The night sky was completely torn asunder by dozens of blinding beams of light.

  Shrill alarms, like the wails of the reaper, echoed from every corner of the base. They intertwined with the sharp whirring of drone propellers cutting through the air, composing a symphony of death.

  Dozens of Kunlun Corp standard drones, like a swarm of provoked metallic wasps, wove a tight death light-net in the sky.

  The searchlight beams, acting as the swords of divine judgment, frantically scanned every inch of the sand, illuminating the undulating dunes as bright as day.

  Under such a dragnet-like blockade, any living creature would have nowhere to hide.

  "Kid, we're surrounded!"

  Crag’s voice carried a hint of death-defying ruthlessness. He held his massive shield before him, his titanic frame tensed like a fully drawn heavy crossbow.

  "Don't move."

  Kane’s voice was terrifyingly calm.

  He grabbed Crag’s thick arm, and with a single thought:

  [ Shadow Veil ]!

  Activate!

  A second later.

  Under the lock-on of every searchlight and drone, those two figures—one large, one small—were wiped away as if by an eraser, vanishing into thin air within the shadows cast by the rock walls!

  Scent.

  Heat.

  Sound.

  Everything evaporated completely within a single second!

  The Kunlun soldiers responsible for monitoring only saw the two highlighted thermal signatures on their screens abruptly vanish, as if everything prior had been a mere hallucination caused by data corruption.

  "Target lost! Repeat, target lost!"

  Rennie’s angry roar exploded across the channel: "Give me a carpet scan! Even if it's a grain of sand, I want it flipped over!"

  The light-net's search became denser and more violent.

  The thirty seconds of invisibility felt incredibly long, yet incredibly brief at this moment.

  Kane led Crag, moving like a true ghost, sticking to the shadows cast by dunes and rocks. They moved at high speed toward the pulsing light point on the map.

  His brain was chilled to the extreme, frantically calculating the trajectory of every sweeping beam and the duration of every patch of shadow.

  Twenty seconds.

  Ten seconds.

  Five seconds.

  The effect of [ Shadow Veil ] was about to end!

  Ahead lay a stretch of open ground with no shadows to hide in.

  And at the end of that open ground was the giant rock mound where the coordinates were located.

  This was the only path!

  "Three."

  "Two."

  "One."

  Light once again enveloped their bodies. Their figures were exposed without a trace of cover under the searchlights!

  "Target spotted!"

  In the air, the drone closest to them instantly pivoted its muzzle. The infrared aiming dot locked firmly onto Kane!

  Crag roared, moving to shield Kane behind him without a second thought.

  But Kane’s movements were faster!

  Buzz!

  [ Earth Flash ]!

  Just 0.1 seconds before the drone opened fire, he pulled Crag’s silhouette, vanishing abruptly from the spot and appearing ten meters away instantly!

  Rat-tat-tat-tat!

  Dense rounds of bullets turned the spot where they had just stood into a sieve of flying dust and sand!

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "Cooldown: ten seconds!" Kane’s voice held not a single ripple.

  These ten seconds were the distance between life and death!

  He pulled Crag, pushing [ Kinetic Boost ] to its absolute limit. Amidst the intersecting light-net, they performed the most heart-pounding dance on the edge of a blade.

  A beam of light swept in from the left!

  Kane ducked violently. The beam skimmed over his scalp, plowing a scorched furrow into the sand dune behind him.

  Another pillar of light descended from the heavens, completely sealing off the path ahead!

  "Jump!"

  Kane let out a low growl and activated [ Aerial Step ]!

  The two massive frames vaulted into the air, tracing an unthinkable arc through the sky, clearing the blockade of the light pillars by the narrowest of margins!

  The moment they touched down, several drones had already adjusted their angles, forming a crossfire net!

  "Kid!" Crag’s eyes were nearly splitting from the tension.

  [ Earth Flash ], cooldown complete!

  Kane’s figure vanished again, pulling Crag out of the very heart of the fire-net!

  Every flash, every leap, was wedged into the razor-thin gap between life and death.

  An inch too far, and they’d be caught by the light-net.

  A second too slow, and they’d be shredded by bullets.

  Crag’s heart hammered against his ribs. He felt like he wasn't just escaping; he was following a madman through a high-stakes performance where the only ante was their lives.

  Finally, at the exact moment the cooldown for [ Shadow Veil ] finished, they lunged into the shadow of that giant rock mound.

  Without hesitation, Kane activated the skill again. For the second time, their figures vanished from the world.

  All light beams and bullets instantly lost their target.

  Having broken free from the immediate danger, Crag leaned against the rock wall, panting heavily. Sweat soaked his stone-like skin.

  Kane, however, hadn't even lost his rhythm of breath.

  He looked up, surveying the coordinate point.

  There was no hidden outpost here, nor any trace of human presence.

  Only a ship—or rather, half of a ship. The wreckage of an Old World transport vessel, as massive as a mountain range, lay buried at a tilted angle deep beneath the yellow sands and the rocky mound.

  Time had left mottled traces of rust and war across its colossal steel body, imbuing it with a desolate, eerie sense of epic history.

  Right then.

  From the deepest shadows of the transport ship, a dark figure stepped out soundlessly.

  The person wore an exceptionally well-fitted black combat suit that wrapped around every contour of their body perfectly.

  His face seemed shrouded in an invisible layer of gloom, making it impossible to discern his features.

  He emitted no presence whatsoever; he simply stood there quietly, as if he himself were a piece of solidified shadow.

  That dark figure stood perfectly still, merging with the surrounding darkness.

  He didn't speak, nor did he make a single unnecessary movement.

  Only his eyes, hidden within the shadows, calmly watched Kane and Crag.

  The gaze held no emotion—no scrutiny, no curiosity—like a bottomless ancient well.

  Crag instinctively clenched his fists. From this silent man, he felt an aura even more dangerous than Greg’s mindless rage.

  It was a sense of extreme restraint, a lethal quality akin to a coiled viper.

  Kane, however, remained composed.

  He knew this man was the contact sent by Felix.

  "Let's go."

  The shadow finally spoke. His voice was raspy and low, as if he hadn't used it in a long time; every word carried a chilling edge.

  Having spoken, he turned directly and walked toward the massive, jagged breach in the transport wreckage that resembled the maw of a giant beast.

  There were no unnecessary greetings, nor any process to verify their identities.

  It was as if he had known all along that the people arriving would be them.

  Kane and Crag exchanged a look and followed.

  Stepping into the interior of the transport wreckage, they were greeted by a scent of mixed rust, dust, and stale air.

  While it looked like ordinary ruins from the outside, the inside was an entirely different world.

  A passage, clearly excavated recently, wound its way deep into the subterranean depths.

  Simple but stable lighting equipment was installed along the walls of the corridor, illuminating the path ahead.

  Shadow led the way, his footsteps so light they were virtually inaudible.

  Kane followed behind, his mind racing.

  The scale of this transport ship far exceeded his imagination. To be able to transform this place into a secret passage right under the nose of Kunlun Corp was not a feat a mere tavern owner from Blackrock Town could achieve.

  As expected, there was a massive power standing behind Felix.

  "What’s your name?" Kane asked suddenly, attempting to break the oppressive silence.

  Shadow, walking in front, didn't turn his head. He offered no response.

  "Felix sent you?"

  Still silence.

  "Where does this path lead?"

  The only answer was the monotonous echo of their three sets of footsteps rebounding through the long tunnel.

  Kane narrowed his eyes and gave up the probing.

  This guy was either a mute or a machine programmed with strict protocols. It was impossible to pry a single piece of extraneous information out of him.

  Crag also felt the eeriness of the atmosphere. He leaned toward Kane and muttered in a low, gravelly voice, "Kid, this guy... he doesn't feel like a living person."

  "He's a living person, alright," Kane’s voice was equally low. "He’s just a living person without a will of his own, that’s all."

  A pure tool.

  This realization caused Kane to raise his evaluation of Felix by another grade. To possess and command a "tool" like this meant Felix’s methods and background were unfathomable.

  They spent a full two days traveling through the underground passage.

  The tunnel contained simple rest stops and pre-positioned supplies; it was clearly a mature, frequently used route.

  During these two days, Shadow didn't utter a single word, except to signal for rest when necessary. Kane never even saw him eat or drink.

  He was like an untiring perpetual motion machine.

  Finally, on the morning of the third day, a glimmer of light appeared at the end of the passage.

  Shadow stopped before a metal door camouflaged as a rock wall and activated a hidden mechanism.

  Rumble...

  The metal door slowly slid open.

  A rush of fresh air, carrying the scent of damp earth, surged inside.

  Outside, the endless yellow sands of the Silicon Desert were gone. In their place was a deep, moss-covered underground cavern.

  They were out.

  After exiting the tunnel, they trekked for another half hour until the view suddenly opened up.

  This was a long-abandoned quarry on the outskirts of Blackrock Town. The location was extremely well-hidden.

  The faint glimmer of dawn spilled down from the top of the quarry pit, dispelling the darkness and oppression of the past few days.

  In the center of the quarry, atop a massive boulder, a figure stood silently with his back to them.

  He wore a standard bartender’s uniform. His frame was slightly portly. In his hand, he held a piece of velvet cloth, slowly and methodically polishing a glass tumbler.

  Hearing the footsteps, he slowly turned around.

  It was the tavern owner, Felix.

  He wore that trademark smile—kindly, yet glinting with shrewdness.

  "Welcome back. Or perhaps I should call you Mr. Kane now."

  Felix raised the brilliantly polished glass in his hand, tilting it toward the morning light. A sharp glint reflected off his lenses.

  Thanks for reading!

  RATINGS and REVIEWS are super important for visibility. If you enjoy the story so far, please take 10 seconds to leave a 5-star rating! It helps more than you know. Thanks!

  Want to read ahead?

  30 Advance Chapters right now on my Patreon!