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

That giant ape... was a size larger than the golden bear Su Mu had seen at the zoo. Most of its fur had fallen off, revealing the grayish-black muscle tissue underneath that was slowly throbbing.

Half of its head was exposed, and two green flames burned in its eye sockets, as if something had been forcibly stuffed into its already broken body, allowing it to stand up again in a distorted way.

Its arms were longer than normal, and the ends of its fingers were no longer claws, but rather several elongated bone structures covered with dark purple patterns.

With each step it takes, tiny cracks appear on the ground beneath its feet, as if it is slowly crumbling under its weight.

The flying bird's form became even more fragmented.

The golden feathers that once covered its entire body have almost all fallen off, leaving only tattered wing membranes covering its skeleton, like a thin shell barely preserved after being repeatedly torn apart by something.

Its beak has a crack that runs from the tip to the base, and that crack widens slightly every time it opens its mouth, as if it is continuously deepening a wound that can no longer heal.

Its eyes, once amber, are now just two empty holes, but deep within those holes, an extremely faint light flickers slowly, as if something is watching the activities on the ground from behind those holes.

Their bodies are covered with a layer of dark purple patterns that spread along the direction of the bones and the contours of the muscles, like a forcibly implanted coating that covers their original form underneath.

The giant ape smashed through the last line of defense on the left flank the moment it stepped onto the battlefield...

When its body crashed into the defensive line, the shield bearers at the front were sent flying, as if they had been smashed through a moving wall.

The large bird that followed swooped down from the sky and tore apart a squad of professionals who were trying to organize a counterattack from the front.

The claws swept across the ground the moment they landed, pulling several people who were gathering directly out of the queue.

The human defenses began to crumble rapidly after those two figures joined the fray.

The professional players were forced to shift from a defensive posture to a retreating one, and more and more units began to move deeper into the regular area.

One by one, the defensive towers went out, as if they were being extinguished one by one by an invisible force.

The remaining human units retreated to the area within the range of the last three defensive towers. The towers were very close together, and their light intertwined, forming a relatively stable protective circle in that area. Everyone was crowded into that area—professionals, guild survivors, solo players, the heavily wounded... no one stood outside that circle.

Before that defensive line completely closed, Su Mu returned to the depths of the regular area and stood on the top of a relatively intact building.

His gaze pierced through the shrinking battle lines and landed on the massive silhouette that continued to move through the center of the horde of ghosts...

The giant ape, and the large flying bird circling low above it.

He recognized them the instant he saw them.

Those were the giant golden bear that chased him across half the zoo, and the golden-crowned bird with wingspans that blotted out the sky.

At this moment, their form has completely changed. The dark purple patterns and exposed bones make them look as if something has emptied them from the inside and then filled them with another kind of existence.

.......

Behind a collapsed wall at the edge of the ruins, a smaller silhouette crouched in the shadows.

The grizzly bear returned, crouching there with its eyes fixed on the giant ape rampaging through the horde of ghosts.

It let out an extremely low, suppressed whimper from its throat. The sound was very short, as if something was blocking its exit, and it could only squeeze out a very short trailing sound.

It didn't move, it didn't retreat, it just squatted there, looking at the body that had once existed in another form.

Su Mu stood atop the building, his gaze sweeping across the entire battlefield.

The light from the last three defensive towers had dimmed noticeably under the continuous impact, and after a while, the light barrier would shatter.

He was preparing to cut into the battlefield from the top of the building when his communicator vibrated.

Chen Jun's name flashed on the screen, and the message was much shorter than he had expected: "Brother Su, the guild territory is under attack. I don't know what it is, but I just died."

Su Mu's finger paused for a moment at the edge of the communicator.

Peach Blossom Village is under attack?

He frowned, glanced again at the rapidly shrinking battle line ahead, and quickly weighed his options.

The last three defensive towers are about to crumble, and once they do, the fall of Ash City will only be a matter of time.

Even if he stayed here, he couldn't prevent the entire defensive line from collapsing.

But Peach Blossom Village is under attack... There are maze formations and hidden natural barriers around that place, so even if the city falls, it shouldn't be easily found by outsiders.

It is under attack now, which means something has already penetrated that defense.

He turned around and moved quickly towards Peach Blossom Village.

As they hurried on their way, Su Mu asked, "Any clues?"

Chen Jun's reply came almost immediately, as if he had been waiting for Su Mu to speak: "When I teleported there, the ground was already shaking."

The outer peach blossom maze didn't seem to be fully effective; something passed directly through underground. When I went in, I saw a giant skeleton attacking its territory, and the blood vine was also there; the two were fighting. I didn't see the specifics clearly; the aftershocks of the battle killed me and forced me back to the cable car.

"Blood Vine?" Su Mu frowned.

"Yes, I remember its color. It was being chased and attacked; it didn't come here on its own."

Su Mu looked at the two lines of text and went through the information in his mind... Blood vines, skulls, Peach Blossom Valley, underground travel.

The blood vine that stole the Blue Silver Grass was chased all the way to Peach Blossom Village by something, and then the battlefield was brought into its territory.

The reason why the outer maze was not fully effective was because the intruders took underground routes.

He glanced at the time: 1:12 AM.

A period of time has passed since Peach Blossom Village was attacked.

He put away his communication device and moved quickly towards Peach Blossom Village. The light from the last defensive tower behind him was dimming rapidly; it was about to give way, but he didn't look back.

......