aircannonsinc Chapter 60 Wings of Steel
Chapter 60 Wings of Steel
On the first floor, Xu Mo was immersed in the Thirteen Bodyguards' external training, his blood and qi flowing slowly through his body, tempering his skin, muscles, and bones. With each stance and each exertion of force, Xu Mo, now at the Bull Skin Realm, could more clearly feel the subtle changes within his body. This tangible sense of becoming stronger was his greatest comfort and reliance in the Eternal Night.
However, just as Xu Mo was calming his mind and focusing on the circulation of qi and blood in his body, a very faint sound, which did not belong to this dead and silent world, broke his concentration like a stone thrown into an ancient well.
hum-
It was a deep, distant rumble, as if coming from the horizon, or like muffled thunder from the depths of the earth. At first, it was extremely subtle; if Xu Mo hadn't broken through to the Bullhide Realm and greatly enhanced his perception, he would have been almost unable to detect it.
Xu Mo immediately calmed his mind and listened intently.
The roaring sound didn't disappear; instead, it gradually intensified at a steady pace, approaching from afar. The source of the sound seemed to be high in the sky?
This unique, continuous, rhythmic rumble stirred fragments of memories from the depths of Xu Mo's mind, memories of the civilized era. It was a long-lost sound, representing the pinnacle of human industrial civilization!
"Is that an engine sound? The sound of an airplane engine?!" Xu Mo's heart skipped a beat as a word he had almost forgotten jumped into his mind.
He could no longer remain calm. Like a cheetah, he rushed out of the training room, taking several steps at once, and sprinted up the stairs to the rooftop at top speed.
A biting wind instantly enveloped Xu Mo, the inky black sky still shrouding everything like a giant velvet cloth. But at this moment, Xu Mo completely ignored the piercing cold and oppressive darkness; his gaze urgently swept towards the direction from which the sound came—that incomparably deep night sky!
"Found it!"
Above that inky black sky, which seemed to absorb all light, several... no, several groups of faint yet determined points of light were moving at high speed. They were arranged in a specific formation, like constellations in the night sky, yet they possessed unparalleled dynamic power.
The points of light were not static; they were flashing rhythmically, red, white, green… as if silently proclaiming their identity and declaring that they were the masters of this dark sky at this moment.
Xu Mo held his breath, his heart pounding uncontrollably. He tilted his head back, trying hard to make out what was going on.
One group, two groups, three groups...
Xu Mo counted carefully and found that there were as many as nine groups of rapidly moving, flashing lights.
"What the hell..." Even with Xu Mo's current composure, he couldn't help but curse in his mind, his shock overflowing. "It's a formation of bombers, and judging from the formation and lighting, there are fighter jets escorting them."
Based on the size, flashing frequency, and relative position of the lights, Xu Mo quickly made a judgment. It was a mixed formation, with five larger bombers and four more agile fighters escorting them on the flanks. They were flying with unstoppable momentum towards a predetermined direction, and that direction, combined with the distress signal heard a few hours earlier, was self-evident—
Rock Shelter!
These steel wings came from the direction of Jiangcheng! They were sent by the Jiangcheng Shelter!
"It's only been a few hours since we heard the distress broadcast from the Rock Shelter," Xu Mo remarked.
Xu Mo stood on the rooftop, oblivious to the cold wind ruffling his clothes. His gaze followed the receding, shimmering lights, a storm raging within him.
Xu Mo had guessed that the Jiangcheng Shelter must possess considerable power, as evidenced by its ability to maintain broadcasts and disseminate authoritative information. However, he never imagined its power level would reach such an extent!
In the face of the apocalypse, extreme weather, rampant zombies and mutated beasts, and the collapse of order, Jiangcheng Shelter not only maintained its operation but also managed to organize a complete air force, dispatching strategic-level bomber formations to carry out long-range support missions.
What kind of massive resource reserves, logistical support, organizational capacity, and technical maintenance capabilities are required? This represents a massive entity that, even in the apocalypse, still retains a significant portion of its core industrial strength and military projection capabilities.
"Jiangcheng Shelter is awesome!" Xu Mo muttered to himself, his tone filled with indescribable complex emotions. There was shock, emotion, and even a strange sense of relief? Although he chose to travel alone, knowing that the flame of human civilization had not been completely extinguished, and that there was still such a powerful force trying to maintain order and fight against disaster, this feeling was completely different from the state of mind he had when facing endless darkness and unknown threats alone.
At the same time, Xu Mo also gained a clearer understanding of the nature of the Rock Shelter. If Rock Shelter possessed power of the same level, it would not have been nearly half-destroyed in its first attack and would have needed to seek outside help.
It seems that Rock Shelter was more likely a large stronghold spontaneously formed by a large number of survivors in the early stages of the apocalypse. It may have had considerable manpower and some fortifications, and may have even figured out a survival model, but its organizational structure, discipline, and advanced weaponry are qualitatively inferior to shelters like Jiangcheng, which clearly inherited some of the power of the former state.
This relatively loose organizational structure may be effective in dealing with conventional threats, but its vulnerability is exposed when faced with complex and unconventional crises such as the internal chaos caused by the eternal night's encroachment combined with an external beast tide.
Xu Mo watched as the nine sets of flashing lights streaked across the inky sky like resolute stars, finally disappearing into the distant darkness before slowly withdrawing his gaze.
On the rooftop, only the howling wind and his own heartbeat remained.
Xu Mo took a deep breath of the cold air, suppressing his turbulent emotions. The appearance of the bomber formation was like a shot in the arm, but also like a mirror.
The ordeal at Rock Shelter serves as a stark reminder that in the face of a real crisis, you can only rely on yourself.
Jiangcheng can send bombers to support Panshi, but what if a similar crisis were to occur in their lonely shelter? Would anyone come to their aid?
The answer is obviously no.
"Ultimately, it still comes down to having enough power of one's own." Xu Mo clenched his fist, feeling the abundant blood and qi and the tough skin brought by the Bullhide Realm, but this was still far from enough.
The bombers can deal with the beast horde on the outskirts of the rock, and perhaps destroy some powerful mutants, but can they dispel the eternal night? Can they eradicate the darkness's erosion of the mind? Can they ensure that every survivor can rest easy in the days to come?
Obviously not.
Ultimately, the answer still lies in the evolution and strength of individual lives.
Xu Mo turned around and walked down the rooftop without hesitation back to the training room on the first floor. The outside world was still dark, and the battle in the distance was irrelevant to him. All he could do, and all he had to do, was to seize every minute and second to improve himself.
With the strategic military support sent by Jiang Cheng, the crisis of Pan Shi's fall is likely to be resolved; the only remaining issues are the extent of the damage and reconstruction. However, this does not mean the threat has disappeared. The darkness of the Eternal Night continues to encroach, and mutated beasts still lurk in the shadows. He cannot afford to be complacent in the slightest.
Suppressing all his shock, emotions, and thoughts, Xu Mo resumed the stance of the Thirteen Bodyguards' external martial arts. He focused his mind on his body, guiding his qi and blood, cleansing and tempering his muscles, bones, and skin again and again.
In the training room, only Xu Mo's long, powerful breaths and the barely perceptible humming sound from his internal energy circulation could be heard. The LED lights shone on him, and the pale yellow glow beneath his skin flickered as he circulated his energy, as if silently fighting against the eternal darkness outside the window.
The steel wings that swept overhead were the afterglow of civilization's power; but the surging blood and qi within his body and the ever-strengthening physique truly belonged to Xu Mo.