"Captain Lin!"

Through the headset, the voices of team members came through as KIKI and others arrived for support from the direction of the Infinity. Lin Xian immediately turned around, releasing dozens of signal flares, stopping the crowd.

"Be careful, don’t get close!"

Behind him, streams of light arrived one after another, all teammates wearing power armor, even Beifeng 09 and Ryan rushed to assist. Upon seeing the giant black hole-like sphere in the sea devouring what was released like Star Abyss, everyone expressed shock.

"What is this??"

"Be careful, there are many Abnormal Bodies!"

"Lin Xian, are you... alright?" Chen Sixuan and KIKI hurried over, seeing Lin Xian safe and sound, flying in mid-air, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is the countdown over?" KIKI asked urgently.

Lin Xian shook his head, looking ahead at the black ’Star Abyss’ releasing, he said gravely: "It’s not clear yet, but it seems that the black gear Chen Yanshu left behind is a troublesome thing."

"Is this caused by that Taboo Item?" Ning Jing couldn’t help but speak after seeing Lin Xian snatch the black gear from Chen Yanshu.

"What a spectacle, it’s like a tidal surge explosion!" Ryan flew out from the crowd, looking at the scene ahead, immediately said: "Prepare to take action!"

"Don’t rush into anything yet."

Chen Sixuan spoke at this time, her eyes flickering with light, seemingly piercing the sea mist: "This tide is contracting, those ejected Abnormal Bodies have all submerged, we haven’t been marked, let’s wait and see."

It’s almost dawn, and the Infinity has yet to find a foothold; engaging in a battle now is very unfavorable for them.

Out of curiosity, Lin Xian glanced at Chen Sixuan, then quickly turned back to look at the black Star Abyss, which as expected, the black giant screen standing in the sea mist had shrunk back like a retracting bubble. The Abnormal Bodies shot out like fountains were also diminishing, soon the commotion was hidden in the sea mist, leaving only the thunderous roar of the waves after the whirlpool disintegrated.

"It’s gone?" Shu Qin shouted.

Qian Deli crossed his arms, saying solemnly: "Coming fast and leaving fast, what kind of special celestial phenomenon is this?"

At this point, Lin Xian looked at the thick sea mist and suddenly ordered Viola.

"Viola, deploy the drones and use the Forbidden Object Detector to search the whirlpool sea area ahead for that black gear."

[Viola understands.]

As soon as the words fell, behind Lin Xian and the others, thousands of drones flashed lights like a swarm of bees rushing forward, flying toward the foggy area ahead.

Just then, a mystical light flickered on the horizon, the bright light began turning the black mist into a grey-white sea mist, and at the same time, everyone felt the air temperature rising.

Clearly, although the visibility was still low in the sea mist, everyone knew, it was dawn!

Seeing this, combined with the countdown in his sight now completely gone, Lin Xian felt a burden lift from his heart. Though not entirely clear on the black gear’s characteristics, he had indeed guessed correctly — his countdown was related in some way to this black gear, a landmine left by Chen Yanshu.

Since Dawn City, Lin Xian hadn’t appeared in Chu Yan’s Spiritual World for a long time as a conscious state. When he saw Chu Yan emerging from an abandoned skyscraper at the Uncanny Human Zombie Nest, Lin Xian inexplicably felt an urge to hug this girl.

After a period of lost contact, coupled with being at sea, Lin Xian felt a sense of isolation from the organization.

Following Chu Yan leaping across the rooftops, looking down at a dilapidated city below, Lin Xian spoke:

"What’s the mission this time?"

"The Foundation." Chu Yan stopped at the edge of a tall building, looked at Lin Xian, retrieved the Silver Blade: "Thanks to you, I’ve re-entered the mission group."

Lin Xian frowned: "Shouldn’t you be more tightly protected?"

Chu Yan shook her head: "Your Flashing Bullets, Grace, and our Starry Sky Research Room, all this information has been known by the Descent Faction, hiding doesn’t make sense anymore."

She finished speaking, looking at Lin Xian: "Chen Yanshu, former chief of the Angel Plan Special Items Research Department, aged 20 years overnight while studying the SIID-06 Silver Pocket Watch, but successfully contained the Taboo Item. The watch alters regional time flow; after experiencing the Taboo Item’s power, his confidence changed dramatically, leading a group to leave the Federation and establish the Holy Revelation organization."

"The black gear you mentioned should be the later SIID-011 Dark Gear, very special characteristics, we never had exact intel; the one thing known is, this allowed Chen Yanshu to freely enter Star Abyss to find Taboo Items, also carrying some intense side effects." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Side effects?"

"Not clear, but from your description, that should be it." Chu Yan analyzed: "He has the Silver Pocket Watch; if Dark Gear erupts, he can survive."

Lin Xian shuddered internally: "No wonder..."

If not for upgrading Energy Transition and having the Gravitational Lens spatial slicing skill — that momentary Star Abyss tidal surge could have swallowed him and everyone within a vast area. Thinking of that fountain-like Abnormal Body tide, Lin Xian shuddered.

"He deliberately left this thing to me, isolating my control over Flashing Bullets, while also shielding our connection, seems..."