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

He glanced at the young officer who was still waiting and waved his hand: "You can go now. Make this a priority, and report any new intelligence immediately."

"Yes, sir." The young officer saluted, turned, and strode out of the office.

The moment the door closed, the atmosphere in the office completely changed.

It wasn't the tense, still-controlled tension from before, but a deeper, more visceral unease that seeped into my very bones.

Han Zhengming stood by the window, silent.

Zhao Huaiyuan didn't say anything, he just stood there and waited.

After a long silence, Han Zhengming finally spoke, his voice several octaves lower than usual: "An Awakened One. If an Awakened One really appears... I'm afraid this city won't be able to be saved."

Zhao Huaiyuan didn't speak, but his tightly furrowed brows and slightly pursed lips had already given him the answer.

"Tomorrow." Han Zhengming turned around, walked back behind his desk, sat down, and placed his hands on the table with his arms crossed. "Break out promptly at six o'clock tomorrow evening. Take all the survivors with you, and take all the supplies you can. As for the special forces, have them withdraw before noon, without delay."

Zhao Huaiyuan nodded: "I'll make the arrangements right away."

As he reached the door, Han Zhengming suddenly spoke again: "There's one more thing."

Zhao Huaiyuan stopped and turned around.

Han Zhengming stared at the blurry photo on the table, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said, "If that really is an Awakened One... be prepared for the worst."

Zhao Huaiyuan paused for a moment, then nodded, pushed open the door, and walked out.

Han Zhengming was the only one left in the office.

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest.

The Awakened One.

He has seen the Awakened Ones.

Three years.

Three years ago, his comrade-in-arms' city encountered that thing, but it didn't exist.

Hopefully, that's not it.

He picked up the blurry photo from the table, took one last look, and then put it in the drawer.

Outside the window, the night was deep.

Gunfire continued outside the defensive line, muffled and rhythmic, like some ancient drumbeat, echoing in the night sky of this ruined city.

......

Su Mu continued on his way through the night.

Grind monsters, travel, grind monsters again, travel again. The rhythm is as steady as a precise machine... Target spotted, approach, kill, holster weapon, leave. Every step is essential, every second is precious.

Time ticked away with each step he took. One hour, two hours.

My experience points increased from 1500 to 1800, then from 1800 to 2100, and from 2100 to 2400. I'm getting closer and closer to level seven.

In this area teeming with giants, he had never seen such a dense horde of monsters before. Although most were small giants under five meters tall, those over five meters were few and far between. Giants over ten meters were even rarer; he had only encountered three or four over ten meters tall that night. As for those over twenty meters tall, he hadn't seen a second one since killing that green special giant.

These giants varied in attributes, and their kill speed also varied. The better quality ones would occasionally give him a little surprise, such as the green giants dropping significantly better loot than the white ones... Tonight he found two more white blueprints and a few green scrolls. Although they weren't particularly valuable, they were better than nothing.

The zoo's coordinates were getting closer and closer on his map.

At the current speed, they should arrive before dawn. Su Mu had already made his plans... Once they arrived at the zoo, he would first scout out the location of the secret realm entrance and the distribution of monsters in the surrounding area. If the situation allowed, he would go straight in; if it was too dangerous, he would farm monsters on the outskirts first and wait until daytime to decide what to do next.

He was walking along a wide commercial street, with closed shops and scattered vehicle wreckage on both sides. The streetlights were long gone, and only the cold moonlight shone on the ground, turning the whole street into a silvery-gray.

Suddenly, an extremely dangerous feeling rose from the bottom of my heart.

It wasn't fear, but an instinctive alertness. It was as if something was approaching, and his eyes hadn't yet caught it. Su Mu's steps abruptly halted. His body reacted before his brain... he turned sideways, tilted his head.

"Bang!"

Gunshots exploded beside his ears, bullets whizzing past his earlobes and striking the paving stones behind him, sending sparks flying. The silencer muffled the sound, but the dull thuds still pierced the quiet street.

Su Mu's pupils contracted slightly.

My first reaction was... someone had sneaked into his attack range, and at extremely close range.

His dynamic vision caught a blurry outline... less than two meters to his left, the air seemed to be distorted by something, and a semi-transparent figure was moving rapidly. It wasn't invisibility, but more like some kind of optical camouflage, refracting faint light and creating distortions under the moonlight.

The woman's figure was not tall, rather thin, and extremely agile.

A second shot followed immediately. Not from the same direction, but from the side... The figure changed position as it moved, the muzzle almost touching his temple.

"Bang!"

The bullet hit his head.

Su Mu paused slightly, but that was all.

He didn't even feel any pain... it felt more like being lightly flicked on the scalp. His armor hadn't been depleted in the fight, the bullet bounced off his skin, and the "click" of the deformed bullet rang out crisply in the darkness as it landed on the ground and rolled twice.

-0.

The other party was clearly taken aback for a moment.

Her movements visibly paused for a fleeting moment... perhaps a fraction of a second. But that fraction of a second of hesitation was stretched infinitely in Su Mu's dynamic vision.

He didn't give her any chance.

The spear was summoned from the void.

"Thrust".

The moment the skill was activated, his body vanished from its original spot, propelled by the spear, and reappeared in front of the semi-transparent figure in the next second. The spear lashed upwards, its tip piercing precisely into the opponent's chest, piercing through his body.

[Thrust - Hit. Control duration: ......]

No numbers.

Because the other person is dead.

The semi-transparent figure broke free of concealment the moment the spear pierced through, revealing the face of a young woman. Pale, cold, her features not particularly beautiful but possessing a sharp, piercing beauty. Her eyes were wide open, devoid of fear, but filled with pure bewilderment... as if she couldn't understand why her assassination attempt had failed, even in her dying moments.