Chapter 15 Another Mountain

After exiting that tunnel, Feng Bujue and his companions found themselves facing another high mountain.

This mountain had a relatively gentle slope overall, and a river flowed down its side.

Even from the foot of the mountain, they could see many Falcon Army bunkers and artillery emplacements along the ascent, as well as some patrolling sentries.

Of course, obstacles of this level were not something that Feng Bujue and the others took seriously.

In fact, for a commando team like theirs, this kind of terrain was the most suitable for action.

The four of them made their way up the mountain, taking out one sentry post after another and eliminating dozens of Falcon soldiers.

Finally, at the top of a waterfall, they encountered a mini-Boss…

This mini-Boss looked quite mighty, with a head the size of a truck and a lizard-like appearance. It also had two huge tentacles that it wielded like whips. Other than that… there was nothing else…

Because this mini-Boss had no body, its head and tentacles were parasitic on the mountain rock. Below the rock it was parasitizing on was a metal door connecting to the mountain.

When faced with this kind of enemy, Feng Bujue naturally took on the task of probing it without hesitation.

He charged forward alone, using his superhuman speed and reaction to play with the mini-Boss for more than two minutes. Then, he returned to the safety of his teammates as if he were taking a stroll.

“Alright, let me explain the tactics.” When Jue-ge returned, he began explaining the strategy without even panting.

After explaining the strategy to the other three, the four of them charged out together.

The tricky part about this mini-Boss was that its attacks were quite comprehensive—its tentacles could directly sweep at enemies physically; it could also spew out fireballs about a meter in diameter from its mouth, which had a slight explosive effect; in addition, the tips of its tentacles could also fire small fireballs that didn't travel too fast.

Dealing with this monster alone would indeed be quite tiring.

However, with the cooperation of four people, it was much easier…

Feng Bujue's plan was for him to restrain the head at close range, dodging fireballs while shooting at the monster's mouth.

Isaac and Lightning Head would each run to the Boss's flanks, attacking from about ten meters away from the tentacles' physical attack range. In this way… they only needed to pay attention to the slow-moving small fireballs that might appear on their side.

As for the Bearded Man with the small cannon, he had the easiest task. Because the weapon he had chosen was very heavy, his mobility was relatively poor, but his firepower and range were not to be trifled with. Jue-ge arranged for him to provide fire support from the rear, just shooting at the head.

And so… the four of them spread out and began a barrage of bombardment without saying a word.

The battle progressed faster than they had expected. After three minutes of fighting, the Boss could no longer hold on. After letting out a muffled wail, it actually… exploded.

This could be considered one of the features of Contra. In any case, the thing at the end of the level had to explode to signify its demise.

As this mini-Boss died, the metal door under the mountain rock also exploded, revealing another mountain tunnel…

“This should be the entrance to the fourth level,” Feng Bujue muttered, looking at the tunnel. Then, he turned back to look at Isaac and the others. “Do you guys want to take a break?”

“No need,” the Bearded Man replied as he walked over from a distance. “I'm not tired at all.”

Before he could finish speaking, Lightning Head chimed in, “I'm not tired either.”

“Oh?” Seeing this, Feng Bujue seemed to realize something. He immediately looked at Isaac. “So… you don't feel tired either?”

Isaac shook his head. “No.”

“Hmm… I see.” Jue-ge pondered thoughtfully. “I understand…”

Seeing Feng Bujue's reaction, Isaac seemed to understand something as well. He went on to say, “Mr. Feng, I was just about to ask you… since we set off from the beach, we've crossed a coconut grove, attacked a camp, cleared a tunnel full of enemies, and now we've fought our way up this mountain. During this time, we haven't rested once, or even had a sip of water…” At this point, he paused for half a second before asking, “Yet, even now, I don't feel tired at all… Isn't that a bit strange?”

“Indeed, it's not normal, but…” Feng Bujue replied in a relaxed tone, “Just now, I was thinking about it… this is most likely caused by dimensional transformation. Simply put… this phenomenon is because you have become something like ‘game characters’.”

“What do you mean?” the Bearded Man asked. “Are you saying… I've turned into Mario?”

“Something like that, except you can't eat a mushroom to double your size,” Feng Bujue replied. “You also can't jump several meters high like the protagonist in Contra, or run like Sonic… You just have some of the characteristics of game characters, such as—not having to worry about stamina.”

“Haha! That's great, I can kill to my heart's content,” the Bearded Man said, seemingly quite happy to hear this.

But Isaac was different. He considered things more carefully. “Then… after we destroy the Pi Ta, can we return to our original dimension… or rather… can we turn back into humans?”

“I don't know.” Feng Bujue didn't try to deceive him, but told him the truth. “I only know that… after destroying the Pi Ta, my ‘mission’ will be completed, and I will be transported to another dimension by a higher power. As for you… although I can try to use my abilities to help you go back, I can't guarantee that it will be successful.”

“So…” Isaac continued, “Technically speaking, the versions of ourselves in the real world are most likely already dead, right?”

He seemed quite calm when he asked this question.

“Yes,” Feng Bujue replied in a similar tone.

“Hmph… doesn't matter,” the Bearded Man said. “The moment those mechanical bastards killed my daughter, I considered myself dead. As long as I can take down the Pi Ta, I'll go to hell if I have to.”

“Heh…” Lightning Head chuckled bitterly. “I don't mind either. I've long been prepared to sacrifice myself for the resistance.”

Two seconds later, Isaac looked up and looked at his comrades beside him.

He didn't say anything similar, but just stared at them for a few seconds, then said, “Let's go.”

…

The fourth level's mountain tunnel was basically an enhanced version of the previous tunnel.

The ground here was red, and the color of the defense walls had been changed to green. The number of soldiers and defense walls in the tunnel had increased, and not only the large machines at the end of the level, but even the defense walls along the way had a multi-energy core design.

However, because they had the previous experience, the four of them actually passed through this enhanced version of the tunnel faster. The small Boss at the end of the level didn't cause them too much trouble either.

In about fifteen minutes, they broke through this area and entered the next level.

After exiting that tunnel, the four of them found themselves in a forest covered in snow. In reality, it would naturally be impossible for “passing through a cave to be like arriving at the other side of the earth,” but in the game world—no need to worry about such details.

Starting from this level, the Falcon Army's combat power finally upgraded to a level that was enough to pose a threat to Jue-ge and the others.

First of all, the main enemies in this area were powerful red-armored soldiers who were stronger than the green-clad soldiers in the tunnel. These soldiers' marksmanship, firepower, and speed… were on a completely different level from the previous enemies. Even Lightning Head admitted that these guys' skill level had exceeded the average level of their resistance soldiers.

Secondly, from the moment they entered this area, Feng Bujue and the others were constantly attacked by grenades flying from unknown directions. Those grenades came from very far away. Although they weren't fast and their trajectory was obvious, the annoying thing was… these grenades were endless, and their launch coordinates couldn't be identified. The four of them could only keep moving under the pressure of these grenades, because they would be blown up if they stopped.

And under such pressure, they also had to face two new types of enemies that appeared for the first time in this area: one was elite Falcon soldiers controlling rapid-fire turrets, and the other was armored vehicles.

It could be said that at this level, the difficulty of the battle truly took a step up. Without the ability to use skills, even Feng Bujue wasn't confident that he could pass through unscathed on his own.

Fortunately… he wasn't alone at the moment. Even if these three NPC resistance members couldn't compare to Jue-ge, they were still “Contra” level combatants.

The four of them worked together and, after thirty minutes of fierce fighting, finally arrived at the end of the level with some narrow escapes.

Inversely proportional to the difficulty of the level itself, the Boss at the end of this level was ridiculously weak…

Basically, it was a small mechanical fortress floating in the air. It looked quite advanced, and its attack patterns seemed to be more than just one or two, but… it was incredibly fragile.

When the four of them saw that thing descending from the sky, they almost instinctively raised their weapons and fired a burst of shots at the sky. Unexpectedly, after this first volley, the small Boss began to emit black smoke and fall diagonally from the sky while exploding.

Perhaps due to its size, or perhaps it had sacrificed overly heavy armor in favor of its levitation function, in any case… this Boss's defense was so low that it was vulnerable to any attack. It didn't even fire a single shot or cannon before it was finished.

After taking care of this particularly amusing thing, Jue-ge and the others continued to advance. This time, what awaited them was no longer a tunnel built inside a mountain, but a huge, completely man-made building.

According to the changes in the map area, this place should be the legendary sixth level that could lead to the “Underwater Eight Levels.”

Although Feng Bujue also knew that the Underwater Eight Levels was just a “rumor,” he couldn't help but be curious when he actually arrived here. After all, the taskbar clearly stated 【Enter the “Underwater Eight Levels” of the Contra Area】. He had no reason not to try it.

Therefore, before entering the building, Feng Bujue first stopped Isaac and the other three, intending to explain the setting of the so-called “Underwater Eight Levels” to them, and to have them pay attention to a “special” Falcon soldier, so as to achieve the entry conditions required by that rumor.

In the end, even Jue-ge didn't expect that these three people in front of him knew all about the “Underwater Eight Levels.” Even the Bearded Man, who wasn't a Zhi Yue player, knew this story.

Since that was the case, things would be easier. Feng Bujue simply fooled them with his “savior” status and convinced them to complete this task together.

…

After agreeing on a plan, the four of them entered the sixth level.

The scene inside the building looked like a processing plant, with gray metal platforms of varying heights and green conveyor belts laid out, all connected by blue pipes. On each platform, there were several red indicator lights emitting energy core light, used as lighting equipment.

Soon after rushing in, Jue-ge and the others discovered that… there weren't many enemies in this level. It could be said that it took the route of “few but elite.” Besides the powerful red-armored soldiers and rapid-fire turrets from the previous level, there were no other types of enemies in the factory.

The four of them fought and moved forward, and after about ten minutes, they arrived at an area with many flamethrowers.

These mechanisms… had relatively obvious patterns. They could be passed by observing them slightly and didn't pose much of a threat, but they were just annoying.

After spending a little time, Feng Bujue and the others passed through this area and arrived at a fairly wide space.

At this time, under their feet was a glowing conveyor belt that was constantly changing colors, and around them was a vast expanse of darkness.

The four of them knew that they were close to the end of the sixth level, but…

“What's going on? We've come all the way here, but we haven't seen that special soldier,” the Bearded Man couldn't help but say.

“Yeah… it's very strange,” Feng Bujue added. “We haven't encountered any soldiers running from behind from beginning to end, and the last enemy we took down was a rapid-fire turret operator. That guy was very far from here, and there was a trap array consisting of flamethrowers in between. Even if we let him run, he might not be able to make it… In other words, in reality, this place doesn't have the conditions to trigger the so-called ‘Underwater Eight Levels’.”

While the two were talking, the conveyor belt under their feet had brought them to the end of the level.

At this moment, the door of a metal warehouse in front slowly rolled up, and heavy footsteps came from the darkness behind the door.

Just as everyone thought they were about to see the robot Boss at the end of the sixth level, an anomaly occurred…

What walked into the light was not a machine warrior four or five meters tall, but… an unidentified object with a very strange shape.

Its appearance looked like a bunch of pixel graphics that had become garbled due to a bug: its lower body was two yellow legs that looked like Falcon soldiers; its upper body was like a torn, slanted mouth, wider than a human body.

“Ho~ I see…” As soon as Feng Bujue saw that thing, he knew what to do. He immediately turned around and shouted to the three people behind him, “Everyone… follow me!”