This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 158 The Nest Wall of the Spawners

Nie Weiyang slowly touched the wall. The wall was about forty meters wide, shorter than the seventy meters on the side. It was smooth all over, and looked like a whole metal barrier.

But he was certain that there was a passage behind it.

He pressed his ear against the metal, suppressing his senses and using hearing to perceive the world. He released his mental energy, but limited by the rules of the material world, it couldn't expand much. It was as if he had entered a virtual space, like a small scanner probing into the structure of the metal.

Sure enough, beneath the metal camouflage of this barrier lay neat rows of high-hardness wooden structures, along with a large amount of peculiar gel-like filler.

Hidden within the gel are some fist-sized spiky spheres, hollow structures containing a few small spheres, currently completely still and therefore making no sound.

But after that, Nie Weiyang could vaguely hear a breathing sound, as rough as a bellows and as strong as a gale...

Nie Weiyang's heart skipped a beat. He roughly knew who had come.

—Sinh, one of the seven leaders of the Mother Goddess Cult, a 'natural communicator' from a subtropical region, also known as a 'Druid'.

Of course, the current Mother Goddess Cult is probably not yet established, or it is only in its initial stages and has not yet absorbed other forces with similar ideologies. Xinhe, one of the seven leaders, was likely attracted by the fact that the situation in China was completely different from other regions from the very beginning.

It should be noted that although the situation in China is not good now, according to Nie Weiyang, it is already a paradise on earth.

He had every reason to believe that a considerable number of people from the surrounding areas were migrating to China, even if China did not want to accept them. Among these people, there were probably some with good intentions, though not none at all.

If Singh was indeed personally in charge of the current situation, then considering the long distance involved, the time the Mother Goddess Cult has been involved in this conspiracy must not have been long.

There must have been another force pushing this forward before them.

This force is very likely a return to religious sects!
The trouble that the Returning Church stirred up in the old city in the previous life has been completely replaced by this incident. Therefore, no unusual events have occurred in the Religious Street—because a greater anomaly is hidden beneath the earth and is quietly taking place!

As for the reason why the position of the Returning Sect was replaced by the Mother Goddess Cult...

—Their stronghold was destroyed by the second administrator, and the boss is no longer thinking straight, so naturally they have to shrink their power!
Nie Weiyang slowly retreated, temporarily disregarding the cause of the matter, when it began, when Xinhe arrived, and why Xinhe was able to travel such a long distance to Zhongzhou—it was all just the work of that damned cycle of life and death. Its avatars could descend everywhere, and naturally, its followers could also descend everywhere.

He didn't even consider options like slowly reasoning and then directly solving the problem to make a name for himself; instead, he cautiously waved.

"Who brought the bomb?" he asked.

There were twenty or thirty people around him at the moment, including six Taoists. Most of the others were soldiers, and almost all of them had the ability to stealth. The few who did not have the ability to stealth also had their own strengths in other areas.

Upon hearing his question, all the soldiers raised their hands in unison.

Nie Weiyang was slightly taken aback, then asked, "How much did you bring in total?"

“It won’t collapse the research institute’s structure.” The leading soldier answered simply, he probably knew what Nie Weiyang was planning to do, “But if this wall is made of normal material, a single explosion can create a crater several meters deep, and with careful planning, it can create a crater dozens of meters deep.”

“This thing is a wall, and behind it is a snake,” Nie Weiyang whispered.

"A snake?" The group exchanged glances.

Nie Weiyang nodded slightly.

"Yes, a snake that could be tens of meters long."

Tens of meters long? That thing is a snake? It's more like an earthworm!
If we let this thing play a chase with them in an underground enclosed space, showing what it means to devour a combat squad in one bite, that would be too exciting!
The expressions on everyone's faces changed instantly.

"The purpose of this wall is to conceal the road, but the enemy will not be easy to deal with. I suspect that there are explosives inside the wall, which will explode and burn if subjected to a violent impact."

Nie Weiyang said that this was not a doubt, but information he found from his memory—the iconic structure of the Mother Goddess Cult, the strange contraption created by Xinhe's multiple skills, a defensive and counter-attack building with external camouflage capabilities, the 'Birth of the Nest Wall'.

This person has poured so much effort into this thing. At this point in time, besides this skill, the only other thing the other person can do is summon vines for self-defense and talk to small animals...

“If we just smash through this wall, and it explodes, I should be fine, but you definitely won’t be able to hold on.”

The group exchanged glances.

This statement may seem a bit too arbitrary, but it is actually the truth. Bloodline, profession, talent, skills, equipment. If the hardness of an ordinary person is 1, that of a general combat professional is 3, that of a melee non-stealth professional is 5, and that of a normal defensive professional is 10, then Nie Weiyang's current hardness must be at least 25 to 30, and he also has self-healing.

His only weakness right now is that, apart from equipment and skills, his physical defense is still not high enough, but this is made up for by his healing ability.

Therefore, his resilience and tolerance for error are far greater than those of the people in front of him.

"Everything we can't find might be on the next floor of this research institute. We absolutely have to kill this snake."

As Nie Weiyang spoke, he stared at the [regional seal] not far away, and a plan quickly took shape in his mind.

"I need you to deploy explosives to offset the impact of the wall being blown open, and to inflict damage on the snake as soon as it emerges, blowing up its abdominal scales to reduce its mobility and increase your own survival rate."

"Of course, this is just an attempt, and it doesn't have to be successful."

The soldier in charge reacted quickly: "Are there any specific parameters we can refer to? For example, the explosive impact force of this wall, its specific structure and materials, the hardness of that snake's scales... This one is fine too."

Nie Weiyang pondered for a moment, then took out a notebook and began to write and draw in it. After a while, he handed it to the other person.

It was a neatly drawn structural diagram with two views, clearly depicting the structure within a five-meter radius of the lower half of the wall.

“This is the internal structure of the wall. I’ve marked all the explosive nodes that I can detect, but the upper part is inaccessible,” Nie Weiyang said.

He knew very well that if that thing inside the wall broke out, even he would suffer a great loss, and if they fought for a long time in such an indoor environment, he might not survive.

Despite the somber atmosphere, his expression remained calm.

"Do your best," he said. "After you've finished the bombing, retreat immediately so I can face the impact head-on."

He took a few steps back, drew his golden spear again, and this time, he also drew his longsword.

A shield like Zhenhui's is useless against a hostile target of this size; it's better to carry another weapon.

At this moment, the thing inside the wall seemed to realize something. It began to become restless, and its slightest movements produced a deafening roar. Its heavy breathing and hissing sounded like thunder to everyone.

Nie Weiyang selected two people.

"Go out and give a message: direct heavy fire at the main gate. This thing is so big it can probably only get out through the gate... Hopefully it won't burrow underground."

"But if it really can't burrow underground, then the door to this research institute must have been opened by someone who shouldn't have. The person who died a few days ago probably didn't really die from illness."

He and the others watched the two messengers leave quickly, then turned to give orders to the others.

"Once it comes out, run down as fast as you can and rejoin the people below. They've been down there for at least two hours, and they're definitely not in good condition."

"I will do my best to make sure you can get through this wall, and then it's up to you to get to the other side. If nothing unexpected happens, I will provide support as soon as possible."

Under the wide-eyed gaze of everyone, Nie Weiyang's expression was serious. Clearly, he was certain that the order he had given was not a joke.

The loud, bellows-like breathing tugged at everyone's heartstrings. In the end, no one raised any objections.

They all knew that in such a 40x70x30 enclosed space, if they were swept by that giant snake that was tens of meters long, they would probably be scattered to the ground.

Those who lack the toughness should not stay and participate in this battle.

Even so, the fact that such danger had to be faced by only one person still left everyone feeling deeply disappointed. They stared intently at Nie Weiyang, hoping he would retract his order and let them stay, yet also hoping that the order would not be changed so that they wouldn't become a hindrance.

Nie Weiyang simply smiled, a gentle, bright smile.

He made no mention of the pressure he faced, nor did he discuss whether there was a difference in responsibility, danger, weight, or effort. He simply stretched out a hand and placed it in front of everyone, watching as they placed their hands on it one by one. Suddenly, he turned his hand over, palm up, and supported the weight of everyone.

"Keep going," he said. "Our city needs each and every one of us!"

(End of this chapter)