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

Chapter 186 Seeking Aid from the Military

As the announcement faded, about a kilometer ahead of the defensive line, a dark red figure suddenly accelerated, tearing apart abandoned vehicles and low-level abyssal beasts with ease, as if slicing paper, with its terrifying bone blades.

The oppressive feeling was so intense that even at such a distance, it sent chills down the spines of the soldiers on the front lines.

However, no one panicked because of this.

"Did you hear everything?"

An officer from the Yuanwu Army commanded through the combat channel, "Same as always, the big guys are Zhao's team, the small fry are ours. Fire teams, extend your fire and cover the lord's flanks. The rest of you, clear out the small fry near the defensive line, don't let them get in the way."

The command was clear and concise.

In an instant, the distribution of firepower on the defensive line underwent a subtle change.

Heavy firepower began to be directed to both sides of the Bloodthirsty Blade Lord's charge path, suppressing the ordinary abyssal beasts that followed.

Soldiers and civilian martial artists focused even more intently on clearing out the enemies who had rushed towards the fortifications.

They trusted the command system behind them, and even more so the training brigade squad that stood firm at the forefront like a rock.

Zhao Gang slowly inhaled and exhaled, his arm holding the shield slightly adjusting its position.

Without turning his head, he said to those behind him:
"Everything ready? Proceed with Plan C. Chen Mo, watch out for its arcing slash. Li Lei, its lower limb joints are a weak point. Wang Xue, look for an opportunity. Zhou Qing, be mindful of the environment."

His voice was completely calm, as if he were about to face not a terrifying monster with twice the energy level of himself, but just a routine training mission.
-
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away, in the territory of the small nesting site C-04.

"boom!"

The heavy fire door groaned under the impact, the screws on the hinges squeaking as if they were about to burst off completely.

Below the door crack, murky, foul-smelling slime was seeping in continuously, accompanied by chilling roars and scraping sounds from outside.

"Hold on! Old K, Fatty, move the stuff over here, block up everything that can be moved!"

Ah Jie roared hoarsely, a gash on his forehead from flying pebbles, blood mixed with sweat flowing into the corner of his eye, blurring his vision.

This is the "Gray Eagle" squad, a civilian martial arts team struggling to survive in the quagmire of the apocalypse.

At this moment, they are trapped on the 23rd floor of an abandoned office building located on the edge of the C-04 nest.

Just half an hour ago, they were overjoyed to have discovered a small nest of "Shadow Claw Cats" lurking in the convenience store.

Although these abyssal beasts can only drop the lowest-grade gray crystals, they tend to stick together, and the sheer number of them adds up to a considerable profit.

However, the sudden and unexpected uprising in the lair completely trapped them there.

The black horde of beasts, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly submerged the streets and blocked all their escape routes.

Left with no other choice, they had to fight and retreat, plunging headlong into this tall office building that once symbolized prosperity but now resembled a giant tombstone.

"They're here! There's movement in the emergency exit on the left too!"

The fat man in charge of bringing up the rear rushed over. On the screen of the miniature energy detector in his hand, red dots representing low-level abyssal beasts were densely gathered behind the door.

Old K and Fatty gritted their teeth and pushed the scattered desks and filing cabinets towards the door. The heavy furniture scraped against the floor, making a piercing noise that was particularly clear in the enclosed space.

The only woman in the group, Xiaoling, leaned against a support pillar, her face pale, and quickly changed the magazine of her assault rifle.

"Within the range of the detector, there are no new energy sources inside the building for the time being, except for those downstairs," Xiaoling said, panting, glancing at the smaller detector on her wristband. "But the door won't hold for much longer."

"We have to hold on, even if we can't!"

Ah Jie wiped the blood from his face, his eyes filled with a desperate ruthlessness. "The rescue signal has been sent out, and the merit system shows it's been read. The military will definitely send people! Everyone, get the hell together! Think about your families waiting for us to come back to the settlement!"

The word "family" brought a glimmer of light back to everyone's nearly lost gaze.

The fat man let out a low growl, his entire body of fat seemed to tense up, and he suddenly pushed a heavy safe to the front of the pile of clutter.

"Sizzle. Bang!"

The fire door was finally forced open with a tooth-grinding metallic tearing sound, leaving a crack.

A sharp claw covered in dark brown keratin suddenly reached in, frantically scratching at the obstacle blocking the door.

"Fire!"

Without hesitation, A-Jie gave the order. Instantly, gunfire erupted.

The scorching barrage of bullets sprayed onto the crack in the door, instantly blasting the sharp claw along with the ferocious head that was trying to squeeze in from behind.

But more and more abyssal beasts charged forward, ramming the obstacles with their bodies, tearing them with their claws, and corroding them with their acid.

The obstruction blocking the door was being destroyed and dissolved at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Retreat, go up to the 24th floor!" Ah Jie made a decisive decision.

The team immediately took turns providing cover as they retreated up the stairs littered with broken glass and discarded documents.

They retreated layer by layer, with great difficulty.

Starting from the first floor, it has now retreated to the twentieth floor or more.

The building resembles an endless spiral, with the unknown above and the abyss below.

Depression and despair, like a damp, cold spider web, quietly entangled everyone's heart.

Ammunition was rapidly depleting, and energy was being consumed at an alarming rate during intense combat and running.

"The emergency exit door on the 25th floor is still intact."

The fat man's voice was visibly tired as he leaned against the fire door leading from the 24th to the 25th floor, breathing heavily.

Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Beep! Beep beep! Beep beep beep!!"

The miniature energy detector in the fat man's hand, which had been displaying dense red dots downstairs and scattered red dots inside the building, suddenly emitted a sharp beep that was completely different from before.

Everyone froze instantly, their eyes all turning to the small screen.

On the edge of the screen, in the area representing the exterior of the building, a bright, scarlet dot was rapidly approaching the building at a breathtaking speed.

Next to the spot of light, the automatically marked source energy value fluctuated wildly before finally stabilizing at a number that almost stopped their hearts—17900.

"Chief-level." The fat man gave a wry smile.

The air seemed to freeze.

The glimmer of hope that had just begun to rise was crushed by this terrifying number.

17900 points of source energy is an insurmountable force, like a mountain, for those whose average source energy is less than 200 points.

Faced with such a monster, their weapons and their pitiful amount of energy were barely better than paper.

"Will it come in?" Xiaoling murmured, subconsciously moving closer to A-Jie.

Ah Jie stared intently at the screen, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, but he couldn't make a sound.

He could only pray that the terrifying beast was just passing by and had no interest in this "canned" building surrounded by low-level abyssal beasts.

The bright red dot on the screen approached the building with an oppressive force.

It seemed to pause for a moment, and then it actually moved past the edge of the detector, which is the side of the building!

"It's over! It's over!" The fat man almost cried with joy.

A feeling of exhaustion, as if they had survived a disaster, swept over everyone.

The fat man collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Old K wiped away a cold sweat and muttered, "Thank God."

However, their relief lasted for less than ten seconds.

The highlighted red dot, which had moved to the other edge of the screen, stopped without warning.

Then, under the horrified gaze of everyone, they turned back.

(End of this chapter)