Fierce Exchange of Fire

Meanwhile.

In the open space inside the administrative building, dozens of Deathmatch Participants in various outfits gathered, their stances clearly divided.

"Brother Hui, you didn't tell us beforehand that you'd cause such a huge explosion," Fei Xiao said with a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.

The remaining members of the Ten Blades Team stood behind him, two of whom were injured.

It was worth noting that the leader of the Survey Corps, whom Fei Xiao called Brother Hui, was not some burly man but a high school-looking teenager with an unremarkable appearance.

Brother Hui scanned the area with interest, then turned to find a lab coat-wearing researcher from the crowd behind him. "Agu, didn't I ask you to notify Brother Xiao and the others?"

"Oh, I forgot."

Agu rushed to Fei Xiao in a panic and shouted, "Brother Xiao, I'm so sorry."

"This was our mistake, Brother Xiao, please bear with us." Duan Jianhui apologized verbally, but his expression didn't show much remorse.

As the leader of the Survey Corps, Duan Jianhui's opinion naturally represented the Survey Corps.

Facing the Survey Corps' attitude, Fei Xiao was silent for a moment, then smiled in resignation, "Let's not let it happen again."

Just as Duan Jianhui was about to say something else, his walkie-talkie crackled to life at an inopportune moment.

"Brother Hui, I think the remaining guys have teamed up and seem to be coming to cause trouble for us."

Time rewound a few minutes earlier.

Amidst the ruins after the explosion, fully armed soldiers maintained their guard, surrounding Lu Bai and the others.

"I can't believe it."

Zhou Zongming scrutinized the Deathmatch Participants present with a discerning gaze.

"Company Commander Zhou, a group of people is indeed trying to subvert this military base, and this explosion was caused by them. They should be over at the administrative building right now, please believe me..."

Xiao Xueyin was still earnestly trying to persuade him.

Zhou Zongming remained noncommittal and turned to stare at Lu Bai. "You killed these two?"

"No."

Lu Bai answered quickly, but it was no different from lying with his eyes open.

The two fresh corpses at his feet clearly showed they had been decapitated by a sharp weapon, and Lu Bai was the only one holding an Eight-Sided Han Sword.

Zhou Zongming's mouth twitched. He took a deep breath and turned to his adjutant. "Take them all."

He had to admit that Xiao Xueyin's plea hadn't been entirely ineffective.

At the very least, it had dissuaded him from splitting his forces to guard Lu Bai and the others. With the situation escalating this much, he couldn't just wait around with his troops.

He decided to take them along to the administrative building, albeit as suspects.

The straight-line distance between the two buildings wasn't far.

With two armored vehicles leading the way, the troops arrived at the administrative building in less than ten minutes.

At a glance, there was no movement from inside the building; it was deathly silent.

The bodies of the guards lay scattered outside the main entrance, untouched.

"Bring them over."

Seeing this scene, Zhou Zongming, sitting in the armored vehicle, turned ashen. His subconscious mind gave more credence to Xiao Xueyin's words.

As a small squad of soldiers brought Lu Bai and the others over, Zhou Zongming coldly inquired, "Where is the group you mentioned?"

Xiao Xueyin confirmed the location of the "node" on his system panel and carefully chose his words in response, "They should still be in this building..."

Lu Bai ignored their conversation and tilted his head, thoughtfully observing the administrative building.

He mused that if the Survey Corps could blow up the Research Center, repeating the same tactic wasn't impossible.

The questioning of Xiao Xueyin concluded, yielding no substantial information, at most a reiteration of the group's dangerousness.

Regardless of the dangers within the building, Zhou Zongming had to make a decision.

Under his command, the soldiers entered the building in squads.

Inside the first-floor lobby, various furnishings were scattered about haphazardly.

Boots crunched on the glass shards littering the floor as the soldiers moved slowly, cautiously observing their surroundings.

"The lobby is clear of danger."

A squad leader reported into his headset.

"Emergency exit secured."

"Elevator is operational."

Reports continuously came in from the armored vehicle, which could barely be called a command center.

Zhou Zongming crossed his arms, synthesizing this information in his mind.

Lu Bai and the others were arranged in the open space beside the armored vehicles, with a squad of soldiers keeping their guns aimed at them at all times.

Liu Yue tilted her head and observed, then whispered, "It's a little too quiet, something's not right."

Administration Building, Sixth Floor, Conference Hall.

The Survey Corps and the Deathmatch Participants of the Ten Blades were gathered here.

"I really didn't expect these guys to rope in the local troops too."

Agu displayed the scene on the first floor via the projector, his tone laced with a hint of mockery.

Duan Jianhui grunted and turned to Fei Xiao, saying, "Brother Xiao, the stairwells are up to you."

"Sure."

Fei Xiao agreed readily.

"Zhu Brothers, continue hiding in the elevator shaft. If they dare to use the elevator, you cut the load-bearing cables."

The brothers, with grappling hooks wrapped around their waists, replied in unison, "No problem."

"Alright, let's move. Try to keep casualties to a minimum."

Duan Jianhui stretched, got up, and left the conference hall, with Agu following behind him.

Second Floor, Stairwell Entrance.

Two fire escape doors were ajar, and the almost inaudible sound of a weapon being cocked could occasionally be heard.

Under the glare of the incandescent lights, riot shields were held at the forefront, followed by a squad of soldiers with grim expressions, cautiously ascending the stairs.

Zzzt~ Zzzt~

"We can make our move now."

A voice came from a walkie-talkie somewhere, instantly sounding the call to battle.

Da-da-da!

Figures appeared behind the fire escape doors, unleashing a barrage of automatic rifle fire at the soldiers in the stairwell.

Fortunately, these soldiers hadn't let their guard down and had their riot shields to block the initial onslaught, preventing them from being wiped out immediately.

Even so, enduring such a fierce assault in such a confined space resulted in heavy casualties.

Soldiers fell to the ground screaming one after another. Those who weren't incapacitated in the first wave of the surprise attack returned fire.

"Requesting backup!"

"Rioters are armed with a large quantity of firearms."

At the same time.

On the side of the building facing the open ground, at least ten windows began to unleash a fierce barrage of gunfire towards the open space outside, as if they wanted to empty their magazines in one go.

The Deathmatch Participants who survived the explosion were quick to react, nimbly dodging behind the armored vehicles.

The battle entered a white-hot stage from the very beginning.

However, the main casualties almost exclusively came from Zhou Zongming's troops.

"Damn it! There are really this many people, what do they want to do?!"

Faced with the constantly rising casualty figures, Zhou Zongming's expression turned extremely grim. He turned to his adjutant and shouted, "Let the vehicle-mounted machine guns open fire and blast all the enemy positions inside the building for me."