Chapter 132
Su Jing's fingertips traced across the communicator; the countdown timer for the instance stopped at [Remaining Time: 10 hours and 1 minute]. She had just stuffed the last spare energy block into her backpack's side pocket when five mining robots lined up in front of her—
Number 1 and Number 2 led the way, with their manganese crystal shields partially deployed, ready to defend at any time.
Numbers 3 and 4 were on guard from the side and rear. The scanning light film covered a 15-meter range in a fan shape, and the light red light spots jumped rapidly on the leaf decay layer.
Number 5 followed closely behind her, its portable shield unfolding half a meter high to protect her back, and the words "Energy remaining 92%, scan no abnormalities" flashed continuously on the display screen.
"The teleportation point is 5 kilometers to the northeast. Follow the previously marked safe route, avoiding the dead wood area and the edge of the volcano."
Su Jing gave the robot a low command, her voice showing no sign of relaxation—the beasts in the final stage are often more irritable, and other mission participants may take risks to seize teleportation spots, so the highest level of vigilance must be maintained.
She reached into her side pocket and touched the laser gun. The cool, metallic feel of the gun body was refreshing. The energy indicator light was steadily lit up green [Energy: 95%]. She hadn't used much of it when she was dealing with the US team, so it was enough to handle any emergencies.
He also subtly activated a trace of ice-type ability at his fingertips, a faint white light flashing between his fingers to ensure a swift counterattack should he encounter a fire-type beast.
The team had only traveled 1 kilometer when the scanning beam of Robot 3 suddenly stopped in the northwest direction, and a red warning popped up on the display screen: "Energy fluctuations of a Tier 1 ferocious beast, the Earth-Splitting Bear, have been detected. It is 80 meters away and is rapidly approaching. It is highly aggressive!"
Su Jing immediately raised her hand to signal the team to stop. Robots No. 1 and No. 2 instantly deployed their manganese crystal shields. With a "clang," the 5-centimeter-thick shields smashed into the ground, creating a shallow crater and forming two parallel defensive walls.
Robot No. 4 aimed its laser gun at the northwest direction, and a pale red preheating light condensed at the muzzle, ready to fire at any moment.
"It's the Earthshaker that slipped through the net before. It has an old wound on its left shoulder, and its weak point is its right eye." Su Jing quickly locked onto the target using the robot's scan footage.
Eighty meters away in the woods, a 1.5-meter-tall ground-splitting bear was charging with heavy steps. Its black fur was covered with decaying leaves, and a scar on its left shoulder was still oozing pale pink blood. It was clear that it had fought with other ferocious beasts before, and now it was even more frenzied. It slammed its front paws on a tree trunk and snapped the thick trunk in half with a "crack".
"Number 4, shoot its foreleg joint first to slow it down!" As soon as Su Jing finished speaking, Robot Number 4 fired its laser gun instantly. The pale red beam accurately hit the right foreleg joint of the Earth-Splitting Bear. The high temperature instantly burned through the fur, leaving a small charred hole.
The Earth-Splittering Bear roared in pain, its speed noticeably slowing down, but it didn't stop. Instead, it lunged even more fiercely at Robot 1's shield, slamming its front paws hard against the shield with a muffled thud. The shield trembled slightly but wasn't breached.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Jing stepped out from the side and behind the robot, aiming her laser gun at the Earth-Splitting Bear's right eye—the most vulnerable part of the beast, and its previous injury had impaired its vision in its left eye, leaving it to lock onto the target only with its right eye.
She took a deep breath, pulled the trigger, and a pale red laser beam shot out with a piercing "sizzle" sound, accurately hitting the Earthshaker Bear's right eye. Dark red blood gushed out instantly, mixed with fragments of the shattered eyeball.
The Earth-Splitter Bear let out a deafening roar of pain, spun around twice, and collapsed heavily onto the decaying leaves. Its limbs twitched a few times before it went still.
"Number 5, collect materials from the ferocious beasts. Keep the pelts and bones; they can be used to make defensive equipment." Su Jing put away the laser gun and checked its temperature—it was only slightly hot, so there was no need to replace the energy block.
Robot No. 5 immediately stepped forward, its mechanical arm equipped with sharp alloy claws, carefully peeling off the fur of the Earth-Splitting Bear (avoiding damage), and disassembling the bones into small pieces, storing them along with the previous beast fangs into the space's "material area." The system notification stated: "[Tier 1 beast Earth-Splitting Bear material has been collected and can be used to make manganese crystal fur armor]."
The team continued forward, and just as they rounded a patch of vines, the scanning light on Robot 3 lit up again, this time with a more urgent warning: [Detected Tier 1 ferocious beast "Crimson Flame Fox", distance 50 meters, fire-type attack, fast speed!]
Just as Su Jing gripped the laser gun, a fiery red figure darted out from behind the vines—it was a Crimson Flame Fox, about 1 meter long, with red fur gleaming with a scorching light. It held a ball of pale red flame in its mouth, and its front paws dug two deep marks in the ground, clearly targeting the robot in the group (metal is attractive to fire-type ferocious beasts).
"Number 1, use your shield to block the fire! I'll attack!" Su Jing activated her ice-type ability, her fingertips glowing with a faint white frost, condensing a half-meter-high ice wall in front of her—the Crimson Flame Fox had just spewed out flames when the ice wall blocked them, and with a "sizzle," the flames instantly turned into water vapor, filling the air.
Taking advantage of the moment the Crimson Fox was stunned, Su Jing pulled the trigger of the laser gun. The beam accurately struck its neck (the thinnest part of its fur). The Crimson Fox let out a shrill scream and fell to the ground, the flames instantly extinguished.
"Check the laser gun's energy," Su Jing said into the communicator. Robot No. 4 immediately scanned and reported, "Laser gun energy remaining at 88%, spare energy blocks are sufficient."
She nodded, instructing Robot No. 5 to collect materials from the Crimson Fox (its fur can be used to make fire-type defensive gloves), then walked to the ice wall and used her mind to withdraw her ice-type ability—the ice wall turned into water droplets that seeped into the layer of decaying leaves, leaving no trace.
The next 3 kilometers went exceptionally smoothly. Robot No. 3's scanning beam occasionally detected the aura of low-level monsters, but they were all more than 10 meters away and would actively avoid the group after sensing its intimidation.
Su Jing would occasionally let her consciousness sink into the space to check on Xiao Jin's condition—the little guy was lying on the dry grass mat next to the green deer egg, dozing off while holding a spirit herb seed. When she saw her consciousness enter, it would gently touch the energy membrane with its little paws, as if to confirm that she was safe. Su Jing couldn't help but use her mind to hand it a plumper seed, and Xiao Jin immediately woke up and happily started munching on it.
When the pale blue light membrane of the teleportation point appeared in the field of vision, the communicator's countdown displayed [Remaining time: 8 hours and 30 minutes].
A few mission participants stood scattered around the teleportation point, most of them looking exhausted. Some were organizing their backpacks, while others were resting against tree trunks. However, no one dared to approach the light membrane—the system notification read: "[The area within 10 meters of the teleportation point is a safe zone. Fighting is prohibited. Violators will be forcibly teleported out of the instance.]"
Su Jing did not approach the crowd. Instead, she had the robots form a defensive circle 5 meters away from the light membrane. She leaned against an ancient tree and checked the supplies in her space: the spirit herbs, the green deer eggs, and the ferocious beast materials were all intact. Little Jin was still gnawing on seeds, and the laser gun had plenty of energy. She took a deep breath.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com