Invasion [Towards the Outpost] Chapter 13

He had nothing more to say.

Ni Ji waited for a moment, hearing no other sound. He turned around and walked forward.

The red blood repeatedly blurred his vision; he no longer raised his arm to wipe it away.

The whole world was a blood-red world.

Chaotic breaths filled the screen, echoing in the ears of every viewer.

The square before the screen was deathly silent. The sentinels stood tightly-lipped, a dark, oppressive silence hanging heavy in the air.

Chapter 6

The last soldier discovered was standing when he died.

His dead body was monstrously enlarged beyond normal human proportions.

Like a patchwork of strange creatures or a grotesquely twisted colossal statue, in short, he bore no semblance of humanity.

Only the half of his face marked with scars remained unchanged, his lowered eyelashes seemingly calmly gazing at his belated comrades.

Ni Ji stood in the shadow of the towering structure, looking up at that familiar face.

Everyone on the training ground followed Ni Ji’s gaze, watching the soldier’s final form.

This sentinel had gone berserk.

Everyone silently whispered this word in their hearts.

In the final battle, this sentinel had overused his abilities beyond what he could endure.

Crossing that boundary, he lost control of his mental powers, and his consciousness slipped into the abyss, falling into complete madness.

In that frenzied world, his spirit and body fused chaotically, transforming into an utterly monstrous being.

Berserk—a nightmare hanging over the heads of every low-level sentinel.

Each sentinel was like a dancer treading on sharp blades, never knowing when they might stumble.

Click—the fuse blows.

And so he became a twisted monster.

That berserk sentinel had long since died.

Yet, like a colossal black tower, he lowered his gaze, casting a shadow over everyone before the screen.

Soft, scattered sounds arose on the training ground.

Some undisciplined rookies quietly wept.

Others began to curse.

More whispered among themselves, seriously discussing the tragic reasons behind the soldiers’ deaths.

The world on the screen remained utterly silent.

The captain quietly pried open the dead comrade’s hand, took the gun from his palm, and loaded bullet after bullet.

He remained silent, not uttering a word.

Holding the gun, fully loaded, he stepped over the bodies of his fallen comrades and moved forward.

At the feet of his deceased comrades, three words were carved in fresh blood:

“Researcher”

The screen brightened once more.

At the edge of the contaminated zone, just a few hundred meters from the exit gate.

That researcher clutched his backpack tightly in his arms, sweat pouring down his face as he stood before Ni Ji, offering a sycophantic, forced smile.

His expression was not particularly panicked, as if everything was still under control and could be negotiated.

“I’m telling you, just put the gun away first,” he wiped the sweat from his brow and opened a corner of his backpack to show Ni Ji. “Do you know what this is? Bug jade, alive, a chunk this big.”

He glanced around nervously, even in this desolate place wary of being spied upon. Lowering his voice, he leaned toward Ni Ji, “It’s extremely rare, worth a fortune. High-ups got wind of it and specifically sent me in to retrieve it.”

Bug jade was a special ore born only within the heavily polluted zone. Some said it was the core of the contamination; others claimed it was the egg of some twisted god. Monsters would never allow anyone to take bug jade away.

Whatever the reason, the moment anyone carried bug jade near the gate, every monster within the polluted zone would be roused by some force, collectively maddened, surging relentlessly toward the jade’s location.

That was why bug jade in human hands was exceedingly rare. Only a handful truly understood its properties.

Ni Ji’s calm voice sounded, “I see. I found it odd that you insisted on pulling sentinels from the entire post to protect you, and even increased the pay beyond usual.”

His voice was as steady and clear as ever, seemingly devoid of any special emotion.

“That money is nothing, just a drop in the bucket, a ruse,” the researcher laughed. “We take this bug jade out, and all kinds of treasures await. Money, rank, or perhaps you want a guide? I’m telling you, none of that is impossible.”

The large screen was filled with his greedy, triumphant face.

The so-called ‘drop in the bucket’ was the hope in countless soldiers’ hearts. For this, they risked their lives to protect him all the way.

“Why not tell everyone beforehand?” Ni Ji asked.

He needed to get to the bottom of things.

“That’s standard procedure. You just didn’t know,” the researcher said, rubbing his fingers together. “This is a private job, you know? The profits go straight into a few people’s pockets—how could it be publicly announced? Besides, if those soldiers knew in advance, it might cause trouble.”

Perhaps it was Ni Ji’s composed demeanor, or perhaps he truly didn’t see the deaths of several sentinels as a big deal.

As he spoke, the researcher even dared to reach out and pat Ni Ji’s shoulder.

“Captain Ni, you’re capable. I’ll introduce you up the ranks. Want to transfer to the imperial capital?”

“Your men are impressive. I heard all the teams sent here before failed.”

“You didn’t see it, but one of your soldiers transformed into a giant iron bear at the last moment—towering as high as the tower. It scared me. He crushed the remaining monsters, and only then was I able to escape here.”

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, cutting off his words.

The man screamed in pain, clutching his bleeding knee as he collapsed to the ground.

The priceless bug jade tumbled from his backpack, rolling into the dust at his feet.