Chapter 537: It Should Learn To Follow Orders.

"That is exactly why we should keep it. If we learn how it works, no one can use it against you again."

Lu Zhen glanced at his younger brother and nodded slightly. "For once, your desire to collect dangerous things has produced a useful thought."

Lu Tao brightened. "Does that mean we are keeping it?"

"It means we will decide after surviving."

The Dominion Squad separated.

Ouyang Jin led his group toward the northern wall while Lu Hao and the others followed the remaining survivors to the eastern training grounds.

Leng Pan and Lu Zhen moved toward the damaged western gate.

The controlled survivors had weakened after the infant’s beacon was removed, but they had not fully recovered. Soldiers were securing them in smaller groups while medical ability users checked their condition.

Little Vine emerged from Leng Pan’s space and wrapped around her wrist.

Several of its leaves were damaged, but it was holding the crystal fragment taken from the beacon.

Lu Zhen touched one of the torn leaves gently. "You should rest."

Little Vine curled around his finger.

Leng Pan watched the interaction with amusement in her eyes. "I thought you were angry with it."

"I was not angry. It should learn to follow orders."

"It was protecting our home."

"That does not mean it should ignore danger."

Leng Pan moved closer to him and quietly asked, "Are you still talking about Little Vine?"

Lu Zhen looked into her eyes. "Both of you have the same problem."

"Perhaps you like stubborn things."

His arm moved around her waist as he replied, "I only love one."

Little Vine struck his hand with a leaf.

Leng Pan chuckled. "It seems someone is offended."

The ground trembled as the northern weapons fired again, reminding them that their brief moment together could not last.

They left through the western gate and headed toward the quarry.

Assistant Yao’s aircraft circled above them while exchanging fire with the transport vessel. Its smaller size allowed it to avoid most of the attacks, but several guardian units continued chasing it.

The alien prisoner’s anxious voice came through the communicator. "The transport vessel is preparing a capture field. If it catches this aircraft, we will be pulled inside."

Assistant Yao remained calm as he asked, "How long before it activates?"

"Less than two minutes."

"Can we use it against the guardian units?"

The prisoner became silent.

Assistant Yao waited a few seconds before asking, "Is that silence because my suggestion is impossible, or because you did not think of it?"

"It might work," the prisoner admitted. "However, you would need to place the guardian units between us and the transport vessel at the exact moment the field activates."

"Then tell me when it is ready."

The captured aircraft changed direction.

Instead of escaping from the guardian units, Assistant Yao allowed them to move closer. He turned around the transport vessel while the machines gathered behind him.

A blue wave spread from the larger ship.

Assistant Yao dropped the aircraft sharply.

The capture field passed above him and caught more than twenty guardian units.

Their wings stopped moving as they were pulled toward the transport vessel. Several crashed into its lower armor, while others disappeared through an opening near the front.

Lu Tao’s voice came through the communicator. "Assistant Yao, did the aliens just capture their own machines?"

"Yes."

"Could you make them do it again? I did not record it."

Assistant Yao ignored him.

Leng Pan and Lu Zhen reached the abandoned quarry.

The gate anchor lay at the bottom, partially buried beneath broken stone. One side of the black ring had been damaged during the fall, but blue energy continued flashing along its surface.

Three military trucks stood near the eastern slope.

Two were filled with explosives, while the third had overturned when the anchor crashed. Several wooden boxes had fallen out and scattered across the ground.

Leng Pan looked around. "We need to move the explosives before the transport vessel reaches us."

Lu Zhen released a large military truck from his space. "Load everything into this one. We will place it beneath the anchor."

Leng Pan used her water ability to lift the boxes while Lu Zhen moved the heavier equipment.

They worked quickly, but the transport vessel was already approaching the quarry.

Its shadow covered the ground.

Several weapons opened beneath it and aimed toward them.

Lu Zhen pulled Leng Pan against him as they moved behind the gate anchor. A red beam struck the place where she had been standing, and the explosion sent stones flying through the quarry.

A sharp fragment cut Lu Zhen’s cheek.

Leng Pan reached up and wiped the blood away with her thumb. Her gaze became colder as she looked toward the transport vessel. "It damaged your face."

"It is a shallow cut."

"I know."

"Then why do you look as if you want to bring down the entire ship?"

"Because it damaged my husband’s face."

Lu Zhen caught her hand and kissed her palm. "You can destroy it after we move the explosives."

"I was already planning to."

The transport vessel fired again.

Leng Pan raised a water barrier while Lu Zhen sent his flames toward its weapons. The two abilities met the attack above them, and the collision shook the quarry.

Assistant Yao’s aircraft appeared behind the transport vessel and fired at one of its engines.

The ship tilted slightly.

"Now!" Lu Zhen shouted.

Leng Pan lifted the truck filled with explosives and moved it across the quarry using several thick streams of water. Lu Zhen guided it beneath the damaged gate anchor before releasing more explosives from his space.

The alien prisoner saw what they were doing through the aircraft’s scanner and urgently warned, "If the anchor explodes while its core is active, it could release spatial energy across the entire quarry."

Leng Pan looked at the black ring. "Would the transport vessel survive that energy?"

"No, but neither would anyone inside the quarry."

Lu Zhen placed the last explosive beneath the truck before replying, "Then we will not remain here."

The transport vessel lowered itself toward the anchor.

Four metal arms unfolded beneath it.

They reached toward the black ring, preparing to lift it from the ground.

Leng Pan wrapped water around Lu Zhen’s waist and pulled him toward the quarry’s upper edge. He kept one arm around her, using fire beneath his feet to increase their speed.

They reached the slope as the metal arms touched the anchor.

Lu Zhen activated the explosives.

Nothing happened.

He tried again.

The device in his hand showed that the signal had been blocked.

The alien transport vessel had created an energy field around the quarry.

"The remote trigger is not working," he said.

Leng Pan looked at the explosives beneath the anchor. "Could your fire reach them?"

"The ship would absorb an energy attack before it touched the truck."

One of the metal arms lifted the gate anchor slightly.

They had only a few seconds.

Leng Pan turned toward Lu Zhen. "I could enter the space, appear beside the truck, and activate the explosives manually."

"No."

"I would return to the space before they exploded."

"The gate anchor has already connected to your space once. I will not allow you to approach it alone."

"We do not have time for another plan."

"Then we will go together."

Leng Pan studied his face. His calm tone did not hide the determination in his eyes. He had no intention of letting her take the risk without him.

She held out her hand. "Should we go together?"

Lu Zhen took it and gave her a doting smile. "As always."

They disappeared into the space.

A second later, they emerged beneath the gate anchor beside the explosives.

Lu Zhen struck the manual trigger while Leng Pan kept one hand firmly around his.

The countdown began.

Five seconds.

The metal arms tightened around the anchor.

Four seconds.

Leng Pan activated her space.

Three seconds.

A silver light appeared beneath the transport vessel and prevented the space from opening.

Leng Pan’s expression changed. "It blocked us."

Two seconds.

Lu Zhen pulled her into his arms and surrounded them with all the fire he could release.

One second.

Before the explosives detonated, the entire quarry disappeared beneath a blinding white light.