[Restart Volume] Chapter 261: Extreme Mission

Zhang Zhihao's remark sparked heated discussions among the people present.
"President Zhang, although you possess immense strength, isn't it a bit far-fetched to face a situation like this?" someone asked.
"Hey! How are you talking? Shouldn't we be united at a time like this to get through this crisis together?" another person retorted.
"Go ahead and stick together then! I'm leaving with the Wings of the Dragon God, bye-bye!"
"Get lost quickly, the air currents in mid-air are so unstable right now, I wish you get lost in the airspace."
Watching these scenes unfold from mid-air, Zhang Zhihao felt a wave of complex thoughts well up in his heart. He smiled to himself, flapped his crimson Wings of the Dragon God, and rushed out of the hall.
"Gosh, what are these people panicking about!" Wu Dance shouted, watching the crowded mob blocking the entrance.
"It's way too crowded here! Let's head out through the other door!" Mo Xing suggested, pointing to another distant gateway.
"Alright, but we need to hurry," Shi Yan said, her brows slightly furrowed.
With that, the three of them ran toward the other door, sprinting all the way to the deck outside the dining hall.
"Which way leads to the power compartment?" Wu Dance suddenly remembered this crucial detail.
"Your storage bracelets and rings come with a built-in map function," Shi Yan said. "Just enter your current location and you'll find the direction."
"Huh? It even has that feature?" Mo Xing quickly operated the [Ring of Titans] on his hand. He had thought the ring was merely for storage, never expecting it to double as a navigation device!
"It really does work!"
The storage ring on Wu Dance's hand projected a blue-and-white glow, revealing a holographic model of the Divine Ark! Several stars twinkled on the model, connected by a thick, deep-blue straight line.
This was the optimal route provided by the system!
"Time is tight, let's move," Shi Yan uttered, turning around to unleash [Flash Shadow Step] as she hurried toward her destination.
Mo Xing was somewhat surprised by this. Unlike her usual pure and gentle demeanor, Shi Yan in action looked much more like a female secret agent.
"Let's go!"
Wu Dance released the element of gold, forming two rugged metallic arms that grabbed the nearby railing, and jumped directly downward, landing on the lower-level deck.
"Where... where am I supposed to go?" Mo Xing watched the other two run off in different directions, feeling somewhat lost.
Frowning deeply, Mo Xing recalled the words Zhang Zhihao had said before leaving: Assess the situation and adapt to changes on the fly.
Right!
Make his own judgment! Make his own choice!
Let's think about what has happened over the past few hours!
Ai Ji was poisoned...
Gou Ge's defense speech...
Doctor Bai's mysterious smile...
The power compartment's fuel supply being cut off...
And that Xiao Ming fellow who stumbled in by accident...
Wait!
That Xiao Ming who barged in!
The Divine Ark's protective barrier was exceptionally powerful. He carried no weapons whatsoever, and when faced with the encirclement of his senior martial brothers, apart from a barrage of empty talk, he showed not the slightest bit of physical resistance or counterattack.
Moreover, this guy had previously appeared in the underground casino. For a random passerby to bump into him twice under such coincidental circumstances felt far too premeditated!
"Navigation! Route to Xiao Ming's room!" Mo Xing spoke to his [Ring of Titans].
The [Ring of Titans] displayed a line of text: "Description too abstract, unable to locate!"
"Ugh, it is indeed a bit abstract. Let's just search for the rooms on the third floor instead!" Mo Xing scratched his head, remembering mentor Su Yunzhou instructing the senior brothers to lock Xiao Ming up on the third floor.
"Route resolution successful—"
A blue glowing screen displayed a short line of text and a zig-zagging route—
The path leading to the third floor!

On the other end, Zhang Zhihao was flying through the airspace outside the Divine Ark, relying on the Wings of the Dragon God.
The fuel in the Divine Ark's power compartment would be completely exhausted in eight minutes. If it couldn't be repaired in time, that contingency plan would have to be initiated, and what he needed to do right now was find the optimal release point.
Mo Xing ran all the way to the third floor, knocking on doors one by one, but received no response. They must have been empty rooms.
Just as he was about to move to the next room, a series of shouts echoed from inside.
"Bro outside the door, are you still there?"
"Open the door and save me! I'm Xiao Ming!"
"With something like this happening, you wouldn't just stand by and let me die, right?"
"Even as a ghost, I won't let you off!"
"Scared yet? Hurry up and save me!"
Needless to say, this chatterbox was Xiao Ming.
Mo Xing strode forward and noticed a key conveniently hanging from the doorknob. Hesitating for a moment, he opened the door amidst Xiao Ming's endless stream of nonsense.
At this moment, Xiao Ming was tightly bound by ropes, his entire body rendered completely immobile.
"Ah? Someone finally came!" Hearing the door being pushed open, Xiao Ming lifted his head.
"Oh? It's you!"
"As expected, you're the best, bro!"
"Unlike those heartless bastards who refuse to help a dying man!"
"I was practically about to scream my throat out!"
"Good thing you came, bro!"
"All right, shut it!" Mo Xing frowned, his gaze shifting to the ropes binding Xiao Ming's body. "This is just an ordinary rope. Can't you just use the Divine Dragon Power to untie it? Why did you have to scream your throat out?"
"I'm just an ordinary mortal, how on earth would I know any Divine Dragon Power?! If I could run, I would have run long ago. Do you think I'd be here screaming my throat out?" Xiao Ming wanted to shrug, but the ropes restricted his movement, causing him to wear a miserable expression.
"Is that really so?" Mo Xing asked skeptically, while simultaneously channeling the water element to condense a blade of ice.
"B-Big brother, I really am not lying to you! And big brother, let's talk this out nicely, please don't resort to violence! M-My life isn't worth much!" Seeing the ice blade in Mo Xing's hand, Xiao Ming's mouth trembled slightly.
"Whoosh—"
Mo Xing tossed the ice blade forward. Xiao Ming instinctively closed his eyes tight. The ice blade sliced through the ropes, tracing a graceful arc under Mo Xing's precise control.
"Alright, let's get out of here," Mo Xing said.
"Huh? I'm still alive?" Xiao Ming slowly opened his eyes, only to find the ropes scattered into pieces and his hands and feet fully movable!
"Thank you, great benefactor!"
"I thank you on behalf of my entire family!"
"I thank you on behalf of the Phantom Purple Academy!"
"I represent—"
"Enough talking, if we don't leave now, it'll be too late!" Mo Xing glanced at Xiao Ming, turned around, and bolted out the door.
Out of the kindness of his heart, he had stepped in to save him. Yet, he still needed to maintain constant vigilance; after all, the other party's identity remained murky, and a sudden sneak attack from behind was entirely possible.
"Bro, don't leave me behind!" Xiao Ming scrambled up from the ground and chased after him outside.
Power compartment.
When Wu Dance arrived, she found the security door wide open, yet the interior was completely deserted.
Wu Dance looked around and discovered that the fuel transport hub in the corner had actually been sabotaged. Fuel was cascading down incessantly like a waterfall, spilling all over the floor. The only relatively dry patch was smudged with a few dirty footprints.
Wu Dance walked over to the fuel transport hub and released the element of gold to slowly mend the breaches.
As a gunner specializing in the metal attribute, she was relatively skilled at mechanical repairs.
"Beep—"
Suddenly, her storage bracelet rang. Frowning, Wu Dance tapped it, projecting a blue screen that displayed a familiar face.

"Huh? I just tapped it casually, I didn't expect this ring to come with a built-in video call feature," Mo Xing praised from the other end of the screen.
"Uh, I've already reached the power compartment and am currently repairing the fuel transport hub." Wu Dance placed her hand over another section, causing the gap to slowly fuse back together.
"Is it just you over there? By the way, how come a Divine Ark this massive doesn't have any maintenance crew?" Mo Xing asked, puzzled.
"I'm curious about that too. When I arrived, I found the entrance wide open with several footprints on the ground. Who knows, maybe those mechanics thought the Divine Ark was beyond saving and simply abandoned repairs," Wu Dance sighed, increasing the output of her gold elemental power.
"Do you need me to come over and help?" Mo Xing asked from across the screen.
"No, I can handle it alone," Wu Dance shook her head. "I'll hang up for now, there are a few areas that require my undivided attention for repairs."
"Got it." Mo Xing terminated the video call from his end.
Wu Dance summoned her [High-Altitude Flying Device] and floated into the mid-air of the power compartment, inspecting the leaks and damaged wiring above.
"Goodness, both this live wire and the ground wire are snapped." Wu Dance shook her head, retrieving several repair tools from her storage bracelet to patch up the circuitry, before muttering to herself:
"Five more minutes... should be enough time."
Wu Dance focused entirely on her repairs, completely unaware that a figure holding a gun was quietly approaching the entrance.
On the other end.
Guided by the map navigation on his ring, Mo Xing hurried toward the broadcasting room where Shi Yan was located.
Earlier, he had accidentally activated the ring's call function. Unable to reach anyone else, he had only connected with Wu Dance, exchanging a few brief words before hanging up.
Time was pressing after all, and everyone had to focus on the most important objective at hand—saving the Divine Ark!
Come to think of it, it was rather strange. Mentor Su Yunzhou possessed the [Sound Domain] ability to control the transmission and volume of sound, so why did the great Zhang Zhihao still arrange for Shi Yan to go to the broadcasting room?
Moreover, why did Mentor Su Yunzhou utter that single sentence about the Divine Ark making an emergency descent and then fall completely silent...
At a time like this, shouldn't the mentor step forward to lead everyone in overcoming the difficulties?
Could it be that he ran into some trouble?
And what about Wu Dance mentioning earlier that she saw footprints in the power compartment? Who left those?
And... where had all those maintenance workers vanished to? Where could they possibly have gone?
Coupled with the fact that the senior brother named Ai Ji had been poisoned...
It was all too bizarre!
It felt as though these events had all been meticulously premeditated...
"Bro! Wait for me!"
A voice came from behind. Mo Xing turned his head to find that chatterbox Xiao Ming!
This guy had been relentlessly tailing him the entire way. Setting aside whether his identity was problematic or not, this person was undeniably annoying.
Without hesitating much, Mo Xing picked up his pace, intending to shake Xiao Ming off.
"Fellow students—"
Suddenly, a broadcast voice drifted down from above. Mo Xing recognized it as Shi Yan's voice!
"I am Shi Yan, and I have something to say. This incident happened rather abruptly, but we are not entirely helpless. Everyone here is an elite dispatched by the academy, possessing unique skills. In the face of adversity, we should not easily give up. I hope you can all unite and work together with one heart to overcome this crisis—"
Brilliantly said! Mo Xing praised inwardly.
"I hope everyone will contribute their share of strength. Students proficient in machinery can head to the power compartment to lend a hand and repair the damaged areas; those proficient in—"
"Crack—"
A sound of shattering glass came through the broadcast, followed by a burst of static, and then it fell dead silent.
"Wh-What's going on?" Mo Xing felt an uneasy shudder grip his heart, and he immediately accelerated his pace!
Shi Yan... please don't let anything happen to you!