Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

Green Bean meowed contentedly, then curled up into a fluffy ball and fell asleep on his stomach.

Looking at the lynx sleeping soundly and completely unguarded, Ou Yun suddenly realized that although the Forbidden Zone was a mess, at least it had given him a few reliable cats—and a group of teammates willing to go crazy with him.

There is also an armed helicopter.

There's also an invincible machete with colors matching those of the two-dollar store near the elementary school.

Thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem like there's anything to be afraid of.

Let's talk about tomorrow's problems tomorrow.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

*

Four o'clock in the morning.

"Power on."

"Cough cough—"

"Get up! Get up! We'll meet at 4:30! We'll depart at 5:00!"

A sound as loud as a loudspeaker during a radio calisthenics session suddenly exploded in the quiet camp.

Ou Yun was so startled by the roar that he almost fell headfirst off the bed.

Green Bean bounced off his stomach, his hair standing on end like a fluffy ball, a tuft of hair he'd somehow managed to bite off from Ou Yun's head still dangling from his mouth—

Ou Yun ignored the pain and ran outside while putting on her coat.

Green Bean spat her hair on the ground, flicked her tongue in disgust, and then followed him out.

At 4:30, everyone appeared in the square.

"The plan has been changed."

Unexpectedly, Chen Hao, who always gets up the latest, was standing next to Captain Leng.

"I discussed it with Captain Leng last night. I'll go with the helicopter. During the bombing, I'll be on the plane responsible for real-time data analysis to help you determine the bombing effect and the possible location of the core."

"The earlier the data is processed, the more precise your intrusion path will be."

Ou Yun scratched his head. "Wouldn't airplanes be too dangerous? Like that winged bat from last time—"

"I have modified the helicopter's tail pylon and added a set of flares."

Chen Hao pointed in the direction of the helipad, "Although it's not some high-end product, it should buy us a dozen seconds to escape when dealing with flying abyssal creatures."

"Furthermore, Captain Leng said that the helicopter will maintain a safe altitude and will not approach the target area."

Ou Yun looked at Leng Ruolan.

Leng Ruolan nodded: "The data analysis part definitely needs Brother Chen to do it personally. There will be delays in remote communication at the camp, and it will be even more troublesome if the signal is lost."

That way, they won't have to call Brother Chen if anything happens to them, which would be too much trouble.

Why not just bring Brother Chen along?

"What about the camp here?"

"Leave it to Alexander. With the lynx and monkey troop forces there, the defenses are sufficient. Also—"

Leng Ruolan gestured with her chin towards the foot of the mountain, "We still have quite a few strange and powerful beasts."

*

At five o'clock, the helicopter took off on time.

The roar of the propellers startled a flock of unidentified birds in the forest. From the air, the lights of the Dragon Kingdom camp gradually shrank in the morning mist, eventually becoming a faint glimmer in the valley.

Ou Yun sat in the co-pilot's seat, Chen Hao's voice coming through his earpiece: "Flight route set, estimated flight time one hour and twenty minutes. Weather conditions in the target area are good, visibility over ten kilometers. No trace of flying creatures has been detected so far."

"receive."

Leng Ruolan gripped the control stick, her gaze darting between the instrument panel and her view ahead. "Ivan, have the bombing coordinates been confirmed?"

"Confirmed. The bombing point has been selected as the southern slope of the target mountain, where the slope is relatively gentle, making it suitable for subsequent ground assault."

Sitting in the back, Ivan patted the fire control panel he'd pulled from the helicopter's storage compartment. "Five missiles will be launched in two volleys. The first volley will penetrate its defenses, the second will finish it off. The interval between the two volleys will be dynamically adjusted based on the effectiveness of the first volley!"

Chen Hao's voice came through the earpiece: "Then I will judge based on the smoke pattern and energy fluctuation data after the explosion. If the first round of bombing achieves the expected effect, the second round will follow immediately; if not, the coordinates will need to be readjusted."

"How long will it take to adjust the coordinates?"

"No more than two minutes."

"Two minutes—"

Leng Ruolan quickly calculated in her mind, "Two minutes is enough for the abyssal creatures on the ground to react. They are very fast at retaliating. The last time we encountered that winged bat in the basin, it took less than ten seconds from spotting us to launching an attack."

"So we need to do one thing before we bomb."

Ou Yun suddenly spoke up, "Lure out those that can fly first."

"...How do we induce it?"

"Use this."

Ou Yun took out a fist-sized purple crystal from his spatial ring—

It was extracted by Chen Hao from the crystal particles on Mike's corpse. It was extremely pure and the energy fluctuations it emitted were almost identical to those of the core sample from the Abyss Mine.

"The energy fluctuation frequency of this crystal is highly similar to that of a lord-level abyssal creature. If there are flying abyssal creatures patrolling near the mountain, they will mistake this crystal for a signal from one of their companions!"

Chen Hao's voice carried a hint of excitement, "This idea suddenly came to me last night while I was organizing data—to use the 'Lord's Voice' to train its subordinates!"

"Then let's give it a try."

Leng Ruolan took the crystal, weighed it in her hand, and asked, "How do I use it? Just throw it away?"

"Just attach it to the missile. After the missile is launched, the energy fluctuations of the crystal will be amplified by the heat and shock wave of the explosion, forming a short-term high-energy signal source."

This effect is no less than Tiger Brother issuing a declaration of independence on the street.

Ivan chuckled. "A sting operation, huh?"

"In the forbidden area, this is called tactical deception," Chen Hao corrected.

Leng Ruolan didn't waste any more words.

She had Ivan choose one of the three missiles in the first round and fix the crystal to the side of the missile body with special tape—this tape was supplied from restricted areas and could withstand high temperature and pressure, so there was no need to worry about it falling off during flight.

"The missile modification is complete. The crystal is fixed on the second missile body and is expected to detonate 500 meters above the target after launch."

Ivan adjusted several parameters on the panel. "The detonation height is being adjusted to maximize the coverage of the energy signal. According to Brother Chen's calculations, this height allows the signal coverage radius to reach three kilometers."

"Will flying abyssal creatures within a three-kilometer radius receive the signal?"

"Theoretically, yes. But the actual effect depends on how sensitive the other party is to this signal. If they see this crystal as a threat rather than an ally, then the signal may have the opposite effect, attracting them to attack us prematurely."

"So that means we might be surrounded by a swarm of flying monsters before we even get to bomb them?"

"That's right!"

"Are all Chinese people this adventurous?"

"This is nothing."

Ou Yun laughed, "Once we were chased by a group of abyssal tentacles halfway up a mountain in a circular valley, that was really exciting. This time at least we have a helicopter, making it much easier to run around."

"..."