Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 967 - 24: Breakthrough

Chapter 967: Chapter 24: Breakthrough

"I don’t want it," Zuo Yi refused, pursing his lips as he stuffed the shield back into Tang Zheng’s hands. He was touched to the core, filled with an impulse to die for his confidant, knowing that the chances of survival would greatly increase with this shield. However, he already owed the Group Leader too much and couldn’t repay it.

"Stop arguing," Tang Zheng returned the shield to Zuo Yi’s hands. He had a Tyrannosaurus, a Carapace Shield, and Hellfire; he really didn’t need this Light Defense Shield. Besides, loaning it to Zuo Yi temporarily would showcase his personal charm, making the newbies more compliant, possibly even winning over people like Zeng Fanghai and Lin Chen.

Indeed, Lin Chen and his group were all staring at Tang Zheng as if he were a monster, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Is this guy an idiot?" Zeng Fanghai muttered under his breath, actually stemming from envy. Although their Group Leader was decent, he wasn’t as generous as Tang Zheng.

"Alright, let’s set off. Mr. Qian, if you would," Tang Zheng said after giving the newbies three minutes to recover. After catching his breath, he urged them onward again.

This time, Qian Xue learned his lesson and set off without any complaints, holding his rifle.

"Lin Chen, Zuo Yi, the two of you will be a team; stay safe," Tang Zheng instructed as the four newbies left.

Lin Chen’s mouth twitched, but he ultimately didn’t refuse.

"Lin He, Old Soldier, you two pair up; Zhou Xiang, you’re with me." Pairing a member from each of the two squads gave the Instant Noodle Team no grounds for refusal—they had to comply.

The sixth and seventh floor lobbies and passages were littered with the corpses of Bugs and native Humans, clearly having been the scene of intense battles. Their combat had also affected the traps, deactivating them, so the squad passed through unscathed.

"Why are there no Bugs on the lower floors?" Lin He asked, puzzled.

"They probably came up through another route. When we go back, we can take that route," Tang Zheng patiently explained, his steady tone reassuring everyone.

The newbies all breathed a sigh of relief; they really didn’t want to go through the laser passage and Lightning Hall again.

"What if we encounter a Bugs nest?" Zhou Xiang’s thoughts weren’t as thorough; he was mainly looking to nitpick Tang Zheng, but Tang Zheng was prepared.

"Certainly, but it’s still much safer than going back the way we came," Tang Zheng paused before deciding to reveal his speculation. "There must be Bugs in the laboratory. Their absence means they are attacking another squad."

"Spot on," Silver Trojan’s voice suddenly interrupted, startling everyone. "Because the mixed Nepalese squad didn’t follow the map provided by the Trojan, they triggered other traps and are now being fiercely attacked by the Bugs and the native guards."

Zeng Fanghai was taken aback, thankful that they hadn’t listened to him; otherwise, they would’ve been the ones in trouble.

"Announcement, the laboratory will self-destruct in one hour. If the survivors fail to obtain the Insect Race gene sample within the time limit, they will be deemed to have failed and will be collectively executed."

"Mix Nepalese squad, mixed Chinese squad, please make an effort. Don’t let the game end prematurely."

"Damn it, what a trap!" Lin Chen cursed out loud. Not just him—all the survivors on the starship heard it and were cursing up a storm.

"Why should we entrust our lives to those Chinese monkeys?" Kwon Tae Hyun was devastated, taking out his frustration on everything around him.

"There are also Nepalese monkeys; we should kill them all," Jin Anhui said, licking her lips, her eyes filled with malice. This feeling of having their fate in the hands of others was utterly terrible.

"Everyone, calm down. Right now, we should ambush outside the laboratory. I think those samples will definitely relate to the next phase of the game. They’ll probably end up fighting fiercely and both sides will be injured; isn’t it better for us to take advantage of the situation?" Li Zhien, the strategist of the team, was always calm, even in the face of death.

"Good idea, but why don’t we actively search for the samples ourselves? What if they all die?" A new member was still worried, questioning the plan.

"If they’re all dead, we’ll just die with them," Li Zhien glanced at him. "We can’t wait for Trojan’s map anymore. I have a rough idea of how to find the laboratory."

...

"We’re going to support Tang Zheng!" Dantai hadn’t considered the Group Leader failing. His concern was what challenges they’d face after seizing the samples. As for the map, he also had one; what Tang Zheng could think of, so could he.

At this moment, the majority of the mixed squads, such as the Nepalese, could only look on helplessly, clueless about what to do.

...

Upon entering the eighth floor lobby, the squad had only walked about twenty meters when a shrill alarm sounded. A squad of mechanical guards burst out of the passage, wielding assault rifles and spraying bullets at them.

Mr. Qian reacted fastest, immediately hitting the ground. The middle-aged man newbie behind him was out of luck—he was riddled with bullets, his upper body shattered to pieces, blood scattering everywhere.

The stench of blood suddenly filled everyone’s nostrils, and the female newbies, having seen their fair share of corpses, managed not to scream. But faced with the onrush of mechanical soldiers, they had no intention of resisting. Some of the smarter newbies lay on the ground waiting for Tang Zheng and his team to crush the onslaught, while one woman completely lost her cool and tried to run back the way she came, only to be shot in the scapula, her entire arm blown off.

"Save me!" the unfortunate woman cried out in agony on the ground, but the Conquerors could not afford to pay her any attention, as they were returning fire.

Zuo Yi was from the Shooting series. After activating his ability, he hardly missed a shot. Thunderballs roared and hit the heads of the three mechanical guards in the front, blasting them to pieces.

Tang Zheng and Zhou Xiang went full firepower, their S-grade firearms’ barrage suppressing the mechanical guards and killing them. Amidst the clinking sound of falling parts, they had no time to feel relieved as two more squads of guards rushed into the lobby.

"Retreat to reorganize the line," Zhou Xiang, driven by selfishness, suggested. In battle, their first consideration was always how to conserve strength, to survive first and then eliminate the enemy. He didn’t want to waste ammunition alone, which was why he made such a proposal.

"Don’t give ridiculous orders. Use your vehicles as cover," Xu Biyun snapped, then rolled behind the Leopard 2A6 tank Tang Zheng had thrown out. Getting up, she leapt onto the tank, landing precisely in the gunner’s seat.

With a creak, the turret turned, followed by the boom of the 120mm smoothbore gun firing a massive projectile that plowed through the mechanical guards, knocking them over in droves. The entire body of the tank jerked backward, nearly crushing a newbie underneath.

Lin Weiguo jumped in, taking over the loading of ammunition. Less than three seconds passed before he fired again, hitting the alloy wall and creating a large dent, with the projectile embedded in it.

"Zhou Xiang, Zuo Yi, you handle the left passage. Instant Noodle Team, the rest of you, take the right passage," Tang Zheng ordered, wielding a Gatling machine gun in each hand and spraying bullets down the right passage.

Xu Biyun naturally provided cover for Tang Zheng. The turret swung around, and she fired. The armor-piercing rounds tore through the corridor, scattering metal fragments everywhere as the mechanical guards shattered, limbs flying in all directions.

After five minutes of combat, all the mechanical guards were destroyed. Zhou Xiang, thinking of all the ammunition he had used, felt an unbearable pang of loss, but the results of the fight left no room for complaint.

"Don’t waste time, let’s move," Lin Chen urged, pushing Mr. Qian forward into the passage. However, only fifty meters in, he sensed something amiss. A section of the ceiling opened, revealing a light beam weapon within, its red dot scanner flickering as it moved with the muzzle.

"Run!" Zhou Xiang yelled, activating his shield and sprinting ahead. His death-fearing actions inadvertently attracted the light beam weapon’s scans, with more than half re-calibrating to lock on him and begin bombardment.

"Idiot, smash them!" Tang Zheng was the first to raise his gun and blast the overhead light beam emitters. Even as he sprinted, he did not forget to shoot, and in that moment, the effect of having fired millions of bullets finally showed. Moving rapidly, Tang Zheng’s aim was almost without fail, making even the ability-activated Zuo Yi feel outmatched, and quite frustrated.

"Damn it!" Zhou Xiang was furious; he couldn’t stop or he would become a sitting duck. But his current predicament wasn’t any better, he was nothing but cannon fodder bait.

Despite this, a third of the light beam weapons still targeted Tang Zheng and his team. Occasionally, a stray beam managed to shoot over, but the Conquerors running ahead served as meat shields. After more than a hundred meters, not a single newbie had died.

"You should thank me for my heroic act," Zhou Xiang continued to seek recognition, but was still ignored. The newbies understood that Tang Zheng destroying the light beam emitters was the reason they survived.

"A bunch of ingrates," Zhou Xiang cursed, urging Qian Xue to hurry along.

"Are you okay?" Han Ze, dripping with sweat, approached Teng Yuangxiang and offered her a piece of the chocolate he had saved, "Hungry? Eat it."

"I don’t need you to worry about me," Teng Yuangxiang was beyond annoyed, finding him overly clingy, "Can you stay away from me?"

"Xiangxiang, I will protect you," Han Ze said with a pained expression, feeling that Teng Yuangxiang didn’t understand the depth of his affection, "Only I am your true destination."

"So cheesy, just get lost," Teng Yuangxiang snapped, having long forgotten Tang Zheng’s instructions. She only thought of surviving at this point.

Tang Zheng didn’t bother with these matters. His mind raced, contemplating the upcoming events and devising countermeasures.

The ninth-floor lobby had no attack devices, but as soon as everyone entered, the entire lab interior began to move like a Rubik’s cube, restructuring itself.

Some parts of the floor rose, some sections of the ceiling descended, and even began to invert. The team could no longer stand steady; especially after the floor tilted, they all slid down.

Five minutes later, the transformation stopped, and everything had changed. Fortunately, the survivors hadn’t been scattered. As they got up, they found an entrance directly opposite.

The room inside was spacious, with a circular platform in the center holding six test tubes filled with a pale blue liquid. There was no need to ask; they all knew this was the target of their mission.

"We’ve found it!" The newbies were overjoyed, but the Conquerors looked gravely serious. Nonetheless, no one spoke a word, and they all dashed forward.

"First, let’s secure them," Zeng Fanghai remained on high alert.

.....

PS, asking for a few monthly tickets! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)