"Ryan Ling?" Just as Ryan was about to give up hope, a voice suddenly shouted from below.
Ryan froze—it was none other than Sophia Long. She'd shown up with a squad of military elites, each armed with precision anti-missile gear. Seeing Ryan in trouble, they instantly fired their weapons, blasting the missile closest to him out of the sky. This sudden backup let Ryan breathe a little easier.
Right after, several Chinese fighter jets arrived, launching their own interceptors. In a flash, five out of eight deadly missiles were shot down together. China lost a jet in the chaos, but it gave Ryan a brief moment to catch his breath.
"Ryan, get over here!" Sophia Long yelled from below. After Black Tortoise took her away, she never wanted to go back. Once she regrouped with the Chinese forces, she immediately led her elite unit in, racing against time to break through.
It was Sophia Long's stubbornness that saved Ryan at his most desperate moment!
"Damn Chinese! All fighters, concentrate fire—wipe them out! Over a hundred jets from our Seventh Fleet are airborne. Today, we go all out against these Chinese and see who’s really boss!" U.S. Commander Myers roared, venting his rage. In Japan, he was basically the real power behind the throne, commanding the strongest U.S. forces in East Asia. He’d always wanted to test China’s mettle, and today was the perfect chance. With everyone hyping up Ryan Ling, Myers was itching to crush China’s pride by killing him.
But just as Myers was about to pull off the kill, this Chinese vanguard suddenly charged in, driving him nuts.
On Myers’s orders, a dozen missiles launched at once, and every Gatling gun on the fighters unleashed a wild barrage.
In seconds, civilians around them were slaughtered again, and the small Chinese vanguard took heavy losses. Their jets were no match for the U.S. F-22s—within minutes, they were wiped out. Worse, the ground anti-missile squads suffered devastating hits too.
Several soldiers were nearly blown apart trying to save Ryan. He trembled all over—his defenses still wouldn’t activate, and his strength was fading fast.
"Don't worry, Ryan. As long as I'm breathing, I'll get you out of here!" Sophia Long bit down hard, face like steel, and snapped at the squad: "Move! Get him out now! I'll hold the line!"
"No way!" Ryan Ling's mind raced—he knew if Sophia stayed behind, she was signing her own death warrant.
"If you're alive, that's all that matters. If I die saving you, I won't regret a thing!" Sophia's eyes brimmed with tears. She waved the soldiers to drag Ryan out—she'd rather die for him than run.
"You idiot!" Ryan blurted, fighting to break free, but his body felt like lead.
"I'd rather be your idiot, if it means you'll never forget me!" Sophia wiped her tears, forcing a sweet smile. She wanted Ryan to remember her—just owing her forever was enough.
But right as Sophia finished, her squad was hit with a devastating barrage. The soldiers around her were obliterated in an instant, and Sophia herself was sent flying, crashing to the ground, her once-sweet face now smeared with blood.
"No—don't!" Ryan howled, losing it completely. He broke loose, charging back—no way he was leaving Sophia to die. If he bailed now, she was dead for sure.
But just as he broke free and barely took a step, a bomb dropped with a thunderous roar. The soldiers helping him escape were instantly blown to bits—no one survived.
Ryan was completely stunned.
That's the brutality of war—living, breathing people reduced to meat in a split second. Nothing left, just carnage.
And now, a whole line of machine gun bullets was aimed straight at Sophia!
"Sophia!" Ryan clenched his teeth and dove forward, grabbing her and spinning around. Bullets shredded the spot where she'd been lying, flattening it in a hail of fire.
"Go... please, just go! I'm fine, just go!" Sophia could barely open her eyes, pain wracking her body. Bones shattered, blood pouring out—if she didn't get help, she was done for.
[System Alert] <Ghost Elder>: "Ryan, MOVE! The U.S. targeting system is cracked out—they'll lock on in seconds. Forget missiles—even a heavy machine gun means GAME OVER!" The warning blared in Ryan's mind. If he didn't run, they were both toast.
"Go... hurry... I... I li—" Sophia couldn't even finish the word. She passed out cold.
Every gun and cannon was locked on them now. Death itself seemed to be raising its scythe!
"Ha! Blast him! Take out this Chinese brat and America rules the world again! We're number one, baby!" Every U.S. fighter radar locked onto Ryan—he was totally screwed.
Ryan clenched his jaw—he was seconds away from giving up.
Even China's top brass were throwing in the towel.
Suddenly—a voice echoed overhead, warm and familiar. [System Transmission: Guihai One-Blade]
[System Transmission: Guihai One-Blade] "Ryan, the Hell Mad Blade Eighteen Styles aren't something you master in the Netherworld. Only by feeling the suffering of this mortal world can you truly grasp hell's terror. Where is hell? It's right here—in the human world, in the human heart, right in front of you! This is where you reach enlightenment. Everything around you is the real hell!"
The whole set of Hell Mad Blade Eighteen Styles began to auto-evolve inside him, like a full system reboot—every move retrained, every skill upgraded.
This was a straight-up system-level breakthrough: the Hell Mad Blade Eighteen Styles leveled up hard, power spiking like crazy.