You are all bad women! Don't come over!

"What happened?" Shen Mochen and Cai Yuncui hurried to the rift to meet up with several others.

Liu Chaoyan, Xia Qingrou, Han Muxue, Catherine, and even Fuzi were all staring at the rift with serious expressions.

"Holy shit! What is this!"

Ran Linlin also jumped out, quickly standing in front of Shen Mochen.

What appeared before them was a rift that looked ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they could see occasional flashes of wind and thunder intermingled within.

Of course, for superpower users, the most direct sensation was the intense oppressive feeling emanating from the rift, as though the heart was beating... or as if something was breaking through the barrier, causing a feeling of confusion in the chest.

"Why hasn't this closed yet?" Shen Mochen asked Liu Chaoyan.

Generally speaking, after the beast calamity ended, the rift would automatically close. However, at this moment, there were no new monsters, and this piece of space showed no signs of recovery.

Liu Chaoyan's expression was solemn, "I don't know. I've already reported this strange situation, and the higher-ups have ordered us to remain here..."

Before she could finish speaking, Liu Chaoyan looked solemnly at Catherine, "Miss Alexandrova, according to the commands from above, please leave immediately."

"If he goes, I go," Catherine pointed at Shen Mochen.

Liu Chaoyan calmly gave the order, "Captain Shen Mochen, please escort Miss Alexandrova out of here immediately. Colonel Ran Linlin, as per the orders from above, please suspend your mission and stay with us."

"Me?" Shen Mochen pointed to himself, his voice growing louder, "I escort Kajiena away? Whose order is this? Yours? Or Buque's?"

"This is an order I am giving personally as the captain of Team 0819!"

Shen Mochen was furious, "Bullshit, if Kajiena and I both leave, what, are we leaving you here to die?"

"Captain Shen Mochen, it is wartime, and you must follow my orders!"

"I can't possibly leave you all behind. Kajiena doesn't need anyone to escort her; she is an A-level superpower user, not to mention she has a Transcendent with her!"

Catherine shrugged, "If you're not going, then I guess I won't go either."

Shen Mochen urged, "You leave first. If you really want to help, you can have Fuzi come over after you ensure your safety."

"I won't. If you don't go, I won't either. If you can't handle this place, where could I possibly escape to?"

"You're different from us; we are Buque, you're not."

"At this time, what flags are you planting? It's like we're doomed to die!"

Xia Qingrou couldn't help but scold angrily, not that she wanted to get heated, but the atmosphere between Shen Mochen and Catherine made it seem like a melodramatic goodbye in some idol drama. She had to interject.

Liu Chaoyan frowned slightly, knowing the grave danger they were in when the orders from above were for Catherine and Shen Mochen to evacuate together.

But faced with this situation, even Liu Chaoyan couldn't persuade Shen Mochen to leave willingly.

"Um, is the rift getting bigger?"

Han Muxue pointed not far away, her voice suddenly trembling.

Everyone looked again, and the space was further torn, the rift was slowly expanding, as if there was an abyss thousands of feet deep inside.

"Should we... maybe move back a bit?"

Cai Yuncui swallowed hard, involuntarily feeling a heart-pounding sensation.

"That, could it be..." Ran Linlin's face changed.

"Do you know what this is?" Shen Mochen asked.

Ran Linlin's lips were dry, and she managed an ugly smile, "How, how would I know..."

Shen Mochen glared at her, "You definitely know!"

Ran Linlin made a pained expression, "I really don't know... I'm just speculating... but I truly can't say!"

Actually, she had almost figured it out. This was a prelude to a complete node collapse. She had witnessed it once before, about half a year ago, causing several Transcendents to fall.

At that time, she had also joined the battle, lucky enough not to be the main force.

The phenomenon before her strongly resembled the precursor to a "collapse."

The crack would grow larger and larger, until it stretched across the entire node's sky, and then... it would shatter completely, countless powerful monsters pouring out from the fissure. Even Transcendents might not escape unscathed!

If this really was a "collapse," that would be disastrous! Although the node distortion of 0819 wasn't high, even a "collapse" couldn't compare with the one from half a year ago... but they probably couldn't stop it by themselves.

Ran Linlin didn't know the specifics about a "collapse," but from her last experience, that node seemed to have expanded for several days... which had given Buque sufficient time to respond.

But this time? Ran Linlin felt the crack was expanding too rapidly.

The others weren't as tense as Ran Linlin, perhaps because they were in the presence of two Transcendents, or possibly because they didn't grasp the severity of the situation.

They were anxious too but still retained their reason, even checking their carried "Amplifiers."

Xia Qingrou and Cai Yuncui both looked at Shen Mochen, their faces slightly flushed, but their gazes resolute. Shen Mochen understood their intention; they wanted Shen Mochen's "boost."

"If you insist on not going, then stay close to me," Han Muxue said, pulling Shen Mochen's hand, enunciating every word, "As long as I'm alive, you won't be harmed."

Shen Mochen nodded, holding Han Muxue's hand. Meanwhile, Liu Chaoyan reported to their superiors that Shen Mochen was unwilling to leave and quietly asked if they should knock him out unexpectedly and then send him away.

"Hand the phone to Shen Mochen," Commander Yan said calmly.

Liu Chaoyan handed the communicator to Shen Mochen, "Commander Yan wants you."

Shen Mochen frowned as he took it, "I won't leave them behind... unless we retreat together!"

Ran Linlin's ears perked up, deeply touched by what she overheard.

To share life in the same quilt, death in the same grave... So, I'm that important to him! Forget it, if I survive this, I'm going to bear his children!

Shen Mochen then said, "Moreover, I feel our abilities in 0819 are too weak compared to the Transcendents. Thus, I propose our entire 0819 unit and Ms. Alexandrova retreat first, leaving Colonel Ran Linlin and Ms. Fuzi here should be sufficient!"

"Eh?"

Ran Linlin was baffled.

On the other end of the communicator, Commander Yan took a deep breath, "Captain Shen, do you understand the situation you're facing?"

"Please, enlighten me."

"Collapse, meaning the complete breakdown of the node. Your sister, Yin Caiyu, perished because of it..."

Shen Mochen's face changed, almost cursing in urgency, "Then why aren't you sending more people?"

"Redeploying personnel takes time, especially against a collapse, as regular Superpower Users won't make a critical difference. Right now... we're short on people too."

Shen Mochen took a deep breath, a fierce resolve in his tone, leaving no room for argument, "I can stay here, have the rest of the team retreat first, or swap with another squad, call over people from other teams, and have our people leave!"

"Captain Shen, don't get agitated. I just thought of a method that might perfectly resolve this issue... even prevent this collapse. But it requires you to take a risk and try."

"0819's Shen Mochen, awaiting your orders!"

"I remember, your original superpower was healing, right?" Commander Yan said darkly.