81 Pretend
◎Troublesome and easily contagious ◎
Everyone drew their guns, and instantly there was a burst of mental power explosion!
After a few seconds of gunfire and bullets, the strange creature that looked like a crocodile but not a crocodile, and a snake but not a snake, fell down limply as if it were drained out of its body, and turned into a pool of rotten meat that no longer squirmed.
The leader gestured to hold still, then stepped forward and cautiously took a closer look. "Dead."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and lowered their guns.
One part faces outward and keeps an eye on the surroundings, while the other part goes up to split the foreign objects and see if there are any usable parts.
During this operation, Sentinel Yan was a little embarrassed because he was a little slow and only fired one spiritual bullet.
He was quickly reloading the magazine and keeping the gun within arm's reach so that he could react immediately the next time he encountered such a situation.
The combat system in the South District is really too different from that in the East District.
The mutation reactions in the East District are mainly physical mutations. Plant-based, desert-based, petrified, and hydrogenic are all common foreign bodies in the Yellow Sand District. Most of them have lost their minds or are mentally weak. It is even difficult for mental bullets to penetrate the surface. They are accustomed to close combat - this is why sentinels have more advantages in the dungeon.
But the southern area, where the radiation is stronger, is completely different. It also has the above-mentioned abnormal reactions, but the main trend is spiritual evolution. There are sentinels that can interfere with and block spiritual signals, control the mind, and even suffer from amnesia after coming to the ground.
Therefore, in the battles in the South District, most of the weapons used were spiritual, and the first reaction when encountering foreign objects was to draw the gun.
Secondly, the function of the exoskeleton in the South Zone is also different from that in the other three zones. It is mainly used for warmth rather than body strengthening. In an extremely low temperature environment, if it is taken offline, there is a high probability of hypothermia and death.
Therefore, the importance of maintaining the exoskeleton's integrity is much higher than in other areas. Most sentinels die from disconnection rather than from foreign objects. Therefore, in combat, most will spare no effort from the first moment to minimize damage from foreign objects rushing towards them.
It’s been two or three years since the last training, and the South District is no longer the same.
Yan Xunzhi was in a hurry to get to the ground this time. He was delayed by Kong Wei before and had no time for training, so he was a little uncomfortable.
The communications guide beside her patted her on the shoulder and said, "It's okay, just a couple of tries. I was also dumbfounded when I first came here, but after encountering foreign objects a few more times, I got the hang of it so quickly. When it comes to survival, the body is much more proactive than the brain."
Yan Xunzhi smiled, "That's true."
However, the subsequent maintenance and inspection was too professional. She had never learned it before and did not understand it at all. She could not do it, so she took turns with the sentry standing guard at the back.
The light from his chest extended far into the distance, eventually disappearing into the endless darkness. Yan Xunzhi raised her head. The stars in the sky were incredibly bright. She hadn't seen stars in the South District for a long time.
"You said..." She was a little bored standing there, and asked the mixed group guide beside her for something to say, "How bright must the stars in the sky be to be able to be seen from such a distance?"
The mixed team guide shushed her, "You can't talk while on guard duty."
"...Oh." Yan Xunzhi was disappointed. He actually had this request.
He pursed his lips and said, "I'm sorry."
After changing the equipment, they headed to the next point. This time, the communications guide stood beside her, excited. "I heard this is your second time here? When was the first time?"
Didn't you say you couldn't speak? Yan Xunzhi couldn't help but answer, briefly and vaguely, "Two or three years ago."
The communications guide nodded in understanding, pondering what the South District was like two or three years ago. Then he asked, "Were they still using traditional exoskeletons back then? What were they like? I heard that the old exoskeletons were warmer than today's, and these detachable ones are really breathable."
Is there? Yan Xunzhi felt it and was shocked to find that he had unknowingly adjusted it to the maximum setting because of his fear of the cold. It really did not retain warmth. "Yeah. Better than this."
The communication guide was very dissatisfied with her pitifully short answer. "What's wrong with you? I didn't provoke you, so why are you suddenly ignoring me? If you don't want to talk, forget it. Don't give me perfunctory treatment."
Yan Xunzhi was embarrassed, "No... didn't they say that we can't talk while on guard?"
"Who said that?"
She turned around and told the mixed team guide, "We were just standing together chatting, and she told me to shut up."
"..." The communication guide was silent for a while, "She probably just doesn't want to talk to you."
“…”
Sentinel Yan also fell silent. She didn't want to ask why.
During the next dispersed maintenance inspection, Yan Xunzhi paid special attention for a while.
The mixed team guide would deliberately avoid her and stay far away, it seemed that he really didn't like her.
In mixed platoons, there's always the possibility of disliking your partner. But with such a good face in the first half of his life, and the famous officer Kong Wei as his boss, it's really rare for him to be so obviously disliked. Yan Xunzhi is actually a bit of a rarity.
Seeing that the other party disliked her, she walked away and stopped approaching to show respect.
The maintenance inspection was completed, and five foreign objects were killed. Their spiritual evolution was of medium and low levels. No one took advantage of the interference to sneak in. One was killed and three were injured. Overall, it went smoothly.
This exploration is not the focus, the scope is relatively small, but scattered.
You Xun glanced at the remaining power of the exoskeleton and said, "Let's split into three teams. Each injured team will take one person. We must fight quickly and decisively, and return to the tower directly after the battle."
Everyone is used to being divided into teams and has no objection.
But the link sentinels wouldn't separate. Yan Xunzhi silently glanced at the mixed queue guide, feeling a childish, hidden anticipation.
It's a pity that she couldn't see the expression on her face because of the helmet.
There were eight people in the team, five of them professionals. When setting up the equipment, Yan Xunzhi stood closely with the mixed team guide.
This time, keep the other party's request in mind, look straight ahead, and focus your attention outward.
The long and terrible night.
Without saying anything, and with nothing to do, she could only stare at the endless expanse of dark lacquer, feeling as if she were about to be swallowed up bit by bit. Yan Xunzhi couldn't help herself any longer, and she moved her voice, ready to risk being scratched to chat for a few words.
Suddenly I felt something moving faintly in the darkness.
...like a distress signal emitted by the exoskeleton.
Her vision was blurry, so she squinted. The light was still hazy and blurry, but the outline seemed familiar.
She raised her head.
Even the lights were doubled, but she could see her face clearly in an instant - Kong Wei!
Why is Kong Wei there?
It seemed as if it was seriously injured, dragging its body, and struggling to move towards them step by step. Yan Xunzhi's heart tightened, and he subconsciously wanted to step forward to catch it.
The moment I took a step forward, my whole body shook and I suddenly woke up.
Kong Wei was undergoing surgery underground and was seriously injured and had not yet recovered. How could he appear on the ground?
"There's a foreign object!" She quickly pushed the mixed team guide. She didn't move. She turned around and took advantage of the light shining through her helmet to see her distracted eyes. "Wake up! There's a foreign object controlling your mind!"
Everyone behind him stopped immediately, quickly drawing their guns and becoming alert. The mixed-row guide remained motionless. Yan Xunzhi gritted his teeth and charged directly into her spiritual realm to engage.
The other party felt a sudden pain in his mind, but finally came back to his senses. He endured the discomfort and drew his gun to concentrate the bullet, "...Di Zi! It's Di Zi who is controlling his mind!"
Everyone was on high alert. In the darkness, the Earth's form was invisible, its spiritual power deliberately concealed. After the illusion disappeared, its spiritual power fluctuations gradually faded, making it difficult to capture.
Yan Xunzhi slowly retreated, the team gathered together, the eight people stood shoulder to shoulder, and looked around.
"It won't come out..." The guide who was testing the link had the strongest mental power, but even she couldn't sense it. "I can't find where it is."
I am in the light and the enemy is in the dark, which is really disadvantageous.
Yan Xunzhi took a deep breath and asked, "Can we maintain this formation and return?"
She was the highest-ranking member of the team and the nominal deputy leader, and the others had no objection. When the situation was unclear, returning was the best option.
There was a high probability that foreign objects would not allow them to return to the ground tower safely, and ambushes along the way were the most common. Everyone held their breath, concentrated their attention, carefully observed their surroundings, maintained their formation, and slowly moved towards the ground tower.
Fortunately, the location they were exploring wasn't far away. The signal connection to the tower was a little chaotic at first, but as they got closer, the signal strengthened and the connection quickly became clear.
…but why does the red dot on the helmet keep jumping around?
Yan Xunzhi's head was spinning from the two alternating red dots before her eyes. Radiation in the South Zone often damaged equipment. Was her helmet malfunctioning? How could she still find two of the nearest towers?
And this is clearly not the right direction...
She suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Everyone was pushing forward shoulder to shoulder, and one person's pause was extremely noticeable. Yan Xunzhi stopped, and to maintain formation, the others also stopped one after another.
"What's wrong?" The communication wizard's voice popped up in the channel immediately.
Yan Xunzhi looked at the red dots that were pointing in completely opposite directions and asked, "Are there two positions in your helmets that are jumping?"
"Yes," said the maintenance sentry, "it's not a helmet malfunction..."
She didn't finish her words, but realized something and her voice faded away.
The channel suddenly became unusually quiet.
The microphone port was right next to his mouth, but even the sound of his breathing became faint. Everyone realized that it was not a helmet malfunction... The map indicated the two nearest ground towers!
——And they are two ground towers in opposite directions!
"This can't be the wrong way!" The test guide tried to connect to the tower again, and his mental power responded. "The South District is afraid of the ground's own interference with the disguise. The tower has set up special mental reflections. As long as it can resonate with the tower, it must be real."
The maintenance sentry was the most skilled among them, and he confirmed, "The helmet receives a signal directly connected to the ground tower. It uses a modified special signal, and it is impossible for the ground to be disguised."
“…”
In Yan Xunzhi's mind, some ideas were quickly taking shape.
It was too urgent to go to the ground at this time. Maintenance and exploration were no small matter. She could read the personnel list in the East District and was the basic experience and long-term active sentry who could take on this mission.
Even if there was a record of transfer and training, she hadn't been to the South District for a long time and had only been on a similar mission once. How could they send her to the ground in a hurry without even doing any adaptation training?
"So this device is controlled by the underground, right?"
The maintenance sentry was right. Yan Xunzhi looked up at her, his pupils clear and his emotions almost faded. "Can all ground towers within range receive and transmit signals to the helmet?"
The maintenance sentry hesitated. "In theory, it's possible, but it would disrupt the signal reception. Helmets are usually only attached to one fixed ground tower, and the others are kept as auxiliary backups, with a single ground tower providing command and control..."
Yan Xunzhi took a deep breath and understood, "But in the alternative ground tower, they can seize command."
【Author’s words】
Pickled Fish: No, here we go again!! I just had a few days of peace!!
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