Pretending to be a genius starts with the civilization advancement assessment.

Chapter 114 Overlapping, Those Figures from Past Lives
A beast, significantly larger than the surrounding beasts, resembling a giant mantis with sharp, bony scythes on its forelimbs, defied the dense machine gun fire and occasional mortar shells, breaking through the long-range blockade of artillery and armed helicopters.

One of its hind limbs appeared to be injured by an explosion, making it move slightly unsteadily, but its compound eyes flashed with a bloodthirsty ferocity, and it was still moving extremely fast, hissing as it charged straight toward the first line of defense.

The front of that defensive line happened to be the area that the student team, including Chen Yu and Zhou Yuxuan, was responsible for.

"Stardust-level Scythe-Abyss Mantis".

Lin Yi instantly identified the type and energy level of the abyss beast.

Although injured, the impact was far beyond what ordinary soldiers and these inexperienced trainees could withstand head-on.

Inside the trench, Chen Yu felt a stench rush towards him. The grotesque monster rapidly enlarged in his pupils, and the powerful sense of oppression made him gasp for breath. His heart almost leaped out of his chest, and his palms, gripping his weapon, instantly became covered in cold sweat.

Fear, the most primal fear, instantly enveloped him.

"It's injured, and it's slowed down!"

At this critical moment, Zhou Yuxuan's voice, though trembling slightly, rang out with exceptional clarity, forcefully suppressing the surrounding panic.

"Following the tactics taught by the chief instructor, it's charging too fast and has become separated from the Abyss Beasts behind it. We should go up to it, harass it, and draw its attention! This will buy time for the anti-tank missile teams behind it to lock on!"

He suddenly looked at his comrade beside him, his eyes sharp and firm: "We must not let it rush into the trenches!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yuxuan gritted his teeth and was the first to leap out of the trench.

He knew it was dangerous, but he also knew that if the monster were allowed to break in, the entire squad could collapse instantly.

Chen Yu's mind went almost blank, but seeing Zhou Yuxuan's back as he rushed out without hesitation, a surge of inexplicable passion rushed to his head, overpowering his fear.

He almost instinctively let out a low growl and leaped out after Zhou Yuxuan. The other three team members, though pale-faced, gritted their teeth and shouted as they followed.

Zhou Yuxuan took the lead.

He certainly wasn't foolish enough to pounce on the sickle-like mantis and engage in close combat.

As he moved quickly laterally to avoid becoming the target of a straight-line attack, he raised his hand, gathering energy at his fingertips, creating a weak yet concentrated blue energy pulse.

This is precisely the source energy external attack that Lin Yi taught after simplification.

The energy pulse was precisely aimed at the compound eyes of the Scythe-like Abyss Mantis. At the same time, Zhou Yuxuan let out a huge roar, trying his best to attract the attention of this ferocious beast.

Chen Yu and the other three immediately followed suit, launching attacks from the flanks, using either energy strikes or precise volleys. Although their power was limited, they successfully created a harassing firepower network in front of the Scythe Abyss Mantis, making it unable to ignore these "little bugs" and charge straight into the trenches.

The sickle-shaped mantis was indeed drawn to the sudden provocation and attack.

Its ugly, triangular head suddenly turned towards Zhou Yuxuan, its compound eyes flashing with violence and anger at being provoked by an ant. It let out an even sharper screech, and its momentum as it charged toward the trench halted. Its huge, sickle-like forelimbs, accompanied by a piercing shriek as they tore through the air, swung fiercely at this audacious human!

From a distance, Lin Yi had already focused his attention on this.

After seeing Zhou Yuxuan's choice, he first nodded slightly in his heart, and then sighed inwardly.

The reason for Zhou Yuxuan's slight nod was not because his actions were particularly brilliant or ingenious, but because the judgment and choice he made in a split second was the most correct and only feasible tactic in the current situation. This was precisely a situation he had repeatedly emphasized during the simulated combat exercises at the training camp.

When encountering elite or stardust-level abyssal beasts that are extremely fast and have strong impact, and there are no source warriors of the same level on your side who can intercept them head-on, you must not allow them to directly charge into the defensive line.

Someone, usually the closest and fastest-reacting energy cultivator, must step forward to carry out tactical harassment and restraint.

The goal wasn't to kill, or even to injure, but simply to buy those crucial few seconds or tens of seconds!

This buys valuable time for rear-area anti-tank missiles, as well as heavy artillery, tanks, and other heavy firepower units that can truly threaten these abyssal beasts, to aim, lock on, and fire.

Otherwise, if a beast of this caliber were to break into trenches or fortifications, its terrifying speed and destructive power would lead to a one-sided bloody massacre in a confined space, potentially causing the entire defensive line to collapse.

Unless these trainees choose to desert and abandon their positions.

However, doing so would also result in the collapse of the defenses, and might even trigger a chain reaction, leading to more serious consequences.

To put it bluntly, in this situation, sacrifice is almost inevitable.

It's simply a matter of passively accepting it or actively choosing to do so.

Passive waiting could lead to widespread panic, potentially resulting in more deaths, and the defenses could still be breached.

Taking the initiative to meet the enemy head-on, and preparing and tactically restraining them, although still dangerous and potentially resulting in casualties, may only require the sacrifice of two or three people to win the opportunity for the collective to destroy the threat and preserve the entire front.

What Lin Yi admired was Zhou Yuxuan's courage and sense of responsibility in "knowing there are tigers in the mountains, yet still venturing into the tiger's den" after instantly understanding this cruel equation.

Not everyone, when clearly foreseeing an imminent threat of death, has the courage to voluntarily leap out of a relatively safe shelter to carry out a mission that "may sacrifice oneself to create opportunities for others."

And that's where his sigh came from.

Behind this appreciation lies an incredibly heavy reality.

If he hadn't been there to cover for them, Zhou Yuxuan and his team might have ended up like those countless tragic battlefield scenes from his past life—those brave but often nameless people who used their bodies to attract the attention of the abyss beasts, used their last lives to indicate targets to their teammates, and used their flesh and blood to slow down the enemy's advance.

This was solely to buy time for heavy artillery coverage and missile lock-on.

They became cold numbers on battle reports, and blurry figures in the dreams of survivors. Their sacrifice brought about the opportunity for victory, but few people remember the specific faces they had when facing death.

The Zhou Yuxuan before him seemed to be overlapping with those figures.

As expected, the scythe-like mantis was enraged by the provocations of the surrounding insects. It locked onto Zhou Yuxuan, who was jumping around the most enthusiastically, and then swung its scythe in anger.

The speed of this attack was so fast that it left afterimages and covered a huge area. Given Zhou Yuxuan's current speed and adaptability, it was impossible for him to completely dodge it.

Lin Yi's thoughts stirred slightly.

A small steel ball that had been slowly swirling around him vanished instantly.

(End of this chapter)