As a seasoned 'old-timer', Xi Wen was intimately familiar with the beast lair's construction. Each level's partitions were reinforced with mineral materials even harder than steel and diamonds, originally designed to withstand nuclear explosions.
Therefore, his words were not an exaggeration.
Only then did the others feel slightly at ease, but they remained worried about the abnormality of the mutated giant beasts. What had happened upstairs? Why were they so desperate to ascend?
Meanwhile, Zhang Hu had successfully infiltrated the beast horde. Having coated himself with the scent of other mutated creatures, he passed by them without being attacked. However, as everyone watched his receding figure, they couldn't help but hold their breath for him. After all, he was their only hope for understanding what was happening upstairs. The stronger the mutated creature, the keener its sense of smell. This task was truly for the brave.
Zhang Hu was acutely aware of this, so he deliberately avoided the mutated creatures that looked particularly formidable, moving among the ordinary mutated beasts. Though his progress was slow, Xi Wen and the others waiting below were not impatient. This was a life-risking endeavor, akin to walking on the edge of a blade; a single misstep could lead to a gruesome death!
The passage was collapsing progressively under the assault of the mutated giants on the third level. Smaller mutated creatures had already seized the opportunity to scramble upwards. However, it was evident that the entrance was choked with mutated creatures, making it difficult for those behind to squeeze through.
Another half hour passed.
The group noticed that the mutated creatures blocking the passage were continuously decreasing, and the passage had widened to only a third of its original width. With the addition of another mutated giant from behind, the widening accelerated. Zhang Hu had already merged with the foremost group of ordinary mutated creatures, and the danger escalated accordingly. He now had to constantly remain vigilant against powerful mutated creatures, while also dodging random attacks from two mutated giants behind him.
His nerves were taut, every anomaly catching his attention. Finally, as he noticed fewer mutated creatures ahead, a beam of light from the first level met his eyes.
"Almost there!" Zhang Hu exuded excitement. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a struggle. "Again, again!"
He froze instantly. That sounded like human voices! Was someone fighting upstairs? Zhang Hu instinctively swallowed, a dreadful thought flashing through his mind. Could this be the cause of the current anomaly?
With this realization, Zhang Hu's urgency to reach the first level intensified. He had to see for himself what was happening. Disregarding the risk, Zhang Hu leaped onto the back of a large mutated creature, using it for leverage to jump upwards. Perhaps due to bad luck, as he was still in mid-air, another mutated creature leaped beside him, colliding with him head-on.
It was a hybrid of a leopard and a tiger, its exposed claws measuring ten centimeters long. They instantly tore into Zhang Hu's shoulder, drawing blood.
"Damn it!" Zhang Hu's expression changed drastically. He quickly pressed his hand to the wound and tore a piece of cloth from his body. Losing control, he bumped into another mutated creature and fell. In mere seconds, he skillfully bandaged the wound. As he looked up, several mutated creatures were already lunging at him.
Too late. Zhang Hu's face turned grim. He quickly retreated to the passage wall, then turned and punched, sending a lunging mutated creature flying. However, he was in the midst of the horde. Centered on him, all mutated creatures within a five-meter radius turned their targets towards him, their blood-red eyes fixed on him.
Old Niu, watching from afar, panicked and moved to intervene, but Xi Wen firmly grasped his shoulder. "Captain, something's wrong!"
"I know, but we can't save him! This was agreed upon!" Xi Wen stated with a grim expression. Old Niu clenched his fist, his eyes filled with unwillingness! Abandoning a comrade was not the style of the Dare-to-Die Squad!
"Damn it!" Old Niu cursed, turning away, unable to bear witnessing what was about to happen. The other members of the base also had complex expressions. As their teammate, Zhang Hu's situation evoked no less concern in them than in Old Niu! However, if even Old Niu couldn't act, they had no right to speak up. Rules were rules; they were the highest principle of the base!
After a long while, Old Niu suddenly noticed that the base personnel were still tensely staring behind him. He finally couldn't help but turn around and look towards Zhang Hu's position, only to find him still struggling tenaciously.
"I can't die! I must personally see what's happening upstairs! I must join the Dare-to-Die Squad!" A powerful conviction made him unleash immense energy in the face of mortal danger. He felt a continuous surge of strength within him, allowing him to repeatedly repel the attacking mutated creatures. Yes, he had broken through! Even Xi Wen clenched his fist tightly, watching his valiant figure, as if a god of war had descended.
Yet, even so, everyone's expression remained grim. They knew that the ferocity born of such a breakthrough was temporary. Once Zhang Hu's strength was depleted, or he entered a weakened state, he would still be torn to shreds by the hundreds of mutated creatures.
Meanwhile, in the command center of the stronghold, Ge Nishao, who was directing all operations, stared at the data on his computer in utter disbelief. Not long ago, the reinforcement troops he had arranged had successively arrived at the base. As everyone's scorekeepers had started, he needed to monitor the data from the backend to assign tasks to stronger individuals. However, this glance stunned him.
The list of integral rankings on the computer already showed several pages of data, clearly indicating that the reinforcement troops at the base had engaged. Yet, at the very top of the integral rankings, a number with six zeros was prominently displayed.
Li Chonglou: 12,000,000!
"Damn it, what did this kid do? Did he hack my computer?" Ge Nishao, finally snapping out of his stupor, instinctively checked his computer's system security. However, the results showed everything was normal.
"This... this is real?"