Published: February 12, 2025
“Hey, we are on a mission, can you stop looking at those things? It's really noisy.”
An Xue Huo person said to his companion beside him. The person next to him was watching a show on his terminal, which featured energetic songs, dances, and flashy swordplay, seemingly a popular battle dance talent show lately.
The speaker scoffed at such things. Just a few flashy moves can capture the essence of combat? It was all just show; they would probably faint at the sight of blood.
However, he also knew that these shows were necessary. The All Races of the Universe were concentrated in seven Survivor Fortresses, which were densely populated. Most of the lives there were ordinary people with mediocre talents. They might manage to learn a few combat techniques due to the energy nourishing their bodies in the cosmos, but everyone knew they weren't true warriors.
A real warrior would have to reach what is typically referred to as nine-star strength; only then would they be measured by the fuleira index.
For instance, like himself, although his fuleira was over four thousand, which wasn't high, he was still young and had room for growth in the future.
"You don't understand. This is leisure. Are you going to think about nothing but training all day like you? What's the use? Look at this person; their income in a year exceeds yours by a large margin."
"That’s true," the speaker retorted, leaving his companion somewhat speechless.
"Hey? What's wrong?"
Suddenly, his companion shook his arm in surprise and said, "Signal interruption? Could there be some conspiracy? This is too obvious! I could vote!"
His voice was a bit loud, attracting the attention of the captain responsible for this escort mission, who approached with a displeased expression and asked, "What are you making such a fuss about?"
"Oh, Captain, nothing much. I was watching a show when it suddenly cut off. I suspect there's a conspiracy."
The captain had already walked over to him, leaned in to take a look, and with a puzzled expression remarked, "There's no signal; your terminal is malfunctioning, right?"
"Really?" The person checked and indeed found there was no signal.
"What? Mine doesn't have a signal either?"
The companion who spoke first instinctively glanced at his own terminal, only to discover he had the same issue.
The captain hurriedly checked his own, and like the others, found no signal.
"Where is this? Is there some special terrain or substance blocking the signal?"
Despite the advanced technology of the All Races of the Universe, terminals could still lose connection with the mainframe in certain special places, such as near mutated plants with special properties or certain radioactive substances.
"Yanghu Artificial Forest; it seems there’s nothing special here."
One person looked outside and said doubtfully, "Could someone have deliberately blocked the signal?"
This statement made the captain's body shudder, and he sprinted to the front, where there was an intercom that allowed communication between vehicles. Luckily, it was an old mechanical vehicle that still retained such antiquated equipment.
He grabbed it, pressed the button, and shouted, "Everyone gather around me! Pay attention to the surroundings! There may be an enemy attack!"
At this moment, trusting it could happen was better than not believing. The mechanical vehicle the captain occupied was in the middle, making it instinctive for everyone to gather around him.
But just as he finished speaking, he saw the mechanical vehicle ahead shudder violently, tilting to one side before crashing to the ground. With the visual obstruction gone, the captain saw the front vehicle also topple over, even falling into a deep pit.
Now he was extremely sure they had come under attack.
"You, stay behind to contact the tribe for support, the rest of you, get out of the vehicle with me!"
Before he finished speaking, the vehicle shook violently, beginning to tip over like the one in front.
The soldiers inside the vehicle were thrown into chaos. Even though they were all experts, in a confined space, the difference from ordinary people wasn't that large.