Chapter 1000: SSS-Rank Ability User

Hearing the sound of breaking air near his ear, Qi Yuan instantly snapped out of his daze. He immediately unleashed his Metal-attribute Ability, attempting to subdue the aggressive Mechanical Guard before him.

Although any Cultivator entering the Great Void would lose their cultivation, one must not forget that he had once fused with the Legacy treasures of those indigenous tribes and awakened many abilities; he was far from being a defenseless weakling.

To his surprise, however, the Smart Patrol hovering in mid-air was made of an unknown metal and could not be controlled by his ability. A resilient blue light shield emerged on its surface, while it emitted a series of emotionless electronic sounds:

“Suspect attempting to use abilities to resist law enforcement. Preliminary classification: A-rank Ability User. Target is extremely dangerous. Unit 2773 requesting reinforcements…”

Accompanied by a rapid alarm, as if a hornet's nest had been stirred, hundreds of identical Mechanical Guards soon flew in from all directions, surrounding Qi Yuan.

“Warning! You are surrounded. Cease all hostile actions immediately, surrender on the spot, and accept law enforcement. Otherwise, we have the authority to kill you on site…”

Seeing himself about to fall into an absolute disadvantage before even understanding the situation, Qi Yuan naturally wouldn't let himself be captured without a fight. With a thought, a strange cloud of ink-blackness erupted from his body, instantly enveloping himself and the group of Mechanical Guards.

The darkness, as tangible as a physical substance, felt like the descent of night. Even light was completely obscured, quickly blocking the detection cameras of all the Mechanical Guards. They began flying and crashing into each other in the darkness like headless flies, producing a series of metallic clangs.

Seeing that this exclusive ability of the Night Clan was effective against the guards, Qi Yuan took the opportunity to suppress his Aura, silently slipped out of the encirclement, and quickly fled toward the city center.

Before he could get far, a piercing siren blared across the sky of the entire city. Massive bird-winged aircraft whistled past from all directions, searching for any suspicious figures.

At the same time, a loud and clear broadcast echoed in every corner of the city:

“Respected citizens of Starlight City, this is an emergency notification. Another suspected SSS-rank Ability User has escaped after attacking Smart Patrols.”

“Per the Mayor's instructions, the entire city is now under Level 1 Alert. Citizens, please return home as quickly as possible to avoid danger.”

“If any citizen has seen these two suspects, do not engage them proactively. Ensure your own safety while reporting to the police and providing clues…”

In just a few seconds, a massive holographic projection appeared above Starlight City, vividly and accurately displaying someone's clothing and facial features.

Strangely, besides Qi Yuan himself, another wanted criminal appeared on the screen at the same time. However, her appearance was significantly blurrier, barely looking like a woman…

This… what's the situation?

Seeing this unbelievable scene, Qi Yuan couldn't help but widen his eyes, feeling quite like his horizons were being broadened.

From the moment he appeared in the Great Void, it had been less than ten minutes in total, yet he had already become a wanted criminal being hunted by the whole city. The entire process was incredibly fast.

This meant that the current Great Void had evolved from a primitive tribe into a highly developed future society. Whether in terms of civilization level or organizational efficiency, it had reached a breathtaking stage.

Although this unfriendly treatment left Qi Yuan quite helpless, from another perspective, as the pioneer who brought the industrial revolution to the Great Void, everything before him gave him a strange sense of excitement.

He hadn't expected that after millions of years, the technological world he had built with his own hands would have developed to such an extent.

After a brief moment of sentimentality, Qi Yuan was naturally unwilling to be caught as a suspect. He immediately activated his Earth-tunneling Ability and dove straight underground.

After circling for a good while, he managed to navigate through the dense underground lines and pipe networks, arriving at a hidden location that appeared to be an abandoned mine tunnel.

After confirming that this place wouldn't be searched for the time being, Qi Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief, recovering from the tension of being pursued.

If he didn't possess these abilities, he probably wouldn't have even passed the first hurdle. By now, he'd likely be detained by the robot patrols—a classic case of dying right after landing.

Compared to clearing his name, the most important thing right now was to figure out the current layout of the Great Void while finding Xia Hanjun's whereabouts as soon as possible.

After all, so many years had passed. Even if the Heaven and Earth Society Cyber Branch was still in charge of the Great Void, his former Subordinates would have been replaced countless times. His status as Chief Helmsman might not actually carry much weight.

If things went wrong, not only would he fail to enjoy any glory, but he might even be treated as a charlatan and a swindler, which would be an ultimate embarrassment.

In many cases, truth and falsehood aren't that important; what matters is who holds the final right of interpretation regarding the matter.

For those in power who benefited from the status quo and were living perfectly fine lives, who would want an Old Ancestor appearing out of thin air to lord over them?

Therefore, before confirming the absolute loyalty of certain individuals, Qi Yuan could not expose his identity as the Chief Helmsman.

One of the reasons This person Qi had been able to live smoothly until now was that he never placed his life or death in the hands of others' consciences…

Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, quickly changed into a set of relatively tight-fitting clothes, and slightly altered his appearance and hairstyle before leaving the mine tunnel and heading toward the city center.

Shortly after, Qi Yuan arrived inside an unremarkable apartment building in the city center. After some observation, he quickly found a room that appeared to have been unoccupied for a long time.

Since he couldn't use Divine Sense in the Great Void and didn't have X-ray vision, he could only judge if someone lived there through the surrounding environment.

This apartment was not only exceptionally quiet, but a large stack of bills for various fees had accumulated at the door handle, dating back more than six months. This proved that no one had entered or exited the room for at least several months.

Click—

Using his Magnetic Ability to easily open the door lock, he walked in leisurely, restoring the door to its original state behind him.

Although the apartment was quite large, the layout and furnishings were very simple. A thick layer of dust covered the floor. Clearly, as Qi Yuan expected, no one had lived here for a long time.

Qi Yuan looked around, intending to find some electronic products in the room to learn more about the current state of this world.

However, just then, a faint, almost imperceptible sound came from another room, instantly startling Qi Yuan.

Could it be… there's someone else in the house?

Qi Yuan's gaze sharpened. Just as he was about to investigate, he saw a slender, graceful figure flash out from the half-open door, coming face-to-face with him.

The newcomer looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, with fair skin and beautiful features. She had clean, short hair and wore tight black clothes, giving off a valiant and formidable impression.

However, from the girl's emerald-green eyes, Qi Yuan immediately recognized her origins: the Wood Clan!

Their eyes met, and both sides fell into a momentary silence.

After a moment of shock, the Wood Clan girl stared warily at the uninvited guest who had appeared before her and asked in a low voice:

“Wait! You aren't the owner of this house either. Who… exactly are you?”