These mutated creatures seemed impervious to pain; even with shattered skulls from collisions, they showed no signs of stopping.
A layer of dead mutated creatures had already piled up, only to be trampled underfoot by those surging behind, obscuring them.
Such a fierce impact, even if made of flesh and blood, could collapse an iron city wall. Li Zhonglou could already see cracks appearing at the base of the wall.
It was clear that the reason the stronghold was filled with these mutated rats was that they could climb the high walls, their mutated claws allowing them to walk on vertical surfaces.
However, none of this was important to the group. It didn't matter if the entire stronghold fell and all the mutated creatures swarmed in; their current mission was to reach the third level.
Therefore, Xi Wen directly ordered everyone to switch to the Frost Guns.
"Don't be too wasteful, cooperate well."
After saying this, Xi Wen was the first to jump down. His action made Li Zhonglou's eyes narrow slightly, because below him was a thick pile of mutated creatures stacked layer upon layer. Once he fell into it, he would likely be instantly buried and reduced to a skeleton.
But in the next second, a beam of white light landed at his feet, one step ahead of Xi Wen.
Almost instantaneously, all mutated creatures within a five-meter radius of the white light's impact point turned into ice sculptures. It was then that Xi Wen truly landed on top of them, crushing one with a kick and using the momentum to leap forward.
While still in the air, he skillfully fired his Frost Gun at his next landing spot.
At this moment, the others, following his example, all jumped down, moving along Xi Wen's trajectory. If any other mutated creatures swarmed up, someone would fire a follow-up shot to intercept their attack.
For a time, the members of the suicide squad leaped about above the tide of beasts as if playing a game. While this scene appeared simple and effortless, to truly achieve it required perfect coordination.
If even one person was a beat late with their shot or fired at the wrong angle, it would inevitably lead to a cascade of retaliatory attacks. While this might still achieve the objective to some extent, it would certainly not be as smooth as the current rhythm.
Watching the perfectly coordinated group, Li Zhonglou's confidence soared. When it was finally his and Da Niu's turn, Li Zhonglou jumped down before Da Niu, imitating the others by stepping on an ice sculpture's head, then using the momentum to spring forward.
Lao Niu, who had been about to offer a few words of advice, saw how naturally Li Zhonglou acted and a smile spread across his face.
"Well done!"
Only then did Lao Niu jump down last.
As the rear guard, he bore a significant responsibility, as he had to constantly monitor the movements of the beast tide. If there was any deviation from their rhythm, he had to promptly use his Frost Gun to bring it back in line.
In addition, he had to ensure Li Zhonglou's safety. At this moment, Lao Niu was under the greatest pressure within the entire suicide squad.
However, he himself bore no complaints and seemed to consider it his duty. When Li Zhonglou intentionally tried to share some of the pressure, Lao Niu immediately reminded him, "Little Li, don't worry about me, just keep up."
As soon as he finished speaking, he fired another shot to the side. Currently, he was firing the most frequently among the advancing team.
Upon hearing his words, Li Zhonglou understood that if he acted recklessly, it could bring unnecessary trouble to the entire team. Thus, he obediently followed at the back of the group.
The一行人就这样轻松的赶着路，像是踏在一片兽潮海洋中行走，仅花了半个小时便来到了一层通往二层的入口。
By then, the group had used nearly half of their Frost ammunition. Seeing the endless stream of mutated creatures pouring out of a hole approximately three meters wide, Xi Wen decisively shouted.
"Don't hold back, fire directly into it!"
As he uttered these words, Li Zhonglou understood his intention.
The space at the entrance was limited. If they continued to advance one step and then fire, as they had been doing, they might be overwhelmed by mutated creatures surging from all directions within.
After all, outside, there was a distinction between ground and sky, but inside, there was only up and down. Once they entered, they would be facing enemies from all sides.
Therefore, at such a time, they absolutely could not conserve their ammunition. They had to ensure that for every meter they advanced, they froze two meters, to achieve the same effect as before.
Hearing this, the others followed Xi Wen's instructions, raising their Frost Guns and continuously firing into the opening.
Wave after wave of white light shot in, and in the blink of an eye, the entire entrance was encased in ice. It was then that Xi Wen led the charge into the opening, and even during his descent, he continued to fire into it, showing no concern for waste.
With such frequent firing, some shots were bound to overlap, but no one cared about that. At such a critical juncture, any slight mistake could result in a life-threatening situation.
As Li Zhonglou also jumped into the passage, he discovered that it wasn't a completely downward path. Instead, it curved downwards for a distance before turning forward. After traveling for a while, he saw another exit leading downwards.
At this point, Lao Niu came to Li Zhonglou's side and reminded him, "There's no stronghold at the entrance to the second level. I'll have to fight alongside everyone later, so I might not be able to watch out for you completely. Be careful yourself."
Li Zhonglou replied with a hint of helplessness, "Brother Niu, I'm here to join you, not to be protected by you."
Lao Niu paused for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter, patting Li Zhonglou's back and saying, "I'm already very happy that you have this resolve. However, we don't have any weapons allocated for you. In a swarm of beasts, a person's strength, no matter how great, is limited. I believe you understand this."
Li Zhonglou nodded, understanding Lao Niu's unspoken meaning that he should not act impulsively and leave the team.
Seeing Li Zhonglou's high level of comprehension, Lao Niu nodded with satisfaction and then, holding his gun, hurried to catch up with the others.
Li Zhonglou was the last to jump out of the opening. As he emerged from the passage, the scene before him made his scalp tingle.
He saw another vast space below him. This area was entirely rocky, with no grass or the like. Light also filtered in from above, so the overall lighting in the space was quite adequate.
Because of this, the densely packed giant spiders on the rocks were extremely conspicuous.
Each spider's body alone was the size of a water buffalo. Perhaps due to the influence of the beast tide, their undersides and bodies were covered with other mutated creatures.