novelraw Chapter 565 - 263: Three Special Task Forces Unite!
Chapter 565 - 263: Three Special Task Forces Unite!
The biting cold wind, sharp as a blade, carried fine ice crystals.
It howled and swirled above the enormous deep-water port outside Glazed Light City.
The massive cruise ship, like a giant steel beast, lay silently at anchor, lowering its gangway.
People moved like a migrating colony of ants, slowly descending the gangway, stepping onto this land perpetually shrouded in ice, snow, and auroras.
Within the crowd.
A tall young man, clad in a thick, insulated parka, slowly stepped down.
Despite his unremarkable features, easily forgettable in a crowd.
Yet, deep within his calm eyes, an occasional sharp glint flickered, strikingly at odds with his mundane appearance.
He habitually raised a hand to touch his bare scalp.
But his fingertips encountered a slightly coarse, unfamiliar texture of hair.
It was an extremely realistic short black wig.
"Amitabha..."
He subconsciously began to chant softly, but before he could finish, a similarly bundled-up "woman" beside him, whose face was also indiscriminately altered by some special material, surreptitiously nudged him with her elbow.
Shikong instantly realized.
He forcibly swallowed the trailing "Buddha".
The muscles on his face stiffly pulled into an ordinary smile.
Beside him was Liu Hanyan, who too had altered her appearance, even deliberately masking her originally breathtaking beauty.
At this moment, her face could only be considered delicate.
Her skin even appeared a bit coarse and sallow, but those eyes remained clear and bright.
"Is this Glazed Light City?"
Next to Shikong, another team member, also carefully disguised, murmured with an undisguised sense of awe in his voice.
He looked up at the grand city standing solemnly in the distance under the lead-gray sky.
The colossal ice crystal walls twisted and coiled like the spines of ancient giant dragons, emitting a soft glow of interwoven azure and milky white.
The entire city was enveloped by an "Eternal Day Aurora Dome" resembling a flowing nebula, shifting with magnificent colors, completely distinct from the metropolitan steel forests of the Federation, filled with a magical and cold aesthetic beauty.
"Indeed, it’s completely different from the buildings within the Federation..."
Another team member couldn’t help but mutter in agreement.
An elderly boatman nearby, wearing a grimy, oil-stained jacket with a face furrowed in creases, was laboriously dragging at mooring ropes. Hearing this, he cast a murky glance at Shikong and his seemingly ordinary team, a complex expression in his eyes like pity yet also warning.
But he said nothing, simply turning back to his work silently.
Two small teams flowed with the crowd, passing through the port’s rigorous security checks.
At the registration counter, when asked by the staff, they effortlessly stated their destination: "Glazed Light City."
After registering, they were about to follow the crowd to the shuttle point leading into the city.
Suddenly, the old boatman, unnoticed until now, had come close to Shikong and Liu Hanyan’s team, hunching his back, his voice hoarse and low like sandpaper rubbing:
"Young men..." His cloudy gaze swept over the two seemingly inconspicuous yet subtly extraordinary mercenary teams, "Take an old man’s advice, don’t go into that city..."
The old man spoke rapidly, not waiting for a response.
Then, like a mouse merging into shadows, he hung his head and shuffled quickly into the bustle of the crowd.
Shikong instinctively pressed his palms together, an "Amitabha" almost escaped his lips.
The nearby disguised teammate was quick, giving his sleeves a light tug, whispering, "Captain, steady!"
Shikong forcibly swallowed back the chant.
Watching the direction the old man had disappeared, a hint of reflection passed through his eyes, as he too murmured softly, "There’s so few good folks like him these days. Knowing the risks, yet still willing to warn a stranger..."
Liu Hanyan’s cool voice sounded beside him, equally low, weighted, "Seems like the matter itself is about to burst open, let’s go, rendezvous first."
Her words carried a hint of urgency.
The two did not linger further, leading their equally inconspicuous disguised team quickly away from the bustling dock area.
A few rented military off-road vehicles fitted with anti-slip and thermal armor had been waiting at the appointed spot.
The engines emitted a deep rumble.
Exhaust pipes spouted thick white vapor, swiftly merging into the polar chill.
Inside the vehicle, the heater was turned up high.
Shikong and Liu Hanyan took off their hoods, exchanging a glance, seeing the lingering solemnity in each other’s eyes.
A few days ago.
A message sent by Wei Banmeng a few days ago.
The content was horrifying, far beyond their imagination.
Attached were extremely detailed materials, including Fang Qingyu’s current position and the disguise contact method.
When Shikong and Liu Hanyan each led their teams.
They repeatedly verified the authenticity of the information, and eventually opened the additional photos of the underground blood bank and Corpse Mountain...
Even they, who had survived the bloody battle of Ghost Festival, were used to seeing life and death.
Felt an intense chill and unstoppable anger!
Those Martial Artists lying on cold metal beds, like livestock awaiting slaughter, having their life force extracted in silence, those body bags piling up like mountains, silently accusing amidst the stench...
What Hero City is this?
It’s clearly Purgatory dressed in splendid robes!
Fang Qingyu’s team, displaying terrifying combat prowess and near-perfect records during the Ghost Festival, had long earned absolute trust within the Hidden Dragon Plan.
Shikong and Liu Hanyan had little hesitation.
After brief internal communications, their teams promptly decided to heed the summon.
Eliminating a cancer like Jiang Taixuan, who thrived on the blood and flesh of his compatriots, was both a duty and the inherent resolve of a Martial Artist.