I can find treasures in my dreams.

At this moment.

Yang Donglin waved to the officer sent by the Kaituo City garrison, preparing to greet him.

He suddenly sensed a very discordant movement coming from behind him.

The deputy corps commander, Major Zhou Furui, suddenly changed his pace. His originally steady steps became dragging and staggering, as if his feet were filled with lead, or as if an invisible force was preventing the major from moving forward.

Yang Donglin's alertness had been honed to its peak during his military career, and this subtle abnormality made him tense up instantly.

He turned around abruptly, his gaze locking onto Zhou Furui, who was standing to his side and behind him. His voice was sharp and unquestionable: "Major Zhou, is there a problem?"

Zhou Furui's lips moved as if he wanted to reply, but the color drained from his face at a visible speed.

His pupils were fixed on his legs, his eyes initially blank, then filled with extreme terror.

The armor below the knees of the Tiangong Type 9 battle armor began to become transparent and blurry, like ink thrown into water, with its edges trembling slightly in the air, as if it would completely disappear in the next second.

"you……"

Just as Yang Donglin was about to step forward, he saw Zhou Furui suddenly open his mouth wide, as if he had let out a scream.

But a mysterious force isolated him from his location, and his screams could not be heard at all.

The major's body swayed uncontrollably, his hands flailing wildly as if trying to grab onto a non-existent rope in the air, looking even more pathetic than a drowning person.

The eerie sight froze the air in the square.

The officers next to Zhou Furui, as if they had seen a ghost, steered their armors backward dozens of meters.

This is not about refusing to help someone in distress.

Rescuing someone without fully understanding the situation will likely result in your own death – a lesson learned the UN forces through blood and tears.

Yang Donglin's mind went blank for a moment, and his first thought was that the Gate to the World had malfunctioned.

But he immediately rejected the idea: "Impossible. The third-generation World Gate is equipped with a triple redundancy verification system and has had zero accidents in the seven hundred days since its construction."

His mind raced: "There must be some kind of extremely powerful external force that has invaded the Gate of the World, remotely locking onto Major Zhou and trying to take him away."

"Hmm, take them away... I understand! It must be the Fallen Abyss Secret Realm causing trouble."

"My father said that the deep laws of the Black Sand Sea of ​​Death have leaked out, giving rise to the mysterious 'Sinking Abyss Secret Realm,' and this thing is hunting wildly in various civilized worlds."

"Major Zhou is yet another victim. He most likely heard the eerie whispers coming from the secret realm and is about to become its prey."

Yang Donglin reacted very quickly; a 0.005-second pause was enough for him to draw a conclusion.

Meanwhile, the officers around them were all completely bewildered, having no idea what was going on.

Yang Donglin also gleaned more information: "After hearing the whispers from the secret realm, each missing person's entire body quickly became blurry, and they mysteriously disappeared in less than half a second."

"Major Zhou's vision has only blurred below the knees, which is most likely due to the powerful spatial force of the Phase Space Maze interfering with the pull of the secret realm. However, the effect of the interference is limited, and Major Zhou won't be able to hold out for long!"

"Drip! Drip!"

Zhou Furui's ethereal area had spread to his hip joint, and the energy indicator light on his armor began to flash wildly, emitting a piercing buzzing sound.

The major lost his balance and fell to the ground, his arms futilely reaching out to Yang Donglin, his eyes filled with a desperate plea for help.

"Woo~"

A piercing alarm suddenly ripped through the air above the square.

The intelligent hub of the Gate of the World has determined through the battle armor data stream that Zhou Furui has been subjected to an abnormal attack and has automatically triggered the highest level of alarm.

The disappearance of a living person might not seem like a big deal in other places, but the Gate of the World is a vital point, enough to trigger the highest level of alarm.

As Yang Donglin watched his subordinate's gradually blurring figure, two thoughts intertwined and collided in his mind.

save?
Then you will face an extremely dangerous secret realm!
not help?

To watch helplessly as his comrades fell was a disgrace for him, as the legion commander!

0.01 seconds later, Yang Donglin made his decision: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Only by venturing deep into the hidden realm of the Fallen Sands can the Azure Civilization find a way to break through!"

“I happen to be the best candidate to go deep into the secret realm because I have a way to transmit key information. Major Zhou and the others simply do not have this ability. Going in would only be a pointless death.”

With a thought, a phantom card album, visible only to him, unfolded in his sea of ​​consciousness.

The pale golden pages gleamed with an eerie luster; these were the "soul cards" that his father had embedded in his soul using unimaginable secret methods, and also his most hidden power.

Previously, he lacked a direct understanding of his father's strength. It wasn't until he obtained the Soul Card Book that he realized his father was a terrifying being who could "overturn all rules."

The pages of the book turned with a "whoosh," and a card depicting a chain floated out automatically.

Yang Donglin stared at the card, which instantly shattered into light, transforming into a chain that shimmered with a white luster.

Each link of the chain was actually a bony hand with distinct knuckles, interlocked tightly, exuding an aura that terrified the soul.

This item was none other than the Soul Chain. Warriors could never master soul-binding techniques; this was a knight-level technique.

But the Soul Card Album created by his father overturned the rules.

At this moment, Zhou Furui's ethereal state had spread to his chest, his movements became slower and slower, and his eyes began to glaze over. He was about to be dragged into the secret realm.

Without further hesitation, Yang Donglin swung his hand sharply, and the bone hand chains shot out like arrows, accurately piercing Zhou Furui's armor.

"Ah~"

A sharp shriek was heard.

A skull suddenly emerged from the top of the chain, entered Zhou Furui's body, and bit into his soul.

The chains did not harm him in the slightest, but instead wrapped around the core of his soul, with the bone hand at the end firmly embedded in his soul.

"what!"

As if some kind of barrier had been broken, Yang Donglin finally heard Zhou Furui's wails.

It was clear from the conversation that the other person was undergoing some kind of torture.

Because their souls interacted, Zhou Furui simultaneously "saw" the soul chains.

The major seemed to understand his superior's intentions and shouted with all his might, "No...no..."

Zhou Furui knew that his chances of survival were zero, so he did not want to implicate his superior.

Yang Donglin's gaze remained firm, unmoved in the slightest.

He knew this trip was extremely dangerous, and that a single misstep could mean never returning.

But so what?
Faced with so many difficulties and obstacles, did Dad ever back down? No! Of course I couldn't let Dad down.

After a while.

Yang Donglin felt his legs lighten, and a familiar sense of etherealness quickly rose from the soles of his feet.

He immediately connected to a high-level communication channel through the main control system of his battle armor and said in a deep voice, "This is Yang Donglin, about to enter the Abyss of Despair..."

Before the words "secret realm" even landed, a strong spatial pulling force swept over him.

The blurred area spread from the ankles all the way to the whole body, overlapping with Zhou Furui's figure.

The soldiers around them only saw two blurry lights twisting and merging in the air before finally turning into specks of light and disappearing.

The alarm continued to blare, and the intelligent hub of the Gate of the World had initiated the emergency evacuation procedure. A cold electronic voice echoed across the plaza: "Abnormal spatial disturbance detected. All personnel evacuate immediately! Repeat, evacuate immediately!"

The soldiers retreated like a tide, many looking back repeatedly, their faces filled with shock.

Several drones flew over and deployed a high-tech light barrier.

Several chains of light were released, completely sealing off the area where the two had disappeared.

ten minutes later.

A streamlined hovercar sped over, then defied the laws of physics to come to an abrupt stop before landing at the edge of the plaza.

This is a cutting-edge technology that emerged last year, and the company that developed and manufactured it is Beidouxing Advanced Vehicle Manufacturing Company, a subsidiary of Tianxing Group.

In this day and age, it's impossible for anyone to avoid coming into contact with Tianxing Group's products in their daily lives.

Hovercrafts are rarely seen in other parts of Azure Star, but Kaituo City is a strategic location, and several thousand hovercrafts have been prioritized for use as commuter vehicles.

A general with a star on his shoulder stepped quickly off the vehicle, his gaze sweeping over the flashing grates, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

He turned to the high-ranking warriors waiting beside him, his voice hoarse: "Has the Rewinding Technique yielded results?"

The high-ranking warrior nodded: "This disappearance is similar to other cases on Azure Star."

The person's smart glasses projected a holographic screen displaying audio data.

A faint, ethereal voice echoed within: "Lost one, congratulations on being chosen. The game has now begun."

The high-ranking warrior paused, then added, "Judging from the video footage, Lieutenant Colonel Yang wasn't passively drawn in. He seemed to be actively using some kind of secret technique, as if he was... actively responding to that power."

"That kid!" General Liu sighed, his eyes filled with anxiety and helplessness.

He knew Yang Donglin's identity better than anyone else—the son of Yang Fan, the richest man in the People's Federation, and a descendant of the Three Heroes of Daxia.

It would be incredibly difficult for someone like him to explain his disappearance to his superiors when he was in charge of the territory.

“General Liu,” the high-ranking soldier hesitated before speaking, “we have repeatedly analyzed the supernatural spectrum, but we still can’t figure out what methods Lieutenant Colonel Yang used, or who he really is.”

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask!" General Liu waved his hand impatiently. "This matter will be handled by a specialist. You are in charge of securing the scene for now."

The high-ranking warrior retreated dejectedly, glancing back at the light grid before leaving, muttering under his breath, "The Human Alliance Defense Force is indeed full of hidden talents. A lieutenant colonel from a second-line legion actually dared to venture into the secret realm on his own initiative..." (End of Chapter)