Chapter 134: Breaking Through the Barrier

Chapter 134: Breaking the Barrier

At the crucial junction connecting the Noon Seventh District and the Wei Eighth District to the Eternal Zone, Xia Zheng had established solid defensive fortifications capable of weathering attacks from ordinary and mutated zombies alike. The logistics base was now operating at full capacity to supply the front line; while resource consumption was high, the significant stockpiles gathered earlier, combined with the gradual recovery of production, allowed them to sustain the effort for the short term.

Xia Zheng found the thick barrier before him significantly more daunting than the one he had encountered at Peijier. Back then, he hadn't breached the barrier; instead, he had forced a helicopter landing before the barrier could seal shut. Later, when departing, he had escaped through a secret underground passage revealed to him by Diluo.

But now, he had to forcibly breach the barrier, even if it meant tearing only a single opening.

"Commence a probing attack," Xia Zheng ordered. Soon, the existing artillery roared to life, divided into two main categories: kinetic fire and energy-based fire.

After one round of attacks, the barrier remained almost entirely unscathed. The conclusion was clear: energy weapons had almost no effect, while only kinetic fire dealt damage. Even then, the impact was limited, as the barrier possessed the hallmark regenerative capabilities of the Bloodlines; their self-healing was always astonishing.

"It seems only kinetic fire can cause effective damage. Let us concentrate our firepower," Luo Bing suggested.

"I agree," Xia Zheng replied. Consequently, all kinetic artillery was focused on a small area for a concentrated strike. The barrier began to fluctuate, shining with intermittent light, which instantly boosted the morale of everyone present.

Ten minutes later, however, the faces of the troops turned grim. While a gap had indeed appeared, the barrier's powerful regenerative ability restricted the opening to the size of a coin—too small for even a single person to pass through.

Luo Bing and other Star-Tier warriors led the remaining genetic warriors in a joint assault on this coin-sized gap. They unleashed all their skills, but the hole expanded only to the size of a ping-pong ball before refusing to grow further.

"Let me try," Xia Zheng said, signaling for Luo Bing and the others to step back and rest. As he stepped forward, everyone watched with anticipation; he was, after all, universally acknowledged as the strongest among them.

Xia Zheng first unleashed his Divine Thunder skill. A roar erupted above them, and a purple bolt of lightning struck the gap, causing the barrier to shudder violently. Wisps of blue smoke rose from the opening. As the smoke cleared, the onlookers were astonished to see the gap had widened enough to fit a fist inside.

Next, Xia Zheng’s mental consciousness manifested the Dripping Water Sword, forming hundreds of icy blades. Under his control, they carved into the edges of the gap, working to widen the breach.

However, the barrier seemed to sense the crisis and accelerated its regeneration. A tug-of-war ensued; every time Xia Zheng widened the hole, the barrier intensified its recovery speed, keeping the opening fixed at roughly the size of a fist.

"Blazing Flame Arrow!" Xia Zheng shouted. While maintaining control of the Dripping Water Sword, he drew his bow and fired an arrow of flame.

The onlookers were stunned by such near-magical attacks; to them, even the most powerful genetic warriors of the current era could not achieve such feats.

"Is this the power of future humanity?" Luo Bing wondered, lost in thought. Through her time spent with him, she had arrived at a "truth": Xia Zheng was a human from the future who had returned to this past through special means, attempting to save Eternal Night City and rewrite history.

Luo Bing had not shared this secret with anyone. Xia Zheng had told her that, in the future, humanity would master powers like his, enabling them to truly stand against the Bloodlines.

The flame arrow widened the gap several times over, reaching the size of a basketball. Yet, it still wasn't enough. The barrier, seemingly provoked, rippled and throbbed, suddenly spewing dozens of blood-red masses. These masses rapidly shifted and transformed into human shapes—clones that looked exactly like them, save for the fact that they were entirely blood-red.

"Stop them!" Luo Bing charged forward first, followed immediately by other genetic warriors. Soldiers opened fire, though artillery was now unsuitable for the close-quarters skirmish.

The two sides clashed. Xia Zheng continued to attack the barrier while his comrades bought him time. The barrier continued to吐出 (expel) blood-red masses, no longer just clones, but mutated zombies and low-level Bloodlines.

Casualties began to mount among the troops, but the defensive line held firm, with Luo Bing and the others fighting tooth and nail to hold the enemies back.

Xia Zheng diverted part of his mental energy to control the Dripping Water Sword, relentlessly damaging the gap. Simultaneously, he popped several mental spirit beads into his mouth, rolling them with his tongue to absorb their energy, instantly replenishing his depleted mental reserves.

"Blazing Ice Sword!" With a thunderous crack, a trail of cold swept through the air, cutting through dozens of newly formed mutated zombies and low-level Bloodlines. They were frozen solid, only to be consumed by a blast of fire.

But the Blazing Ice Sword’s main target was the barrier. The storm of ice shards roared forward, plunging into the gap before detonating. It froze a hundred-meter radius around the opening, followed by an explosion of high-temperature fire that shattered the area like glass. The barrier, struggling to both expel more blood-red masses and repair the breach, was finally overwhelmed. Its regenerative power was suppressed by the dual forces of ice and fire, and the massive gap refused to close. The passage was open.

The enemies formed from the blood-red masses seemed to lose their will and were quickly cut down.

"Breached! Charge!" Xia Zheng sprinted into the gap first, followed by Luo Bing and the others. After suffering over a hundred casualties, more than fourteen thousand elite soldiers poured into the Eternal Zone.

Darkness... boundless, absolute darkness.

Once inside the barrier, they realized it was pitch black; they could see nothing at all.

*Roar...*
*Screech...*

Strange howls and screams filled their ears. The soldiers activated their lights, only to find monsters lurking in the shadows, creatures that feared the light. Some had evolved into human forms, while others remained in early, bat-like stages of evolution.

"Are these... the Bloodlines?" Luo Bing asked, walking beside Xia Zheng as she observed their surroundings.

Xia Zheng wasn't entirely certain, as this was his first time seeing them as well, but he surmised it was likely true.

*Rat-tat-tat...* A burst of gunfire echoed. Some of the soldiers in the rear, unable to bear the sight of the unevolved monsters nearby, had instinctively opened fire.

The sound of gunfire instantly startled the entire space, and the human-like monsters surged forward...