The scene inside a tactical vehicle a hundred miles away appeared before X9500's eyes.

He saw a young man with black and white hair commanding the frontline's actions.

"About eighty kilometers to the northwest is the core of Demon Mountain."

"Destroy it!"

X9500 had a fondness for a quote from Earth Civilization: "Forewarned is forearmed; if not, one's plans are ruined."

Before this operation, he had done a lot of preparation, even learning four Earth languages: Chinese, English, German, and Russian.

Therefore, he could understand Ma Ran's words.

"Interesting."

X9500 touched his helmet, "They actually discovered my location?"

"Look at his reaction..."

"It's unlike information obtained through a 'foreknowledge' ability."

"Their intelligence-gathering ability is slightly more impressive than expected."

Thinking of this, X9500 suddenly sneered, "Being born in a low-level civilization is your greatest tragedy."

"You, whose chess pieces are scarce..."

"The more you know, the more despair you'll feel."

"Are you ready to recognize reality?"

X9500 pulled up a live map with both hands and rubbed his fingers.

The gray mist condensed between his fingers into a card.

The card's texture seemed to be crystal, fully exhibiting a light gray hue, depicting many human-shaped statues glowing with a metallic sheen.

"First, crush these three chess pieces."

X9500 leisurely manipulated the projection map, throwing the card onto three small red dots.

"Struggle hard in the face of despair!"

"Experience pain and despair and become a 'Hero'."

"Providing me with higher-quality 'Thought Essences' is your fate!"

...

In the dense fog, the assault team of three was moving upstream.

The highest instantaneous speed achieved by a human is 44.722 km/h, set by Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter.

Based on that data, it would take nearly two hours to cover eighty kilometers.

Moreover, that data is a track sprint record, which can't be directly applied to long-distance running.

For Ma Ran, whose physical energy surpasses normal human limits, eighty kilometers was just a warm-up, and after running, he wouldn't even break a sweat.

The assault team's three members had relatively low Inner Qi cultivation, yet they each possessed skills.

Su Qiangwei directly activated [Yukong], flying into the dense fog.

If it weren't to prevent falling out of pace with her two teammates, she could reach the location pointed out by Ma Ran in less than an hour.

Zhu Hanyi had mastered the Seven Vortex Swordsmanship, cultivated the sword well, and his realm was steadily growing.

He carried his long sword and ran swiftly along the path, not only feeling no fatigue but also sensing a surge of Inner Qi transforming into Spiritual attributes, flowing between himself and the Rain Boiling Sword, causing his energy not to decrease but to increase, the more he used, the more he gained.

The faster he ran, the more energetic he felt.

He knew that this was the Inner Qi Ma Ran had left within him taking effect.

As for Wan Haihao...

Theoretically, he only had the First Rank of Inner Qi cultivation.

In the domestic academic societies, countless people were stronger than him.

Yet now, he could closely follow behind Su Qiangwei and Zhu Hanyi, without feeling any fatigue.

Ma Ran's Inner Qi support was one aspect, but another factor was...

Wan Haihao was carrying the standard long sword issued by the Grass Hut Academy, a faint bluish light enveloping him, seemingly pulling on his body, making him nearly unaware of his weight.

Running diligently, Wan Haihao said in a low voice, "Sword Master... thank you!"

Lin Qiubai snorted lightly, "Your soul is intertwined with my Sword Spirit and Sword Remains."

"Even without my lending it to you, you can utilize it."

Wan Haihao scratched his head, stopped talking, and continued on his way.

The Sword Master was right.

As time passed, he became increasingly aware of the connection between Lin Qiubai and himself.

Originally, Wan Haihao's Swordsmanship Talent didn't count for much; he didn't share Zhu Hanyi's obsession with the sword. However, his Swordsmanship Realm was in no way inferior to Zhu Hanyi's.

Why?

Because Lin Qiubai's sword was entangled with him, even occasionally drawing on a tiny bit would benefit him immensely.

If necessary, Wan Haihao could even draw on Lin Qiubai's "sword!"

That's the rationale, but as a young man of New China, nurtured under the red flag, Wan Haihao still felt somewhat uneasy using someone else's power without permission.

Suddenly, Wan Haihao stopped in his tracks.

Ahead, Zhu Hanyi had somehow already drawn the Rain Boiling Sword, his gaze intently fixed forward.

"What's wrong?"

Su Qiangwei's voice came from the sky: "We've been surrounded by the enemy! There are many of them!"

The location where the three of them are is shrouded in thick gray fog; it's hard to see ten meters ahead, let alone one's own hand.

This is the effect of the [Impression Label] ability Su Qiangwei acquired from the Yingchuan Academy.

Shortly after these words were spoken, Wan Haihao noticed that over a hundred shadows, about two meters tall, were slowly approaching through the gray fog ahead.

Thirty meters...

Twenty meters...

Ten meters!

Closer, even closer!

Wan Haihao finally saw the figures of those "strong men" clearly.

They...

No, it would be more accurate to say they are!

Those entities with human-like outlines are actually constructed from metal and rock. They look extremely cumbersome but are capable of moving freely, giving an overwhelming sense of oppression.

"This wasn't mentioned in the intel."

Wan Haihao's throat moved slightly, he swallowed and felt his palms full of sweat: "Looks like we can't continue forward without taking them down..."

Having never been in a real fight, he encountered this situation for the first time and only felt his breathing quicken, heart pounding, and goosebumps all over.

Although Su Qiangwei usually seems unreliable, in critical moments, she should be someone you can trust.

Faced with such powerful and numerous enemies, Wan Haihao instinctively took out the specially made second-generation Extraordinary One sidearm from China, the "Dragon Hunting."

The standard longsword from the Grass Hut Academy?

He never even considered engaging this mechanical army in hand-to-hand combat with a cold weapon!

Standing beside him, Zhu Hanyi, however, made the completely opposite move.

Clang!

He unsheathed his longsword and charged forward without hesitation, chanting his personally styled line.

"Ten years of sharpening a sword; the frosty blade has yet to be tested."

"Today, I show it to you; who has grievances?!"

Wan Haihao released the safety, closed his left eye, aimed at a steel puppet in Zhu Hanyi's left front, and pulled the trigger sharply.

Bang!

A muffled sound, like thunder rolling.

The dense gray fog rippled out in circles.

The bullet, discharged, left a blank trajectory through the air.

Thunk!

A steel puppet that had somehow gotten behind Zhu Hanyi was shot in the head and fell to the ground.

Swish!

At the same time, Zhu Hanyi swung his sword with full strength, slicing off an arm of the puppet in front of him.

The sound of metal being torn made one's teeth ache.

Zhu Hanyi paused, discovering the steel puppet behind him, shot in the head, attempting to get back up.

"Brother Hao, great shooting!"

"Thanks!"

Wan Haihao shook his numb wrist, quietly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead: "You're... you're welcome!"

"I'll try to take out the enemies from a distance!"

"Be careful of your backs!"

During usual training, he almost never missed a target; claiming to hit a hundred out of a hundred shots wasn't an exaggeration.

Wan Haihao never thought that in actual combat, his aim would become so lousy!

The bullet that went east when aimed west made him too afraid to provide fire support to Zhu Hanyi anymore.

If his teammates didn't die at the hands of aliens but got headshot by him instead, Wan Haihao felt he might never show his face in Lotus City again in his life.

In the air, Su Qiangwei, after taking out two steel puppets from a distance, felt a bit numb.

Using telekinesis, she tripped two steel puppets encircling Zhu Hanyi, while her thoughts flickered continuously in her mind like an electric fire stone.

"The damage from [Burst] is too low; it's alright against people, but against these bloodless and fleshless monsters, it's just scratching the surface, purely wasting energy!"

"The consumption of [Telekinesis] is too great, not worth the loss!"

"[Blood Flame] can cause effective damage, basically taking down one in one go, but..."

"The [Blood Flame] acquired from Song Chu uses blood as a 'medium', not a 'cost'."

"If I only use it, my blood would drain dry before the enemies are all killed!"

"Forget it."

"I won't think anymore!"

"I'll just try them one by one!"

"I'll eventually find the right answer!"

At this moment, Liu Huadie's gentle voice resonated in her heart.

"Ma Ran asked me to tell you..."

"Use [Water Repulsion] combined with [Dangerous Electric Domain]!"

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