A faint tremor rumbled beneath Liu Feng's boots.
The tower behind him had turned to dust, and Sector 12 was finally silent. But the system window blinking in his mind wasn't done yet.
[Anomaly Node Cleared: Shadow Core Tower]
[System Synchronizing… Global Alert Incoming]
[Global Doomsday Event Triggered – Phase 2: Sky Fortress Awakens]
Liu Feng narrowed his eyes. "What now?"
High above, the clouds churned into a vortex. A beam of blue light shot down from the sky, piercing through the fog and reaching deep into the earth.
Then… a massive shape began to descend from the clouds.
It was like a mountain but floating.
No, not a mountain.
A fortress.
Made of dark metal, glowing with pulses of green light and jagged engines roaring with unnatural flames. It hovered silently, casting a giant shadow across the land.
---
[Sky Fortress: Obsidian Ark – Location: Directly Above Earth's Core Node]
> Contains: Tier 3 Attributes, Ultra Boss, Artifact Weapons
Warning: Only Level 20+ Survivors may enter safely
Countdown to Surface Landing: 12 Hours
Liu Feng clenched his fists. "Twelve hours… Then the real game begins."
---
Lin Xue caught up, panting. "I saw it in the sky. That thing,what is it?"
"Obsidian Ark," he replied. "It's coming for Earth's core. If it lands… the planet might crack."
Lin Xue gasped.
"We need to get stronger,fast."
---
They returned to a ruined city near Sector 13. Liu Feng called it "Gravepoint," because of all the broken monuments and destroyed buildings.
Here, the streets were littered with corpses,zombies, beasts, even some armored survivors who hadn't made it.
Each corpse still shimmered faintly.
Liu Feng began picking up dropped attributes again.
[+4 Strength | +2 Agility | +1 Constitution]
[+1 Skill Book: Blade Storm]
[+8 EXP | Level Up: 19 → 20]
---
[New Skill Acquired: Blade Storm]
> Spin rapidly, slashing all enemies in range. Damage scales with Strength. Duration: 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 min.
"Perfect," Liu Feng muttered. "Just in time."
---
Suddenly, a transmission echoed from an old satellite dish nearby.
"Anyone out there? This is Commander Wei of Base Zeta. We've picked up movement near Obsidian Ark. The fortress… it's alive. It's absorbing atmospheric essence. If you can hear this… get to Zeta. We need all available survivors to help stop it"
Static.
Liu Feng stared at the dish.
"I'm going."
---
They traveled through the wasteland for hours.
Fighting mutated wasps, acidic serpents, and flying drones corrupted by black energy.
Liu Feng kept picking up every drop.
[+3 Agility | +6 Strength | +2 Shadow Essence | +1 Ultra Core Fragment]
[Ultra Core Fragment (1/5)] – Needed to access the Ark's Control Room.
---
By sunset, they reached the mountain cliffs above Base Zeta.
Smoke rose from below. It was under attack.
Machines with spiked limbs and glowing red eyes were tearing through the outer defenses. Soldiers in armor fought back with energy rifles, but they were being overwhelmed.
"We go now," Liu Feng said.
He activated Silent Dash, then leapt down the cliff like a shadow.
BOOM!
He slammed into a mechanical beast, crushing it.
Then he activated Blade Storm.
He spun, slicing through five machines at once.
SLASH! RIP!
The soldiers gasped. "Who,what is that?!"
"Is he human?"
Liu Feng didn't answer. He moved too fast.
Shadow Veil → Shadow Step → Blood Frenzy.
In 30 seconds, the front line was clear.
---
Commander Wei approached, wearing heavy armor and a cracked helmet.
"You're Liu Feng," he said. "The only survivor whose name keeps showing up on the anomaly logs."
"I'm here for the fortress," Liu Feng replied.
"Then you came just in time."
Wei showed him a holo-map.
"The Ark will reach Earth's core node in 8 hours. We have a ship that can take you up there. But the entrance is locked by five Ultra Core Fragments."
"I have one," Liu Feng said.
Wei smiled grimly. "Then you're ahead of the rest."
---
Inside the base, Liu Feng rested and checked his status.
---
[Liu Feng – Status Update]
Level: 20
Strength: 211
Agility: 159
Constitution: 102
New Skills:
Blade Storm
Void Cloak
Inventory:
Void Blade
Ultra Core Fragment (1/5)
Energy Rations (x3)
Shadow Essence (x4)
---
Lin Xue walked over and sat beside him.
"Do you think we'll survive?" she asked softly.
Liu Feng didn't answer right away.
Then he looked her in the eyes. "If I keep picking up power, I'll become something that can't be stopped. That fortress… that Ark… I'll tear it down."
She smiled faintly. "Then I'll follow you."
---
An hour later, an alarm blared.
[Sky Fortress Descent: 6 Hours Remaining]
[Mini-Boss Detected: Ark Harbinger – Level 24]
A massive creature made of metal and flesh dropped from the sky, slamming into the ground outside the base.
It had four arms, burning red eyes, and a mouth full of rotating saws.
[Ark Harbinger – HP: 15,000 | Skills: Energy Beam, Sonic Pulse, Regeneration]
Liu Feng stood up.
He strapped the Void Blade to his back, and looked at Lin Xue.
"Time to get another Core Fragment."