The "silence" that permeated the city, accompanied by Lu Xing's shadow swaying at the edge of the road, persisted for a full half hour.
There were no office workers rushing to and from during commute hours, no herds of students hollering as they passed by after school, nor were there elderly folk scattered about the streets, enjoying what little time remained, much like the setting sun.
The automatic doors of shops remained unopened for ages.
The iron shutters of restaurants were pressed tightly against the ground.
Everything.
It was all completely different from the city Lu Xing remembered—their styles could vary, but they should never have been as deathly still as this, almost like... a steel tombstone for over a hundred thousand people.
Fortunately.
This suffocating atmosphere.
As Lu Xing stepped over a certain "dividing line"—or perhaps because the afterglow of the sunset had completely vanished below the sea level—it disappeared in an instant.
Neon lights, hawking cries, joyous crowds, bustling streets.
An intense sense of dissonance.
The moment nightfall completely suppressed the sunlight, it erupted forth from the city's inconceivable "vitality"!
In that instant.
Lu Xing truly felt what "unfamiliarity" was, and in the next second, he understood where this feeling came from.
Now.
Here.
This was Dubbo's truest face—no Honkai, no refugees, a peaceful world, a bustling night, an indulgent... freedom.
And also, the final revelry.
Clad in their finest, indulging in unrestrained pleasure.
Walking along the edge of the sidewalk, Lu Xing felt out of place in this city—even though, when he had just entered, he had thought it too suitable.
As far as the eye could see.
The number of young people around... it seemed as if all the youth of the entire city were participating in the rich nightlife.
Their attire.
It was simply incomparable to those hurried-looking refugees.
If one had to find a suitable adjective, perhaps only "wealthy district" would be fitting—as the saying goes, comparisons highlight differences; here, describing them as "wealthy" might only be like picking the tallest among dwarfs.
"Beyond saving."
Lu Xing deeply sensed the city's decadence—once this final, fleeting resurgence ended, it would completely enter its grave.
However.
From the moment Lu Xing walked into the city, it no longer needed to endure such torment:
The countdown had begun to accelerate.
"Hoo."
A small whirlwind stirred beside him.
Lu Xing began to mobilize his Honkai energy—such an environment, though deeply moving, was also perfectly suited:
Crowds were dense, importance was high.
It was simply the best choice for spreading Honkai Sickness.
Ignoring the surrounding crowd, Lu Xing's pace quickened—amidst such dense human traffic, Lu Xing's presence was completely concealed by the effect of [Ravenwing].
Arms draped over shoulders.
Laughter and curses.
Street brawls.
Flying liquor bottles.
Kissing on park benches.
Fornicating in the bushes.
Lu Xing ignored the myriad scenes of human life around him.
As the Honkai energy within his body was frantically mobilized, the light from his two horns began to grow brighter and brighter. When their mysterious, flickering radiance started to outshine the dazzling neon lights—
"What's that?"
"A person, glowing?"
"A Halloween costume?"
"Hey, beautiful... Huh!?"
The crowd's attention gradually focused on Lu Xing—the potency and transmission efficiency of Honkai Sickness were closely related to Honkai energy concentration.
Lu Xing could indeed have spread it covertly, until he had "strolled through" the entire city.
But in that case, the time it would take for the Honkai Sickness to be discovered would be greatly delayed, and Lu Xing had no time to let humans slowly research its source—before that, his legion's iron hooves would have already trampled this place into ruins.
Therefore.
Lu Xing, having slightly altered his plan, decided to directly reveal his true form in the city, to spread his Honkai energy to the maximum extent.
The early winter wind was somewhat mischievous.
As it swept across the night sky, it incidentally blew off the hood that concealed Lu Xing's face.
The next instant—
"Womm!"
A Honkai Energy Halo, as radiant as sunlight, materialized above Lu Xing's head.
This radiance, of course, was from a Honkai Beast's perspective; for humans, it was the source of all terror.
Passersby who noticed Lu Xing had intended to strike up a conversation.
But in the next second.
Terror firmly seized their expressions.
And when the second hand moved again, many living beings within a hundred-meter radius could no longer even form an expression—
"Chi!"
A deep purple gushed forth.
With Lu Xing at the epicenter, an intense tide of Honkai energy instantly engulfed everyone present; its terrifying corrosiveness caused the bustling city center to dim in an instant—no matter the type of light, as creations of ordinary civilization, they ceased to function the moment the Honkai energy struck.
"Completed..."
It wasn't quite a storm of emotions.
But the mission was, after all, completed—humanity could not possibly turn a blind eye to an invasion appearing in the city center, and the "ruling clique," as the party whose interests were damaged by this event, had lost the opportunity to actively conceal the news.
Thus far.
Lu Xing's gaze remained fixed, not sparing a single glance at the crowds collapsing around him one by one.
"Time to leave."
The military's reaction wouldn't be too quick, but they couldn't possibly remain indifferent.
Facing a Honkai Beast that suddenly appeared behind their defense lines, especially when the instigator was a "familiar face."
What Lu Xing faced.
Would undoubtedly be the relentless pursuit of human forces.
Unfortunately, they would most likely not even understand how Lu Xing departed—his left arm slowly rose, and on his pale, delicate wrist, the Honkai Crystal shone brilliantly like a gemstone.
Just as Lu Xing was about to activate "Anchor Return"...
"A song?"
A moving melody slowly began to play by Lu Xing's ear.
Across the intersection.
On the city's tallest landmark building.
A "familiar" figure appeared on the front of the massive electronic screen:
"The Singer," Eden.
The classical and elegant, gentle and moving song slowly drifted through the city—accompanied by the lives continuously perishing beneath, and the lights dimming patch by patch around.
"A preview, perhaps..."
That's right, Eden at this moment was still an "ordinary" human, and also the most dazzling among the "ordinary"—shining like starlight, resplendent as gold.
Such an Eden.
Would arrive in Australia in a few days, to offer her song to the suffering Australian continent and its local populace.
Whether from the Honkai Beast or human side, all facts pointed to one truth:
The Great Honkai Eruption that would destroy Australia was imminent.
And "The Singer," also caught up in it... the melodious tune did not have the grand curtain befitting her status; the image and song on the giant electronic screen, like the thousands of lights destroyed by Honkai energy, instantly turned into a silent, dark screen.
"Womm!"
The song had "halted" Lu Xing's steps.
By the time he prepared to activate the bracelet again, the urgent whirring of rotors, carrying a fierce gale, had already emerged from the gaps between the skyscrapers—
A full five of them.
Fully loaded with armaments, AH-64E "Apache" attack helicopters.