Chapter 380: Let Her Go, This Is Her Duty
Chapter 380: Chapter 380: Let Her Go, This Is Her Duty
Xing Che glanced sideways at Lu Chen, his tone laced with a faint trace of sarcasm. "Oh, so you’re worried because you can’t contact Bai Ye? If I really harbored any ill intent, wiping out your entire squad would be child’s play. Why would I bother putting on an act to deceive you?"
Lu Chen did not reply.
This was not a simple matter of trust. Two SSS-level Sentinels were top-tier combatants capable of shifting the balance of power across the entire Star Alliance and the Tower. If they were truly a hidden threat, the consequences of them losing control would be catastrophic. Not only their squad but the Tower headquarters and the entire Star Alliance defense line would be unable to bear the cost. He dared not completely lower his guard based on just a few words.
At this moment, Zhou Yi slowly stepped forward to stand beside Lu Chen. He looked at Si Jin and Xing Che with cautious, restrained eyes. "Yun Sheng, since we’re completely cut off from the outside world and can’t verify their identities for now, let’s shelve this matter. Captain Lu and I will investigate and clear the core pollution source. You don’t need to participate in the high-risk operation; just focus on keeping an eye on these two."
He did not trust these two top-tier Sentinels who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but he trusted Yun Sheng unconditionally. As a registered, official guide of the Tower who also had a personal relationship with the White War God, there was no way she would betray the Tower.
"Alright," Yun Sheng agreed readily, then raised her eyes to shoot Xing Che a meaningful glance.
Xing Che immediately retracted his aggressive aura. Curling his lip, he obediently shut his mouth.
Beside him, Si Jin acted exceptionally natural. Right under Zhou Yi’s watchful gaze, he reached out and gently grasped Yun Sheng’s hand, standing quietly by her side. Feeling the warmth of his palm, Yun Sheng’s heart softened. She didn’t struggle, allowing him to hold her hand.
On the other side, Lu Chen and Zhou Yi wasted no more time. Gritting their teeth, they walked toward the core of the pollution source alongside several other squad members.
The spiritual pollution there was so dense it was almost tangible, mixed with the residual scorching heat from the fire, creating an oppressive atmosphere that made it hard to breathe. The black mist drifting in the air acted like fine needles, continuously piercing their bodies and eroding their spiritual landscapes. After taking just two steps forward, the group felt their chests tighten and their heads pound, their temples throbbing violently. The low-level members fared even worse; their faces were deathly pale, and they were drenched in cold sweat. Their steps were so unsteady they could barely stand. They couldn’t endure being near it for long, let alone neutralize the pollution source.
Lu Chen and Zhou Yi forced themselves to withstand the spiritual pollution and managed to pull out their detection equipment. However, as soon as the devices approached the core area, they flashed wildly and displayed continuous errors, completely unable to read data normally. If this dragged on, everyone’s spiritual power would be slowly drained.
Just as the group was about to reach their breaking point, Yun Sheng gently slipped her hand out of Si Jin’s and took the initiative to step forward.
Seeing this, Xing Che’s heart tightened, and he instinctively moved to stop her. She had just suffered severe spiritual power exhaustion. Forcing herself to endure such pressure now could easily cause permanent damage to her foundation. However, just as he shifted, Si Jin raised a hand to stop him.
Si Jin’s deep gaze rested on Yun Sheng’s back. His tone was calm but resolute. "Let her go. This is her duty. She cannot just watch her teammates fall into danger."
Xing Che’s eyes flickered slightly. Looking at that slender yet steadfast figure, he ultimately suppressed all his worries and silently halted his steps.
Yun Sheng quickly walked up beside the group, focused her mind, and slowly raised her hand. A gentle, stable, and pale-colored Spirit Barrier instantly expanded outward, securely enveloping Lu Chen, Zhou Yi, and all the squad members.
Unlike her previous hasty defense, this time she deliberately stabilized her own Spirit Domain, gradually channeling and neutralizing the violent and chaotic spiritual turbulence around them. The moment the fierce waves of pollution crashed against the barrier, they were dismantled and weakened layer by layer, suddenly alleviating the suffocating pressure by more than half. The group instantly breathed a sigh of relief as their throbbing temples and tense nerves slightly relaxed.
After stabilizing the barrier, Yun Sheng spoke in a low voice. "Focus on investigating the pollution source and dealing with the equipment anomalies. I will maintain the barrier and reduce the pressure from the pollution."
Zhou Yi immediately furrowed his brow, looking at her with disapproval. "Yun Sheng, didn’t I just tell you? You only need to keep an eye on those two. Leave this to us."
In his eyes, Yun Sheng had just recovered from spiritual power exhaustion, not to mention she still had two unpredictable variables to watch over.
Yun Sheng shook her head, her attitude incredibly firm. "Captain Zhou, they won’t cause trouble. You can rest assured."
She raised her eyes to look at the other squad members, her tone open and earnest. "I am the guide of the Ninth Squad and a member of this team. Everyone is risking their lives to withstand the danger here. It makes no sense for me to hide in the back and watch. That would be a true dereliction of duty."
Seeing the unyielding determination in her eyes, Zhou Yi knew he couldn’t convince her. Ultimately, he swallowed his concerns, said no more, and dedicated himself to the investigation work.
Yun Sheng cast away all distractions and focused her mind completely. She gritted her teeth and maintained the large-scale Spirit Barrier covering the entire squad, constantly fine-tuning the rhythm of her spiritual power output to prevent the barrier from overloading and shattering under the high-intensity pollution shocks. At the same time, she diverted a portion of her power to slowly neutralize and clear away the thickest clouds of corrupting black mist nearby, helping to ease the environmental pressure on the group.
Soon, fine beads of cold sweat seeped from her temples. Her spiritual landscape, which had only just settled, once again flared with an intense, aching fatigue, accompanied by the faint stinging sensation of an overload. Yet, she held on desperately the entire time, without the slightest relaxation.
With her barrier serving as a safety net and providing continuous channeling, the others no longer needed to divide their attention to fend off the omnipresent Spiritual Erosion. Lu Chen and Zhou Yi were finally able to go all out, focusing entirely on investigating the core of the pollution source. The mission’s progress instantly smoothed out significantly.
However, just as Lu Chen carried the detection equipment step by step closer to the very center of the pollution source where the black mist was the densest, an accident occurred. The extraordinarily violent, deep-level spiritual pollution instantly backflowed through the detection device, violently surging right into Lu Chen’s spiritual landscape.
As a Peak B-level, Lu Chen was already injured from fighting an S-Class Sentinel and forcibly withstanding the spiritual backlash. Combined with the old wounds lingering within his spiritual landscape, this sudden, fierce impact from the core pollution caused his old and new injuries to erupt simultaneously.
*SPURT!*
Lu Chen’s body abruptly stiffened. Tasting sweetness in his throat, he violently vomited a mouthful of blood.
The next second, the chaotic spiritual power within his body lost all control, going into a frenzied rampage! A violent Spirit Shock exclusive to a Peak B-level blasted indiscriminately outward. As the closest person to him, Zhou Yi bore the brunt of it. Facing this sudden point-blank shockwave, his body instantly staggered from the impact, and his head swam in agonizing pain.
In the nick of time, Yun Sheng reacted with lightning speed. Almost instantaneously, she diverted all her spiritual power to thicken the barrier, forcibly inserting it between the two men to diffuse more than half of the rampaging shockwave.
But misfortunes never come singly.
The uncontrolled explosion of Lu Chen’s spiritual power acted as a spark, completely lighting the fuse of this pollution source. The violent spiritual pollution that had been accumulating in the entire area suddenly surged and expanded, culminating in a deafening detonation! Thick black mist swept in all directions, causing the terrifying spiritual pollution to instantly multiply. The once-stable Spirit Barrier trembled violently, now covered in cracks and on the verge of total collapse.