Zhang Nan pressed the comm button, his voice steady. "Fall back five meters, spread out." His command was firm, with no hesitation.

The Awakened moved swiftly, unease flickering in their eyes, but their trust in Zhang Nan’s judgment was absolute.

Zhang Nan’s gaze locked on the enemy’s formation. "The defense line is open," he murmured, "but something’s off." He pulled out the Rupert bomb detonator, quickly scanning the battlefield. Targeting the weak point, he gave the order. "Detonate."

Several bombs hummed as they soared towards the enemy, but mid-air, they halted—caught by some invisible force—then fell to the ground, lifeless.

"Jammers..." Zhang Nan's brows furrowed. Before he could adjust, the enemy's firepower surged. A barrage of artillery rained down, the enemy seizing the opportunity to strike back.

"Take cover, prepare for close combat!" Zhang Nan barked, urgency creeping into his otherwise calm tone.

Suna monitored the battlefield through her drone feed, her voice level but tense. "They’ve predicted our moves. We have ten minutes to break their core defenses, or we’re trapped."

"I know," Zhang Nan nodded, eyes still fixed on the field. "Gao Qiang, prep the EMP charges."

"EMP?" Gao Qiang raised a brow, a cocky grin tugging at his lips. "That’s a little beyond my clearance, but I love a challenge." He quickly adjusted his weapon.

"Less talking, more doing, Gao Qiang," Zhang Nan snapped, no time for banter.

Suna, still analyzing the battlefield through the drones, warned, "Two unmanned tanks closing in from the left."

"Watch me," Gao Qiang smirked, tossing the EMP grenade with precision.

"Nice," he muttered under his breath, lining up his next shot. But suddenly, a voice echoed through their comms.

"Awakened, do you really think you can win?" The enemy commander’s voice was cold, laced with mockery. "Every move you make is part of my plan."

"He’s hacked our comms," Suna’s fingers flew over her keyboard. "We need to cut him off."

Zhang Nan clenched the comms tightly. "He’s disrupting our coordination. Shut it down," he growled, irritation leaking through. "We can’t let him mess with our rhythm."

Meanwhile, Suna’s drone zipped overhead, scanning for openings. She targeted the enemy’s mechs, but it was clear the enemy commander had anticipated their tactics.

"His scales... there’s no weak point," Suna muttered, eyes narrowing as the commander appeared on her screen. His armored form glistened in the sunlight, the metallic sheen of his scales unscathed by gunfire. Even a direct hit did nothing.

"A gene-modded human," Xiaobai whispered in shock. "This guy’s a monster."

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The enemy commander’s voice crackled over the comms again. "Your defeat is inevitable. All resistance is futile."

Zhang Nan paused, then switched the channel. "Advance. Focus fire. Ignore his psychological games." His command was resolute, reigniting the Awakened’s morale.

Gao Qiang chuckled coldly, tweaking his settings and switching to armor-piercing rounds. His aim was sharp, zeroing in on the mech’s weak spots.

"Let’s see who lasts longer," he whispered, pulling the trigger. The shot rang out, the bullet piercing through the mech’s vulnerable joint with a screech of metal. Thick smoke poured from the machine as it ground to a halt.

Suna’s eyes regained their sharp focus. She switched her drone’s mode to high-energy EMP, targeting the enemy commander. "No scale can block an energy pulse."

"Fire!" she commanded.

The EMP pulsed through the battlefield, disrupting the enemy’s communications and throwing their tactics into chaos. The balance shifted.

Zhang Nan nodded, the Awakened advancing as one. Gao Qiang maintained heavy suppression, while Suna’s drones disrupted the enemy’s movements. The tide was turning.

"Do you really think you can win?" The commander’s voice returned, more menacing than before. This time, he wasn’t just taunting. A hologram blinked to life, hijacking their comms once again.

Zhang Nan squinted at the enemy’s formation. "Something’s wrong. They’re baiting us."

Suna expanded the drone’s scanning radius. "The field looks clear. They’re retreating fast."

"Too fast." Zhang Nan’s eyes narrowed. "It’s a trap. They’ve got bigger plans."

At the same time, Gao Qiang spotted odd devices on the flank. His brows knitted together as he analyzed the signals. "These energy readings… they’re setting up some kind of directional weapon."

"Figure it out and hit them fast!" Zhang Nan ordered. The Awakened shifted positions, charging toward the enemy’s core.

The enemy formation scattered, their defense crumbling under the Awakened’s relentless assault.

"They’re falling back. We’ve won!" Gao Qiang let out a breath of relief.

But the commander’s voice sliced through the comms, cutting the victory short. "Every step you take is already calculated."

The "retreating" enemies suddenly regrouped in the distance. New energy readings flared across the battlefield.

"It’s a trap! Fall back!" Zhang Nan immediately called out.

The commander smirked, his gaze locked on the holographic display. He ignored Luk’s orders to capture alive. One thought dominated his mind: Li Chuan must die.

"Li Chuan must die," he repeated to himself, cold resolve hardening his features. Li Chuan’s awakened power, especially his control over space and time, was the biggest threat to his "perfect world." That unpredictability had to be erased.

No matter Luk’s orders, he couldn’t tolerate this uncertainty. He’d end this, personally ensuring the experiment’s failure.

"Target locked. Quantum disruption in place," his lieutenant’s voice snapped him from his thoughts.

The commander’s fingers brushed the screen, his voice chilling. "Override all safeties. Fire."

A green beam shot toward Li Chuan. The commander’s lips curled into a cold smile. His calculations were complete. Now, it was time to execute. The world didn’t need someone like Li Chuan.

Li Chuan felt the beam hit. The next moment, green light engulfed him, plunging everything into darkness.

When he opened his eyes again.

"Is this… a dream?" Li Chuan stood beneath the sunlight, a swirl of emotions in his chest.

This was the life he had once yearned for—no battles, no pain. Yet, as he closed his eyes, he could see his friends falling on the battlefield, the world crumbling around them.

"I can’t stay here..." He wanted to run, but he knew escape wasn’t possible.

He looked up at the sky. The sun was no longer the eerie green but a familiar yellow.

Warm sunlight bathed his face, real and comforting. Around him, the city buzzed with life—crowds, laughter, everything as it should be. It felt like a dream, but it was so real it hurt to believe.

"Even if it’s just for a minute..." Li Chuan closed his eyes, letting the warmth calm his heart. But the sense of impending danger never fully left him.

Time slipped away unnoticed. In the unseen background, the countdown on the quantum disruption device ticked down, leaving Li Chuan with precious little time.