The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

Those fleshy organs clung to his body, slowly pulling him out through the crack in the car window. He let out a heart-wrenching scream, his hands flailing wildly in the air, but he couldn't grasp anything.

A few seconds later, he was sucked into one of the "flowers". The vines closed up, and the screams stopped abruptly.

The wreckage of the truck lay on the ground, like a crumpled piece of waste paper.

The square returned to silence.

No one spoke in the room on the second floor.

After a long silence, the young man by the window spoke, his voice somewhat dry: "The truck's defenses are too weak. The sheet metal simply can't withstand it."

"Then let's get something stronger," said the burly man with a face full of scars. "Find an armored vehicle? Or get some explosives?"

"We don't have armored vehicles, nor that much explosives," Zhang Qiang pushed up his glasses. "Besides, even if we did, do you think we could kill this thing? It's alive; blow off a few vines, and it'll grow back. What we need is its core."

"Where is the core?"

"I don't know," Zhang Qiang shook his head, "but it must be somewhere in this area. Maybe underground, maybe inside a building, maybe..."

"That's enough," Wang Chen interrupted him, his voice not loud, but everyone fell silent.

He turned around, looked at the map, paused for a few seconds, and then said, "Bring Li Shichu back. Didn't he encounter two survivors? Ask him what happened."

As soon as he finished speaking, a section of the floor suddenly bulged up and then collapsed, revealing a hole. Li Shichu crawled out of the hole, dusted himself off, and looked unwell.

"You're back?" Wang Chen glanced at him. "What's the situation on your end?"

Li Shichu walked to the map, his expression complex. "We encountered two survivors, a man and a woman. They declined our invitation."

"So what if they refused?" Wang Chen said nonchalantly. "They're just two ordinary people, it's no big deal."

"He's not an ordinary person." Li Shichu shook his head. "That woman is a level two trial participant, carrying a submachine gun. I can't figure out that man... When I used the detector to test him, the detector exploded, and my eyes were burned."

Wang Chen frowned slightly. Zhang Qiang pushed up his glasses, his gaze sharpening.

"How did the detector explode?" Zhang Qiang asked.

"I don't know." Li Shichu rubbed his still sore eyes. "I pointed the detector at him, and then I felt a beam of white light coming from that direction. The lens shattered on the spot, and my eyes felt like they were smoked."

Zhang Qiang and Wang Chen exchanged a glance.

"Are you sure it only happened when you were using the detector to measure him?" Zhang Qiang pressed.

"Confirmed. Everything was normal when testing the woman, but this happened when testing him."

Zhang Qiang pondered for a moment, then asked, "What's the assessment of that woman's combat strength?"

"21 points. With the guns, it'll probably be around 30 points."

"21 points..." Zhang Qiang chewed on the number, "A normal level two. What about that man's? Did he see the data before he exploded?"

"No. It exploded as soon as I aimed, I didn't see anything."

Zhang Qiang walked to the window, looked at the wreckage of the truck in the distance, and remained silent for a while.

"When we were trading these detectors with Qian Sheng, he mentioned something..."

Zhang Qiang didn't turn around. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the room heard him clearly. "He said that if the target's level exceeds level five, or its combat power exceeds the detector's threshold, the detector might suffer a backlash. The stronger the target's mental strength, the more severe the backlash."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Wang Chen's brows furrowed even more.

He is a very confident person.

No, the word "confidence" is too light... Wang Chen has an almost obsessive confidence in his abilities.

Within the Salvation Guild, he amassed a vast amount of resources, all of which he used on himself. He was fully equipped, with blue and green quality gear from head to toe.

He also underwent a job change, and to a green class, one level above the white class... Berserker. His combat power was assessed at over 60 points, which, according to the guild's internal standards, was equivalent to a level six monster.

He didn't believe anyone was stronger than him.

"You mean, that man's level is above level five?"

Wang Chen's voice carried a hint of disbelief, "How is that possible? It's only the fourth day. Even if he started grinding monsters non-stop from the first day, he couldn't possibly reach level five."

"I'm not saying his level is higher than level five," Zhang Qiang turned around and looked at Wang Chen. "I mean, he might possess some kind of talent or equipment related to mental power that can counter detection. This kind of person is more troublesome than simply having a high level."

Wang Chen remained silent for a moment.

"Talent or equipment," he finally said, "two people can't cause much trouble. But... since they've survived in this city until now, it at least shows they have some skill. We happen to be short-handed, so one more person means one more asset."

He looked at Li Shichu: "Which direction did they go?"

Li Shichu recalled: "Southwest direction."

Wang Chen walked to the map and drew a line on it with his finger: "Southwest...where are they going?"

"have no idea."

"Forget it." Wang Chen withdrew his finger. "No matter where they're going, we need manpower. You take a few men, follow them, and find them. If they're willing to join, bring them back. If not..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

Li Shichu hesitated for a moment: "That man is a bit strange..."

"Damn it." The burly man with a face full of scars stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "I want to see what kind of person is so strange."

His name is Zhao Tiezhu, a key member of the elite team, a level three trial participant, with a strength-type talent and a combat power rating of 45. Within the guild, his strength is second only to Wang Chen and Zhang Qiang.

"Hurry up." Wang Chen waved his hand. The other person nodded and turned to walk towards the cave.

The room fell silent again.

Wang Chen stood by the window, looking at the blood-red vine in the distance, his fingers tapping lightly on the windowsill.

"This thing has to be dealt with," he said in a low voice, "otherwise none of us will get out."

Zhang Qiang pushed up his glasses but didn't say anything.

......