"Ceasefire!"
Seeing that the Great Demon had completely lost its resistance, Zhou Ce hurriedly gave the order.
Every Demon is precious research material, capable of generating a wealth of discoveries. The reason the Human Race has always been at a disadvantage in the wars against alien races is due to insufficient understanding of Demons.
Therefore.
Generally, if there is a chance to capture Demons, killing them is usually not the chosen option.
Now, capturing such a Great Demon and sending it to the lab would be far more valuable than just killing it.
After the ceasefire, the smoke dissipated.
Zhou Ce cautiously led his team closer to the Demon's body, while Baiyu and Xu An remained at a distance on high alert.
Fortunately.
The Great Demon indeed lost all resistance, having been injected with suppressant drugs by the City Guard Army and shackled with various restraining equipment. It was finally loaded onto a massive iron board vehicle and transported to the research facility.
The crowd breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Xu An and Baiyu did not relax.
"Department Head, do you think there's something off about this Demon as well?" Xu An asked quietly.
Baiyu nodded: "It's indeed off. First, this kind of enclosed flying craft makes it difficult for him to emerge unless we open it from the outside. It more resembles a device for exile prisoners.
Secondly, such a Great Demon.
Flying alone into the city is highly suspicious. Breaking through the protective shield proves it entered with immense kinetic energy, obviously not a case of wandering in by accident.
And about the state earlier.
Once detached from the flying craft, it was in a completely berserk state, devoid of any rationality.
Demons have always been known for their cunning and slyness, which only adds to the suspicion."
Baiyu vocalized several points of doubt he had harbored.
Xu An agreed wholeheartedly.
The reason for his unease was precisely the thought that the attack by the Great Demon was not coincidental, but rather premeditated, or had an underlying cause.
As for the specific reason.
Though unknown at present, it certainly isn't benign.
"It's fine, let's wait and see for now."
Baiyu rubbed his brow, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by recent events.
"Stand down, clean the site."
Beside him, Zhou Ce started directing the City Guard Army to clean up the battlefield, as garbage piles surrounded the area, the heavy artillery barrage had already set off bursts of stench.
Once resolved here.
The Anomaly Bureau over there was also gradually repairing the Spirit Array of Mountain City. The cracks in the sky slowly diminished, and the emotional state of the citizens within the city began stabilizing.
Order was swiftly being restored.
With the unrelenting efforts of Security Bureau members, Mountain City was steadily getting back on track.
"Residents, the drill has ended; the Spirit Array in Mountain City is fully repaired. No need to panic."
"Residents, the drill has ended..."
The broadcast of Mountain City sounded again.
Preparing to return the same way, Baiyu and his team were caught off guard when the perpetual broadcast suddenly halted, transforming into a static noise.
Such a change instantly drew everyone's attention.
The sky outside darkened quickly; the No Darkness Realm, which never experienced black night, was now enveloped in a dim and black haze.
Crack...
Sounding like thunder.
Outside Mountain City, a multicolored protective shield rose, with huge energies frantically surging on it.
That darkness, appearing like a fog, was immediately blocked outside by this shield.
This is Mountain City's primary protective shield.
Each second of activation consumes massive energy and isn't opened during non-crucial times.
"Something major has occurred."
Xu An looked at the blackened exterior, face turning ominously dark.
Zhou Ce also realized something grave was amiss.
A member of the City Guard Army quickly ran over, whispered a few words in his ear, and then he swiftly approached Baiyu:
"Department Head, all electrical appliances have been affected; although not malfunctioning, they cannot be used normally.
The black fog outside is the Simulation Realm!"
Actually, without Zhou Ce mentioning it, Baiyu was also aware, given his previous experiences with these phenomena.
Demons and aberrants being able to create Simulation Realms is no longer a secret.
The black fog outside, though different from the one in Zenith City back then, upon closer inspection, carries the unique aura of a Simulation Realm.
Only.
Mountain City's protective shield is formidable enough to block the Simulation Realm outside, preventing its spread.
Unfortunately, this isn't a sustainable solution.
Eventually, energy will deplete, and the core Sanctuary Spirit of Mountain City cannot persist indefinitely.
The Simulation Realm's erosion will ultimately surpass the shield and devour the Shelter.
Moreover.
With even the Simulation Realm appearing, how much longer until the Demon invasion? If not for planning subsequent wars, how could Demons expend effort to create a Simulation Realm?
Creating a Simulation Realm.
For Demons, it also entails significant consumption.
"Department Head, what shall we do now? Minister Qiu and Director He are outside. If a major Demon force attacks, we'll have only the City Guard Army for defense, and power disparity will be immense..."
Xu An watched the outside intently, deeply worried.
Beside him, Zhou Ce frowned: "That's not right. Even if there are Demons, they should be heading towards the main battlefield, not coming to Mountain City.
Not to mention whether they can capture Mountain City.
Even if they could.
The time and effort spent aren't just a matter of one or two days, at least tallying up to months.
Fighting on two fronts, they'd ultimately exhaust themselves."
What Zhou Ce said wasn't unfounded.
But Baiyu recalled the matter of the two major alien race joint armies, suddenly asking: "How's the battle at the front lines nowadays?"
Qiu Yun and He Jin had long ceased updating him.
However, Xu An, as the captain of the Anomaly Bureau, clearly knew a lot about his leadership's current situation.
"Consistently victorious, the Shell People Race troops have already collapsed; the remaining Demon Race army has no resistance capabilities, most have begun retreating, a small fraction is surrounded, unable to escape."
Xu An said.
Since it has always been good news, and the front lines were in pursuit of victory, there wasn't much worthy of reporting separately to Baiyu, the daily Mountain City reports had nearly similar content.
"Speaking of which, the combat effectiveness of these two alien races is surprisingly poor; didn't expect them to crumble like this..."
While Xu An was exclaiming, Baiyu caught his gaze, a cold feeling surged within him; something seemed off.
"How far are they from Mountain City?" Baiyu asked again.
"They're already pursued to the Demon Poison Swamp; traveling from Mountain City to Demon Poison Swamp at full speed requires at least ten days."
Xu An grew increasingly unsettled.
Now, at this moment, he gradually realized, his voice trembling as he said: "Could it be, the target of the alien races and Demons is Mountain City, not the army of the Department head's side? Have the alien races temporarily switched targets?"
"The targets of the alien races and Demons have never changed; they always aimed to capture Mountain City. We've merely been misled.
The two-race joint army is merely bait.
The real deadly strike is the current attack by the Demons!"
As Baiyu's words fell.
The sky filled with countless black specks shooting down like raindrops.
Upon closer examination.
These were all Demon flying crafts!
This is a downpour composed of Demons!
