Fantasy Game: Infinite City

"Captain, the energy signal is dissipating and seems to be spreading towards the southeast of the city," a team member suddenly reported.

The captain frowned and immediately made a decision: "Abandon this place and head to the southeast of the city to track the energy signal!"

The entire Dark Raven Squad immediately evacuated the hospital, speeding towards the southeast of the city. Han Zu followed closely behind, maintaining a distance of about four hundred meters, his body darting rapidly between the abandoned buildings. He could clearly sense that the unknown, violent energy was moving rapidly, and the energy fluctuations were becoming increasingly intense, seemingly converging.

Two hours after the Dark Raven Squad entered Pljevlja, the night grew darker, and the mutant activity in the city became more frequent, their howls echoing throughout. The Dark Raven Squad followed the energy signal, arriving at the abandoned train station in the southeast of the city. The tracks were rusted, abandoned trains lay askew beside the tracks, their bodies covered in black marks. The station's waiting hall was mostly collapsed, exposing the steel reinforcement like a grotesque skeleton.

On the detector's screen, the energy signal became extremely strong and stopped moving, as if the energy source had stabilized. The captain signaled to the team members to slow down and carefully enter the waiting hall. Inside the waiting hall, black marks spread across the floor and walls, forming a huge circular pattern. In the center of the pattern, a faint glimmer of light could be seen.

"The energy source is in the center of the pattern. Everyone, prepare for battle!" the captain said in a deep voice, aiming his plasma rifle at the center of the pattern. The team members immediately spread out, forming a defensive formation and vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

Just as the team members were preparing to approach the center of the pattern, a dozen or so mutants suddenly rushed out of the ruins of the waiting hall. They were larger than the mutants they had encountered before, covered with hard shells, and had sharp bone spikes on their heads. They roared and pounced on the team members. "It's a swarm of mutants! Open fire!" the captain shouted.

In an instant, the energy beams of the plasma rifles and the cold glint of the energy blades intertwined, shooting towards the mutant. The energy beams struck the mutant's outer shell, producing a sizzling sound and sparks, but only leaving shallow marks. The mutant's defense far surpassed that of its predecessors; even when struck by the energy blades, it was merely scratched and instead became even more ferocious.

Han Zu lurked atop the abandoned train outside the waiting hall, his gaze fixed on the two sides locked in combat. He could clearly sense the energy fluctuations of the mutants intertwined with the unknown, violent energy at the center of the pattern, as if these mutants were drawn by an energy source to specifically guard this place. He didn't intervene, but simply observed quietly, waiting for the true nature of the energy source to emerge.

The battle was exceptionally fierce. The Dark Raven Squad members, relying on their excellent teamwork and superior equipment, relentlessly cut down the mutants, but at a cost. One member's plasma rifle was shattered by a mutant's bone spikes, his arm was slashed, and blood stained his nano-armor; another member's leg was scratched by a mutant's claws, slowing his movements. Seeing this, the captain immediately adjusted tactics, having two members cover the wounded soldier's retreat, while he led the remaining members to concentrate fire on the mutants' weak points—the eyes and abdomen.

After more than half an hour of fierce fighting, the Dark Raven Squad finally eliminated all the mutants. The team members were all panting heavily, their nano-armor energy reserves had dropped to about 50%, and several members were injured. The captain, without taking a break, immediately headed towards the center of the pattern; the energy signal on the detector screen had reached its peak.

The light in the center of the pattern grew brighter and brighter, and the black mark, illuminated by the light, continuously wriggled and faded. Soon, the light dissipated, revealing a circular groove about one meter in diameter. The groove was empty, only residual energy fluctuations continued to spread. "The energy source is gone?" a team member said疑惑地, as the energy signal on the detector began to drop rapidly.

The captain crouched down, his fingers touching the inner wall of the groove, where a faint warmth still lingered. "The energy source must have just left, moving northeast." The captain stood up, his gaze fixed on the northeast. "Tracking on it immediately! We can't let it get away!"

The entire Dark Raven Squad immediately gave chase to the northeast, with even the wounded members enduring their pain to keep up with the group. Han Zu leaped down from the top of the train and followed closely behind. He could sense that the unknown, violent energy was moving rapidly, and the energy fluctuations were becoming increasingly stable, seemingly converging towards a fixed location.

The third hour quietly arrived, and the first hint of dawn appeared on the horizon. The light of day pierced through the thick clouds, illuminating the abandoned buildings of Pljevlja city and casting a desolate and dilapidated glow. The Raven Squad, following the energy signal, arrived at the abandoned warehouse district in the northeast of the city. Most of the warehouses here were steel structures; some had collapsed roofs, and black marks spread across the steel frames, gleaming faintly.

On the detector's screen, the energy signal had reached an unprecedented intensity and was no longer moving, clearly pointing to a large warehouse at the deepest part. The captain signaled his team to stop and prepare for battle. He could sense not only intense, unknown, and violent energy fluctuations within the warehouse, but also a faint, familiar energy fluctuation—it was the energy of a disintegrating force field, and it was even more concentrated than the fragment energy they had previously discovered.

"Everyone, stay alert and advance gradually," the captain ordered in a low voice, leading the way towards the large warehouse. The team members followed closely behind, their weapons aimed at the warehouse doors, their nano-armor activated to its highest defense mode, energy indicator lights flashing faintly, ready to respond to any unforeseen circumstances.

Han Zu then circled around to the side of the warehouse, using his agility to climb up the steel structure to the roof. Through a hole in the roof, he peered inside. The warehouse was spacious and empty, filled with a large amount of discarded goods. Black markings spread across the ground, forming a massive energy array. In the center of the array, a meteorite about half a meter in diameter floated. The meteorite was dark purple, its surface covered with irregular patterns, within which a faint blue light shone. Intense, unknown, and violent energy emanated from the meteorite, resonating with the energy array on the ground.

Another meteorite appeared, almost blatantly telling everyone who saw it that it was definitely related to the previously disintegrated meteorite. However, when Han Zu saw that meteorite, what concerned him more than the meteorite itself was an old-fashioned device attached to its surface. The device was entirely silver-gray, covered in dust and black marks, and its interface still emitted faint energy fluctuations. It seemed to be intermittently receiving some kind of signal. According to the frequency analysis of the signals received by the contractor's equipment, it was actually the fluctuation of the Infinite Corporation's signature communication signal. This device was extremely old, at least a product from seven or eight years ago, long since obsolete by the Infinite Corporation. If it weren't for the Infinite Corporation's logo from that time, even Han Zu, who had worked within the company for a long time, might not have recognized it as belonging to the Infinite Corporation. It was unexpected that Infinite Corporation's old device would appear on the surface of this second meteorite. It seemed that the Infinite Corporation's control over Pljevlja actually began several years earlier than Christina knew.

Han Zu's body stiffened slightly, and his internal energy quietly circulated, preventing him from approaching any further. He could sense that although this old-fashioned device appeared to be abandoned, it was still functional, as it was currently receiving a message from Infinite Corporation.

"Warning! Orbital strike detected!"

Threat level: Extremely high.

"It is recommended to leave the strike range immediately."

Just then, the contractor's equipment on Han Zu's body suddenly emitted a rapid alarm, audible only to himself. A line of red warning text flashed on the equipment's virtual screen. Han Zu's pupils constricted sharply. Without hesitation, his internal energy erupted instantly. He pushed off with his feet, his body flying backward from the warehouse roof like an arrow released from a bow. He didn't even attempt to turn around in mid-air, simply flying backward toward the outskirts of the city. His speed was at its limit, his internal energy circulating without reservation, leaving a faint energy afterimage behind him. Nanoscale energy covered his entire body, minimizing air resistance. Even so, Han Zu didn't cause too much of a commotion. He didn't choose to crash into a straight line through the city, but instead used his maximum speed to bypass taller buildings, leaving through damaged sections of buildings and streets. Although danger was imminent, there should be enough time.

The Dark Raven Squad had arrived at the warehouse gate, and their captain was about to order the breach when he suddenly sensed an extremely strong energy fluctuation coming from high above. He looked up sharply, a flicker of fear in his eyes. The other team members also looked up, their faces filled with disbelief.

In the sky, an extremely dazzling beam of light suddenly descended, its entire body a pale blue, precisely enveloping the entire city of Pljevlja. The energy of the beam was extremely violent, yet it possessed astonishing cohesion. Upon contact with the ground, it produced no explosion or shockwave, but rather, like a sharp blade, erased all the buildings, mutants, and black marks within the city.

Abandoned warehouses, office buildings, hospitals, train stations—all the buildings instantly melted away in the beam of light, turning into nothingness. The members of the Dark Raven Squad didn't even have time to react before being swallowed up by the beam of light. Even their nano-armor offered no protection, instantly turning them into ashes. The black marks, mutant remains, and residual energy on the ground also completely disappeared under the influence of the beam of light.

The instant the beam of light enveloped the city, Han Zu's body pierced through the city limits of Pljevlja. Maintaining his inverted flight, he continued flying forward for several kilometers, only coming to a stop after confirming that the orbital strike had not caused cascading damage beyond the city limits. He hovered in mid-air among a grove of trees on the western side of the city, gazing towards Pljevlja, or at least in the direction of Pljevlja.

The beam of light lasted for about ten seconds before slowly dissipating. Where Pljevlia had stood, only a flat, circular area shimmering with a pale blue light remained. There were no architectural remains, no residual energy, and even the soil had been completely purified, as if the city had never existed. Such a weapon, with its extremely concentrated power and zero collateral damage outside its range, could only be the orbital cannon system at the Infinite Corporation's lunar headquarters.

Han Zu stood rooted to the spot, his internal energy gradually calming down. His contractor's equipment had stopped alarming, and the warning text on the screen had disappeared, leaving only the residual energy data from the orbital strike. The data on the screen scrolled rapidly, recording the energy parameters and range of the recent orbital strike.

A gentle breeze swept across the plain, lifting the hem of his clothes. He made no move, simply standing still, his gaze fixed on the flat ground, his aura returning to its previous coldness and stillness.

In the distance, several frightened animals ran wildly away, letting out low growls. Han Zu remained standing, without moving or making any unnecessary movements, like a silent statue standing on this land ravaged by catastrophe.

Meanwhile, on the moon, at the headquarters of Infinite Corporation, in the underground control room.

Large pieces of equipment were operating at high speed, displaying satellite images of the Pljevlja region on their screens. Several staff members in white uniforms stood in front of the screens, recording data with expressionless faces. "Orbital artillery strike completed. Target area completely cleared, no collateral damage outside the range, energy consumption within expected range," one staff member reported into the communicator.

A cold, synthesized electronic voice came from the other end of the communicator: "Target cleared. Shut down the railgun system and destroy the record of this strike."

"clear."

The staff immediately operated the equipment, shutting down the orbital cannon system. The satellite images on the screen disappeared, replaced by a blank screen. Silence returned to the control room, broken only by the faint sounds of the equipment operating, as if the orbital strike had never occurred. Han Zu was completely unaware of all this, as were Christina at the secret base and even the former chairman of Infinite Corporation, currently at the lunar headquarters. It seemed to be a secret operation from which even he had been excluded.

Sunrise was approaching, the sun was gradually rising, and its rays were about to illuminate the earth, dispelling the morning chill. The temperature on the plains began to rise imperceptibly. Before the sunlight completely suppressed the shadows, Han Zu once again flew high into the sky and entered the clouds. Just to be on the safe side, he did not intend to use the contractor's teleportation technology, but planned to fly directly back to the secret base. In any case, at his current flying speed, it wouldn't take long.

Soon, Han Zu returned to the island where the secret base was located. He entered the base thoughtfully and saw Christina processing intelligence on the Ferdinand family.

"Did you find a clue?"

Han Zu didn't speak, only shook his head slightly, and walked to the chair in the control center. He pulled up the orbital strike data recorded by the contractor's equipment and projected it onto the screen in the base. Christina quickly realized the seriousness of the situation, her expression gradually becoming grave. "Infinite Corporation's orbital cannon? Why did they destroy Pljevlja?"

Han Zu remained silent, but raised his hand to point to Christina at the second meteorite and the old-model equipment of Infinite Corporation on it.

"The railgun strike was no accident; it must be related to that meteorite and the old equipment from Infinite Corporation. Since the other side of the moon went so far as to use a railgun to directly wipe out Pljevlja, then that meteorite must be very important."

Silence fell over the control center, broken only by the faint hum of the equipment. Energy data scrolled across the virtual screen, reflecting the figures of the two men. The meteorite incident had ended with the destruction of Pljevlja, but the situation was now taking a more complex turn.

Meanwhile, Sebastian, far away at the Ferdinand family headquarters, soon learned of Pljevlja's disappearance. His reaction was not strong, but he immediately ordered his confidants to temporarily suspend some of the family's operations.

"The plan needs to be moved up..."