strange hue. A curtain composed of countless irregular polygonal fragments of light and shadow covered the web, and in the next second, the curtain collapsed inward and shattered, revealing an entrance before everyone's eyes.
Inside the entrance was a vast tower interior—a sourceless faint light illuminated the layered platforms within, complex ancient mechanisms of unknown function, and stairs that seemed to stretch on forever.
Hu Li suddenly sniffed.
Her eyes lit up. 'There's the smell of my benefactor!'
'Yu Sheng passed through here,' Irene said as she stepped into the tower. 'He's going up—let's go after him!'
***
'The end structure of the Boundary Bridge has breached the Great Shield! Our shields have no effect on it!'
'Unknown material of the invading entity... unable to lock on... the end structure of the Boundary Bridge has numerous spatial fissures, conventional interference and blockade measures are ineffective...'
'The Council Tower's "Requiem" system is affected, effectiveness dropping—backup system is taking over!'
'Abnormal operation of the "Spirit Fox" system in the West City Canal section! One block failed to exchange with the Mist City in time! The "Shadow" has entered the real block! How far away is the nearest mobile task force!?'
Bai Liqing's face was as calm as still water as she listened to the continuous reports and commands coming in the hall, adjusting the overall deployment in time while sharing another perspective in her mind with Bai Lixue.
That pair of giant eyes, which only she and Yu Sheng could see, were now floating above the , pressed against the Great Barrier of the Borderlands—Bai Lixue was overlooking the city and continuously reporting back to her about the erosion in each district.
From that high-altitude perspective, she could see that many places were already covered in thick fog.
When viscous shadows dripped down from the Great Barrier and fell into the city, the corresponding block would instantly activate the 'Spirit Fox System,' swapping a part of the Mist City with the real block—the battle would take place in the twisted, fog-filled otherworld, protecting the real to the greatest extent.
This was a system still in the experimental stage, its hardware based on the latest generation of 'Spirit Fox' nodes—publicly, these new nodes were advertised as communication devices, but their actual functions were far from that. Thanks to the astonishing spiritual energy affinity of their 'core materials,' scientists in the Borderlands had managed to incorporate a part of 'Deep Dive' technology into these nodes and designed a vast 'grid network' throughout the Mist City—this was the 'Spirit Fox System.'
And the purpose of this system... was to add an extra layer of 'insurance' for the Borderlands, a place always encountering unexpected accidents and crises.
Since the Mist City covered the entire , let it serve as the city's safety barrier—outsiders were full of fear and resistance toward the otherworld, but for those living in the Borderlands, the otherworld was also a resource that could be utilized.
But after all, it was experimental, and the Mist City was vast, and the production of Spirit Fox nodes was limited by raw materials. The network set up in the Mist City was not completely finished—as more and more shadows invaded the city from the Great Barrier, the entire system began to show signs of instability.
More and more blocks were being 'flipped,' and the energy required to maintain the stability of the real boundary would rise exponentially.
Bai Lixue's voice entered Bai Liqing's mind: '...I heard this system also uses some technology from the Black Dot Corporation... Their "Dark Psionics" stuff is inherently unstable, you know.'
'Deep Dive technology itself was developed by the Black Dot Corporation. To make the Spirit Fox nodes practical, we can only use compatible things,' Bai Liqing said calmly, but her gaze fell on the city—
At the highest point of the Great Barrier, the black tower extending from below the Blackrock Space Station had already invaded the sky of the . The end of the tower was covered in strange spatial fissures, making its overall appearance seem fragmented. Now, large numbers of mobile task forces and Deep Diver units had gathered near the Council Tower, trying various means to stop the 'Boundary Bridge' from extending further, but with little effect.
'Sister, it's time to make a decision,' Bai Lixue's voice sounded again. 'If we execute "Dome Shatter" now, we can still "fling" that space station along with the extended Boundary Bridge away—of course, the price is that the Borderlands will forever lose a piece of sky, and maybe even some land along with it.'
'And the Boundary Bridge that gets "flung" out might just erode back in from another position,' Bai Liqing said slowly. 'Its root isn't here.'
'Oh? Don't tell me you have a way to deal with its "root"?'
Hearing the voice in her mind, Bai Liqing took a gentle breath and narrowed her eyes slightly.
When she opened her eyes, a silver-gray vertical pupil flashed in her irises.
'Xue, I need to leave here for a while—take command for me. Don't let anyone notice.'
'Ah?' Bai Lixue was clearly startled. 'Wait, me take over... I can't do that! How am I supposed to replace you!?'
'Song Cheng and Secretary Liu know what to do. You can just tell them where I've gone,' Bai Liqing said indifferently, turning and walking toward the door. 'As for you, you don't need to do anything. Just let the people at headquarters "see" that their director is still here.'
'Wait, are you going off the rails? You're really going into that tower?! Hey... uh, fine, I feel like this isn't the first time you've sold me out...'
Hearing the voice in her mind, Bai Liqing's lips unconsciously curled into a faint smile.
She left the hall, walked quickly down the corridor, and in a moment when no one happened to be looking at her, her figure vanished into thin air.
At the same time, Bai Lixue took over the sight and hearing of everyone within the building.
In the command hall, several staff members had seen Bai Liqing hurry out just moments ago, but soon they saw the 'Director' walk back in from outside, stand at the original position, and continue staring expressionlessly at the scene.
Everything proceeded as usual, except that 'Bai Liqing' subtly wrinkled her nose when no one was looking, then raised a hand to pinch her cheek, muttering under her breath, 'Keep the deadpan face, keep the deadpan face...'
***
No. 66 Wutong Road 'Backyard,' deep in the valley.
The square of Fairy Tale Town was bustling with commotion.
'Reason Blocker! Reason Blocker! Everyone make sure you've got it! Take enough supplies before heading out—if you can't win, come back immediately!'
'Cinderella went out to scout. She just reported back: the road from the Old City District to Sun City Plaza is full of monsters! The fog has connected three or four blocks, a huge area.'
'Dorothy's ground forces have already made contact with the frontline, but they lack assault power! Is the Dragon Slayer awake? If he is, let him charge again...'
'Emergency! Drones spotted a trapped team of Spirit World Detectives near the Taihe Commercial Building—they can't hold much longer! Who's nearby? King? Great, get him over there now...'
The main combat forces of Fairy Tale Town were gathered in the square, using two-way radios and phones to contact their comrades who had already left the valley and entered the city. As they confirmed the current situation in the city, they arranged for the next wave of fighters under Little Red Riding Hood's command. Faced with this sudden chaos and crisis, these precocious children (plus one adult who had already grown up) had become the most powerful 'civilian fighting force' in the .
Now that the Spirit Fox system's load was gradually exceeding its limit and a large portion of the Special Services Bureau's combat strength had been pulled to deal with several large erosion points around the Boundary Bridge, they were practically holding up the defense of the entire Old City District.
And just then, a distorted, oscillating 'door' suddenly appeared in the square.
The door abruptly opened and then quickly dissipated with a creaking noise. A dizzy doll tumbled out, and along with it, a stranger fell in.
Rapunzel, Snow White, and a few half-grown children who were preparing in the square were startled for a moment, then, after less than a second of hesitation, they all crowded around.
'What is this...'
'Did Brother Yu throw this in?'
'Hey, it's got blond hair, just like Rapunzel's after she transforms.'
'Oh, it's moving! It's alive!'
'Don't poke it, that's rude...'
(End of chapter)