Chapter 141: Core Zone-2

Some of them held their ground, waiting for reinforcements. Others fought as they slowly made their way upward. Those moving upward were clearly, like Bai Yuxi and his companions, unable to bear the pressure any longer and intended to evacuate the area as soon as possible.

It was evident that the closer the super-powered warriors were to the bottom, the more formidable their strength. Bai Yuxi and his team even spotted several LDH super-powered squads wearing uniform standard-issue armor. At the very bottom of the spiraling rat path, they had formed several solid defensive lines, holding firm against the onslaught of the rat swarm.

It must be noted that at this point, the mutated rats remaining in the core area generally possessed extremely high danger ratings. Being able to withstand the impact of such a massive number of high-danger mutated rats was a testament to the formidable strength of those LDH warriors. Do not assume that the concentration of X-particles only affected super-powered warriors; it had an equal impact on extraordinary creatures.

Although not every mutated rat was as massive as the severely mutated one Bai Yuxi’s team had encountered earlier, they were generally not small. By visual estimation, the vast majority had reached the F9 or F10 level, with a small number even reaching the E1 or E2 tier.

While it was difficult to distinguish if there were even higher danger-level mutated rats in such chaotic conditions, the fact that LDH had deployed so many high-level E-class and D-class warriors, yet the boundary barrier had still been breached, suggested that there were inevitably individuals of extremely high danger within the swarm.

"We can't break through!"

"The exit above might be blocked by the super-powered warriors on the outside!"

Bai Yuxi killed a few deep-layer mutated rats that had scurried into their hiding cave and kicked their carcasses off the rat path. Watching the rat corpses tumble into the anomaly, they were shredded into a fine mist of blood by tiny spatial fragments, as if a drop of water had hit molten lava.

Bai Yuxi’s expression darkened. "Those mutated rats can't get out either; they're all jammed up there. We can't push through!"

"What about below?"

Luo Fei leaned out and took a quick peek down the sinkhole shaft. "Could there be side passages leading to the outside?"

Bai Yuxi shook his head. The possibility existed, but it was slim. The mountain body of Mount Hualan had been riddled with holes by the massive number of mutated rats, like woodworm. Even the natural cave they had entered through had collapsed during the previous tremors, let alone the rat paths dug haphazardly by the creatures.

"Wait and see for now!"

"There are still so many high-level super-powered warriors below; the situation hasn't spiraled out of control yet. As long as the squads guarding the exit can hold off this wave of the rat swarm, they can slowly wipe them out."

Su Xiaoke suddenly spoke up, "Once the outside reinforcements arrive, we can retreat with the main force!"

Chicken Leg and Bai Yuxi both nodded, agreeing with Su Xiaoke’s suggestion. Only Luo Fei remained worried. If the super-powered warriors below could not hold and the high-danger deep-layer rats surged up, their trainee squad—which had no business being in the core area in the first place—could not withstand the impact of those high-danger creatures with just Bai Yuxi alone.

But now, with no other options, they could only hope that those high-level warriors below would prove capable.

The battle between the warriors and the deep-layer mutated rats continued. Even in the relatively safe middle section of the sinkhole shaft, scattered mutated rats crawled up from time to time. This was partly because it was difficult for the few LDH squads at the bottom to completely block the surge of the swarm, and partly because, to reduce their own pressure, they deliberately let some lower-danger rats pass, leaving them for the squads in the rear to clean up.

The members of the Seventh Squad held their position in the cave. Bai Yuxi, possessing the greatest combat power, remained at the forefront. Chicken Leg and Jason served as defensive supports on either side, while the others provided assistance. Although the deep-layer mutated rats climbing the rock walls had higher danger ratings than those they had encountered before, as long as they did not exceed E-class and their numbers were not overwhelming, Bai Yuxi, with his unique circumstances, could handle them with ease.

Currently, Bai Yuxi’s physical data, in his "Super Evolution" state, had increased to about the F10 level. However, with his well-balanced development across all attributes, the strength of his muscles and organs exceeded that of an ordinary person by about tenfold. Such statistics were not just beyond F-class trainee warriors; even some E-class regular warriors might not possess them, as his physical strength was infinitely close to that of a D-class warrior!

His super-active energy level was more than four times that of a peer, and his recovery speed under "Super Evolution" was astonishing. His X-energy level in the "Super Aggregation" state was nearly infinite, coupled with his peculiar self-created combat techniques and one "Plasma Qilin Arm." Therefore, one could not measure Bai Yuxi’s true combat power using the standard metrics for super-powered warriors.

Since the frequency with which the mutated rats discovered their hiding cave was low, Bai Yuxi only needed to fight steadily. Without sustaining injury, he could use the maximum energy output he could currently withstand to ensure a one-hit kill on F10-level deep-layer mutated rats. Even if he occasionally encountered an E-class or higher severely mutated rat that he could not kill instantly, he could use his "Particle Bombardment Shield" to forcefully knock it off the spiraling rat path, which was only three or four meters wide. No matter how tough a deep-layer mutated rat was, it couldn't fly, right?

Below the sinkhole shaft, there was a large-scale anomaly waiting. Those spatial fragments cut through everything; falling in would leave not even dust behind!

The reason Bai Yuxi went to such trouble to kill the deep-layer mutated rats instead of just knocking them all down once and for all was purely to seize the opportunity to harvest X-crystals. Don't forget, he was a heavy consumer of biological nutrient solution; his life hung on super-active agents. Opportunities to harvest high-level X-crystals like this were rare. After all, high-level extraordinary creatures were not always available for a trainee squad like theirs to hunt.

Ensuring safety, every additional F10-level X-crystal he could scavenge was a win. Such rare, high-level X-crystals would surely fetch many high-level super-active agents. Every time he threw a punch, a massive amount of particle mist would rush toward him. The extraordinary energy accumulating within Bai Yuxi was increasing at a crazy, geometric rate. Under the aura of his "100% Lossless Conversion Effect Field," the members of the Seventh Squad also benefited greatly, making everyone so happy they forgot to return home.