Chapter 923 - 740: Thank You, You’re a Good Person_2

Chapter 923: Chapter 740: Thank You, You’re a Good Person_2

[Your Exoskeleton Manipulation Specialization ability has increased to lv5.5!]

"5.5? Only half a level up? Well, the Molded Embryo is already 80% complete, just missing the final piece..."

Feng Mu stood in place, muttering to himself.

A wind, not exactly fierce, brushed over the grassland where the slaughter had just ceased.

The wind pressed down the dense grass stalks, lightly "blowing" Feng Mu’s stationary figure, disintegrating and fading silently like a sand art scattered by the breeze.

The figure that remained in place was merely a bizarre phantom; his real body had already disappeared into the air.

This time, it was a complete disappearance.

Not only was his presence utterly undetectable, but even the faint shadow that occasionally lurked in the grass like a snake had vanished without a trace.

The entire area was left with the rustling sound of the wind through the grass, as if nature was softly humming an incomprehensible melody, adding layers of eeriness and pressure to the sudden emptiness.

In the sky, the drone viewpoint that had been overlooking also lost Feng Mu’s coordinates in an instant.

Xiaoyou’s algorithm system had its CPU in a panic as Feng Mu vanished.

"Initiate backup tracking protocol: Anti-Cloak Force Field Scan initiating... Scan complete, no energy signature from any cloaked units found!"

"Initiate high-sensitivity sound wave detection... Analyzing environmental sound waves... No frequency matching target biological signs!"

A series of automatic countermeasures executed within one-hundredth of a second returned feedback that all read "Invalid" or "Not found."

Xiaoyou finally emitted a cold synthetic voice warning:

"Warning, high-risk target suddenly disappeared, anti-cloak search ineffective, destination unknown!!!"

Xu Yingyan, Mountain Cat, and Dong Xiaodao, who had already fled a great distance, felt a chill in their hearts simultaneously, instinctively turning their heads to look back, fearing an invisible Ghost Shadow might suddenly appear behind them.

Clearly there was nothing behind except the rustling grass moved by the wind.

Yet the three felt pursued by ghosts, as if chilling sensations crept incessantly up their backs.

It was different for Fortress; he had not received Xiaoyou’s alert.

Without glancing around, from the moment Iron Claw called him, he had not looked back, fully concentrating on running madly.

If you don’t focus on fleeing, there’s something wrong with your brain.

Looking back only slows you down.

Though Fortress was large, he was not as foolish as Iron Claw; he had great wisdom, deeply understanding one principle—if you never look back, you’ll never see the ghost behind you.

Rounded off, it equals never having a ghost behind you!

second!

seconds!

seconds!

A full minute passed.

Nothing happened.

Around him, there was only the sound of grass being crushed by his running and his heavy breathing like that of an ox.

Fortress’s face lit up with joy, seeing the edge of the grassland ahead, he maintained his speed and, like the final stretch of a marathon, initiated the last sprint.

"Huff—Huff—"

As he finally stepped onto the hard, dry gravel surface and the sea of green grass was left completely behind, Fortress gasped deeply.

The hot air filled his lungs, causing a spicy stinging sensation that felt unbelievably sweet at that moment.

Only now did he turn his head back for the first time.

By estimation, he had run thousands of meters from the battlefield, completely losing sight of any trace of it from where he stood now.

Behind him, there was no one, only the empty grass swaying in the wind.

Fortress widened his eyes, observed carefully for a while, and seeing no sign of Ghost Shadow in the wind-blown grass, he finally breathed a long sigh, pressing a hand over his belly to shove the protruding gut back inside.

"Ha... Haha..."

Sounds emerged from Fortress’s throat that didn’t quite resemble laughter, and finally, his tightly-stretched nerves relaxed completely.

He took off the White Mask with one hand, spoke through the earpiece:

"Captain, Fortress calling Captain, only I escaped, Iron Claw and Fire Raven both sacrificed themselves to cover my retreat."

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force out some timely tears, but his dry sockets only resulted in redder eyes.

With a sigh, he continued with a more somber tone:

"Captain, where are you? I’m in terrible condition now and need support, I’m heading to link up with you right away!"

From the comms channel, all he received in return was silence.

Aside from omnipresent electronic noise, there was no sound from the Captain.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

The expression of grief on Fortress’s face gradually solidified and grew gloomier as the wait dragged on.

It was one thing for the captain not to bring them along when he escaped; Fortress didn’t blame him. Their squad had always operated in such a way, each looking after their own when it came to saving their own skin.

Everyone relied on their own skills and wouldn’t begrudge one another. Surely, Fire Raven and Iron Claw wouldn’t hold it against him.

But it was a bit excessive that the captain left after Fortress painstakingly managed to escape too.

"Captain?"

"Captain?"

"Captain, where are you? I’m here to find you!"

"Captain, did you not escape and die inside?"

"Captain—"

His continuous calls received no response, and a possibility that he hadn’t considered before crept into Fortress’s mind.

Could it be the captain wasn’t just good at keeping secrets, but perhaps he died before them, and died silently?!!

Fortress’s tiger eyes reddened, his eye sockets brimmed with genuine tears.

That’s great~

The captain, that devilish little dwarf of a captain, is finally dead~

All the other teammates are dead too~

Now, Fortress can unquestionably be promoted to the new captain!

For so many years, I’ve finally made it through; do you know how difficult it’s been for me!

At that moment, Fortress was standing there, tears streaming down his face, choked up and nearly moved to sobbing.

Then, in the height of Fortress’s emotions, a voice rang in his ear with a chilling politeness and concern:

"Excuse me, do you need a tissue?"

"No need, I brought some myself..."

The last syllable of "some" was drawn out in fear, as Fortress’s motion to fetch a tissue suddenly froze, his eyes bulging wide, fearfully staring at the empty air in front of him.

There was obviously nothing there, only grass and air, no ghosts or shadows.

But the friendly voice just now clearly came from there!!!

Fortress almost thought he had misheard, a mental hallucination caused by severe injury and emotional upheaval?

But instinctively, he opened the Ion Giant Shield in front of him, the energy screen like a solid wall, blocking between him and the "empty" area ahead.

Meanwhile, a snapping mechanical engagement noise came from his shoulder armor, two multi-barrel rotating turrets instantly opened, ready to sweep that area of air along with the grass.

Then, he heard the friendly voice continuing softly:

"Bringing tissues is a good habit, since you have your own, remember..."

Before finishing the sentence, Fortress felt an invisible massive force strike, as if being hit head-on by a speeding train, his whole person flew backward.

"Boom————!!!"

Deafening explosions suddenly erupted!

In mid-air, Fortress couldn’t help but open his mouth, spewing out a large spray of crimson blood mist.

Even when being struck down, even when blood spewed forth, he still hadn’t seen the true form of the enemy.

All he saw clearly was the transparent palm print appearing instantly on the shield, then shattering.

Crack——

The shield exploded, shattering into a sky full of ion streams!

He was flying up, his arm bones both bending backward, the artillery nests on his shoulders shaking violently, the intended synchronized volley turning into random firing.

Shells whistled around, blasting the surrounding rubble in a frenzy, dirt flying, smoke billowing.

In the center of the rising flames and diffusing smoke, a figure coagulated from the void, like a ghost shadow materializing.

A sharply pressed, spotless dark uniform outlined a body that was proportioned yet filled with explosive power.

On his face, he wore black-rimmed glasses, eyes behind the lenses calm and deep, carrying a damned affability, with a seemingly perpetual smile.

Who else but Feng Mu?

No, where does Feng Mu get that affability? He’s damn near trying to kill me!!!

Why do I feel he has some damned affability?

Am I brain-damaged from the blow?