The dim sky was split by a massive Space Rift that stretched all the way to the very edge of the horizon.
It was a giant flying object unlike anything ever seen on Earth—at first glance it resembled a sailing ship, yet it was impossibly massive, cold steel gleaming as it emerged from the sky.
And it wasn't the only one.
Lin Qun stood on the ground, gazing into the distance, and could see the entire sky shimmering.
Stretching across the sky above Modu, a huge number of giant "sailing ships" appeared.
Further away, explosions rang out one after another, firelight merging into a single line at the edge of his vision!
Muffled, thunderous booms sounded everywhere.
Nearby, the Dragon City Imperial Scenery Residential Area had descended into chaos—the crowd that had just been gathered downstairs was now retreating in panic.
"They're here! It's war! It's a Civilization invasion!"
"Run! Run!"
Fan Wenchuan and his group were also retreating. He'd even dragged out the B-rank Talent awakener he had "invited" earlier, begging him to protect everyone!
"Look! One of them is coming straight for us!"
Lin Qun was retreating as well.
The military had arrived, but not at the Dragon City Imperial Scenery Residential Area.
All they had here was a few patrolling police officers!
From the giant "sailing ship" spaceship above their heads, a dense swarm of Silver landing craft now poured out, falling like rain across the ground and blanketing the entire area.
One of them was heading straight toward them!
More text was appearing before Lin Qun's eyes.
【The Bakatan Civilization has achieved priority Landing. Landing regions: Modu, San Diego……】
【The above regions have been locked onto.】
What did it mean, locked onto?
Lin Qun didn't know, and he had no time to think about it, because the projected text on his Retina, which had barely moved for the past several hours, was now scrolling rapidly, more information appearing!
【One of the participating Civilizations: the Feathered Civilization has spent one Million Contribution Points to purchase and use priority Landing rights for this Global Battlefield……】
【One of the participating Civilizations……】
Countless Civilizations, spending Million Contribution Points to land ahead of schedule!
The military had only just entered the city, yet a Legion from another Civilization had already blanketed the whole of Modu!
They had come prepared.
They had long since made ready!
That landing craft moved at tremendous speed, yet it didn't land—it merely skimmed low over the sky above the Dragon City Imperial Scenery Residential Area.
It wasn't large, nor did it carry any weapons. As it skimmed past at low altitude, five heavy Figures dropped straight down and slammed onto the ground.
They were Bakatan people!
Their forms were bizarre in the extreme, over two meters tall, like a fusion of spider and human—the lower half a spider-like Body structure, while the humanoid upper Body stood upright. Each of them wore a mask over its face and carried an enlarged rifle. The moment they landed, they spread out and opened fire wildly in every direction!
It was a thermal weapon similar to the ones humans used.
A few nearby police officers tried to hold them off, but were cut down in an instant.
And they moved with incredible speed, spreading out and advancing at high speed—humans before them were like ants, slaughtered without mercy!
Beneath their masks came excited howls that sounded almost like laughter.
They seemed to be savoring every moment of it.
On Lin Qun's side, everyone's expression turned ghastly pale, all of them wailing and crying as they retreated.
Even those who had awakened abilities—hardly any thought to use them. In the face of blood and death, there was only boundless panic!
One of the Bakatan Lifeforms cut a path straight to the foot of Building Seven, where Lin Qun and the others were.
Fan Wenchuan's group, which had just moments ago seemed like a unified front, completely fell apart the instant real disaster struck. Not one of them listened to Fan Wenchuan's directions—they all jammed together at the entrance, shoving each other, no one able to get through, even shoving Fan Wenchuan himself, whom they'd been fawning over just moments before, out to the edge.
Fan Wenchuan's face had gone pale. He desperately grabbed hold of a young man in black beside him and pleaded frantically, "You're a B-rank Talent awakener! Go! Kill them! I gave you all the Supplies you wanted! Go!"
Watching this, Lin Qun hid behind a flower bed as well, using the stealthy corner to conceal his Figure, not daring to make a sound.
Because that Bakatan Lifeform was already slaughtering its way over, and a few elderly men and women who couldn't run fast enough were mowed down one after another!
Among them were faces Lin Qun recognized—Old Men who used to stroll around downstairs!
They had even greeted Lin Qun on their own before.
But now……
And it was at that moment that someone finally stepped forward.
It was the E-rank Talent awakener who'd just been bragging about himself. He'd found a length of rebar from somewhere, and roared furiously, "Damn it, what's everyone running for? There are so many of us, everyone's got a Talent, and we're still afraid of this piece of trash?! In a Civilization War, everyone's a Warrior—I'm an E-rank Talent, damn it!"
His outburst worked—not a few clear-headed people hadn't been completely swept up by the panic, and they stopped in their tracks, clearly also considering going all out.
The Dragon City Imperial Scenery Residential Area was large, with no shortage of residents, and the five Monsters had spread out—by now almost all of them were isolated.
Rather than wait to be gunned down and slaughtered, banding together to fight back seemed like the wiser choice.
They had numbers!
Lin Qun's pupils contracted as well.
He, too, was thinking of joining the group attack.
Running wasn't a solution—only by striking back while their numbers were strong did they have any chance of survival.
But that Bakatan Civilization creature was still more than ten meters from his position, and his Skill couldn't be activated.
His Body was fragile; there was no way he could be the first to charge in.
Otherwise, before he even got close, it might just gun him down with one shot!
His Skill was an underhanded trick—he needed to wait for someone else to draw the Monster's attention first.
The E-rank was the first to move, and he was smart about it too—he didn't act blindly, but waited for the Opponent to reload before lunging straight at the Monster.
However……
Seeing him lunge forward, the Bakatan Civilization creature simply flung aside the weapon in its hand, reached out with its other hand, and caught the rebar in the young man's grip. Then it extended its other hand.
The gap in strength between them seemed enormous—no matter how desperately the E-rank struggled, he couldn't break free.
And then……
Amid his bone-chilling scream and everyone's horrified stares.
The E-rank was torn clean in half, alive!
Blood sprayed everywhere, entrails scattered across the ground!
The Bakatan Civilization creature's savage grin and howl became the most maddening Shadow looming over everyone's vision.
Everyone……
all wore expressions of pure terror in that instant, retreating without a second thought.
And that Bakatan Civilization creature seemed to relish this slaughter and terror beyond measure. It strode forward, no longer even bothering with its weapon—its strength and Body far exceeded that of humans, able to tear a person apart alive with its bare hands!
Even the E-rank and F-rank Talent awakeners, however much they wanted to resist, stood no chance against it whatsoever.
Even if everyone had a Talent, most were low-rank, and there were no real Combat Personnel here to speak of—just ordinary people.
Having a Talent alone was useless.
On the ground, blood flowed like a river, and panicked screams had utterly shattered the tranquil peace of the Dragon City Imperial Scenery Residential Area.
In the building across the way, the fitness-obsessed man who'd once bragged in his WeChat group about being a D-rank ability holder now stood at the window holding that innocent-looking young woman, staring down at the scene below.
The woman in his arms whispered, "Brother, this Monster is so terrifying. You'll protect me, right? It's not a match for you, is it?"
"Right… it's… not a match for me. If I were down there, I'd have killed it already… but there's no need for us to worry about whether those people down there live or die. We……"
The burly man swallowed hard, and even as he spoke, he was pulling the woman back step by step, retreating into the Shadow, to a spot where the Monster absolutely couldn't see him.
And at this moment, that Bakatan creature's target was exactly the direction where Lin Qun stood—the spot where Fan Wenchuan and the others were.
Because there were far too many people packed together there.
It was the perfect target.
Fan Wenchuan's face had gone bloodless.
He and the people around him desperately shoved the young man in black—who seemed to be the B-rank awakener—out in front.
He……
had become everyone's last hope.
But the young man in black didn't seem nearly as reliable as they'd hoped. The moment he was pushed out, he took one look at the blood-soaked Bakatan Civilization Lifeform, and his liver and gallbladder split from terror—he wanted to run!
Was this some kind of joke? A Monster like this—could he possibly stand against it?
It tore living people apart with its bare hands!
Run, he had to run!
The young man in black spun around to flee, but his legs had gone weak, and his body dropped—he nearly slipped and fell flat on the ground!
He'd gone completely blank with shock.
Panic boiled up—it was instinct.
He nearly screamed aloud.
They were dead, they were all dead!
But what they didn't know—what they couldn't see—was that in the blind spot behind another flower bed, someone else was crouched, staring fixedly at the Monster, just as tense as they were!
It was Lin Qun!
The ten-meter mark had already been crossed.
The Bakatan Civilization creature was now level with the flower bed—less than five meters from Lin Qun in a straight line. However, it hadn't noticed him.
Activating perception prediction……
Lin Qun worried that this Bakatan Civilization creature's Physique might exceed sixteen points!
The result came back……
Headshot possible!
Its Physique was below 16 points!
In that instant, Lin Qun's heart seemed to skip half a beat. Forcing down the nausea from the stench of blood around him, he activated his Skill on the spot!
Lock Down!
Activate!
Everything hinged on this one moment!
……
……