"Damn you!"

At this moment, Lin Xian was watching the rapidly counting down timer, immediately realizing he was right. This countdown was indeed related to the Black Gear, but he didn’t understand. When he got it from Chen Yanshu earlier, he had studied it for a while, so why didn’t it react like this then?

48, 47, 46...

The countdown ticked backwards like a bomb before Lin Xian’s eyes, while his heart rate and blood pressure soared!

What to do, it’s about to end.

What happens when the countdown ends?

It can’t be good. If this countdown is linked to the Black Gear, then it very likely means that Chen Yanshu set this up, and that can’t be a good thing!

Lin Xian’s brain was racing, and even his breathing became rapid.

44, 43, 42...

"Why is the time accelerating? That’s not logical. If it could speed up, why didn’t Chen Yanshu trigger it from the start?"

"Did I touch something?"

At this moment, Lin Xian’s mouth was dry. He picked up the Black Gear, bringing it close to his eyes, forcing himself to remain calm, and then carefully observed the black gear.

The Black Gear was not pure black; it seemed more like the hue left by prolonged fire tempering within a vehicle or device, with 68 teeth visible. Under close scrutiny, its black sheen had a flowing quality, giving a strange sensation.

Lin Xian knew it was due to the Dark Energy Fluctuation on it, but upon further observation, he still couldn’t find any insights.

39, 38, 37...

As each second passed, Lin Xian’s heart grew ever tense.

"What is it exactly? What did I do?"

"Calm down, there’s definitely something you haven’t noticed."

Lin Xian took a deep breath, conjured a chair, sat down, and then stared at the Black Gear in his hand, lost in thought.

"If it’s Chen Yanshu’s doing, what is his goal? He mentioned that killing me was the Master’s order, but the order was revoked. So his goal isn’t to kill me?"

"The leader of the Holy Revelation should understand the Taboo Item quite well, but how did he know about my Flashing Bullet? Or did he have something else on him? Logically, the Flashing Bullet isn’t on me, so the Holy Revelation’s Forbidden Object Detector shouldn’t find it..."

30, 29, 28

Lin Xian closed his eyes, pinched his brow, and swiftly organized his thoughts.

"Taboo Item, Master’s power, related to the Giant Ocean God? Not right."

"Flashing Bullet, I placed it with Grace using the Brain-Machine Conversion Device, is it related to Grace?"

"Wait..."

Lin Xian looked around in thought, "Gamma-ray burst!"

"Grace mentioned encountering a gamma-ray burst, is it related to a Taboo Item or to other energies?"

"Why did my link with Chu Yan suddenly break..."

"The link is broken..."

Lin Xian mouthed those words, his brow slowly furrowing, suddenly recalling something Chen Yanshu had said.

"[It seems... you’re also deeply fascinated by the power of the Taboo Items, you must know these are all... gifts from the Master.]

"[We will meet again, Sword Holder]"

Boom!

Like a flash of lightning in his mind, Lin Xian suddenly had a terrifying thought.

Chen Yanshu’s purpose was not to kill him but had a higher target than Lin Xian.

South Heavenly Gate!

"Grace!"

No response.

Communication breakdown at South Heavenly Gate!

Lin Xian was startled, his breath turned cold.

20, 19, 18...

Lost contact at South Heavenly Gate, disconnecting himself and Chu Yan, it also meant the Phoenix Society lost its link with South Heavenly Gate.

"Damn it..."

Lin Xian once had these doubts; after all, as a Sword Holder relying on the power of the dark Flashing Bullet, he could breach the Heavenly Veil to contact South Heavenly Gate, and if this power got noticed, then this card might completely lose its intimidating effect because Lin Xian knew the power of the Taboo Items didn’t belong to humans.

Since last night until now, he hadn’t had the time to contact Grace, and unexpectedly, within one night, he’d lost contact with her entirely.

"No, I can’t just sit and wait for death."

Lin Xian gritted his teeth, focusing his Spiritual Power between his brows, attempting to sense the Flashing Bullet.

A void.

15, 14, 13...

Lin Xian continued to sense, and gradually, he finally re-established a faint connection to the Flashing Bullet, quite subtle, as if separated by a veil, but Lin Xian knew he still maintained containment of the Flashing Bullet.

"Found it!"

Next moment, Lin Xian was overcome with emotion, knowing once he teleported to South Heavenly Gate, his situation would become extremely dangerous. First, he wasn’t sure if South Heavenly Gate still existed or in what space the Flashing Bullet might be, even if all were normal, he’d face the impenetrable Heavenly Veil. If he couldn’t return to the surface, he’d have to hope South Heavenly Gate had supplies to prevent him from starving in near-earth orbit.

But with the countdown nearing zero, perhaps transferring himself elsewhere might also protect his teammates?

Thinking this, Lin Xian took a deep breath, directly closed his eyes, focusing Spiritual Power at his brow, preparing to complete a near-earth orbit traversal.

Yet just after closing his eyes for two seconds, Lin Xian reopened them, standing still, eyes flickering.

"Strange, I’m clearly still containing the Flashing Bullet, why can’t I contact Grace?"

Lin Xian looked down at the Black Gear in his hand, slightly furrowing his brow.

"Grace, can you hear me?"

No response.

10, 9, 8...

Only 10 seconds remaining. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Lin Xian persisted, continuing to focus his consciousness and call out.