A Hair-Trigger Situation

The shock wave from the explosion swept up chunks of debris and hurled them through the air before they gradually began raining down.

The explosion had been powerful. The ground had visibly trembled, so there was little hope that the sniper on the rooftop had survived.

In just a few breaths, gunfire and explosions had swept away the weariness from a sleepless night. Everywhere he looked, people were fleeing in terror.

Unlike the civilians, who had no idea what was happening and were too frightened to think straight, Lu Bai still seemed completely unfazed. Even his tone had barely changed.

"Looks like they were trying to take out the sniper. But how did they pull that off?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than another tremendous boom rang out. This time, the explosion had come from the Administrative Building housing Command Headquarters.

He looked up in the direction of the sound. Through the rolling smoke, he could just make out a figure darting through the air, using gear resembling a grappling hook to try to descend to the ground.

At the sight, Lu Bai's mouth twitched.

Vertical Maneuvering Equipment?

So this really was the Survey Corps.

"They've made their move after all. What a show of force, just to take out the sniper at the vantage point." Zhuo Li crouched on top of a tent, full of admiration.

Xiao Xueyin furrowed his brow and mused, "If they're doing this, aren't they worried someone else will swoop in and steal the prize?"

And that was exactly what happened.

The sudden explosions had caught many deathmatchers off guard, but they would recover quickly.

If they wanted to seize the Node, now was the perfect opportunity.

The situation changed rapidly. In an instant, more than a dozen figures broke from the crowd and raced across the orange-yellow cordon. Among them was even a stout middle-aged woman.

The calm of the latter half of the night had mostly been a strange balance, reached through tacit agreement by deathmatchers who didn't want anyone else to gain an advantage. Now the Survey Corps had broken that balance first.

Hoodie Man looked from Xiao Xueyin to Lu Bai. "Should we go in?"

"Don't rush. Let's watch a little longer."

Xiao Xueyin still couldn't make sense of it. "The Survey Corps prepared so thoroughly. Are they really just doing all this so someone else can reap the rewards?"

One thing needed to be made clear: the building's defenses were weak.

After all, only a little over five hundred soldiers had survived in the entire military base.

Zombies had appeared in various sections of the evacuation site, so the Rapid Response Force and two companies of soldiers had been sent away.

The remaining two hundred or so men had to guard the passageways in several sections of the evacuation site while also protecting the Administrative Building and the Research Center.

Not long ago, Zhou Zongming had taken a squad out of the building to investigate the situation.

At this point, they'd be lucky if there were enough soldiers inside the Research Center to make up a single platoon.

That meant there was no need for more deathmatchers to rush in. The first dozen or so could tear through the Research Center on their own.

"Are we still waiting? What if the one who gets the Node is a coward who just runs off? We might not be able to catch up."

Liu Yue had a point, though judging by her excited expression, it was hard to say she didn't just want to join the fun.

"That's one thing we don't need to worry about."

Lu Bai rubbed his chin. "The Node won't be stolen that easily."

At that, Xiao Xueyin glanced at him without letting it show.

At the same time, fierce gunfire erupted inside the Research Center. More than a few stray bullets punched through the windows and fell beyond the cordon.

One unlucky man was hit by a bullet and let out a scream.

The civilians running around nearby were startled. They still had no idea which way to flee, but getting away from the Research Center was surely a good idea.

The advantage of being able to check the System Panel at any time was that comparing the current number of deathmatchers made it possible to estimate what was happening inside the Research Center.

The gunfire inside the building sounded dense, but the number of deathmatchers had only dropped by two during that time.

Maybe Zhou Zongming's group had inflicted casualties on the Survey Corps.

Most deathmatchers had probably figured that out.

That was why more and more people could no longer hold back, following the path of those who had gone ahead and rushing into the building.

As time passed, the gunfire gradually weakened. The resistance inside the Research Center was dying out.

Liu Yue idly crushed a pebble under her foot, so frustrated she wanted to stomp. "Are we really just going to stand here and watch?"

"We really can't rush. Look, none of the other teams have shown themselves."

Xiao Xueyin patiently tried to reassure her. "If nothing unexpected happens, the deathmatchers should have surrounded the Research Center by now."

Stealing the prize wasn't easy.

Even if they seized the Node, they still had to hold on to it.

The current situation might be exactly what certain people wanted to see.

If they were confident in themselves, letting others go in and bring out the Node was actually the less risky option.

Put simply, nobody could figure out what the Survey Corps was thinking. Those who thought things through worried there might be a trap. Since others had already gone in to test the waters, they might as well keep watching.

A few minutes passed. The gunfire inside the Research Center became sporadic, with only the occasional burst of bullets.

It didn't sound like the soldiers were firing in defense. It was more likely someone had picked up a weapon and was attacking their rivals.

The orange-yellow cordon divided the scene. Unlike the fierce fighting inside the Research Center, the area beyond the cordon had fallen unusually quiet.

It was clear that plenty of people were hiding in the nearby tents, all waiting for the moment the Node was carried out of the Research Center.

"The Node hasn't moved yet," Hoodie Man reminded them.

Crouched on the tent, Zhuo Li kept up a steady stream of updates. "I see the Ten Blades Team, at our ten o'clock. Oh, and the gray school uniforms have shown up at one o'clock.

"There are more deathmatchers lying in wait east of the building than anywhere else. I can see twenty or thirty just from here. Do they all think the Node will come out that way? Maybe we shouldn't wait right in front of the main entrance."

Clang—

Lu Bai drew the Eight-Sided Han Sword and said with a grin, "Relax. No need to stay tense. I'll go catch someone from the Survey Corps and ask them a few questions."

Judging by the sounds, not only had the defenders inside the Research Center been wiped out, but the firefight on the other side was also drawing to a close.

More than twenty deathmatchers had ambushed a small squad of soldiers who hadn't seen them coming. There was no suspense about the outcome. The fact that the fight had lasted this long was already impressive.

"Sounds good."

Since the Node hadn't moved, Xiao Xueyin didn't stop Lu Bai from going alone. He merely pointed to the walkie-talkie in his hand and added, "Be careful, and keep the channel open at all times."