Rebirth: A big star falls in love with me

Just then, the illusion intensified suddenly!

The scene shifts, showing the moment the city is destroyed!

The energy dome shattered, and seawater, carrying endless darkness, surged in. The enormous, octopus-like shadow ravaged the city, and countless people cried out in despair and perished...

That devastating feeling of despair crashed down on everyone like a tsunami!

"Ah!" Chen Chen let out a painful groan, his body went limp, and he was held tightly by Zhang Yu.

Zhu Mei also let out a muffled groan, the flames around her flickering erratically. For the first time, a look appeared in her eyes that did not stem from the battle itself, but from the shock and a hint of... bewilderment brought about by this scene of collective destruction.

Huang Ying trembled violently, and the cynical, seductive smile that had been on her face vanished completely.

Looking at the horrific vision of devastation before her, at the souls vanishing in utter terror and agony, for the first time, a clear hint of empathy—a kind of painful emotion—was revealed in her deep, alluring eyes.

She instinctively took a step back and leaned against the cold bulkhead, her face pale.

Zhang Yu noticed her unusual behavior. While keeping Chen Chen calm, he turned his gaze to Huang Ying. What he saw was no longer the Nightmare Queen who was always at ease and took pleasure in manipulating people's hearts, but a vulnerable girl whose deepest, softest part of her heart had been touched.

"Yellow Oriole?" he couldn't help but call out.

Huang Ying snapped back to reality and met Zhang Yu's gaze. She quickly put on her usual alluring smile, which carried a sense of distance, but the turmoil in her eyes could not be completely concealed: "What? Junior, did you fall for me when you saw me lose my composure?" Her voice was still magnetic, but it lacked some of its usual calmness.

Zhang Yu didn't expose her, but said in a deep voice, "Hold on to your true self; these are all illusions of the past."

Huang Ying stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly chuckled softly, a complex meaning in her smile: "Yes...it's just an illusion." She turned away, no longer looking at the scene of destruction, but her slightly clenched fist betrayed her inner turmoil. This time, the illusion didn't bring her any "delicious" emotions; instead, it was like a mirror, reflecting something she had been trying to hide.

Blue Mountains: An Analysis of Order and Frozen Past

Guided by Zhang Ning and aided by Zhang Yu's resonance with the key, the Ark struggled to break through the strongest area of ​​memory echoes. The illusions receded like a tide, and the surroundings returned to the desolate ruins. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, still shaken.

“The city center is just ahead. The psionic fluctuations are extremely intense. The 'key' resonance source and part of the awakened guardian's body are both inside the temple ahead,” Zhang Ning reported, while pulling up a scan of the temple.

It was a majestic pyramid-shaped building, the top of which was damaged, but the main structure was still intact. The surface was covered with countless complex energy runes, which were now flickering erratically, indicating that the energy inside was in a very unstable state.

“There is a powerful energy barrier outside the temple, which cannot be broken through by conventional methods.” Lan Shan calmly analyzed the scan data. She walked to the main control panel and quickly operated her fingers on the virtual keyboard, bringing up the analytical model of the Atlantis energy system—which she had quietly constructed along the way with the help of her perception of the power of order and Zhang Ning’s data support.

"Based on the characteristics of energy flow, the weakness of the barrier lies in the instant of its energy node transition, with an interval of 0.037 seconds. It requires absolutely precise timing and a sufficiently strong shock to order to create a breach."

She looked at Zhang Yu: "I can calculate the precise timing and execute the impact, but I need your 'key' resonance as guidance to ensure that the impact force acts on the correct node, otherwise it may cause the barrier to overload and explode."

This is an extremely dangerous mission that requires absolute trust and understanding between the two people.

"I believe you," Zhang Yu replied without hesitation, and walked to Lan Shan's side.

He closed his eyes and focused all his energy on activating the silver bell earring on his chest, transmitting the clear resonance to Blue Mountain without reservation.

Lan Shan sensed the pure and ancient guidance. Her cold expression remained unchanged, but her eyes, hidden behind tactical goggles, flickered slightly. She concentrated all her energy, her power of order becoming highly concentrated. The "Armor of Order" in her hand emitted a deep hum, and the space at the tip of the gun distorted to its limit.

Time seemed to stand still. Everyone held their breath.

The moment Zhang Ning announced, "Node transition, 3, 2, 1!", Lanshan moved!

She thrust out with the steady movement of her arm, like the most precise machine!

An extremely cold blue beam of light, containing absolute order and freezing power, shot with perfect precision toward a rune node on the temple barrier that had just lit up and was about to dim!

At the same time, the resonance of the key guided by Zhang Yu acted as an invisible bridge, allowing the shock of order to be perfectly integrated into the energy flow of the barrier!

"Om-"

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a soft sound like glass shattering.

The temple's thick energy barrier rippled like a lake surface tossed with a stone, then quietly opened a gap just wide enough for the ark to pass through!

It worked!

Lan Shan took a slight breath; the high-intensity, precise control was quite a burden for her.

She sheathed the Gun of Order, looked at Zhang Yu, and nodded slightly.

Looking at her profile, which was still cold but seemed incredibly reliable at this moment, Zhang Yu felt an indescribable gratitude and... a slight flutter in his heart.

He reached out and gently squeezed her still-cold hand, which was gloved with tactical gloves: "You've worked hard."

Lan Shan's body stiffened slightly, but she didn't immediately pull her hand away. She let him hold it for a few seconds before whispering, "It's my duty." But her slightly averted gaze and seemingly quickened breathing betrayed that she wasn't completely oblivious.

As the ark entered the temple, the sight before them caused everyone to gasp in shock.

The interior of the temple is extremely spacious, and the dome is damaged, revealing the dark seawater above.

In the center of the main hall was a huge pale jade altar, and above the altar floated the other half of the key, which emitted a dark blue glow and was symmetrical to Zhang Yu's earring!

It rotates slowly, emitting an alluring yet powerful energy fluctuation.

However, beneath the altar, in the deep trench that seemed to connect to the entrance to hell, a gigantic, pale white tentacle, more than ten meters in diameter, was wrapped around the base of the altar!

Its tentacles are covered with countless suckers that open and close constantly, and numerous huge, cold, and merciless eyeballs!

Its mere aura is enough to freeze one's soul; it is part of the deep-sea guardian in the warm warning!

Seemingly sensing the approach of the intruder and the key, the tentacle suddenly began to wriggle, and countless eyes simultaneously locked onto the "Ark of Order"!

A terrifying mental pressure, mixed with tangible malice, swept in like a tsunami!

"Target confirmed! High risk! Prepare for combat!" Zhang Ning's voice was more urgent than ever before.

"Hahaha! Finally, someone decent has arrived!" Zhu Mei was the first to react. Her eyes flashed with crimson light, and her long-suppressed fighting spirit erupted completely!

The lava patterns all over her body instantly became as bright as day, and the terrifyingly high temperature even caused the seawater around her to boil and vaporize violently!

Before the ark had even come to a complete stop, she kicked open the emergency exit, grabbed the trident crackling with dark red electricity, and transformed into a crimson meteor, charging headlong towards the giant tentacle!

"Zhu Mei! Come back! Cooperate with the operation!" Zhang Yu shouted urgently.

But Zhu Mei, in her rage, wouldn't listen to a word!

She brandished her trident with the power to scorch mountains and boil seas, and fiercely cleaved at the tentacle!

"clang--!!!"

A deafening roar, like the clash of metal, reverberated through the deep sea!

The trident collided with some invisible force field on the surface of the tentacles, bursting out with dazzling light and violent energy shock!

Zhu Mei's blow, powerful enough to split mountains, only left a shallow scorch mark on the surface of the tentacle!

The tentacle, in pain, swung violently, unleashing an irresistible force that sent Zhu Mei and her trident flying. They crashed into a massive stone pillar in the distance with a dull thud!

"Pfft!" Zhu Mei spat out a mouthful of blood streaked with sparks, clearly suffering internal injuries. But the power of those tentacles far exceeded her expectations!

"Foolish!" Blue Mountain sneered, raising the Spear of Order once more, its icy blue beam shooting towards the tentacles in an attempt to freeze them.

However, the invisible force field on the surface of the tentacle reappeared. When the icy blue beam hit it, it only caused a few ripples in the force field, and the freezing effect was negligible!

Zhang Ning's eyes flashed frantically as she read the data: "The target possesses a high-strength psionic shield and physical resistance!"

Conventional attacks are extremely ineffective! We need to find a weakness in the force field or use an energy shock exceeding its tolerance limit!

Huang Ying also tried to launch a mental attack, but the mental level of the tentacles seemed to be a chaotic vortex. Her illusion was like a mud ox entering the sea, and she was almost devoured by it!

Just then, the tentacle seemed to be completely enraged. It abandoned its attack on the injured Crimsonberry and instead lashed out at the "Ark of Order"!

With its enormous size and speed, once the ark is entangled, it will be crushed instantly!

"Watch out!" Chen Chen exclaimed, instinctively about to release his life barrier.

Zhang Yu's eyes sharpened, and he was about to unleash the full power of the key regardless of the consequences—

"Damn it! How dare you touch my boat!!" A furious roar came from behind!

Zhu Mei had somehow managed to stand up. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her eyes burning with an unprecedented madness and... a kind of protective rage!

Instead of attempting ranged attacks, she frantically channeled all her molten lava energy into the trident, transforming herself into a burning meteor as she charged toward the tentacles once more!

But this time, her goal was no longer to slash, but... to pierce through!

"Break it for me, you son of a bitch!!!"

She channeled all her power, all her anger, and all her fury from being provoked into this one strike!

At the tip of the trident, dark red arcs of electricity and molten lava energy were compressed to the extreme, emitting a light that seemed capable of tearing through space!

"Pfft——!"

This time, there was no force field to stop it! The trident, burning with all of Crimson Berry's power, pierced the tentacle's tough skin like a hot knife through butter, sinking deep inside!

"Awooo—!!!" A painful and furious roar, seemingly from the deepest hell, resounded through the spiritual realm, shaking the entire temple!

The enormous tentacles twisted and thrashed wildly, and dark blue, foul-smelling blood gushed from the wounds!