Chapter 460 - 303: An Eerie Song Rises, Celestial Wave Falls into the Sea, Jiangbei’s Great Retreat

The X-02 fighter jet streaked like a black bolt of lightning, skimming the sea’s surface at an altitude of less than a hundred meters as it shot toward the cave entrance.

Just as the fighter was about to enter the cave, a massive, battered figure shot out from within in a sorry state. It was Chen Meng’s Titan Battle Armor!

The two flying devices nearly scraped past each other in the narrow space, separated by less than a few dozen meters.

Chen Meng’s Titan Battle Armor was a wreck, its cockpit viewport riddled with cracks.

He saw the black fighter jet and the clearly visible East Sea City pilot inside. His face was a mask of terror, and he didn’t even have time to cry out. His eyes were filled with despair and exhaustion.

At the same time, Zhao Tianlan, through the glass of his Ghost Fighter, saw the face of Chen Meng inside the Titan Battle Armor, caked with dust and blood.

He could even see the madness erupting from Chen Meng’s single, bloodshot eye, along with a flicker of an unextinguished will to survive.

In that very instant, a faint, ethereal song suddenly rang out clearly in his mind.

The song was ethereal and otherworldly, carrying an indescribable allure that instantly pierced all his mental defenses.

Zhao Tianlan’s body suddenly stiffened. Behind the faceplate of his Blood Refining Helmet, his eyes stared blankly, losing all focus.

He saw his warm home, his closest comrades-in-arms, and Instructor Han Feng’s perpetually encouraging gaze.

His consciousness receded like the tide, and the Ghost Fighter spun out of control.

It spiraled in the air. The humming thrum of its engine’s energy vanished in an instant, and it became a dark, falling leaf.

Tracing a silent arc, it drifted helplessly toward the vast expanse of the sea in the distance.

...

"Commander, we lost contact with Chen Meng’s squad over twenty minutes ago!"

The atmosphere on the command bridge of the Jiangbei City cruiser, the Titan·Jingluo, was unusually heavy.

Adjutant Liu Dong pushed up his glasses, his face etched with worry as he stared at the screen, where the Broken Star Reef Sea Region had completely gone dark.

Zhao Heihu’s face was grim.

He watched the holographic map where Chen Meng’s signal had completely vanished at a certain point, and a sliver of unease crept into his heart.

He knew Chen Meng too well. If the kid hadn’t encountered some insurmountable danger, he never would have gone dark for this long.

"Hail all nearby vessels!"

Zhao Heihu slammed his hand on the console, his voice carrying an unquestionable command.

"Approach the edge of the Broken Star Reef Sea Region! Maintain a safe distance and observe the situation! Do not enter the signal interference zone!"

"Boss, what if..."

Li Si, one of Chen Meng’s other adjutants, hesitated. He knew that what Zhao Heihu feared most was losing this elite Titan Fleet.

"There is no ’what if’!"

Zhao Heihu stared coldly at the screen. "I want to know what the hell is happening down there!"

The order was quickly relayed.

Several of Jiangbei City’s Deep Dive Cruisers and the remaining Titan Battle Armor formations cautiously approached the Broken Star Reef.

They maintained a distance of about a kilometer, forming a semicircle around the reef and vigilantly scanning the fog-shrouded area with searchlights and sonar.

Suddenly, Liu Dong’s eyes lit up.

"Commander! Radar shows three Titan Battle Armor signals are ascending from the Broken Star Reef Area!"

"It’s Chen Meng!"

A flash of joy crossed Zhao Heihu’s eyes, and he immediately gave the order.

"Full speed ahead! Get them back here!"

The three cruisers immediately accelerated.

A few minutes later, three dilapidated Titan Battle Armors surfaced, like three steel behemoths that had just survived a catastrophe.

They were covered in wounds, with armor plates torn off in multiple places. They had clearly endured a brutal battle.

The Battle Armor piloted by Chen Meng was in an even more wretched state. Its left arm was nothing but a stump, and its entire body sparked with electricity.

"It’s Chen Meng! And Ma Liu and the others!" Li Si shouted excitedly.

"Ma Liu?"

Zhao Heihu frowned. He saw Chen Meng and the two other Mechas behind him, but they didn’t look like Ma Liu’s ride at all.

Besides, there seemed to be something wrong with the serial numbers on these three Mechas.

Before Zhao Heihu could think any further, Chen Meng’s hoarse voice came over the comms again, choked with sobs and terror:

"Calling the Jingluo! This is Chen Meng! Below the Broken Star Reef... there are ghosts under the Broken Star Reef! They’re all dead! Everyone’s dead!"

Zhao Heihu’s heart shuddered. He could hear the bone-deep terror in Chen Meng’s voice.

"Chen Meng! What the hell happened?!"

Zhao Heihu demanded in a deep voice, knowing this was not the time to assign blame.

Chen Meng was clearly hysterical, his story of what happened below coming out in fits and starts.

He spoke of the eerie song, of Engineer Wang’s self-detonation, and of Ma Liu’s horrific death.

His words were jumbled and fragmented, but terms like "Spiritual Attack," "turning on each other," and "the song" were enough to make Zhao Heihu’s expression turn exceptionally grim.

"Commander, communications from the Broken Star Reef... they’ve been cut off again!"

The communications officer’s voice rang out again, laced with obvious panic.

Zhao Heihu’s heart sank.

Before, he had judged it to be high-powered interference. Now, it seemed to be much more than that.

This meant the song’s corrosive reach was spreading, capable of affecting even the electronic equipment on the perimeter.

"Dammit! What the hell is that thing?"

Zhao Heihu looked at Chen Meng’s half-crazed state and the signal display on the screen, which had once again gone blank. An unprecedented sense of crisis welled up inside him.

He had a premonition that whatever existed beneath the Broken Star Reef was a hundred times more terrifying than they had ever imagined.

Just as he was about to issue the order to retreat, another burst of static crackled over the comms channel, followed by a voice, speaking intermittently.