Chapter 1197: Under Nuclear Weapons

Purple lightning streaked through rain clouds that enveloped the mountains.

Chen Ling mused aloud, "If you didn't attack Shen Nan, then it means he discovered some secret, which led to his imprisonment by Bureau 749..."

"What does that have to do with me?" Ying Fu replied, his hand gripping a golden spear. A purple lightning bolt crashed down, coursing along the spear's surface. From afar, he resembled someone holding a thunder dragon as he slowly advanced towards Chen Ling.

"I don't care if it's a misunderstanding or something else," he continued. "Since you kidnapped my minister and deliberately provoked me... I cannot let you go today."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ying Fu suddenly flung the thunder dragon in his hand. The roaring purple lightning dragon shadow pierced through the void, aiming to tear Chen Ling's figure apart with a single bite.

Chen Ling, employing cloud steps, soared through the continuous mountain ranges, with the purple lightning dragon shadow and Ying Fu hot on his heels.

Chen Ling then spoke, "If that's the case, then Bureau 749 must be planning to do something to all the guests... Your ministers also attended the Wushan Conference, didn't they? Aren't you afraid something might happen to them?"

Ying Fu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he let out a cold snort, pondering something unknown.

Even so, Ying Fu did not stop his actions. Instead, he continued to relentlessly pursue Chen Ling, the rolling purple thunder and deep rumbling scaring the wild animals in the mountains into a frantic escape.

Meanwhile, Chen Ling's flip phone suddenly rang with a message notification.

Chen Ling had no time to check the message. He simply reached into his pocket and touched his phone, and a message from Yang Xiao immediately entered his mind.

Upon seeing this message, Chen Ling was stunned.

CRACK!

Another purple lightning dragon shadow descended from the sky, its terrifying, gaping maw snapping directly at Chen Ling's body. Chen Ling had no time to think. He immediately transformed into a dense mass of red paper tentacles, forcefully slamming into the dragon shadow and shattering it in mid-air, then whistled forward.

"Ying Fu! This isn't the time for us to fight!" Chen Ling shouted before he had fully re-formed into human shape. "A nuclear strike is coming!!"

Upon hearing the words "nuclear strike," Ying Fu's brows immediately furrowed.

Although Ying Fu hadn't lived in modern times for long, during the era of the Nine Monarchs, he had specifically studied some history, especially the Great Cataclysm.

Advanced technology regressed, and satellites went out of control. Driven by fear of the unknown, the gradually declining Western hegemonic powers actively initiated the Third World War. The term "nuclear strike" accounted for almost 90% of that period of history.

Especially with satellites out of control, the accuracy of nuclear strikes sharply decreased. All nations with nuclear capabilities compensated for accuracy with sheer numbers. Furthermore, it was proven that the global actual nuclear arsenal was roughly three times the publicly declared amount... Tens of thousands of nuclear weapons frantically destroyed city after city. It was from this point that humanity's fate began a rapid descent.

Researchers from the Nine Monarchs era even stated that even during the later stages of the Great Cataclysm when disasters invaded, the death toll at that stage was less than one-tenth of the deaths during the nuclear strike and nuclear winter phases.

What truly made the Great Cataclysm so severe was not the later impacts from other worlds, but humanity's self-destruction in the early stages.

The purple lightning gradually dissipated among the clouds. Ying Fu stopped pursuing Chen Ling. Instead, he frowned deeply and looked towards Wushan Town.

Chen Ling and Ying Fu's entanglement had led them deep into the mountains. Naturally, they couldn't hear the town's air raid sirens. If Chen Ling hadn't received Yang Xiao's message, they still wouldn't know what was happening.

Ying Fu didn't doubt that Chen Ling was lying to him. After all, even if such a thing could deceive for a moment, it wouldn't change anything. Moreover, though he was hostile towards Chen Ling, he still believed in the "actor emperor's" vision and knew he wouldn't make a fool of himself on such a matter.

"Fu Kun!" Ying Fu called out.

Fu Kun immediately rushed over from afar. "Your Majesty!"

"Have you contacted Prime Minister Han and the others?"

"...No, Your Majesty. After they went to the meeting, we haven't been able to reach them by phone or anything else."

Ying Fu's brows furrowed even deeper.

"Chen Ling, I'll settle this with you next time."

Ying Fu coldly stated to Chen Ling, then took off, flying in a certain direction. Fu Kun could not fly, so he could only glare fiercely at Chen Ling before frantically running after Ying Fu.

Chen Ling watched Ying Fu's retreating back. Just as he was about to pull out his phone to ask Yang Xiao something else, he saw Ying Fu and Fu Kun suddenly turn around and rush back towards him!

Chen Ling: ?

The next moment, Chen Ling knew why they were running.

Among the distant clouds, a warhead trailing fire was flying towards the mountains like a fiery meteor. Judging by its trajectory, its impact point was not far away!

Chen Ling's face turned pale. He immediately pushed his speed to the limit, transforming into a cloud of red and, along with Ying Fu, turning and frantically fleeing in the opposite direction!

That was definitely not launched by their own side; it was a nuclear weapon from overseas. With satellites out of control, nuclear weapons were difficult to intercept. Furthermore, this nuclear weapon seemed to be far off its intended target, flying straight towards the uninhabited mountains!

Although Chen Ling could transform into a calamity, he definitely couldn't withstand a nuclear bomb. If caught in the blast, he would surely die!

Moreover, Chen Ling had only returned to the Fusion Faction this morning after a month. His audience expectation value had fluctuated but remained at 36, meaning he had no chance of revival.

"Oh hell, oh hell, oh hell, oh hell..."

Ying Fu and Chen Ling could both fly in the sky, but Fu Kun's legs were nearly smoking from exertion. He ran frantically, sweating profusely, but at this speed, it was utterly impossible to escape the nuclear strike range. The moment the nuclear weapon detonated, he would be vaporized.

Fu Kun had never been so desperate. He regretted that his divine path did not allow him to fly. He never imagined that a nuclear bomb would be what ultimately finished him.

Just then, a long rope, seemingly made of ink, suddenly shot out from the sky, coiling around Fu Kun's body like a python, and carried him soaring into the air!

The fierce wind roared past his ears. Fu Kun was stunned and looked up. He saw an imperial figure holding the other end of the long rope, soaring across the sky.

"Your Majesty..." Tears welled up in Fu Kun's eyes. He hadn't expected Ying Fu to help him fly along.

It was important to know that at this critical moment, adding even a little weight meant slowing down. And behind them, Death itself was in pursuit.

The black dot, a symbol of destruction, slowly descended into the mountains.

After a brief silence,

A scorching fireball, as dazzling as the sun, erupted!

The good news was that the nuclear weapon's impact point was further away than Chen Ling had expected. The bad news was that the explosion's spread was faster than Chen Ling and the others' escape speed!

The scorching sun approached behind the red cloud. Chen Ling pushed his speed to the limit, only barely managing to escape the core blast radius.

But the next moment, the visible shockwave of the explosion still swept over the red cloud. He violently spat out a mouthful of blood and plunged towards the ground.