"Copy you?" Luan Yu's face turned extremely unpleasant. "Are you sure that's a copy of you? A copy should resemble you more."
"What do you mean?"
Luan Yu's brow furrowed. "With another me around, I haven't had the chance to probe her past memories, but I feel that apart from similar abilities, she has nothing in common with you."
This time, Zhuo Nian was also somewhat bewildered.
Apart from the "her" who was copied in that world, she couldn't think of any other possibility.
But…
She asked the system in her mind, "Will there be other copies of me in that world?"
The system couldn't be sure either, and could only guess, "【There shouldn't be. Host, didn't you kill her? No one wants a copy of themselves, and copies are no exception. Moreover, even if there were, she should have followed you out when you left. That place is just… in short, it shouldn't be.】"
Zhuo Nian didn't want to dwell on what the system hesitated about; her inner confusion had already left her in a muddle.
Luan Yu's eyes darted around, looking at her several times as if she had something to say but hesitated.
"Speak your mind."
Luan Yu sat up straighter and said very seriously, "Do you remember what I said before about seeing your past, the thing that was peeled away from your body?"
Zhuo Nian frowned, not quite understanding the connection between these two matters.
"That person, she was very similar to you back then, as if she was that part you peeled away."
Zhuo Nian froze.
"A Nian."
Zhuo Chongyan's voice sounded from the doorway.
The two of them were interrupted. Zhuo Nian's thoughts were also interrupted. She temporarily stopped her deep contemplation and called out in a clear voice, "What is it?"
"Professor Sheng is calling you."
Zhuo Nian remembered it was the first official day of work for 002 and worried he had an urgent matter. She got up to open the door.
Zhuo Chongyan handed her the phone.
"Hello, it's me. What's wrong?"
Sheng Qingchi's voice was filled with panic and fear. "A giant void has appeared in the sky above the South China Sea, and the things inside are dragons!"
Zhuo Nian's expression changed. "Send someone to pick me up."
She hung up the phone and looked at Zhuo Chongyan. "I'm going to the South China Sea. You protect yourself and the baby."
Zhuo Chongyan understood the urgency and immediately nodded in agreement.
Luan Yu also followed out and asked, "What happened?"
"A dragon came out of a void." Zhuo Nian looked at her and asked, "It's not yours, is it?"
Luan Yu shook her head.
Zhuo Nian turned to leave.
"I'm going too."
She was still recovering from a serious injury, and Zhuo Nian instinctively wanted to refuse.
"I'll send them into another dimension."
Hearing this, Zhuo Nian nodded.
Soon, they were picked up by a car from the research institute and went directly to the airport, then flew to the South China Sea.
City S was located in the south and was relatively close to the South China Sea, so they arrived in a little over an hour.
Many people could be seen on the streets, flustered and at a loss, while others held their phones, watching and looking for places to hide.
Zhuo Nian also took out her phone. After unlocking it, as expected, it was 002 organizing evacuations or emergency shelters, but she didn't know how many people would believe him.
【Rescue has arrived in the South China Sea. All citizens are requested to stay at home and do not go out! Residents on the islands are asked not to gather in shelters but to disperse as much as possible. Citizens north of Tonghua Street Block should go to the nearest management office to collect protective shields according to the information received. Citizens already wearing magnetic shields should not panic; the anomalies will not harm you. Please keep your phones with you and do not stray from devices that can receive information or broadcasts…】
His voice was calm and steady, instilling a sense of security.
However, with a sudden disaster, when everyone was caught off guard, terrible things were bound to happen.
"Miss Gu, you're finally here. They…"
Zhuo Nian looked up at the sky. Not far from the coast, above the ocean, a giant void had appeared, and dragon-like monsters were flying out of it.
They were much uglier than the dragons of legend. Their bodies showed various incomplete replications caused by interdimensional effects. Some had multiple heads, some had dense claws, some had two bodies, and some dragged four or five tails…
A cloud of smoke was rising from the sea, with some indiscernible objects floating on it. Not far from them, a large number of soldiers stood guard, with various weapons at the ready.
"How many have come out?"
"Currently, sixteen. One was shot down just now." Sheng Qingchi's tone was a little excited. "We thought they were very powerful and didn't know how to deal with them, so we just fired cannons when they charged, and then shot one down."
Perhaps because that shot had a deterrent effect, the dragon-like monsters did not dare to charge towards their cannons.
"However, although they dare not come closer, they are unwilling to go back either. They are just hovering there. More keep coming out, it feels like…"
"Waiting for the most powerful one to come out and lead them to attack."
Sheng Qingchi's eyes widened instantly.
"Let them keep guarding. If any come, shoot them down. Absolutely do not let them land."
She nudged the person beside her. "I'll kill first. You find a way to close that hole."
Luan Yu swallowed. "I, I'll try my best."
This was going to be the death of her!
Why were there dragons?
Weren't these things from legends? So grand and magnificent, and so many appearing at once, was that appropriate? Was it reasonable?
She was injured and was no different from a cripple now. She didn't know what she could do.
Zhuo Nian turned around, and under the astonished gazes of several people, she flew towards the dragon-like monsters hovering in the sky, carrying a long sword that had appeared out of nowhere.
Dragons.
The moment she saw them, many things fell into place, allowing her to understand a lot.
The part of her that was stripped away from her body became another "her." Her other "her" was with Luan Yu's other "her." One possessed her abilities, able to traverse voids at will, while the other possessed Luan Yu's abilities, sending these things through other dimensions to become more powerful and terrifying monsters.
Therefore, dragons, which should have existed in ancient times, appeared here.
And these appearing now were clearly just the beginning.
She swung her long sword, severing the head of one monster. Its heavy body immediately fell.
The other monsters twisted their bodies in the air and flew towards her. Their scaled bodies reflected a faint gleam under the sun, appearing extremely tough.
But with a single sword strike, their bodies were still split in two.
This was a massacre of monsters by her, and at the same time, a murder by the monsters using a war of attrition to deplete her strength.
More and more dragon-like monsters emerged from the void. The monsters that came out were larger, their scales harder. The people on the ground could not see clearly, and their hearts were filled with dread.
When another giant three-headed dragon-like monster emerged, Luan Yu could no longer sit still.
"Damn it!"
Sheng Qingchi looked at the sky, then at her. "Madam, do you have a way?"
Luan Yu's hand moved, and her scepter appeared in her hand. "Send them to hell!"