Chapter 180: Chapter 60: Tacit Understanding

The strength of the cowardly worm soldiers is still formidable, and the students find it challenging to cope. Luckily, they have numbers and are clustered together, their teamwork is commendable, and they manage to hold them off.

Two seconds later, Ji Heng chops off two tentacles of the Demon Eye Worm People and tosses a flash bomb.

The Demon Eye Worm People also react, change their path, leap into the air, and temporarily retreat a few steps.

Ji Heng does not let it escape, grabbing its wildly flailing tentacles, which spread out, turning its back on Ji Heng, trying to escape his grip.

Ji Heng’s target is not its eyes at all.

His knife slices into the creases beneath its forehead, using the lever principle to forcibly close the eyelids of the Demon Eye Worm.

The blade pierces directly into the weakness with precision.

Another Demon Eye Worm is taken down; the experiment succeeds. Although the Worm People seem difficult to deal with, once their weaknesses are found, they are quite manageable.

Sometimes, when shortcuts don’t work, trying the direct path proves effective.

The fighting rhythm between the two becomes more synchronized. They cooperate, making the eradication of the Demon Eye Worm People their primary objective.

After killing the second Demon Eye Worm Person, the protective shield is completely destroyed, and a rain of insects falls over the Military Government Building.

Tens of thousands of Worm People descend.

…

Li Leilei runs in the corridor, Feng Wansha’s scolding echoes in her mind.

She reflects.

Between friends and strangers, she truly only thinks of her friends, selfishly hoping to help them.

Instinctively, she chooses to advance and retreat alongside Feng Wansha.

During her college years, having no friends, she cherishes having someone like Feng Wansha willing to communicate with her. She doesn’t want to see her friend die.

Li Leilei wipes away her tears, vowing never to cry again.

Feng Wansha is right to scold her; at critical moments, she must consider more people staying alive first.

She sees strength in Feng Wansha, Wu Qingqing, and Su Xiaocai.

Only by being strong can one live better than anyone else.

If she is fortunate enough not to die today, she will make those who have slandered her pay the price.

Li Leilei runs out of breath, her hair damp and clinging to her temples.

Fan Li takes the Space Button, quickly distributing Protective Devices, and asks, “What’s the situation up there?”

“I don’t know, I only know that when I left, our repair room was breached by the Worm People.” Li Leilei suppresses the urge to turn back; she has more important tasks to perform.

She must ensure the activation of all Protective Devices.

Several clerical workers underground assist with the process.

Over four hundred people, anxious and uneasy, enter the Protective Devices and sit as instructed, while babies are placed into mechanical cradles.

They all look to Fan Li, awaiting further instructions.

Fan Li gestures, then exits the room.

A colorless mist is slowly released from the ceiling of the room.

The citizens in the shelter feel their eyelids droop uncontrollably, and in less than half a minute, everyone is unconscious.

The clerical workers, wearing masks, check for any signs of life while confirming they are all indeed asleep. They swiftly move among the crowd, securing their helmets.

As long as the Protective Devices remain intact, no Worm People can identify them as living beings.

A thud from above suggests something heavy has fallen, causing slight tremors, tightening the grip on their uneasy hearts.

“Quickly, get inside.” Li Leilei pushes the clerical workers wearing new equipment into the last Protective Device, opens it, and says, “In ten hours, I hope you will all still be alive.”

A few clerical workers’ noses twitch with emotion, “We wish everyone to be safe.”

“Thank you, we will be fine. Stay here and watch over everyone; no matter what happens, don’t make a sound or move.”

The clerical workers nod vigorously and huddle in a corner, silently awaiting rescue or possibly awaiting death.

The slowly closing door takes with it two radiant silhouettes.

Fan Li returns, emerging on the surface.

An overwhelming blaze of war spreads, missiles directly bombarding the Worm People outside the walls, hindering their advance.

Inside the walls, the mecha masters unite to destroy the enemy.

Fan Li and Li Leilei board their mecha, joining the battlefield.

Gunfire, sharp collisions, and a sky full of flames intertwine.

Fearless Worm People relentlessly assault the defenses; the students are near their breaking point, with several smaller Worm People breaching the buildings, seeking out where survivors gather.

A form resembling an enlarged black widow spider, the Acid-spitting Worm, vomits a pool of yellow fluid, slowly corroding the wall, its hissing sound reminiscent of water in hot oil.

Ji Heng remembers what Su Xiaocai said and his mission. The students’ task is to protect the survivors.

“Feng Wansha, Captain You, go kill those Worm People.” The mecha piloted by a female is nimble, suitable for combat in relatively narrow spaces.

Ji Heng uses his sword to block a Worm Person’s tentacle, shooting the cowardly worm soldier at close range, piercing its neck, and ensuring it is dead by stomping on its feeding organs.

Once a Worm Person feeds, eating a companion’s body can heal its wounds.

A new Worm Person lunges, its actions swift like gum, clinging to the ground, its tentacles firmly wrapping around Ji Heng’s arm.

Ji Heng’s movements stall, and other Worm People also charge forward.

The first one to be impacted is Feng Wansha; she just received orders, attempting to turn and enter the building.

Unfortunately, she can’t free her hands and can’t even leave.

Ji Heng’s safety pod dents inward, sweat trickling down his sideburns. He activates all mecha drivers, rapidly entering an overloaded high-temperature state.

The Worm People embracing the mecha quickly jump away.

Just then, a Magnetic Blade Long Knife sweeps across, slicing the Worm People entwining Ji Heng.

Fan Li arrives just in time, and Li Leilei throws out the killed Acid-spitting Worm People.

The walls of the shelter have already been corroded into holes, and the first batch of survivors won’t hold on for long; the Worm People will inevitably reach them.

Considering the time, it has been two hours since the distress signal was sent.

Now, only the cosmic long-distance transmission signal still operates externally, but this is not the normal channel to contact the outside.

It requires some time.

Hoping Colonel Bai and Admiral Bai notice something is wrong soon and take action.

In the base, if there’s anyone to trust, it’s undoubtedly Admiral Bai and Colonel Bai. They are known for their fairness, and their family is full of upright soldiers, making it hard for spies to infiltrate.

…

Colonel Bai and others arrive at the outer space destination, where there is nothing in the mining area other than a battered distress signal transmitter and a communicator belonging to a missing soldier.

“Did you find anything?” he asks his subordinate.

“Nothing was found. However, Colonel, take a look at this piece of information.” The subordinate hands Colonel Bai the message just received via the special communication channel.

An encrypted message? Why not contact directly through the communicator?

At this moment, Colonel Bai realizes what’s happening; his communicator has no signal.

Colonel Bai senses something is wrong, “How long has there been no signal?”

The subordinate is taken aback; in the outer space mining area, the businessmen don’t maintain the base station carefully, so signals are intermittent, and the fleet uses their signals to communicate with each other.

The subordinate checks his communicator, “It has a signal. Asked the others.”

“Colonel, we all have signals. Wait a minute, why didn’t we receive so much information?”

Colonel Bai turns off the tracking signal, disembarks from the mecha, and finds the signal restored.

Not only is there an issue with the tracking signal, but someone has also tampered with his mecha.

He remembers the mecha was sent for maintenance yesterday, and today there was an immediate distress signal – could there be a connection?

As soon as he receives the signal, messages flood his communicator nonstop.

Several calls are from Fan Li.

Colonel Bai immediately dials back, but no one answers. He quickly contacts several soldiers in Huangyang City.

Without exception, all calls are unreachable.

He is concerned about those few missing soldiers, almost falling into a trance, his attention focused here.

Forgetting there are more pressing issues to focus on.

He opens the text messages received by the communicator.

A surge of anger wells up, and Colonel Bai nearly vomits blood, “Immediately redirect to Huangyang City.”

An emergency alert sounds, a Level Ten alarm signals Huangyang City’s fall. The lives of the city’s people are in danger, and that is just the beginning. If the mother unit is not found, the crisis could spread to several nearby mining areas and habitable stars.

What a foolish thing he has done.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep