"Don't I fucking want to save people?"

Frustrated, Dingxiang couldn't help but swear:

"What's all the noise about? This could very well be a mutated cockroach nest down there. Without heavy firepower support, how are we going to rescue people? You all want to be heroes, don't you? Have you taken care of your wives and kids at home?"

Nineteen people were brought out, and now four are seriously injured and three are missing. Isn't that enough? Of course, we have to save them, but aren't you just throwing your lives away by running down like this?

What, you think they don't have enough to eat and you insist on giving them a plate of food?

From the moment the three fell into the hole to the sudden disappearance of the mutated cockroaches, those few minutes felt like an eternity. When they came to their senses, their backs were almost completely soaked with sweat.

The ground was covered with a dense layer of dark brown limbs. Some of the mutated cockroaches were not quite dead, their slender legs still struggling. The sound of the insects' limbs scraping the ground was sharp and piercing. Even the team members who were full of enthusiasm and shouted to save people couldn't help but hesitate.

Human strength is limited. Once the electromagnetic gun runs out of energy, they will be trapped here and die!

They were fully equipped today, on a gathering mission, and didn't bring any heavy weapons. If they actually went down there, they probably wouldn't even know how they died.

"The rescue team is on their way. Emil and Liu Na are both veterans. They should be able to hold out until we go down to rescue people, or at the very least..."

Dingxiang's face was ashen. Her rough fingers rubbed the crumpled cigarette pack back and forth. After a long while, as if she had made a decision, she kicked the dead cockroach on the ground.

"What are you standing there for? Quickly print out the vehicles and get this batch of supplies out of here. Who knows if those bugs will come back?"

There was something Dingxiang didn't say: Emil and Liu Na had been through thick and thin with him for so long, even if they fell, they could hold him off for a while. As for that kid Yu Lu…

His thighs weren't even as thick as the team members' arms. He was skinny and had no equipment. Falling from that height, he would either die or be crippled, and he probably wouldn't make it to the rescue.

He didn't even realize that this kid was a hero; out of so many people, he was the only one who jumped in without hesitation to save people.

He's such an idiot.

How could the research institute have chosen someone like this to be an undercover agent?

Looking at the demoralized crowd, Dingxiang remained silent.

He knew that saying this would dishearten everyone, but honestly, everyone in the team had parents to support them, and it was impossible to risk a team member's life to save an unknown outsider.

I hope that kid has good luck.

If Yu Lu really was one of Dr. Su's people, even if he unfortunately died, if he could send his body to the research institute before his brains were completely destroyed, he might still have a slight chance of surviving.

Even if all the organs in a person's body were replaced with bionic ones, at least the person could still live.

But it's hard to explain to my younger sister, Xiao Ding...

Dingxiang exhaled a smoke ring, feeling extremely irritated. She stared at the dark cave entrance for a long time, then couldn't help but grit her teeth and curse:

"If I find out who's in charge of clearing this area, I'll beat the crap out of him."

...

...

"Ah—yum!"

Underground, Xu Milu, who had been "sentenced to death," sneezed, completely unaware that Dingxiang on the surface had already "sentenced" her to death. She was currently struggling against the mutated banana tree trunk in front of her.

The tall, mutated banana tree grows straight up and down, with its upper half protruding above the ground and its lower half growing in a hollow underground cave. The trunk is as straight as a pen holder, and the bark of the trunk, which is as thick as two people can hug, is a highly saturated brown color.

Peel back the bark, and you'll see the crisp, milky-white core, inside which curl up unhatched mutant cockroach eggs, surrounded by a sticky, unidentified liquid.

Xu Milu moved quickly, her dagger flashing, and fragments of banana tree cores scattered like snowflakes, soon piling up a thick layer of sawdust at her feet.

Emil and Liu Na, who were standing nearby, followed suit and used their laser cutters to cut the tree trunk, trying to carve out a space in the core that could accommodate one person.

The underground air was stagnant, and the smell of rotting corpses and cockroach bodily fluids mingled together. After digging for a while, Emil couldn't help but turn his head away and gag.

"Ugh—Yu Lu, do you even think your method will work?"

"Do you have any other ideas?"

Xu Milu didn't turn her head, her dagger flashing rapidly, and in no time she had dug a hole large enough for one person to crawl into:

"I just checked, and the trunks of these mutated vine bananas have all become woody, and their branches extend straight to the ground. As long as you dig upwards along the center of the trunk, you can find the exit."

"Plus, the sap from the banana vines can mask the smell of blood on us. Didn't you see that these mutated cockroaches didn't even notice us?"

As she spoke, Xu Milu suddenly stopped what she was doing and waved for the two to stop. The three of them immediately froze and huddled in the tree trunk like wooden figures, holding their breath.

The next second, a group of mutated cockroaches dragged the corpses past, seemingly ignoring the trio hiding in the tree, and left after taking away the scattered larvae and eggs on the ground.

"These damn bugs, I'm going to blow this place up with heat bombs when I get out."

Emil cursed and slid down the tree trunk, panting heavily—he had a broken leg, making movement extremely difficult.

They had been digging for a full half hour. The three of them worked together. Xu Milu dug the tunnel at the top, Liu Na then dug out a gap for easy footholds, and Emil, who was injured and unable to move easily, was responsible for transporting tree core fragments out of the cave. Working together like this, they actually dug more than ten meters in one go.

“I’ve already cleared the way up. I’ll carry Emil up first, and Liu Na, you’ll cover the rear.”

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