Chapter 181: Going to S12 Star
Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Going to S12 Star
But with these monsters already dead, they were spared the trouble of having to kill them.
The police officers quickly escorted the survivors out and ran for safety, terrified the monsters might leap out again from some dark corner.
With Yun Yiyou joining the fray, the tide of the entire battle turned in an instant.
The police chiefs, who had been agonizing over how to handle these monsters, were now ecstatic. They were saved!
Saved!
By the time dawn broke, all the mutant beasts had been slain, and Times Square was a field of human and monster corpses.
It wasn’t just Times Square; the areas where the upper class resided were the same.
After a tireless, collective effort, everyone erupted in cheers when the last speed-type mutant beast fell to a laser gun.
They had won the war and, at the same time, survived it.
"We won!"
It’s unclear who cheered first, but soon everyone, their nerves frayed, began to shout as well.
Some even began to cry as they shouted.
"SOB... I’m still alive."
"I survived!"
"Thank God, I didn’t die..."
They embraced, weeping with joy.
As the sky fully brightened, the excitement gradually faded. They saw the friends and family around them—some dead, some missing.
Sorrow welled up in their hearts. Some wailed at the sight of their loved ones’ bodies, while others broke down, unable to find their children.
This war had brought them nothing but endless sorrow. For the rest of their days, they would have to spend a lifetime healing from what had happened today.
The loss of a loved one is like the rainy season. At first, the drizzle on your skin feels like nothing.
But over time, it soaks into your very bones.
Since crossing over to this world, the five of them had witnessed too many partings of life and death.
But no matter how much they saw, it still pained them.
Lin Jingjing couldn’t help but think, ’If only we could have been a little faster, would so many fewer people have died?’
When the death toll was announced, everyone fell silent.
To think that in a single night, they had lost nearly one hundred thousand of their compatriots.
The number was simply staggering.
Yun Yiyou was furious. He wanted nothing more than to capture Huang Bo Lin and tear him limb from limb.
To think that this man was the main culprit behind it all—the same man who had once proclaimed on the silver screen that he longed for peace and hated war.
It was incredibly ironic.
’He’s the one who started this war. What peace could he possibly be hoping for?’
The cleanup took a week. In that time, the heavily damaged skyscrapers were repaired.
Once all the repairs were complete, Yun Yiyou convened a meeting.
The agenda for the meeting was the capture of the mastermind, and this daunting task was assigned to Lin Jingjing and her team.
Yun Yiyou even granted them special clearance for the sole purpose of capturing Huang Bo Lin.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Lin Jingjing stood, saluted Yun Yiyou, and accepted the mission.
No matter where he ran, to the ends of the earth, she would bring Huang Bo Lin to justice.
When the meeting ended, Lin Jingjing and her team left the Cabinet Building.
In the hovercar, the team members leaned back, exhaustion etched on their faces.
With everything that had happened lately, none of them had been able to get any proper rest, and it showed.
"Sister Lin, where are we supposed to find him?" Shi Feng’s voice had lost its usual cheerful energy.
"Yeah, the universe is huge, and there are so many planets. Where do we even start looking?" Gu Kaiwen wondered aloud.
Lin Jingjing rubbed her temples and replied wearily, "I don’t know. We’ll have to take it one step at a time."
"We’ll catch him eventually."
Seeing her rub her temples, Feng He asked with concern, "Have you been overusing your spiritual power? Is your head starting to hurt?"
Lin Jingjing shook her head. She just felt the immense weight of the pressure on her.
’Huang Bo Lin is too difficult to catch. All these years of clandestine development have given him a large pool of capable subordinates.’
’Plus, we’re operating in the open while he’s in the shadows. That makes everything so much harder.’
"Here, let me," Feng He said, pulling her closer so she could rest her head on his lap. He then placed his hands on her temples and began to massage them slowly.
"I bet Huang Bo Lin has his own main base of operations," Mo Xuan began to analyze, stroking his chin.
"What makes you say that?" Shi Feng asked, confused.
"Even mountain bandits in ancient times had their own strongholds. Huang Bo Lin is so wealthy, owning a few private planets would be nothing to him. Besides, if you discover an undeveloped planet, you can buy the whole thing as long as you have the cash."
"So what’s stopping him from buying a few planets to use as his headquarters?"
Hearing Mo Xuan’s analysis, the others all agreed he had a point.
"Then let’s investigate the private planets registered under Huang Bo Lin’s name. We can see which one he’s most likely to be hiding on," Feng He added in agreement.
Back at the Monster Investigation Bureau, Lin Jingjing immediately had Lu Shaoyu start the investigation.
"Be thorough. Investigate the people around him as well. I don’t want anything overlooked," Lin Jingjing added, worried Lu Shaoyu might miss a crucial detail.
"Yes, ma’am!"
Just as they began investigating Huang Bo Lin’s movements, he was already making his next move.
Huang Bo Lin had his people plant a bomb capable of destroying an entire planet on the planet closest to Capital Star. Once it was in place, Huang Bo Lin waited for the right time to provoke Lin Jingjing.
「One and a half months after the attack.」
"Lin Daxiao, good afternoon." Huang Bo Lin greeted with a smile, his video feed broadcast on the big screens of every city.
"Today is March 17th. The sun is shining, I’m in a great mood, so I’ve come to share some good news with you."
"I’ve had my people place a nuclear bomb on S12 Star. I’ve set the timer for 48 hours. If you can find the bomb and defuse it within that time..."
"...then everyone on S12 Star will be saved. If you fail, the entire planet will cease to exist."
"You’d better hurry, Lin Daxiao."
Huang Bo Lin spoke, then glanced at a screen. "The countdown’s already been running for half an hour."
"So, thirty minutes have passed. Please don’t treat this as a game. Or go ahead, I don’t mind. The explosion will make you regret it."
After saying his piece, Huang Bo Lin displayed the bomb’s countdown timer.
The sight of the timer ticking down made every heart skip a beat. This was real.
Lin Jingjing watched the video, her hands clenched into fists. She wanted nothing more than to grab Huang Bo Lin and beat him to a pulp.
’And another thing!!’
’Who the hell set this lunatic off?’
’And turned him into the monster he is today?!’
"Director—" Lu Shaoyu burst in, but before he could relay the news, Lin Jingjing was already on her feet. "I know. Assemble everyone. We’re heading to S12 Star."