The rumble came before the warning lights flashed.
Lin Mo still had his hands in his coat pockets on the bridge balcony. Master Lu Jian had his hand on the silver throttle lever of the Taichu Golden Sky-Cruiser. Down below on the gleaming marble plaza, the three hundred freed Merfolk Keepers and terrified spectators were backing toward the ship’s shadow as twelve pillars of black blood-lightning sealed the dome exits.
Then the ocean bedrock shuddered.
A deep, groaning vibration surged through ten thousand meters of water. The thick crystal dome overhead vibrated like a plucked bowstring. Dust fell from the ancient marble cornices.
“Chairman!” Tang Xiaomi shouted from the radar console. Her fingers blurred across the glowing jade array keys. “Massive spatial fluctuations along the outer perimeter trench! Cain’s dragon-horn signal triggered the abyssal garrison locks!”
“What kind of beacon?” Lin Mo asked, stepping closer to the viewport.
“The Ouroboros dark reserve garrison!” Tang Xiaomi called back, her eyes wide as crimson runes flooded the central crystal map. “Ten thousand Ouroboros Dark-Immortal Guards have detached from the outer abyss! They are breaching the upper amphitheater tiers right now! And outside the glass...”
She paused, swallowing hard.
