The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

Players everywhere let out mournful screams and turned to run out of the forest.

"Anyone with a combat strength of less than 10,000, or without a B-rank source soldier, is doomed here!"

This shout alerted the others, and some players who knew they were outmatched gave up the fight and began to flee in all directions like headless flies.

However, they had only run a few steps.

Deep in the forest, on the trunk of a towering tree, a giant eye slowly opened.

Those eyes watched the chaotic slaughterhouse with great interest, and the woman's voice, tinged with laughter, rang out again.

"escape?"

"It's not that easy."

"Let everything become my nourishment!"

As soon as the alluring female voice finished speaking, the vines' attack became even more ferocious!

puff!puff!puff!

Dozens more players were pierced through, hung high in the air, and their bodies withered away at an alarming rate.

Before the screams could even be uttered, they were swallowed up by the silence of death.

In an instant, the number of players in this area, which had just been bustling with activity, plummeted by nearly half.

Panic completely erupted!

"The monster is incredibly strong! It's completely beyond our capabilities!"

"Damn it, is this an activity even fit for humans?!"

Faced with this scene that could be described as a massacre, the surviving players completely lost their will to fight, leaving only the most primal instinct for survival.

Yi Jian Shuang Han's face grew even colder. With a backhand slash, he severed a vine that had attacked from the side, splashing a sticky, dark red liquid all over him.

These vines seem endless; if you cut one off, three or four more will immediately sprout from the ground and attack from even more treacherous angles.

Just as he was entangled by three vines at the same time and his movements became slightly sluggish, an extremely thick vine pierced straight into his back with a sharp whistle!

"Be careful!"

A loud shout came from the side.

A burly player with the ID "Invincible Iron Fist" saw that he couldn't dodge in time and suddenly punched his chest.

Om-!

A set of silver-gray, metallic-looking power armor instantly extended from his body, completely enveloping him.

Pale blue energy patterns flowed across the surface of the armor, and the reactor on the chest emitted a low rumble.

Combat power instantly doubles!

"Get the hell out of my way!"

After activating his armor, Iron Fist Invincible's entire aura changed. He neither dodged nor avoided, but turned around and slammed his fist hard at the vine that had ambushed him with Frosty Cold Sword.

boom!

A dull thud erupted from the point where the fist met the vine.

The vine, which could easily pierce through a player's body, was suddenly swung to the side by his punch, and the attack instantly collapsed.

Yi Jian Shuang Han glanced at it and immediately looked away.

B-series power armor.

One of the top-tier equipment on the market, it can greatly boost a player's combat power in a short period of time.

The increased combat power of these people relieved a lot of pressure on him. At least some of the vines that were originally heading towards him were attracted to these suddenly stronger "iron cans".

However, that's all.

He also has a set of B-series power armor, which is even of better quality than the ordinary kind.

However, after receiving five injections of advanced gene awakening drugs and experiencing a qualitative leap in his physique, this level of external equipment had become a burden for him, with negligible enhancement effects.

True strength lies in one's own power.

He ignored the surrounding battle situation and focused his attention on dealing with the enemy in front of him.

The dagger flashed, bringing with it streaks of cold light, precisely slicing at the most vulnerable joints of each vine.

puff!

He cut another vine, which twisted a few times on the ground and then stopped moving.

[Recycle the Mutated Thorns, Source Crystal +312]

The notification that popped up on the virtual screen made his already cold face darken even more.

More than three hundred source crystals.

This income, under normal circumstances, would be enough to make any player ecstatic.

But here, he expended a considerable amount of energy just to cut off this one vine.

The income and the effort were completely disproportionate.

Seemingly sensing the power of the Frosty Sword, the ocean of vines began to give him "special care".

From all directions, dozens of vines seemed to receive a unified command, abandoning other targets and turning in the same direction, like a giant green spider web, closing in on the location of Yi Jian Shuang Han!

The pressure suddenly increased as the sword's frost chilled him!

"Damn it, these are just vines, why do they seem to have more intelligence? What's their weakness?!"

A figure with a scythe-like sword moves swiftly through the gaps in the vines, each swing of the blade perfectly timed, cutting off the most deadly attacks with minimal force.

But there were just too many vines.

Within minutes, his breathing became rapid as he focused on dealing with the situation, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"No, this can't go on. We'll just be worn down and die here."

With a swift kick, Yi Jian Shuang Han propelled himself backward several meters, creating a small safe distance before quickly scanning his surroundings.

"This monster's attack power is too strong. If no one shares the firepower, I won't be able to hold out for long."

Don't be fooled by the players who summoned power armor and looked so imposing, fighting back and forth with those vines, with all sorts of vine fragments flying everywhere.

But only Yi Jian Shuang Han knew that all of this was only temporary.

Power armor consumes a huge amount of energy, especially in such high-intensity combat.

In less than ten minutes, these "tin cans" will turn into a pile of scrap metal because they run out of energy.

Powered armor is great in every way, except that it takes time to recharge.

In normal combat, Source Crystals can replenish energy. As long as you're willing to use Source Crystals, you can keep it running without any problems.

However, in such high-intensity battles, the amount of replenishment is simply not enough to offset the losses.

At that time, all that awaits them is to be sucked dry and turned into dried corpses.

"We can't delay any longer!"

A quick decision was made in his mind: "Let's retreat for now. Even if we were to challenge them, now is not the time!"

Ten million points for an A-grade source soldier is indeed tempting, but you need to be alive to get it.

In this environment, an individual's strength is ultimately limited, unless... they can team up with the top ten monsters on the leaderboard.

The moment he made the decision, Yi Jian Shuang Han no longer hesitated in the slightest.

Just as he was preparing to force his way through the encirclement and retreat to the edge of the forest, the same situation was unfolding simultaneously in various border areas of this vast forest.

Countless player teams, each with their own objectives, entered the forest and were simultaneously attacked by this devastating vine swarm.

"ah--!"

"Help! I don't want to die!"

"Retreat! Everyone, retreat immediately!"

Fearful and desperate screams rose and fell.

Ignoring the screams around him, Yi Jian Shuang Han took a deep breath and gathered all his strength in his legs, preparing to unleash his strongest burst of power to escape this desperate situation.

However, just a second before he exerted his strength.

"Hehehe...Trying to leave?"

The woman's voice rang out again, this time with a hint of mockery.

"Did you ask me?"

The moment the words fell, the ground beneath Yi Jian Shuang Han's feet suddenly softened. He felt a tightness in his ankles and looked down to see that, without him noticing, two large hands made of soil and roots had gripped his ankles tightly!