Xiao Jin leaned against a cold, broken wall and carefully wiped the smooth, mirror-like blade of the sword with a clean cloth.
The cold blade reflected the leaping firelight, and also her calm, expressionless eyes.
She wasn't consuming too much energy, but the continuous high-intensity combat and sensory engagement had left her feeling mentally exhausted.
Her gaze swept over the silent soldiers not far away, over Zhao Chun's tired and heavy back, and finally landed on the thick, impenetrable red mist deep in the ruins.
The mother nest is inside.
This brief respite is merely the calm before the storm; the real battle has yet to begin.
The brutal sniping attack just now was merely the most basic defensive measure around the Mother Nest. The road ahead will only become more bloody.
She gently stroked the cold lines on the hilt of the knife, her eyes sharpening like a knife once more.
Moreover, Xiao Jin didn't even need to think about it carefully to know that the other players' hearts were probably far from as calm as they appeared.
Because of the recent incident, Zhao Chun chose to rest here and continue his journey the next day.
At night, tents were set up one by one.
This is where the player's caution becomes apparent.
When it came to arranging the night watch, no one trusted anyone else, so no one actually slept.
Given the player's physical condition, staying up all night was no problem at all. Seeing that he couldn't persuade him otherwise, Zhao Chun turned and went back to his tent.
Seemingly sensing the presence of numerous dead Mist Demons in the vicinity, nothing happened that night.
………………
The cold morning light struggled to pierce the thick, leaden fog, coating the lifeless ruins with a chilling crimson hue.
Inside the makeshift defensive position, the remaining soldiers silently packed their belongings, loaded their dwindling ammunition into magazines, and applied medicine to the seriously wounded.
The air was thick with the stench of blood, the smell of gunpowder, and a deep-seated weariness. The players adjusted their own states, and the invisible tension in the air was stretched to its limit.
"Let's go." Zhao Chun's voice was hoarse but resolute.
His arm was slinged across his chest with a simple splint and bandages, his face was pale from blood loss, but his back remained straight.
The convoy started again, rolling over roads littered with ashes and broken bones. Less than an hour later, the sight ahead made everyone's hearts sink.
The road had completely disappeared, replaced by a sea of ruins utterly flattened by an immense force.
Twisted steel bars, like the ribs of a monster, pierced the blood-red sky, while shattered concrete blocks piled up like mountains, forming insurmountable barriers.
"Abandon the vehicle! On foot!" Zhao Chun decisively ordered.
The heavy armored vehicle doors opened, and soldiers filed out, quickly forming combat formations. The players also disembarked.
Those soldiers who were too badly injured to move had no choice but to leave them there along with their vehicles.
As for whether they would encounter the Fog Ghosts who came to attack, Zhao Chun remained silent, his hands clenched into fists, crescent-shaped bloodstains appearing on his palms.
Even before he arrived, Zhao Chun knew that he couldn't go back, and neither could the others.
It was less of a mission team and more of a suicide squad; death... was merely a necessary loss for the survivors in the base.
After settling the wounded, Zhao Chun silently shouted into the communications station, "Salute!" He raised his hand, and the other soldiers followed suit.
The emotions in his eyes were moving, and the group of players remained silent.
A moment later, just as everyone stepped into the ruins of this core area—
An indescribable, chilling pressure, filled with pure destruction and insane malice, surged forth from the depths of the ruins like a tangible tsunami!
This shock seems to only affect players.
"Ugh!" Several weaker players groaned, their faces turning deathly pale, cold sweat beading on their foreheads, as if their hearts were being gripped tightly by an invisible, icy hand.
Even the most battle-hardened soldiers instinctively gripped their weapons, their breathing became heavy, and their eyes were filled with a deep fear of the unknown terror.
Xiao Jin's eyes narrowed, and the supernatural power and spiritual energy within his body flowed instinctively, resisting the terrifying pressure originating from the mother nest.
Fortunately, after evolving into a psionicist, the player's mental strength was vastly different from before. Xiao Jin was the first to break free of his restraints and looked ahead.
“We’ve arrived.” Zhao Chun’s voice trembled slightly. He walked up to the players, his only remaining right eye fixed on the most violently swirling vortex of mist deep within the ruins.
“We can’t get involved in the battle ahead. As planned, my men will be responsible for planting the ‘Zero Explosive’.” He pointed to the heavy metal boxes carried by the soldiers behind him.
"You have only one mission—to buy us time at all costs!"
The plan was agreed upon beforehand, and the 'Zero Explosive' was a special explosive developed for this mission, which almost exhausted all of the base's stock.
“No problem.” Yu Liu was the first to speak, his face beaming, but his eyes were sharp as knives.
The man in black armor nodded silently, slightly raising his giant axe, and the other players followed suit.
Moreover, many people who have pets or summoned creatures will send them to protect soldiers.
The mage in robes chanted softly, tapping his staff on the ground, and a semi-transparent wolf-shaped creature made of blue electric arcs roared and solidified.
Beside the fox woman, a flash of ghostly blue foxfire appeared, and a crimson fox composed entirely of flames gracefully materialized. The bandaged boy then emerged from the shadows as a slender, faceless humanoid figure formed from black mist.
Another player released a pet that surprised everyone – a mammoth.
Yu Liu and the man in black armor seemed to lack something in this regard. Yu Liu looked at the mammoth and chuckled, "This place really is full of hidden talents!"
The player who released the mammoth seemed a little nervous.
On the other side, with a slight thought, Xiao Jin woke up instantly inside the pet pouch.
The jet-black python raised its head, its cold, vertical pupils sweeping across its surroundings. The next second, its form rapidly shrank and lengthened like a phantom!
A tiny, dark snake, about the thickness of a chopstick, slipped silently from Xiao Jin's sleeve and disappeared into the shadows and crevices of the rubble, moving so fast it was almost impossible to catch.
"Go, be careful," Xiao Jin silently instructed.
【Sisi~ 'Don't worry, Master.'】
"Action!" Zhao Chun roared.
He then personally led the demolition team, using the ruins as cover, to stealthily advance towards the designated core demolition point.
Amo followed at a distance behind them, ready to eliminate any threats that might come from their blind spots.
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