People from every district surged toward the base gates.
The guards shouted from the sides, "Don't run, don't run! Watch your step, you'll cause a stampede! We can handle these things, stop running already!"
But no one listened. Feet pounded the ground, everyone rushing for the gates.
The base's ability users were fighting back against the mutated creatures. Whether they could actually hold the line, no one knew.
In the school district, when the smaller creatures appeared, Lan Jin couldn't do much. But the moment the bigger ones showed up, she instantly became the main force. One crack of lightning, and those creatures collapsed, twitching and unmoving.
Once most of the school's monsters were taken care of, she couldn't help but look toward the chaos outside. Captain Zhang's walkie-talkie buzzed nonstop with desperate requests for backup. He wanted to go, but for the base, the kids mattered most. "Focus on the children first. And we need to figure out where these things are coming from. Once that's handled, then we'll help outside," he said.
Huang Jinghe frowned. "Remember the forest paintings? Mutant creatures can walk straight out of them. Has the base confirmed if that's what's happening here?"
They hadn't. Captain Zhang replied, "We checked everyone's luggage when they entered A City Base. There weren't any paintings like that hidden."
Ling Jiang spoke up. "But what if someone painted it on the spot? They wouldn't need to prepare. Just find a wall and draw. If we track down where the painting is and destroy it, the monsters should stop flooding out, right?"
"Exactly." Captain Zhang grabbed his radio and spread the intel across the base.
But here was the problem: there were too many creatures chasing them. Before, they could still hold the line, but after this long, people were running out of strength. How were they supposed to push through hordes of monsters to reach the source?
And it wasn't like letting people leave the base was safer either. The polar night had fallen. Outside was pitch black, nothing could be seen, and the creatures had already surrounded the base. It was even more dangerous out there than inside.
Captain Zhou reported in, his voice grim. "There are too many of them. We can't break through to destroy the source. Captain Zhang, we need reinforcements now, otherwise we're gonna get wiped out."
"Hold on a little longer," Captain Zhang answered quickly. "We're on our way."
…
Back at the school district, most of the monsters were already fried by Lan Jin, and any new ones that appeared were immediately taken care of.
Lao Gao scouted toward where the creatures were emerging and finally spotted it. Someone had sketched a whole mural of mutant beasts on a wall. And just like copy-paste, the monsters kept spilling out of the drawings, endless and relentless.
His brows furrowed. He hurled an energy ball at the wall, blasting it to rubble. The instant the mural was destroyed, the spawning stopped. He rushed back to report the good news. Cleanup would be handled by the others Captain Zhang had brought. Meanwhile, Lan Jin and the rest boarded the base's tram with Captain Zhang and headed for the gates.
But even on the way there, the monsters didn't let up. They hadn't gone far before they ran straight into exhausted ability users struggling to hold the frontline. Seeing their teammates on the verge of collapse, Lan Jin raised her hand and thunder split the sky. Bolts rained down, frying the beasts in front of the line.
Still, there were too many. As soon as the front ranks fell, the ones behind surged forward. Ling Jiang slammed down an ice wall between them and the swarm, buying precious seconds. Lan Jin amped her lightning, unleashing a strike so fierce that everything within dozens of meters was left convulsing on the ground.
The blast was so powerful it didn't just hit the monsters. The ice wall transmitted the shock, and even the nearest ability users on their side got singed. Hair stood on end, some even started smoking faintly.
The boom was deafening. Everyone instinctively crouched down, covering their heads and ears, bracing for the worst.
When the thunder faded and silence fell, they dared to lift their heads. One strike had stopped the swarm in its tracks. It actually worked. This power was terrifyingly strong.
Most importantly, they were alive.
Just as relief spread through the group, Captain Zhang barked out, "Don't celebrate yet! Stay down, no one move!"
The joy vanished instantly. Everyone crouched again.
Lan Jin looked at the next wave pushing forward and sighed. More lightning crackled in her palms. "Someone get rid of the source already. If not, I'll burn through every spark I've got."
Captain Zhang shoved a handful of lightning crystals into her hand. She pocketed them without hesitation. Whatever else needed doing wasn't her responsibility.
With so many creatures still roaming the school district, the base couldn't risk leaving the children there. They packed every kid into buses and drove them over to where Lan Jin was fighting. Suspects were separated out and detained.
When the buses arrived, her chest finally loosened. With her own daughter safe right here, she could fight without second-guessing herself.
And sure enough, the moment the bus pulled up, a small figure pressed against the window, waving frantically. "Mama! Mama! I'm here!" Qiao Qiao shouted.
Then she puffed up proudly at her classmates. "That's my mama! My mama's the best!"
Ling Jiang almost burst out laughing, but held it in. She leaned toward Lan Jin and whispered, "She's showing off to her classmates. Shouldn't you feel a little proud?"
Lan Jin rolled her eyes. "In a situation this dangerous, one wrong move and we're dead. You think I'm in the mood to laugh?"