CHAPTER 358: CHAPTER 355: 【BREAKTHROUGH】(TWO IN ONE CHAPTER)

Chapter 355: Breakout

"Hey!"

Beside the command hall, the Captain’s head appeared above the top of the module. He looked down and saw Chen Nuo, but since others were present, the Captain shouted, "Anderson!"

"Everyone’s here, Captain!" Chen Nuo waved his arm and responded loudly.

The Captain jumped to the ground, a gun in his hand and several grenades hanging from his belt.

Approaching Chen Nuo, the Captain’s eyes held a hint of excitement, but he quickly suppressed it, whispering, "I planted some bombs... but I didn’t find many. I don’t know if it’ll be enough."

Chen Nuo shook his head without speaking.

"What’s the plan, Captain?" the Wizard asked, staring at the Captain.

The Captain shook his head. "The plan was Anderson’s idea."

Upon hearing this, the Wizard immediately turned and stared intently at Chen Nuo. "Anderson, what’s your plan?"

Without waiting for Chen Nuo to answer, the Wizard spoke rapidly, "The temperature here is dropping fast. We’ve lost the underground fortifications, and it’s hard to survive on the surface! Do you have any way to get us out of here?"

"And!" Nolan glared at Chen Nuo, pressing further, "How did you manage to control a monster and dig down to the underground fortifications to find us? It’s like you knew what was going to happen!"

After Nolan spoke, the Wizard’s expression changed. He quickly retreated two steps, warily staring at... the Captain!

Alright, the Wizard’s first instinct was still to be wary of the Captain, a powerful Controller.

Stared at by the Wizard with hostile and distrusting eyes, the Captain immediately felt the full force of the Wizard’s spiritual power. The oppressive atmosphere filled the air, even causing his breath to catch for a moment.

The Captain, his face cold, maintained an indifferent gaze and bravely met the Wizard’s eyes.

"Alright. If we had ill intentions, you’d already be trapped and dead in the underground fortifications by now."

Surprisingly, it was Kamisou Ichiro, the Neon person, who spoke.

He actually stepped forward, moving between the Wizard and the Captain, using his body to block their direct gaze.

This peculiar Neon person, clearly under considerable pressure from the gazes of the two Controllers, was breathing heavily but still spoke in a conciliatory tone, "Mr. Wizard, think about it carefully. Did we just save you, or did we endanger you?"

The Wizard’s expression softened slightly, and his eyes finally relaxed a little.

"Anderson, I think it’s best if you explain," Kamisou Ichiro said, turning to Chen Nuo with a sincere tone. "What we need now is unity."

Chen Nuo glanced at this Neon person—he had always found the man rather strange. Yet, he seemed very willing to cooperate, always acting on their side, making it difficult to find any fault.

Chen Nuo thought for a moment, then slowly began, "I do have a plan, but it requires your cooperation, Mr. Wizard. We..."

Just as Chen Nuo was speaking, a stern shout suddenly echoed from the depths of his mind—it was Corot!

"Act now!!"

The creature, previously docile and prostrate on the ground, suddenly erupted. Its numerous tentacles shot towards the Wizard at high speed, while its body lunged forward!

At such close range and with no warning, the Wizard, despite his top-tier skills as a Controller, still reacted instantly. A Mentality Barrier promptly materialized around him, blocking the attacking tentacles!

This Corot, attacking without warning! He’s clearly forcing my hand! Chen Nuo cursed inwardly.

The Wizard swiftly used his Mentality Barrier to fend off the sneak attack. His reaction was even faster, a testament to his status as a seasoned and cunning veteran.

He instantly counterattacked!

His target was not the monster that had suddenly ambushed him, nor was it Chen Nuo.

It was... the Captain!

What the hell?! thought the Captain.

A Spiritual Storm blasted the Captain away in an instant! His body was flung through the air, blood streaming from his ears, nose, and mouth, while an excruciating, tearing pain shot through his head.

The moment the Wizard attacked, he showed no mercy, especially since he believed he was facing a powerful Controller. He struck with his full might!

The poor Captain was sent flying. Meanwhile, the Wizard had already conjured two golden Runes and hurled them at him!

As the Runes closed in, countless golden lights enveloped the Captain, tearing his cold-weather suit to shreds and piercing his body.

The Wizard’s strike found its mark, but a sudden chill ran down his spine. His keen sensitivity to spiritual power immediately told him something was wrong.

Behind him, a Spiritual Storm had already enveloped him!

The spiritual assault caused the Wizard’s consciousness to falter for a moment. Despite being a powerful Controller and a top-tier Spiritual-type expert, he managed to shake off the negative effects of the Spiritual Storm with a mere thought. However, Chen Nuo had already closed in behind him!

Chen Nuo, a dagger in hand, slashed at the back of the Wizard’s neck!

Yama’s strike was as deadly as a venomous snake!

The Wizard forcibly turned, compelled to abandon the Captain, whom he considered his greatest threat. His spiritual power surged, and Telekinesis lashed out, deflecting the dagger’s edge that had already reached his neck. Simultaneously, his figure flickered, and under the effect of Telekinesis, he shifted himself several steps away. Only then did he turn back, his face contorted with rage as he glared at Chen Nuo. "Anderson, you think you can kill me?!"

Chen Nuo’s attack had missed, but he quickly retreated, shaking his head. "I can’t kill you. But this is enough."

Saying this, he flicked the dagger in his hand.

On its sharp edge, a single, crimson drop of blood gleamed.

While the blade couldn’t inflict substantial damage on the Wizard, it was still a full-powered strike from the 16/17 year old Chen Yanluo. Furthermore, the Wizard’s attention had been on the Captain, and it was a close-range sneak attack.

The blade had, after all, broken the Wizard’s skin, leaving a shallow, bloody gash on the back of his neck.

However, that was enough!

Corot had told Chen Nuo that he only needed to break the Wizard’s skin and draw blood; Corot could then send the Wizard away.

"Corot!!" Chen Nuo shouted as he rapidly retreated.

The Wizard hesitated upon hearing the shout, but he quickly closed the distance. A Spiritual Storm, containing one of his golden Runes, had already formed in his hand!

"Die, you despicable sneak attacker!"

With that, the Spiritual Storm roared towards Chen Nuo!

Chen Nuo’s eyes widened in an instant...

However, in the next moment, just as the Spiritual Storm erupted, the Wizard’s figure suddenly froze in mid-air. His face changed drastically, as if he were being violently yanked through space...

For a moment, he appeared strangely distorted, as if a photo had been badly photoshopped.

After twisting for a moment, most of the Wizard’s body vanished into thin air.

The Spiritual Storm hurtling towards Chen Nuo also dissipated in mid-air...

Chen Nuo fell back rapidly, retreating more than ten steps in one breath. Seeing the Spiritual Storm disperse, he nonetheless maintained his Mentality Barrier, his gaze fixed warily on the spot where the Wizard had disappeared...

The Wizard, what remained of his body now vanishing up to his neck, looked horrified. He turned his head towards another direction and let out an anxious shout, "Luke!!!"

WHOOSH!

The figure vanished completely.

Luke stood there, stunned. A second later, he cried out, "Ah!!!"

He leaped to the spot where the Wizard had disappeared, his hands clawing frantically at the air. Then, he whirled around and bellowed at Chen Nuo, "What have you done to him!!!"

Chen Nuo didn’t answer, instead rushing towards the distant Captain.

After hitting the ground, the Captain coughed up a mouthful of blood and hacked a few times. His cold-weather suit was in tatters, and blood oozed from his exposed skin.

Chen Nuo quickly stripped off his own cold-weather suit and draped it over the Captain. Then, he turned and yelled, "First-aid kit!!"

At this moment, everyone else was stunned.

Kamisou Ichiro reacted the fastest. He was the first to run over, pulling out his personal first-aid kit and rummaging through it for medical supplies.

"Captain! Anderson!!!" Nolan bellowed. "What in God’s name did you do to the Wizard!!!"

Chen Nuo ignored him. He opened the first-aid kit, took out a vial of medicine, glanced at it, and then jabbed a syringe into the Captain’s arm.

In such freezing temperatures, the injection had to be administered immediately.

After injecting the Captain with an emergency stimulant, Nolan had already charged over and grabbed Chen Nuo’s shoulder. "What exactly have you done!!"

Chen Nuo unceremoniously shoved Nolan’s hands away. Nolan immediately drew his gun, aimed it at Chen Nuo, and snarled, "Anderson!!!"

Nolan’s action left everyone present at a loss.

Especially the technician under Nolan’s command, who stood dumbfounded, looking helplessly at Rebecca.

Rebecca also looked alarmed. Witnessing Nolan’s sudden hostility, she didn’t know how to react.

Chen Nuo, unfazed by the gun pointed at him, sighed. "I’ve already told you, we just saved your lives. If we had any malicious intent, you’d all be dead down there by now."

"What did you do to the Wizard!"

"He’s not dead," Chen Nuo shook his head. "He’s just been... removed."

"Removed?" Nolan immediately seized on the key word. "Removed by whom? Is there someone else here?!"

Chen Nuo looked at the commander of the Octopus Monster Company, his expression cold. "Are you sure you want to keep pointing that gun at me?"

Nolan glanced around. The only subordinate by his side was a technician.

Everyone else... was an Ability User.

Nolan took a deep breath, his face grim. "Are you not going to answer?!"

Chen Nuo’s expression was also extremely grim.

Because at that moment, he realized something. He had been deceived by Corot! Their agreement was... everyone had to be teleported out!

In return, he had promised to help Corot get close to the Wizard. As long as he could launch a sneak attack, make the Wizard bleed, Corot would have a way to teleport the Wizard away.

But Corot had also promised Chen Nuo that during the teleportation, he would send everyone away!

Yet, now the Wizard was gone, and everyone else remained.

Luke looked as if he’d been scared witless. After a few frantic screams, he slumped to the ground.

Nolan held his gun, glaring menacingly at Chen Nuo.

Kamisou Ichiro’s expression was complex.

Rebecca’s expression was a mixture of shock and uncertainty, her eyes filled with suspicion.

And the Captain had been gravely wounded by the Wizard’s attack.

Fuck! Corot! You asshole! You son of a bitch, you tricked me! Chen Nuo cursed inwardly.

Corot’s indifferent voice echoed in his mind: "Sorry, I did deceive you. But to teleport away the only Controller, I had to do it."

"You promised me..."

"I couldn’t do it. My energy isn’t enough to teleport all of you. That guy is a powerful Ability User. Teleporting him away has already exhausted all my strength."

"Seed!" Fox exclaimed in shock as a figure suddenly appeared in a flash of light on the snowy ground.

Seeing the white man in a red cold-weather suit, Fox quickly shrank back, but Seed gently steadied him.

"Don’t be afraid, little guy."

After giving Fox a gentle smile, Seed frowned and knelt to carefully examine the unconscious Wizard.

Spiritual power in disarray, Consciousness Space suspended, no imprints of spiritual power interaction... interesting...

Seed sighed and murmured, The Mother’s spatial Teleportation Ability... But it seems very weak.

He stood up again, turning to look at the base far below the hillside, his brow furrowed. What exactly happened? Could it be that the Mother is dissatisfied with this candidate and threw him out? Including the previous one, this is already the second Controller. So picky?

"Stop arguing!! The monsters are coming up!!"

Just as Nolan was tensely aiming his gun at Chen Nuo, Rebecca screamed from behind.

At the woman’s scream, Chen Nuo immediately ceased his mental argument with Corot.

Everyone turned to look. From the warehouse area, vast swarms of monsters were crawling out of the tunnels in the ground!

Simultaneously, in the command center module, the walls were suddenly torn apart, and dense masses of monsters poured out from within!

Apparently, after the monsters had breached the underground fortifications, they had climbed back out through the elevator shafts of the underground passages!

As a result, the survivors found themselves trapped between monsters surging from two directions.

This time, the monsters didn’t wait or hesitate. Emitting buzzing roars, they swiftly charged towards the group of people in the middle!

Chen Nuo reacted fastest. He grabbed the injured Captain, hoisted him onto his back, and sprinted towards the edge of the base!

Nolan was the second to react. He unhesitatingly lowered his gun and bolted after Chen Nuo!

Rebecca fiercely grabbed Luke from the ground, yanked him to his feet, and bellowed, "Stop screaming! Run!!"

This woman showed some humanity after all, forcefully dragging the seemingly broken Luke as she ran.

Last was Kamisou Ichiro. He even looked out for the remaining technician, giving him a hard push. "Run if you don’t want to die!"

Saying this, Kamisou Ichiro flung two grenades towards the densest concentration of monsters before turning to flee.

Two consecutive explosions rocked the area, followed by angry and pained roars from the monster-infested zone.

Chen Nuo had run a few steps when he felt the Captain struggle on his back. Turning his head, he saw the Captain had opened his eyes and was pressing something into his hand.

Chen Nuo looked down; it was a detonator.

The Captain’s voice was weak. "Use this... three detonation points... in sequence... I did my best..."

Chen Nuo immediately pressed the first button without hesitation!

BOOM!!

As the first button was pressed, the command hall erupted in flames, the fire tearing through the module’s roof!

Half the command hall became a sea of fire. The blast hurled more than a dozen monsters into the air, and the flames engulfed many more.

The shockwave from the explosion made the ground tremble!

Then, the second button!

The second detonation point was to the left of the command hall, near the warehouse area.

After this explosion, the ground shook violently. The blast wave swept the technician running at the very rear off his feet!

Kamisou Ichiro stopped, turned, grabbed the man, hoisted him onto his back, and sprinted forward.

Behind them, the sea of fire engulfed the vanguard of the pursuing monsters, sending countless severed limbs flying...

As Chen Nuo ran, he was about to press the third button when...

Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from behind!

From the pit in the ground, a creature at least five times larger than the ordinary monsters crawled out—it had likely devoured countless of its own kind.

After this behemoth emerged, its roar seemed to carry a force akin to a Spiritual Storm. When it hit their ears, it instantly caused agitation, made hearts pound, and filled minds with various Negative Emotions.

The creature suddenly flicked its tentacles violently, and its body soared high into the air!

With a loud THUD, it landed nearly fifty meters away, perilously close to Kamisou Ichiro!

At this moment, Chen Nuo pressed the control for the third detonation point...

This explosion was centered near a patch of ruins just outside the command hall...

The blast wave hurled Kamisou Ichiro through the air and simultaneously engulfed the giant monster!

Kamisou Ichiro, being an Ability User, adjusted his posture mid-air. Though his landing was a bit rough, he stood firm.

The technician he carried gasped faintly, "I... I’m injured. Put me down..."

"Never! I’m not one to abandon a comrade!" the Neon person declared resolutely.

Abandon a comrade, my ass! I’m the one on your back getting blasted with fire and shrapnel, you moron! the technician fumed internally.

"ROAR!!!!"

From within the flames, the gigantic monster crawled out again. The explosion clearly hadn’t inflicted fatal damage. As its body tensed and launched into the air once more, its massive shadow fell over the frantically running group before it leaped past them...

BOOM!

The colossal body landed directly in their path!

Chen Nuo skidded to a halt. Seeing the enormous monster blocking their way, he unhesitatingly unleashed a dozen concentrated streams of Mentality Cutting.

The monster growled, its body quickly covered in countless fine, bloody gashes. It seemed to go berserk, its massive maw gaping open...

Chen Nuo’s eyes widened instantly!

He remembered how those monsters dug tunnels...

Without a second’s hesitation, Chen Nuo executed a sharp turn, pivoting on the spot, and bolted in the opposite direction, his body already leaping into the air...

Behind him, a wave of acid-laden liquid swept in. Where it struck the ground, a large patch of permafrost dissolved!

A few drops splashed onto the Captain’s buttocks. The poor Captain, already on his last breath, suddenly shrieked in agony, his eyes wide.

Nolan stopped running. He raised his handgun and fired at the monster, emptying the magazine while rapidly retreating.

Rebecca snorted, grabbed Luke, and chased after Chen Nuo.

At that moment, from the fiery, explosion-ravaged area behind them, more and more monsters poured out in pursuit, soon trapping the small group...

"Boss, do you have any other ideas..." the Captain gasped weakly from Chen Nuo’s back.

"Yes," Chen Nuo took a deep breath and said softly, "Trust me, I can get us out... but I need a little Time."

Chen Nuo quickly leaped onto the top of some nearby ruins. "Everyone, gather around me!!!"

Actually, even before he shouted, everyone was already running towards him.

These ruins were what remained of a collapsed module from the original base. It wasn’t very high. After the group scrambled up, they saw the giant monster roaring, while hordes of common monsters swarmed ever closer.

Nolan had discarded his handgun and was now firing a rifle... but the automatic rifle he carried clearly lacked sufficient firepower, and he didn’t have much ammunition.

After a short burst, it fell silent.

Nolan quickly slapped in a new magazine, his eyes coldly scanning the area below. At the foot of the ruins, the first few monsters had been killed by Nolan’s shots, but more and more were surging forward relentlessly.

Is this guy a Spatial Ability User? Chen Nuo’s heart stirred; he hadn’t even seen where Nolan had pulled that magazine from!

"I need Time. Help me buy some Time to activate my ability," Chen Nuo sighed.

"What ability?" Rebecca asked loudly.

"...To teleport us out of here!"

"Like the Wizard?" It was Nolan who spoke.

"Yes!"

Nolan bellowed, "I hope you’re not lying to us!!"

With that, Nolan roared and sprayed bullets at the vanguard of the charging monsters.

As Nolan fired, his other hand reached into the air, and he materialized another automatic rifle, which he quickly tossed back. Rebecca caught it.

Rebecca’s face lit up with surprise, but she had no time for questions. She immediately stepped forward to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Nolan, opening fire on the monsters.

Nolan produced a third gun, this time throwing it to Kamisou Ichiro. Kamisou caught it but didn’t join the other two—he aimed at the largest monster, the behemoth!

That monster was covered in wounds. It seemed Chen Nuo’s earlier Mentality Cutting had injured its tentacles, preventing it from leaping, so it could only crawl slowly towards them.

Bullets peppered its hide, leaving small bloody spots, but they seemed to inflict little real damage.

Chen Nuo took a deep breath, his Consciousness Space working at high speed, forcibly extracting every bit of his spiritual power.

He knew very well that each teleportation consumed a vast amount of spiritual power and would inevitably harm him...

So he had to squeeze out every last drop of his spiritual power. This would hopefully lessen the backlash after the teleportation and prevent him from overexerting himself to the point of severe injury.

"I can’t hold it off!!! This gun isn’t powerful enough!! Nolan, give me a bigger one!!" Kamisou Ichiro roared.

Nolan quickly replied, "I don’t have any! My Spatial Ability isn’t Spatial Storage!! I don’t have any larger weapons!!"

Nolan’s Spatial Ability wasn’t like carrying a pocket dimension for storage.

It was more akin to Spatial Fetch.

Simply put, he needed to set a spatial coordinate at a location. Then, even after leaving that location, he could retrieve items from that coordinate at any time.

However, the ability was limited by distance; he couldn’t be too far from the spatial coordinate.

The maximum range Nolan could currently achieve was no more than five hundred meters.

The coordinate he had set was actually the armory within the command center module at the base. This meant the weapons he was retrieving were, in fact, being pulled from the base’s armory via his ability.

The base armory didn’t stock any heavy weaponry.

Actually, Nolan had another coordinate set, in one of the convoy’s external trailer compartments.

But after the barrier had formed, Nolan’s connection to that spatial coordinate had been severed.

"Idiot!" the Neon person finally cursed, shouting, "Give me a knife, Nolan!"

Nolan paused for a moment, then tossed a long knife out of thin air.

It wasn’t a Neon-style samurai sword—after all, the armory wouldn’t stock such a thing.

This was a tactical military knife, nearly two feet long, which could also be fixed to a rifle as a bayonet.

With the knife in hand, the Neon person let out a loud roar, leaped from the ruins, and charged toward the monster!

"Don’t wait for me! I’ll take care of this big guy!"

Without looking back, the Neon person charged at the giant monster, his figure carrying a certain tragic heroism...

Kamisou Ichiro ran, firing at the monster until his magazine was empty. Enraged, the giant monster opened its mouth and roared...

Just then, Kamisou Ichiro’s body shimmered with a grey glow; holding the knife in one hand, he leaped into the air—directly into the monster’s giant mouth!

It looked as if he had been swallowed whole by the monster...

"Fuck!!"

Nolan caught this scene out of the corner of his eye and couldn’t help but shiver.

By now, the tide of ordinary monsters had reached the base of the ruins. Some were even clambering onto the module wreckage!

A scream tore through the air. The technician was ensnared by a monster’s tentacle, his body about to be dragged down. Fortunately, Becca reacted instantly, her backhanded slash severing the tentacle. The technician scrambled back, tumbling away...

But then another scream!

Rebecca whirled around to see Luke, the Wizard’s assistant, being viciously dragged away by a monster that had climbed up from the side, its jaws clamped firmly on his left leg!

This Luke was pathetically weak, nothing like an Ability User. Once bitten, he could only scream pitifully, completely unable to fight back!

Just as Rebecca was about to rush to his aid, her hands suddenly felt empty—her gun had been snatched away by the tentacle of a nearby monster!

Fortunately, Nolan fired a rapid burst, killing that monster. He then tossed his own gun to Rebecca and threw a grenade down below!

Amid the BOOM of the explosion, Rebecca looked for Luke again, only to see he had been dragged off the module and onto the ground. He was quickly torn to pieces by monsters swarming from all directions...

"We can’t hold them!!! Anderson!!!!!" Nolan roared, his eyes bloodshot.

Chen Nuo gritted his teeth. "Give me twenty more seconds! Everyone, get closer to me! Come here!!"

Twenty seconds? Nolan cursed inwardly. To hell with twenty seconds, we can’t even hold on for five more seconds now!!

But just then...

BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!...

The dense gunfire sounded like music from heaven!

That crisp metallic sound, reaching Nolan’s ears, was like a lifesaving symphony!!!

A relentless storm of bullets scythed across the ground! On the ground beneath the module wreckage, dozens of monsters were riddled with holes, brutally clearing a safe distance!!

Turning their heads, they saw, at the edge of the base, a snowmobile parked just outside the base’s barrier!

On its roof stood a robust figure, wielding a Gatling gun!

His bulky frame, hair like steel pins, and a huge gash torn across his face, made him look incredibly fierce!

"Hahaha!! Sukabule!!!!! Die!!!!"

Vanel roared madly, the Gatling gun in his hands spinning wildly, spewing flames!

"Everyone, missed me?!!!"

After emptying an ammo chain, Vanel lowered the Gatling gun, waving his arms vigorously towards them, bellowing!

"Vanel!!!" Chen Nuo exclaimed in joyful surprise.

Nolan looked at Vanel, his expression complex—a mixture of relief and perhaps something else...

He took a deep breath and shouted, "Vanel! Take out that big bastard!!!!!"

As he spoke, he pointed at the giant monster that had swallowed Kamisou Ichiro.

Vanel grinned ferociously, quickly loaded a new ammo chain, swiveled the Gatling gun’s muzzle towards the giant monster, and unleashed another torrent of fire...