The crowd surged towards the portholes at his words, jostling for a view of the distant *Deep Blue*.
Indeed!
The *Deep Blue*, previously in a state of semi-silence, was now inexplicably ablaze with lights across the entire city. Several blinding searchlight beams sliced through the night sky, brazenly sweeping through the surrounding darkness. Multiple times, those beams came perilously close to skimming the forest where their *Silent* lay hidden.
Fortunately.
They possessed the Grade-One modified component, [Night Camouflage Armor]. This armor allowed the city to blend into the background, becoming even more effective under the cover of night.
That was why they remained undetected.
But the *Deep Blue*’s actions were clearly abnormal!
“City Lord, could they have a modified component that predicts danger? Did they sense an impending attack?”
Someone couldn’t help but voice the speculation.
However, no one had ever heard of such a component.
The City Lord of the *Silent* wore a grave expression. “I don’t know. If it’s just sweeping lights, they can’t possibly find us, but…”
But if the enemy initiated a grid search, they certainly wouldn’t remain hidden.
After all, there were only so many places to hide around the freshwater lake, and they occupied the largest patch of forest among them. If the enemy was certain of nearby foes and launched a grid search, this area would undoubtedly be their primary target.
“They’re moving!”
Before the tension could fully settle, they made another horrifying discovery—
“Holy shit! They have a Grade-One cannon! It’s powering up!”
…
“…Right, that largest forest. Fire three shots at it.”
Faced with the two gunners’ communication request regarding the firing target, Jiang Zhixu casually pointed at the most conspicuous forest among several potential locations.
The forest was large enough, dense enough with trees, and sufficiently distant.
It would provide a clear, visual demonstration of the Grade-One Thunder Cannon’s destructive power!
Jiang Zhixu thought for a moment and added, “Lu Yan, two shots. Meng Guolong, one shot.”
Meng Guolong was the other veteran gunner.
Firing the cannon built experience, especially a Grade-One cannon—the experience gained would certainly be far greater than from an ordinary cannon. Lu Yan was a special talent possessing the high-tier aptitude [Miracle Gunner]. Jiang Zhixu was determined to allocate more special resources towards him.
“Yes, sir!”
No one had any objections to Jiang Zhixu’s allocation.
After issuing the orders, Jiang Zhixu, along with trusted aides like Qi Honglang, headed for the best viewing position—the watchtower.
Meanwhile, news of their impending test-firing of the Grade-One cannon began to spread, causing the entire interior of the *Deep Blue* to erupt in excitement.
People streamed out of their rooms, heading towards the open-air plaza where they could see the outside.
…
Wang Hao squeezed through the crowd. The icy night wind stung his cheeks, but he paid it no mind, even wishing the pain would sharpen his senses further.
“I heard the City Lord is preparing to test-fire the Grade-One Thunder Cannon! That’s why he woke us all up to watch together!” a young man beside him exclaimed, his face glowing as he spoke to his companion.
“Of course! Otherwise, why would the City Lord light up the entire city and make such a grand spectacle?”
“This is a Grade-One cannon! Under the old City Lord, we’d never have seen this in our lifetime!”
“Haha! All thanks to the City Lord and the brothers and sisters who followed him in the uprising. They’re true warriors!”
“Yeah, if not for them, we’d still be under that old bastard’s thumb!”
Listening to the excited chatter around him, Wang Hao instinctively hunched his shoulders and tried to blend deeper into the crowd.
He had spotted several young men not far away, their arms adorned with red cloth strips, maintaining order with an air of pride.
—The red cloth strips were the identifiers used during the uprising to distinguish friend from foe. After their success, everyone kept them as badges of honor, reluctant to remove them even now.
Everyone except Wang Hao.
“Hey? Wang Hao?”
A familiar voice sounded beside Wang Hao’s ear. It was A-Yong, his roommate.
A-Yong, also sporting a red cloth strip on his arm, spoke boisterously, “Where’s your red cloth strip?”
Wang Hao’s face instantly flushed crimson, thankfully masked by the darkness. “I… I just took a bath and washed the strip along with my clothes. It’s still drying.”
When City Lord Jiang Zhixu had recruited him, he had agreed in a moment of passion.
But when the uprising actually began, when the City Lord and his trusted aides charged ahead, rallying the people with raised arms and shouts, Wang Hao had been afraid.
He had hidden in a storage room, only emerging after everything was settled.
Fortunately, the storage room was perpetually dusty and unswept, leaving him covered in grime. No one knew he had been a deserter.
But he himself couldn’t cross that hurdle in his heart.
Every time he saw that flash of red, a needle-like shame would pierce him, making it impossible for him to wear it proudly on his arm like the others, as a badge of honor.
…If only he hadn’t deserted back then.
Then, he could now stand righteously at the forefront, basking in the people’s admiring words and gazes, savoring the fruits that belonged solely to the victors.
“Oh!”
A-Yong didn’t pay much attention to Wang Hao’s explanation. In his eyes, they were brothers who had faced life and death together. He pulled Wang Hao towards the front.
“Come on, come on! The front is reserved specially for us by the City Lord! What are you doing hiding in the crowd? With me here, I’ll vouch for you!”
“Wait…”
A-Yong was incredibly strong. Wang Hao stumbled as he was dragged, helplessly pulled to the very front of the plaza.
By the time he managed to struggle free, it was too late.
The surrounding people, seeing another “red cloth strip” come to the front, immediately erupted into the warmest applause.
These claps now felt like searing branding irons, brutally scorching Wang Hao’s conscience, making him wish he could vanish into the ground.
“…”
In his dazed state, he heard the countdown from the City Lord’s deputy, Qi Honglang, broadcast over the speakers.
“Ten.”
“Nine.”
“Eight.”
“…”
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
After a brief pause, another, steadier voice resonated through the broadcast, carrying a metallic, authoritative tone.
“Fire.”
It was the City Lord!
Hundreds of people in the small plaza fell silent for a moment before erupting into cheers!
Just then, a unique, resonant hum of energy momentarily stilled the plaza’s clamor.
Immediately after, a blinding flash of intense light erupted from the city’s flank, illuminating everyone’s pale, upturned faces with stark clarity!
The thunderous roar, arriving a split-second later, shook the ground beneath their feet, making everyone’s legs feel weak.
“BOOM——!!”
Even the deck beneath them trembled slightly.
Wang Hao stared blankly at the dazzling sphere of lightning flashing on the distant horizon, his mind a complete void.
But then, two more shells, crackling with electrical energy, were launched, tearing through the air with the force of wind and thunder towards the forest.
This time, the explosions were even greater.
It wasn’t just lightning; flames and flying debris erupted into the sky!
The crowd didn’t know what had happened; they only saw the grand spectacle.
After a brief, stunned silence, a tsunami of cheers erupted.
“Long live City Lord Jiang Zhixu!!”
“The *Deep Blue* is invincible!!”
Everyone—including A-Yong beside Wang Hao—had flushed faces, roaring with all their might, venting their excitement and fervor.
Only Wang Hao didn’t join the shouts. He just stared fixedly at the burning sea of fire, his body trembling slightly with emotion.
In that moment, he made a sudden decision.
He would run no more!
He would stand righteously at the forefront of the crowd beside City Lord Jiang Zhixu, shouting with them, and yes—enjoying the shouting!
Wang Hao took a deep breath of air that seemed to carry the scent of gunpowder. He abruptly turned and grabbed A-Yong, who was still cheering excitedly.
A-Yong was startled. “Wh-what? Kid… don’t you dare confess to me!”
He said this because several men in the plaza had already taken advantage of the heated atmosphere to confess to the girls they admired—and succeeded!
Wang Hao didn’t catch his teasing. His eyes burned with a light never seen before. With all his strength, he asked clearly:
“A-Yong, does the Assault Vehicle Team still need people?”