On the city wall of the base.
A young soldier was standing guard on the city wall.
His gaze slowly swept across the wasteland outside the base, from near to far, from left to right.
Ultimately, they were taken back onto the city walls.
He saw one soldier after another, just like him, standing hundreds of meters apart.
They, like him, were among the personnel responsible for guarding the city walls today.
Although there appeared to be various security measures in place at the base, soldiers were still stationed on guard.
This is not because the command center is afraid they have nothing to do and is trying to give them something to do.
Instead, the goal is to ensure the base's security to the greatest extent possible.
To avoid this, no one can guarantee that some unknown, undetectable Calamity Beast will not appear.
Therefore, basic personnel vigilance is still maintained.
The city walls were empty; there was no one else there except them.
The inspectors who had just climbed the city walls to prepare for the beast tide attack because of the alarm were also dismissed by subsequent notifications.
Oh no, there's still one...
The soldier's gaze fell upon a figure more than a kilometer away.
It was a cold, aloof figure. A few strands of flaxen hair peeked out from under the brim of her hat, and she carried a sniper rifle, noticeably larger than a regular one, on her back.
She stood quietly at the edge of the city wall, her gaze fixed on the outside of the base.
Ah, if only I could cultivate myself!
Then we wouldn't be stuck here, just standing guard like we are now.
Although facing the Calamity Beast directly might be more dangerous, it's still more meaningful than what we're experiencing now, right?
Thinking of this, the soldier gave himself a mental pep talk.
Okay, keep it up, try to accumulate enough contribution points as soon as possible, and then exchange them for Origin Crystal to try awakening.
However, I've heard that the concentration of Origin Power in the air is even higher in the Erosion Zone. Gong Zhiyuan from the next camp even sensed the Origin Power and started cultivating. Should I go back and try it myself?
Several thoughts flashed through the soldier's mind, then he looked at the figure with a hint of doubt.
Everyone else has left, why is she still here? Is she admiring the scenery?
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, and his gaze turned to the wasteland outside the base.
No, before the base issued the beast tide warning, there was a notification that Daoist Master Li from the Supervision Bureau and others would be going out for a while.
Two people did go out later, but only Daoist Master Li returned.
So, is she waiting for someone else?
Is that person her teammate?
Then, the beast tide ended, and he was coming back?
With that in mind, the soldier's eyes quickly searched the wasteland, hoping to find it first.
After a while, the soldier sighed regretfully.
Even during the day, it's not easy to find a single person in an open area spanning ten or twenty kilometers, let alone at night.
Just as he was about to give up, a glint of silver flashed in the corner of his eye.
He immediately looked over.
In the black snow, a figure carrying a silver-gray building block was seen walking quickly towards them.
He shifted his gaze to the figure on the city wall.
The figure seemed to have noticed the newcomer as well, and she slightly raised her chin.
Sure enough, I was right!
"Tread!"
He paused in his steps.
Shen Heng glanced up at the city wall.
Then, with a light tap of his toes, he flew up, carrying the now-assembled building blocks.
Well, the base currently has no plans to let the people inside leave, so there's no conventional main gate.
Just as they landed on the city wall, Han Ling walked over from the side.
Han Ling's gaze swept over Shen Heng first, and after confirming that he was unharmed, she asked:
"How is the situation?"
Shen Heng glanced at Han Ling, then carried the building block down the path, saying:
"The nuclear bomb wiped out most of the beast tide. The exact rank of the Calamity Beast killed or wounded is unknown, but the number..."
Shen Heng paused for a moment, then continued:
"There are roughly five or six thousand!"
"For this reason, the beast tide was considered averted before it even arrived."
Han Ling nodded slightly as she stood beside Shen Heng.
This is similar to what the command center said, only much more detailed.
She then turned to ask another question that she was more concerned about.
What just happened?
Shen Heng glanced at Han Ling's slightly furrowed brows. "You mean that visual illusion you just experienced?"
"Um."
"About that..."
Shen Heng pondered for a moment, then said:
"Do you remember what the Daoist priest said before about the unstable space in the Erosion Zone?"
Han Ling was slightly taken aback, her mind racing.
On the first day of entering the Erosion Zone, I met Daoist Master Li while eating at the restaurant. He mentioned this matter, along with the fact that the Seventh Tier was Demigod Tier.
"Yes, I remember."
Han Ling replied in a clear voice, then looked at Shen Heng and said:
"You mean, because the attack was so powerful, the space within the Erosion Zone became unstable?"
"Mm." Shen Heng nodded.
Upon hearing this, Han Ling frowned slightly. "Does that kind of situation always occur when the space becomes unstable?"
"Not necessarily, after all, this is our first time experiencing this, and..."
Shen Heng paused for a moment, then continued:
"This might be the last time."
As he spoke, he placed the building blocks next to the staff member who came to collect them.
After exchanging a brief greeting, I walked to the side.
"The last time?" Han Ling asked from the side.
"Yes, after this incident, both the command center and the Calamity Beast should be more careful to avoid such a situation from happening again. After all, it seems that complete collapse is not far away," Shen Heng said.
Han Ling did not reply, but simply nodded slowly.
The two walked forward, and along the way, Shen Heng glanced at Han Ling.
Han Ling was frowning slightly, seemingly deep in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" Shen Heng asked.
Han Ling snapped out of her daze upon hearing this. She glanced at Shen Heng and said:
"I'm thinking about how to deal with enemies that can manipulate space or time in the future."
Upon hearing this, Shen Heng paused almost imperceptibly.
He turned his head to look at Han Ling, and saw that her brows were slightly furrowed and her eyes were focused, clearly she was seriously thinking about the problem.
He paused slightly, not only because he hadn't thought of this question, but also because Han Ling's idea came from Han Ling's own thinking.
When humans act together for a long time, they often abandon independent thought and habitually listen to the opinion of one of them.
While it's hard to say whether this is necessarily bad, Shen Heng still prefers to see people around him thinking things through seriously.
He looked away and continued walking forward.
After a moment, he said:
"Although headquarters currently has no records of individuals or Calamity Beast with such abilities, if we were to encounter one, perhaps we could maintain some distance and use offense instead of defense."