Chapter 475 seems to indicate that the 'real deal' has arrived!

Chi Yi lifted Cai Xun up like a chick.

Chi Yanzhou, along with the members of the Flameheart Base, turned around and strode towards the rows of laboratory cubicles they had come from, preparing to clean up the half-zombie, half-beast experimental subjects one by one.

Sang Che and Sang Yan immediately went on alert, their backs to Lu Nange and Lu Beiye, their eyes fixed on the direction Chi Yanzhou and his group had left, to prevent anyone from getting close.

"Ah Ye," Lu Nange called softly, "Put Zhizhi down..."

Lu Beiye squatted down and placed the restless branch in his arms on the smooth, cool glass floor.

As soon as its feet touched the ground, Zhizhi excitedly shook its entire body of branches and leaves, making a rapid and cheerful "chirp chirp chirp" sound.

[Master, may I begin?]

Lu Nange: "Go!"

The little tree person immediately stretched out its branches and leaves excitedly.

Then... countless emerald green vines, finer than a strand of hair, quietly branched out and extended from the main roots of the branches.

They found the barely perceptible gaps between the glass panels, squeezed through them, and extended towards the horde of zombies in the deep pit below.

Once these extremely tiny vines successfully entered the space inside the glass, they quickly began to split, thicken, and expand!

In the blink of an eye, the green vine, which had grown from the thickness of a hair to the thickness of an arm, pierced fiercely into the heads of every sleeping zombie below!

This was the first time that Lu Nange and Lu Beiye had witnessed Zhizhi absorbing energy on such a large scale in this way.

The vines connecting the zombies below began to flicker with a vibrant, emerald-green light, as if they were forcibly drawing and transferring some kind of pure energy from the zombies...

As energy rapidly dissipated, the densely packed zombies below the glass silently collapsed and fell to the ground, completely losing all their 'vitality'.

Just as Zhizhi was concentrating on absorbing energy, and the emerald light flickered, Shi Xu, who had been maintaining a high level of mental energy and being responsible for overall vigilance, suddenly changed his expression and rushed to Chi Yanzhou's side, who was clearing out monsters.

"Brother Yan, something's wrong! There's the energy fluctuation of superhumans and high-level zombies! And there are a lot of them!"

Chi Yanzhou's eyes sharpened: "Distance? Number of people?"

Shi Xu: "They're already within 500 meters of the Rock Gate! The number... is over a hundred!"

The strangest thing is that the energy fluctuations of the superhumans and the high-level zombies move almost in perfect synchronization; they're together! This defies all logic!

Chi Yanzhou shouted to his companions who were dealing with the monsters, "Brother Ci, Lao Gu... spread out and take care of all the remaining monsters as quickly as possible! Let's go up and see what's going on!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xici, Gu Qi, and the others' expressions turned solemn. They immediately abandoned their previous cautious approach, and powerful bursts of supernatural energy erupted in each compartment, accompanied by the monsters' mournful screams before their deaths.

At the same time, Chi Yanzhou took out a walkie-talkie: "Nannan, Shixu has detected a large-scale enemy approaching, a mixture of superhumans and high-level zombies, which is rapidly entering the Rock Base."

You all stay down here and watch over the branches until they finish absorbing the nutrients. We'll go up and check on the situation!

Chi Yanzhou's voice came through the walkie-talkie on Lu Nange's waist.

Her eyes narrowed, and almost instantly upon hearing the news, a powerful surge of spiritual energy coursed upwards and spread outwards...

"High-level zombies and superhumans are operating in tandem..." Lu Nange repeated this unusual information in a low voice.

"Looks like... the real boss is back! That Rock Base Commander is definitely not simple! Brother Yan, something's wrong, I'll go up with you!"

After she finished speaking, she immediately looked up, her gaze quickly sweeping across every corner before finally settling on a spot diagonally above her head.

He raised his hand, channeling all his strength into his arm, and a sharp wind blade slashed towards that corner!

"Boom! Crash—"

"Boom! Crash—"

"Boom! Crash—"

As the wind swept through, metal fragments, concrete debris, and dust fell in a flurry...

"Ah Ye! Seal that gap, then extend a golden cone outwards to make a clear mark!"

"Okay, sister!" Lu Beiye suddenly raised her little hand towards the tear!

A sharp, golden cone, like a flagpole, pierced through the soil...

Immediately afterwards, a golden shield instantly formed, perfectly sealing the hole cleaved open by the wind blades.

After Lu Beiye successfully completed all of this, Lu Nange squatted down and put her hands on her younger brother's shoulders.

"Aye, listen, your task now is to stay here and protect Zhizhi until it has absorbed all the energy and woke up."

Gangzi, Che-ge, Yan-jie, Wenqing-jie, Yuwei, you all stay here too.

Lu Beiye's face was tense, but her eyes were unusually firm. She nodded vigorously, "Sister, don't worry! I will definitely protect Zhizhi and guard this place!"

Gangzi let out a short "ga" sound: "My beauty, I'll keep an eye on Shuchazi and Aye!"

Wen Qing and the other three nodded in agreement...

Lu Nange stood up: "Aye, I'm going out. Immediately use the golden shield to completely seal off this area, forming an independent defensive space."

Hold your walkie-talkies. If anything unexpected happens down here, or if Zhizhi wakes up, contact me immediately!

In case the situation changes up there, I'll come down to meet you using the metal markers we just made!

"Okay, sister! I got it!"

"Don't worry, Nan Nan!"

"Yes, Miss Lu!"

Lu Nange: "See you in a bit!"

"Be careful!" Wen Qing, Sang Che, and the others warned in unison.

Lu Nange didn't stop walking, only waving her hand with her back to them: "Aye, seal the shield!"

"Buzz—"

A thick golden light curtain rose from the ground and quickly closed.

Once the golden shield was completely closed, Lu Nange went to meet up with Chi Yanzhou and his group.

Chi Yanzhou: "Nannan? Aye..."

"I have made emergency markings and arrangements. The zombies below have been controlled by Zhizhi and are beginning to be absorbed. The threat has been eliminated."

The area where Aye and the others were located had been completely sealed off by the Golden Shield and was temporarily safe. "Lu Nange spoke very quickly.

"Let's concentrate our efforts now and clear out these remaining monsters as quickly as possible, then head up to meet the 'main boss' in the rock!"

Chi Yanzhou: "Okay!"

The group quickened their pace, and wherever they went, the low-level monsters that had not been moved turned into corpses under the ferocious attacks of their supernatural abilities.

With Zhizhi absent, Chi Yi took over the task of extracting the crystal cores, collecting them one by one and handing them over to Lu Nange.

After dealing with all the threats in the underground laboratory, ensure the safety of Shika Kitano and the others.

Lu Nange and Chi Yanzhou led the Flameheart members back along the original route, rushing out of the basement door and returning to the ravaged, still-smoldering stone floor...

As soon as they entered the entrance, they saw Si Sheng, Lin Shuang, and the other group from the Starry Sky Base being stopped outside the cordon by two expressionless Flameheart ability users.

Upon seeing Lu Nange and the others emerge, Lin Shuang immediately greeted them, "Miss Lu, Captain Chi, you're out!"

Pepper, standing next to her, brightened up: "Idol! Good morning!"