Chapter 427: Still Can Be Saved
“Chairman Wang, you seem so agitated. Has something changed with Qinghe’s situation?” Ning Xuan couldn’t help but ask, seeing the unconcealable anxiety on her face.
“Ning Xuan, you’re just in time. Qinghe’s spiritual power has gone on a rampage. The Energy Barrier on the seventh subterranean level has been destroyed. The Riot Squad was deployed and managed to injure him, which triggered his beast transformation. The fully-armed squad has already suffered casualties. Qinghe’s Exotic Beast form is too strong; the Riot Squad can’t handle him. Their captain just sent a message requesting a retreat, saying if they don’t pull back now, the entire team will be wiped out in there,” Chairman Wang said anxiously.
“It’s already that serious?” Ning Xuan frowned. ‘Qinghe is young and incredibly powerful. Plus, the spiral nebula within him should have eliminated his unstable genes. Logically, he shouldn’t have ended up in this state.’
It seemed his battles in the Realm of Chaos must have involved something else.
“Ning Xuan, Qinghe is a Half-beastman, and an SSS-level one at that. Even when he transforms into his Exotic Beast form, he can usually recover on his own. However, the frequency of his transformations has been increasing, and the time it takes for him to recover has been getting longer and longer. No one knows if one of these times, he just won’t be able to change back. That’s why I’m so worried. His situation is truly perilous,” Chairman Wang said, her expression complex as she gazed toward the Training Institute.
The moment Ning Xuan released her spiritual power to probe underground, a piercing screech of metal against metal echoed from the elevator hall. Amidst flashing emergency lights, a squad of special forces soldiers, drenched in blood, staggered out of the elevator.
These elite soldiers, once so imposing, were now in complete disarray.
The captain leading them had half his faceplate shattered, revealing a mangled, bloody jaw. Wires from his broken communicator dangled, swaying with his ragged breaths. His right arm hung at a twisted angle by his side, clearly broken.
The soldiers behind him were in even worse shape. One, carrying a heavy machine gun, was missing his left leg from the knee down. The simple tourniquet was soaked through with blood, and every step he took left a sticky, bloody footprint on the floor. His tactical suit had been sliced open by some sharp object, and a gaping wound was visible on his abdomen through the torn protective gear.
The other squad members were all injured as well.
“Seal the exit! Requesting activation of…” The captain’s hoarse voice came from behind his broken mask.
Before he could finish, the last two soldiers, who had been supporting each other, finally collapsed just outside the elevator hall. One had his protective chest plate completely caved in, and each breath brought up a pink, frothy blood. The other had a massive hole in his back.
The thick smell of blood instantly filled the space. Medical personnel, who had just arrived, rushed forward to provide emergency first aid on the spot.
A horrifying scraping sound echoed from deep within the elevator shaft, as if countless claws were scaling the metal walls. The captain looked up at Chairman Wang, his eyes hollow with despair, and said to her, “Chairman Wang, the General… he can’t be saved.”
These Riot Squad members were Qinghe’s own Direct Lineage troops. They were the last line of defense protecting him. Now, with most of them dead or wounded, they had all fallen into despair.
Chairman Wang looked at the grievously wounded Riot Squad members and was overcome with sorrow. According to the protocol they had established based on Qinghe’s condition, if even the Riot Squad couldn’t contain him, it meant he was completely out of control. To prevent the incalculable damage Qinghe would cause if he broke free, their only option was to execute the final termination protocol.
“Ning Xuan, it might be too late. Qinghe’s condition suddenly worsened last night. He’s been in his beast form for over eight hours and still hasn’t recovered. He… he might never change back. Ah…” Chairman Wang sighed, her face etched with grief.
Although Qinghe had Half-beastman genes, his Bloodline Talent was exceptional, and his Exotic Beast form was immensely powerful. His achievements in the Realm of Chaos were unprecedented. It was a tragedy that such a brilliant figure was about to be cut down in his prime.
“Chairman Wang, I promised Lan Xin I would save his life. Is the elevator still operational? I want to go down and see,” Ning Xuan said. It wasn’t that she was a selfless hero, but her earlier spiritual power probe had given her a decent understanding of Qinghe’s current condition.
While his situation was indeed dangerous, it hadn’t reached the point of being unsalvageable.
“Qinghe is vital to the Federation. Losing him would be a great loss. But Ning Xuan, you are even more important to the Federation! Most of the Riot Squad is already dead or wounded. If you go down there now, aren’t you just committing suicide?” Chairman Wang shook her head. For Ning Xuan’s safety, she couldn’t agree.
“Chairman Wang, don’t worry. I don’t joke about my own life. I can bring him back. Trust me. Don’t waste any more time. If we delay any longer, he really will be beyond saving,” Ning Xuan said as she walked toward the elevators.
Although the exit was sealed, Ning Xuan knew where the emergency access was. She walked straight into the emergency passage and disappeared from sight.
Chairman Wang didn’t stop her. She listened nervously for any sounds from below. After Ning Xuan entered the emergency passage, the terrifying scraping from within the elevator shaft quickly ceased.
“Chairman Wang, who was that young lady just now? Can she really save the General?” the captain with the broken right arm asked, his voice trembling.
“She is Qinghe’s last hope,” Chairman Wang said, gazing worriedly toward the levels below.
The moment Ning Xuan entered the subterranean level, Qinghe, in his dragon form, sensed her. A sliver of clarity briefly returned to his rampaging Spiritual Sea.
But that sliver of clarity was quickly devoured by a black mist.
Ning Xuan’s spiritual threads attached themselves to the ultra-fine Vine Silk of the Ghost-faced Red Vine and swiftly spread through every corner of the seventh subterranean level. She quickly locked onto Qinghe’s position.
As she locked onto him, Qinghe sensed her presence as well.
Qinghe, his Spiritual Sea already in turmoil, launched a frenzied attack in Ning Xuan’s direction.
With Qinghe’s mind still clouded, Ning Xuan didn’t dare face him head-on. She could only dodge rapidly while looking for an opportunity to feed him the Elixir Pills designed to clear contamination and soothe one’s spiritual power.