CHAPTER 652: 649

"I think we should still prioritize the mission of the company!"

"Even if something really is going wrong here, we at least have to ensure that the work on the relic on their side is going on. After all, the company’s contract is explicitly written in black and white."

"But the problem now is—we have no clear idea of our own situation."

"We’ve all faced danger before. Just treat it normally."

"Look at those things outside! You can’t still think we can treat this mission as business as usual, can you?"

"I think we can discuss this further..."

"Or let me try again. The generator can still be fixed."

"..."

At this moment, the air in the meeting room was somewhat scorched.

Regarding their current predicament, members of the exploration team were airing their views in a heated debate.

Some were considering retreat for the sake of safety, others were keen on completing the company’s mission, and there were those who were still pondering over those strange creatures they had encountered. Of course, some wanted to ease the tension, or simply to fix the issues with the base, right?

Under the influence of their respective thoughts,

the exploration team, which should have been working together to overcome the difficulties, had turned into something resembling a debating contest, with attitudes of relentless opposition and an unwillingness to give ground surging back and forth.

If no one stepped in to halt this...

Assuming a more optimistic forecast, it was feared that in a few more hours, the situation in this temporary base wouldn’t change much.

And in such an environment,

Ronald was currently focusing mainly on gathering information.

However, if the purpose of the trial was to be measured by the original standard, he actually tended to agree more with Airen’s perspective of prioritizing this exploration project.

After all, there was a significant probability that Ronald’s trial involved dealing with this so-called relic.

It was just unfortunate that this plan didn’t align with Ronald’s current identity.

So, he only chimed in with a few analytical comments during breaks in the discussion.

Creak—click click click—

The group was still discussing their action plan.

At this moment, Ronald heard some strange noises—coming through the sound-picking noise-canceling headphones he was wearing.

This specialized headphone equipment was very reliable.

Specifically, the sound-picking function could amplify subtle noises in the environment, such as footsteps and breathing, making them noticeable to the user; the noise-canceling feature then limited the maximum decibels of the sound, preventing noises like explosions or gunshots from damaging the user’s auditory system.

Because he had never taken off the equipment since he first got it.

So at this very moment, Ronald happened to hear some noises amplified by the headphones.

"..."

There might be trouble.

Ronald just needed a moment to think, and his mind immediately realized something.

The ’creak’ might be the sound of the rigid structure at the base’s outer wall being deformed when damaged, while the other ’click click click’ was most likely the amplified result of some kind of animal’s footsteps on the ground.

Combining the experiences from their journey here,

it was blatantly obvious what kind of changes this base was undergoing.

Ronald’s gaze sharpened.

Passing the trial was important to him, but that had to start by ensuring his own safety. Without bothering to steer the conversation, Ronald directly started to alert the people around him:

"Everyone, something’s not right. I hear some noises outside!"

"After the power outage, a mere wall probably won’t stop some creatures from getting close to here..."

As soon as Ronald spoke, the people who had been debating fiercely immediately stopped their discussion.

Though they each had their own interests to pursue, when faced with threats to their lives, from their experience in this line of work, they knew to immediately cease any arguments.

At that moment,

Lance, who had previously opened the door for Ronald and his team and was actually in charge of operating the doors of the facility, scratched his head and swiftly headed outside.

"Yang, I think the rigid structure we used to build the fence is quite stable, ordinary beasts shouldn’t be able to get in easily. Of course, just to be safe, it’s no problem for me to go check it out."

"Lance, wait! I’ve already heard..."

Ronald immediately spoke up, intending to catch up and stop him.

However, before he could finish his sentence, three ice-blue colored reptiles sprang out from the passageway leading outside the conference room, lunging and knocking Lance to the ground.

Under Airen’s flashlight,

The shadows of these three animals projected on the wall behind them, their dangerous outlines emerging like monsters from the abyss!

Then, before anyone could react,

One of them bit into Lance’s throat and yanked.

"Ah! Ugh..."

Lance’s voice was inhuman.

In almost the next second, blood started spurting from his neck.

The hunting ability of these blue creatures was extremely potent, their first bite precision enough to tear apart the arteries in the prey’s neck.

"Fuck, everyone, fall back!"

Seeing someone already sustain a fatal injury,

Airen, the mercenary, without a second word, snatched up the rifle from the nearby table and fired three bursts, taking down each of the intruding creatures with direct shots.

Witnessing the scene,

Ai Wei, who was responsible for medical duties in the team, grabbed her emergency kit and dashed towards Lance.

"Ai Wei, I told you to fall back, don’t you understand?"

Airen yelled at Ai Wei, who ran to save the injured.

Regrettably, the doctor completely disregarded the mercenary’s orders, prioritizing only the condition of her companion.

Ai Wei’s professional skills were naturally exceptional to undertake the medical duties of the team.

However, her abilities could not alter the disheartening outcome.

The dental structure of the blue creatures was incredibly sharp, and a single effective attack had left Lance beyond all hope of rescue. After a few struggles on the ground, the young man quickly lay motionless.

"..."

Staring at the scene before him, Ronald was momentarily stunned.

Based on logical analysis, he had assumed Lance, who was in charge of the camp’s equipment, would have played a significant role in the subsequent trials. But in the blink of an eye, the man lay dead before him!

Snap—

Just then, Ronald and several other explorers who had turned their headsets back on simultaneously heard a new noise in their ears.

—More of these creatures were breaking into the camp!

Without needing to ponder further, they all immediately grasped the severity of the situation.

With the camp’s outer walls compromised, an unknown but definitely substantial number of creatures would surely keep coming. Not to mention, the body of Lance lying on the ground, bleeding profusely, was a beacon for the cavern-dwelling creatures to easily find.

"What the hell is going on!"

Airen, frustrated, kicked a nearby box and then continued to decisively give orders:

"Let’s assess the situation first, everyone stay together."

Airen’s thinking was sound,

But under the current circumstances, they all knew full well—the camp was compromised!