The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

"Magnetic levitation?" Su Mu asked.

Bai Liuxi shook her head: "It's not magnetic levitation. It's anti-gravity. It's a technology from the Seventh World that we copied. The precision is much worse than the original, but it's more stable and less susceptible to attacks from flying monsters."

The drone shuddered violently as soon as he finished speaking.

Ah Qi's fingers flew across the control panel, trying to steady it. But the drone's vibrations grew more and more violent, like an insect being squeezed by an invisible hand, struggling frantically in the air.

"Something is interfering with it..." Before Ah Qi could finish speaking, a dark shadow swooped down from the night sky, so fast that even Su Mu's dynamic vision could only capture a blurry afterimage.

"Bang......!"

The drone exploded in mid-air, scattering debris everywhere. The dark shape changed direction the instant it shattered the drone, veering back at an almost impossible angle and disappearing into the darkness deep within the dark zone.

Ah Qi held up the control panel, his finger hovering over the screen, and froze.

Bai Liuxi raised her head, looking in the direction where the drone crashed, her brows furrowing slightly.

Su Mu followed her gaze. There was nothing in the night sky except for the shattered fragments still slowly falling, shimmering faintly with a metallic sheen in the moonlight.

"What is that?" Su Mu asked.

Bai Liuxi did not answer. She raised her right hand, fingers together, fingertips pointing upwards, and the faint layer of gas condensed again at the edge of her palm. Then she made a feinting strike in the direction where the dark figure had disappeared.

The energy flew out silently.

In the distance, a sharp screech echoed from the darkness. Something fell from the sky, crashing onto the roof across the street, tumbling down the sloping tiles, twitching twice on the ground, and then remaining still.

Su Mu walked over and squatted down to take a look. The creature wasn't large, about the length of an adult's forearm. It was entirely black, with wings as thin as cicada wings. Its head had no eyes, only a round mouthpart covered with fine, sharp teeth. Its body was split in two, the cut as clean as if it had been laser-cut.

【Night Flying Lark (Lv6)】

[Race: Creepy Insect]

【property:???】

[Note: These are unique flying creatures in the Dark Zone, extremely sensitive to electromagnetic signals, and will actively attack any device emitting electromagnetic waves.]

Su Mu stood up and looked at Bai Liuxi.

Bai Liuxi withdrew her hand, glanced at her palm, and then said to A Qi, "Make a note of this. Qi energy is effective against this kind of thing. Ordinary firearms might be ineffective."

Ah Qi nodded and quickly scribbled something on the screen.

Su Mu stared thoughtfully at Bai Liuxi's palm. Normal attacks were ineffective... This meant the flying monster had extremely high resistance to physical damage, perhaps even complete immunity. But Bai Liuxi's "qi energy" didn't fall under the category of physical attacks. What was that layer of gas? Was it some kind of energy? Or some special ability of this world?

He didn't ask. Now is not the time to ask those questions.

The drone crashed, meaning they lost their primary means of searching for the hunters from the air. Ah Qi tried to fill the gap with ground-based monitoring equipment, but it was far less effective. The detection range of the ground equipment was only about half that of the aerial drone, and it was easily affected by buildings, terrain, and even the eerie plants in the dark areas.

"I can't find him." Ah Qi put down the equipment in his hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "That person seems to have vanished into thin air. My equipment doesn't detect any abnormal signals within a 500-meter radius."

Bai Liuxi was silent for a moment, about to say something, when suddenly...

Are you looking for me?

The sound came from all directions—no, not "from all directions," but rather as if something was directly resounding in everyone's minds. The sound was strange, with a metallic, grinding quality that sent chills down everyone's spine.

Su Mu suddenly turned around, summoning his spear from the void and holding it horizontally in front of him.

Bai Liuxi was even faster than him. She had already positioned herself in front of Aqi and Xiaojiu, her hands hanging at her sides with her fingertips pointing downwards, the layer of gas faintly visible at the edge of her palms.

Zhao Cheng gripped the hilt of his Tang sword with his right hand. Old Wei had already raised his shield to his chest.

The four people completed their combat stances in less than half a second.

The owner of the voice emerged from the shadows of the building across the street.

It was a man. Around forty years old, of medium build, wearing a long, dark gray overcoat that reached his calves, fluttering slightly in the night breeze. His hair was long, draped over his shoulders, with a few strands of gray interspersed among it. His features weren't exactly handsome, but he possessed an unforgettable aura... not "strong," not "handsome," but a kind of madness that emanated from his very bones, instilling an instinctive unease in others...

A slight smile played on his lips, but his eyes didn't. There was no emotion in his eyes—not indifference, not anger, not hatred—but something more terrifying than emptiness itself... as if something deep within those eyes had been burned to ashes, leaving nothing behind.

His gaze swept over the four people before settling on Bai Liuxi.

"The Black Kill Squad." His voice wasn't loud, but the metallic quality of his words made each syllable seem to strike the eardrums. "I've heard so much about you."

Bai Liuxi remained silent. Her body leaned slightly forward, like a cheetah poised to pounce. Her light-colored eyes were fixed on the man, the pupils reflecting the trail of his trench coat hem fluttering in the breeze.

The man smiled. It wasn't a smile of kindness or malice, but a pure, heartfelt joy...like a hunter who had finally caught his prey, but instead of rushing to reel it in, he wanted to savor the prey's struggles.

"Don't be nervous." He raised his hand, making a "relax" gesture. "I'm not here to fight today. I just... came to take a look."

His gaze shifted from Bai Liuxi, swept over Lao Wei, Zhao Cheng, and A Qi, and finally landed on Xiao Jiu.

Xiao Jiu's body visibly stiffened. The deep purple petals of the flowerpot in his arms suddenly closed, as if something had contracted in a stress response. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his large, deep brown eyes were fixed on the man, his pupils filled with an emotion Su Mu had never seen before... not fear, but hatred.

The man's gaze lingered on Xiao Jiu for less than half a second before shifting away. He looked at Su Mu, raising an eyebrow slightly, as if examining an interesting object, but said nothing.

"I'm leaving," he said.

Turn around and take a step.