Chapter 58: Eye of Creation!

"Count it," Nangong Zhiwen nodded immediately, saying, "That makes things much easier to explain. Look, if I wanted to modify the game data of A Chinese Odyssey, I could do it through this kind of Trojan horse program. Because it is connected to the internet, no matter how strong the game company's network defense is, in the hands of a skilled hacker, they will always find a weak spot to attack."

"However, games like Counter-Strike or Red Alert are standalone offline games that don't connect to the network. You can play them even if your computer isn't plugged into an internet cable. But for me to use another computer to interfere with a Red Alert match you are playing at this exact moment—that is simply impossible."

Nangong Zhiwen nodded slightly and said, "I understand. It's like wanting to pollute a river. The internet is a tributary of that river, and I can dump toxins into the tributary so that they flow into the mainstream."

"But a standalone game, or rather, the Reaper drone itself, is an artificial lake completely disconnected from the outside world. It's stagnant water. Is that a correct explanation?"

Xie Baorong was torn between laughter and tears, nodded, and said, "Your analogy is quite something, but... I suppose it's roughly correct."

Yet Nangong Zhiwen's expression turned worried as he whispered, "That means as long as the battlefield environment meets its trigger conditions, the Trojan horse program on the Reaper drone will definitely be triggered. None of us—not even Ji Ling right now—can stop it, is that right?"

Xie Baorong was stunned by the question, clicked his tongue slightly, and said, "I'm afraid... that's the case."

...

Eastern Theater Command.

Broad daylight.

The soldiers of the Eastern Theater Command gathered once again, preparing to begin the tasks of a new day.

The content of the mission remained the same: twenty-eight Divine Covenantors, including Ji Ling, would push outward in eight directions to clear the black fog and search for the traces of the Boss.

Due to Ji Ling's overwhelmingly powerful performance over the past few days, he had long since requested to operate alone. After all, for Ji Ling, if he truly encountered terrifyingly powerful anomalous creatures or an actual Boss, the soldiers assigned to protect him would not only be unable to offer any help, but would likely become a burden instead.

Taking into account the formidable strength Ji Ling had displayed over the last few days, Generals Lin and Xu ultimately approved his request.

However, Nangong Lingyue requested to accompany Ji Ling, citing two reasons.

The first was that in the event of any unexpected accident befalling Ji Ling, there needed to be someone to return and report the news.

This was a very valid reason. To all the soldiers within the current Eastern Theater Command, Ji Ling had undoubtedly become the backbone of their existence.

Should anything go wrong with Ji Ling, the consequences would indeed be unimaginable.

Although internal military communication bands could function normally within the safe zones cleared at the center of the black fog, and a radio could be used to report should an accident occur, the fear was that they might encounter an entity so overwhelmingly powerful that Ji Ling would be instantly killed without even being able to utter a single word, failing to provide timely notification. That risk was simply too great to take.

The second reason was that while Ji Ling was indeed strong enough that protecting a dozen people might make them a burden, protecting Nangong Lingyue alone should pose little to no problem.

Generals Lin and Xu considered the first reason to be quite sound and reasonable.

As for the second reason, it inevitably carried a hint of a young girl's willful temper.

However, the two shrewd veterans had long since perceived the special dynamic between Ji Ling and Nangong Lingyue, so they were more than happy to help bring them together and readily approved the request.

Consequently, the black fog expansion missions over the past few days had been carried out exclusively by Ji Ling and Nangong Lingyue.

At this moment, by the edge of the beach.

Ji Ling lay down on the sand, looking somewhat listless.

Nangong Lingyue walked over and asked, "Why aren't you moving?"

"Where am I supposed to walk to?" Ji Ling glanced sideways at Nangong Lingyue and said, "There's the sea right ahead. You don't expect me to walk into the ocean, do you?"

"Then walk along the coastline!" Nangong Lingyue immediately pointed toward the black fog at the edge of the beach.

Ji Ling shook his head and replied, "It's pointless. Without finding the Boss, everything is in vain. Any black fog we expand outward today will just counterattack and swallow the area back up tomorrow."

"I'm thinking about whether there's a faster way to find the Boss."

"Being trapped like this with over a hundred thousand people is no long-term solution."

Nangong Lingyue clicked her tongue slightly, nodded, and said, "That's true..."

With that, she lay down right beside Ji Ling.

Yet, as she cast her gaze to the side, Nangong Lingyue witnessed a bizarre sight.

"Hey, hey, hey! Look over there!" Nangong Lingyue pointed into the distance.

In that direction, a seagull contaminated by the black fog was incessantly slamming itself against a wall of air.

Every single impact caused it to bounce backward.

"An air wall! It's an air wall!" Nangong Lingyue cried out anxiously.

Ji Ling immediately turned his head and looked toward that direction.

However, the moment Ji Ling's gaze landed on that spot, his eyes instantly filled with astonishment.

What shocked him was not witnessing the so-called air wall and the seagull infected by the black fog, but rather the fact that, within his field of vision, the otherwise empty expanse in the distance was outlined in golden threads, forming the silhouette of a beast!

It was a beastly silhouette standing as tall as a three-story building, resembling a wolf. Its two front paws crouched upon the shoreline, and upon closer inspection, where those beastly paws extended into the sea, the ocean waves broke and rebounded against them just as if they were crashing into a reef.

Had it not been for the golden threads outlined within Ji Ling's vision, this scene would truly have been impossible to detect!

Filled with intense excitement, Ji Ling immediately understood what was happening.

This was the ability bestowed by Yinglong's Genesis Eye!

The Genesis Eye possessed the power to perceive the origin of all things and the essence of reality, and naturally, it could see right through this invisible anomalous creature!

"I see it! This is indeed an invisible, giant anomalous creature!" Ji Ling whispered urgently, "It's about three stories tall, shaped like a jackal."

"Huh? Are you sure? How come I can't see anything?" Nangong Lingyue rubbed her eyes hard.

Ji Ling immediately extended a finger and said, "Look along the direction of my finger. Right there, where the waves are being beaten back—do you see it? That's its front paw!"

Nangong Lingyue closed one eye and looked along the trajectory of Ji Ling's arm. Sure enough, she witnessed the eerie phenomenon of the waves splashing backward!

"Unbelievable!" Nangong Lingyue said with excitement.

Ji Ling took a deep breath and said, "Don't alert the enemy. I'm reporting this immediately."

With that, Ji Ling picked up his radio terminal and spoke in a low voice, "Reporting, reporting. At the beach on the eastern side of the camp, we have discovered the suspected invisible anomalous creature we theorized about earlier. It is massive in size and suspected to be at the Boss level."