Guo Yun: Plays Ye Shunguang, teammate Ye Shiyuan

The air was filled not only with rust and dust, but also with a scorching smell similar to the ionization of ozone, and... a faint, almost imperceptible, pungent smell of blood.

The smell of blood was faint, yet it was like a fine needle, piercing the nostrils with a chill that made one instinctively tense. The wind whistled through the cracks in the broken walls, stirring up dust and debris that stung the eyes.

Bombues' round body moved nimbly among the jagged wreckage, its short, sturdy mechanical legs alternately pushing off, each landing precisely avoiding sharp steel rebar splinters and cracked concrete blocks.

Its metal shell was covered with a lot of dark gray dust, and the originally bright silver paint was worn and turned a bit dull. The four members of the Dragon Kingdom team followed closely behind it, their footsteps were very light, and their combat boots made only a soft friction sound when they stepped on the broken bricks and gravel.

Ye Jianguo walked on the outermost side, his eyes sweeping over the ruins on both sides like a hawk, not escaping the slightest movement.

Next to him was Chen Jianjun, the butt of his sniper rifle pressed against his shoulder blade, his fingers resting on the trigger guard, ready to fire at any moment.

Zhou Liming walked in the middle, clutching his handheld terminal tightly in his arms, the faint light from the screen illuminating his tense profile.

Ye Shunguang lagged behind, her steps lighter than the others, her gaze occasionally drifting towards the surrounding mist.

Zhe Yongyi led his team through the ruins, making their way around several bends, specifically choosing paths with weak energy reactions.

Along the way, several obvious areas of etheric energy overflow could be seen. These areas were shrouded in reddish-purple mist, and from time to time, eerie howls could be heard, making one's scalp tingle.

After walking for about ten minutes, the fog ahead gradually thinned, and the outlines of several mines and low-rise houses scattered around them could be vaguely seen.

The houses were all made of rammed earth, with peeling paint and rusty corrugated iron roofs. Some roofs had collapsed halfway, revealing the dark beams and pillars underneath. From a distance, the entire mining area exuded a deathly stillness, as if it had been abandoned long ago.

Just as the team members breathed a slight sigh of relief after their gaze fell on the low-rise buildings, Ies, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped.

Its rapidly moving mechanical legs suddenly stopped, its round body swayed due to inertia, and its tiny feet left two shallow marks on the ground before it stood firmly.

Immediately afterwards, a series of rapid "beep beep" sounds came from inside the aircraft, and the red warning lights flashed wildly, particularly glaring in the fog.

Almost simultaneously, the clear and calm mechanical female voice of "Fairy" rang out. The voice traveled through IES to everyone's ears, and if you listened carefully, you could detect a faint urgency.

[Fairy: Alert! Alert! High-intensity, high-frequency etheric energy detected in the area 500 meters ahead! Waveform analysis in progress... Energy fluctuations show intermittent peaks, not a natural dispersion state, consistent with intense combat characteristics! Energy readings are rapidly increasing! Warning! Energy readings have exceeded the safety threshold! Repeat! Safety threshold exceeded!]

"What's going on?" Chen Jianjun asked in a low voice, a hint of tension barely perceptible in his tone. His hand was already on the pistol at his waist, the cold feel of the gun sending a jolt of calm through his fingertips. His eyes darted around quickly, from the broken wall on the left to the abandoned minecart on the right, and then to the quiet, low-rise buildings ahead, leaving no corner unchecked.

"Breaking the safety threshold?" Ye Jianguo gasped, a lump forming in his throat. He quickly crouched down, placing his palms on the cold ground and rapidly tapping his fingers, feeling the vibrations emanating from the earth. The vibrations were subtle yet rhythmic, like someone hammering the ground from a distance. "This energy intensity... I've never seen anything like it before, it might even be..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a dull, loud noise.

The sound was like a huge hammer slamming into a thick steel plate. The deep, heavy "thud" carried a deafening roar through the air and the ground, making people's eardrums buzz.

Immediately afterwards, a clear tremor came from the ground, and the broken bricks and concrete blocks underfoot trembled slightly, as if a small earthquake had occurred.

The vibrations became more and more obvious, from a slight tremor at the beginning to a swaying that could be clearly felt. I could even feel a tingling sensation spreading from the soles of my feet upwards, down my calves and thighs, all the way to my spine.

The loud bangs came one after another, with the intervals getting shorter and shorter. The "thump thump thump" sound seemed to be hitting everyone's heart, making people hold their breath and their heartbeats involuntarily quicken.

Chen Jianjun reacted the fastest. Almost the instant the first loud noise was heard, he had already dodged out, his movements as fast as lightning.

His body traced an arc in the air, landing steadily behind a giant pipe, half of which was buried underground. The pipe was an abandoned water pipe, more than two meters in diameter, with walls as thick as a wall, covered with rust and countless bullet holes, clearly having seen many battles, making it an excellent cover.

He knelt on the ground, his knees braced against the earth, and quickly removed the sniper rifle from his back. The cool metallic touch traveled through his palms, instantly calming him down.

He skillfully pulled back the bolt, chambered a bullet that gleamed coldly, then positioned the sniper rifle at the gap in the pipe, his eye pressed against the scope.

The crosshairs of the sniper scope were steadily pointing in the direction from which the sound came. He narrowed his eyes, his gaze behind the scope sharp as an eagle's, revealing a ruthless edge born of years of experience, as if he could lock onto the target the moment it appeared.

"It doesn't seem like a chaotic attack from Yi Hai." Ye Jianguo also lowered his body. He was tall, but he could move as nimbly as a cheetah, quickly circling around to the other side of the pipe and forming a pincer movement with Chen Jianjun.

His gaze swept quickly across the terrain ahead, from the low rammed earth buildings to the maze of pipes crisscrossing between them, and then to the distant, mist-shrouded mine ruins, not missing a single detail.

"Yi Hai's attacks are always chaotic and disorderly. He either roars and pounces, or he releases energy waves randomly. There wouldn't be such a regular loud noise." Ye Jianguo pondered, gently rubbing his fingers on the ground, feeling the changes in the frequency of the vibrations. "There's probably someone ahead, and it's a powerful figure who is fighting against Yi Hai, or rather, the person from the Praise Society that we encountered before."

Zhou Liming had already taken out his handheld terminal. He stood close to Ye Shunguang in the middle, his fingers swiping rapidly across the screen, so fast that they almost left afterimages.

"The energy types are too mixed, and I can't accurately identify them yet..." He bit his lip, his voice tinged with anxiety, his fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure. "But just by looking at the frequency and intensity of the vibrations, we know that this is definitely not something we can easily get involved in at this stage. Although we have Ye Shunguang, there's really no need for us to get involved. Our mission is only to investigate and eliminate the Praise Society. If absolutely necessary, we can't confront this powerful entity head-on."

No one spoke in the group; only heavy breathing and a distant, deafening roar mingled together.

At this moment, Ye Shunguang was somewhat speechless.

She stood behind the pipe, her body slightly stiff, her eyes fixed on the pipe maze shrouded in mist, listening to the muffled thuds, her face showing a mixture of confusion and shock.

Her hands clenched into fists unconsciously, her knuckles turning white from the force, and her heart pounded wildly in her chest, as if it were about to jump out.

...This fluctuation of power...

And there were also faint sounds of battle voices drifting through the air...

Why does it look so familiar?

Just as Ye Shunguang was lost in thought, and the fragments in his mind were becoming clearer, Zhe's voice came through the communication channel. The voice carried a slight static, but it was still steady and powerful, like a reassuring pill, instantly calming the restless hearts of the team members.

"The signal is too chaotic," Zhe's voice came through the headset, his tone serious. "The etheric interference in the void is too strong, making it impossible to accurately identify friendly unit signals. But what is certain is that the battle ahead is large-scale, and both sides are quite powerful. Moreover, judging from the trajectory of the energy fluctuations, the battlefield is moving towards us. I repeat, the battlefield is..."

Zhe was interrupted by a piercing "creak" sound when he was only halfway through his sentence. Ies was so frightened that he covered his ears and waved his arms and legs.

The sound was like a wooden structure being forcibly torn apart, or bones being snapped, so sharp it made your teeth ache, traveling through the air to everyone's ears.

Among the low buildings ahead, the two-story rammed-earth building closest to the squad suddenly shook violently, and roof tiles crashed down, making a crisp sound as they hit the ground. Then, the wall facing the squad exploded!

"Boom—"

A deafening roar, louder than any before, sent countless pieces of dirt, rocks, and broken timber flying out, whistling through the air as they hurtled in all directions. Some of the rocks even flew near the pipes, crashing against the pipe walls with a clanging sound.

A dark shadow, carrying violent ethereal energy, shot out of the hole in the wall like a cannonball and crashed heavily to the ground.

"Bang!"

The moment the shadowy figure landed, it smashed a crater half a meter deep into the ground, sending debris flying and dust billowing into the air. A strong stench of blood and the scorching smell of etheric energy filled the air.

The dense fog was dispersed somewhat by the impact, and the team members finally saw the true face of the dark figure.

That was a huge...human?

From God's perspective, calling it a human is not quite accurate; it should be called an erosion body.

It was over two meters tall, wearing a wide white robe stained with dark red blood. Its arms were bound by some disgusting red substance, and it wore a mask with twisted patterns on it, obscuring its features.

It held something in its hand that looked like a staff, but it was wielding it like a spear... Well, well, a mage who can't fight in melee isn't a good mage...

Almost the instant everyone saw the corrosive entity clearly, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in the minds of viewers worldwide…

[National Fortune System: Dragon Kingdom Squad Encounters Invading Entity: Bing Huo Song Ling!]

[Rank: B!]

The system notification sounded like a thunderclap, causing an uproar in the global live stream's chat. But the Dragon Kingdom team had no time to pay attention to the chat's reaction, because behind the eroded entity, three more figures rushed out from the hole in the small building.

"Dead!"

A deep shout rang out, carrying a powerful momentum. Immediately afterwards, a black and white panda figure rushed out. It was strong and powerful, with well-defined muscles in its limbs, and every step it took carried a sense of power.

Its speed was extremely fast, like a black lightning bolt. In the blink of an eye, it rushed behind Binghuosongling, raised its fan-like giant hand, and slammed it hard on Binghuosongling's back.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Binghuosong, who was already off balance from the landing, was struck by this palm and staggered forward several steps like a broken sack. His old strength was exhausted before he could generate any new strength, and his body swayed, almost falling to the ground.

"Tiger's Might! The final move!"

Before Binghuosong could even stand still, a petite, yellow figure rushed out of the hole.

She was faster than a panda, like a yellow streak of light, swinging a round object in her hand that looked like a hammer or a spinning top, slamming it hard into the back of Binghuosongling's head with a whistling sound.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound rang out, and sparks flew everywhere. Binghuosong's body stiffened abruptly, and then, as if all his strength had been drained, he knelt on the ground. His staff clattered to the ground, and his clothes were partially ignited by the flames.

Before anyone could react, the last figure rushed out of the hole. It was a white-haired figure, dressed in orange-yellow clothes, holding a long, slender saber.

Her movements were fluid and swift, without any hesitation. She pushed off the ground with both feet, her body soaring into the air. Using the strength of her waist and arms, she raised the knife high and then slashed down with great force!

"Whoosh!"

A dazzling blade of light flashed, carrying a scorching aura, like a flame, and fiercely slashed upwards, striking Binghuosongling's body.

Where the blade flashed, blood and flesh flew everywhere. Then, he performed a beautiful somersault in the air, adjusted his posture, and swung his blade horizontally again!

"Pfft!"

This strike was faster and more ruthless, directly splitting Binghuosongling's body, which had already been attacked from above and was almost split in half, into four sections!

Blood gushed out, splattering on the ground and staining the surrounding rubble red.

Immediately afterwards, Binghuosongling's body seemed to melt, turning into purple ether crystals that dissipated into the air, leaving only a large crater in the ground.

All of this happened in just a few seconds, so fast that it was dazzling and even the comments section didn't have time to react.

When Binghuosongling's body completely dissolved into etheric crystals, the audience finally reacted, and the live stream screen exploded with comments—it was like a frenzy.

"Holy crap, what is this thing? What's a panda doing here? Is this Kung Fu Panda come to life?"

"Holy crap! That palm strike was incredibly powerful! It sent that B-grade corrosive entity staggering. That power is outrageous!"

"Isn't anyone paying attention to the guy in the back who's whipping his knife around in flames? So cool! The flash of the blade, the pose—I want that knife too!"

"I didn't look closely just now, where did this child come from? And it has ears on its head... all fluffy, it looks so cute!"

"Why are the species in this world so strange? This panda is like this, this child is like this, and even Ye Shunguang, who seems to be a native of this world, has ears on his head!"

"Huh? Does Ye Shunguang have ears? I can't see them!"

"? Aren't they just located on the sides of the head?"

"? Isn't that hair?"

"Stop arguing! The hair and ears are all mixed together; you can't see them at all unless you look closely!"

"Wait! That's not the point, is it? The point is that these three people killed a super-powerful B-rank monster with just melee weapons! What kind of god-like combat power is that?"

Compared to the lively chatter in the live stream, the four members of the Dragon Kingdom team hiding behind the pipe were completely in a state of existential crisis.

Chen Jianjun maintained his aiming posture, the crosshairs of the sniper scope still in the position where the fire had disappeared. His eyes were wide open, his pupils were contracted, his mouth could fit an egg, and his hands were trembling slightly, almost dropping the sniper rifle to the ground.

Ye Jianguo squatted on the ground, his palms still pressed against the ground, feeling the lingering vibrations. His mouth was slightly open, his face filled with shock. His originally sharp eyes were now dull, as if he had been hit on the head with a stick, his mind blank.

Zhou Liming's lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word. He had only one thought in his mind: Is this something a human can do?

What do you mean by "I inexplicably saw three people using melee weapons kill a super-powerful B-level monster"?

Among the four members of the Dragon Kingdom team who were questioning their existence, Ye Shunguang was the most bewildered.

She stood there, her eyes wide like saucers, her mouth agape enough to swallow a fist, her expression shifting from shock to blankness, and then from blankness to panic.

Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, as if it were about to burst out. Her mind was a complete mess, with countless thoughts vying to pop up, making her head feel like it was about to explode.

Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!

I've run into some senior brothers and sisters who know Ye Shunguang! What should I do?! Will they recognize me?

With my current personality, I can't perfectly fake it! What if they notice something's wrong? I don't want to get into trouble!

They probably won't recognize me...?

No way! Why am I even worrying about this?! The important thing is, what are they doing here?! Weifei is a million miles away from Wildfire Town, isn't it?!

How did they end up in this godforsaken place?! Did something happen?

Or... are they also caught up in this game of national destiny? ...Impossible, right? If that were the case, then it should have been me and them at the start...

Ye Shunguang became increasingly panicked and confused as she thought about it. She subconsciously shrank back, trying to hide herself behind the pipe, afraid of being seen.

Her palms were covered in cold sweat, her fingertips trembled slightly, her mind was in a mess, and even her breathing became rapid.

"Eh? Hikari... Hikari?!" The petite girl turned her head and saw him. She frantically tried to grab him, but the familiar figure made a sharp, loud noise, drawing the attention of everyone present.

Ye Shunguang: We need to gather 80,000 pills!