Chapter 49: Man-Made Disasters (4)

“Damn it—!”

Seraphina cursed under her breath, her faceplate snapping shut, but the comms system still buzzed with maddening static…

How long until the jamming clears?

Wasn’t the countermeasure ready yet?

Her fingers tapped the air, and a holographic projection of Eisenburg materialized before her chest.

The city’s 3D model unfurled—a squat, broad nail.

Streets, buildings, underground networks…

The central underground city, which should’ve been aglow with green signals, now flickered with glaring red dots.

—All damaged facilities.

Worse, several zones’ signal nodes had gone completely dark…

That location…

Her pupils shook.

The data pinpointed the explosion’s epicenter—right at the safehouse she’d prepared for Mili.

No…

Not nearby.

Exactly there.

Based on the node outages and power system failures, she could deduce—the blast came from inside the safehouse.

Seraphina stared at the spreading dead zone, a rare panic rising in her chest.

“Impossible…”

She muttered to herself.

The safehouse had top-tier defenses, capable of withstanding even a direct nuclear strike.

And her personal guards were handpicked loyalists—no chance of betrayal…

None!

But now…

Only an internal explosion could cause this…

Lin Lan, watching the silent silver armor, didn’t know where to go.

The palace held no trace of Mili.

Seraphina’s reaction made it clear the underground was critical—likely where Mili was hidden…

—But that couldn’t be where Mili was.

Murphyxia wouldn’t do that.

Yet she hadn’t provided the next step, leaving Lin Lan stumbling in the dark…

What now?

Her fists clenched, creaking.

Two choices:

Follow Seraphina to check the underground.

But that would waste precious time to find Mili…

Or head to the surface city to search for Mili’s true location.

But that would expose her intentions, and Seraphina might turn and fight…

What if?

What if Mili was underground…?

Where should she go?

Buzz—

As she hesitated, a low hum came from the silver armor’s back.

Lin Lan snapped her head up, seeing massive, thin wings unfold from Seraphina’s shoulder blades and waist, vibrating at high frequency…

Then, small thrusters emerged from hidden compartments across the armor…

Arms, legs…

A main thruster pack, unnoticed until now, locked onto her back.

Flight module?

What was she doing?!

Lin Lan’s eyes widened.

Heavy exoskeleton combat armor was built for ground warfare.

Even the cutting-edge [Valkyrie] couldn’t fly.

The reason was simple—too heavy.

Two tons.

—That was just the main frame, heavier than a small car.

Even with power assistance, it was like wearing a vehicle.

The full [Valkyrie] setup—

Power core, weapons, life support, armor plates—tipped over three tons…

Three tons!

A small tank!

To lift such a beast required immense thrust.

Then there were aerodynamics, material strength, joint stress, and more…

Air resistance, turbulence, balance loss, human tolerance to such G-forces…

Even in aviation, these were complex engineering hurdles.

That was one issue.

Another: the [Valkyrie]’s power core lasted less than an hour under load.

Once drained, it was a giant scrap heap…

Fly?

The energy wouldn’t suffice.

It’d crash mid-flight.

Yet the silver armor not only flew but spewed steady blue-white flames, maintaining stability!

Seraphina’s feet left the ground, hovering like a silver angel statue…

One meter…

Five…

Ten.

After reaching altitude, she streaked toward the central district, leaving faint blue flame trails in the night sky, breathtakingly beautiful.

Lin Lan’s tactical system frantically analyzed the data, but one fact stood out—the armor matched the [Valkyrie]’s defensive strength…

Ignoring piloting skill…

What did this mean?

Had Eisenburg’s tech surpassed the Steel Brotherhood?

Outdone the mad scientists behind the [Valkyrie]?

Developed a more advanced exoskeleton?

Found a better energy source?

Broken material science barriers?

Such tech should only exist in blueprints…

The south was still under feint attack…

Without Mili or a rendezvous with Murphyxia, Lin Lan could only follow Seraphina to see what was up.

Catch the leader first!

Gritting her teeth, she maxed the [Valkyrie]’s power and chased.

She couldn’t fly, but couldn’t she run?

She stomped, leaping over the wall, her heavy armor thundering across the ground, leaving deep footprints…

…

“Let through! Move aside!”

“Patient’s losing blood! Needs surgery now!”

“Blood plasma’s low… who’s O-type? Anyone O-type?!”

Amid the chaos, no one noticed a small figure huddled in the corner.

Stretchers rolled in and out, doctors and nurses bustling, blood and antiseptic smells mingling, spreading…

“Kid, you waiting for someone?”

A gentle female voice came from above.

Mili looked up, seeing a young nurse looking at her with concern.

Her white coat was stained with blood and grime, her face exhausted, dark circles worse than Mili’s ever were…

Mili nodded, then shook her head.

The nurse paused, then gave a wry smile:

“Sorry, kid, we need this spot. Too many wounded—we’re using chairs as makeshift beds.”

“…”

Mili stood, leaning on her knees, glancing outside before obediently moving toward the door, hugging the wall.

“Hey, wait!” The nurse, hauling a chair, called out.

“You said you’re waiting? For family?”

“A… a sister.”

Mili paused, smiling awkwardly.

“What’s she look like?”

“Gray… grayish-white hair, lots of braids, wears jeans…”

“Hm…” The nurse frowned, thinking:

“Sorry, haven’t seen her. Once the director’s free, I’ll take you to ask.”

“With tonight’s mess, if she’s outside, it’ll be tough for her to reach you.”

Mili shook her head slightly, silent.

“Oh! Right, kid!” The nurse shuffled over, dragging the chair. “Since you’re free, wanna help us out?”

“Huh…?”