Charging the Central Floating City

Aboard Black Bear No. 1.

Amy's forehead was slick with cold sweat. She pressed a hand to her chest, still shaken, and gave her small tablet a pat.

"That scared me half to death! I thought we were actually going to get hit."

Lu Yuan smiled. "Even if we had, those two attacks wouldn't have been enough to break the shield."

Yeye glanced at Amy. "I was prepared to intercept their attacks as well."

"Looks like those two have set their sights on us. What a headache."

Lu Yuan rubbed the back of his neck.

"Even with Yeye on board, the three of us combined don't have to fear two Second-rank Kings. But one careless moment and there's still real danger. You can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't spend a thousand days guarding against one."

Yeye looked at him. "What do you want to do?"

Lu Yuan thought for a moment. "Find a way to deal with them, if we can."

Amy's eyes went wide.

"You liar, you want to take on those two Second-rank Kings? With our strength, that shouldn't be possible, right?"

Lu Yuan smiled and turned his gaze toward the distant Central Floating City.

"Under normal circumstances, it would be nearly impossible. But we're not entirely without advantages."

Yeye gave a small nod, her voice calm and unhurried. "With Lu Yuan's ability to control mechanical lifeforms, there's a real chance we can enter the Central Floating City. If we manage to secure resources inside, it might be enough."

Amy blinked, looking between the two of them.

"You really think it's possible?"

Lu Yuan smiled. "It's just a possibility — we haven't even made it there yet. But..."

A cold, sharp light flickered through his eyes. "Since they've decided to treat us as prey, we have every right to hit back. If we can drive those two out entirely, the whole Central Floating City is ours to command."

Something ignited behind Amy's violet eyes.

"That's right! If we eliminate both Second-rank Kings, we'd be the strongest ones left! Every treasure in the Central Floating City — we could just take whatever we wanted!"

The thought made her clench her fists in excitement.

Then another idea crossed her mind, and a grin spread across her face. "Ideally, we'd just kill them both outright! Heh heh heh! How dare they attack me! Hmph!"

Lu Yuan: "......"

Yeye: "......"

Both of them stared at her.

Amy blinked, puzzled.

"What?"

Lu Yuan tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Nothing. Bold of you to think that big."

Even Lu Yuan had only been considering forcing them out. Killing King Grade talents was an entirely different matter — their raw power alone was extraordinary, and after everything they'd gathered inside the ruins, actually taking them down was, frankly, a near-impossible task.

Still... if even this little fool had the nerve to dream that big, there was no harm in letting the idea take root.

A sharp gleam passed through Lu Yuan's eyes.

Amy planted her hands on her hips, thoroughly pleased with herself.

"Of course! You have to dare to dream before you can make it real. I'm very brave!"

Lu Yuan smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Yeye.

A faint smile had settled onto Yeye's usually cool expression.

"Then let's find out."

"Yeah."

Black Bear No. 1 resumed its course toward the Central Floating City.

Yeye had her subordinates shadow Barton and Bai Lin, tracking their every movement. Black Bear No. 1 deliberately skirted their routes, and the journey went smoothly. After hunting four more Lord Grade flying vessels along the way, the distance to the Central Floating City had narrowed to just a few dozen kilometers.

Lu Yuan, Amy, and Yeye stood together aboard Black Bear No. 1, staring at the projection the ship cast of the massive Central Floating City before them. It was so colossal that even straining their eyes, they couldn't find its edge.

Outside the city, flying vessels were packed so densely they left barely a few meters between each unit — a bristling, endless swarm, like a plague of locusts blotting out the sky.

Black Bear No. 1's sensors confirmed what their eyes already told them: Lord Grade vessels occupied virtually every quadrant. And among them, some registered as peak-tier or even perfect-grade Second-rank Lords.

Lu Yuan's brow furrowed. His expression turned grave.

Beside him, Yeye and Amy wore equally serious looks.

Yeye turned to him. "Lu Yuan — can you do this?"

He was dressed in a slim silver-white battle suit, one hand wrapped around a Staff that pulsed with pale blue radiance — the Mechanical Radiance Staff (Second-rank, 50%) and the XS7 Spirit Battle Armor (Second-rank, 80%).

Amy's Lord Grade armaments, borrowed for this push.

Their primary function was to amplify mental power.

Beyond the Gene Armaments, Lu Yuan had also downed a Second-rank mental power booster and layered in every Talisman he had available. His mental power had surged to a level that now actually eclipsed his strongest defensive capability.

Mechanical Control's effectiveness scaled directly with mental power. At current levels, Lu Yuan could apply at least minor interference even to Second-rank Perfect Lord Grade flying vessels.

He drew a slow breath. A smile settled onto his face.

"No problem. Let's begin."

In the steel-framed city not far from Black Bear No. 1.

The moment the rhombus-shaped vessel appeared, every Gene Warrior in the vicinity snapped to attention. They scrambled to rooftops and terraces across every high-rise, eyes turned skyward.

Something was about to happen. Everyone could feel it.

"That ship — is it really going to enter the Central Floating City from the air, same as before?!"

A Second-rank Chief Grade Kaman talent couldn't help himself.

Beside him, a Second-rank Chief Grade Baro talent stared wide-eyed, unease flickering across his face.

"I heard two human warriors are piloting that ship. If they actually pull this off, does that mean they'll have access to the Central Floating City's resources before any of us?"

"You're behind on the news. The Night King is aboard now too. If that ship makes it inside, with her strength, the most valuable treasures will be long gone before any of us get a look."

"What?! The Night King is on that ship?! How is that even possible?!"

"Why not? Earlier, the Green Demon King and the White Frost King tried together to stop it and couldn't do a thing. Everyone nearby at the time saw the Night King step off that ship themselves."

"Hss... The central tower still doesn't open for another four hours. We can't get up to the Floating City at all. If the Night King gets inside, every resource up there is hers for four uncontested hours?!"

"Damn it! Are we just supposed to stand here and watch?! Just watch that ship walk right in?!"

An Elf youth's face twisted with helpless indignation.

At that moment, a Gnoll sneered.

"Personally, I think the Night King and those two humans are walking straight to their deaths."

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"This is the Central Floating City's outer perimeter — not some ordinary Floating City. You see how densely those vessels are packed? There are Lord Grade units even in the outer zones. What do you think it's like closer in? There are probably peak-tier Lords in there, maybe even perfect-grade ones. You seriously think that rhombus ship can withstand a direct hit from a perfect Lord Grade vessel? Once it goes down, even the Night King can't survive being swarmed by that many flying vessels from every direction."

The crowd absorbed that. Then faces began to lighten.

"Fair point, actually. If there really are swarms of peak and perfect Lords inside... no matter how tough that ship is, it can't hold out forever. I heard the human inside has something that lets him control mechanical lifeforms — but surely even he can't control a Second-rank perfect Lord?"

Just as the speculation reached fever pitch, the stationary Black Bear No. 1 lurched into motion — a streak of light shooting straight toward the Central Floating City.

As it moved, the previously impenetrable wall of flying guards split apart on both sides like a parting curtain.

Every pair of eyes on those rooftops went wide.

"It started!"

"So the human really can control mechanical lifeforms, just like the rumors said?"

"No wonder he's been hunting Lord Grade vessels in open air. With an ability like that..."

"Look — a Lord Grade vessel just fired!"

Up in the air, Lord Grade vessels maintained a defensive perimeter far wider than Boss Grade or Chief Grade units. Even with all his stacked buffs, Lu Yuan's mental power only spread to roughly two hundred meters — inside that range, Mechanical Control held. Beyond it, he had no reach at all.

And mid-tier Lord Grade vessels and above maintained detection zones that extended well past two hundred meters.

The instant a mid-tier Lord opened fire, Black Bear No. 1 blurred into a ghost image, closing to within a hundred meters of the Lord Grade vessel in the span of a heartbeat.

Then, before the stunned eyes of every watching talent below, the mid-tier Lord that had just been targeting Black Bear No. 1 went abruptly still — and smoothly fell into formation alongside the ship, like a loyal escort that had always been there.

Every talent watching: ???

They stood slack-jawed, blankly staring at Black Bear No. 1 as it sailed onward with its new bodyguard, still moving steadily toward the Central Floating City.

A beat of silence.

Then the crowd absolutely erupted.

"What the — ?! What in the actual hell?! That Spirit Cannon output looked mid-Lord Grade — and it just got controlled outright?!"

"If a mid-Lord can be controlled, what about a high-Lord?! What about a peak-Lord?! Is even a perfect-Lord within range?!"

"Is he about to round up a whole squad of peak Lords and just steamroll the Central Floating City?!"

"......"

The assembled talents had managed to terrify themselves.

Inside the vessel, a quiet smile of surprise crossed Lu Yuan's face.

With all his layered buffs, his mental power had spiked dramatically. Mid-tier Lord Grade flying vessels were now fully within his Mechanical Control range.

He was fairly confident high-tier Lords were too.

But locking down a high-tier Lord would consume his mental power entirely — he'd lose the ability to spread interference across the surrounding vessels.

He didn't plan to go that route. His objective was simple: get inside the Central Floating City.

Black Bear No. 1 pushed forward. A few hundred meters later, the alarm sounded again — two Spirit Power signatures detected.

Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

One was mid-tier Lord Grade. The other was unmistakably high-tier.

Just roughly a kilometer from the Central Floating City, and already a high-tier Lord blocking the path.

He steered Black Bear No. 1 directly toward the high-tier Lord Grade vessel. Mechanical Control activated — he nudged its targeting systems, silently redirecting its designated enemies to all nearby vessels in the surrounding area.

The high-tier Lord immediately opened fire in a wild scatter-shot. Meanwhile, Lu Yuan sent the mid-tier Lord he'd already claimed charging in to engage it head-on.

Without taking a single hit, Lu Yuan slipped cleanly through both Lords' territory.

He kept the sensors running as Black Bear No. 1 pressed deeper, constantly mapping Lord Grade positions ahead. The path was a maze — Lord Grade units occupied virtually every corridor — and Lu Yuan was forced to thread carefully through zones held by lower-tier vessels, skirting wide around anything higher-ranked.

Progress was slow. But Black Bear No. 1 threaded through safely, one kilometer at a time, twenty-plus kilometers traveled without a scratch.

Below, the watching crowd's expressions kept cycling through fresh waves of disbelief, voices rising in an unbroken stream of astonishment.

Black Bear No. 1 was now roughly twenty kilometers from the Central Floating City.

Even Barton and Bai Lin — still some distance away, unable to close in — received word through their Communication Crystals. Their subordinates relayed live imagery of Black Bear No. 1 carving through the outer defensive line.

Barton stood atop a thousand-meter tower, watching the feed as Black Bear No. 1 continued its steady, unhurried advance. His face was a mask of barely contained fury.

"Damn humans! Damn Night King!! They're actually going to make it inside?! Damn it — damn it all!"

As a King Grade talent himself, Barton knew exactly what Yeye was capable of. If she made it inside the Central Floating City while the central tower was still sealed, she'd have four uncontested hours to strip the place of every valuable resource she could carry.

And he'd be standing here watching it happen.

The rage in his chest burned hotter.

Not far away, on a separate rooftop, Bai Lin's expression was ice. His eyes brimmed with killing intent.

*You humans... you're really going to enter the Central Floating City? Even if you get inside, the place is vast. You can't possibly secure every treasure. The moment the central tower opens — that's when you die.*

Back at the outer defensive line of the Central Floating City.

Under every watching eye, Black Bear No. 1 pushed deeper.

Closer and closer.

Twenty kilometers. Fifteen. Ten...

With less than ten kilometers left before the final threshold, a piercing alarm split the cabin.

*Beep! Beep! Warning — locked on by enemy. Target energy level: Second-rank Peak Lord Grade. Quantity: four.*

On the holographic display, a cluster of red markers bloomed directly across Black Bear No. 1's path. Four of them burned brighter than the rest.

Amy's expression shifted. She gripped her own hands tight.

"Lu Yuan — are you all right?!"

Worry was written plainly across her face.

Even Yeye's usual stillness cracked, just slightly. She looked at Lu Yuan's calm, composed expression, and spoke in a voice that was low and certain.

"Lu Yuan. I believe in you."

Lu Yuan's face stayed level. He watched the holographic display, and something sharp and resolute settled into his eyes.