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

At the same time, in a completely different space.

A huge indoor space.

It resembled a hollowed-out stadium, with a dome so high that the top was almost invisible. The walls were made of an unidentified gray-white material, and the floor was covered with a silver-gray metal floor. Dozens of uniquely shaped instruments were arranged in the center of the field, each connected to complex wiring and sensors, emitting a pale blue glow.

A soldier stepped out of the largest machine and looked down at his arm. He had been hit in the shoulder by a level six tauren in Ash City, fracturing his bone, but now the spot was completely intact, without even a scar.

Another soldier patted him on the shoulder and whispered, "Don't look. Those instruments are specially designed for this kind of mission; they work perfectly." He paused, "But it's always the same... you go out, and when you come back, you're treated like a monster and scrutinized."

Ah Qi squatted in a relatively quiet corner at the edge of the field, holding a shattered metal box in her hand, piecing it back together piece by piece. Some of the fragments were twisted and deformed, and no matter how she tried to put them together, they wouldn't match. She sighed, threw the fragments on the ground, looked up at Bai Liuxi, and her tone was clearly resentful.

"Commander, we go out and risk our lives, and when we come back, we're subjected to a full range of medical checks like we're locked in a cage. It's always like this; we're not even given a moment to rest."

Bai Liuxi stood not far away, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Her expression was calm, revealing no emotional fluctuation. Her long hair was still tied in a ponytail, but a few strands fell from her forehead, stained with dried blood.

"Rules are for safety." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clear. "Even if we go to the outermost area, we can't guarantee that things that can disguise themselves as humans won't sneak in. If we let something like that into the base, the consequences would be unbearable."

Ah Qi pursed her lips, but still nodded. "I know, I know, I was just complaining."

On the other side of the field, Zhao Cheng sat in a folding chair, his Tang sword resting across his knees, slowly sharpening the blade with a whetstone. He smoothed out the curled nicks on the blade with each stroke, producing a soft, rustling sound. Old Wei leaned against the wall, his alloy shield replaced with a new one, propped up on the ground. He rested his hands on the edge of the shield, his eyes closed as if dozing.

Xiao Jiu squatted beside it, holding the potted plant in his arms. The pot had been replaced with a new one, and the deep purple petals had unfurled again, the scorch marks on the edges gone. His fingers gently traced the leaves, as if checking for some tiny wound.

"Captain, do you think those people... those who came down from the cable car... will be able to get out of the encirclement of those monsters outside the city alive?" Xiao Jiu's voice was not loud, with the boyishness unique to his age, but his tone was not as calm as a child should have.

Bai Liuxi remained silent for two seconds.

"Those monsters will be mostly distracted during the siege," she said. "But there are so many monsters outside the city that even if they're distracted, some will still notice the cable car. They're bound to suffer significant losses."

"The losses are considerable... How much?" Ah Qi looked up.

Bai Liuxi didn't answer. She turned her head and looked at the tightly closed metal door at the edge of the field... that was the exit to the outside world. Her gaze seemed to pass through that door, through the operating equipment, through the soldiers queuing for inspection, and land on something much farther away.

Anyway, best of luck to them.

Xiao Jiu lowered her head and continued to stroke the flower petals.

Zhao Cheng paused for a moment while sharpening his knife, then continued.

Just then, a middle-aged soldier with a higher rank on his shoulder insignia walked in from the doorway. His steps were neither hurried nor slow, but each step was firm and measured. He walked up to Bai Liuxi, nodded slightly, and his tone carried the weight of an order.

"Commander Bai, the division commander wants you to report for duty."

Bai Liuxi straightened up. "Just me?"

"Yes, I only called you."

Xiao Jiu raised his head, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He glanced at the door, then at Bai Liuxi, before turning to Zhao Cheng beside him and whispering, "Reporting on duty... Can't the division commander go alone? Why call the regimental commander?"

Zhao Cheng put down the whetstone, flipped the Tang sword over, and began sharpening the other side of the blade. He didn't stop moving, keeping his voice extremely low, so low that only Xiao Jiu could hear him.

"Most likely it's because of that guy named Su Mu."

Xiao Jiu's brows furrowed even deeper. He recalled the human who descended from the cable car... who single-handedly subdued the Ice Witch with a long spear, and finally, in coordination with the captain, killed the Zombie King. That kind of combat power and growth rate was completely on a different level from those of them who had grown up in this world.

"Then he..."

"Don't overthink it." Zhao Cheng looked up at him. "The commander knows what he's doing."

Xiao Jiu didn't say anything more, but he tightened his grip on the flowerpot.

Bai Liuxi followed the middle-aged soldier out of the metal door. As the door closed behind them, most of the humming of the instruments and the whispers of the soldiers were cut off, leaving only the sound of their footsteps in the quiet corridor.

Bai Liuxi walked half a meter behind the soldier, her gaze sweeping over the walls on both sides of the corridor... grayish-white, without windows, only a soft white light emitted by a wall-mounted lamp every few meters. The corridor was long, with fully armed guards standing watch at the corners, who nodded slightly in greeting upon seeing her rank.

After walking for nearly three minutes, the soldier stopped in front of a larger metal door. The door was silver-white, with no markings on its surface, except for a palm-sized touch panel embedded in the center. The soldier placed his palm on the panel, and the door slid open silently.

Bai Liuxi went inside.

The room inside was larger than she had imagined. An oval table was placed in the center of the room, and on the table was a map that she couldn't quite understand... It wasn't the Ash City area she was familiar with, but a larger topographical map, marked with various colors and symbols.

Seven people sat on either side of the table, dressed in different styles of military uniforms, ranging in age from their thirties to their sixties. The person in the very middle... sat at the long table directly opposite the door... looked to be in his early fifties, with gray hair, but his eyes were as sharp as two knives.

The division commander had arrived ahead of time and was sitting on one side of the long table. He nodded slightly when he saw Bai Liuxi come in.