This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 219 Flashbang?
Nie Weiyang and Lucky Sign traveled quickly, but the intermittent, potholed dirt roads and complex wilderness of the New World made up for it... It wasn't until ten days later that he arrived in the outer area of ​​Pingdu.

The night was as dark as ink, casting a deep, shadowy glow over the rolling mountains and vast plains.

He crossed the hill and, as he walked, kicked something out of the bushes. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a box of self-heating rice that had been hidden very well. It was probably one of the supplies that had been transported from Earth, but its location was so elusive that it had never been discovered.

Nie Weiyang wiped the dust off the box and gazed into the distance.

The scene was completely different from what I remembered from last week's episode.

The world was no longer filled with solitary defensive fortifications and military outposts, but with a vast expanse of lights.

Countless points of light, some bright, some soft, stretched to the horizon, interspersed with numerous searchlight beams. The sources of these straight beams piercing the night sky carried the unique energy glow of the solidified spells [Universal Faction Detection] and [Universal Kill Detection].

"...?"

Nie Weiyang was stunned.

—Isn't this a high-level spell that only appears in the mid-game?
Although we know that Heito directly blew up the mountain in this area, this scene is still a bit too ahead of its time.

Who are the extraordinary people who survived this battle in Pingdu?

……

Well, regardless of who actually survived, the current population of Pingdu has exceeded Nie Weiyang's original expectations. His fighting style and tactical and strategic thinking all come from the new world of his last playthrough, so his understanding of the talent pool and combat capabilities of an industrialized nation's capital is still not clear enough.

As he approached Pingdu, he clearly sensed an immense amount of life force and a vast number of spiritual energy sources.

He discovered that, limited by the terrain, or perhaps because of the information he had given earlier, Hirato, with its large remaining population, did not choose to temporarily flatten the urban area like the old city, but instead chose to excavate downwards.

A vast underground city must have been built here, and many of the light sources illuminating the surface come from those reinforced underground entrances and ventilation structures.

The light outlined a rapidly growing post-apocalyptic megacity, which, combined with the buildings standing on the ground, resembled a giant pomegranate embedded in the earth's crust.

After observing from a distance, Nie Weiyang calculated in his mind for a moment and came to an unbelievable conclusion.

The population here is likely around ten million, not even including the population of those who are expanding and building fortified cities in the surrounding areas—those people combined would probably number five million.

This is a number that would likely make anyone outside of China faint upon hearing it. The fact that such a large population could survive and develop such a powerful military and construction force is a miracle in itself—a miracle that would have been impossible at this point in last time's story. So much so that even at night, Nie Weiyang could sense a vast and orderly vitality emanating from it.

the most important is……

"...How were they kept alive?"

Nie Weiyang muttered to himself incredulously.

How on earth do they manage to feed so many people here?!

He quickly approached Hirado—after all, seeing the facts with his own eyes was always a better option!

At this moment, on a high mountain in the outskirts of Heito, an observation station belonging to the Heito General Observatory is conducting a planned routine planetary observation tonight.

A female astronomer adjusted a complex stargazing device, chanting incantations as she activated a special professional skill—[Glow Filter]. This skill greatly enhanced her sensitivity to faint light sources and energy sources, temporarily blocking visual interference from most non-luminous objects and focusing her vision on the starlight. In astronomy-related professions in the New World, it is often used for deep-space observation and tracking the trajectories of specific celestial bodies, and can also be used to track spiritual entities and lock onto enemies—therefore, like on Earth, observatories must be located in remote, sparsely populated areas, otherwise they are highly susceptible to interference.

The spell's effects gradually covered her eyes, the colors of the world faded, leaving only darkness and lights of varying brightness.

She habitually glanced at the horizon one last time, preparing to cast her gaze entirely upon the dazzling starry sky.

However, in that instant, her movements suddenly froze, and she let out a short gasp.

In her field of vision, there were no faint stars or ordinary lights on the distant horizon.

Instead, there was a ball of light that defies description!

The light was not stationary, but moving at high speed, and its brightness far exceeded any known lighting spell, even surpassing the most dazzling incandescent bulbs of the old era in her memory!
It was intense, stable, and possessed an almost terrifying purity, like a tiny sun falling to earth, or a white star with its own will, tearing through the darkness with a resolute attitude and speeding toward the direction of Heito!

"...What the hell is coming?!" The astronomer almost cursed. She was so stung that tears streamed down her face, and she even subconsciously took a half step back, almost knocking over the star-gazing instrument engraved with mysterious runes next to her.

The next second, she grabbed her assistant, who hadn't even reacted yet: "Report an anomaly! An extremely high-intensity unknown light source has been detected on the ground, rapidly approaching Pingdu! Its location is... My God, it's so fast! It's coming straight for us!"

"Huh?!" The assistant looked outside, but only saw a tranquil night sky: "The light source? Where is it?"

"...Huh?" The astronomer immediately realized what she meant. She blinked, canceled the skill effect, and looked outside—

A moment later, her voice grew louder: "Go and report!!! An individual with mental strength far exceeding the current limits of humanity is approaching! Go now!"

Her shouts shattered the observatory's nighttime tranquility and immediately sent the alarm to Heito.

He knew nothing of the light that appeared to scholars as a giant incandescent light bulb, and simply continued to approach the vast sea of ​​light in Pingdu.

However, just a few minutes later, Nie Weiyang had only traveled halfway and was still some distance from the outer defense line of Pingdu when a sudden change occurred.

Several giant searchlights that had been calmly scanning the wilderness suddenly turned, their beams instantly enveloping him and the lucky sign. The light was so intense it could almost burn a normal person's retinas; if he hadn't reacted quickly, he might have been temporarily blinded.

Immediately afterward, two similar yet different spells descended from the sky, landing precisely on him.

[General Alignment Detection] - The spell feedback instantly transformed into a pure, stable, and even dazzling platinum-gold radiance, like a small sun shining around him, demonstrating his firm and powerful lawful neutrality bias.

[General Kill Detection] - Almost simultaneously, its feedback exploded.

That wasn't light, but... a dense, all-encompassing dark red blood mist that was almost solidified! This blood mist was so thick that it couldn't be dispersed, as if countless phantoms of dead souls were surging within it. Its scale far exceeded the limits of normal people!
At this moment, the Pingdu Defense Command Center was deathly silent.

The stark contrast between the white light representing extreme order and the sea of ​​blood representing rampant slaughter on the surveillance footage was almost chilling.

Everyone who witnessed this scene gasped for breath. How many lives had been slaughtered?! And that lawful white light was unbelievably pure…

Who is this?
Just as the alarm level was about to be raised and various solidified defensive spells began to charge, the figure in the picture made a move.

(End of this chapter)