The Central Tower Opens — Fishing

The room was packed with row upon row of Mechanical Guardians.

Lu Yuan swept his gaze across them and counted — fifty in total.

Every single one stood ten meters tall, an army of steel giants.

He was taken aback.

Amy and Yeye, standing behind him, went equally silent.

"Are these all Second-rank Peak Lord Grade Mechanical Guardians?! That's an insane number!!"

Amy let out an involuntary cry.

Lu Yuan was equally stunned. "Is this really what you get from a ten-thousand-meter tower?"

Yeye's brow furrowed slightly, puzzled.

"Someone from my clan explored the Ruins before. From what I heard, the rewards were generous — but nothing like this."

Amy nodded vigorously. "Right, exactly! All these Lord Grade Guardians, it's almost too much. My cousin came to the Central Floating City once and wouldn't stop bragging about it — said he cleared the ten-thousand-meter tower and walked out with five Second-rank Peak Lord Grade Mechanical Guardians. We have fifty!"

Yeye glanced at Lu Yuan. "Could it be because of him? He's the one who passed through the Central Floating City's barrier."

Amy snapped back to herself and stared at Lu Yuan, her expression caught somewhere between baffled and amused. "Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if you're this Ruin's secret heir."

Lu Yuan blinked — and then it clicked. He'd just absorbed all those Aier Core Fragments, and that invisible thread had appeared right after.

Could it really be because of him?

He'd felt a closer connection to the Aier Mechanical Ruins after that. Had the Ruins decided to play favorites with him?

*Is this what it means to be the Chosen Child of the World?!*

*Utterly shameless.*

*Absolutely love it.*

He came back to himself, the corner of his mouth lifting into a grin.

"Does it really matter why? We have fifty Lord Grade Mechanical Guardians. Isn't that more than enough to deal with those two King Grade geniuses?"

Amy blinked, then broke into a wide, bright smile. "I guess you're right."

Yeye smiled faintly as well and nodded.

A single Second-rank Peak Lord Grade Mechanical Guardian was already a match for a King Grade genius. With fifty on hand, the math was rather satisfying.

They divided the fifty evenly — sixteen apiece, with the remaining two going to Lu Yuan.

After all, Lu Yuan was the poorest of the three by a considerable margin. Whenever distribution got awkward, it was natural to slip him a little extra.

Lu Yuan accepted it all without hesitation.

*Sure, letting two girls carry me might raise some eyebrows — but can you really argue with results?*

The entire ten-thousand-meter tower was fully cleared before long.

The total haul was staggering. Adding it all up, they were looking at well over a billion Second-rank Spirit Crystals' worth of loot.

And this was just one tower.

The outer ring of the Central Floating City was vast, and there were still around a dozen more ten-thousand-meter towers out there.

The three of them left without lingering, boarded Black Bear No. 1, and set course for the next.

Four hours later.

The ghostly blue radiance that had been slowly building finally flooded the entire Central Tower from base to crown.

The whole structure blazed with brilliant, unearthly blue light.

**BOOM!! BOOM!!**

Deep, rolling detonations thundered across the sky.

Throughout the core region of the Aier Mechanical Ruins, columns of ghostly blue light erupted at random — shooting straight up into the heavens, visible for hundreds of kilometers in every direction.

Every Gene Warrior hunting in the core region looked up as the columns rose, their expressions shifting.

"The Central Tower has opened! The teleportation arrays are active!"

"We can get to the Central Floating City now! Move — get to the nearest array!!"

The excitement was infectious, borderline frenzied. Every warrior broke into a sprint toward the closest column of light.

Those were the teleportation arrays to the Central Floating City. Step inside, and you'd be transported directly to its outer ring.

Each time the Central Tower opened, hundreds of such arrays would appear at random positions throughout the core region.

Somewhere in that core region, Barton and Bai Lin had already consolidated their forces.

Between the two King Grade warriors, they commanded thirteen Lord Grade subordinates, every one of them radiating a dense, oppressive aura. Six Lords belonged to Bai Lin, seven to Barton.

Bai Lin had originally fielded eight — but two had been cleared out by Lu Yuan and Amy.

Below the Lords, the Chief Grade and Boss Grade fighters made up the bulk of the force, swelling the alliance to over three hundred Gene Warriors in total.

Barton watched the teleportation array that had appeared not far away, a vicious grin spreading across his face.

"Time's up. Let's hope the Night King and her friends haven't gone anywhere."

"Move out."

Bai Lin strode toward the column. Everyone followed.

The pillar of light was nearly a hundred meters across. Even with their numbers, they stepped through with room to spare.

A few seconds after the last person entered, the ghostly blue glow within the column pulsed.

They emerged onto a city street.

A squad of Mechanical Guardians spotted the newcomers immediately, red light flaring in their eyes, and charged.

Before the Guardians could reach Bai Lin's group, another squad of Gene Warriors moved to intercept them.

The sounds of combat rang out.

Bai Lin and Barton observed.

The intercepting squad was composed entirely of Boss Grade warriors — and they were holding their own by the thinnest of margins.

Bai Lin's tone was measured. "Even standard patrol Guardians here are Boss Grade. The Central Floating City earns its reputation."

Barton glanced at the fighting and snorted. "Too slow."

A Green Demon Lord at his side grinned, blurred into motion, and in an instant a flurry of dark-green blade arcs swept through the air. Every Mechanical Guardian was cut apart, collapsing as scrap metal.

Bai Lin didn't spare them a glance. He surveyed the towers stretching in every direction and spoke coolly.

"We don't have time to waste. The Night King's group comes first. Spread the team — each Lord takes a squad. More ground covered that way."

Barton considered it briefly, found no objection, and agreed.

Thirteen Lord Grade subordinates led their respective squads off in different directions, fanning out across the city in search of Lu Yuan's group.

Bai Lin and Barton exchanged a look.

Barton's sneer stretched wide. "Heh, heh, heh — just the two of us King Grade. Let's start with the tallest towers. Maybe we'll run right into the Night King."

Bai Lin nodded in silence — agreement enough.

At that same moment, Lu Yuan, Amy, and Yeye were stepping out of another ten-thousand-meter tower.

All three wore expressions of open satisfaction. The haul had been exceptional.

Since the very first tower, every building's rewards had grown almost absurdly generous. Even the Spirit Power Gene Fluid alone had jumped — fifty thousand bottles in the first tower, a hundred thousand in each one after that.

Everything else had doubled or better.

Amy smiled as she spoke. "This is the eighth one, right? We've probably cleared more than half the ten-thousand-meter towers in the outer ring by now."

Lu Yuan nodded. "We'll definitely finish all of them before we leave. Might even have time to hit some of the shorter ones."

Yeye looked toward the distance, and a flicker of surprise crossed her face.

"The Central Tower has opened."

Lu Yuan and Amy both stiffened. They looked up.

In the distance, column after column of ghostly blue light pierced the sky.

Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed. A slow smile crept across his face.

"Looks like everyone's arrived."

Amy's eyes lit up, barely containing herself. "Let's go find them! With everything we pulled from these towers, we can absolutely take them on. If they've already cleared some buildings and gotten their hands on good items, there's no guarantee we could pin them down later. Better to move now."

Lu Yuan and Yeye both nodded.

Lu Yuan's will reached out. Black Bear No. 1 descended from the sky and settled before them.

"All aboard. We're going fishing."

They boarded. Black Bear No. 1 leapt skyward, becoming a streak of black light that vanished from the spot.

The sonic boom from punching through the sound barrier rolled across the city, reaching every Gene Warrior who had just stepped through the teleportation arrays. They looked up, startled.

One group that had just arrived was a team composed entirely of Elves. Their leader was a Lord Grade elf girl with vivid green hair, flanked by five Chief Grade elf youths and more than twenty Boss Grade elves.

They had been standing before the plaza of a two-thousand-meter tower, sizing up the Mechanical Guardians stationed there.

The shrieking wail of Black Bear No. 1 tearing through the air made every elf flinch. They looked skyward.

As the familiar diamond-shaped craft streaked past, the green-haired elf girl's eyes went slightly wide.

"That's the diamond-shaped flyer! They're actually in this area?!"

One of the Chief Grade elf youths had a calculating gleam in his eye.

"The Night King and those two human Lords are on board, aren't they? They've been inside for four hours now. They must have made quite a haul."

More than a few elves watched its path with poorly concealed hunger.

"The tallest towers here are ten-thousand-meter ones. Even with the Night King's strength and two Lord Grade humans with her — can they really handle the guardians inside?"

"Almost certainly. That one human can control mechanical creatures. In the Aier Mechanical Ruins, that kind of ability is worth twice as much. The question is how many towers they've actually cleared."

"If only we could get our hands on what they've collected..."

One of the elf chiefs exhaled.

The elf girl gave a small shake of her head.

"We're no match for any of them. And Bai Lin and Barton are already looking for them. Let's stay out of this and focus on what's in front of us."

The others came back to themselves and nodded.

Black Bear No. 1 cut across the sky overhead.

Below, a squad of Gene Warriors moved through the streets. Their leader was a Lord Grade Kaman warrior.

He was one of the Lord Grade subordinates from Barton's alliance.

Behind him came three Kaman Chief Grade warriors and a cluster of Kaman Boss Grade fighters.

One of the Chiefs was struggling to keep the resentment off his face.

"We joined Barton's alliance so we could explore the towers together and get a share of the spoils. Now everyone else is out there clearing buildings, and we're still running around searching for some aircraft. What exactly are we going to walk away with?"

The Kaman Lord shot him a look. "Keep your voice down. Barton was clear — any squad that locates the Night King's group gets a reward. If we actually manage to kill the Night King and those two human Lords, the squad that found them gets ten percent of whatever they had on them."

The Chief pressed his lips together. "And how do we know Barton keeps his word? On top of that, those three aren't easy prey. Even with both Barton and Bai Lin together, they might not be able to hold them."

The Kaman Lord's expression wavered. There was real conflict in his eyes.

They weren't Green Demons. The only reason they'd joined Barton's alliance in the first place was to ride the coattails of a stronger backer — to have a powerful umbrella overhead while they worked through the Floating City.

And now every Gene Warrior who hadn't joined was already out grinding through buildings, racking up solid gains.

While they were still playing search party.

Inwardly, the Lord was grinding his teeth.

The Chief wasn't finished.

"Think about it — even if Barton and Bai Lin can deal with the Night King, she's not going to just hand herself over. They have a flyer. As long as they stay airborne and don't come down, what is anyone supposed to do about it? Binbi, honestly — I think we should cut ties with the alliance while we still can. If we keep following them, we're going to end up with nothing."

Binbi's gaze shifted — only slightly — and he said nothing.

Then, without warning, a sharp screech split the sky above.

Binbi and every warrior in his squad jerked their heads up.

A jet-black diamond-shaped craft was streaking across the sky — fast, the displaced air rolling outward in surging waves.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then every eye went wide.

"That's the diamond-shaped flyer!"

"They're in this area!"

"Contact Barton!"

Binbi's eyes flashed. He snatched out his Communication Crystal and sent word immediately.

Not far away, Barton had been closing in on one of the ten-thousand-meter towers when he suddenly stopped.

Bai Lin, moving beside him, halted as well. His brow barely shifted, his voice flat.

"What is it?"

Barton opened his Communication Crystal, read the message, and a vicious smile spread across his face.

"Someone found the flyer."

Something sharpened in Bai Lin's gaze. White mist began to curl softly around him, and the surrounding air dropped several degrees.

"Where?"

"West. I've already ordered the one who spotted them to keep tailing it. The nearby squads are being alerted to track the direction. We just need to wait for it to come down."

Bai Lin said simply: "Then let's go."

The two changed course and moved toward Black Bear No. 1's last known position.

A little over ten minutes later, aboard Black Bear No. 1.

Amy watched a squad of Gene Warriors below finishing off a patrol of Mechanical Guardians before they drifted from view, then turned back with a slightly uncertain look.

"Are we sure about this? Will those two actually be able to find us?"

Yeye nodded. "Small White told me — Barton and Bai Lin have already joined forces. Every one of their Lord Grade subordinates is leading a search squad. They're out looking for us right now."

Lu Yuan's eyes lit with quiet calculation. A calm smile settled on his face.

"So they want to come for us. Even better that they've joined up — makes things more convenient for us on our end. We'll keep flying a while longer. Someone should be passing word to Barton and Bai Lin about now."

Yeye nodded. "Mm."

Lu Yuan kept Black Bear No. 1 cruising at Mach 1 for another ten-plus minutes — and then, ahead of them, a ten-thousand-meter tower he hadn't seen before came into view.

His eyes brightened. He guided the ship into a smooth descent toward it.

At that same moment, less than ten kilometers away, Barton and Bai Lin watched the distant shadow of Black Bear No. 1 settle slowly before the tower's entrance.

Barton's leer spread wide, his eyes glinting with cold anticipation.

"Our luck's not bad — that flyer just happened to head right for the same tower we were already aiming for. Saves us the trouble."

Bai Lin's gaze sharpened with measured killing intent.

"Move in. And call in everyone nearby — I want full coverage."

He paused, then added evenly: "Those people have had hours to work through the towers. Whatever they've collected, we have no idea what it is. Better to be prepared for anything."

Barton let out a scornful laugh. "So what if they raided a few towers? You really think that means they can stand up to us? In the outer ring of the Central Floating City, nothing at our level can touch us!"

Bai Lin looked at him once and said nothing more.

Barton snorted. "Always second-guessing yourself. You'll never accomplish anything great that way."

The temperature around Bai Lin dropped another notch. He glanced back at Barton — and kept walking.

Together, the two began rallying their forces as they closed in on the ten-thousand-meter tower.