Chapter 133: A Mind Full of Holes

It wasn’t just Bai Yuxi and his group who bolted away at full speed; the members of Qu Yi’s squad fled even faster, quicker than rabbits! In the blink of an eye, they had overtaken Bai Yuxi’s team and charged ahead, rushing into the cave that led to the core area.

But though they ran fast, they returned even faster.

The Seventh Squad, struggling to get to their feet, saw from a distance the backs of Qu Yi’s squad disappearing into the cave—only to be blasted backward by a strange, eerie howl!

Several lower-ranked trainee superpowered warriors were already dead midair, their bodies twisted grotesquely as if hit by a massive truck.

Yet Qu Yi, the detestable wretch, survived thanks to two seasoned superpowered warriors guarding him.

Together, they raised a super-active shield, protecting Qu Yi within. But unable to withstand the tremendous impact themselves, they were thrown to the ground and bounced back up like rubber balls, spraying blood into the air.

Thanks to the self-sacrifice of his two protectors, Qu Yi emerged nearly unscathed, rolling like an acrobat and landing before Bai Yuxi and the others.

“Protect me!” Qu Yi scrambled to his feet, disoriented, staggering toward the Seventh Squad, his face a mask of terror as he screamed, “Hurry, protect me!”

The Seventh Squad exchanged helpless glances, watching this pitiful figure, tears streaming down his face in pure panic as he shrank behind them.

Was this guy an idiot?

How shameless did one have to be to think they would protect him like his own subordinates?

“Though I really don’t want to say this...” Willie said with disgust, flicking Qu Yi off himself, who had latched on like a leech. “But I don’t think we should stop for such a troublesome nuisance.”

“Are you planning to repay ingratitude with self-sacrifice, sacrificing yourself to save this guy?” Willie looked down on the two guards who had nearly died protecting Qu Yi while he himself just saved his own skin. “Let me be clear—I’m no saint!”

“Whether he lives or dies is none of our business,” Xia Youyou said disdainfully, glancing at Qu Yi, who trembled like a beaten dog. “The real question is, where else can we run now?”

From the cave Qu Yi’s squad had just entered came low rumbles and strange scraping noises.

It sounded like a giant beast was clawing at the rocky cave walls with something sharp.

Occasionally, the cracking and crunching of rocks being crushed echoed sharply.

This cave, right next to the core area, had only two entrances and exits.

One was where Bai Yuxi’s team had just come out, but unfortunately, intense tremors had caused a collapse, burying much of it under rubble.

The other, theoretically, led straight to the core area—the very passage Qu Yi’s squad had used to enter the underground cavern.

This was why, after sensing the barrier’s collapse,

even though they knew a highly dangerous superpowered creature might have broken through the barrier’s containment,

they still risked rushing in headlong—only by passing through there could they reach the external passage opened by LDH.

But now, unexpectedly, the dangerous creature was spreading so rapidly.

Qu Yi’s entire squad had almost half their members killed in a collision with an immovable force, and the rest were left crippled.

From within the cave came the muffled roars and growls, along with the grating, clawing sounds of the beast scraping the rock.

Willie involuntarily swallowed hard, looking hopefully at his pale-faced comrades. “Do you think there’s any chance we could...”

“No chance!” Lofi interrupted before he could finish the unrealistic thought, gripping his combat knife tightly. “Unless you can turn into a rat and squeeze out through one of the mouse holes around here, we’re going to have to fight.”

The group fell silent. Just one collision had incapacitated a superpowered squad far stronger than themselves.

That meant the creature struggling to escape the cave was at least an E-class level threat.

But could an E-class superpowered being really cause such a huge commotion?

And destroy LDH’s high-energy barrier under the assault of a group of D-class and above superpowered warriors?

Chicken Leg and Jason silently raised their shields.

Maya and Xia Youyou clenched their weapons tightly.

Each found a position that avoided the cave’s entrance directly while still allowing them to launch attacks.

No one uttered any useless complaints like “If only we hadn’t come in here.”

Venturing into the underground cavern was their own choice, their own pit to dig, and now they had to bite the bullet and jump down.

There’s no such thing as quickly gaining strength with absolute safety and no risk.

Though they hoped for luck, everyone was mentally prepared for the dangers ahead and no one complained.

The Seventh Squad was ready for battle.

But there was still one presence beside them that everyone collectively ignored.

“What are you doing?” Qu Yi, already terrified out of his mind, screamed hysterically. “Are you trying to get yourselves killed? Don’t move! Come protect me!”

He stormed forward in a rage, grabbing Chicken Leg and Jason—who seemed to have the strongest defenses—trying to pull them in front of him like human shields.

“You! You! And you!” Qu Yi yelled wildly, pointing at Xia Youyou, Maya, and Lofi. “When the monster comes out, you three run to the back and lure it away!”

“You! You! And you!” He dragged Chicken Leg and Jason, then scolded Bai Yuxi. “You all protect me and retreat first...”

“Slap!”

Chicken Leg shook off Qu Yi’s grasp with a flick of his arm.

Looking around at his stunned comrades, who were all dumbstruck by this guy’s nonsense, he muttered in frustration, “I’m not your damn father! Why should I protect you?”

The others wore similarly strange expressions, unsure how to respond to such foolishness.

“Do you know who I am?” Qu Yi stammered, then, seeing everyone’s disdainful looks, he panicked and screamed frantically, “If you don’t protect me and I lose a single hair, you’ll all be dead!”

“Are you crazy?” Xia Youyou rolled her eyes, too tired to argue.

“Damn it!” Willie grumbled. “You’ve dragged everyone into this mess, so what does that leave me?”

“Can I hit him?” Maya blinked her big blue eyes and mischievously teased, “Since we’re all going to die anyway, why not have some fun beating him up first?”

(To be continued.)