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

The area along the Sakura National Cableway, two hours before nightfall.

Zhou Zhenguo squatted behind a low slope at the edge of a dense forest, a piece of dry, hard compressed biscuit clenched in his mouth, his gaze fixed on the gray-white cable in the distance through the gaps in the tree canopy.

Behind him were Han Lei, Zhao Hongyuan, Li Zheng, and Chen Shan, along with their respective core members, totaling thirty-seven people.

The team has shrunk from the initial forty-odd people to this number. Three brothers were killed in a daytime skirmish, and their bodies were not even brought back.

"The forest area is indeed fertile."

Han Lei leaned against a tree trunk, poured the last mouthful of water from his kettle into his mouth, and shook the empty kettle. "But there are just too many people."

Zhou Zhenguo didn't reply. He was looking at a coordinate marker on the panel... It was the last resource point they cleared today, about two kilometers from the main cable line, near a small lake.

Resources were good, and the monster density was high; everyone leveled up at least half a level in a day.

He himself progressed from level eight to just over level nine.

But this is far from enough.

"The people from the Sakura Country have returned to defend."

Zhao Hongyuan walked over from the other side, lowering his voice, "I just glanced at the direction of the cable with my binoculars, and there are at least five teams moving. They're all equipped and in tight formation. They're not scattered individuals."

"The army," Li Zheng said.

"Yes. They're on a completely different level from those skirmishers during the day."

Zhou Zhenguo swallowed the last bite of the biscuit and patted the crumbs off his hands. "What time?"

"We must evacuate before dark." Chen Shan glanced at the sky. "We still have a little over an hour left."

Zhou Zhenguo was silent for a few seconds. Their original plan was simple... while the main force of the Japanese army was deployed to the 886 cable line, they would attack their rear, gather enough resources, and leave. The first half of the plan went smoothly; they even cleared out a resource base of the Japanese army and moved the supplies they had stockpiled.

However, the second half went wrong.

The Japanese army's return to defense was much faster than expected.

The remaining troops did not panic; instead, they quickly organized a defensive line and pressed towards them from three directions.

They were forced deep into the dense forest.

"Where's the teleportation point?" Zhou Zhenguo asked.

Zhao Hongyuan shook his head: "I sent Liu Yang to check. The western teleportation point is already surrounded by at least two or three hundred people. We can't get through."

"What about the one on the east side?"

"Further away. And there's a patrol zone from Japan in between. In our current state, forcing our way through would be suicide."

Zhou Zhenguo glanced down at his health bar.

The level nine professional was at least 90% health, with 60% stamina remaining. The others were in even worse shape. Of the thirty-seven people, half were wounded, had used up most of their ammunition, and were almost out of healing potions.

"Retreat deeper into the dense forest first," he decided. "Avoid fighting. Wait for dawn."

"What if people from Japan come in and search?"

"They won't," Zhou Zhenguo said. "Their main force is still on our side, and the people left here are mainly for defense. If we avoid battle, it will save them trouble. As long as we don't actively offer ourselves up, they won't go deep into the dense forest for the sake of our thirty-odd men."

Han Lei nodded: "That makes sense. What they fear most right now is us causing damage, not our survival. As long as we don't get close to the cables, they're happy for us to stay put."

Zhou Zhenguo made a hand gesture, and the team silently moved deeper into the dense forest.

It got dark faster than I expected.

The light in the dense forest disappeared almost instantly after the sun sank below the horizon, and the canopy, like a black curtain, swallowed up the last bit of light.

The group stopped in a relatively open clearing in the woods, surrounded by dense bushes and drooping vines. The terrain wasn't great, but it was at least good for hiding people.

Someone lit a fire starter, but Zhou Zhenguo stopped them. "Don't light a fire. They might have reconnaissance capabilities."

"Then how are we going to keep watch?"

"We'll rely on our ears," Zhou Zhenguo said. "Two people will take turns keeping watch. The others should try to sleep."

He divided the team into three groups, arranged for shifts, and then leaned against a tree trunk and closed his eyes. He thought he wouldn't be able to sleep. But the exhaustion was deeper than he expected, and his consciousness began to blur almost as soon as he leaned against the tree.

Then he heard a sound.

The sound came from deep within the dense forest, unhurried and rhythmic.

It sounded like someone dragging a piece of iron chain across the ground, the links clanging together with a dull, low metallic scraping sound. One sound after another. Coming in their direction.

Zhou Zhenguo suddenly opened his eyes. The people around him also woke up one after another.

"Did you hear that?" Han Lei asked in a low voice.

"Um."

The sound grew closer. Zhou Zhenguo's gaze pierced through the darkness of the forest, and he vaguely made out outlines. There wasn't just one.

There were many. The figures emerged from the forest, varying in size; some were short and stocky, others were long and thin, their surfaces covered with dark gray scales, and their eyes were only two extremely dim orbs of light, like burnt-out embers.

The system panel displayed a message at the edge of the field of view:

[Darkscale Ghost Soldiers (Lv7, White)... Creatures/Low-tier Infantry. Skilled in nighttime reconnaissance and encirclement. Operates in groups. Large numbers.]

[Darkscale Ghost Soldier (Lv6, White)... Creature/Low-Tier Infantry.]

densely packed.

Zhou Zhenguo glanced around and saw at least thirty or forty of them within his field of vision, while more silhouettes were slowly moving in the darkness further away, closing in from all directions to surround them.

"They let these ghosts in at night to clear the dense forest," Zhao Hongyuan's voice came from the side, extremely low, his teeth clenched. "They clear it themselves during the day, and then let the ghosts in at night. Damn, that's ruthless."

Zhou Zhenguo had already drawn his weapons. As the captain, he couldn't let the team break up here.

"Contract into a smaller formation."

His voice was steady, but his palms were sweating. "Shieldbearers on the outside, DPS on the inside. Don't charge, don't scatter. Slowly retreat eastward."

The team completed the formation adjustment in a very short time.

Shields were erected on the outer perimeter, and the thirty-odd people squeezed into an irregular circle, slowly moving eastward. But they were too slow. The Darkscale Ghost Soldiers were much faster, completing the encirclement almost the instant the people began to move.

The first ghost soldier pounced.

A shield bearer withstood its first blow, three deep scratches appearing on his iron shield. The second attacked from the side, its head shattered by Han Lei's axe. But the third and fourth followed closely behind. Dark green fluid splattered onto the fallen leaves, corroding them and leaving tiny scorch marks.

"Go! Go quickly!" Zhou Zhenguo shot a ghost soldier through the chest and roared as he turned around.

The team began to speed up.

But there were too many ghost soldiers. They flanked from both sides, pursued from behind, and blocked from the front. Every time they stopped to fight, they attracted more ghost soldiers; every time they accelerated, they collided with another group. The shield bearer's arms began to tremble, and his ammunition was visibly decreasing.

One of the brothers was pounced on by three ghost soldiers at the same time, and his screams echoed through the dense forest for less than two seconds before being cut off.