Escape

Lin Yan narrowed his eyes. Had the system determined that the rescue mission had achieved phased success at this point?

That was truly good news.

At the very least, it meant Chen Lian and the others had successfully evacuated.

However, the remaining mess would not be easy to handle. With only the four of them, just as they could restrain the monsters and create an opportunity for their companions to withdraw, by the same logic, at a time like this, the monsters had tied their hands and feet.

Lin Yan pondered inwardly as he opened the system panel.

A movement technique was different from a Guidance Technique. The Guidance Technique: Supreme Induction rewarded for advancing to warrior only required him to fully perform its movements and breathing methods to achieve its effects. The results would vary depending on the degree of his genetic optimization. He merely needed to choose a suitable chapter and diagram; there was no such thing as upgrading it.

SS-rank Ghost was divided into nine levels. The system reward had merely added it to his skill bar, where it began at the first level. Looking at his abundant Soul Power, Lin Yan made his decision.

Ghost, first level to second level: 20 Soul Power required. Upgrade?

Upgrade.

Ghost, second level to third level: 30 Soul Power required. Upgrade?

Ghost, eighth level to ninth level: 90 Soul Power required. Upgrade?

Upgrade.

Streams of heat surged through his body. An SS-rank Movement Technique did not merely improve his skill—it also brought enormous changes to his body's genetic optimization.

Lin Yan's face was concealed in shadow, and a subtle curve appeared at the corner of his lips. He had now completely mastered the ninth level of the SS-rank Movement Technique, Ghost.

Movement techniques were relatively unusual.

They were divided into the Basic level, Subtle level, Perfect level, and Intent level. Since he had not yet devoted much effort to this area, strictly speaking, he had not even reached the threshold of the Subtle level.

Yet the ninth level of an SS-rank Movement Technique was merely at the Basic level. Probably no one had ever heard of such a thing.

Still, combined with his data ability, it was enough to compensate to a certain extent for his lack of mastery in this realm.

Although his absolute speed was severely limited by his strength, in a complex environment like a city, the enemy's absolute speed likewise had little room to shine. With his dodging ability, agility, and the unique stealth of the Ghost Movement Technique, Lin Yan could preserve himself even against opponents far stronger than him.

With the Ghost Movement Technique as his trump card, Lin Yan finally had confidence in escaping. Yet he still had no way to effectively help his teammates.

His strength had improved quickly. The Ultimate Guidance Technique greatly aided his cultivation of Gene Energy, and coupled with the large number of battles he fought every day, his rising strength was rapidly consolidated.

Because of the improvement to his Ghost Movement Technique, his physical abilities—especially his speed and neural reaction speed—had increased enormously. In those two aspects alone, few high-level warriors could compare to him. His usually outstanding strength had instead become his weak point.

Even if he unleashed the full force of his body, his maximum attack power was only at the level of an M92 Sniper Rifle. In this situation, he could still use firearms with ease, but using a battle sword made it difficult to achieve the same effect.

He quietly considered whether there was a way to break the deadlock. They were at the center of the storm; the longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it would become.

Leaving aside all the monsters drawn in by the explosions, what worried him most was that the Iron Armored Dragon and the Gray Gorilla seemed to be connected somehow. Would it come rushing over from its lair?

Just then.

The sound of wind slicing through the air reached his ears.

He looked up and saw a thin, middle-aged man with weathered eyes bounding off buildings as he approached the battlefield.

He recognized the man at a glance. He was the captain of that martial artist squad from yesterday morning.

Lin Yan recalled the corpse of that Steel Rock Rampage Bear. It had already been a monster approaching Lord level, and its strength had even surpassed that of the Earth Giant Lizard.

Yet that martial artist squad had not paid much of a price in its battle against the Steel Rock Rampage Bear. He had paid special attention at the time and had not noticed any signs of injury on anyone.

In his estimation, this martial artist had to be a peak expert among high-level Generals, someone close to a War God.

If he could obtain his help...

A thought stirred in his mind. His figure weaved through the Beast Soldiers, his battle sword stained with blood and its sharp edge fully exposed, as he moved closer to the thin middle-aged man's path.

He asked, "Sir, we are a military combat squad and encountered danger during our mission. If possible, could we ask for your assistance?"

The thin middle-aged man took in the scene. A skyscraper over thirty stories tall had already been reduced to shattered bricks and rubble, while flames still burned amid the ruins. He said in astonishment, "You people really are..."

Their nerve was far too great!

Three Generals and a few warriors had caused such a huge commotion. For a moment, he did not know what to say.

Liu Hong considered himself hardened by countless brushes with death in the Wilderness Area, but even he had only seen scenes like this a few times. He had never seen one caused by Generals.

Lin Yan gave a bitter smile. "Circumstances forced our hand."

Liu Hong stepped forward, his voice carrying from his mouth. "I'll hold off the Earth Giant Lizard. Hurry and find an opportunity to get out of here."

He did not refuse. He directly joined the battle and fought the Earth Giant Lizard, relieving the tremendous pressure on Liu Mingxuan.

With a powerhouse like Liu Hong joining the fight, the situation changed drastically.

Liu Hong held two short spears, joining them together at the center with a perfect fit that showed not the slightest seam. As he wielded them, they moved like a flood dragon emerging from the water, a hidden dragon rising from the abyss.

Even the Earth Giant Lizard could not withstand his assault.

After catching his breath for a few seconds, Liu Mingxuan gripped the Heavenly Gang Battle Sword and once again helped Chu Wei and Jia Yan out of their predicament. He was the strongest member of the Star Special Operations Squad. After they worked together to kill two Beast Generals, they found an opening and immediately prepared to leave.

Liu Mingxuan shouted, "Sir, we're leaving!"

Liu Hong answered. The silver spear in his hand transformed into a sky full of spear shadows, forcing the Earth Giant Lizard to evade. By the time it came to its senses, Liu Hong was no longer where he had been, having fled without a trace.

It had achieved nothing in tonight's battle and could not help letting out an angry roar.

Seeing its enemies vanish without a trace, the pupils in the Gray Gorilla's blood-red eyes dilated and contracted. Its breathing became rapid and heavy as it threw back its head in a long howl, pounding its chest with both arms like a mad demon.

High above in the sky.

The long night was about to give way to dawn.

Beyond the ruins, monsters charged in from all directions, and the scene was utter chaos.

Suddenly, they all quieted down, crawling on the ground as their bodies began to tremble.

The Gray Gorilla sensed something as well, turning its blood-red eyes toward one side of the street.

A colossal creature emerged from the street corner. It stood five meters tall and stretched over ten meters long, with a lean body, a curved black horn on its forehead, a long dragon tail dragging behind it, and dark teal scales covering its entire body.

The firelight from the ruins reflected in its blazing red eyes, giving it an eerily demonic appearance.

Lord level—Iron Armored Dragon!