Chapter 317: Explosion

"Is it finally over..."

Seeing the scorching pillars of fire erupt from the distant earth, Tan Xin, leaning against the ruins of the city gate, closed his eyes with a sense of relief.

Just then, a figure sat down gently beside him.

Hearing the movement, Tan Xin opened his eyes sharply. From start to finish, he hadn't sensed anyone approaching him... and in Aurora City now, where could there be any living people left??

When he saw the red hair fluttering in the wind beside him, he froze in place.

"You... didn't you leave by train??" Tan Xin's eyes widened.

"Oh, I jumped off," Hong Xiu said casually, sitting in the ruins.

"??? Are you crazy?!"

"I said I was leaving just to give you some peace of mind... Do you really think I'd let my subordinates wait here to die while I played the deserter?"

"Then by staying, aren't you just waiting to be blown up with me??"

"I am the leader of [Asura]. Even nuclear weapons can't kill me; this little explosion isn't much of a problem."

"Even so... without the train, how will you get out of the Forbidden Sea??"

"Didn't you say it yourself? Even without the train, I can slaughter my way through the Forbidden Sea."

"You..."

Tan Xin stared at Hong Xiu, speechless for a moment.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Hong Xiu patted Tan Xin's shoulder. She looked into his eyes, and after a moment of silence, said earnestly, "I... had to come to see you off."

*BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!*

As the explosives in various areas were detonated, the chain of explosions drew closer and closer to the city gate. The scorching flames were reflected in Hong Xiu's eyes, and Tan Xin didn't know what to say for a moment.

Finally, he shook his head bitterly and closed his eyes, leaning against the broken wall.

"...Suit yourself, damn it... who could ever do anything to you?"

Seeing his helpless expression, a faint smile curled at the corners of Hong Xiu's mouth. She also closed her eyes and leaned against the broken wall, letting the explosion that could destroy everything draw near...

The scorching hurricane swept over the two of them, and the black Enforcer trench coat swayed in the wind.

Hong Xiu pressed a hand to her red hair fluttering by her ear, closed her eyes, and said softly amidst the roar:

"...Tan Xin."

"Hmm?"

"I will carry the will of Aurora City and find a way to save you all..."

"I know, you're the Chief Enforcer of Aurora City, after all." Tan Xin kept his eyes closed.

"Of course, that reason is also very important..."

"Are there other reasons?"

"There are. Want to guess?"

"What's there for me to guess..."

Before Tan Xin could finish, a pair of warm, soft lips suddenly covered his. He opened his eyes in astonishment and saw the fiery red hair dancing in the scorching storm, a pair of eyes filled with crystalline tears looking at him from inches away, tears rolling silently from the corners of her eyes...

*BOOM—!!*

The explosives at the very edge of the city detonated with a roar, and the blinding sun engulfed the entire ruin. Tan Xin's hands wrapped gently around the figure's back, as if wanting to pull her into his embrace...

The next moment, the light of the flames completely swallowed them both.

Dozens of explosion points were triggered, and the entire Aurora City turned into a sea of fire. In this brilliant light, countless Calamities were burned to ash. The angry roars of giant beasts seemed to tear the sky apart, but even so, they were drowned out by the deafening roar.

Outside the city.

Seeing the blinding firelight shoot into the sky, shock appeared on the faces of several Twilight Society members.

"Whoa!" Heart 9 felt the incoming heatwave and widened his eyes in disbelief, "Is this the strength of Heart 6??"

"...These must be the explosives pre-prepared by the Aurora Base," Chu Muyun adjusted his glasses. "Although it's unclear what they were originally for, they've done a good deed now... At least, they've relieved humanity of the pressure of a million Calamities."

"Heart 6 doing big things in silence? This kid has some skills."

[10] nodded slightly, a look of admiration and praise appearing in his eyes: "Although you can't really tell from the outside, from this incident, you can see that Heart 6 is actually quite warm-hearted."

"Warm-hearted? Yeah, definitely quite warm-hearted," Heart 9 spread his hands. "So warm, he's probably charred by now."

“……”

"Hey, did any of you see that person?"

"No idea... come to think of it, when the explosion first happened, that person seemed to have disappeared..."

"Could it be..."

The members of the Twilight Society looked at each other.

……

The scorching flames gradually dissipated, revealing the scarred appearance of the earth.

Amidst the flying dust and embers, a bloodied skeleton was recovering at an astonishing speed. White bones grew flesh, flesh grew skin, and within seconds, a red-haired figure returned to her original appearance.

Hong Xiu maintained the posture she had during the explosion, her arms wrapped around nothingness. Between her arms, dust and dirt were rolling silently into the sky along with the embers of the flames.

She was still alive, but he... was already dead, right before her eyes.

The sobbing cold wind wailed. She knelt alone in the ruins for a long time, then stood up slowly and silently...

She picked up the dust-covered black Enforcer trench coat from the ground and draped it over herself again; on her chest, a transparent pendant containing a tongue was silently flashing with light.

Her eyes reflected the cyan and blue aurora flowing across the sky, her fire-like red hair dancing in the wind.

Finally, she said only two words, calmly and resolutely:

"...Wait for me."

She turned and walked out of the ruins.

However, she had only taken a few steps when she suddenly paused, as if sensing something, and frowned as she looked into the depths of the Aurora City wreckage...

In the gray Aurora City, even though the vast majority of Calamities had been turned to ash by this terrifying explosion, a few behemoths had survived. They roared angrily, dragging their broken bodies as if searching for something in the city.

*Thump—*

In the ruins of the tower, a hand wearing a scarlet opera costume suddenly reached out from the discarded bricks.

Immediately after, a figure slowly sat upright from the dust, like a puppet pulled by strings, standing up in an incomprehensible posture. Every joint in his body was making cracking sounds.

Even after experiencing such a terrifying explosion, the opera robe on his body remained spotless, as new as if it had just been woven!

Although it only made a slight sound, it was enough to attract attention in the deathly silent ruins. Those surviving behemoths looked sharply toward this direction, and upon discovering that single splash of scarlet, their furious roars sounded like thunder!!

Chen Ling's explosion had not only killed millions of Forbidden young but also a large number of low-tier Calamities, which could be said to have forged a blood feud. If they didn't kill Chen Ling today, they wouldn't be able to vent their hatred!

Just as the many Calamities were rushing toward here like madmen, the figure in the bright red opera robe moved. His neck slowly twisted until his face turned to the back, staring straight at the void.

His pupils were hollow, like an abyss...