Chapter 71 - Helplessness

“Those monsters are moving in the same direction as the Legion Leader’s exploration team.

They are in danger,”

Lin Zinuo panicked at once.

If the Legion Leader and her team were to be heavily damaged, the entire Legion would be doomed, and none of them would have good days ahead.

Zhou Qian and the others also panicked upon hearing this, losing their composure a bit.

“So what do we do now?”

“No, we must hurry and catch up with the Legion Leader’s exploration team and warn them in advance to prevent an ambush.”

Lin Zinuo’s expression underwent a series of changes.

“Alright!”

All the survivors present, without any sign of hesitation or fear, promptly responded.

However, Su Mo suddenly spoke, dismissing Lin Zinuo’s suggestion.

“No!”

“Su Mo, you aren’t scared, are you?”

Lin Zinuo asked, furrowing his brow slightly.

“There are only fifteen of us left now, only about seven of whom are combat players.

Plus, there is one severely damaged Mecha.

Chasing them now and running straight into those monsters would be certain doom,”

Su Mo said bluntly.

Among these fifteen people were eleven women and four men.

Female combat players: Lin Zinuo, Zhou Qian, Sun Hong, Gao Mei, Xiao Lu, Zhou Wenna.

Female life players: Li Miaocui, Wang Lan, Zhang Youdie, Zhao Ying, Wang Pingyan.

Male combat players: Su Mo, male life players: Qin Wang, Li Kuo, Wang Dalong.

“Still, we can’t just retreat.

The Legion Leader is leading exploration groups 1-6, nearly comprising the strongest combat players in the entire Legion.

If they suffer heavy damage, our Tenth Legion will be almost doomed as well.”

Lin Zinuo bit her lip, her eyes showing unwavering determination, unwilling to give up despite the danger she was determined to face.

Su Mo scoffed lightly, “Have you gone mad?

It’s simple to send intelligence.

Why would you sign up for death?

This is just a game; you can just log off and tell them in reality.”

Upon hearing Su Mo’s words, Lin Zinuo’s expression instantly became very animated, feeling a bit silly.

She had forgotten that she could log off.

But it was understandable as the simulation level of this world was so realistic that it blurred the lines between reality and the virtual world.

Zhou Qian and the others also had very odd and somewhat embarrassed expressions.

Lin Zinuo coughed to ease the awkwardness, then addressed everyone, “Wait here for a moment, I’ll log off now.”

“Alright.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Following that, Lin Zinuo logged off the game.

Su Mo simply sat down on the spot, took out mineral water and cookies from his backpack, and began eating to restore his strength as much as possible.

Since Lin Zinuo’s trip offline to convey the message would probably take a long time—after all, there was a time difference in the game.

Zhou Qian also told the other siblings, “Everyone rest here, have something to eat, and recover your strength as soon as possible.

Once Sister Zinuo is back, we’ll probably need to start the next step of the evacuation.”

“Okay….”

Sitting nearby, Su Mo ate while his eyes inadvertently glanced at his bracelet, revealing a slight surprise in his gaze.

He tapped the bracelet a few times, and it actually had a log.

Notice: Congratulations on killing a Type I Mutant Species (general species) alone, unlocking the achievement, Junior Pioneer (title).

Notice: Congratulations on killing a Type I Mutant Species (elite) alone, receiving an experience boost of 5, Junior Pioneer (5/100).

Notice: Congratulations on proficiently operating a Generation I Mecha, unlocking the achievement, Junior Mecha Operator.

Notice: Congratulations on consecutively slaying thirty Bai Ze alone, receiving 3 achievement points.

As Su Mo watched the scrolling log, he became increasingly interested.

It seemed he was starting to achieve something.

These achievements would likely serve as resumes for guilds to assess the strength of players.

Su Mo flipped through the journal briefly and discovered that all his battle data were recorded.

Additionally, there was a system on the bracelet called the KIP Estimated Combat Value, which would give a comprehensive evaluation and score based on the difficulty of your battles and your achievements.

His KIP score was 342.

Su Mo didn’t know if this score was considered high or low.

However, one thing hadn’t changed: Achievements only served as a form of glory, meant to prove oneself.

They didn’t have any real rewards or significant impact.

So far, the public tasks on the bracelet were survival tasks from a unidimensional civilization, and there hadn’t been much progress.

Just as Su Mo was deeply engrossed in browsing the bracelet,

Lin Zinuo’s illusory figure began to gradually appear; she had logged back online.

“Sister Zinuo, did you manage to notify the Legion Leader?”

Zhou Qian and the others asked nervously.

If they couldn’t notify him, they would be in trouble and might really need to chase after the main force.

“I’ve already talked to Sister Zhao Han.

She’ll notify the Legion Leader.

We don’t have to worry about that,”

Lin Zinuo responded with a hint of worry.

“Isn’t that good news?

Why do you look so unhappy, Sister Zinuo?”

Zhou Qian hadn’t even had time to feel happy when she keenly noticed that Lin Zinuo’s expression was off.

“We are in big trouble now,”

Lin Zinuo sighed.

“Sister Zinuo, is it because Sister Zhao Han is blaming us for losing the base and the casualties?”

Zhou Qian hesitated as she asked.

“Well, let’s not talk about that for now, the biggest trouble is, what should we do?”

“Shouldn’t we be pulling back?”

“We can’t go back to Dawn City,”

Lin Zinuo stated after a few seconds of silence.

“What?”

Everyone was stunned and voiced their astonishment.

Su Mo, also looking confused, turned to Lin Zinuo and asked, “What happened?”

“It’s not just us who were attacked; Dawn City also faced a large-scale monster onslaught.

These monsters came from the direction of Dawn City, and now the first six elite groups are absent, and the remaining six groups are desperately defending.

The situation is very critical.

Sister Zhao Han told us not to return now.

They are struggling to protect themselves and are simply unable to assist us,”

Lin Zinuo explained to Zhou Qian and the others.

“What do we do then, stay here?”

Qin Wang and others asked anxiously.

“We can’t stay here, it’s not safe, and we will eventually be discovered by the monsters,”

Su Mo vetoed the suggestion.

This area was definitely no longer safe; staying here was tantamount to slow suicide.

“I also discussed this with Sister Zhao Han, and her final suggestion was for us to detour around the monster groups and try to rendezvous with the exploration team.

This way, we could have some support and also reinforce them,”

Lin Zinuo calmly outlined the situation.

“Since the situation in Dawn City is so critical, why hasn’t the Legion Leader changed the strategic objective and returned?”

Zhou Qian was very puzzled.

If their base was compromised, everything could be doomed.

“I’m not sure about that; the Legion Leader might have his own considerations.

Now, my suggestion is to detour around these monsters and try to meet up with the main force.

Do any of you have objections?”

Lin Zinuo’s gaze swept across everyone present, finally resting on Su Mo.