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

His body began to swell, not his muscles, but the flames.

Dark red flames surged from his body, swelling his form into a huge, irregular fireball.

The surface of the fireball was covered with countless cracks, from which flowed golden light, like a star undergoing fission.

"I trained my body, learned martial arts, worked hard... and eventually became a programmer, but I never gave up on becoming stronger." His voice came from the fireball, with a metallic quality, as if it had been heated by the flames.

"After coming into this world, I finally had a chance."

Although it's only a C-level, I feel... this is my chance.

The fireball struck the chimera's lion head.

It wasn't an attack, it was a block—using his own body to shield the chimera from the energy blast, and to shield the chimera from the fleeing humans.

"boom......!!!"

........................

The explosion illuminated the entire night sky.

The crimson flames and golden light intertwined, like a blooming flower so enormous it covered half the sky.

The shockwave from the explosion spread in all directions, uprooting trees, tearing the ground upside down, and knocking those who were still trying to escape off balance.

No one fell because the energy was blocked.

It was only for a moment, but in that very moment, the teleportation array was fully activated.

A silvery-white light rose from the ground, enveloping everyone in it.

Su Mu felt as if his body was grabbed by a giant hand and then thrown out.

It wasn't throwing, it was teleportation. His body became transparent, blurry, and distorted in the light, and then disappeared.

In the last moment before he disappeared, he heard Bai Liuxi's voice coming from the direction of the teleportation array.

"goodbye.

I hope you can save the world.

Then he heard more than two thousand people shouting in unison.

"Strong wind!"

Strong winds!

Strong winds!

The sound, like thunder, echoed through the night sky before being swallowed up by the transmitted light.

........................

Su Mu's body was thrown out of the light and crashed onto the cold ground.

It wasn't dirt flooring; it was a metal floor, the floor of the cable car.

He opened his eyes and looked at the familiar ceiling, the familiar walls, and the familiar piles of supplies.

His mind was blank, like a hard drive that had just been formatted.

He sat up and looked out the window.

The outline of Ash City was faintly visible in the morning light; the towering buildings, broken bridges, and collapsed walls resembled a painting that had been torn apart and then pieced back together.

In the distance, towards that dense forest, flames were burning, thick smoke was rising, and a low, thunderous roar was echoing.

He knew those people were dead.

It's not a possibility, it's already happened.

Those people never intended to come back alive; their mission was to get the survivors to safety and then use their own lives to fill the hole.

Su Mu leaned against the cable car wall and closed his eyes.

His mind was replaying Zhao Derong's words... "I've regretted it for the rest of my life."

From that moment on, I vowed that I must become stronger.

So strong that I'm no longer afraid, so strong that I can protect those I want to protect.

Bai Liuxi's words were replaying in his mind... "Goodbye."

I hope you can save the world.

The voices of those two thousand people were replaying in his mind... "Strong wind!"

Strong winds!

Strong winds!

He recalled what Zhao Derong had said when he stood up during the meeting.

At the time, he thought this person was incredibly immature, incredibly passionate, and incredibly naive.

But now when he thinks back, every word of those words is burning.

He recalled the scenes of his time with the Black Kill Squad... Bai Liuxi was forced back by the Ice Witch's ice spikes in front of him, Lao Wei's shield shattered under the Zombie King's fist, Zhao Cheng's Tang sword broke in the meteor shower, A Qi's drone was reduced to fragments under the Lightning Goblin's staff, and Xiao Jiu's vines withered in the Fire Witch's flames.

Those people never backed down, never complained, and never asked, "Why me?"

Su Mu opened his eyes.

He stared at the ceiling for a long time.

Then he cursed.

Damn it, he's trying to break my Dao heart again.

...............................

He leaned against the cold metal wall, closed his eyes, and let those two nail-like words slowly fade from his mind. Bai Liuxi's "goodbye," the "strong wind" of more than two thousand people... those voices were still there, but they were no longer so jarring.

He opened his eyes, his gaze passing through the glass window and landing on the far distance.

The Chimera is still there, suspended in the sky above the ruins of Ash City, like a forgotten idol.

The morning light spilled in from the east, casting a dark golden glow on its scales.

The lion's head faces east, the sheep's head faces west, and the snake's head faces south. The three heads are looking down in three different directions, as if searching for something.

Its tail swayed slowly in the air, leaving a visible white trail with each sway, as if the sky had been ripped open by some sharp weapon and then slowly closed by something else.

Its gaze is in the opposite direction.

It didn't notice the cable cars hanging in the air.

Su Mu stared in that direction for a few seconds, then looked away.

That thing wasn't worth looking at; even dynamic visuals couldn't capture its complete outline. He could only pray it wouldn't notice the cable cars.

Su Mu closed his eyes, suppressing those fragmented thoughts.

The three days are almost over, and the cable car will soon leave the area of ​​Ash City.

The survivors are being transported back to their respective cable cars, and the public channels are buzzing with discussions about what happened today.

The strange creature in theatrical costume was still waiting for him outside the city, along with countless other things smaller than chimeras but even more bizarre, clinging to the city walls. He had to maximize his strength before that happened.

He had just leveled up to level 9 and hadn't had a chance to make a choice yet.

Su Mu unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, poured some into his palm, and carefully washed his hands. Water droplets dripped from between his fingers, forming a small puddle on the metal floor. Then he took a deep breath and opened the talent selection interface.

Three gilded cards appeared before my eyes.

The flame icon on the first card is slowly pulsating.

The cards were flipped over one by one, revealing three clear options: