Chapter 461 - 303: The Eerie Song Rises, Celestial Wave Falls into the Sea, Jiangbei’s Great Retreat

"C... Commander... it’s me... Engineer Wang..."

Zhao Heihu’s single eye shot wide, and every hair on his body stood on end.

’Engineer Wang?’

’Isn’t that the guy Chen Meng said blew himself up down there?!’

"Engineer Wang? You... you’re still alive?" Zhao Heihu asked, forcing himself to remain calm, but his voice trembled uncontrollably.

"Alive... of course... I’m alive..."

The voice on the other end of the line sounded somewhat hollow, yet it was tinged with a bizarre excitement.

"Commander... we... we found... something good... Commander... where... where are you?"

Zhao Heihu’s heart leaped into his throat. ’Something is very wrong with his tone!’

’There isn’t the slightest hint of a survivor’s relief in that voice, only a bizarre fanaticism. And he’s asking for my position!’

"Commander, that voice... something’s not right..."

Liu Dong had also noticed something was wrong, and his face paled.

"Cut the comms, now!" Zhao Heihu practically roared.

With a burst of static, the transmission was forcibly cut. Zhao Heihu shot to his feet, a cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

He didn’t know how Engineer Wang had "survived," nor did he know what this "something good" he spoke of really was.

But he knew one thing: he absolutely could not let this "Engineer Wang" find him!

The eerie song and the man’s condition reminded him of the rumors about the Evil Cultists—the Children of the Mist.

"Relay my orders immediately!"

Zhao Heihu’s voice was laced with an unprecedented finality.

"All ships! Immediately! Now! Full speed! Get clear of the Broken Star Reef Area! Pull back!"

"And another thing! All ships maintain a minimum distance of five kilometers from each other!

Any ship that dares to approach another without authorization is to be warned. If the warning is ignored, open fire! Do you understand?!"

"Commander?!" Li Si and the other officers were stunned. ’What kind of order is this? Is he ordering us to turn on each other?’

"That’s an order! Execute it!"

Zhao Heihu’s single eye swept across the room, like that of a wounded wolf.

"Now, proceed immediately to the pre-set rendezvous point! Liu Dong, contact the Speaker immediately!

Tell him to use every resource at his disposal to screen every person and ship evacuating the Dragon Abyss’s area of influence!

Until then, no one goes near anyone else!"

He knew that song might have already wormed its way into their minds. Any survivor could be an infected "bomb."

In a situation like this, it was better to make a painful sacrifice than be consumed by the unknown!

"Yes, sir!"

Though Liu Dong and the others didn’t understand, they were cowed by the frantic resolve radiating from Zhao Heihu and immediately sprang into action.

HMMMM—

The engines of the cruiser *Titan·Jingluo* let out a deafening roar as it turned its bow.

Plowing a massive white wake across the ocean’s surface, it sped away from the Broken Star Reef.

The rest of the Jiangbei City Fleet quickly followed suit, each ship maintaining an eerie distance from the others.

Like a flock of startled birds, they beat a hasty retreat in the direction from which they had come.

A dead silence fell over the Broken Star Reef Sea Region once more.

With the rapid retreat of the Jiangbei City Fleet, the communications jamming that had blanketed the entire area vanished in an instant.

The oppressive sense of blockade that had hung over Dragon’s Fang Port like a great mountain finally lifted completely.

Inside the Command Tower, Liu Zhen and Wang Qiang felt the clear signal return to their communicators. They exchanged a look, but neither felt the joy of having survived a close call.

Jiangbei City’s sudden, fierce attack, followed by their equally sudden and bizarre retreat, left them both feeling deeply uneasy.

"Sir, the signal is restored... but it looks like Jiangbei City has retreated."

Wang Qiang stared at the red dots scattering rapidly across the radar screen and said, somewhat bewildered.

Liu Zhen said nothing, merely lifting his gaze to the distant horizon.

’I don’t know how Zhao Tianlan is doing. What in the world happened in the reef area? Why would the Jiangbei City fleet suddenly retreat?’

’This whole affair is just too bizarre.’