To reach the logistics base as quickly as possible, they had to go through a primeval jungle.
The jungle was damp and muggy, the trees growing so densely that they formed an impenetrable wall, blocking any breeze.
Surprisingly, despite its size, there wasn’t a single mutated plant in this entire ancient forest.
Pushing down her suspicion, Lin Xiaohe sped through the woods.
When she was about ten kilometers from the base, the roar of fighter jets began to fill the sky above her.
An armored fighter jet, apparently cobbled together by the insurgents, screamed overhead and started circling in the airspace near her.
[Data Storm], Xinbao’s skill, immediately locked onto the jet’s reconnaissance system.
“What the hell? How did the radar just die?” The pilot frowned, forced to turn back prematurely.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Xiaohe dashed forward. Just over the mountain range ahead lay the insurgents’ logistics base.
The base’s entrance was a bio-alloy gate shielded by a protective energy barrier. The surrounding walls stretched sky-high, and a crimson energy shield shimmered with flowing light.
Two guard posts flanked the gate, and five elite [Hymn-RO7] mechanized suits stood guard like temple door gods.
These mechs were the empire’s pride, excelling in long-range combat but lacking in defense and mobility.
Lin Xiaohe rubbed her chin, a flicker of interest in her eyes.
Why were the insurgents using imperial mechs to guard their gate? Did this mean they were in contact with Tieyun, or perhaps even receiving funding from the empire itself?
If that were true, she couldn’t just barge in.
Lin Xiaohe wasn’t arrogant enough to think she could single-handedly take on three factions at once.
Her pink beetle mech kept a safe distance from the base, slowly circling to its side.
At the same time, Lin Xiaohe spent 10 skill points to upgrade Xinbao’s [I’m Just Rubbing] and [Poke and It Bursts].
[Name: Xinbao]
[Affection: 60]
[Stage: Seedling]
[Level: 5]
[HP: 150/150]
[Attack: 20]
[Skills: ① I’m Just Rubbing, Not Going In (Level 3) ② Thin as a Cicada’s Wing, Poke and It Bursts (Level 2) ③ Data Storm]
The upgraded [I’m Just Rubbing] expanded its range to a 200-kilometer radius.
[Poke and It Bursts] could now breach any firewall below S-class.
With these two skills active, the pink beetle mech slipped through the base’s red energy shield as effortlessly as a drop of water merging with the ocean, pressing itself tight against the base’s outer wall.
Lin Xiaohe wiped the sweat beading on her forehead, her eyes glued to the control screen.
She had to scale the wall and slip into the warehouse during the brief window between the patrols of two base security teams switching places.
The whole maneuver would take less than 30 seconds.
A bead of sweat dripped into her eye, stinging with salty irritation.
Both hands on the controls, she didn’t have a second to rub it.
Now!
Her hands became a blur as they flew across the controls. The pink beetle mech, swift as a shadow, shot up the wall, crested it, and dropped down the other side. With an almost impossibly precise path, it stayed just out of the patrols’ line of sight.
In the split second before the patrol turned, the pink beetle mech flickered into the warehouse like a phantom.
Lin Xiaohe let out a long, slow breath, her fingers cramping from the intense precision. “I’m a freaking genius. Thank you, QQ Dance.”
This kind of APM? All thanks to practicing dance games.
Freshly upgraded, Xinbao was eager to work and proactively began searching for the location of the imprisoned special forces unit.
The insurgents seemed supremely confident in their base’s defenses. After disarming the special forces, they’d simply locked them in an empty warehouse.
What a coincidence—the two warehouses were less than a kilometer apart.
After a short rest, Lin Xiaohe decided to press her advantage and rescue them in one go.
Inside the warehouse, the captives were parched and starving. The insurgents treated them like animals, keeping them bound and only doling out nutrient solution once in a blue moon.
They hadn’t eaten for four full days.
Wesley’s stomach gnawed at itself with hunger, feeling like his own gastric juices were digesting his insides.
He’d never gone this long without food in his entire life. “Captain, is the base really sending someone to rescue us?”
The special forces captain licked his cracked lips, reluctant to speak.
Three days without water, he barely had any saliva left.
“Soldier, we wait.”
A heavy weight pressed on everyone’s hearts. Given the Federation’s speed, help should have arrived long ago.
Had they given up on the rescue?
In the grand scheme of war, the lives of a few high school seniors might not seem so critical.
Eber was consumed by regret. If only he’d stuck with Lin Xiaohe’s team and stayed put like her, none of this would have happened.
Suddenly, a faint scratching sound came from the roof.
Everyone looked up to see a small, perfectly square hole being cut in the ceiling—just big enough for a person to squeeze through.
What was going on?
The captain stared intently at the opening. He thought he caught a glimpse of a familiar shade of pink. Where had he seen it before?
A steel cable descended through the hole, a small sign clamped in its claw-like end.
Squinting, he read the words on the sign.
[Beg me, and I’ll save you.]
A vein throbbed on the captain’s forehead. He suddenly knew who was up there—it was that eccentric new examinee!
Wesley’s eyes widened in fury as he realized it too. “Dream on! I’d rather die than beg you!”
The captain gave him a look like he was an idiot, then, without an ounce of shame, dramatically knelt. “Oh great hero, please accept my humble submission.”
Lin Xiaohe was true to her word. She maneuvered the claw to gently place the sign on the ground, then fastened it around the captain’s waist and hoisted him up.
In the blink of an eye, the captain was out.
The steel cable descended again, tapping the sign on the ground in a deeply provocative gesture.
The special forces soldiers knew a thing or two about adapting to circumstances.
It wasn’t like they were surrendering to those imperial brats. They felt no psychological burden at all.
“Please, almighty one, fish me out! I think your pink mech is super cute.”
“Boss, look at me! I’m your long-lost loyal sidekick!”
“Boss, from the very first moment I saw you, I knew you were our savior!”
The examinees’ jaws dropped as they watched these elite Federation soldiers shamelessly begging Lin Xiaohe for help in every possible way.
My black hole! Was the real difference between examinees and real soldiers the thickness of their skin?
Watching the last special forces soldier get rescued, the Fifth Star Ring students grew restless. They glanced at Wesley’s dark expression but dared not speak.
Eber’s psychological pressure had reached its limit. Fear and regret crushed down on him.
The rescue of the final special forces soldier was the last straw.
Eber burst into tears. “I was wrong! I really wanted to team up with you! It was all the Fourth Star Ring students’ fault—they forced me!”
Wesley looked at Eber as if he wanted to kill him.
But Eber didn’t care anymore. His mind was consumed by a single thought: get out of here, go home! He never wanted to take the military academy exam again!
Lin Xiaohe used the claw to haul Eber out.
Eber’s collapse was like opening a floodgate. The other examinees all started begging Lin Xiaohe to save them.
A promise is a promise. Lin Xiaohe naturally pulled them all out.
Now, only Wesley remained in the warehouse.
Beg, or not beg?
Lin Xiaohe leaned back in her seat, gazing calmly at Wesley, her expression detached.
Anyone here ever play QQ Dance? Raise your hand!
I could manage up to six-star songs, but anything harder, and I’d start missing notes.
