......

Before leaving, Duan Yi specifically sought out Sang Xu and whispered, "Sang Xu, if Li Gen and the others come looking for you in the future, please help them out!"

Sang Xu: "Has something happened at the base?"

Duan Yi: "It's just that their methods are getting increasingly unscrupulous, so we're taking precautions just in case."

Sang Xu: "Could you stay?"

Duan Yi shook his head firmly and patted Sang Xu on the shoulder: "I have to go back."

Sang Xu, everyone has their own mission, something they need to protect. Promise me... if I die, I'm counting on the rest of our team!

Sang Xu nodded: "Okay, I promise you!"

......

Lu Nange and the others saw them off one by one until the last convoy disappeared into the morning mist.

Zhang Ao and his logistics team arrived on time to take over and began burning the zombie corpses.

Thick smoke rose, carrying a pungent odor, yet it also symbolized a new beginning...

When they returned to the villa, everyone was exhausted.

After a quick breakfast and washing up, everyone gathered in the living room to distribute the crystal cores.

Two level-eight crystal cores—one wind-type and one ice-type.

Six level-seven crystal cores: two lightning-type, one ice-type, one mental-type, one metal-type, and one fire-type...

Lu Nange stared at the crystal cores: [The overlap rate between lightning and ice elemental types is so high? And it seems that among high-level superpowers, there are more ice, lightning, and wind zombies?]

Fortunately, there are plenty of level six crystal cores, available in all systems...

After allocating the shares to the core members, Lu Nange distributed the remaining crystal cores to the other ability users in the base.

Everyone took their assigned crystal cores and returned to their respective rooms to begin upgrading.

Lu Nange stood alone by the window, gazing into the distance, a strong sense of unease rising within her.

She had a premonition that time was running out.

The enemy's counterattack will only become more and more intense, so we must seize every minute and second to improve our strength.

Just as Flameheart and her companions were focusing all their efforts on improving their strength, the atmosphere in a hidden base several kilometers away was so tense it could drip water...

In the room filled with surveillance footage, several men in green uniforms stood bowed, barely daring to breathe.

Before them, a man in silk pajamas leaned lazily against the sofa, fiddling with a device that resembled a remote control...

"Yu Ren is dead? All the men he led out were wiped out?" The man's voice was soft, but it sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"Yes, yes, boss! Subjects 8 and 9 didn't come back either," a man in green answered, trembling.

"Useless!" The man sat bolt upright. "You couldn't even kill a bunch of ants!"

Another man in green, mustering his courage, stepped forward: "Boss, how about I take some men and go again? This time, we'll definitely..."

"Even an eighth-level experimental subject perished there, what use are you guys? Get out!"

"Yes!" The man in green bowed and retreated...

The man on the sofa got up and paced back and forth: "They're clearly the same ants as the previous two times, so what's wrong with them?"

He walked to the largest monitoring screen, which showed a distant view of the Flameheart Base.

The sun had fully risen, bathing the base in gold, but this beautiful sight only made his eyes appear more sinister.

"Where exactly are they hiding?...Looks like I'll have to give it a try." A smile suddenly appeared on the man's lips: "I'd like to see how long these ants can keep jumping around..."

Outside the window, the sun shines brightly, but shadows are quietly spreading. A greater storm is brewing...