Chapter 720: The Situation (Part 1)

Chapter 720: Chapter 690: The Situation (Part 1)

Upon hearing Zuo Wenyao’s words, Lin Xinghai immediately understood the gravity of the situation.

Having lived in the Star Shield Shelter for some time, Lin Xinghai was well aware of the level of Combat Power a typical medium-sized shelter possessed.

Those shelters had no Divine Demon Realm experts stationed there. Their strongest combatants were merely at the Body Shaping Realm, equipped with a single Rare Level Mecha at most.

But with that level of power, they stood no chance of resisting a Fourth Level Mutated Zombie.

Perhaps the only thing they could do was bombard it with heavy conventional weapons, or even activate the base’s self-destruct sequence and take the enemy down with them.

But a medium-sized shelter housed over a hundred thousand people at the very least. These people were the very foundation of the nation’s future.

Besides, if the Abyssal Plane truly resorted to this tactic, it wouldn’t be just one medium-sized shelter that ended up destroyed.

If the hordes of Mutated Zombies were to actually engage in guerilla warfare with the military, the number of lost medium-sized shelters would be astronomical.

After Zuo Wenyao’s explanation, Lin Xinghai finally understood why the military was willing to use talented individuals like them as bait. All things considered, it was indeed the most logical course of action.

However, Lin Xinghai had one last question. “Teacher, how did the Abyssal Plane manage to hide so many Mutated Zombies right under the military’s nose?”

“It’s because of when the Abyssal Passage opened,” Zuo Wenyao replied. His brow furrowed involuntarily as he broached the subject.

Lin Xinghai understood immediately. The Abyssal Passage had appeared too quickly this time. It was only discovered more than ten minutes after it had already opened. By the time the military received the report, mobilized their forces, and everything else, a full half-hour had passed.

That was more than enough time for the Abyssal Plane to hide a portion of its forces underground.

What was even more terrifying was that if the Abyssal Plane could do this once, they could do it again.

This time, a Mercenary Corps just happened to stumble upon it, allowing for an early discovery. If the next Abyssal Passage opened in some remote wilderness, it would likely be discovered even later. How many troops would the enemy be able to hide then?

Lin Xinghai took a deep breath and shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside.

The most important thing for him right now was to increase his own strength. As for how to handle the situation, that wasn’t his problem to worry about; the military would surely come up with a solution.

The convoy was now approaching the edge of the area. Lin Xinghai extended his Perception Power and could detect a fully-armed mechanized infantry division at the border of the green Poisonous Fog District. They were using buildings for cover, advancing steadily inward.

They were clearing not only the Abyssal Creatures from the streets but also from inside every single building. This was a completely different approach from the special forces teams that had previously gone in to eliminate them.

“Teacher, is this a large-scale counteroffensive?” Lin Xinghai couldn’t help but ask.

“Not a counteroffensive, more like reclaiming our position. After all, we were forced to constantly retreat before. You know how it is—the farther we pull back, the larger the defensive perimeter becomes, and the more thinly our forces are stretched.”

“Right now, we must take advantage of our superiority in top-tier Combat Power to shrink the defensive perimeter and prepare for the next push forward,” Zuo Wenyao explained.

Lin Xinghai nodded. Just then, his Perception Power detected something, and he immediately probed beneath the ground. He quickly discovered that the military wasn’t just advancing on the surface—they had troops underground as well.

The subterranean forces consisted of a series of drilling vehicles. The overall shape of these vehicles resembled a bullet, with a massive drill at the front that could easily bore through subterranean soil and rock, allowing them to travel directly underground.

Of course, there were currently no enemies underground. The teams of drilling vehicles were traversing the subterranean depths, placing a series of detectors as they went.

“Are the teams underground setting up defenses?” Lin Xinghai asked.

“Yes.” Zuo Wenyao nodded. “While it’s difficult for us to station troops underground, we absolutely must place a large number of detection devices. This way, if any Mutated Zombies go underground in the future, we can discover them immediately. Once we lock onto their positions, we can use Drilling Bombs to carry out wide-area bombardment.”

“Anything less than a Fourth Level Mutated Zombie is guaranteed to be killed. If a Fourth Level Mutated Zombie does go down there, we’ll dispatch Divine Demon Realm experts to surround and destroy it.”

As the two continued their conversation, the convoy quickly departed from the green Poisonous Fog District.

The military had established a forward operating base here, its primary purpose being to receive the students who had escaped.

“Alright, this is as far as I’m taking you. You can rest and regroup at the forward base before returning to the main camp. As for the two of us, we have to return to the front lines immediately.”

Zuo Wenyao paused, then looked at Liu Miaomiao. “Liu, I’d like you to stay here. There will definitely be many injured Divine Demon Realm experts arriving soon. I hope you can provide them with immediate medical treatment.”

“Of course, no problem,” Liu Miaomiao readily agreed.

Seeing this, Lin Xinghai, who stood to the side, looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue. In the end, he remained silent.

As if sensing his thoughts, Liu Miaomiao smiled, squeezed his hand, and whispered, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. In that last battle, I only used my Superpower to drain Life Force. It didn’t consume that much energy.”

“Besides, I absorbed a tremendous amount of Life Force. It would be a terrible waste to just let it dissipate without using it.”

The amount of Life Force Liu Miaomiao had absorbed in the previous battle was truly immense. On the way back, even after healing the injuries of two Divine Demon Realm experts, Zuo Wenyao and Chen Yushi, she still had a small amount to spare.

“Then how much of your Superpower do you have left?” Lin Xinghai asked.

“Don’t worry. After breaking through to the Body Shaping Realm, my Superpower reserves at least tripled. I only used thirty percent of my power at most in that last battle.”

“Besides, the military gave me plenty of Elixirs to restore my Superpower, so you don’t need to worry about me running out of energy.” To prove her point, she took an Elixir from her Combat Suit and popped it into her mouth.

Seeing this, Lin Xinghai relaxed a bit and said in a low voice, “Let me help you digest its energy, then.”

As he spoke, he enveloped Liu Miaomiao with his Superpower, instantly accelerating her absorption of the Elixir’s power tenfold.

Soon, the convoy drove into the forward operating base.

Zuo Wenyao and Chen Yushi exchanged a few brief words with the officers there, then swiftly turned back, re-entering the Poisonous Fog District to rejoin the battle.

The Xinghai Squad’s convoy was impressively large, so it immediately drew a great deal of attention upon entering the forward operating base.

He then spotted a group of instructors hurrying toward them.

However, when the group got a clear look at the convoy, the instructors from the other two academies stopped in their tracks. One man, however, rushed forward with a look of immense joy.

This person was none other than their homeroom teacher, Jian Hua.