After giving Lin Dong his instructions, Liu Yang turned to Er Gou.
"I'm heading back to Base No. 1 now. Coming with me?"
Er Gou recalled the feeling of soaring through the sky earlier-a experience ten thousand times more terrifying than a rollercoaster. It had nearly scared the life out of him, and he had zero desire to repeat it.
He immediately shook his head. "No, no, I'll stay and keep Brother Dong company! What if those enemies double back? How could Brother Dong handle them alone?"
Hearing Er Gou's words, Lin Dong was so moved his eyes welled up with tears. "Er Gou!"
"Brother Dong!" Er Gou cried out.
The two stood hand in hand, gazing passionately into each other's eyes...
Liu Yang was utterly speechless. What a deep brotherly bond... practically oozing with romance...
He sighed and nodded. "Fine. Since you don't want to come back with me, stay here and keep your eyes open. If a truly powerful enemy shows up, don't try to fight them head-on. Just stall them, and I'll get here as fast as I can."
"Got it, Boss! We hear you!" Lin Dong and Er Gou answered in unison.
Meanwhile, Liu Yang was lost in thought.
With all the local ability users dead, the base was severely weakened. Any random Moulter or Tier 3 zombie could march in and slaughter everyone.
He had spared Ma Feiyun earlier because he thought the man's strength might prove useful down the line. Now, it seemed that was the right call. He could transfer Ma Feiyun here to act as an enforcer-ordinary Tier 3 zombies and Moulters wouldn't stand a chance against him, saving Liu Yang from having to sprint over every time something went wrong.
Having made up his mind, Liu Yang kicked off the ground and shot straight into the sky.
"BOOM!"
A thunderous sonic boom shattered the air as Liu Yang blasted toward Base No. 1 at supersonic speeds, morphing into a fleeting black streak across the heavens.
...
In a small town thirty kilometers away from Base No. 2, the Little Sun Empire's ability user squad happened to be passing through just as Liu Yang streaked overhead.
Taozi looked up at the fading black line, shock written all over her face. "Did you see that? Was that a human... or a mutated zombie?"
Inoue's mouth hung open, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. "Whatever it was, it's terrifyingly strong. That had to be well past the speed of sound!"
Nakata chimed in, "Isn't that coming from the same direction as the base where we killed those four ability users three days ago?"
Taozi tilted her head, tapping her chin with a slender finger as she pondered. "Could our actions have drawn out a top-tier powerhouse? Is he an official military ability user from the Divine Dragon Empire?"
Supersonic flight was far beyond the capabilities of ordinary ability users. At those speeds, even bullets couldn't catch him, let alone standard attacks.
No random ability user in the Divine Dragon Empire could be this strong-not even regular military officers. That meant...
"Could he be the number one ranker on the Heaven Ranking?"
Everyone froze in shock.
"Rank one on the Heaven Ranking?" Nakata repeated.
"That guy is number one on the Heaven Ranking?" Inoue gasped.
Another squad member added, "The Divine Dragon Empire is massive. Did we really get this lucky, finding the number one ranker on the Heaven Ranking in less than half a month?!"
They exchanged wide-eyed glances, a mix of awe and excitement brewing between them.
Finally, they turned to Taozi. "So, should we pursue him?"
Taozi shook her head. "No. He's moving at supersonic speed. How could we possibly catch up?"
Nakata countered, "A survivor with flight ability ignores ground obstacles, meaning he'll take the shortest path to his destination. A straight line between two points. He won't make unnecessary turns, so if we just follow the direction he flew, we'll eventually find his trail."
Taozi nodded slightly. "That makes sense. But what if he's just out scavenging, hopping from one location to another? You don't know how many stops he has, nor do you know where his main base is."
Inoue snapped impatiently, "Then what do you suggest we do? You're the squad leader, make a call! He's flying so fast that every second we waste, he covers another few hundred meters!"
Taozi's expression darkened, but her tone remained firm. "We double back. We return to the survivor base we raided last time. Maybe we can extract more information there.
"And Inoue-I'm warning you. Don't go on a killing spree this time. Last time, you slaughtered everyone before we could get a single piece of intel out of them!"
Inoue looked at her like she was an idiot and snorted mockingly. "Double back? Are you out of your mind? It took us three days to walk here from that base, and now you want to turn around? In the exact opposite direction of where that flying ability user just went? You're not chasing him, and you're moving backwards?"
Taozi's gaze turned icy cold. "Inoue, if you run your mouth one more time, I'll cut your tongue out."
Feeling a chill run down his spine, Inoue swallowed hard.
"Fine, fine! You're the leader, you call the shots! But this is the closest we've ever been to the number one ranker on the Heaven Ranking. If your decision costs us this chance, see if I don't report you to the Major when we get back!"
Taozi sneered. "Go cry to your daddy then. Just because your father is a Major doesn't mean you can act untouchable. Keep this up, and you won't even respect General Hiroyama."
"Tch," Inoue muttered, turning his head away.
With that, Taozi led the four ability users back toward Liu Yang's Base No. 2.
It had taken them three days to reach the town initially because they were searching for new bases and gathering clues on Liu Yang along the way. Now, taking a familiar route, they could make the return trip in a single day.
...
Meanwhile, Liu Yang landed back at Base No. 1.
It was finally time to relocate the thirty beauties back to his villa complex.
This time, he didn't intend to make them walk. They were ordinary humans, and walking twenty kilometers would take them an entire day. Liu Yang didn't have time to waste on foot traffic-in fact, ever since acquiring the Dark Cloak, his daily step count hadn't crossed a thousand.
Outside Base No. 1, he had the women board a tour bus abandoned on the highway.
Once everyone was inside, Liu Yang placed a hand on the bus, channeling his power, and lifted the entire vehicle into the air before flying back toward the villa district...
Through multiple trips carrying people, Liu Yang had unraveled the true secret of the Dark Cloak.
It didn't just carry him-it granted flight capabilities to him and anything or anyone he touched. Carrying people took zero physical effort, and carrying heavy objects was no different.
If he wanted to, he could lift a small mountain tens of thousands of meters into the sky and drop it like a meteor, flattening an entire city in one strike.
The Dark Cloak wasn't merely a transport tool; it was a devastating weapon. It was just that none of his enemies so far had been worthy of such power.
...
Three minutes later, the tour bus landed smoothly inside the villa complex.
The women stepped out, their faces filled with utter awe.
They knew Liu Yang was powerful, but they had never imagined he could effortlessly lift a ten-ton tour bus into the sky and fly it cross-country!
At that moment, absolute reverence for Liu Yang took root in every girl's heart.