The Infected Are Stunned

But the reality is pretty much the same.

Faced with the Raging Host personally commanded by Mephisto, the Lungmen Guard Department's lines were on the verge of collapse.

"Doc Otter, aren't the Lungmen Guard Department supposed to be well-trained?" Amiya asked curiously, "Why are they collapsing like this?"

Oute corrected, "The Lungmen Guard Department is only faltering right now; the probability of its collapse isn't high, but we'd better not gamble."

"Fighting infected individuals with massive crystal clusters emerging from their bodies would put immense psychological pressure on conventional troops," Oute continued, "And the hesitation caused by this psychological pressure can be exploited by someone like Mephisto."

Moreover, the Lungmen Guard Department is far from being a "regular force".

"Doc Otter, could it be..."

Eyjafjalla, standing to the side, could hardly believe her ears.

"Mephisto has become a person with absolutely no bottom line," Oute said tactfully.

As expected.

"This is something!" Faust grabbed Mephisto's hand. "Aren't we fighting for the infected?"

Mephisto hesitated, then stammered, "But if we don't do this... Sasha, you won't be able to escape..."

Faust shook Mephisto's frail body with all his might, shouting, "Escape this way! What's the difference between that and death?!"

Behind the lines formed by the Raging Host, the Phantom Crossbowmen, and the reorganized rout army, Mephisto and Faust are arguing.

Fortunately, the Originium clusters on the Raging Host have a morale-dampening effect on normal people; otherwise, they wouldn't have had time to sleepwalk here...

The subject of their argument was a Raging Host leader on the verge of death.

Even someone without profound medical or Originium knowledge could easily tell that this "half-life" man, whose body surface was beginning to grow abnormally with Originium clusters, would most likely explode after death.

Mephisto's intentions were self-evident: he wanted to use this dirty bomb.

"He's already dying...we might as well create an opportunity for us to escape." Mephisto hesitated, then said, "Just a gentle push from me..."

Now, he is indeed going to die.

But how did he end up "dying"?

Mephisto's evasion itself is an answer.

On the other side, at the front line.

As ranged units, the Phantom Crossbowmen had to team up with the Raging Host to fight in these narrow alleyways. The intense battle left them no time to pay attention to the "debate" at the rear.

If they learned of Mephisto's intentions, would they be overjoyed at the possibility of escape, or saddened by the potential exploitation of their companion?

I'm afraid both are true.

"Follow me!" Hoshiguma shouted, leading the reserve team into battle.

Due to the complex terrain of the slums, the conflict was largely divided into a large battlefield on the main road and a smaller battlefield in the alleys.

If Mephisto's carbon-based CPU in his skull can keep up, then his best option should be to hold the line slightly on the main road, break through from the alley, and encircle the Lungmen Guard Department from the opposite direction to seize the initiative—then leave someone behind to cover the rear and escape.

Yes, as a reconnaissance mission, the Reunion Movement's team was essentially doomed when they were entangled in the office by Oute.

One of the greatest advantages of the Raging Host is their fearlessness born from suppressed intelligence. These awe-inspiring warriors (referring to Originium crystals) are essentially forced to fight based solely on instinct after being separated from Mephisto's command.

In narrow alleys, this instinctive reaction is barely adequate, but on a slightly wider battlefield, it would only be a culprit in disrupting battle formations. And if attention were focused on the alleys, the Raging Host's instinctive reactions would completely expose the Phantom Crossbowmen to the Lungmen Guard Department's firepower.

"Attention all units! Hoshiguma has broken through the enemy's defenses!" Swire's voice was accurately transmitted to the rest of the Lungmen Guard Department through the tactical headset.

Normally, the reserve team is like the trump card, representing the "unexpected" element in winning through a combination of orthodox and unorthodox tactics. The side that reveals its trump card first has a significant chance of being at a disadvantage.

In response to the morale blow caused by the Raging Host, Hoshiguma led the Lungmen Guard Department's reserve force into the enemy lines, which did indeed boost the morale of the Lungmen Guard Department's side.

But this also means that the Lungmen Guard Department squad that Ch'en won by using his connections has lost its room to maneuver.

"Yes, yes, yes! Partner! You're back!" Mephisto was overjoyed as he felt the power surge back.

"Partner?"

Faust asked in confusion.

Oute was somewhat surprised.

If Faust had learned of this, the subsequent leak of information would have been even more natural, and Oute immediately revised that part of the plan.

"That's right! My partner! Another me!" Mephisto was in high spirits, completely forgetting that he was in the middle of a street battle, and was still thinking about introducing his new friend to Faust.

"Another... Mephisto?" Faust hesitated for a moment, but then quickly said, "This is not the time to talk about that, Mephisto. Let the Herd entangle that Oni!"

With that, Faust raised his crossbow.

Although connecting Mephisto ' "other self" to the secret of Koschei's immortality requires some mental upgrade, it was enough to plant a seed in Wei Yenwu's consciousness.

When he realized that the nail needed to be dealt with, Wei Yenwu naturally thought of the best "hammer" he had ever seen.

Despite Faust's reaction, Mephisto remained confident, proudly declaring, "My partner and I are invincible!"

The accessory that Oute equipped for Mephisto was a common green accessory, the Medic's Pendant. Its simple +15% health healing is extremely useful for players in the early game.

Mephisto raised his Arts Unit adorned with a skull, the trinket's individual multiplicative healing bonus allowing Infected healers to continue converting Infected into Raging Host more quickly and efficiently.

"Fight for me and Sasha!"

Even at a time like this, they don't forget to throw in a reference to Faust...

Mephisto's voice, however, caused some instability at the front lines.

"That bastard is going to use witchcraft again!"

"You wicked brat!"

"May you be sewn alive inside the belly of a pack animal!"

This kind of behavior, which is almost tantamount to sacrificing one's own people in the heat of battle, is indeed somewhat unsettling.

Whether the newcomers at Lungmen liked it or not, Mephisto's "healing" almost ruthlessly stimulated the growth of lesions in their bodies.

Chapter 145 The Shock of the Infected

The extreme physical and mental anguish, coupled with Mephisto's command, drove these newly Raging Host toward the Lungmen Guard Department's lines.

Mephisto's seemingly deranged behavior also caught Swire's attention. "What the hell, that brat, he's practically gone mad!"

From a certain perspective, this judgment isn't entirely wrong.

Under the tutelage of the Black Snake, Mephisto's already fragile mind had become completely twisted.

While Mephisto must be held accountable for his evil deeds, the Black Snake's poisonous influence on his mind during his formative years is also an undeniable factor. From this perspective, the Black Snake bears considerable responsibility for everyone Mephisto killed.

Looking at the battle between the Lungmen Guard Department and Reunion Movement on the terminal, Oute instead ordered Ace, Scout, and the others, "Retreat."

At the same time, he told the operators around him, "Check the Originium protection equipment, speed up and jog. The other teams have already had to retreat. We need to complete the strategic deployment before the Reunion Movement reinforcements arrive."

The other teams "had to" retreat, meaning you personally ordered the micro-management, right?

On the other side, Scout and his sniper team retreated first, while Ace covered their retreat.

He tossed a makeshift "grenade" marked with a marker, waved at the two Chernobog, and shouted, "Winter is coming!"

Skullshatterer and Crownslayer exchanged incredulous glances. "They just left like that?"

The "grenade" exploded rapidly, leaving a large, steaming patch of highly flaming liquid nitrogen on the street. A near-pure white "cloud" rolled across the ground, transforming the area into a land imbued with mythical grandeur.

A few reckless Reunion Movement soldiers curiously poked at the liquid nitrogen with their fingers.

"What's this?"

"Hiss!"

"It's so cold!"

"But it's okay!"

The extremely cold liquid nitrogen, upon contact with body temperature, forms a vapor film that temporarily isolates the body from contact with the liquid nitrogen.

Clearly, this isolation has its limits.

Soon, a pure-element Reunion Movement lost its finger in front of this pool of liquid nitrogen.

My finger!

"Don't come any closer!"

The Crownslayer said helplessly, "So it's this Winter... We'll have to take a detour."

Skullshatterer refused, saying, "This area isn't large; it doesn't completely block the street. There's still room to land on the edges."

"Moreover, we can easily use the buildings to get around."

This will obviously lead to some conflict with the locals...

You say you're just passing through? Are you going to try and borrow money from us later, using our family fortune as leverage? We'll see if I believe you or not!

The followers brought by the Skullshatterer and the Crownslayer lacked the ability to conceal themselves independently. Under the limited cover of the Crownslayer's fog, the Skullshatterer and the Crownslayer only brought a small number of elite and loyal followers.

This number of people was clearly not enough for the unruly civilians of Lungmen to immediately recognize the difference and obediently make way for them. As a result, even though Ace, Scout, and the others had already withdrawn, this Reunion Movement group still could not smoothly reach the battle site.

Or perhaps, according to Oute's plan, their arrival time could be described as just right?

Just as a large number of newly Raging Host began their rampage, the Lungmen Guard Department's lines began to falter once again...

The dying, Raging Host was thrown out by another Raging Host at Mephisto's command, and his already precarious life ended in mid-air.

No way, you're really throwing a living person like a dirty bomb?

Under Mephisto's deliberate "treatment," the Raging Host's corpse disintegrated into a fine cloud of dust, which, carrying the host's momentum, scattered towards the Lungmen Guard Department.

"It's Originium Dust!"

Immediately, someone exclaimed in alarm.

The Lungmen Guard Department's formation immediately became chaotic.

How can you use this trick twice against people from Lungmen!?

A more accurate statement would be that it took effect independently twice.

The military and police each experienced a small but significant shock from the infected individuals...