Great, we're doomed now!

Thunder roared in my ears, and lightning flashed frequently outside the porthole, the blinding light making me feel uneasy.

Communication signals were completely cut off, and the passenger plane was as if it were isolated in an independent space, completely losing contact with the outside world.

At the same time, an urgent notification sounded from TPC headquarters—

"A civilian airliner lost contact while traveling eastward... presumably in the airspace over the South China Sea!"

The technician quickly reported, and the flight path map and final location of the passenger plane popped up on the screen: "Strong electromagnetic anomalies were detected in this area, which perfectly match the energy characteristics of the Lightning Man's lair!"

Megumi's face darkened, and she immediately ordered: "Victory Team, move out! Solomon Temple, take off and proceed to the target airspace to carry out reconnaissance and rescue missions!"

"understand!"

Without hesitation, Lina, Shinjo, Daigo, and Horii quickly boarded the Solomon Temple, where the main control room was brightly lit.

Numerous technicians worked diligently, rapidly adjusting the equipment. Thanks to their efforts, the warship was electromagnetically propelled out of the hangar. After activating its anti-gravity engines, it slowly ascended, its massive exhaust creating towering waves on the sea. This behemoth successfully dominated the Earth's skies, speeding towards its target airspace.

"We have reached the target airspace!"

They arrived at their target location shortly afterward, but did not approach rashly. Horii analyzed the situation and reported back.

"The nest's energy field is extremely strong, and all detection equipment is severely interfered with and unable to penetrate its interior."

The people in the control room stared at the screen, watching the constantly surging cloud, and fell silent for a moment.

In fact, they had already prepared themselves mentally for the worst possible outcome. After all, airplanes are still too fragile. An accident at high altitude would be a fatal crisis, let alone crashing into the homeland of an alien race.

Either they escape successfully and everyone survives, or one careless mistake destroys the plane and kills everyone—there is no other possibility.

But this is not the case now. The interior of the nest is a blur, and the passenger plane is nowhere to be seen, nor can the passengers be identified.

"The longer this drags on, the more dangerous it becomes for them!"

Shinjo impatiently rubbed the joystick and suggested, "Never mind all that, let's try attacking and see how it goes!"

"Maybe we can break the energy field of the lair and force the Lightning Man inside to release the passenger plane."

"No!" Daigo immediately objected. "We can't contact the passenger plane now. What if the attack affects the people inside, or angers Lightning Man? We can't take that risk."

Horii adjusted his glasses and added, "Furthermore, the structure of the Lightning People's lair is unknown, and blindly attacking it could lead to adverse consequences. Considering that the primary objective of this mission is rescue rather than war... the consequences would be unimaginable."

The group was caught in a dilemma and couldn't think of a better solution for the time being.

Just then, Daigo's eyes lit up, and he offered an idea: "I have an idea!"

"Ok?"

"Daigo, you speak."

"The 'temple' doesn't use conventional electricity; its reactor can also release high-energy particles to shield against interference. In other words, of all the spacecraft on Earth, the Temple of Solomon has the strongest resistance to the Lightning Men's lair, right?"

Everyone looked at Horii, and the chubby boy nodded: "That's right, but Daigo, it's surprising that you know so much about the temple's internal structure."

I suddenly remembered it; I don't know who I heard it from before.

Daigo glossed over the question, then turned to everyone seriously and said, "We can fly over the nest, send someone to parachute into the nest with a portable cable to maintain contact, and then find the passenger plane to establish contact."

"Once we can confirm the plane's location and condition, we can rescue them!"

"Break into the lair?" New City was somewhat surprised. "The electromagnetic interference inside is so strong, and there are a lot of lightning people. It's too dangerous!"

“This is the safest approach right now,” Daigo said firmly. “Even if the Lightning People launch an attack, the temple’s defenses and firepower should be able to hold out for a while. Once we find the passenger plane, I will use a wired communicator to send a message, and you will provide support from the outside.”

"This is practically suicide!"

Horii stood up abruptly: "This isn't an American blockbuster. Do you think you're a superhero?"

"The latest model—"

"Wearing power armor is just as dangerous!"

Horii warned with extreme seriousness, "The anti-jamming modifications we made to our weapons and equipment are based on maintaining a certain distance. Nobody has ever thought about going deep into the Lightning Men's lair... What if the power armor malfunctions?"

"This is the only way. We are the winning team, and we can't just stand by and watch an entire plane of passengers die!"

"Dagu..."

"You can try it."

Megumi's voice came through the communication channel: "Approving Daigo's operation plan, but be careful and evacuate immediately if you encounter any danger."

"understand!"

...The hatch slowly opened, and a fully armed "Iron Man" appeared at the door. Behind him was a temporarily installed power backpack. In addition, there was a long cable made of composite material connected to the power armor. The surface of the cable was wrapped with "thin ropes", which were signal wires that had been found from somewhere. Such "outdated" things are really hard to find. Maybe they were taken from somewhere else.

Daigo carefully maneuvered the thrusters, descending slowly at a relatively steady speed. The long rope behind him made him look like an infant connected by an umbilical cord. As his "mother," the Temple of Solomon, under Rena's skillful manipulation, remained relatively still with respect to the Lightning Man's lair.

Daigo struggled to adjust his posture in the sea of ​​clouds. Everyone in the control room stared intently at the screen, their hearts filled with worry. The closer he got, the more anxious they became, fearing that a Gazort might jump out and devour him!

Fortunately, Gazort is a mutant among the Lightning People. Once it appears, it will "eat" or assimilate its own kind, concentrating the power of the entire nest on a single individual in a short period of time.

The nest was built up by all the Lightning Men together. When Gazort was born, the nest, now an empty shell, could no longer be maintained and fell to the ground along with it.

The height, speed, and internal energy reaction of the nest all indicate the existence of a large number of small individuals, suggesting that Gazort has not yet been born.

Snapped!Snapped!

Two faint arcs of electricity left marks on the surface of the power armor. Daigo's voice, tinged with pain, came through the communication channel, making everyone's hearts tighten.

"Daigo, don't push yourself! Captain, let me go down too!"

Shin-joon said to the screen, "I'm much better than him."

"This is something that can't be accomplished by having more people; right now, all we can do is support him silently."

Megumi decisively rejected Shinjo's idea, but no one knew from behind the screen that Vice Captain Megumi was also showing a nervous expression at this moment.

After replying to Xincheng, she subconsciously glanced at the seat next to her, which was the main seat in the command center, where Ye Shou should have been sitting.

What would he do in that situation?

—Thinking of this, Megumi Kijima hardened her heart, calmly watching her subordinate slowly disappear into the gray clouds as she hung from the rope…

A sudden, strong turbulence blew in, and Daigo's body swayed in the wind like bait on a fishing line, letting out cries of alarm, which immediately made the members of the GUTS team tense up.

However, the more adversity he faced, the more impressive Daigo's performance became. Before his teammates could set up a rescue, Daigo had already activated the auxiliary thrusters. After a breathtaking wide-angle spin, he miraculously regained his balance.

Not only that, he even used the wind to his advantage, hovering in the air like a large bird flying against the wind, much like a swing on a swing.

call!

The figure nimbly entered the gray fog!

"Great! Amazing!" Xincheng was very excited, probably because he didn't expect it to work.

Lina was also very happy, but Horii was dumbfounded and could not calm down for a long time.

The scenes that had just unfolded flashed before the eyes of this scientist with a physics degree, like a slideshow:

Especially the moment when, wearing power armor, he still managed to ride the wind and successfully invade the cloud formation...

He is simply superman!

Chapter 402: A Tribute to the Glorious Joebellia (Two-in-One 8K)

Daigo piloted his power armor, infiltrating the gray cloud like a ghost.

As soon as he entered, the thrusters switched to hover mode, and the glider on his back unfolded, carrying him through the thick black fog. Because he didn't want to attract the Lightning Man's attention, the engine power was not high, and the speed was relatively slow.

Visibility here is extremely low, and one can barely see a few meters ahead. Occasionally, tiny flashes of light appear in the distance, like fireflies floating in the darkness—each sight of which makes Daigo's heart tighten.

The existence of lightning-type people is no secret to TPC; Daigo has even fought Gazort. But to be honest, there's really no experience of interacting with a normal lightning-type person. What are their habits like? Are they gentle or violent...?

Although Gazorts like to bite, judging from the living environment of the Lightning People, they certainly cannot live by hunting. They mainly obtain electromagnetic waves from the atmosphere to replenish their life energy, just like deep-sea worms that rely on geothermal energy to survive.

Therefore, even though TPC scientists love peace, they felt helpless about this incident and remained silent throughout.

The Lightning People's ecosystem is too fragile, relying almost entirely on the Earth's magnetic field. If they could survive by feeding, a protected area could be designated, but unfortunately, that's not possible.

Electricity is essential for humanity's pursuit of a higher quality of life, and protecting the achievements of civilization is perfectly justifiable. But for the Lightning People, it's a matter of life and death... and there's no room for compromise.

(Even Ye Shou's Mars plan actually has a "Native Indian Reservation" feel to it, but it is already the best treatment under the current conditions.)

Daigo is brave enough to face Gazort, but he doesn't want to clash with ordinary lightning men.

...The deeper we went into the clouds, the denser the light spots became, and the electromagnetic interference in the air became stronger. The headphones were basically unusable, with a constant buzzing sound of electricity, so we simply turned them off.

What was even more unsettling was the increasingly intense feeling of being "watched." Countless eyes lurked in the black mist, silently scrutinizing him, the intruder. Daigo clenched his fists, realizing that his infiltration had already been exposed, but there was no turning back now, so he had no choice but to muster his courage and continue deeper.

The anticipated obstruction and battle did not occur; the Lightning Man never showed up and even deliberately avoided Daigo.

After searching for several minutes, the portable detection equipment completely malfunctioned due to strong electromagnetic interference, leaving only chaotic snowflake patterns on the radar screen. This wasn't the worst of it; the most troublesome issue was that the "cable" was nearing its limit.

Next, the Temple of Solomon must also be moved in order to continue the search, which will indirectly slow down the progress, making Daigo anxious.

Just when he was at a loss and didn't know which direction to search, a flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in his mind!

Every hair on my body stood on end!

It has nothing to do with psychological factors; it is a purely physical phenomenon!

He instinctively turned around and saw a creature resembling a ray, completely transparent, slowly flying past him, as carefree and leisurely as a fish swimming in the air without any support—it was "Critus (Lightning Man)"!

It's about the same size as a human, but its flat body and wide wingspan make it look extremely intimidating.

Daigo's pupils contracted slightly as he watched it pass by within arm's reach, flapping its thin, membranous wings with a smooth, unhurried motion as if it were taking a stroll. Its body glowed with a faint blue light, leaving a faint trail in the black mist.

He tensed up instantly, instinctively reaching to release the weapon's safety, but his finger hovering over the switch suddenly froze.

Something flashed through his mind, but he didn't actually pull the trigger. He just stared blankly as it flew away, leaving a cold, eerie blue light in the air before quickly merging into the thick black fog.

huh~~~

Daigo was still lost in thought when the air beneath him suddenly changed.

He suddenly came to his senses and realized that as the glider propelled him forward, he had entered a cavity-like area. The fog around him suddenly thinned out, and his field of vision became wider.

Although it was still pitch black, the light source was scarce. He looked up blankly and the red light that kept flashing in the distance was particularly eye-catching, like a lighthouse in the darkness, and immediately attracted his attention.

The rhythm and colors should be correct!

"Please make sure you're alright..."

He was mentally prepared and continued to fly the glider through the dark cavity, switching the engine to a higher gear and steadily increasing the speed—after all, he had already been exposed.

Look at those countless flickering, dancing points of light in the distant black fog; who knows how many lightning warriors are watching this place right now!

Daigo didn't know whether the other party was well-intentioned or malicious, so he simply ignored it and focused on how to complete the mission and rescue the passengers.