Chapter 61: The Burning Matchstick

Ren Jie didn't waste any words and directly hopped onto the veteran female rider's motorcycle, taking a seat in the back.

A corner of Nuo Yan's mouth curved upward involuntarily.

"Where to?"

Ren Jie said in a hoarse voice, "The old residential buildings in District 69..."

"Take me home..."

He couldn't get through to his family, and Ren Jie had no idea how An Ning and Tao Yaoyao were doing. His heart was burning with anxiety.

Nuo Yan twisted the throttle, burning rubber right where they were. White smoke billowed, and a scorched smell filled the air.

"Hold on tight!"

The next instant, accompanied by the roar of the engine, the motorcycle's front wheel popped up fiercely, almost throwing Ren Jie off and startling him into wrapping one arm tightly around Nuo Yan's slender waist.

The motorcycle carried the two of them through the streets, speeding toward District 69.

Nuo Yan glanced at Ren Jie through the rearview mirror:

"What happened to you? Why are you in such a sorry state?"

With Ren Jie's abilities, he shouldn't have ended up in such a miserable condition. Wouldn't it have been enough to find a demon-defense shelter and hide?

Besides, his prosthetic arm was shattered. Just how fierce of a battle had he been through? Nuo Yan knew very well just how high the durability of that prosthetic arm was.

At this question, Ren Jie's gaze dimmed, and he lowered his head in silence. Nuo Yan just took one look and tactfully dropped the subject.

Instead, Ren Jie changed the topic: "Why did you come? And how did you find me?"

Nuo Yan grinned broadly: "Some fellows with Demon Claws had a death wish and came after me, trying to capture me. I ended up counter-killing them. They really must be tired of living～"

"Their target this time seemed to be Demon Covenant Holders, so I thought of you. I was worried that a little newbie like you would get captured by them and embark on a path of no return, so I came to check on you～"

"As a mechanic, installing a tracker on a client's arm is a completely normal thing to do, right?"

"So hurry up and thank me with tears of gratitude! If you got snatched away, what a waste it would be for such a young and handsome hunk to fall into the hands of Demon Claws? Don't you agree?"

Ren Jie rubbed his nose and muttered:

"Thanks..."

Nuo Yan rolled her eyes:

(〃꒪ͦ～꒪ͦ) "How boring you are! Why aren't you arguing with me?"

"Worried about home? Rest assured, it's not that unlucky. Besides, this chaos won't last long—it just caught Jincheng off guard. Great Xia isn't a pushover!"

"Just wait and see. People from the Overlord Demon Domain acting so lawlessly will pay a price～"

Ren Jie nodded gloomily. Seeing that he truly had no mood for chatting, Nuo Yan stopped talking as well.

The motorcycle engine roared, carrying Ren Jie in a wild dash, dodging various obstacles on the street. Nuo Yan's driving skills were genuinely top-notch; where she couldn't pass, she would even catch air over slopes...

Along the way, fierce battles were visible everywhere in the city. Demon Suppression Officers, a large number of city defense troops, and military base garrison forces were doing their utmost to control the demon disasters everywhere.

Even rescue teams of the Radiance Officers could be seen saving people.

However, there were simply too many demons. The situation remained out of control, and manpower was still insufficient.

Along this journey, countless mists of emotion were gathered by the mirror lake space within his grasp, reaching a terrifying total amount and still increasing...

Yet Ren Jie did not want to collect emotional mists in this manner...

What felt rather eerie was that it wasn't as if the two of them hadn't encountered demons along the way, but every time a demon drew near, its body would grow stiff, and then it would turn its head and walk away mechanically...

They didn't suffer the slightest attack at all, while Nuo Yan, speeding wildly, had a right eye beneath her eye patch that glowed with an imperial purple light the entire time.

Ren Jie had no heart to look at the scenery on either side; instead, he raised his head to gaze at the dim moon hanging in the night sky...

The moonlight flowed like water into a Milky Way, rushing toward the edge of the night sky.

At that moment, Ren Jie couldn't help but quietly clench his fists...

The journey was unobstructed, so they quickly approached District 69.

However, the matchstick-like towers standing across Jincheng began to glow with faint light. Terrifying torrents of energy surged along tower bases straight to the red spheres at the peaks.

Those red spheres grew increasingly bright, even forming energetic light flames and emitting a dazzling brilliance akin to burning fire.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom!"

The four matchstick towers successively shot out torrents of energy, connecting with one another. Following that, heavy energy barriers derived outward, transforming into towering walls to block everything.

They formed sector-like grids reaching thousands of meters high, and above the grids, energy domes began to condense, completely sealing off and isolating a region from the outside world.

The sealed areas were referred to as matchboxes.

The reason Jincheng was divided into various districts was precisely because every single district could form a matchbox, isolating the inside from the outside.

One matchstick tower after another began to burn.

Nuo Yan twisted the throttle all the way, her expression extremely solemn:

"We need to hurry. Once the matchbox of District 69 forms, we won't be able to get in!"

"Sit tight, you hear me?"

The energy barrier would not only prevent demons from spreading but would also stop others from entering. Matchstick towers were measures only activated when a demon disaster went out of control, which showed just how critical the current situation had become.

...

At the old residential buildings in District 69, several teams of Radiance Officers were currently evacuating the masses with all their might, transferring them to the demon-defense fortifications dug into the back mountain.

Qingting Mountain possessed a granite structure and was extremely sturdy; it was definitely sufficient to handle ordinary demon disasters.

"Stop bringing your belongings! Is your life important or is money important? Money can be earned again, but once your life is gone, everything is gone!"

"Huaiyin, go carry that old grandma. Her legs aren't well, she fell!"

"Tsk—stop blocking the doorway, hurry inside. Demons are going to come over in a bit, and you'll all be fucking doomed, hurry up!"

The scene was in complete chaos. Wei Pingsheng continuously directed the site, his arm even in a cast hung around his neck, and his voice was practically hoarse from shouting.

His home was right in District 69. He had just gotten off work and returned home ready to sleep when who could have known this sort of trouble would break out.

He had contacted his men at the very first moment to organize the evacuation. Up until now, Wei Pingsheng still hadn't figured out what on earth had happened, or why such massive chaos had broken out in Jincheng.

The higher-ups simply hadn't given any instructions; communications were completely severed, and the Radiance Officers on site were all organizing their actions spontaneously.

After all, once a Radiance Officer, always a Radiance Officer for life.

An Ning and Tao Yaoyao were also among the evacuating personnel, standing in line to enter the demon-defense fortification. Tao Yaoyao was cradling Diao Bao'er in her arms, holding her cell phone and calling continuously in an attempt to reach Ren Jie.

She was crying from anxiety, but the call simply wouldn't go through.

"Mom, where on earth did my brother go? Why hasn't he come back yet? Could something have happened to him?"

An Ning's heart was also filled with worry at that moment:

"Don't talk nonsense. Xiao Jie will be fine, he will definitely be fine..."

When a disaster strikes, the most distressing thing is not having your family by your side.

At that moment, An Ning noticed Wei Pingsheng in the crowd and anxiously said:

"Old Wei? Have you seen our Xiao Jie? Where is he? I can't reach him."

Wei Pingsheng also scratched his head: "I can't reach him either. He isn't on my end. You two go into the fortification first, it's dangerous outside. Don't worry about that kid, he's more capable than I am."

Even as he spoke, the four matchstick towers responsible for District 69 burned completely, and the scorching energy pillars linked up in the air.

The energy barrier began to take shape.

Right at that moment, a motorcycle sped rapidly from afar. From far away, Ren Jie spotted Wei Pingsheng's eye-catching orange uniform.

He couldn't help but stand up on the motorcycle and wave:

"Uncle Wei? Over here! Where are my sister and Aunt An Ning? Did you see them? Where are they?"

"Veteran female rider, hurry, hurry up! It's about to seal!"

Nuo Yan gritted her teeth: "I've already twisted it to the max!"

Wei Pingsheng was also startled, turning his head to look in Ren Jie's direction. Seeing that Ren Jie was unhurt, he let out a long breath of relief.

Yet just as the two of them were about to rush into District 69, the energy barrier instantly formed, blocking everything.

Nuo Yan slammed on the brakes, locking the tires, and the body of the bike skidded, ultimately slamming sideways into the heavy energy barrier and sending ripples surging across it.

At that moment, Ren Jie was from his home...

separated by merely a single wall.

Yet in the end, he was locked out on the outside...