"Elder... Elder, what exactly is going on? Are we sure we're back?"
A China soldier's voice trembled.
"Sukabul!"
A Su Country soldier standing nearby pointed to the sky and swore.
"Regardless of whether this is Blue Star or not, if that disgusting ball of flesh in the sky is the moon!"
"I'll drink the rubbing alcohol I carry in my bag like it's alcohol! If not, I'll down it all!"
"You fucking don't treat yourself badly at all, are you rewarding yourself here?"
Another soldier couldn't help but complain.
"Alright, quiet down."
Novsky spoke coldly, silencing the commotion in the ranks.
He carried his Mosin–Nagant Rifle and approached Xing Wu, who was standing with his hands behind his back, staring up at the giant fleshy ball in the sky.
"What do you think of the criminal...?"
Novsky asked in a low voice in broken China.
Xing Wu did not answer immediately.
He withdrew his gaze and looked around at the desolate, scorched earth.
"One day I will climb to the summit and survey all the mountains below."
Xing Wu recited this timeless masterpiece.
Then, he raised his longsword, which was still sheathed, and pointed it at a pile of ruins not far away.
In those ruins, a broken stone tablet lay askew in the ground.
Four red characters, [Mount Tai Summit], can be faintly seen engraved on it.
Without a doubt, the scorched earth beneath their feet was none other than Blue Star!
And the place they are currently in is the Jade Emperor Peak of Mount Tai, the foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains of China!
"Jade Emperor Peak?! This is actually Jade Emperor Peak?!"
A China soldier Chen Xiaoyu shuddered and rushed to the broken stone tablet.
His hands trembled as he touched the remaining inscriptions on the stone tablet, his eyes reddening.
"How could this happen... Mount Tai..."
"How did our hometown become such a horrible place?"
Her comrades rushed forward to pull Chen Xiaoyu back from the brink of collapse.
Novsky's grip on the rifle tightened suddenly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
Even the China, with its five-thousand-year history, has been reduced to this tragic state...
And what about their homeland Su Country?
Has that vast expanse of frozen land already become a living hell?
The soldiers of the Su Country looked at each other, equally worried about the fate of their homeland.
"Cheer up, everyone!"
Xing Wu dispelled the fear in Human Heart.
"Let's go down the mountain and take a look!"
"Not a single second of these twelve hours of exploration time can be wasted."
"Especially your Su Country, you paid a hefty price to get in, didn't you?"
Novsky nodded.
The Su Country had indeed only purchased one-way entry rights, and they needed to make good use of these twelve hours.
Find out the general situation on Blue Star and bring back intelligence!
"But the problem is..."
Novsky looked up at the fleshy ball in the sky. "What do we do about this thing? It seems to be watching us."
"Ignore it for now."
Xing Wu's eyes were like knives as he coldly glanced at the sky.
"If it wanted to harm us, it would have done so the instant we stepped out of the portal."
"Now that the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, we only need to carry out our reconnaissance mission and avoid causing any unnecessary trouble."
Novsky thought it made sense.
A soldier's duty is to obey orders.
He then turned around and gave orders in Su language, instructing everyone to be on high alert and prepare to descend the mountain.
Chen Xiaoyu,
Xing Wu looked at the young soldier who was still wiping away tears, "Aren't you from East Mountain Province?"
"You lead the way, you know this place well."
"Yes, Elder!"
Chen Xiaoyu took a deep breath, suppressed her grief, stood at attention, saluted, and then led the team down the mountain.
The team marched across the dark, scorched earth.
Above the sky, the fleshy ball continued to laugh silently, as if enjoying a drama about to unfold.
Its gaze, however, seemed to extend beyond just the Xing Wu practitioners on Mount Tai...
In that dark corner, countless tiny black dots were wriggling, silently enveloping and shrinking...
Mount Tai, the ruins of Central Heaven Gate.
The dilapidated archway lay collapsed to one side, surrounded by shops that had been corroded and were now just charred remains.
"Everyone, stand still for three minutes and observe your surroundings."
"Do not scatter! Report any unusual situation immediately!"
Xing Wu raised his hand to make a stop gesture, alertly sensing the movement around him.
Novsky turned around and repeated Xing Wu's order to the Su Country soldiers in Soviet language.
This is a broken Blue Star, not Barbaric Realm with Sky Curtain governed by rules.
Without an automatic language unification translation function, he could only serve as a temporary translator for this team.
After giving his instructions, Novsky picked up his Mosin–Nagant Rifle and began to carefully examine the surrounding ruins.
Soon, his gaze settled on an old cypress tree that was completely dead not far away.
Beside the Tree Roots, there appeared to be a rectangular, black, hard lump.
"Xing, go take a look over there."
Novsky lowered his voice and pointed in that direction.
Xing Wu nodded, and the two of them crept over silently.
Reaching the tree, Xing Wu bent down and picked up the black piece.
After brushing off the scorched dirt, the two were surprised to find that it was actually an old Xiaomi 6.
Surprisingly, this phone has neither a fingerprint sensor nor a screen lock.
Xing Wu simply pressed the power button on the side, and the screen miraculously lit up!
"Ten percent battery remaining."
Xing Wu looked at the battery icon in the upper right corner, then glanced at Novsky.
"We're lucky; we actually found a working phone in this godforsaken place."
However, Novsky's focus was not on the battery level at all.
He stared at the top left corner of his phone screen. "Xing... look closely here!"
Xing Wu looked in the direction he was pointing, and an indescribable chill ran straight to the top of his head!
The signal bar was showing a full signal!
It even has the word "[4G]" on it!
What does this mean?!
Novsky felt a chill run down his spine. "There's a base station operating here! And the network is working!"
"But... why?"
Xing Wu gripped the phone tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"Didn't Blue Star suffer an apocalyptic global cataclysm?"
"All of humanity has left, so who is maintaining this base station?"
"What's going on now?!"
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing an eeriness in each other's eyes.
Meanwhile, in the ruins of shops not far from the two elders.
Soldiers in pairs were conducting cross-post patrols nearby.
"I can't hold it in anymore..."
"Sergei, keep an eye on things for me for a bit. I'm going to take care of some personal matters at that abandoned shop up ahead."
Su Country soldier Ivan, his legs tucked together and a pained expression on his face, spoke to his comrade beside him.
Sergei frowned and grabbed him. "The Elder just gave the order personally: absolutely no one is allowed to act alone! Are you crazy?"
Ivan was displeased and forcefully shook off Sergei's hand, his face flushed with a nonchalant burgundy.
"Why are you taking this so seriously, Sergei? Can't you see reality?"
"To put it bluntly, we're just a bunch of line-filling idiots, here to scout ahead and act as cannon fodder for our superiors!"
"Those truly responsible for transmitting intelligence and capable of surviving were actually only Elder Novsky and his group!"
"What kind of soldier are you?! We're all here to defend our homeland!"
Sergei growled angrily.
But when he looked closely at Ivan's flushed cheeks, he was immediately shocked and leaned forward to smell them.
"You've been drinking?! You dared to drink while on a mission?!"
Sergei roared in a low voice, "Wait, where did you get this liquor from in this godforsaken place?"
Ivan hiccuped, grinned foolishly with drunken eyes, and pulled a metal canister from his tactical vest.
"After all that talk, you just want a taste, don't you?"
"Here, for the sake of our brotherhood, you can have a drink. Don't tell the elders on me, okay?"
Sergei snatched the wine jug and took a closer look.
This is the 1L pure medical alcohol container that comes with the medical kit!
Even more outrageous, when he shook the wine jug, it was completely empty, not a single drop remained!
"Sukabul! I'll drink your grandpa's wine!!!"
Sergei was so angry he almost shot someone on the spot. "You idiot! You actually drank this deadly stuff like vodka?!"
"Of course, Slavic men never lie."
Ivan turned around unsteadily and walked towards the dark, abandoned shop.
"I can't hold it in any longer, I'm going to wet my pants!"
"I'm going to release some water first, you stay here and keep watch for me..."
With that, Ivan stumbled into the shop, which was now completely empty except for the door panels.
"Damn it! You might as well drink yourself to death! I should report this to the elders right now and have you court-martialed!"
Sergei was furious; he gritted his teeth, turned around, and prepared to go find Novsky.
In his anger and distraction, Sergei completely failed to notice that in the instant he turned around...
A piece of flesh, resembling a leech and covered with dark red blood vessels, silently slid out from a crack in the rocks.
The piece of flesh writhed rapidly along the ground and silently adhered to Sergei's ankle.
Then it turned into blood and seeped into the seam of the trouser leg...
And on the walls and ceiling of the abandoned shop that Ivan had just entered, dark red flesh and blood had somehow begun to crawl all over it...
They are like a giant, spread-out net, completely sealing off the entire shop!
As Xing Wu and Novsky stood around the Xiaomi 6, trying to open a webpage, they kept getting the message "[Unable to connect to server]" without success.
Just as they were preparing to gather their men to continue searching for the exact location of the base station down the mountain, a series of hurried footsteps interrupted their plans.
Sergei ran over and reported that Ivan had drunk medical alcohol and deserted the group in the abandoned shop.
Upon hearing this, Xing Wu's already stern face instantly darkened.
He made no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction, his sharp gaze piercing Novsky.
"This is the advance team selected by your Su Country?"
"Someone actually dared to drink alcohol and even leave the team without permission? Is this how you select people?"
Novsky took a deep breath, a shadow crossing his eyes above the mask.
He whispered, "There's no other way, it's Xing."
"This operation is extremely dangerous, and the people willing to come are of mixed character."
"Our two countries have different educational philosophies and disciplinary practices..."
"Although they are not afraid of death, they have serious personality problems."
"However, I will give you, and I will give everyone, an explanation."
Then, led by Sergei, everyone, armed, arrived at the abandoned shop.
"Splash~"
It was quiet inside, except for the sound of water being released without restraint.
"Ivan! You idiot, get out here right now!"
Sergei was furious and made a move to rush in and drag this disgraceful bastard out.
"Stop."
Novsky grabbed Sergei's shoulder. "Wait for him here."
Everyone held their breath and waited outside the door for about a minute.
"Hiccup~"
With a loud burp, Ivan, pulling up his trousers, staggered out of the darkness.
His face was flushed purple from the alcohol, and instead of feeling ashamed, he slurred his words and waved to the crowd.
Clearly, the medical alcohol had completely intoxicated him.
He even staggered up to Novsky, pointed at the elder's face, and laughed.
"Hey! Commander Novsky, why are you always wearing a mask?"
"Like a timid woman hiding in the shadows! There's not a soul in sight, who are you trying to keep an eye on?"
The room fell silent upon hearing this.
The Su Country soldiers were filled with shame and indignation, wishing they could disappear into the ground. This was an utter disgrace to the Su Country military!
The China soldiers, however, were filled with Wrath and disdain.
In these ruins where death could be a constant threat, this kind of incompetent teammate is completely playing with everyone's lives!
However, Xing Wu, the leader of the China team, simply crossed his arms and hugged the ancient sword, silently taking half a step back.
He said nothing, because he knew his old comrade-in-arms too well; he knew what Novsky would do next.
Novsky neither got angry nor refuted.
He simply picked up the Mosin–Nagant Rifle.
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out!
Ivan's entire head exploded right before everyone's eyes!
Red and white substances were splattered all over the ground.
"Whoosh!"
Everyone was shocked, and a murmur broke out among the crowd.
No one sympathized with Ivan, but everyone was stunned by Novsky's decisiveness in executing his own teammate.
"Truly worthy of being from that Lineage..."
A Su Country veteran lowered his voice and sighed, "I've heard rumors before that Senator Novsky's real surname was actually Haye!"
"He... he is a descendant of that 'White Death'!"
"Really? I just found out today! But wait a minute! Didn't the White Death use our country's achievements to inflate their own?"
How did the enemy become our veteran?
"Um... I don't know either, maybe it's just a coincidence of surnames!"
"Let's not talk about this anymore, I didn't expect..."
"The first person to die on our journey to hell was killed by one of our own..."
"No."
Just then, the soldier's exclamation was suddenly interrupted by a voice beside him.
"Perhaps... Elder Novsky wasn't the first person to kill Ivan..."