The vast Jar City glittered with bright luminance, as both the inner and outer layers of its enclosing gates were now completely sealed. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The mechas floating in this Jar City flickered like drifting fireflies within.

The gatekeeping system was fully activated—if they moved higher, they would encounter the city wall’s automatic defense systems.

But these mechas were not without options; they had another path to take.

Many gazes converged under the tightly shut massive city gates.

That was to deal with the bloodied man in front of the gate, to find a way to reopen the gates once more.

This was also the order they had received at the very last moment when the gates closed.

At this moment, there were over a dozen mechas here, with the most elite pilots, capable of entangling with and even severely injuring powerful B-level exotic beasts in the wilderness.

They never lacked courage, but upon seeing that somewhat lonely and slight figure of a bloodied man, they uncharacteristically fell into silence, merely hovering in the air.

An eerie silence pervaded the entire Jar City.

Even the sound of the snowstorm outside the city seemed to become much clearer.

But eventually, the silence lasted only briefly.

When the first radiant laser burst forth, its dazzling red brilliance also simultaneously pierced through the core of the mecha in the sky.

That bloodied man, who appeared to be teetering on the brink of collapse, spread his wings like an eagle, leaping upward amidst the flames of the plummeting mecha.

The intense flames and explosions illuminated the pitch-black Jar City.

The massive war machines soaring in the sky were torn apart with ease like fragile paper birds.

The sound of steel tearing and shattering filled the air, as if the ghosts in the darkness were chewing on the souls of the machines.

This battle did not lack an audience. While the soldiers of the Jar City and city gates had already been removed by a ’preemptive’ order, there were still sentries atop the silent high walls, and numerous eyes that watched everything unfolding at this moment.

Some soldiers near the high walls stealthily peeped through observation windows at the scene inside Jar City, only to see firework-like explosions one after another.

Boom after boom ignited the sky, shaking the massive mechanical gates, and trembling the hearts behind the high walls.

All this began swiftly and ended just as fast.

When the soldiers standing on the high walls finally came to their senses from the successive brilliant explosions, the Jar City had once again returned to darkness and silence.

Only the pieces of steel wreckage burning on the ground told the tale of what had transpired here.

Someone tried to use binoculars to search for the figures that were once in Jar City, but all that remained in their sight were flames and darkness.

...

Viko clenched his hand tightly on the bolt, his gaze still focused on the massive city gates above.

The closure of the inner city gate was slightly slower than the outer gate, allowing him to witness with his own eyes that bloodied figure shut the grand gates with his own hands.

If today’s battle challenged his common sense,

Then what had just happened challenged his understanding of the world.

Even though he knew there was still a huge mechanical structure operating behind the outer gate and that much of the gate’s closure was due to the pre-designed torque,

It did not lessen the shock he felt when he saw those hands, braving the dense brilliance and machinery outside the city, and under the gaze of those terrifying war machines, slowly shutting that massive door that pierced the heavens and the earth.

That was a city gate, immense, vast, and heavy.

Merely standing before it would make one feel insignificant and lowly.

A slight move from it could crush a sturdy mecha to dust.

Yet such a colossal and terrifying creation was slowly ’closed’ by a pair of flesh and blood arms, by a figure that didn’t seem so burly.

He seemed no longer human, but a Divine Being standing on the earth.

Until the inner city gates were completely closed, Viko remained engulfed in that shock.

But besides the shock, he felt a sense of relief and joy from having let out a sigh.

In the end, they still managed to close that gate.

The fellows outside couldn’t get in after all.

There seemed to be some mechas left in the Jar City; they probably couldn’t harm ’Suote’.

He was so badly injured, maybe they couldn’t.

Bang Bang Bang—

And it was at this moment, urgent and heavy footsteps awakened Viko from his thoughts.

In an instant, he suddenly realized that he was still at the very heart of the battlefield, surrounded by those soldiers.

But the gunfire that attacked him seemed to have also paused for a while.

He turned around and looked behind him.

A cigarette-toting officer was striding towards him with a small squad of Guards.

And behind this officer were rows of soldiers carefully making their way forward.

Unexpectedly, these soldiers did not open fire but followed closely behind the officer, watching Viko intently.

"Mr. Viko, I am the Commander of the North City Defense Army,"

The officer stopped in front of Viko, standing behind the parked motorcycle. The thick scent of smoke wafted through the cold air to Viko’s face, "I’ve seen you on television."

He removed the cigarette from his mouth, lifted his head, and glanced at the bolt in Viko’s hands, "Could you please step aside? We need to get the city gates open now."

Boom—

A faint tremor resonated in the air, as if something outside the door was exploding.

The officer who was holding the cigarette furrowed his brows and unconsciously rubbed his fingers together, looking at Viko, "Listen, your friend is in trouble outside the door; we need to open it quickly."

As he spoke, his gaze swiftly darted to the guards behind him, toward the soldiers behind him.

But those soldiers slowly approaching were still just slowly approaching, as if they hadn’t noticed the officer’s glances.

However, the guards standing behind the officer immediately raised their guns, aiming at Viko.

"I’m a Transcendent too, who dares to make a move?!"

Viko raised his empty hand, glaring at those guards and roared quickly.

It wasn’t until this moment that he suddenly realized his clothes were riddled with holes and stained with blood, unbeknownst to him as to when this had happened.

But he seemed not to see any of it, just staring coldly at the guards.

He tried to make himself seem more imposing, but his actions still seemed somewhat floaty.

Unexpectedly, after seeing his floaty movements, those armed guards hesitated for a moment and retreated slightly.

"Minister Viko, your friend is locked out of the inner city gate, which you have now locked. Do you really think your friend can break through the city gate by force?"

The officer put the cigarette to his lips, took a deep drag, and fixed his gaze on Viko, saying coldly, "No one can come to save you now,"

His voice was loud, growing increasingly higher, suggesting his words weren’t intended for Viko alone, but for every person in this gateway, "You are just a weak Transcendent, anyone could take you down with a couple of shots."

Then, he turned to look at the guards next to him and said indifferently, "Kill him, open the gate."

The guards to his left and right fell silent for a moment but still raised their guns.

Yet, their actions still paused, unable to pull the trigger immediately.

"What the fuck are you scared of!"

The officer tossed away the cigarette butt and directly drew a Gauss Pistol from his waist, aiming at Viko’s head, "At this close range, even if he were a Divine Being, his brains would be blown out with a single shot."

As he watched the barrel aimed at his own head, Viko’s muscles tensed up all at once.

But his hand still firmly gripped the lever, locking it in the ’closed’ position.

Apparently encouraged by the officer’s words, the guards finally tightened their grip on their firearms.

A line of fingers rested on the triggers.

Bang—

Accompanied by a sharp noise.

A blood-red brilliance sliced through the head under the officer’s cap, spattering blood, and in an instant slashed through the bodies of the surrounding guards.

Bright red blood burst forth, then was absorbed by an invisible force.

Bang bang bang—

The severed dark gun barrels and the broken corpses fell to the ground in disarray.

Viko stared dumbfounded at all this, his hand still gripping the lever, momentarily unable to comprehend what had just occurred.

It was at this moment that he felt a breeze brush by his face.

He turned around, and as the familiar blood-stained jacket appeared in his field of view, his tense muscles finally relaxed.

He looked at the man in front of him, bathed in blood, who was sheathing a blood-colored long knife, a mix of surprise and confusion on his face.

He glanced at the intact inner city gate next to him and asked somewhat vacantly, "How did you get here?"

He Ao put away the Bloody Slaughter Knife, giving him a strange look, then pointed to the small gate labeled ’Pedestrian Channel’ that had briefly opened next to them.

From Jar City to the inner city, there was a channel that only allowed pedestrians and tourists to pass through security checks. The city gate was meant for large machinery and vehicles to pass through.

Although this channel was also blocked, its security design was only meant to deter pedestrians, and it was easy for He Ao to break through.

Seeing He Ao’s indication, Viko was momentarily dumbstruck.

Wait, there’s a pedestrian channel too?

"Let’s go."

By this time, He Ao had raised his hand, inserted the Authority Card into the slot, set the gate’s permissions to emergency mode, forcibly locking it, and then he pressed down, destroying the lever that Viko was holding.

Viko retracted his hand in a daze, looking at the handle of the lever that remained, "Is this alright?"

"It can be fixed."

He Ao withdrew his gaze, pulling out the Authority Card as well.

Viko turned back in confusion, and it was only now that he realized something, looking up at the dense crowd of soldiers approaching.

These soldiers had stopped advancing after He Ao had appeared, but they were still holding their guns, cautiously watching the two of them.

In the distance, some electromagnetic cannons that were still operational were also pointing in this direction.

Viko opened his mouth, wanting to warn the man next to him.

He saw that, after He Ao had retracted the Authority Card, he naturally looked at those soldiers and said in a calm voice, "The Commander of North City intended a coup d’état and betrayal; with irrefutable evidence, he has been executed. I am Suote, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,"

He unfolded the card in his hand, "This is the highest level of authorization granted to me by the Mayor. We are now handling this case. I know you were all coerced and deceived. You can put down your weapons now, cooperate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation, and the City Government and I will ensure you receive a fair resolution."

That tranquil voice seemed to possess a certain intangible power, clearly reaching the ears of every person beneath the gateway.