In an instant, Cheng Jinyang seemed to have thought of many things, yet it felt like he hadn't thought of anything at all.
The reason he decided to dive down wasn't simply out of impulse or a rush of hot-bloodedness; it was more of an instinctive and subconscious action.
Leaving nothing to chance, aiming for perfection.
Because not a single one could be left behind!
In that moment, he pulled the flight suit's pump with his left hand, his brain rapidly calculating, while his right hand directly unleashed his ability.
Void Trap!
[T/N: I think instead of 'Trapping Void', 'Void Trap' might be more suitable.]
Simultaneously, the drones surrounding him fired the same type of laser as the mechanical dogs, slicing towards him from all directions.
"Heh." Behind the screen, Zhuge Yao once again propped his feet up on the control console.
The power of gravity was indeed strong, but it also had a very obvious drawback: its startup speed was too slow.
Given enough time, he could send the drone swarm directly to the moon. However, if you launched an attack in the short moment before he could activate his ability, the displacement caused by gravity wouldn't even match that of a jet engine.
After all, its acceleration was only 10 meters per second squared.
The distribution of the drones and the laser cutting paths were all pre-programmed, enough to lock down any escape routes.
Considering the unbelievably slow initial speed of gravity, the lasers would have sliced him into seventy or eighty pieces before he could scatter the drone formation with gravity...
Huh?
He suddenly jumped up:
"This is impossible!"
On the screen, the laser net fired by the drone swarm had been torn open by the Void Trap.
Then the opponent narrowly escaped through this gap.
But... Zhuge Yao quickly began operating the console.
There shouldn't have been a gap in the original program!
Then, a large graffiti mask smiley face suddenly popped up on the screen.
"Shit!" He finally realized: someone had hacked into the defense system and disrupted the drone flight paths!
"Xie Yongye!" Zhuge Yao quickly drew his gun and shot several rounds at the server, damaging the hard drives, then rushed towards the balcony, "The system has been hacked! My defenses won't hold them off for long, we need to retreat!"
"Got it." On the balcony, Xie Yongye placed his hand on Zhuge Yao's shoulder, and the two began to ascend simultaneously.
The Fufeng Xie family possesses a unique bloodline ability called "Pressure Modulation." By influencing the directional motion of a large number of gas molecules to a certain extent, they can achieve targeted regulation of air pressure.
By creating pressure differences at various points on the body's surface, they can generate buoyant force that counteracts gravity, allowing for free flight. This method is algorithmically more complex than the universal law of gravitation and doesn't provide continuous acceleration, but it lacks the disadvantage of an initial slow speed.
As the two flew towards the southwest, Cheng Jinyang, who had narrowly escaped from below, was about to give chase when a loud explosion suddenly rang out in the distance.
Immediately afterward, everyone was horrified to discover that the spiritual shield covering Wujiang Town and Pukou District had mysteriously vanished.
....
"How could this happen?"
The crowd stared at the sky in disbelief, even the two who had been fleeing were now too shocked to care.
Zheng Qiupei stood there dumbfounded, unable to fathom what might have gone wrong with her uncle who was maintaining the force field shield.
However, Cheng Jinyang and Xing Yuanzhi quickly realized that since the spiritual shield had vanished, the Cheng and Xing family estates in Pukou District would soon be exposed to the onslaught of the Longxiang Army.
"Everyone, head back to our family estates to check the situation!" Cheng Jinyang quickly said. "Qingwan, the Longxi Li family estate is in the southern part of Jiangning District, the farthest from here. Please escort Wanrou, Jinqi, and Wangshu back to the estate."
"Qingqing, sister Xiaopei, your family estates are at Zhongshan and the eastern foot of Zhongshan respectively. Please go together along the Yangtze River and avoid the downtown areas!"
"Yuanzhi, we're heading back to our family estate in Pukou District!"
No one raised any objections to Cheng Jinyang's arrangement, so they immediately split into three groups, each anxiously heading back to their estates to check the situation.
Passing through Wujiang Town and heading with Yuanzhi towards Pukou District, they saw a dark mass of birds flying overhead.
No, not birds, but military drones launched from the Jingwei-class mothership!
Their targets were the garrison in Pukou District and the main hall of the Tianluo headquarters!
Arriving at the Cheng and Xing family estates, they saw the surroundings already engulfed in the chaos of war. Amidst the thunderous and continuous sounds of gunfire and explosions, drones kept bursting into fireballs and crashing down.
The situation inside the estates was unclear, but it was obvious that it wouldn't be good.
The Tianluo assassins excelled in special missions such as infiltration, stealth, and assassination. Engaging in direct frontal combat on such a battlefield was highly disadvantageous.
Especially when the opponents were killing machines that could be replenished anytime through production lines...
Scanning the battlefield quickly, Cheng Jinyang suddenly noticed a familiar figure.
"Cousin!"
"What are you..." Cheng Huaiyan, who had just taken down a drone, turned and saw Cheng Jinyang. His expression changed drastically. "Get back to the estate for shelter!"
"Okay!" Cheng Jinyang also knew that he and Ah Zhi, being just barely at the eighth grade, couldn't contribute much on such an intense battlefield. They quickly rushed towards the estate.
Arriving at the family compound, he saw that the place was filled with armed clansmen.
His cousin, Cheng Yuexian, was in the courtyard with several other women, placing the bodies brought from the front lines together in a central location.
"Jinyang?" She looked up and, upon seeing that it was Cheng Jinyang, breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped the blood from her face with her sleeve. "Thank goodness, Grandpa has been sending people to look for you."
"I'm fine," Cheng Jinyang quickly said. "Our family..."
"This attack came too suddenly, and no one was prepared," Cheng Yuexian said sadly. "Agents from the Longxiang Army blew up the spiritual field relay station at Lushui Bay, causing the entire Pukou District to lose its shield defenses."
"But luckily," she smiled again, "even though the Longxiang Army's military drones are numerous, our Shendu Cheng family is an old and established clan. We won't be brought down by just one swarm attack. You should go to Chongben Hall; Grandpa probably has another task for you."
She opened her arms and gave him a comforting hug, then pushed him to indicate he should leave.
After they walked a short distance, Xing Yuanzhi said worriedly, "Is everything really okay?"
Just now, she had counted the number of bodies on the ground and realized the situation was dire.
If all the dead were combat personnel and high-ranking supernaturals, even if they survived this attack, the Shendu Cheng family would be severely weakened.
The Hejian Xing family had always been allies with the Shendu Cheng family, often joining forces during wartime. Now that the Shendu Cheng family was in such a dire state, the Hejian Xing family was likely not faring much better.
However, Cheng Jinyang didn't answer. He simply opened his palm and unfolded the piece of paper—during the hug, his cousin Cheng Yuexian had secretly slipped it into his hand.
Xing Yuanzhi leaned over to read it, her face instantly turning pale.
There was only a brief message on the paper:
"The situation is critical; both clans are beyond saving. Quickly go to Chongben Hall and use the underground network to escape!"