Chapter 173 Rescue

Soon, news of the attack on Storm Island reached Chen Hao. Professor Nan, with his white hair and tear-streaked face, pleaded with Chen Hao to rescue Nan Nan. His emotions were completely out of control.

The fact that Nan Nan's body wasn't found on Storm Island indicated a high possibility that she had been kidnapped.

Professor Nan's breakdown was understandable. Before the world's cataclysm, being kidnapped by bandits usually meant a ransom demand, something that could be negotiated, with minimal harm to the hostage. But now, with the world in chaos and order collapsed, a group of unscrupulous bandits kidnapping a woman likely meant they simply wanted her as a victim, to satisfy their perverse desires!

In such a situation, it was difficult to negotiate the hostage's release, and even harder to guarantee her safety!

The attack had just occurred less than three hours ago. Within such a short time, Nan Nan was likely still safe. The longer it dragged on, the higher the probability of her being harmed.

Considering this, Chen Hao, who had originally planned to continue pushing forward, immediately decided to change course. He led the Pioneer Legion back, intending to join forces with Bai Jingyan and launch a surprise attack on the gang that had kidnapped Nan Nan!

Chen Hao felt a sense of guilt regarding Nan Nan's abduction. If Bai Jingyan had been on Storm Island at the time, his reflexes might have allowed him to successfully help Nan Nan escape. However, Bai Jingyan was tied up dealing with the Murphira national treasury and couldn't get away, leaving Nan Nan to go to Storm Island alone, ultimately leading to the accident…

Chen Hao felt responsible for this.

Therefore, even without Professor Nan's tearful pleas, Chen Hao would have launched a rescue operation as quickly as possible!

"Forget about all the Beast King corpses! Assemble immediately!" Chen Hao glanced at the Pioneer warriors who were cleaning up the battlefield in the ruins and said in a deep voice into the communication earpiece, "We're changing course!"

…

About an hour later, the Pioneer aircraft landed at Murphira's military airport. As soon as he got off the plane, Chen Hao saw Bai Jingyan.

He no longer possessed the refined and composed demeanor he had when he first met Chen Hao. The bright, sharp eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were bloodshot, and even with an evolver's physique, he looked utterly exhausted.

Clearly, dealing with Murphira's collapsing regime was overwhelming Bai Jingyan.

Chen Hao felt uneasy. Kuangxi Island had been enjoying the resources Bai Jingyan was supplying, taking it for granted, without considering the cost to Bai Jingyan.

In the current chaotic world situation, Bai Jingyan was being squeezed by pressure from all sides to maintain the safe flow of resources, leaving him no time to manage Storm Island. Nan Nan's attack was the last straw.

Bai Jingyan might only look tired, but he was actually approaching his limit. Any more pressure could cause him to collapse.

"You're here." Bai Jingyan walked up, lit a cigarette, and looked at Chen Hao earnestly. "Am I pretty useless? Failing to protect my woman twice in a row… having to ask you for help."

Chen Hao looked at the man who had once fought fiercely with him, then cooperated because of a common enemy, and finally become a staunch ally through a series of hardships. His heart was filled with mixed emotions.

This man had once been so dazzling, proud, and unyielding, but now he seemed shrouded in decadence.

A flame of anger rose in Chen Hao's heart. He patted Bai Jingyan on the shoulder, not answering his question, but saying in a deep voice, "This isn't like you… you should be the kind of person who doesn't panic no matter what happens, who doesn't let anyone see your emotions."

The former Bai Jingyan didn't even care about his own life; why would he care about others?

"People change…" Bai Jingyan took a deep breath and suddenly asked, "Am I getting weaker?"

"Worrying about your family and losing control of your emotions isn't anything to be ashamed of," Chen Hao said very seriously. "You have changed, but not in a way that makes you weaker."

"But more like… a living person with flesh and blood, not a cold machine."

Bai Jingyan was silent for a long time, then exhaled a long stream of smoke.

"Thank you, thank you."

The first "thank you" was for Chen Hao's immediate response to the news, and the second was for Chen Hao's affirmation of him.

"Enough with the nonsense, let's talk specifics." Chen Hao strode forward. "Tell me everything about the attack on Storm Island!"

…

"The biggest problem is that we can't confirm the location of their lair…" Bai Jingyan took out some photos and handed them to Chen Hao. They were taken by people Bai Jingyan had sent to investigate the attack on Storm Island.

From the photos, the entire Storm Island was a ruin, and the attackers hadn't left any survivors. The positioning systems on the stolen goods and passenger planes had also been removed.

In this situation, the attackers had vanished without a trace.

"I used to station troops on Storm Island, but as the Murphira regime gradually collapsed, those troops deserted one after another. I suspect they may have leaked information to 'Heaven,' allowing them to carry out the attack so precisely," Bai Jingyan began to analyze.

Chen Hao looked at the photos, his mind racing.

If he couldn't determine the attacker's escape route and lair location, even his powerful military force would be useless. His Tianhe-1 satellite cluster was primarily a combat satellite, used for missile detection and interception, so it couldn't be used for this kind of search.

What should he do?

…

Meanwhile.

Inside the World Human Alliance's high-level conference room, staff members monitoring the Pioneer Legion quickly noticed the Legion's unusual movements and reported it to their supervisor.

"According to our intelligence, the Pioneer Legion led by Chen Hao has been advancing north, but just an hour ago, they suddenly changed course without warning, collectively boarded their aircraft and turned back, currently landing in a semi-collapsed country called 'Murphira'."