"Boom!"
A deafening explosion instantly shattered the air, and the area where Ye Feng and his companions stood erupted in flames, with a column of black mushroom cloud soaring into the sky.
Fiery shockwaves, mixed with a large amount of earth and rocks, roared and swept outwards from the mushroom cloud as their center.
"Xiao Xiao, are you alright?"
Amidst the rolling black smoke and dust, Ye Feng's anxious voice rang out.
Following this, two figures, one large and one small, dashed out from the smoke – Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao.
Ye Feng's clothes were torn in several places, his face was covered in black soot, and some of his hair was scorched. Xiao Xiao, however, was relatively unharmed, though her complexion was a bit pale.
Just as the explosion occurred, Xiao Xiao had suddenly extended her hands, forming a transparent arcane energy wall that blocked a large portion of the flames and shockwaves.
"Big Brother, I'm fine!"
After running a safe distance from the epicenter of the explosion, Xiao Xiao took several deep breaths and shook her head.
Then, she looked worriedly at the billowing smoke and flames at the explosion site, "Big Brother, Sister Yun Yao, she..."
"Grandpa, how are you?"
At this moment, Shen Yun Yao's anxious voice echoed from the smoke, and Ye Feng saw Shen Yun Yao supporting Shen Bo Tian as they emerged.
"What's going on?"
Seeing Shen Bo Tian with blood at the corner of his mouth, multiple burns, and a blackened face, Ye Feng couldn't help but be surprised.
Immediately, he frowned, sensing something was amiss.
Although the explosion had happened suddenly, Shen Bo Tian had reacted instantly. Even if he had shielded Shen Yun Yao behind him, given the powerful aura Shen Bo Tian had inadvertently revealed before, he shouldn't have sustained such severe injuries.
"Cough, cough! Yao Yao, Grandpa is fine!"
Shen Bo Tian coughed a few times, with wisps of black smoke puffing from his nostrils, making for a rather comical sight.
"Grandpa, why did that person suddenly explode? Was it an assassination?"
Shen Yun Yao frowned and turned to look behind them at the steps where they had been standing.
There were no longer any steps there, only a large, burning pit.
Speaking of this, Shen Bo Tian also frowned. "It's very strange. That person just now, Lin Jian Zhong, has been with me for nearly twenty years. There's no reason for him to assassinate me!"
"And that explosion... it wasn't from explosives strapped to his body. Before the explosion, his body emitted a shattering red light from the inside out... it was as if his body itself was a bomb."
Shen Bo Tian's expression was grave.
"Boom! Boom! Rumble! Boom! Rumble!"
"Ah! Aah! Save me..."
As soon as Shen Bo Tian finished speaking, violent explosions sounded from all four directions of the City Lord's mansion. Flames erupted, thick smoke billowed, and screams could be heard incessantly.
"What's happening? Is someone attacking Mecha City? And the inner city at that?"
Seeing this, Ye Feng couldn't help but frown.
"City Lord!"
"City Lord!"
After a while, Shen Qing and Shen Bai arrived before Shen Bo Tian.
"What's going on? Has someone invaded Mecha City?"
Shen Bo Tian furrowed his brow slightly and looked at Shen Qing and Shen Bai with a confused gaze.
"Lord City Lord, the exact situation is unclear, but it seems someone intentionally caused explosions in various important locations within Mecha City!"
"These explosions are very strange. I initially thought someone had strapped explosives to themselves for a suicide attack, but judging from the recent explosion at the Secret Armor Institute, the explosive itself was the human body!"
Shen Bai quickly explained to Shen Bo Tian.
"The human body itself?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Bo Tian, Ye Feng, and the others turned their gaze towards the area where the previous explosion had occurred.
"Lord City Lord, I received a report from my subordinates that a large number of unknown, powerful monsters have appeared in the outer city of Mecha City. Cang Shi has already taken people to deal with them!"
At this moment, Shen Qing interjected.
"Boom! Rumble! Boom!"
Before Shen Bo Tian could reply, a flash of fire appeared in the sky above their heads, followed by a massive explosion. Several flying mechas had detonated.
Upon closer inspection, all these exploding mechas detonated after a blood-red mecha had streaked past them at high speed.
"Did that blood-red mecha throw high-explosive bombs at the other mechas?"
Ye Feng's eyesight far surpassed that of ordinary people, and he vaguely saw something.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
At this moment, the blood-red mecha circled rapidly in the air, simultaneously dropping transparent spherical glass orbs.
One of these transparent glass orbs fell not far from Ye Feng and his companions. Ye Feng looked even more clearly now and saw that inside the orb was a substance resembling an embryo.
"Clang~"
The glass orb shattered instantly upon hitting the ground. The embryo-like substance inside began to bulge and expand rapidly, quickly growing into a monster with a tiger's head and a scorpion's tail, massive in size.
"Chirp-ka!~"
The tiger-headed, scorpion-tailed monster roared and lunged towards Ye Feng and his companions.
Seeing this, Shen Qing waved his hand, and a blade-shaped golden light shot towards the monster. It was gold-attribute arcane energy.
The blade-shaped golden light instantly pierced the monster's head, killing it.
"This transparent glass orb... and the way these monsters appear..."
Witnessing the scene, Ye Feng couldn't help but recall encountering Kolgi when they were searching for the Everlasting Ice in Frost City. The transparent glass orbs he threw back then were identical to these... and after the orbs broke, they also grew into various monsters.
"Lord City Lord, should we have Song Tie bring people over to the City Lord's mansion..."
Shen Qing scanned their surroundings and looked at Shen Bo Tian inquiringly.
"No!"
As soon as Shen Qing finished speaking, Shen Bo Tian waved his hand. "Shen Qing, you, Shen Bai, Cang Shi, and Song Tie, take your people to clear out the monsters and enemies within Mecha City. If there are monster hordes or large enemy forces attacking the outer perimeter of Mecha City, defend it, but do not pursue rashly!"
Saying this, Shen Bo Tian's hand flashed, and a large black box instantly appeared. Upon opening it, rows of walkie-talkies were revealed.
Shen Bo Tian kept one for himself and handed the rest to Shen Qing.
"Yes!"
Shen Qing took the large box and began distributing them to Shen Bai and the others. Then, the group quickly departed in different directions, without any sign of panic.
"Ye Feng, Yao Yao, let's go, to the secret chamber!"
Afterward, Shen Bo Tian addressed Ye Feng and Shen Yun Yao.
"Uh... Senior Shen, in this situation... won't you stay and command?"
Ye Feng was surprised and confused.
After all, Mecha City was engulfed in smoke and chaos, and this was precisely when Shen Bo Tian, as the City Lord, should be present to direct the defense. Yet, Shen Bo Tian wanted to go to that secret chamber with him?
Wouldn't it be more appropriate to look at that thing left behind by Shen Lang after the chaos subsided?
Shen Yun Yao also looked at Shen Bo Tian with a puzzled expression. She found her grandfather's actions today to be rather inconsiderate!