Heavenly calamity and human disaster

  "Boom", "boom", "boom", the sky was filled with deafening explosions and screams, as missiles shot up from all directions like shooting stars, frequently bursting open. In the air, bombers occasionally burst into flames, with fire lighting up the entire sky and smoke filling the air, almost blocking out the sun. The ground beneath their feet was shaking.

  This apocalyptic scene made everyone incredulous, the alien invasion in science fiction movies actually happened one day on this planet, and humans had no power to resist.

  Ning Kang stood in the courtyard, wearing a hearing aid, looking up at the giant beasts that were hovering in mid-air, their jaws wide open. The humans' increasingly lethal weapons could only temporarily hold them off, and even the intercontinental missiles had been deployed, but not a single beast had been eliminated. Even if the beasts just got close to the ground, the orange flames they spat out of their mouths could destroy half a city in an instant.

  "Kang Zhi, hurry back to the house, it's too dangerous!" Teng Liang Jun pulled Ning Kang Zhi with all his might, staying in the courtyard without any shelter from falling missile fragments or sparks that could injure Ning Kang Zhi.

  Ning Kang shook his head, at this time, hiding anywhere was not safe. As early as the first moment when the giant beast appeared, the International Space Force guarding the outer atmosphere had used all kinds of methods, let alone space bombing, even space nuclear bombs were deployed, and the shockwave generated only blocked the giant beast for less than twelve hours. Those giant beasts were probably not afraid of hot weapons. The ground weapon was restricted so much, there was no way to deal with it. Unless humans had the idea of perishing together, abandoning the earth's environment that they relied on for survival.

  "Kang Zhi, listen! Just received news that we need to prepare for evacuation!" Teng Liang Jun's face sank, and he immediately thought of carrying him on his back.

  Ning Kang frowned and took a few steps back, shaking his head in refusal at Teng Liangjun.

  The giant beasts are not just the three in the sky, but there are more than a dozen that have descended upon the earth. If they were to leave, it would only be possible for them to fly into space. In recent years, the earth has been developing towards interstellar travel, but no planet suitable for human survival has been found. He is someone who spends most of the year bedridden with illness, and even if he followed the crowd in evacuating, he would only be a burden. It's better to give up his spot to other family members. Even if the Ning and Teng families had more power and influence, it would still be impossible for them to take all their loved ones with them in this global crisis.

  Ning Kang pushed away the hand that Ning Liang Jun had stretched out once again, and turned his gaze to his older brother Ning Kang Hao who was hurrying over. He quickly gestured with both hands, hoping he could support his own ideas.

  He was born with defects, and every now and then he would fall ill for no reason. The doctor said that his five senses were gradually failing, and it was a wonder he had lived to be twenty-five, which had already exhausted his parents' energy.

  "Ah, look quickly!" Before Ning Kanghao could speak, his sister Ning Kangjie, who was following behind him, suddenly let out a sharp cry, pointing at the empty space with a look of horror on her face.

  Ning Kang hastily turned back, and in the air, there seemed to be an invisible energy surging. The giant beast hovering in mid-air also stopped its pounce. Immediately after, three strange flying machines appeared silently above the giant beast. In just a blink of an eye, several mysterious light clusters slowly descended, then suddenly shot up high, expanding to about one-third the size of the giant beast before pouncing towards it with a deafening roar.

  Everyone was stunned by the sudden scene, and the attack on the ground came to a halt as if a pause button had been pressed. The empty planes hovering in mid-air quickly left the battlefield. To the naked eye, only dazzling light clusters and high-temperature flames were jumping around like dancing. Before long, the giant beast let out a series of mournful howls that shook the sky and earth, and the air above seemed to be raining down a dark red drizzle.

  "Is someone coming to save us?" Ning Kangjie shouted loudly, with a look of wild joy on her face.

  Ning Kang Zhi's face turned pale, his brain reeled with dizziness, and his fists clenched tightly, his fingernails digging into his palms as he struggled to stay awake. Even as his vision blurred, his eyes remained fixed on the void. No matter if this episode would be his last, he still hoped to see the Earth overcome its crisis with his own eyes, so that his loved ones, friends, and the woman he felt most guilty towards could live on in peace.

  "Kang Zhi, Kang Zhi, what's wrong with you? Are you having another episode?" A pair of strong arms supported him, accompanied by the worried and urgent voice of his older brother, Ning Kang Huang.

  Ning Kang slowly turned his head, just in time to see Teng Liang Jun's painful-looking eyebrows and eyes. His sister Ning Kang Jie also heard the commotion and rushed over. He moved his lips, remembering that he was already mute, pursed them tightly, and fell to the ground with a soft thud.

  Ning Kanghao subconsciously wanted to retract his arm, and suddenly felt a void in his chest. He raised his head, and the light sphere that should have been in the sky appeared before his eyes. It flickered several times, then disappeared, revealing a tall, stern-looking man standing there, holding his already unconscious younger brother in his arms.

  "He is my..."

  "What are you talking about, how can Kang Zhi be yours! No matter who you are, return him to me!" The metallic voice with a piercing tone was cut off before it could finish speaking by the enraged Teng Liangjun.

  Teng Liangjun had just finished speaking and hadn't even had time to react when two more beams of light fell from the side of the man, transforming into two adult men.

  "Sheng Ze, is he really the one who resonates with your spiritual awakening? He's so weak-bodied!" The black-haired, brown-eyed man on the left said disdainfully.

  The blonde-haired, blue-eyed person on the right glanced at Ning Kangzhi and smiled, saying: "Lord Maiwei, with spiritual power almost materialized and without taking guiding drugs, it's already extremely rare for him to live to be twenty-five years old with his Earthling physique."

  Mai looked at him with a dissatisfied expression, "Aurel, even if spiritual power materializes, he's already far beyond eighteen years old. The possibility of him passing the Awakening smoothly is too small. It's better to do as I say and find a suitable contractor in the military department or the Contractor Association first."

  Teng Liangjun stared at the three people in front of him in shock, he couldn't understand what they were saying at all. However, one thing was certain, they seemed to be very familiar with Ning Kangzhi's physical condition. Moreover, just now they were fighting against a giant beast, were they extraterrestrial beings or superpowered humans from Earth? Why could he understand their words?

  "Excuse me, can you please return my brother to me? He needs to be rushed to the hospital!" Ning Kanghao was anxious but still maintained a polite demeanor. The other party was an existence that could single-handedly solve the crisis on Earth, and yet it sounded like they were addressing his younger brother Ning Kang. If that was indeed the case, if the other party harbored any malicious intentions, perhaps even the combined efforts of the entire Ning family would be unable to protect Ning Kang.

  The man who had been interrupted by Teng Liangjun and hadn't spoken again, was staring deeply at Ning Kanghao, still without a word. On the contrary, Oriel on his right side smiled at the tense trio: "With your Earth's medical technology, I'm afraid it's impossible to calm down his violent spiritual power, why not let us handle it?"

  "You're not Earthlings, how can we believe you have a way to save Kang Zhi?" Teng Liangjun asked, still looking unwell but with a relatively calm tone.

  Ning Kanghao furrowed his brow. He knew about the relationship between his younger brother and Teng Liangjun, and he had always admired Teng's straightforward and fearless personality. However, since interrupting the unknown creature's words, Teng had been too impulsive, and his possessiveness was also ill-timed. No matter how you looked at it, it didn't suit Ning Kanghao's calm temperament.

  However, Ning Kanghao was more concerned about his younger brother. What the two of them had just said might not be able to pass the test of time, and he also heard it, so he couldn't help but bring it up and wait for the other person's response.

  Mai Wei sneered at Oriel, looking at Teng Liangjun with a proud gaze, and replied with a light smile: "We are from the Havva Star System, Demos Planet. Just because we just solved the Wuyan Chickengold Beast..."

  "McKay! Someone's coming outside, you're willing to explain, go and explain it to them!" The man holding Ning Kangzhi interrupted McKay's meaningless provocation, not even looking at his friend's changing face, but only instructing Oriel in a low voice: "Get the doctor over here, prepare the physical energy medicine and the guiding medicine."

  It is...

  "You've been talking for half a day, and what you're trying to tell me is that it was an alien who saved me after I fainted?" A crisp electronic voice rang out, surprisingly with a human-like tone and a hint of laughter.

  Ning Kang was leaning against the headboard, his complexion still unhealthy and pale. The white blanket covering him was also pure white, while the light red amber hanging on his chest brought a touch of vibrant color. His calm and peaceful eyes sparkled with unexpected vitality.

  Ning Kang nodded slightly, not caring how many times he had said that aliens saved people, and curiously touched the small, delicate data line-style headset on Ning Kang's head, with a joyful expression on his beautiful face.

  "Ah!" Ning Kang leaned against the headboard, silently watching his sister's appearance through the slanted mirror on the opposite side, as Ning Kangjie's movements were like stroking a small cat or dog.

  "Haha... " Ning Kangjie let out a series of light, cheerful laughs, feeling extremely happy. It had been almost ten years since she last heard her brother's voice, and now, even though it was just an electronic sound, once he fully woke up, her brother would really be able to talk again.

  "Brother, it's said that we're about to enter the interstellar era. Even Star Historians have appeared. Alien life forms have also sent people to Earth, and now not just Huaxia, but people from other countries are all rushing over to try to curry favor with them. After you complete your Awakening, you can become a contractor of that gentleman's, I don't know how many people envy you."

  "Kang Jie, I need to find your brother!" Teng Liang Jun suddenly burst in, interrupting the intimate conversation between the siblings.

  Ning Kang could tell at a glance that Teng Liang's emotions were unstable. Thinking of the recent times he saw him, all with heavy hearts, after Ning Kang left, he couldn't help but ask with concern: "What happened? You haven't been happy lately?"

  Teng Liangjun sat at Ning Kangzhi's bedside with a gloomy face, looking up and down at Ning Kangzhi without answering, but instead asked: "What do you think?"

  "It's great. I never thought that in this life, there would be a day when I could speak again, and even pursue my own happiness." Ning Kang's lips curled up, his eyes filled with warmth as he looked at Teng Liangjun, the electronic voice vividly simulating his hope and satisfaction.

  Teng Liangjun's eyes were still very gloomy, tightly grasping Ning Kangzhi's hand, and asked with a tone of anxiety: "Can't you just wait until you're fully awake? I heard that normally at the age of 18, one should take guiding medicine. Your physical constitution is weak to begin with, what if there are problems? And if you become that person's contractor...what am I supposed to do?"

  These past few days, Ning Kang had also vaguely heard that warriors and contractors often became companions due to their one-on-one relationship. However, he had already told the other party about his own heart's desire, and the other party had indicated that this didn't have any impact. Because many times, warriors couldn't leave contractors' sides, and with a high mortality rate, in today's world where contractors were becoming increasingly scarce, it was likely that contractors would encounter many warriors with high compatibility, but they wouldn't be able to form companionships with every single one of them.

  Thinking of this, Ning Kang reversed his hand to hold Teng Liangjun's hand, his lips unmoving, but the vocalizer dutifully conveyed the comforting words he wanted to say: "If I don't wake up, I will lose my five senses and my life. Moreover, what a contractor can do is only spiritual energy drainage, and it is only needed when that Mr. loses control, just like a psychologist and a patient. Don't worry, they have promised me that becoming a contractor will not affect our relationship."

  Teng Liangjun's face still looked unwell, and he stared at the handsome Ning Kangzhong with a serious expression, persisting in his persuasion: "No, this doesn't look like a psychological doctor-patient relationship at all. Instead, it looks more like a tamer and a ferocious beast, and that's an uncontrollable one at that. Don't you think it's too risky? What if they don't keep their word? With your compatibility with him being so high, he'll definitely keep you by his side."

  Ning Kang frowned, those unknown alien life forms could use advanced technology to directly understand and speak the languages of Earth. Teng Liangjun's words would definitely provoke dissatisfaction once they were heard. He glanced at the door, seeing no one there, reminded him: "You mustn't talk like that in the future. Moreover, only by becoming a contractor can I survive."

  Furthermore, they obviously came specially and resolved an unprecedented crisis. He had the talent to awaken but didn't plan to become a contractor. How could those people from Demos be so magnanimous? Ning Kang thought that Teng Liangjun was too naive.

  Looking at Teng Liangjun's angry and unwilling eyes, Ning Kangzhi thought for a moment, then stood up and said: "Ah Liang, you also like drinking tea, I'll go make you a cup of White Peony Silver Needle, don't think too much."

  He thought that the two of them were still connected because of their shared interest in tea, and he smiled at Teng Liangjun. Just as he was about to get out of bed, his arm suddenly hurt, and he looked over in shock to see a thin needle stuck in his arm. The transparent liquid in the syringe was getting less and less, and it seemed like something was rushing straight to his brain.

  Ning Kang only felt a splitting headache, and subconsciously waved his hand to break free, but was firmly pressed down by a powerful hand. By his ear, he seemed to hear Teng Liang Jun's gentle soothing voice: "Kang Ning, I don't want to lose you. Don't be afraid, as long as your spiritual power is eliminated, there won't be any problems..."

  No! The surging, piercing pain was like a knife to the heart, accompanied by a despair that felt like his soul being torn from his body. Ning Kang struggled desperately, his whole body trembling with fear, his mouth open in a silent scream. But before he could make a sound, someone had taken away his vocal cords. Ning Kang bit through his lip with all his might, and bright red blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth as he stared fixedly at Teng Liangjun, until the intense pain completely blurred his vision...

  Author's note: Sentinel/Guide setting, corresponding to the warrior and contractor in this article.

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