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

No one can turn back to save him, because anyone who does will die.

"There's a gap to the east!" Li Zheng shouted.

The group rushed in that direction. The formation had already broken down halfway; some fell behind, some got separated, and some were dragged into the darkness.

When Zhou Zhenguo reached the edge of a thicket, only a dozen or so people remained with him. Han Lei was still there, Zhao Hongyuan was still there, and Li Zheng and Chen Shan were still there. But everyone else was gone.

"Don't stop." He panted heavily, regrouping the group. "Keep going."

As they rushed out of the dense forest, they were followed by more than twenty ghost soldiers. The edge of the forest was a rocky beach, the ground uneven, offering a much wider view than inside the dense forest. But the openness meant there was nowhere to hide.

"Hit him," Zhou Zhenguo said.

They turned to fight back, using their last bullets and last ounce of strength to kill the pursuing demons one by one. When the last one fell, only nineteen of the thirty-seven remained.

Zhou Zhenguo squatted on the rocky beach, one hand supporting him on the ground, panting heavily. His health had dropped to less than 30%, and there was a wound on his arm that stretched from his elbow to his wrist, the blood already congealed into a dark scab.

Han Lei's shoulder was bitten, and his left arm hung limply, unable to exert any force. Zhao Hongyuan was relatively unharmed, but his lips were pale, clearly indicating that he had also reached his physical limit.

"West side," Zhao Hongyuan suddenly said.

Zhou Zhenguo looked up. In the darkness to the west, more silhouettes were emerging. These dark gray figures were larger and moved more slowly than the previous group, but in greater numbers.

They surged out from the edge of the dense forest, like a slowly advancing wall, sealing off the retreat inch by inch.

【Corrupted Armor Ghost Soldiers (Lv8, Green)... Creature/Mid-Tier Infantry. Hardened carapace, slow movement, and large numbers.】

"And another thing." Zhao Hongyuan's voice was devoid of emotion.

Zhou Zhenguo looked in all three directions.

To the east lay an open sandy plain, flat but offering no cover; the ghost soldiers would only move faster on flat ground. To the south was a rock wall with a natural crevice, but it was too narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. It would take time for everyone to squeeze in, and the ghost soldiers wouldn't give them that time. To the north was the dense forest from which they had returned, where even more ghosts would reside.

"There's no way out," Han Lei said.

His voice was very soft, as if he had finally admitted a fact he had been unwilling to acknowledge.

Everyone fell silent.

That silence contained weariness, despair, and a deeper sense of relief, as if the end had finally been reached.

Zhou Zhenguo stood at the edge of the rocky beach, watching the dark gray silhouettes surging in from all directions. He could feel the ground beneath his feet trembling slightly, and the footsteps of the ghost soldiers converged from different directions, like a slow tide engulfing the isolated island beneath his feet.

He glanced down at the panel. His health was less than 30%, he only had one magazine of ammunition left, and his stamina was almost depleted.

The recovery potion was used up during the day.

The last message received on the communicator was three hours ago; since then, the channel has been filled with static.

"Do you remember what Zhao Derong said?" Han Lei suddenly asked.

Zhou Zhenguo turned to look at him.

"There are no useless talents, only useless people." Han Lei leaned against the rock behind him, a slight smile on his lips. "I thought he was being childish back then. Now that I think about it, it's not so bad that he died that way."

"We haven't reached that point yet," Zhou Zhenguo said.

"What level is that?" Han Lei asked in return.

Zhou Zhenguo did not answer.

He knew that what Han Lei said was true.

They were trapped here, with no way forward and no way back.

Those ghost soldiers won't disperse before the night ends; once they all surround you, the nineteen people won't last even ten minutes.

He gripped the gun tightly in his hand.

His fingers slowly tightened on the gun barrel, his knuckles turning white.

Then he heard that voice.

It wasn't the sound of ghost soldiers' footsteps, nor the whistling of the wind through the cracks in the rocks, but a very clear system notification sound that seemed to be coming from all directions at the same time.

[886 Cable Announcement: Survivor Su Mu has been detected to have met the experience requirements for winning the challenge.]

[Challenge ended.]

[886 Cable Challenge Victory.]

[You were detected to be in a hostile cable zone during the challenge. You are now eligible to teleport back as the challenge has ended. Return?]

Zhou Zhenguo was stunned.

He stood there, still holding the gun, his consciousness suddenly pulled back from the brink of death as if something had been pulling him back from the brink of death.

He looked at the line of text for two seconds, then turned to look at Han Lei.

Han Lei was also looking at the control panel.

His expression shifted from despair to bewilderment, then from bewilderment to disbelief, finally settling on a complex state—a state of wanting to laugh but unable to, wanting to cry but unable to.

"We won?" His voice was hoarse.

"We won," Zhou Zhenguo said.

Zhao Hongyuan also saw the notification.

He didn't shout or yell; he simply leaned against the rock and exhaled a long, very slow breath. The breath seemed to be squeezed from the deepest part of his chest, carrying a trembling feeling of relief after surviving a catastrophe.

"Su Mu," he repeated the name.

Zhou Zhenguo chose to return. White light rose from beneath his feet, gradually engulfing his body. In the final moment, he saw the dark gray silhouettes, which had approached to within ten meters, stop at the edge of the white light, as if blocked by some force.

The ghost soldiers couldn't catch up.

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the sensation beneath his feet had changed from rubble to a metal floor. A cable car.

Zhou Zhenguo stood in his cable car, looking at the "Challenge Ended" message on the panel. He felt as if all his strength had been drained, and slowly leaned against the wall.

The communicator vibrated.

Han Lei's message: "He's back alive."

Zhou Zhenguo replied with a single word: "Mm".

Next were Zhao Hongyuan, Li Zheng, and Chen Shan.

All nineteen people returned. Not a single one was missing.