The research institute in the east?
Zhou Feng hesitated for a moment, then said hesitantly, "There are other combat teams in the east, and they will complete the search and rescue mission. You should come back to the base with us first, and we can handle the rest later..."
The man shook his head vigorously, clutching her hand tightly. "No, no, no! I've met many warriors, and I know your strength must be the best among all the teams. Please, there are many people in the institute, and there is a lot of precious experimental data!"
The man was extremely anxious and held Zhou Feng's hand tightly, refusing to let go.
Zhou Feng had no choice but to ask, "How far is it?"
The man suddenly looked up: "10 kilometers... No, 9.8 kilometers, only 9.8 kilometers!"
There was a long silence.
9.8 kilometers is indeed not far, but that is in peacetime. Judging from the current situation, let alone ten kilometers, even 3 kilometers would be difficult. There are countless Zergs lying in ambush on the road ahead.
Zhou Feng sighed.
The Federation has ordered an evacuation, and the institute's location is completely opposite to the base. In this situation, it is really not suitable for them to run around.
Moreover, the combat teams that will be dispatched for rescue are all elites from various legions. Although the eastern team does not have a bug-level "universal power bank" like Gu Qiongsheng, its own strength is definitely not weak.
Just as they were about to explain to the man, Zhou Feng and the others noticed him hesitate for a moment, as if he had made a firm decision. He spoke hurriedly, "Actually, for the past ten years, we've been researching the solidification of mental attributes."
"The Federation recently released a batch of new materials that just happened to help us achieve a breakthrough. Please, even if you don't care about the lives of the other researchers, that information is truly crucial. It can help advance humanity's research on psychic properties by at least three years. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. Please believe me!"
The man's voice was miserable and sad, floating in the wind filled with the smell of blood and gunpowder.
Standing on the ruins, Zhou Feng and Gu Qiongsheng looked at each other in bewilderment. After a moment, Gu Qiongsheng asked in a low voice, "Solidifying the characteristics of mental power, does it mean preserving mental power for a long time?"
"...almost," the man rubbed the corner of his clothes anxiously. "It can't be stored for very long right now, only about a dozen hours, but at least we've achieved a breakthrough."
When these words were spoken, the soldiers were stunned.
The research on the solidification of mental characteristics has just begun on Tianyuan Star, but I didn’t expect that there have been preliminary results here. If the man in front of me is not lying, then this remote Xiling Star is really full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Facing everyone's questioning looks, the man smiled bitterly and raised his hand to touch the back of his head.
"I...we in the institute are all staunch supporters of the Soul Stream. But you should also know that within the Federation's academic circles, the Soul Stream is not mainstream."
"Scholars in the biological and particle flow fields didn't recognize us and called us heretics. We were so angry that we moved to Xiling Planet ten years ago. Although it's remote, we can do research in peace."
The man sighed and shook his head with a complicated expression.
"Until a special case appeared, the solidification of mental strength was always considered impossible by the academic community."
"For so many years, other research institutes have been focusing their efforts on researching psycho-mechas, anti-silence, and all other seemingly more promising projects... Only we refused to give up and have been toiling away on the project of psycho-solidification for a full decade."
"Without funding, we raise our own. Without test subjects, we use our own mental energy to conduct experiments. Some can't stand the poverty of the institute, and some can't stand the remoteness of Xiling Star. In the past ten years, we've lost nearly 60% of our researchers, but every one of those who remain is the most determined scientific researcher."
"Now the tide has turned. Everyone has begun studying Soul Flow, and we've finally achieved results. Our research wasn't accomplished overnight, but rather honed bit by bit over a decade. Every piece of information and every bit of experimental data represents the culmination of everyone's hard work!"
The man's voice trembled, and a gleam flickered in his eyes.
He raised his hands, and his empty palms seemed to be pressed by many heavy objects, making his slender fingers unable to bear the weight and tremble.
After a moment, Zhou Feng took a deep breath.
She grabbed the long stick, turned around and looked at Gu Qiongsheng with a firm and resounding gaze.
"Xiao Jiang, take a few people and escort the others back to the base first."
"The rest of you check your equipment and follow me!"
"Let's go east and save people!"
…
Dusk is falling and the setting sun is blood-red.
On the east side, there was endless yellow sand, and there was a larger ruin.
Ten hours ago, this place was still a factory, including many projects such as power grids and nuclear energy. Tens of thousands of machines were running precisely without stopping, maintaining the energy network of most of Xiling Star.
Once it fell, it became an even more terrifying place.
...Because it's not just humans who like energy, there are also crazy Zerg.
At this time, a large group of ugly Zergs gathered around an abandoned nuclear reactor. The giant blade insects dragged their heavy bodies around in circles, and their huge claws left deep marks on the ground. The cement cracked, the stone pillars collapsed, and a large amount of dust was raised.
The rift worm buried most of its body underground, leaving only its pointed head exposed, and its huge scarlet vertical pupils were rolling around.
There were several winged insects landed on the reactor, their wings folded in comfortably, holding a few pieces of rotten bones in their mouths and chewing slowly.
It was a kind of insect that looked like a bird but was not a bird. Its wings were sharp and hard, and a flap of its wings could destroy a stone wall. However, its body was light and it could fly high into the sky easily.
"One, two..."
Behind the ruins not far away, a soldier had his eyes closed, his face pale, and beads of sweat oozing from his forehead.
She carefully spread her invisible spiritual power in front of her, trying to detect the situation ahead: "...There are 5 Winged Insects, 3 Giant Blade Insects, and 3 Rift Insects ahead, a total of 11."
"……hiss!"
Someone nearby couldn't help but gasp: "11 of them, and we only have eight people on our team. Captain, is this possible?"
At the front of the team, a man with an exceptionally resolute expression frowned and pursed his lips when he heard this.
"We have to do it even if it's impossible," he said in a deep voice. "This nuclear reactor is our only way to break through the blockade. If we want to save people and survive, we have to kill these damn bugs!"
"And hurry. There are too many bugs gathered around here. We can't let them help each other."
"Don't be afraid. These bugs are feeding right now, so their guard isn't high. We have a chance."
"Lao Zhang, Xiao Zhao, Xiao Li, the three of you go around from the north and prioritize taking out the three rift bugs. Lao Qian, Lao Wu, you two stay close to me. We'll attack from the gap in the east. Fire with full force in the first round and make sure to capture all the winged bugs. The remaining two of you stay here and don't move. Protect the wounded and don't expose your position—do you understand?"
"Listen to my command, charge!"
The group of people were well-trained and immediately divided into several teams, sneaking quickly in the agreed direction.
The agile figure, illuminated by the afterglow of the setting sun, looked like a swift cheetah, or like the silent wind passing through the ruins.
The three men in the eastern gap quickly took their positions. The captain waited patiently for another minute, estimating that the other group had also reached their designated position. He then suddenly gave the signal, his weapon forming, and shouted, "Attack!"
The hail of bullets transformed by spiritual power suddenly burst out, sparks flashed, and like a torrential rain, it covered all the five winged insects on the east side!
The bullet was attached with unique spiritual power characteristics, and it emitted a blazing red light when it passed through the air. Its penetrating power was better than the most advanced armor-piercing bullets. It pierced through the wings of the winged insects and hit their hard bones, making a series of sounds like metal hitting stone!
The winged insect was frightened and suddenly raised its head and spread its wings.
The wings that could be spread out were like rags, full of holes left by bullets. Deep blue blood flowed out of the holes and dripped onto the ruins covered with yellow sand.
"Beautiful!" the captain exclaimed in surprise, "Keep firing, smash them for me, Lao Wu—Lao Wu?!"
There was no echo behind me.
The dense rain of bullets was instantly cut off in half.
The captain looked back in surprise, and a slender black shadow just brushed past his cheek. The sharp blade brought with it a cold wind, almost cutting off half of his ear!
Not far away, Old Wu was grabbed by the throat by the huge pincers of a rift worm that suddenly emerged from the ground.
The soldier struggled violently, using both hands to pry open the giant pincers, but the Zerg were stronger than him, and the pincers tightened little by little, squeezing Old Wu's face purple, his eyes wide open, and bloodshot eyes faintly visible at the corners.
"Fuck, Old Wu!"
The captain's eyes suddenly turned red, and his mental power condensed into a long sword in his palm, chopping it down fiercely at the rift worm!
"Bang!"
The giant pincers that were holding Old Wu were cut off, and the soldier with a purple face fell to the ground, gasping for breath violently.
The rift worm's forelimbs were cut off, and it raised its head and let out a shrill scream.
Although Old Wu was rescued, the hail of bullets had stopped, and the winged insects over there also got a chance to catch their breath. The two less injured ones flapped their huge wings, raising dust and sand as they soared into the sky!
The captain was shocked for a moment.
“Oh no!”
The battle plan was a series of crucial links, each crucial one. Now that a riftworm had appeared on their side, their original plan was instantly disrupted, and they could no longer maintain control of the situation.
The most important thing is that the winged insects took off and gained a wider field of vision. Their cries also drifted far away with the wind, covering the entire factory ruins.
The captain was furious, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing.
Perhaps the scouts had missed a Zerg, or perhaps another squad had failed to stop all the Rift Zerg—but there was no point in pursuing that now.
A mistake is a mistake. On the battlefield, even a small mistake can lead to a huge disaster.
Their combat intentions have been exposed and the news has leaked. The surrounding Zerg must be rushing over quickly. On the other side, after delivering the message, the winged insects screamed and circled in the sky for several rounds, aimed at a certain place on the ground, and suddenly dived!
Its sharp beak shone with a cold blood-red light in the setting sun. It spread its huge wings and shook them vigorously. Immediately, countless feathers fell densely from the sky like steel guns/bullets.
The densely packed feather spikes flashed with a cold and hard light like metal arrows, containing the tremendous anger of being suddenly attacked, and were about to prick the humans dodging in panic on the ground into hedgehogs!
Not far away, the captain turned around in shock and exclaimed, "Old Kong!"
He was responded with a panicked scream and a mental barrier that was instantly erected.
They only had 8 soldiers, but they were accompanied by 4 survivors rescued from elsewhere. The reason they left two behind was to protect the safety of the survivors.
But at this moment, the distribution of all the people on the ground was clearly seen by the winged insects from high altitude. They naturally knew what it meant to pick on the weak. Seeing that the captain and his men were quite powerful, they immediately changed direction and aimed at the two soldiers and four survivors hiding under the ruins.
Lao Kong was one of the people who stayed behind and was also an experienced veteran. He reacted quickly when attacked and put up a barrier.
But what winged insects are best at is high-altitude attacks. Their sharp feathers, under the blessing of gravity, can emit a powerful impact force like a cannonball. At this moment, under the impact of thousands of sharp spikes, Lao Kong's barrier only held up for a moment, and then it was like a willow swaying in the wind and rain, shaking.
The captain gritted his teeth and licked his back teeth fiercely.
He jumped out of the gap and rushed towards the survivors - but was blocked by a giant blade worm that suddenly appeared.
The Giant Bladeworms weren't as nimble as the Riftworms, but their agility was traded for their hardened shells and exceptionally fierce attack power. Now surrounded by several Giant Bladeworms, even the captain had to slow down.
"ah!!"
Another series of screams suddenly rang out.
The other team responsible for blocking the rift worms accidentally let a worm escape. They were anxious and accidentally revealed a flaw during the battle, and were stabbed by the rift worm's sharp forelimbs!
The pungent smell of blood instantly filled the entire ruins.
Stimulated by the blood, several Zergs became even more crazy and their attacks became more fierce.
...It's over!
The captain secretly groaned in his heart.
With things now at this point, there was no way they could find a way out. Not only could they not continue their search and rescue mission at the research institute, but it would also be difficult for them to escape unscathed, and they would likely lose several lives here.
Feeling increasingly distressed, the captain looked up and shouted, "Everyone, move towards me!"
"Retreat immediately, I will cover your rear—"
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard the crackling sound of electric arc in his ears.
A silver rod came from a distance, carrying with it tremendous thunder and lightning, and landed heavily in the center of the Zerg!
At the same time, a crisp voice was heard.
“Holy Light!”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
