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

Zhou Zhenguo's gaze swept over the backs of the twenty men, trying to glean more information from their positions, equipment, and demeanor.

Then he noticed that every now and then, these people would look in the same direction... not at the commander, not at the battlefield, but at the area shrouded in smoke and dust further east of the defensive line.

What's in that direction? Zhou Zhenguo couldn't see it, but he could sense an aura in that direction that instinctively made him uneasy.

Just as he was thinking, the twenty soldiers suddenly made a move.

It wasn't tension, nor panic, but something more subtle, like something long-awaited had finally arrived... a sense of relaxation. Their shoulders relaxed slightly, their fingers gripping their guns loosened, and some even smiled slightly.

Zhou Zhenguo followed their gaze.

Five people emerged from the smoke.

A woman was walking at the very front.

She was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing a dark, tight-fitting combat suit. Her long hair was tied into a neat ponytail, revealing her fair neck and well-defined jawline. Her features were exquisitely cold, with sharply defined eyebrows, slightly upturned eyes, and extremely pale pupils, as if they had been washed away by something.

There was blood on her body... not her own, but from the monster, dark green, dried, and hardened into a crust on her combat suit. Her face was expressionless, but that expressionlessness wasn't numbness or indifference; rather, it was a deeper calm, as if she had become accustomed to life and death.

Four people followed behind her... a huge, mountain-like man carrying an alloy shield; a tall, lean man with a narrow-bladed Tang sword hanging at his waist; a short-haired woman carrying a metal box; and a boy who looked like a child and was holding a flowerpot.

Five people.

Five people emerged from the area shrouded in smoke and dust, looking as if they had come from hell.

The twenty soldiers turned around simultaneously. Not to glance back, but to lower their weapons, turn around, and face the five men. They stood ramrod straight, like wooden stakes driven into the ground, their right hands raised to their eyebrows in a perfect military salute.

"Commander."

Twenty people, twenty voices, no rehearsal, yet they were as synchronized as one.

Zhou Zhenguo's pupils contracted slightly.

Commander?

A group should not have only twenty people.

This means that these twenty people are only a small part of a larger organization, and the regimental commander who can make these elite soldiers look at him with such admiration is definitely not someone with "connections" or "background".

The military is a place that reveres the strong the most. For these people to willingly call her "Commander," this woman's strength must be even greater than he expected.

Bai Liuxi nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping over the twenty people before settling on the battlefield behind them. Her eyes were calm, as if she were looking at something unrelated to herself.

"You've worked hard." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clear.

Of the twenty men, the one standing at the very front... the one who had nodded to Zhou Zhenguo earlier... spoke up: "Commander, the pressure on the eastern front is greater than expected. The frequency of monsters above level seven is increasing, and ammunition consumption is 30% faster than anticipated. As for the survivors in the rear..."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Zhenguo's direction. "There are a few guilds that are quite capable, and they've helped us share some of the burden."

Bai Liuxi's gaze followed his eyes and landed on Zhou Zhenguo.

Zhou Zhenguo neither dodged nor deliberately went to meet her; he simply stood there, letting her gaze linger on him for a few seconds. Then she looked away without saying a word.

Just then, a low, thunderous roar came from afar.

Zhou Zhenguo turned his head sharply, and a huge monster covered in dark gray scales rushed out from the depths of the monster horde.

It was several times larger than the level 5 or 6 monsters around it, with thick limbs, a flat head, and a mouth that ran across its entire face, revealing rows of jagged, sharp teeth.

Its level... at least a level seven elite, maybe even level eight. Behind it followed a dozen or so level six or seven monsters, like a flock of sheep being driven, charging towards the eastern front.

The twenty soldiers did not move.

It wasn't that they didn't have time to react; it was that they didn't need to move. All eyes were on those five people... or more precisely, on the boy holding the flowerpot.

Xiao Jiu walked out from behind Bai Liuxi.

He carried the potted plant, walking at a leisurely pace, as if taking a stroll. He walked to the front line, stopped in front of the twenty soldiers, squatted down, and placed the potted plant on the ground.

The plant's petals exploded in an instant.

Deep purple fluorescence seeped from the gaps in the petals, flowing down the stem like liquid and seeping into the soil. The ground began to tremble, not with the violent shaking of an earthquake, but with a more subtle, denser tremor, like something rapidly growing underground.

The vines shot out from the ground.

Not just one or two, but dozens, even hundreds, shot out from the ground like javelins, tracing arcs in the air before lunging at the charging monsters like giant, living pythons.

The first vine wrapped around the hind leg of a level seven monster, and before it could react, it was pulled upside down into the air. The second vine pierced through its chest and ran through its body.

The third, the fourth, the fifth... the vines spread like a vast net, trapping the monsters inside.

The level six or seven monsters struggled, bit, and roared in the vines, but each struggle only made the vines tighten their grip, and each bite was filled by more vines surging in from all directions.

The leading level seven elite monster charged wildly amidst the encirclement of vines.

Its strength far surpasses that of the surrounding monsters; each impact tears off several vines, but the broken vines regrow within seconds, the new branches thicker and tougher than the old ones.

It opened its mouth and sprayed a cloud of dark green venom towards Xiao Jiu... The vines instantly wove into an impenetrable wall in front of it. The venom sprayed onto the wall, sizzling and corroding small holes, but it did not penetrate.

More vines surged from the ground, binding its limbs, torso, neck, and head. Its struggles grew weaker, its roars grew fainter, and finally turned into a muffled whimper, as if something had blocked its throat.

In less than ten seconds, more than a dozen level 6 or 7 monsters and one level 7 elite were all killed.