Lang* Tai, his round face flushed bright red from the heat, stood outside the car window and spoke to Xiao Yi, who was still enjoying the cool comfort of the air conditioning inside. "I can't sense anything right now. For sustained abilities like yours, I can only copy them the moment you activate them. Additionally, I need to be within 10 meters for it to work. For example, if you retract the 3,000 Guardians now and summon them again, I can replicate the process and add another 300. That would bring the total to 3,300 Guardians!"

*T/N: The author changed his name??? It was 葛泰 (Gé tài) in last chapter, but now its 朗泰 (Lǎng tài).

The black-haired youth hesitated for a moment, then seized the opportunity to ask in his mind, "Huo Li, is he telling the truth?"

Huo Li responded, "So far, he hasn't lied. Even though he's an SSS-class powerhouse, he still doesn't have the ability to resist my spiritual power. However, he might notice if I try to dig into his past memories."

The youth let out a small sigh of relief. Whether or not Lang Tai was a traitor didn't matter for now. As long as he couldn't prove that Xiao Yi had no abilities, the rest could wait until after the apocalypse.

"So, if I summon 3,000 Guardian, you can summon 300?" Xiao Yi asked. "But there are only 2,975 left outside right now. If that's my limit, how many can you summon? 297?"

Lang Tai's expression flickered briefly but quickly masked his unease with a cheerful laugh. "Yes, exactly 297!"

The black-haired youth raised an eyebrow, focusing on the key detail. "What about the remaining 0.5? Do you save it, or can you store more?"

"This..." Lang Tai's face turned even redder as he stammered, struggling to form a coherent response. Beads of sweat dripped down his plump face, making him look like a freshly washed apple.

Looking over at Lang Tai, who still refused to admit anything, Xiao Yi found the perfect excuse to refuse. "You're just throwing around numbers about how much ability you can copy. I don't want my exclusive Guardians being secretly used for unrelated purposes after this mission!"

Lang Tai let out an awkward laugh. "2d14, don't be so stingy! We're all saviors here. Does it matter whose abilities get used? Don't blame me for not explaining clearly earlier. My copying ability is exactly 10%, not quite 11%. But we still need to catch up on progress! There's no other way. How about I push myself and try to copy 301 Guardians?"

The black-haired youth waved off Lang Tai's suggestion, adopting a righteous demeanor. "Even the Architect passed out from overusing his abilities earlier. My limit has always been summoning 3,000 Guardians, but how could I not strive to break through that limit at this critical moment for our home planet's survival? Step back and retreat 30 meters away."

Lang Tai originally planned to hover just within 9.9 meters to absorb whatever he could, but hearing Xiao Yi's last words, he reluctantly backed off by several dozen meters.

Once Lang Tai was in position, the black-haired youth finally opened the car door and stepped out into the scorching heat, which felt like a steaming cauldron. He closed his eyes and entered a focused state. Within seconds, his face visibly paled. Despite the sweltering 45-degree heat, not a single bead of sweat appeared on his body. Instead, he seemed to be drained and ice-cold, as if completely exhausted of energy.

Then, with a slight movement of his hand, a massive shadow materialized out of thin air and soared skyward.

A thousand new Guardians!

The young man opened his eyes, his face as pale as paper. However, his gaze held an unshakable confidence. Only after seeing the 1,000 Guardians join the construction effort, full of vigor, did he let out a breath of relief and stumbled back into the car.

The struggling ability users, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but erupt into heartfelt cheers. This sudden reinforcement felt like a miracle—a lifeline in a moment of need! The entire construction team was reinvigorated with a renewed sense of purpose. Even those who had previously grumbled about the black-haired youth relaxing in the air-conditioned car with cold drinks were now fully convinced of his dedication. Some began to reflect on their own approach: Was it wrong to push themselves to the limit? Perhaps taking proper breaks was better for their health, ability growth, and overall efficiency.

Noting that the black-haired youth's strength had increased by a third, Lang Tai, unable to profit from the situation, regretfully returned to C2001's side to continue assisting—and quietly siphoning power whenever he could.

By 1 p.m., the sun's intensity became more intense.

Although the plateau was significantly cooler in temperature, the thin air allowed the blazing sunlight to strike the ground more directly. For the Guardians, who were exposed under the dome's holes, their primary challenge had changed from simply enduring the heat to preventing themselves from catching fire altogether.

"Based on our current progress, we will finish repairing all the domes in 20 minutes," Beach Shorts announced through his smart brain interface. Although less than a day had passed since the solar eruption, nearly every member of the construction team—except Xiao Yi—had been scorched to a charcoal-like shade. At this point, Programmers' outfit of beach shorts and flip-flops seemed surprisingly appropriate.

Just as everyone heard this and accelerated their efforts with excitement, the white sun in the sky suddenly erupted with an intense burst of light!

At that moment, Huo Li immediately commanded all 4,000 Guardians to retreat beneath the dome. Thanks to his quick response, the majority managed to escape unharmed. However, the slowest 200 to 300 Guardians didn't make it in time. Within a second, the blazing white light ignited their already overheated wings, turning them into flaming fireballs that burned silently as they clung to the dome's surface.

Under Huo Li's control, the fireballs exploded into bursts of radiant white fireworks, preserving the dignified image of the Guardians formed by faith as they dispersed into the air instead of leaving behind charred, barbecue-scented remains.

The solar eruption was so sudden that the sunlight piercing through the gaps in the dome transformed into blinding patches of light on the ground within seconds. While no one actively stood in direct sunlight, the task force members and Earth volunteers moving around the site didn't make deliberate efforts to avoid it either. Several workers accidentally stepped into these deadly beams of light, screaming in pain as if scalded by boiling water, and quickly scrambled away.

The construction site was instantly filled with cries from the burned and injured. One unlucky Earth volunteer stepped directly into the path of a large beam of light and collapsed as his head was seared. By the time a nearby wind-element ability user reacted and dragged him out five seconds later, the volunteer's body was already in a half-cooked state and could not be rescued anymore.

For a moment, both the mission participants and the humans on Earth were stunned by the horrifying sight. They stared, terrified, at the bright white patches of light on the ground.

The remaining 3,700-plus Guardians carefully avoided the deadly streaks of sunlight in the air and descended to the ground.

"Stay out of the sunlight!" Beach Shorts shouted through his smart brain device, the electrodes on his head amplifying his voice. But it was already too late—the abnormal phenomenon had been happening for seven to eight seconds by then. Those who hadn't been hit by the sunlight naturally wouldn't walk into it, while those who had already been burned likely couldn't hear him anymore.

"Pay attention to the fire prevention around the debris! Water and ice ability users, move over there and suppress the dust! Civilians, stay back! Watch out for explosions!" Architect shouted immediately after Beach Shorts finished speaking. At this point, he didn't dare to move the piles of debris even slightly, fearing that a single spark could ignite the dust-filled debris.

The enormous heaps of debris left behind by the demolition of dozens of skyscrapers now resembled giant bombs scattered across the construction site. Any small movement could trigger a chain reaction, potentially putting the thousands of people present in grave danger.