822: 821-You kept demanding the devs crank up the difficulty. Well, here it is!

"Clear the first floor!"

"Most of Zone A on the second floor has been cleared. We're mopping up the fleeing ratmen and some troublesome bioweapons."

"Zone B is under attack by what appear to be 'werewolf' individuals. We need support!"

"The third floor is secured! Some cultists are hiding in the food storage room. They're trying to negotiate with us and are willing to trade their research results. Should we take them prisoner?"

An hour and twenty-five minutes after the assault began, the players' army was receiving one victory report after another. The reports were constantly being compiled for Madam Shui, who then passed them to Ms. Natalie to make decisions.

This battle had been extremely difficult. It wasn't just that the R-9 base's strange power system was completely different from the outside world's "sword and magic." The scholars' faction researchers might not have been good at fighting, but they were always coming up with all sorts of bizarre things to help them fight. As a result, the original battle plan had become impossible to carry out.

The players and Bloodsworn Hunters had to adapt on the fly. On top of that, the base was full of some extremely unforgiving "one-hit kill" mechanics.

For instance, the unlucky student party had accidentally wandered into a corridor lined with cutting lasers while in pursuit. The scene had been straight out of a classic Resident Evil game. In the end, everyone but Cheche, who had escaped using a risky random teleport, was wiped out.

The direct consequences of these damn "dungeon designs" and "terrain kills" were that, by the time the base had mostly been occupied, the players' army had already suffered more than fifty percent casualties. It was a staggering loss.

Of course, the reason things had gone so badly wasn't just