"Don’t let go just yet, this guy can’t hold out much longer!" Chen Wei gritted his teeth and shouted angrily.
"I... know!" Lin Xian was gritting his teeth to the limit, as the nuclear-powered engine of Pangu No.1 roared madly. The engines across the suit hummed as they exerted immense torque to pin the sea urchin firmly to the ground.
At this moment, a faint red light streaked across the sky, swiftly heading towards the crack in the ground.
Lin Xian looked up and saw that it was KIKI, carrying the Hell Black Chrysanthemum. She flew rapidly over the street, speeding closely alongside the earthquake wave’s path.
"KIKI, don’t get so close!!"
Lin Xian shouted immediately, but all communication frequencies near the black thorn were disrupted, and their messages couldn’t be received. Other air combat squadrons were also flexibly attacking based on the actions of the No.1 Machine and the state of the black thorn. At this moment, Lin Xian was extremely anxious seeing KIKI make such a dangerous move.
"Hey, bug, you’ve been chasing this flower all along, right? It’s here, come on!!"
KIKI, pale-faced and holding the potted Hell Black Chrysanthemum in her hands, veered sharply as she neared the direction of the sea urchin, staring intensely at the ground crack while shouting desperately in her heart, "Follow me, follow me!!"
A strange scene occurred then; the Abyss Worm seemed genuinely drawn by the aura of the Hell Black Chrysanthemum. Just as it was about to reach the No.1 Machine, it suddenly changed direction and followed KIKI.
KIKI’s face lit up with joy, and she immediately accelerated away, flying towards an open area with the Hell Black Chrysanthemum.
Lin Xian and Chen Wei were somewhat incredulous seeing KIKI’s maneuver actually succeed.
"Seems this worm isn’t that smart after all!" Lin Xian muttered.
"Sea urchin, your subordinate ran off; now you should die too!" Chen Wei shouted angrily.
But just then, the holographic vision of the No.1 Machine suddenly blared warnings, with red lights flashing.
[Warning, strong energy fluctuation detected!]
[Warning, strong energy fluctuation detected!]
At this moment, whether it was the dense bombardment making it sense the threat of death or the foolish behavior of the Abyss Worm that enraged it, the densely packed compound eyes on the sea urchin began glowing fiercely red. Its black bristles swayed rapidly, and a crimson dust cloud, several times more violent than before, expanded outwards in all directions spherical!
In an instant, all incoming missiles and shells were swallowed by the explosion, and the surrounding blocks were instantly pulverized by the shock wave explosion caused by the high temperature. The composite armor of Pangu No.1 was torn apart instantly, with numerous mechanical units melting. The nano-ceramic window on the head shattered halfway, the lights inside flickering and going dark, the entire machine being blasted away!
Meanwhile, KIKI, who was flying, felt the energy wave from behind. Before she could turn around, she was engulfed instantly by the shockwave, thrown away, and the Hell Black Chrysanthemum in her hands fell into the ruins.
The shockwave radiated a massive destructive hemisphere over Xilan City, covering almost a third of the city. The monster tide in the city, the winged demons in the sky, and many air squadrons were swallowed instantly. The intense ionizing radiation also caused distant flying devices to stall, plummeting in large numbers!
This terrifying scene nearly flattened the entire Central District, and KIKI was blasted into a ruin by the shockwave. Fortunately, at the last moment, she used her telekinesis shield to protect herself, or she would’ve been dead.
KIKI, with her face covered in blood, struggled up from the debris, using the last of her strength to push aside a piece of the slab on her. She stood up shakily, her gaze filled with fear as she looked at the devastated city, searching everywhere for the No.1 Machine.
"... Lin... cough, cough, cough"
KIKI, utterly exhausted and shivering in the snow, finally spotted the giant mecha under the distant ruins. At a glance, she saw the No.1 Machine’s frontal area had been burned red, and the chest armor cracked horribly.
KIKI shouted, quickly pressing the communicator to try and make contact. But even if it could connect, there was no response from the other side.
At this moment, the rumbling of earthquakes came again, the ground trembled, and dust rose. KIKI realized something and hurriedly searched for the Hell Black Chrysanthemum.
If that worm has swallowed the Hell Black Chrysanthemum, then the No.1 Machine would be done for too!
"Where is it? Where is it..."
KIKI searched frantically, surrounded by the oppressive black ruins. Suddenly she thought, "Right, the worm is also searching!"
She immediately looked towards the direction of the tremors and indeed saw the glowing red light of the Hell Black Chrysanthemum at the edge of the debris-covered street!
KIKI’s chest heaved rapidly as she panted, gritting her teeth to try and use her superpower to fly, but she was shaking all over and couldn’t control her superpower. Fresh blood flowed continuously from her nose.
Just as she was in extreme distress, a snow terrain vehicle suddenly roared out from the street ruins. Its headlights bright, it stumbled all the way to the ruins, the door opened, and a small figure jumped out quickly, heading straight for the Hell Black Chrysanthemum.
KIKI focused her gaze, recognizing that the figure was Xiao Yuan!
"Xiao Yuan!!" KIKI shouted immediately into the communicator.
"KIKI, I’ve found the Hell Black Chrysanthemum, where are you?!" Xiao Yuan said cautiously over the communicator, while carefully digging the Hell Black Chrysanthemum out from the debris in the ruins.