Chapter 383 - 381: Sudden Arrival and a Race Against Time

The collision of the worlds happened far sooner than anticipated, catching Earth at an incredibly inopportune moment.

To make matters worse, communications failed at this critical juncture.

The collision of the two worlds triggered a violent reaction. The points of contact were numerous and could appear anywhere.

In orbit, numerous Artificial Satellites were either sucked into the other world through cracks in the World Wall or destroyed by the Outer World's atmospheric currents and debris.

In the Special Security Team's tactical hall, Tao Xingzhi nearly bit through the cigarette in his mouth, his fist clenched tightly in his pocket.

His most capable subordinates had been dispatched immediately. Their first priority was to confirm the status of several key locations in the Capital.

It was all too sudden. They had thought there was at least another month, never expecting it to happen so abruptly.

Due to the communication failures, they were in the dark about the current situation in most areas.

In that brief period of just over a minute, numerous satellites had already been confirmed destroyed.

Aside from those scrambling to contact and locate signals from the remaining satellites, many of the technicians in the hall were looking to Tao Xingzhi.

The man everyone saw as their pillar of strength spat out the cigarette. He slowly unclenched the fist in his pocket and brought his hand out. His face was tense, but free of sweat. His calm and collected demeanor did much to steady the nerves of the technicians.

He turned to the tactical staff gathered around the electronic display behind him.

"How many of our troops are currently assembled?"

A Special Security Team staff officer immediately reported.

"As of ten minutes ago, we had five million troops spread across the country assisting with the Winter Stockpile Initiative. Four million troops are at key deployment positions for the City-Defense Perimeter Project. Over three million more are on standby, ready to be deployed at a moment's notice! And we have another seven million new recruits and reservists currently in training."

At that moment, everyone in the room was grateful for the immense military mobilization capacity afforded by Hua Country's massive population. Twelve million well-trained, active-duty Soldiers and seven million new recruits undergoing training constituted a formidable military force that could not be ignored.

Tao Xingzhi's expression remained unchanged as he took in the nervous, sweating faces of his staff.

He turned to the technicians at the consoles flanking the large screen behind him.

"List all locations that lost communication in the last few minutes, ranked by severity. I want that report in ten minutes! Move!"

"Yes, sir!" "Yes, sir!"...

Understanding dawned on many in the tactical hall. The technicians' fingers flew across their keyboards, pulling up and compiling previous logs.

Without needing another word from Tao Xingzhi, the tactical staff understood his intent and began marking up the electronic maps.

Tao Xingzhi pulled the Sound Transmission Flower Seeds from his pocket.

With communications down, dispatching runners to deliver reinforcement orders to the troops on standby was one option. However, Dawn's ability to move elusively across the country was undoubtedly a more efficient channel.

He closed his eyes for a moment.

'But before that, it all depends on the initiative of our front-line commanders!'

Meanwhile, at the Dawn Association, while a sense of unavoidable tension gripped everyone, no one was more frustrated than the twin brothers.

Electronic communications and the internet had taken a fatal blow from the earthquakes and the world collision, effectively halving their power. Master Sage had clearly recognized the impact this would have on humanity, and his orders to them were to find a way to reestablish the networks.

...

Qin Xiaoxia stared at the sky, his brow furrowed. By now, even without the Holy Spirit's power, any Magic Creature or being with sufficiently strong Soul Power could clearly see the other world, tinged with a faint, dark red.

He had no idea what it was, or how vast it might be.

Doudou and a now fully-furred Gou Dandan watched the sky nervously from the rooftop nest.

Su Su and her husband, Gou Junbao, weren't here. The Red Demoness emerged from the river and landed behind Qin Xiaoxia. Mumu slowly rose from beneath the earth of the Crystal Forest it guarded, and the Holy Spirit's light pulsed erratically.

A special black Sound Transmission Flower Seed appeared in Qin Xiaoxia's hand, its Magic Patterns faintly glowing green.

"To all Dawn Members: The invading world contains a large number of unidentified Magic Power fluctuations. Do not rashly expose the Secret Realms. You have permission to prioritize retrieving your family and friends and bringing them to the nearest Association Secret Realm."

"Also, help others where you can! And stay safe!"

Although Qin Xiaoxia had no family of his own out there, he could certainly understand the others' anxiety. Some of the Dawn Members' friends and family were with the Dawn Association, but others were just ordinary, unsuspecting people.

Most of them couldn't live inside a Secret Realm long-term.

The premature collision hadn't just thrown the world's governments into disarray; it had also left the Dawn Association scrambling.

"Master Sage, what about us?"

The Holy Spirit's voice echoed in his mind.

"We can't reveal our trump cards when we don't even know who the enemy is."

Qin Xiaoxia closed his eyes for two seconds. When he opened them again, they shimmered with a purple, star-like light.

"However, we can't let this riffraff defile our world as they please. Use the Secret Realm as a staging ground. Let the purge begin."

The Red Demoness glanced toward a corner of the Secret Realm.

With a flick of her slender finger, the Secret Realm Wall expanded rapidly in that direction like a soap bubble, encompassing a kilometer of space in the blink of an eye.

"Come on in!"

As her melodious whisper faded, a dozen strange creatures—each over two meters tall, resembling bloated lizards with flailing tentacles—were dragged directly into the Secret Realm.

SWISH SWISH SWISH~~~

Countless Demon Vines erupted from the ground, instantly enveloping the monsters before they could react.

"ROAR..."

The impenetrable Demon Vines tightened relentlessly. In just over ten seconds, the struggles and roars faded, and dark red juices began to ooze from the gaps between the vines.

Qin Xiaoxia's gaze swept over the dead monsters, using his Perception to sense their power and Abilities. Even if they showed no Magic Power reaction, he wouldn't underestimate them.

'The tremors in Qingzhen hadn't been severe, yet Demons had appeared. Was it random, or has a contact point opened up here?'

"Let's start here, on our own doorstep."

Even with the Dawn Association's explosive growth over the past two years, its membership was still shy of ten thousand. They couldn't possibly establish control on a global scale immediately. But as a concentration of powerful individuals, they were a strategic force that couldn't be ignored.

Just then, several Sound Transmission Flowers shrank, signaling incoming messages. They were mainly from the various nations of the World Alliance, including a request for countermeasures from Tao Xingzhi.

...

Compared to the outward calm but inner turmoil at the special agencies of the World Alliance and at Dawn Headquarters, the regions across the globe first caught in the rifts of the crumbling World Wall were instantly plunged into a bloody struggle of invasion and resistance.

In a corner of Hua Country's Yang City, countless people fled from their buildings during the earthquake, running blindly in panic.

"Zhenyu~~ Zhenyu!! Where are you?"

A young woman, carrying a backpack full of food, had been separated from her husband and child in the crush of people as she escaped a crowded stairwell.

She was surrounded by a terrified crowd.

RUMBLE...

In the distance, a residential building collapsed with a deafening crash, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Zhenyu... Sweetie!! Where are you... Ah..."

"Here, we're over here!!"

Her husband, holding their two-year-old daughter, fought his way through the crowd to reach her.

He looked around in a panic. In their residential complex alone, two buildings had collapsed.

The earthquake they had just endured was a nightmare, both in its suddenness and its intensity.

"Help me... My parents are still inside... Help me!!!"

"Quick, pull her back! That building's about to collapse!!"

...

Screaming crowds were everywhere, some crying before the rubble of collapsed buildings, others fleeing from structures that were still teetering.

The terrified survivors had just lived through a nightmare, but they didn't know it was only the beginning.

"ROAR~~~" "Aaah~~ ooh~~~ hel... help... ooh~~

A roar and a bizarre, intermittent cry, like a parrot mimicking human speech, suddenly cut through the chaos.

The hair on the husband's arms stood on end as a wave of terror washed over him.

He and his wife checked the Special Security Team's website daily, so they subconsciously understood the real cause of the earthquake and guessed the source of the sounds.

Breathing heavily, the crowd looked toward the source of the sound. On a collapsed building nearby, a dozen camel-sized monsters had appeared. They had long antennae on their heads, bodies like bloated lizards, and tails that writhed like disgusting worms.

'Damn it! Weren't the earthquakes supposed to be minor? Didn't they say we had at least another month? Where's the army? Where are they?'

'A dozen... two dozen... there are more and more of them!'

"AAGH!"

A blood-soaked man crawled from the rubble. The moment he emerged, a monster's tentacle wrapped around him and flung him into the air with a terrified scream.

CRUNCH! Two nearby monsters fought over the body, tearing it to pieces. Blood sprayed everywhere as if from a ruptured waterskin.

"AAGH..."

A small organ on one of the monster's tentacles suddenly opened, and it emitted a cry almost identical to the man's dying scream.

A cold sweat broke out across the crowd as their faces turned pale, a chilling sensation crawling up their spines.

"There are more and more of them..."

An older man in glasses whispered to those around him.

It was unclear if these monsters from the Otherworld were observing the crowd or waiting for reinforcements, so they held back for the moment. But the situation was growing more perilous by the second.

Unarmed and with their families in tow, they were no match for these creatures.

"RUN!!!" "RUN FOR IT!!!"

A large man roared, grabbing his wife and making the first break for the complex exit.

As if on cue, the crowd broke into a chaotic stampede, scattering in all directions.

And just as predators instinctively chase fleeing prey, the invading monsters from the Otherworld lunged at the nearest humans.

...

As a second-tier city, Yang City not only had its own reaction force, but a garrison for the City-Defense Perimeter Project was also stationed on its outskirts.

However, an area just west of the city had been the epicenter, and the massive quake had violently shaken the entire region. Caught in such a tremor and with communications cut, the military's response was inevitably delayed.

Many of the Soldiers in the barracks were also covered in dust and disoriented.

The regimental commander, a lieutenant colonel, was struck by a falling bookshelf, but his sturdy build allowed him to struggle quickly back to his feet.

The barracks were built to be durable, capable of serving as fortresses in a crisis. So, despite being near the West City District, not a single building in their regiment's camp had collapsed.

VROOOM~ VROOOOM~~~

A motorcycle carrying two Soldiers sped into the barracks.

"Urgent orders from Division Command! Urgent orders from Division Command! All personnel of the Second Regiment are to advance on the West City District and engage the enemy! Immediately!!"

'Engage the enemy? They're here!?'

The commander rushed out of his office, shaking his aching arm, and bellowed across the camp.

"Fall in! Fall in!! Anyone who can still move, get your asses out here and form up! Check your vehicles, grab your weapons and ammo! Move, move, move!!"

In the initial stages of the worlds' collision, in the numerous phase-one contact zones, everything was going against Earth. It was merely the probing stage, yet humanity had to fight for every second to react.

PS: Monday's second chapter.