The sea breeze at the old pier carried a nauseating stench of machine oil and dead fish, licking across John Doe’s face like a damp, slimy tongue. This was the appendix of New Babylon, the dregs abandoned by the city's digestive system—a lawless zone that even the most diligent scavenger bots refused to visit.

  John Doe and his squad of misfits were curled up behind a pile of rusted, massive anchor chains, less than two hundred meters from Warehouse 4. which was lit up like daylight by searchlights. The warehouse sat there like a steel beast dormant in the darkness, its maw gaping wide, waiting for prey to walk right in.

  "Grace, tell me what I'm dealing with," John whispered, his fingers digging into the cold basalt tablet, knuckles turning white from the strain.

  "It's bad. Worse than you thought," Grace’s projection shrank down, hovering just above John’s wrist. Her eyes flickered rapidly with blue data streams, her face pale as a real ghost. "That warehouse is shrouded in a high-intensity magnetic field; my deep scans can't penetrate it. But on the perimeter... I've marked at least three sniper teams: on the crane, atop the shipping containers, and on the warehouse's second floor. And two... oh god, those are military-grade 'Titan' walker mechs, running cross-patrols."

  "Titan mechs?" Bone lay prone in the mud, poking his skull out for a look. The two five-meter-tall steel giants shook the ground with every step, the Gatling cannons on their shoulders glinting coldly. "Boss, just the three of us? If we charge in there, I'll be dismantled into Lego bricks in under a minute. My bones are hard, but those are armor-piercing rounds!"

  John didn't speak. He stared dead at the tightly closed warehouse doors. He knew his mom was inside. Maybe tied to a chair, maybe being used as a lab rat by that pervert Moriarty.

  "We aren't charging blindly," John turned his head, looking at his two non-human partners. The hesitation and cowardice of the past were gone from his eyes, replaced by a desperate, all-in resolve. "We have five minutes."

  He pulled out the still-burning Yin-Yang iPad. On the screen, the [God-Tier Summoning Ticket] was emitting a seductive, multicolored glow. It was Daoist Singularity’s final gift, and the only chip John had left in this despairing gamble.

  "Five minutes," John repeated, his voice raspy. "This is the last chance Singularity gave us. It’s our only trump card. Once we use this card, we are truly bankrupt."

  "What can you do in five minutes?" Bone scratched his skull, making a clacking sound. "That’s not even enough time to cook noodles. Boss, that’s an army out there."

  "Five minutes is enough to change the course of a war. And enough... to pull someone out of hell."

  John’s finger swiped across the iPad, opening the [Legendary Heroic Spirit Database]—a folder he usually didn't dare to look at.

  The list unfolded. Every name was like a dragon sleeping in the river of history. Just looking at the names unleashed a suffocating pressure. Golden light illuminated John’s mud-stained face.

  [King Arthur]

  Description: King of Britain, wielder of Excalibur, possesses absolute leadership and aura.

  Drawback: Obsessed with chivalry; extremely detests sneak attacks and filthy battlefields. May refuse to draw the sword because "this place is unclean."

  John shook his head and swiped past decisively. "No go. This is a gang den, not a Round Table meeting. We need something more... savage. Plus, this place really does stink; if the King goes on strike due to mysophobia, we're screwed."

  [Lu Bu]

  Description: The mightiest warrior of the Three Kingdoms, the ceiling of individual combat power. "Lu Bu among men, Red Hare among horses."

  Drawback: Personality extremely unstable, prone to failing to distinguish friend from foe. There is a 30% chance he might find the summoner annoying and chop you down too.

  "This one's out too," John wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "I don't want to get skewered by the Sky Piercer Halberd before I even save Mom. The risk is too high."

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  [Xiang Yu]

  Description: The Overlord of Western Chu, strength that can uproot mountains.

  Drawback: Prone to emotional outbursts and tragic endings (looks cool, but tends to auto-play background music and slit his own throat by the river).

  John’s finger hovered over the screen.

  Time was ticking away. Every second increased the danger to his mother. The patrol mechs in the distance seemed to sense movement; their searchlight beams began sweeping toward John's position.

  "Boss, hurry up! They're coming! Just pick a fighter! Stop shopping!" Bone was shaking so hard his bones rattled.

  "No. I can't just pick anyone," John took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm. "Just fighting isn't enough. The terrain is complex, the enemy has heavy firepower, and there's that damn barrier. We need someone who can fight, who can charge, and who can bring a person out of an army of thousands without a scratch... a Guardian God."

  His gaze suddenly locked onto a name.

  The name was ordinary, not as dazzling as the mythological figures. But in Eastern history, this name represented the ultimate, despair-inducing ability to break through enemy lines. It represented loyalty. It represented fearlessness.

  [Zhao Yun (Zhao Zilong)]

  Title: The General of Tiger Might.

  Description: A body full of courage. Famous for charging seven times in and seven times out of the army of hundreds of thousands at Changban to save his lord's son single-handedly.

  Traits: [Dragon's Courage] (Immune to all mind control and fear), [Formation Breaker] (Speed increases with the number of enemies), [Guardian] (Provides 100% absolute defense to the protected target).

  "Seven times in, seven times out... Single-handedly saving the master..."

  John murmured. Wasn't this exactly what he needed right now? In this despair-ridden dock, he needed a spear that could pierce through all darkness.

  "Him."

  John looked up at Bone and Grace, his eyes steady.

  "Listen. Here is the plan. We have no retreat."

  John drew a rough diagram in the mud with his finger.

  "Grace, the moment the fight starts, you focus entirely on attacking the power hub. You don't need to control them; just overload the current for a split second to paralyze the perimeter snipers and searchlights. Even ten seconds is enough to blind those mechs."

  "Roger that! I'll try to make them crash! Even if I burn out my CPU!" Grace nodded fiercely, clenching her tiny fists.

  "Bone, don't charge in. You guard the entrance. General Zhao Yun will bring Mom out and hand her to you. Your job is to receive her and run toward the sea—Big Croc is already waiting down there. Once you hit the water, it's your home turf."

  "What about you, Boss?" Bone asked, his voice anxious.

  John pointed to the red dot on the map—the center of the warehouse.

  "I'm charging in with General Zhao."

  "What?!" Bone and Grace screamed in unison, their voices cracking. "Are you crazy?! You have hemophobia! You'll die! That's the center of the battlefield, not a simulator!"

  "I won't die."

  John stood up, straightening his torn, oil-stained hoodie and tucking the scalpel into his belt. His hands were trembling, but his spine was straight.

  "Because this summoning ticket has a damn restriction."

  He pointed to the fine print at the bottom of the screen—a pit dug specifically by Daoist Singularity:

  [User must 'fight alongside' the Heroic Spirit (distance not exceeding 10 meters) to maintain the stability of the summoning channel. If the user retreats, the Spirit will vanish immediately.]

  "This is called... a Blood Oath," John gave a bitter laugh, though there was a ruthless edge to it. "Old Man Singularity really is afraid I'll run away. He wants to force me to become a soldier."

  He looked at the warehouse, crouching in the darkness like a monster.

  Was he scared?

  Of course he was. His legs were shaking, his stomach was cramping, and the warning signals of his hemophobia were screaming in his brain. He could almost smell the metallic tang of blood that would soon fill the air.

  But he didn't back down.

  He thought of the broken porcelain bowl Mom held. He thought of her smile as she lay in the mud trying to comfort him. He thought of the spilled medicine.

  The heartache overpowered the fear. The recoil from being pushed to the absolute limit turned him into a desperado.

  "Five minutes."

  John chanted internally, adjusting his breathing.

  "Five minutes. Even if I die, I'll die on the charge. I'm going to show them that even a rabbit, when cornered, will bite through a wolf's throat."

  He raised the iPad, his finger pressing onto the name.

  "Grace, do it!"

  "Zzzzt—!"

  All searchlights instantly died. Sparks from the overloaded power system exploded atop utility poles. The dock plunged into chaotic darkness.

  "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

  Sirens wailed. Flashlights swung wildly, and the roar of mech engines was deafening.

  In this chaotic moment, John Doe rushed out of the shadows. He held no weapon, only holding the glowing tablet high like a madman carrying a torch, charging straight into the steel jungle.

  "In my name!"

  John roared, his voice cracking from extreme tension, yet piercing through the sea breeze.

  "I invite... CHANGSHAN ZHAO ZILONG!!!"

  [Summon Confirmed.]

  [Cost: God-Tier Experience Card x1.]

  [Linking to Battlefield: Battle of Changban...]

  BOOM!

  A beam of silver-white light, like divine punishment, tore through the dark night sky and slammed directly in front of John.

  Within that pillar of light, the neigh of a warhorse resounded through the heavens.

  "NEIGH——!"

  That sound carried the killing aura of ancient battlefields, of iron and blood, instantly freezing the surrounding air. Even the arrogant mechs seemed clumsy and sluggish before this aura.

  John stood before the light, nearly blown away by the shockwave, his eyes stinging from the glare.

  But he saw it.

  Amidst the silver light, a man and a horse descended like a meteor.

  Countdown Start:

  05:00

  [Message from Singularity]

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