The mountains stretch endlessly.
A series of figures were walking briskly through the mountains and forests.
Zhou Xuan carried a large bag of packed scale Scalearmor and walked forward with little interest.
To be honest, he felt that traveling was the most boring part, as there was nothing to do, and the Erosion Zone were vast, often requiring several days to travel at a time.
Well, of course, this is still better than fighting against the Calamity Beast.
Feeling somewhat bored, Zhou Xuan glanced at Zheng Guomin beside him.
"Hey, Old Zheng, do you think the captain and the others have gone back yet?"
"We'll find out when we get back," Zheng Guomin replied without much interest, as he also had some materials on his shoulder.
"That's true!" Zhou Xuan nodded. "But it would be great if we could be the first to get back!"
Hearing this, Zheng Guomin couldn't help but glance at him sideways, "What's the use of being the first to go back?"
"It's not very useful, but it's cool!" Zhou Xuan grinned.
Somewhat helplessly, Zheng Guomin looked away. "I do hope we're not the first ones to go back!"
"Hmm? Why?" Zhou Xuan looked over with some confusion.
"If we're the first to go back, unless the Calamity Beast at our ambush point are the first to arrive, do you know what that means?" Zheng Guomin asked in a deep voice.
"What does it mean?" Zhou Xuan asked instinctively.
"This means there's likely something wrong elsewhere, which is why they came back later than us!" Zheng Guomin said in a deep voice.
"Uh, this..." Zhou Xuan hesitated for a moment, then understood, "Then let's be the last ones to go back!"
"Hmm," Zheng Guomin responded.
"But this is really tiring! It feels even more tiring than exploring the entire Erosion Zone with the captain before!" Zhou Xuan said wearily.
Zheng Guomin did not reply, but instead turned to look at the other soldiers around him.
The excitement of victory had been worn away by the journey, leaving only a weary expression and a dusty face.
After wandering around for half a month, I'm definitely a bit tired!
The procession continued forward.
Suddenly, Zheng Guomin stopped.
He turned his head to look behind him and saw that Zhou Xuan had already stopped there.
What are you doing?
Zhou Xuan glanced at him, then pointed in a certain direction.
" Old Zheng, look!"
Zheng Guomin looked in the direction Zhou Xuan was pointing.
A city could be vaguely seen standing atop Lonely Mountain in the distance.
More and more soldiers stopped and looked in that direction.
"Looking at the mountain makes your horse run itself to death."
After another half day, the group finally returned to Bedrock City.
After handing everything over to the soldier in charge of processing the materials, Zhou Xuan let out a heavy sigh, then grinned and said:
"Hehe, I wonder how much I'll get this time!"
"We should be able to get a lot, after all, we've already killed quite a few Calamity Beast here!"
Zheng Guomin twisted his shoulder forcefully, then said:
"Let's go, let's check if the captain and the others are back first, then we can clean up!"
"Hmm." Zhou Xuan nodded and followed. "But it would be nice to take a bath later!"
"The conditions are basic; we don't offer you that kind of luxurious bathing experience!"
"Well, I was just saying..."
The two walked forward, talking as they went.
Although Bedrock City isn't small, finding someone is relatively easy.
When the inspectors aren't busy, they mostly stay in the dormitories and training rooms. Oh, and during mealtimes, there's also a canteen.
Even though there are three places, they shouldn't be difficult to find, since they are all relatively close to each other.
After walking several hundred meters and turning a few corners, the two suddenly stopped in their tracks.
In my field of vision, a figure was eating something.
A body several meters tall, covered entirely by carapace, with shovel-like plates extending backward from its forepaws...
Everything was telling them that this was Calamity Beast!
But how could there be Calamity Beast inside Bedrock City?
Without time to think further, Zhou Xuan instinctively formed a sword finger with his right hand, preparing to chop the Calamity Beast in half.
"Don't hit him, Shen Heng brought this back!"
As the shouts rang out, Zhou Xuan subconsciously looked over and noticed a figure with a flaxen ponytail standing next to the Calamity Beast; it was she who had just shouted.
Sister Han? She won't let me kill the Calamity Beast? A hallucination?!
Zhou Xuan quickly activated the Spirit Platform Unity Art.
Soon, a cool sensation spread through his mind, bringing him a sense of clarity, however...
"Come and take a look."
Upon hearing the voice speak again, Zhou Xuan shook his head violently.
"Damn it, what kind of Calamity Beast is this? Is it that powerful?"
"Also, when did I start hallucinating? On the way back, after I returned, or am I still at the ambush point?"
"Damn it, could all of this have been a lie?"
Zhou Xuan shook his head frantically, trying to dispel the illusions around him, but every sound and every breath of air felt incredibly real to him...
"Bang!"
A hand landed on Zhou Xuan's head, stopping him in his tracks.
He raised his head, wincing in pain.
Right in front of him, the illusion that resembled Sister Han was looking at him with a puzzled expression.
Beside him, Old Zheng was also frowning as he looked at him.
"What are you doing?" Zheng Guomin asked, frowning.
"I..."
Zhou Xuan opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to say that he was hallucinating, but the still very real experience and the faint pain on the back of his head made him somewhat unable to believe it.
Is such a vivid hallucination possible?
Moreover, even if it existed, what would be the point?
"Come over here!" Zheng Guomin was the first to walk over.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Xuan followed.
Upon seeing the two approaching, the Stone-Armored Beast stopped eating, glanced at them, then looked at Sister Han. Seeing her nod slightly, seemingly confirming that they posed no threat, it lowered its head and continued eating.
Zhou Xuan stared at the Stone-Armored Beast with some unease, his gaze occasionally drifting towards Sister Han and Old Zheng.
They exchanged a few pleasantries, explaining that they were second to last, and that Wu Hao and his group hadn't returned yet, but were right behind them and would arrive in a little while.
Finally, he heard Old Zheng ask the question that concerned him most.
What's going on with this Calamity Beast?
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan immediately turned his gaze to Han Ling.
Han Ling calmly explained why she brought him back.
During this process, Zhou Xuan's expression grew increasingly serious.
Finally, the words fell.
"That's about it," Han Ling said with a soft sigh.
The two nodded.
Seeing that the two seemed to understand, Han Ling hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Zhou Xuan.
What were you doing just now? Shaking your head the whole time?
Upon hearing this, Zheng Guomin also looked over in confusion.
"Ah, this!" Zhou Xuan said calmly, "I just can't believe that Calamity Beast has appeared in Bedrock City."
Zheng Guomin nodded slightly; he had initially thought so too.
Han Ling glanced at Zhou Xuan with a slight hint of doubt.
Although everyone is surprised when they first see the Stone-Armored Beast, this is the first time I've seen someone react as strongly as Zhou Xuan.
"By the way, where's the captain?" Zhou Xuan quickly changed the subject.
Upon hearing this, Zheng Guomin also turned his gaze to Han Ling.
Han Ling withdrew her gaze and said:
"I was summoned by the commander!"
"Click"
The door to the command center was pushed open.
Shen Heng glanced at the group of people sitting around the long table, then closed the door and walked over.
"Are all the people back?" Zhou Zhenguo asked, looking up.
"Mm." Shen Heng nodded.
"What was the result?" Zhou Zhenguo asked.
"I haven't seen the specific situation yet, but judging from the sounds... the ambush points we set up did indeed have Calamity Beast passing through, and they all succeeded!" Shen Heng pulled out a chair and sat down.
Hearing this, the people inside finally smiled.
" Captain Shen, do you know how many Calamity Beast we've killed?" Staff Officer Lu Xunzhou asked from the side.
"It's not clear yet; we'll have to wait until they get back!" Shen Heng shook his head, then paused and added, "However, based on the situation at the ambush points that Han Ling and Qin Yu were in charge of, the number of Calamity Beast killed this time should be close to 30,000!"
Thirty thousand?!
The pupils of the two officers beside him contracted slightly.
Although they already knew some of it beforehand, they still found it somewhat unbelievable when they actually heard it.
Even at the base where the beast tide had been steadily increasing during previous attacks, this number of kills might not have been possible.
What's more, that's all the people they have left in Bedrock City!
Staff Officer Lu Xunzhou chuckled and said, "Although we didn't expect so many at first, now that we've won, the more Calamity Beast we kill, the better. More importantly, we've thwarted the Calamity Beast ' plan to attack our Bedrock City again!"
"Yes!"
"Phew, it seems we can finally take a good breather!"
The two officers nodded in agreement.
Zhou Zhenguo sat on the side.
He turned his head and glanced at the two excited officers; then at his staff officer, who, while not exactly excited, was clearly pleased; and finally looked at the last figure.
Although the figure had a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, his overall demeanor remained calm, and he didn't seem overly optimistic.
Well, he's not arrogant in victory, but I wonder if he'll be discouraged in defeat. However, judging from his current performance, well, this kid should definitely be recruited into the Military Department!
Without giving it any further thought, Zhou Zhenguo turned his gaze away.
"Alright, it's not time to completely relax yet. We need to start thinking about the next steps!"
"What happened next?" An officer looked over with some confusion.
"Yes, that's right!"
Zhou Zhenguo nodded, his expression becoming slightly serious.
"We need to think about how to expand upon this victory!"