Chapter 43: The First Squad

Other sentinels finished off the contaminated entity and gathered around the two spiritual bodies.

A commotion stirred within the dense forest, and a tall figure emerged.

Stab hauled the head of the ape king and tossed it casually onto the ground.

The creatures lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike, scattered upon seeing their leader dead.

Stab's visor was splattered with black blood, and his wolf-like eyes stared at himself in disgust.

That ape had attained spiritual sentience and was extremely cunning; it had taken Stab a considerable amount of effort to kill this SSS-rank contaminated entity.

In the distance, the blonde young girl was leaning against a large tree, her combat suit only smudged with a tiny speck of dust—completely different from his own blood-soaked and disheveled appearance.

Thus, Stab did not walk over to her.

Wen Li waited for the seventh wave of attacks to end, but the scenery did not change for a long time.

Logically speaking, Wen Li and the others had consumed quite a bit of time, so why hadn't it ended yet?

Unless the main point of this wave of attacks was not merely to kill the ape contaminated entity; there must have been something else.

Monkey screeches echoed through the dense forest once more, and the contaminated entities refreshed again.

Wen Li's gaze landed on the pit not far away, where the ape's scepter was thrust into the ground.

The Contamination Core!

"Mido, take Little Flash to the pit, but don't get too close."

Just as Wen Li was about to head over, she felt a sudden sensation of weightlessness, and upon opening her eyes, she found herself cradled in one of Cook's arms.

"Though it's rather presumptuous, your physical condition is indeed quite frail." Anxious about the contamination core, Wen Li paid no mind to this.

Amidst the envious gazes of the other team members, Cook carried her close to the scepter.

The black crystal did not directly touch the ground, preventing its pollutants from blackening the surrounding soil.

"Little Flash."

Hearing the call, the owl flew over with Little Flash.

Little Flash's antennae twitched, pointing first at Wen Li's head and then at the contamination core in the pit.

"Is it really okay? Will this cause you harm?"

The blue butterfly hesitated for a moment and then shook its head.

With a fond stroke of Little Flash's head, Wen Li enveloped Mido in three layers of spiritual power.

The owl flew toward the contamination core with the blue butterfly perched on its head.

Little Flash drew slowly closer, its antennae constantly sensing the energy before finally pressing close and merging with it.

Just as the organizers were about to witness this miraculous scene, the connector's signal suddenly cut out, leaving everyone unable to see a thing.

Little Flash's antennae completely submerged into the crystal core, and the S-rank contamination core gradually dissolved, the black crystal quickly turning transparent.

Meanwhile, as if completely drained of physical strength, Little Flash lay flat on top of the owl's head.

Everyone was deeply concerned about the blue butterfly's condition, but the resting little butterfly suddenly stretched out its antennae, as if saying it was completely fine.

Wen Li was amused by the little fellow, and Cook could feel his chest vibrating continuously.

"Come back and get some good rest, Little Flash."

As the blue butterfly was recalled, the simulated battlefield's landscape began to shift.

In the central control room, the people whose signals had just reconnected immediately began searching for that golden backing figure.

"Damn it, Angus, was this your doing?"

The blue-haired man abruptly rose, looking ready to throw punches at the seated man.

"Calm down, calm down, Vladis."

An Kui, an elder, still had to mediate between these juniors.

The central control room fell into chaos.

For the eighth wave of attacks, the arena returned to the initial jungle.

The person who appeared this time was once again someone Wen Li recognized.

A humanoid distorted entity wrapped in vines.

The culprit who had harmed Yue Li!

The little guide's mind was filled with the helpless remorse she had felt back then.

In a split second, she was ready to whip him eight hundred times with her blue threads.

Alpha Squad waited for Wen Li to vent her emotions before moving out to clear out the distorted entity.

The appearance of Little Flash had effectively performed a purification for them, so the combat-ready team quickly eliminated the distorted entity.

Yet this time, the scenery shifted rapidly—though it remained a forest landscape.

The central control room finally quieted down, the blue-haired man's face flushed red with anger as he continually glared at Angus.

Cyril, who had just stepped inside, was also caught in the crossfire.

"Birds of a feather, bah!"

Cyril hurriedly waved his hands and said,

"Is there no cost to spreading rumors? Don't wrong an innocent person."

Vladis's suppressed anger was instantly reignited.

When the Central Military Region held its meeting back then, all military regions, including the clubs, had been unwilling to accept this disabled guide.

Helplessly, the head of the Northern Front Defense Line thought that even a mosquito's leg was meat and nodded in agreement.

Just as he finished relaying the news to his soldiers, that bastard at the White Tower snatched the person away with a single phone call.

He had originally thought it was great not having to deal with a troublesome mess, seeing as no one wanted to go be an icicle in the North.

Seeing how things stood today, he realized he had been tricked.

How could Vladis not be furious?

He had even gifted three nourishing spiritual crystal fruits to the White Tower to express his gratitude for their help.

A bunch of swindlers!

Cyril's fox-like eyes narrowed into a provocatively smug smile as he exaggeratedly pointed at the little guide on the screen.

"Oh? The little guide is already in first place."

Vladis: Fuck!

Wen Li and the others, bracing themselves for the ninth wave of attacks, watched as the forest before them dissolved into fragments of data garbled code, plunging into darkness before revealing the competition grounds.

Wen Li achieved victory just like that, completely caught off guard.

Removing her helmet amidst the cheering crowd, that tall figure stood silently watching the team members celebrate.

Wen Li opened her mouth to speak, and Stab caught her gaze, which held a hint of inquiry.

Yet seeing the captain's ice-cold expression in the guide's eyes, and recalling her own various performances during the match, she didn't quite dare to look at him.

Stab could no longer bear it.

He squatted down, looking up at Wen Li.

This posture was an extreme lowering of his stance, bowing his proud head simply to let the guide before him look at him.

"Guide Wen, do you hate me?"

The sentinel reached out, carefully approaching the girl's head.

The moment his large palm drew near, the young girl subconsciously flinched away.

Wen Li hurriedly said, "Captain Stab, I don't hate you."

Words spoken like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.

"I understand. I will withdraw from your sight right now."

Stab stood up through the pain and turned away, not daring to see the look in her eyes, resembling a defeated stray dog.

"Wait..." Stab's arm was caught by a hand.

The young girl's eyes darted away, but her grip on his clothing remained firm and unyielding.

"I don't hate you. In the past, present, and even the future, I, Wen Li, will never hate you."

The young girl's face flushed slightly as she raised her pale eyes to gaze at him.

"My performance in this match was truly terrible, and I even passed out."

"I'm truly grateful for Alpha Squad's help. You are wonderful teammates, and fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with you is an immensely fortunate thing."

"Especially you, Captain Stab. I admire you."

"If possible, I would like Alpha Squad to be my first team..."

The next moment, the young girl was pulled into the man's embrace.

"My honor..."

The pleasant woody fragrance of Stab's cologne lingered around Wen Li's nose, and the man's embrace was scorching hot.

So happy he was at a loss for words, Stab tried his hardest to control his strength, terrified of hurting the little guide.

Whether it was Wen Li's heartbeat or Stab's, the steady rhythmic thumping sounded like gears turning to wind their fates together.

Until the end of their lives, frozen in time...