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

Su Mu stood beneath the dissipating gray halo, his spear hanging at his side.

The grayish-white dust remaining on the tip of the gun was being slowly dispersed by the night breeze.

He glanced down at the panel.

The kill he just made, combined with the experience he had accumulated from the previous battles, pushed him past the level 16 threshold, and his level remained at Lv16, just over halfway through.

His gaze shifted from the panel to the ground in front of him, where the grayish-white dust had completely dissipated.

At the spot where General Boneface fell, two things are slowly emerging from the disintegrating core, like remnants that have been pushed out.

The first item was a palm-sized, grayish-white skull with a very faint layer of dark patterns on its surface.

When Su Mu picked it up, a system notification popped up:

【Bone-faced Skull - Ghostly Weapon... After use, it can transform an area with a radius of 200 meters into a ghostly realm.】

Within this area, the enemy is continuously subjected to mental suppression and movement slowing effects, while the holder's perception range is doubled.

Cost: Once the Ghost Domain is activated, a death field will continuously be released on the ground, absorbing life force from the areas surrounding the core region.

The second item is a skull structure wrapped in dark colors, with a ring of fine gold lines around the edge.

Upon closer inspection, a system notification popped up: 【Skeleton Giant Building (Oddity)... Placed within your territory, it can construct a shapeshifting building that transforms into a skeletal giant. Once activated, it will transform the cable car and its associated structures into a giant skull. After transformation, it possesses a Ghost General-level aura that lasts for 6 hours. During this time, the cable car can detach from the cable line and automatically return after the duration ends. Cooldown time: 3 days.】

"nice one."

With this, the cable car no longer needs to follow a fixed route. For example, when the Ash City cable car leaves the city, you can simply wait until daytime to take it.

Su Mu carefully put the two items away.

Then he turned his head and glanced at the cloud-patterned vines in the distance.

It still lay limp in the soil, its broken branches gleaming with a dull luster. The little bit of spirit it had mustered during the battle had almost completely dissipated. The entire vine resembled a piece of wild grass ravaged by a rainstorm, with only a few thin, soft tendrils trembling slightly in the soil.

Su Mu's mind raced.

Deep within the bond of the contract, the faint thread twitched slightly.

Mo Yun Teng seemed to sense his intentions and did not resist.

Its body began to detach from the earth, and the main root and the remaining branches gradually became transparent in the dark red light, as if it had retreated from reality.

A few seconds later, the entire vine transformed into a tiny point of golden-red light and flew toward his left hand.

The moment the light entered his palm, a pattern the size of a fingernail appeared on the back of Su Mu's hand.

The dark red background features an extremely fine vine pattern with clearly defined branches and edges that shimmer with an almost invisible golden halo, resembling a living pattern sealed beneath the skin.

Su Mu clenched his fist and gently rubbed his fingertips against his palm.

The connection in the contract space was very stable. He could clearly sense the current condition of Mo Yun Teng: weak and exhausted. But in the small pattern in his palm, all the loss was minimized.

Lin Yuwei followed behind and witnessed that scene.

She saw the vine that had just covered most of the battlefield shrink into a single point within seconds, merging into Su Mu's palm and leaving a dark red mark.

The mark was inconspicuous, yet it was like a weapon carried on one's person, usually lying dormant under the skin, ready to be unleashed when needed.

She pursed her lips, remained silent, and quietly memorized it in her heart.

Su Mu didn't turn around, but walked towards the direction of the soldiers in the wind.

Lin Yuwei finally snapped out of her shock.

She glanced at Lin Xiaohe beside her, who was also looking over. Their eyes met, and neither of them spoke, but they almost simultaneously lifted their feet and silently followed behind Su Mu.

Lin Yuwei's gaze fell on Su Mu's profile, the lingering shock in her heart still gently churning.

This man is incredibly strong...

For a moment, she couldn't find a more accurate word.

She had witnessed Su Mu's battles and even guessed that he had killed the Ghost Princess on the cable car. She had also seen him suppress the ghosts on the defensive line.

But standing in the center of this battlefield, where he had pierced through the skull with a single shot and the skull had crumbled to ashes, she realized how many details the rumors had omitted.

Lin Xiaohe followed a little further back, took a few steps with her head down, and couldn't help but secretly raise her eyes to look at the figure in front of her.

She once thought she had tried her best, but after watching Su Mu's battle just now, she felt that the distance between the two of them had widened to an unprecedented level.

She pursed her lips, swallowing back the words she wanted to say, repeating the same thought over and over in her mind... she had to become stronger so that she wouldn't even be unworthy of standing behind him.

.......

Su Mu, unaware of what the two were thinking, walked up to the group of soldiers in front of him.

At that moment, the leader standing at the front was putting the last fragment of the scroll into the bag at his waist.

His movements were swift and efficient, without any unnecessary frills. The fragments were neatly stacked and placed inside, as if he had done it many times before.

His uniform was dark gray, just like the other soldiers, but he had an extra narrow badge on his left breast, the edges of which were faintly visible in the night light.

He looked to be between thirty and forty years old, and his posture and demeanor suggested he had spent a long time on the battlefield.

Su Mu stopped in front of him and said, "That barrier was a great help."

The other person glanced at him, their tone brief, like someone confirming the situation and giving a necessary response: "Just happened to arrive. We've been following your energy marker, and we saw him preparing to leave when we got there."

Su Mu nodded, then asked, "Are you from Dafeng?"

"The 917th Army, 45th Division, 17th Regiment, I am the regimental commander Zhao Rong."

The other party paused slightly, as if waiting for Su Mu to process the information conveyed in those few words, before continuing, "We were sent by higher-ups to see you."