The members of the Jia family in the house were busy organizing their belongings, while Jia Yan was contemplating on the rooftop.
His greatest reliance now was not strength, nor flight speed.
It was defense!
Especially the azure defense, which granted him survival capabilities far beyond other aspects!
However, his lack of diverse attack methods still made Jia Yan appear relatively weak. His current offensive ability was mainly close-range combat. This method of attack was not very effective against current opponents like the metal monsters. They could use their red light attacks before Jia Yan got close to them. Even if he did, they could use self-destruction to thwart his attempts.
Therefore, Jia Yan urgently desired a long-range attack method.
It didn't have to be as powerful as close-range attacks; just something to confuse the enemy would suffice. So Jia Yan began to contemplate.
Given his strong physical attributes, he believed he could find his own long-range attack method. At worst, he could simply throw a stone at high speed during flight, which would still be a significantly powerful attack!
After all, a stone thrown at supersonic speed would be almost as fast as a bullet.
However, the accuracy of such attacks was questionable, not to mention a series of other issues. The biggest problem was that while this idea seemed good, it didn't pose much threat to the metal monsters!
Jia Yan pondered for a moment and abandoned this simple idea of breaking the sound barrier with stones.
But just then, he suddenly associated something with the words 'small stone'!
"The greyish-blue pebble is an important core of those metal monsters, and even after they die, it doesn't become useless. This thing is still attractive to me; obviously, it possesses some energy! No, perhaps it's not just some energy!"
Thinking back to a scene he had witnessed earlier, Jia Yan's eyes lit up with excitement!
He retrieved his notebook from his bag and took out a plastic bag containing the greyish-blue pebbles, pouring one out.
This greyish-blue pebble had a faint blue color overall, with some azure hues mixed in. This color reminded Jia Yan of his own azure defense.
It was this characteristic that made Jia Yan particularly interested in the greyish-blue pebble. And the one he took out seemed to have more azure color than the others!
The azure on its surface was quite noticeable, but what was unique about it was the azure areas that seemed like cracks on the greyish-blue surface.
These must be related to the azure substance on his body. Jia Yan looked at the pebble with a hint of anticipation. The more azure the color of the pebble, the stronger his desire grew. And this pebble before him had already turned his desire into a tangible force that he had to forcibly suppress to control his urge to devour it.
Now was not the time for consumption; he needed to study this greyish-blue pebble.
"Let's make a hypothesis first. If this greyish-blue pebble is indeed related to my azure defense, then it must possess some kind of energy. Moreover, it appears to be crucial in the cores of the metal monsters. So, could it be their energy source?" Jia Yan analyzed in his mind.
This analysis seemed reasonable to Jia Yan, but there were also many unreasonable aspects!
For instance, if this pebble was truly an energy source, why would the metal monsters leave it behind after their destruction, instead of destroying what appeared to be an important energy source along with themselves?
Unless it was something beyond the capabilities of conventional supersonic attacks like Jia Yan's, he couldn't believe that the metal monsters couldn't accomplish this.
"I dare to speculate that they are the energy source of the metal monsters, and there's a reason for it!" Jia Yan continued his analysis.
"That reason being, when the metal monsters self-destruct, not a single trace of these greyish-blue pebbles is left behind. Either the pebbles are completely vaporized by the explosion's energy, or they are the energy source of the metal monsters, and they burst open directly during self-destruction, depleting their energy, leaving no trace."
"Moreover, this greyish-blue pebble seems to possess a unique characteristic. I witnessed it during the previous battle... But these are just my speculations. To verify whether they're correct or not..."
"I'll have to test it!"
Jia Yan's compound eyes gleamed with a faint light.
He wasn't sure if his half-baked hypothesis was correct, but that didn't matter much. Whether this greyish-blue pebble possessed strong energy or had the characteristics he speculated about, he would know after testing it!
Standing on the rooftop of his home, Jia Yan watched as his busy family members below seemed exhausted from their frantic efforts. After almost finishing their preparations, they each went to rest.
Jia Yan held the greyish-blue pebble in his hand as his wings spread out.
Quietly, he took flight, clutching the pebble in his forefoot, disappearing into the depths of the early morning!
At this time, Tan City should have been a silent night.
But the streets of Tan City were now filled with evacuees from other places.
Some had fled from nearby cities, while others had come from far away. After all, the attacks by the metal monsters on cities had been erratic, and their formidable combat prowess posed a significant threat. Some cities had heard rumors of metal monsters appearing hundreds of kilometers away, only to be attacked by one or two hundred of them the next day. Even this small number of marauding metal monsters could determine the fate of a city!
They attacked indiscriminately, and no level of armed resistance could stop them!
Therefore, the survivors of these cities became refugees, seeking shelter in various parts of the country.
Of course, luck played a part. In reality, only a small fraction of cities in Huaxia had been attacked. But even so, the situation was dire.
At least fifty cities in Huaxia had fallen!
Was this a lot? Compared to the vast number of over five thousand cities at or above the county level in Huaxia, it wasn't much!
But it was still significant!
The residents of more than fifty cities had become displaced, some managing to flee to relatives' homes, while many others, with nowhere to go and no possessions, suffered hunger and starvation. The number of refugees reached into the millions!
The consequences of millions of refugees were catastrophic for Huaxia!
At this moment, Jia Yan was flying over Tan City, a city on the brink of disaster. Its residents had heard news of battles outside the city, and they were all extremely nervous. Those with more experience in fleeing had already packed their bags.
People believed that the first wave of metal monster attacks had arrived, and the next attack would follow soon. They didn't believe in the so-called giant mosquito monster helping the humans of this city. Therefore, preparing to escape as soon as possible seemed like the best option!
Just like the Jia family, many old residents had packed their bags. For the sake of their lives, they had no choice but to abandon the homes they had worked so hard to build.
Jia Yan looked down at the scene below, sighing deeply in his heart.
The suffering of the people during disasters was indescribable.
There are too many stories among them.
But Jia Yan wouldn't worry about all that. All he could do was take care of his own family.
Even the large figure of the mosquito was noticed by a few humans pointing towards the sky, but by the time others looked, the massive silhouette had already vanished into the night!
In the early hours of the morning, the moon hid behind the clouds!
Jia Yan's figure was barely discernible in the darkness!
However, he hadn't flown far. With Tangcheng in turmoil, there were too many dangers threatening his family, so he naturally wouldn't venture too far.
He arrived at a mountain not too far from the city, in an area that was desolate due to excessive deforestation. There wasn't a soul around, and even with his thermal detection ability, Jia Yan couldn't spot any human presence.
So he took out the grayish-blue pebble he had brought with him. It still emitted a faint glow, oblivious to what would happen to it next!
At that moment, Jia Yan's wings swiftly propelled him forward.
In no time, he reached a speed of about 500 kilometers per hour!
Don't underestimate this speed; although it might not match Jia Yan's current maximum speed, it was still quite remarkable.
A stone thrown at this speed wasn't much different from a bullet in terms of kinetic energy!
In the air, Jia Yan's eyes focused on a barren mountain below, almost devoid of trees—a result of excessive deforestation.
He vaguely remembered his mother taking him and his siblings to pick wild vegetables here when they were young. Back then, this area was as lush as any forest, but now it had become bare.
However, it served as a perfect testing ground!
Whether his conjecture could be verified depended on now!
Swish!
When Jia Yan's speed reached around 500 kilometers per hour, he threw the grayish-blue pebble from his foot!
Swish, swish!
The pebble, accompanied by a fierce rush of wind, flew towards the ground!
In no time, it was almost invisible!
Jia Yan's compound eyes shimmered with anticipation as he watched the pebble fall.
"Whether my conjecture can be proven depends on now!"
There was a slight anticipation in his heart.