Villian's Retreat
The metallic sphere was formidable, but Carol was even stronger. Relying on the power of the Original Lantern Ring, she managed to physically pin it in place. The constantly thickening barriers completely severed Villian's connection to the sphere.
Without the user's command, the metal sphere ceased its resistance and entered standby mode.
Seeing this, Villian's expression immediately changed. If this continued, she might truly die here.
Luke stepped forward. "Give up. You have no chance of winning."
Despite his words, his offensive didn't stop at all. Blue flames jetted from his feet, propelling him rapidly toward Villian. He clenched his fist and struck directly.
Villian raised a finger, and an elastic battering ram materialized on the ground, attempting to bounce Phantom-1 away.
Bang!
An energy blast shot from Luke's foot, shattering the battering ram. The power of materialization was wondrous, but to Luke in "God Mode," it was a useless trick. No matter what she materialized, Ava would perform an immediate data analysis and execute a corresponding countermeasure. Against the omnipotent artificial intelligence, she had only one viable path: a direct, head-on confrontation.
Bang!
The iron fist, encased in blue electrical light, struck the purple barrier heavily.
Crack!
A fissure appeared in the barrier. Villian's face stiffened, and she immediately flew backward. Luke applied more force, smashing through the barrier. Eight energy blasts shot out and struck the cliff face ahead.
The cliff broke and collapsed, sending rocks tumbling down toward Villian. She raised her left hand, and the rocks hovered in mid-air, then flew rapidly back toward Luke.
"Activate the energy field!"
A visible blue ripple surrounded Phantom-1. Facing the incoming rocks, it neither dodged nor retreated, but charged violently through them. A pair of mechanical eyes in the dark visor shot out crimson light. The killing intent was so ferocious that even the battle-hardened Villian felt a bone-deep chill.
"He wants to kill me! This Earth primitive actually wants to kill me!"
"How dare he?"
Villian growled. Her eyes emitted a strange purple light, and the Power of Emotion spread outward, enveloping the Phantom Armor. She intended to turn this cursed, dark-skinned Earth savage into her puppet.
The next moment, a world burning with green flames abruptly manifested. Villian was struck as if by a massive force. Her eyeballs bulged out as if they were about to explode. Her throat churned, and she vomited a large mass of blue-tinged blood.
"How is this possible..."
Villian muttered, her shock undisguised. The Power of Emotion was unique to the Violet Lantern Corps and was nearly without a natural enemy. Even if it was ineffective against certain powerhouses, it shouldn't rebound like this.
"What is the origin of this Earth primitive? Why does he possess such a terrifying spiritual world!"
Recalling the green flames that consumed the spiritual realm, a shiver ran down Villian's spine. She immediately materialized a huge mirror in front of her to block the black armor. Then, she pulled a chip from a pocket on her lower back and crushed it, and her body vanished.
Luke punched through the mirror. Seeing the empty ground, he frowned instantly.
"Ava? Where is she?"
"Apologies, unable to detect enemy information."
"Did she run?"
"Highly likely."
Luke gave a cold laugh. "Can she really escape?"
Green fire spilled from the depths of his pupils. His vision changed. The colorful world disappeared, leaving only black and white tones. The streak of white light fading into the distance was perfectly clear in this monochrome world.
Luke leaped up. Blue flames jetted from his feet, and he flew at full speed toward the white light.
The distance between the two rapidly closed. Villian, sensing the situation behind her, was so startled she nearly dropped to the ground.
"The black mecha?"
"It can actually see me!"
"I'm in a Shadow Stream State; Earth technology shouldn't be able to detect my existence!"
Villian was completely bewildered. She had encountered too many bizarre events today, severely affecting her judgment. Stimulated by the multiple surprises, she no longer wanted to fight. Her only thought was to escape—the farther the better. Only by surviving could she see the future.
With this thought, she gritted her teeth, endured the splitting headache, and materialized a Hyperspeed Flight Device on her back. The device was a secret weapon custom-made by Zamaron scientists for the Violet Lantern Corps, allowing the user to fly at supersonic speeds, with a maximum velocity of Mach 20.
As the device activated, Villian turned into a stunning stream of light, disappearing from sight at a speed indiscernible to the naked eye.
Luke: "..."
"Ava, where is she?"
"Apologies, the target's speed exceeds Mach 10. Effective tracking is impossible."
"Damn it!"
Luke angrily swung his fist, furious. The captured prey had escaped, and the worst part was that there was nothing he could do to stop it. Phantom-1's maximum speed was Mach 3, while his opponent reached Mach 10. How could he possibly pursue her? He couldn't even see her taillights.
"It's time to create Phantom-3," Luke muttered to himself. Out of options, he could only return to the meteorite crater. Carol was dealing with the metal sphere. Seeing him return, she quickly asked,
"Where is she? Is she dead?"
Luke shook his head. "She got away."
"How is that possible?"
Luke sighed helplessly. "That person's escape speed is top-notch. Phantom-1 couldn't catch her. There's nothing we can do. Forget it, a runaway monk can't run away from the temple. We'll flush her out eventually. The most important thing now is to leave here."
Carol nodded. She had noticed people appearing at the edge of the crater. Soon, more would come. If they were discovered, things would get very complicated.
The two wasted no time, taking the metal sphere with them and quickly departing.
The Mysterious Aftermath
News of the meteorite impact quickly became the focus of major media outlets. As videos circulated, an atmosphere of panic spread through the city.
The impact site was only a dozen miles from the Coast City limits. People couldn't imagine what would have happened to the city, which had a population of several million, if the meteorite had been even slightly off course during its descent.
Death brings fear, and fear breeds various negative emotions.
As a result of this incident, the government and the Space Agency faced severe criticism. It was their inaction, people argued, that allowed Coast City to suffer such a massive meteorite attack. The Space Agency claimed they were unfairly blamed, stating that satellites and astronomical telescopes had detected no incoming meteorites. Nobody knew where it came from.
Theoretically, a meteorite over a hundred meters in diameter would be flagged as a high-priority threat and not overlooked. Yet, how did this thing evade multiple layers of satellite inspection and appear near the Earth's surface?
The experts at the Space Agency pondered for a long time but couldn't find a reason.
To minimize unnecessary external factors, the authorities decided to seal off the site and prohibit entry to outsiders.
Steven Martin, head of the FBI's local Coast City field office, was temporarily put in charge of the investigation. Under his direction, FBI agents began searching for traces of the meteorite.
Before long, a shocking piece of news arrived: No meteorite was found.
In the massive crater and the dozens of smaller impact holes, not a single piece of alien rock could be located.
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