Li Li’s sudden entry into the battlefield seemed to bring some opportunities for Ji Mingzhu, but it was far from enough.
This area had been completely sealed off by the Calamity Control Bureau. With Mo Hongyu and Wen Kang, two Titan pilots ready for battle, the remaining power source of Ji Mingzhu’s Phoenix Redeemer was running low. It was challenging to withstand the next round of attacks. Although Li Li had the intention to assist Ji Mingzhu, she couldn’t make it too obvious.
After all, she was still an active-duty Titan pilot. Although she wasn’t under the jurisdiction of the Calamity Control Bureau in Sky City, if she went too far, she might still face repercussions from the Calamity Control Bureau in Yangyuan City.
She admired Ji Mingzhu, so she was willing to do a favor for Zuo Quanzong, the Red Guard Commander. However, if helping Ji Mingzhu jeopardized all her future prospects, Ji Mingzhu was not worth her doing so.
With the destruction of Wei Lan’s mech, Wen Kang and Mo Hongyu focused their attention and began a concentrated attack on the Phoenix Redeemer from two directions. Their goal was not to defeat Ji Mingzhu but to delay time.
As Titan pilots, Wen Kang and Mo Hongyu naturally understood the cost of Ji Mingzhu’s crazy overclocking. With limited remaining power, by cutting off Ji Mingzhu’s retreat and dragging the battle until Ji Mingzhu’s power core was depleted, even with Ji Mingzhu’s extraordinary piloting skills, escape would be impossible.
Yao Guang watched as Ji Mingzhu maneuvered skillfully under the joint attacks, every attack and evasion precise and flawless. It was dazzling, but Yao Guang knew that Ji Mingzhu was in a very dangerous situation.
“Tian Shu!” Yao Guang couldn’t help but feel anxious. “There isn’t much time left!”
Ji Mingzhu didn’t respond. Above, Li Li’s firepower web showed gaps again. Ji Mingzhu seized the opportunity to attempt a breakthrough, but experienced pilots like Mo Hongyu and Wen Kang wouldn’t give him the chance. Wen Kang’s shield blocked the path of the Phoenix Redeemer directly, and with Ji Mingzhu’s energy nearly depleted, he chose not to activate the Phoenix Instant Acceleration.
Dodging Mo Hongyu’s attack with a clever angle, Ji Mingzhu then communicated, “Axiu, are you ready?”
“Of course,” Axiu replied.
Yao Guang listened to their inexplicable conversation, looking completely puzzled.
What did they mean by being ready? Ready for what? Did they have another plan? Wasn’t it discussed with him?
Ji Mingzhu hadn’t communicated with Axiu at all these days. How could they have formulated tactics in advance? Could these two communicate telepathically?
Before Yao Guang could figure it out, Axiu had taken control of the light brain in front of him. A large amount of code rapidly popped up on the light brain. Yao Guang only glanced at it, and the overwhelming amount of garbled code and keys dazzled his eyes. However, he still noticed some clues, and a bold guess emerged in his mind: “…Could it be?”
Axiu controlled the light brain to invade the network, and he was no stranger to it. He had even secretly attempted to enter the Calamity Control Bureau’s control system before the firewall was upgraded.
It was the control system of the Calamity Control Bureau!
But… how was that possible?
This thought flashed through Yao Guang’s mind. The next second, a series of keys had been entered, and Axiu easily breached the control system of the Calamity Control Bureau. Then a series of commands flashed across the light brain screen.
“Humming—”
In the Calamity Control Bureau’s command room, everyone felt a violent tremor.
Initially, they thought it was the aftermath of the battle affecting this place. However, the commanders quickly realized that something was wrong.
This tremor came from underground in the Calamity Control Bureau headquarters!
Xie Cang’s face changed immediately. “What’s happening?!”
The next moment, a commander in the command room exclaimed in horror, “Red Guard Commander… something’s wrong! The Godel Jammer underground… has been activated!!”
As the words fell, everyone’s faces turned pale.
The Godel Jammer, one of the Calamity Control Bureau’s secret weapons, was different from most weapons developed for biological force fields against Aberrations. The Godel Jammer was a major killer specifically designed for mecha firepower, capable of generating a powerful magnetic field in an instant to disrupt the power signal transmission inside mechs.
In simple terms, it could, like an EMP, temporarily disable long-range firepower for mechs within its range.
However, the problem was that only ministers had the authority to activate the Godel Jammer. And in the entire Thunder Division, the only person who could use the Godel Jammer was Zuo Quanzong.
Before they could cast suspicious glances at Zuo Quanzong, the commander shouted again, “We found… it’s Minister Huo Zai’s key authorization!”
Huo Zai?!
Xie Cang’s face turned ugly. “Cancel the launch order immediately!”
Huo Zai had just gone missing, and the Thunder Division had discovered some clues about him. They had temporarily classified Huo Zai as a defector and revoked his position as the Thunder Division minister. However, the appointment and dismissal of ministerial positions required approval from Sky City. It had only been a few hours since these events had unfolded, and they hadn’t had time to cancel Huo Zai’s ministerial key authorization.
Their attention was drawn to Ji Mingzhu, and no one had expected Huo Zai to be causing trouble at this time!
The commanders quickly began their operations to cancel the launch order. However, they soon discovered that they didn’t have the ability to do so. “It’s not working… Commander Hong, someone is disrupting the internal network of the Thunder Division. We can’t cancel the launch!”
Buzzing—
With the commander’s words, at the next moment, the launch platform in front of the Calamity Control Bureau headquarters opened, and a massive warhead appeared. It then shot towards the city center like a swift arrow!
At this moment, on the rooftop of a tall building in the city.
Huo Zai had changed into a different outfit, holding a glass of champagne. From an excellent vantage point, he enjoyed the spectacular mech battle unfolding in the city.
In a way, he admired Ji Mingzhu.
The young man had extremely meticulous and daring thoughts, and his talent in mech piloting was outstanding. Setting aside their positions, Huo Zai was interested in sitting down with Ji Mingzhu for a good chat.
Unfortunately, he didn’t like making deals with humans and detested the feeling of being held at someone’s mercy.
Cracks had appeared on Huo Zai’s arms and face, and his expression had become somewhat stiff. But at this moment, he didn’t care about these details anymore. The identity of the Thunder Division minister was indeed useful, but unfortunately, his shelf life in this skin was limited. Coupled with Ji Mingzhu discovering his secret, he chose to abandon this identity.
Huo Zai raised his champagne glass, toasting towards the distant Phoenix Redeemer. “Farewell, mech pilot Ji Mingzhu.”
Watching the diminishing glow of the power core in the chest of the Phoenix Redeemer, Huo Zai’s smile on his face became more pronounced.
…Buzz!
A piercing sonic boom froze the smile on Huo Zai’s face.
A massive warhead was launched from a distance, exploding at the center of the battlefield!
As if experiencing a power outage, all mech power cores in the battlefield began to flicker, with the mechs responsible for long-range firepower suppression—Li Li and Mo Hongyu—being the most affected. The roaring barrels of their mechs suddenly fell silent.
This sudden turn of events left everyone on the battlefield stunned!
Huo Zai: “…”
He certainly recognized this as the Godel Jammer from the Calamity Control Bureau.
This was a secret weapon that could only be activated with ministerial authorization. No matter how much Zuo Quanzong valued talents, he couldn’t have accomplished this for Ji Mingzhu.
Suddenly, Huo Zai remembered the words Ji Mingzhu said to him days ago when initiating the deal.
“You help me, and it’s like selling me a favor.”
“It’s just using your key to modify a bit of data, a matter of a few minutes.”
Of course, a few minutes wouldn’t be enough.
The ministerial key authorization was encrypted using the Eshelshal encryption method with two hundred and forty-four layers, including a substantial amount of random data interference. Even the top-tier hackers would need at least two days to replicate this key authorization.
Huo Zai couldn’t have imagined that in the few minutes he lent to Ji Mingzhu, Ji Mingzhu had already copied his key authorization and even activated a secret weapon like the Godel Jammer.
Without a doubt, the Calamity Control Bureau would hold him accountable for this. They might even consider him an accomplice of Ji Mingzhu.
Fuck, how did he manage to pull this off?
This was Huo Zai’s first thought.
The second thought that emerged was—fuck, he got played.
Within the affected range of the Godel Jammer, all heavy firepower systems were disabled, but the mechs’ movement capabilities remained unaffected. However, due to the abrupt turn of events, nobody reacted in time.
In this fleeting moment, Ji Mingzhu once again seized the opportunity perfectly.
Phoenix Blink!
The nearly depleted power core crazily operated, and the Phoenix Redeemer disappeared from its original position!
“Oh no…”
Wen Kang had just snapped back to reality when the figure of the Phoenix Redeemer was already gone before him. A streak of red lightning shot up, generating a sonic boom that swept through the surroundings like a hurricane.
Mo Hongyu reflexively tried to fire to intercept but only produced a muted “click” sound.
The Phoenix Redeemer was originally an all-combat assault mech, not relying on any heavy firepower systems. In the situation where the Godel Jammer affected long-range firepower, if the Phoenix Redeemer wanted to leave, no one could stop it!
Everyone watched helplessly as this streak of red lightning leaped into the air, accelerated again in mid-air, and disappeared from sight, like a meteor streaking across the night sky.
“Bang!”
Xie Cang fiercely hammered the table, his expression incredibly unpleasant.
He actually let Ji Mingzhu escape!
“Commander Xie, Minister Xie, we…” a commander timidly spoke up.
Should we pursue?
“Pursue!” Xie Cang roared. “Activate all reconnaissance satellites, track Ji Mingzhu’s movements, notify all members of the Fire Division, guard all exits of Shangjing City, and inform of any abnormalities immediately! Issue a Level 5 wanted order, define Ji Mingzhu as a defector, and implement pursuit and capture!”
“And one more thing.” Xie Cang paused. “Cancel all of Huo Zai’s permissions for me. Issue a wanted order for him as well! Capture Huo Zai!”
…
“Fantastic!”
Yao Guang clenched his fists, excitedly saying, “It worked! He escaped!”
“Yao Guang, help me check the location of the Calamity Control Bureau and plan a route for me to get out.”
Ji Mingzhu sat in the cockpit, loosening his wrist.
Having broken free from the encirclement of the Calamity Control Bureau, the Phoenix Redeemer had less than 4% of its power remaining. However, it was no longer necessary for him to continue fighting. With the remaining power, it was entirely sufficient for him to reach a safe landing point.
“Understood.” Yao Guang quickly responded, operating the light brain while voicing his own questions, “But, when did you get the access permissions… and when did you and Axiu come up with the tactics? I didn’t hear you mention anything before…”
This made him nervous just now.
“Tactics?” Ji Mingzhu raised an eyebrow, “Do we need to plan tactics in advance for such a simple thing? Axiu is much smarter than you think, right?”
“Thank you for your praise,” Axiu said, “It’s just that I’m close to the red.”
Yao Guang: “…”
Axiu’s somewhat playful response made Ji Mingzhu couldn’t help but smile. Following Yao Guang’s route and taking advantage of the cover of the night, he retreated and made a special communication call.
Soon, the communication was answered.
On the other end of the communication, there was an uneven breathing sound, and Ji Mingzhu didn’t speak first.
After a strange few seconds of silence, Bai Weng’s voice came from the communication.
“You’re really lucky, Tian Shu.”
“Thanks for the compliment.” Ji Mingzhu responded with a smile that wasn’t really a smile.
“To be able to make Tian Quan sacrifice himself for you is quite a skill.” Bai Weng slowly said, “Yao Guang was probably rescued by you as well, right? True deep feelings. However, with just you guys, thinking of opposing the Netherworld Organization, it’s a bit too foolish. Tian Quan is just the first. Next, I will kill everyone around you one by one. As for you, I won’t let you die so easily.”
Having confirmed Tian Quan’s death from Bai Weng’s mouth, Ji Mingzhu’s gaze gradually turned cold.
Bai Weng seemed to sense Ji Mingzhu’s anger and let out a pleasant laughter. “Betraying both the Netherworld Organization and the Calamity Control Bureau, I have to say, you’re really bold. Today, you’re lucky, but can you have such good luck all the time?”
“Instead of worrying about me…”
Ji Mingzhu slowly spoke, “You better worry about yourself first.”
Bai Weng was stunned, not understanding Ji Mingzhu’s meaning.
“These days, have something good to eat.” Ji Mingzhu’s tone was chilling, “Your life, I’ll come for it soon.”
Li Li’s sudden entry into the battlefield seemed to bring some opportunities for Ji Mingzhu, but it was far from enough.
This area had been completely sealed off by the Calamity Control Bureau. With Mo Hongyu and Wen Kang, two Titan pilots ready for battle, the remaining power source of Ji Mingzhu’s Phoenix Redeemer was running low. It was challenging to withstand the next round of attacks. Although Li Li had the intention to assist Ji Mingzhu, she couldn’t make it too obvious.
After all, she was still an active-duty Titan pilot. Although she wasn’t under the jurisdiction of the Calamity Control Bureau in Sky City, if she went too far, she might still face repercussions from the Calamity Control Bureau in Yangyuan City.
She admired Ji Mingzhu, so she was willing to do a favor for Zuo Quanzong, the Red Guard Commander. However, if helping Ji Mingzhu jeopardized all her future prospects, Ji Mingzhu was not worth her doing so.
With the destruction of Wei Lan’s mech, Wen Kang and Mo Hongyu focused their attention and began a concentrated attack on the Phoenix Redeemer from two directions. Their goal was not to defeat Ji Mingzhu but to delay time.
As Titan pilots, Wen Kang and Mo Hongyu naturally understood the cost of Ji Mingzhu’s crazy overclocking. With limited remaining power, by cutting off Ji Mingzhu’s retreat and dragging the battle until Ji Mingzhu’s power core was depleted, even with Ji Mingzhu’s extraordinary piloting skills, escape would be impossible.
Yao Guang watched as Ji Mingzhu maneuvered skillfully under the joint attacks, every attack and evasion precise and flawless. It was dazzling, but Yao Guang knew that Ji Mingzhu was in a very dangerous situation.
“Tian Shu!” Yao Guang couldn’t help but feel anxious. “There isn’t much time left!”
Ji Mingzhu didn’t respond. Above, Li Li’s firepower web showed gaps again. Ji Mingzhu seized the opportunity to attempt a breakthrough, but experienced pilots like Mo Hongyu and Wen Kang wouldn’t give him the chance. Wen Kang’s shield blocked the path of the Phoenix Redeemer directly, and with Ji Mingzhu’s energy nearly depleted, he chose not to activate the Phoenix Instant Acceleration.
Dodging Mo Hongyu’s attack with a clever angle, Ji Mingzhu then communicated, “Axiu, are you ready?”
“Of course,” Axiu replied.
Yao Guang listened to their inexplicable conversation, looking completely puzzled.
What did they mean by being ready? Ready for what? Did they have another plan? Wasn’t it discussed with him?
Ji Mingzhu hadn’t communicated with Axiu at all these days. How could they have formulated tactics in advance? Could these two communicate telepathically?
Before Yao Guang could figure it out, Axiu had taken control of the light brain in front of him. A large amount of code rapidly popped up on the light brain. Yao Guang only glanced at it, and the overwhelming amount of garbled code and keys dazzled his eyes. However, he still noticed some clues, and a bold guess emerged in his mind: “…Could it be?”
Axiu controlled the light brain to invade the network, and he was no stranger to it. He had even secretly attempted to enter the Calamity Control Bureau’s control system before the firewall was upgraded.
It was the control system of the Calamity Control Bureau!
But… how was that possible?
This thought flashed through Yao Guang’s mind. The next second, a series of keys had been entered, and Axiu easily breached the control system of the Calamity Control Bureau. Then a series of commands flashed across the light brain screen.
“Humming—”
In the Calamity Control Bureau’s command room, everyone felt a violent tremor.
Initially, they thought it was the aftermath of the battle affecting this place. However, the commanders quickly realized that something was wrong.
This tremor came from underground in the Calamity Control Bureau headquarters!
Xie Cang’s face changed immediately. “What’s happening?!”
The next moment, a commander in the command room exclaimed in horror, “Red Guard Commander… something’s wrong! The Godel Jammer underground… has been activated!!”
As the words fell, everyone’s faces turned pale.
The Godel Jammer, one of the Calamity Control Bureau’s secret weapons, was different from most weapons developed for biological force fields against Aberrations. The Godel Jammer was a major killer specifically designed for mecha firepower, capable of generating a powerful magnetic field in an instant to disrupt the power signal transmission inside mechs.
In simple terms, it could, like an EMP, temporarily disable long-range firepower for mechs within its range.
However, the problem was that only ministers had the authority to activate the Godel Jammer. And in the entire Thunder Division, the only person who could use the Godel Jammer was Zuo Quanzong.
Before they could cast suspicious glances at Zuo Quanzong, the commander shouted again, “We found… it’s Minister Huo Zai’s key authorization!”
Huo Zai?!
Xie Cang’s face turned ugly. “Cancel the launch order immediately!”
Huo Zai had just gone missing, and the Thunder Division had discovered some clues about him. They had temporarily classified Huo Zai as a defector and revoked his position as the Thunder Division minister. However, the appointment and dismissal of ministerial positions required approval from Sky City. It had only been a few hours since these events had unfolded, and they hadn’t had time to cancel Huo Zai’s ministerial key authorization.
Their attention was drawn to Ji Mingzhu, and no one had expected Huo Zai to be causing trouble at this time!
The commanders quickly began their operations to cancel the launch order. However, they soon discovered that they didn’t have the ability to do so. “It’s not working… Commander Hong, someone is disrupting the internal network of the Thunder Division. We can’t cancel the launch!”
Buzzing—
With the commander’s words, at the next moment, the launch platform in front of the Calamity Control Bureau headquarters opened, and a massive warhead appeared. It then shot towards the city center like a swift arrow!
At this moment, on the rooftop of a tall building in the city.
Huo Zai had changed into a different outfit, holding a glass of champagne. From an excellent vantage point, he enjoyed the spectacular mech battle unfolding in the city.
In a way, he admired Ji Mingzhu.
The young man had extremely meticulous and daring thoughts, and his talent in mech piloting was outstanding. Setting aside their positions, Huo Zai was interested in sitting down with Ji Mingzhu for a good chat.
Unfortunately, he didn’t like making deals with humans and detested the feeling of being held at someone’s mercy.
Cracks had appeared on Huo Zai’s arms and face, and his expression had become somewhat stiff. But at this moment, he didn’t care about these details anymore. The identity of the Thunder Division minister was indeed useful, but unfortunately, his shelf life in this skin was limited. Coupled with Ji Mingzhu discovering his secret, he chose to abandon this identity.
Huo Zai raised his champagne glass, toasting towards the distant Phoenix Redeemer. “Farewell, mech pilot Ji Mingzhu.”
Watching the diminishing glow of the power core in the chest of the Phoenix Redeemer, Huo Zai’s smile on his face became more pronounced.
…Buzz!
A piercing sonic boom froze the smile on Huo Zai’s face.
A massive warhead was launched from a distance, exploding at the center of the battlefield!
As if experiencing a power outage, all mech power cores in the battlefield began to flicker, with the mechs responsible for long-range firepower suppression—Li Li and Mo Hongyu—being the most affected. The roaring barrels of their mechs suddenly fell silent.
This sudden turn of events left everyone on the battlefield stunned!
Huo Zai: “…”
He certainly recognized this as the Godel Jammer from the Calamity Control Bureau.
This was a secret weapon that could only be activated with ministerial authorization. No matter how much Zuo Quanzong valued talents, he couldn’t have accomplished this for Ji Mingzhu.
Suddenly, Huo Zai remembered the words Ji Mingzhu said to him days ago when initiating the deal.
“You help me, and it’s like selling me a favor.”
“It’s just using your key to modify a bit of data, a matter of a few minutes.”
Of course, a few minutes wouldn’t be enough.
The ministerial key authorization was encrypted using the Eshelshal encryption method with two hundred and forty-four layers, including a substantial amount of random data interference. Even the top-tier hackers would need at least two days to replicate this key authorization.
Huo Zai couldn’t have imagined that in the few minutes he lent to Ji Mingzhu, Ji Mingzhu had already copied his key authorization and even activated a secret weapon like the Godel Jammer.
Without a doubt, the Calamity Control Bureau would hold him accountable for this. They might even consider him an accomplice of Ji Mingzhu.
Fuck, how did he manage to pull this off?
This was Huo Zai’s first thought.
The second thought that emerged was—fuck, he got played.
Within the affected range of the Godel Jammer, all heavy firepower systems were disabled, but the mechs’ movement capabilities remained unaffected. However, due to the abrupt turn of events, nobody reacted in time.
In this fleeting moment, Ji Mingzhu once again seized the opportunity perfectly.
Phoenix Blink!
The nearly depleted power core crazily operated, and the Phoenix Redeemer disappeared from its original position!
“Oh no…”
Wen Kang had just snapped back to reality when the figure of the Phoenix Redeemer was already gone before him. A streak of red lightning shot up, generating a sonic boom that swept through the surroundings like a hurricane.
Mo Hongyu reflexively tried to fire to intercept but only produced a muted “click” sound.
The Phoenix Redeemer was originally an all-combat assault mech, not relying on any heavy firepower systems. In the situation where the Godel Jammer affected long-range firepower, if the Phoenix Redeemer wanted to leave, no one could stop it!
Everyone watched helplessly as this streak of red lightning leaped into the air, accelerated again in mid-air, and disappeared from sight, like a meteor streaking across the night sky.
“Bang!”
Xie Cang fiercely hammered the table, his expression incredibly unpleasant.
He actually let Ji Mingzhu escape!
“Commander Xie, Minister Xie, we…” a commander timidly spoke up.
Should we pursue?
“Pursue!” Xie Cang roared. “Activate all reconnaissance satellites, track Ji Mingzhu’s movements, notify all members of the Fire Division, guard all exits of Shangjing City, and inform of any abnormalities immediately! Issue a Level 5 wanted order, define Ji Mingzhu as a defector, and implement pursuit and capture!”
“And one more thing.” Xie Cang paused. “Cancel all of Huo Zai’s permissions for me. Issue a wanted order for him as well! Capture Huo Zai!”
…
“Fantastic!”
Yao Guang clenched his fists, excitedly saying, “It worked! He escaped!”
“Yao Guang, help me check the location of the Calamity Control Bureau and plan a route for me to get out.”
Ji Mingzhu sat in the cockpit, loosening his wrist.
Having broken free from the encirclement of the Calamity Control Bureau, the Phoenix Redeemer had less than 4% of its power remaining. However, it was no longer necessary for him to continue fighting. With the remaining power, it was entirely sufficient for him to reach a safe landing point.
“Understood.” Yao Guang quickly responded, operating the light brain while voicing his own questions, “But, when did you get the access permissions… and when did you and Axiu come up with the tactics? I didn’t hear you mention anything before…”
This made him nervous just now.
“Tactics?” Ji Mingzhu raised an eyebrow, “Do we need to plan tactics in advance for such a simple thing? Axiu is much smarter than you think, right?”
“Thank you for your praise,” Axiu said, “It’s just that I’m close to the red.”
Yao Guang: “…”
Axiu’s somewhat playful response made Ji Mingzhu couldn’t help but smile. Following Yao Guang’s route and taking advantage of the cover of the night, he retreated and made a special communication call.
Soon, the communication was answered.
On the other end of the communication, there was an uneven breathing sound, and Ji Mingzhu didn’t speak first.
After a strange few seconds of silence, Bai Weng’s voice came from the communication.
“You’re really lucky, Tian Shu.”
“Thanks for the compliment.” Ji Mingzhu responded with a smile that wasn’t really a smile.
“To be able to make Tian Quan sacrifice himself for you is quite a skill.” Bai Weng slowly said, “Yao Guang was probably rescued by you as well, right? True deep feelings. However, with just you guys, thinking of opposing the Netherworld Organization, it’s a bit too foolish. Tian Quan is just the first. Next, I will kill everyone around you one by one. As for you, I won’t let you die so easily.”
Having confirmed Tian Quan’s death from Bai Weng’s mouth, Ji Mingzhu’s gaze gradually turned cold.
Bai Weng seemed to sense Ji Mingzhu’s anger and let out a pleasant laughter. “Betraying both the Netherworld Organization and the Calamity Control Bureau, I have to say, you’re really bold. Today, you’re lucky, but can you have such good luck all the time?”
“Instead of worrying about me…”
Ji Mingzhu slowly spoke, “You better worry about yourself first.”
Bai Weng was stunned, not understanding Ji Mingzhu’s meaning.
“These days, have something good to eat.” Ji Mingzhu’s tone was chilling, “Your life, I’ll come for it soon.”
