A girlfriend?
Her?
Mo Chen glanced down at Shifty in his arms.
Her delicate face was pale, her soft body leaning against him like a helpless kitten. She looked young—too young—but undeniably pretty.
Who would have thought this seemingly fragile girl was the one responsible for wiping out over a dozen Raptures outside the maid café?
"Ah, no, no!"
Shifty snapped back to reality, quickly jumping out of Mo Chen's arms. Her cheeks turned crimson with embarrassment as she frantically waved her arms. "I'm not the Commander's girlfriend! A girlfriend? That's way too early!"
Mo Chen: "...Saying it like that is only going to make people misunderstand."
"Huh? No, no! That's not what I meant!"
Noise, watching Shifty panic and Mo Chen's expression of helplessness, couldn't help but smile knowingly.
"Well, who knows, Commander? You might be good at dealing with Raptures, but you're absolutely clueless when it comes to a girl's heart."
Mo Chen: "...?"
Just then, the Ark's alarms blared to life again, their piercing wails echoing like crashing waves through the underground city.
"Emergency! Emergency!"
"A Tyrant-class Rapture has been detected in District 12 of the Ark's western sector! Tyrant-class Rapture! Situation critical! Situation critical!"
Tyrant-class Rapture? District 12?
Isn't that exactly where I am?!
Mo Chen's head shot upward, his eyes scanning the Ark's simulated sky.
A massive explosion erupted above, shaking the air as a projection screen displayed the devastation in vivid detail. Amid falling debris, a colossal boulder, the size of two football fields, dislodged from the Ark's upper structure and began its descent.
Damn it!
Mo Chen's heart sank.
The boulder was made of high-density rock, far beyond what the Ark's particle cannons could destroy. The high-energy beams could only pierce through it but couldn't completely obliterate it.
If it hit the ground, everyone below would be doomed.
There was no time to hesitate.
"Take care of her for me," Mo Chen said, handing Shifty over to Noise.
Before Noise could respond, he had already moved. With a low shout, he leaped to the side, away from them, crouched, and then pushed off with all his strength. The ground beneath him shattered as his body rocketed upward like a missile, heading straight for the falling boulder.
It had to be stopped.
The resulting shockwave from his leap sent the people below staggering backward.
Noise, blown back a few steps, steadied herself and held her windswept hair in place. Ignoring the dust and grit stinging her eyes, she looked anxiously toward the sky.
There, a lone figure hurtled toward the massive boulder.
"Ha—!"
With a loud shout, Mo Chen tensed every muscle in his body. The Blacklight Virus coursing through his cells enhanced his strength, causing his fist to swell to twice its normal size.
Like a drawn bowstring, his arm pulled back, taut and ready to strike.
Reaching its limit.
The moment his fist collided with the boulder, he unleashed all his built-up energy in a single, devastating punch. His fist, carrying unimaginable force, slammed into the rock like a siege hammer designed to shatter fortresses.
"Boom—!"
A thunderous explosion reverberated through the air.
The solid rock cracked like a spiderweb, fissures rapidly spreading outward. In the next instant, the entire boulder shattered with a resounding "Boom!" and fragmented into countless pieces, exploding outward from its center.
Below, the terrified crowd—both humans and Nikkes—stood frozen in place.
This was raw, ultimate power: no flair, no tricks—just pure force.
The massive boulder, broken into smaller chunks by Mo Chen's punch, fell like scattered petals. The stunned onlookers quickly scrambled to avoid the debris, but the danger was already significantly diminished compared to earlier.
"Boom—!"
A figure descended like a meteor, landing heavily on the ground.
As the dust began to settle, Mo Chen's silhouette emerged. He waved his hand to disperse the lingering dust.
Noise hurried over to him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Mo Chen replied casually.
"Good." Noise let out a small sigh of relief, seeing that he was unharmed. Then, with a playful tone, she teased, "I've never seen a human do something like that before. Come on, be honest—did you secretly undergo some sort of body modification?"
Jumping that high and shattering such a massive boulder with his bare hands? Even elite Nikkes couldn't pull that off.
"No," Mo Chen answered honestly. "Why don't you feel for yourself?"
"Oh? Don't mind if I do."
"Wait, you're actually going to check?"
"Didn't you say I could?"
"We're not that close, are we?"
"Well, we can be, starting now."
Mo Chen had only been joking, but he hadn't expected Noise to take him seriously. The girl, a woman of action, reached out with an eager expression.
Her mischievous demeanor was a far cry from the elegant persona she projected during her days as a celebrity.
Mo Chen quickly dodged her, barely escaping her grasp.
Truly, appearances could be deceiving.
"Um… you two…"
A timid voice interrupted them. Mo Chen and Noise both turned to see Shifty standing nearby, her delicate face a shade paler than usual. She pointed toward the sky, her expression filled with fear as though she'd seen something terrifying.
They looked up.
Mo Chen's face darkened.
In the air above where the boulder had fallen, a massive entity loomed. Its body was pitch black, with enormous wings that resembled the skeletal remains of a giant bird. With a wingspan over 100 meters, it soared through the air, blotting out the sky.
It was a Tyrant-class Rapture.
Mo Chen's expression tightened.
Storm Bringer.
Compared to seeing it in a game, witnessing it firsthand was an entirely different experience—it was enormous and utterly terrifying.
The Ark's radar systems had already detected Storm Bringer, triggering the defensive systems immediately.
Turrets adjusted their aim, high-energy particle cannons locked on, and anti-air missiles targeted the Rapture, unleashing a barrage of firepower.
The sheer density of the attacks formed a metallic storm, overwhelming the sky as it surged toward the Rapture.
Noise exhaled a small sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."
After all, even with all their problems, the Ark's defense system wasn't to be underestimated, even against a Tyrant-class Rapture.
However, Mo Chen wasn't as optimistic. Turning to Noise, he said, "Do me a favor and evacuate everyone nearby."
"Evacuate everyone?" Noise was momentarily stunned.
Wasn't that unnecessary?
But seeing his serious expression, she quickly realized he wasn't joking. Without hesitation, she nodded. "Understood."
At that moment, a girl dressed in a cheerleader uniform came running toward them, panting heavily. Her white, lion-like hair was instantly recognizable to Mo Chen.
It was the Nikke he had saved earlier.