late at night.
Two hundred miles from Forest City, in a forest, a field Reconnaissance team was fleeing in a panic, frequently looking back as if something terrifying was chasing them. Faint rustling sounds came from the woods behind them, seemingly getting closer. The surrounding darkness was like all-pervasive mercury, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.
The team consisted of three people, all of whom were Sunil superhumans. The team leader Fumi, said in a trembling voice, "Don't stop! Nightmare is just behind us!"
The stages of the Calamity are divided according to the appearance of wild beasts at different times. Nightmare are the sign of entering the middle stage. They are a type of beast that is active at night. When they appear in large numbers, the dangerous night battle begins.
The Psychic Tide has Berserk beasts across the globe, and Forest City is just one corner of it. In other locations, endless beasts are still slaughtering each other; nowhere is safe. One of the causes of the beast tide is that weaker beasts instinctively sense the pressure from the apex predators of the food chain, and voluntarily leave the territories of the powerful beasts, forming herds that impact Forest City. As large numbers of herds are killed, the pheromones they emit attract even more powerful beasts.
The purpose of the field Reconnaissance was to discover the types of wild animals that might be attacking and to warn Forest City. This was a dangerous task, as encountering a herd of beasts in the wild was almost certain to result in death. This field Reconnaissance team had already relayed the message back to their superiors, and now they were fleeing in order to save their own lives.
Feeling the cold darkness so close at hand, the three of them were terrified.
Fumi clenched his teeth, a wave of regret washing over him.
"It's happened again... This isn't the first time!"
He survived three Calamity, was selected for field Reconnaissance three times, and teetered on the brink of death countless times. The scars on his body still throbbed with pain. He had had enough of this kind of life.
When Calamity struck in the past, the superhumans who had been on the move eagerly returned to protect their people, and Fumi was no exception. But now, he only felt annoyed and resistant. The surging passion would eventually cool down. He had been giving his all without any reward, year after year, and Fumi's patience had long since run out. He did love his homeland, but that didn't mean his people had the right to use them as tools to be manipulated at will, to use the same old reasons for the continuation of their race to hold these strong people hostage. Fumi was thoroughly fed up with that.
This is so unfair! He hands over his mercenary earnings to his tribe on ordinary days, and now he has to risk his life in times of danger. Fumi's patience has reached its limit. Why should his tribe demand such sacrifices from him?
Is it simply because it's his own people that he has to ask for nothing in return?!
Why should the strong bear so much responsibility?
His mercenary career in interstellar space broadened his horizons, Fumi felt increasingly that it was not worth risking his life for his race; life was incredibly precious, and he only had one.
Many of his own warriors held firm beliefs, but there were also many warriors who shared his thoughts. Having given so much, he felt he had done his utmost for his people.
"If I survive this, no matter what kind of Calamity, I will never come back!" Fumi gritted his teeth.
Suddenly, a whip-like tail shot out from the forest, ensnaring a Reconnaissance soldier. The tail tip was a sharp bone spur that pierced his abdomen. The Reconnaissance soldier roared, his body igniting with martial arts aura, and he ripped the tail apart, splashing black tissue fluid all over his face.
The counterattack slowed the man's steps for a moment, and that single instant determined his fate.
Splash--
Dozens of spiky tails shot out, entangled the martial artist, and pulled him into the woods. Fumi hurriedly turned around and saw an even stronger martial arts aura erupting in the forest, stirring up a surging wind, demonstrating the martial artist's strength at the Grade C level.
However, this momentum lasted only half a second before the aura exploded and disintegrated, just like the human body.
Suddenly, a warm sensation appeared on his face. Fumi reached out and touched it; it was his companion's scalding blood.
In less than a second, a Grade C martial artist was torn to pieces!
The eerie hissing of the Nightmare echoed through the forest, not only behind them but also in front, surrounding the two. In the dark forest, many whip-like black shadows appeared, numbering over a thousand—all Nightmare tails.
Thump thump thump--
The relentless artillery fire illuminated the night. This wave of beasts had lasted for five hours, and the battle had reached a fever pitch. The Third Defense Line was littered with the corpses of burrowing beasts. The Steel Defense Force had been fighting for too long and had to change shifts. Each of them had some damage to their armor.
It was nighttime. Han Xiao carried a large box of repair tools and moved behind the third defensive perimeter, repairing the armor of the defense teams one by one. Time was tight and the task was heavy. After the repairs were completed, they would be put into battle immediately.
Other field repair teams were also busy, but Han Xiao's skills were the best. His reputation had spread throughout the defense force, and every unit hoped to encounter Han Xiao during repairs so that their safety would be best guaranteed.
Welding steel plates, repairing circuits, resetting systems— Han Xiao's repair skills were fluid and efficient. The field repair team equipped him with internal communication for easy task assignment. Having just finished repairing one unit, a new instruction came through his headset. "B12 Defense requests emergency wartime repairs!"
B12 was Nivelle's squad. When Han Xiao arrived at their position, Nivelle's team hadn't changed shifts for rest; they were still engaged in fierce combat. Such wartime maintenance was extremely risky. A soldier saw Han Xiao and hurriedly said, "Quick, over here!"
Han Xiao rushed over and saw Nivelle lying on the ground. A beast's claw mark pierced through the armor between his chest and abdomen, sparking with electricity. His leg armor had also been bitten open, exposing broken pipes. The power unit had stopped working, and Nivelle was paralyzed on the ground, unable to get up. A group of soldiers were protecting him.
"Damn it, you bunch of greenhorns, get out of here! Don't leave your positions!" Nivelle shouted angrily, yelling at his men, but the soldiers remained unmoved, firmly protecting their commander.
As the soldiers tightened their formation, a small gap was exposed in the position. A small group of burrowing beasts broke through the interwoven network of fire and rushed across the defensive line. In this situation, it is necessary to send a rapid reaction force on standby to provide support. The reinforcements are already on their way, so there will be no major problems. This is a normal defensive transition.
However, Nivelle saw this as absolute dereliction of duty, and he was furious, struggling to his feet.
"Don't move." Han Xiao held Nivelle down, took out materials and tools, and began to repair.
Nivelle felt as if Han Xiao's hand was pressing down on him like a mountain, and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't move. Gritting his teeth, he could only give in and urged, "Faster! Faster!"
Han Xiao remained expressionless. "Shut up."
[[Sunil Defense-Type Non-Commissioned Officer Armor] Derivation Progress 27%]
These past few days have seen the most repairs on Soldier-Grade Armor, with millions of experience points already spent retrieving the blueprints. However, repairing officer-level armor has been a rare opportunity, with only 27% of the blueprints currently being derived. Nevertheless, he estimates that the Non-Commissioned Officer-Grade Armor requires [Heavy Mechanical Modification] as a prerequisite, which will hinder progress.
Besides armor, he was also responsible for repairing some vehicles and turrets, and incidentally obtained the blueprints for the floating turret, making quite a lucrative deal.
Nivelle was helpless. Despite his burning anxiety, he could only obediently wait for the repairs. Although he urged Han Xiao on, Han Xiao's speed relieved him. It wouldn't be long before they could fight again.