The car drove to the left, and except for the four heads of the Roman army, which left the city according to Wei Huan's orders, the entire undead army also moved to the left.
They spotted the car from about a kilometer away.
These are also minivans designed for beginners, but their exterior colors have become increasingly flashy and gaudy.
Some were completely blacked out, while others were covered in colorful graffiti. There was even a headless little yellow duck on the roof of one of the cars.
It's just changing the car's exterior color and adding an exterior decoration; the points required are very cheap, usually around 10 points are enough.
After all, they're veteran challengers; everyone has some points on their hands.
Moreover, if you stay in a comfort zone for too long, you will stop focusing on improving your equipment and start doing useless things.
Wei Huan looked at the six cars not far ahead.
It's certain that these cars weren't there before; Ghost Crow wouldn't have seen them and not told him.
So these cars have only just appeared.
In other words, someone had been hiding in the city all along, only revealing themselves after learning they had been rescued.
It can't be such a coincidence that he just returned, right?
"Wei, Wei Huan?"
The car at the front was a black van with its level 3 arrow tower on top in an attack stance, indicating that it was probably the best-developed vehicle among them.
Therefore, it was the people in this car who shouted.
The window of the black van rolled down, and a person leaned out, half of their face covered by a gray cloth. Judging from the voice, it was a woman.
Mu Zhongze spoke on Wei Huan's behalf: "Hello, we are Wei Huan's caravan. As you can see, this army of the undead is unique in the world, no doubt about it."
The woman was silent for a few seconds, then opened the car door and got out.
A crumpled, gray rag wrapped her body from head to toe. After taking a few steps, under Mu Zhong's seemingly smiling gaze, she tore off the cloth from her face, revealing a beautiful, tanned face.
Then, the fabric continued to tear downwards, revealing the neck and chest area, until it was completely opened, revealing a set of almond-white clothing underneath.
The most striking feature is the Northeast Army badge affixed to the left side of his chest.
The woman walked into the car's attack range, her gaze falling on Mu Zhong's face. She raised her hand and saluted.
"Challenging the World, Northeast Challenger Army, stationed at Supply Point No. 3 on the Second-Class Highway, Fan Tao reporting for duty!!"
The sound was powerful and resonant, like a bullet that could leave a crater when it hit the ground.
Her eyes were straight and sharp, filled with unwavering determination.
Mu Zhong glanced at Wei Huan, subconsciously straightened his clothes, then pushed open the car door, drove his wheelchair, and got out of the car.
Liu Chengzhi hurriedly followed, pushing the cart from behind as a bodyguard.
Wei Huan lagged behind, instructing the smart home assistant to keep a close eye on the situation before opening the door and getting out of the car.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he heard Mu Zhong say, "Hello Captain Fan, I am Mu Zhong, a reserve member of the sixth squad of the Northeast Challenge Army Dragon Group."
"Greetings, Commander Mu." Fan Tao shook Mu Zhong's hand, and under Mu Zhong's questioning gaze, looked at Wei Huan, then at their car, before explaining, "Your names are known throughout the entire Great Xia, as the Northeast..."
The soldiers of the military region are a source of great pride for me, so it's natural that I pay them extra attention.
Wei Huan walked up to Fan Tao and shook the hand that Fan Tao offered. "Hello, please tell me about the situation first."
The brief pleasantries ended there; clearly, now was not the time for mutual flattery. Confirming identities was merely to ensure sufficient trust and to understand the true situation here.
"...The treasure spawned nearby, but the problem is that it's a huge treasure with 28 fragments. It's been obtained by multiple forces, and they've jointly deduced that it's located here."
At this point, Fan Tao could no longer feign composure. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she struggled to control her anger, saying, "The large gathering of people here attracted the attack of the wandering monsters. The troublemakers fled together, leaving only us at the original supply point, who had to defend against the monsters' attack, which was many times faster than ours..."
Finally, Fan Tao couldn't continue.
Many people died; her comrades and companions were devoured alive by those monsters right before her eyes.
Just a moment ago, they were chatting and laughing, celebrating their upcoming promotion.
On what grounds?
Will they pay the price for the greed of those people? Will they have to pay the cost for their reckless behavior?
Xiao Kai's child was just born!
How cruel it is to be born into this world without a father.
Fan Tao raised her hands to cover her face, took a deep breath, and tried not to break down.
It's so embarrassing. These are two younger people who are younger than me and have only just passed the secondary road race, yet they have become my support.
This shouldn't be the case.
After calming down and adjusting her breathing, Fan Tao said, "Fortunately, we built an underground safe house under this city. After returning to the Challenge World, we have been living in it, taking turns living in several vehicles by rotating the crew."
Someone heard the fighting and came out to investigate, and that's when they found you.
As she finished speaking, a faint smile returned to Fan Tao's face as she looked eagerly at Wei Huan, Mu Zhong, and Liu Chengzhi behind them.
"Starting today and continuing until early tomorrow morning, many challengers will return, making this area the most dangerous. What we need to do now is to open up a passage in and out of the city and transport the people out of the city as soon as possible to prevent more wandering monsters from appearing after nightfall."
"Okay." Wei Huan nodded.
Mu Zhong also said, "The people sent by the authorities to meet us are already outside the city. You can prepare a list of people now, and we can send them out directly."
"Now?"
Fan Tao was genuinely surprised this time. She glanced back at the seven cars parked behind her. The people hiding inside the cars had gotten out and were looking over hesitantly and excitedly.
Then she turned her head and looked at the remains of the underground beast mother that had been protecting Wei Huan's car.
I don't know if it's because of its scary appearance, but looking at it like this actually makes me feel safer.
"Okay." Fan Tao nodded in the end, and without delay, turned around to count the number of people.
She stepped a short distance away, and Wei Huan said with certainty, "She is not the captain of this garrison."
Mu Zhong's heart skipped a beat, and Liu Chengzhi couldn't help but stare wide-eyed: "What is that?"
Wei Huan was surprised by their strong reaction and explained with a smile, "She should be a support class that was protected by the team until the very end."
"
You mean…" Mu Zhong thought for a moment, "She took over the team's duties and continued to challenge the world, right up until now?"
"Mm." Wei Huan nodded.
This is a very strange thing.
Although support roles have a very tough time during the race, once they successfully become challengers and are assigned to a combat squad, they will definitely be protected and be the last ones to survive.
In his memory, there was a girl who went from one squad to another. Every squad was wiped out during missions, leaving only her alive. She was secretly called a "jinx".
In the end, the girl fought her way up to Sequence Six and became the world's best support class, "Angel of Life".
Before returning, Wei Huan was fortunate enough to attend an online open class taught by this angel of life.
She said, "The reason I am still alive is because my mission is to save more people."
Whenever I feel like I can't go on, I remember the voices that support me from behind, telling me to run, to run forward, and not to look back.
So I kept running forward, never giving up, never looking back. I wanted to become the strongest battlefield healer, to go to the most dangerous places, and to contribute even the last bit of strength to the brave soldiers.
A "jinx," a healer known as "poisonous milk," yet on the front lines of the war, he saved countless warriors and held off wave after wave of dark beast armies.
That girl's name is Angel of Life—Jiang Yue.
Jiang Yue is not Fan Tao, but Fan Tao, who returned despite such danger, will eventually become another angel of life.
Wei Huan admires every beautiful figure who goes against the current.
Sure enough, Fan Tao quickly returned the list, but her name was not on it.
Mu Zhong asked her why.
She said, "Many more people will be coming back, and I have to stay here. They have seen me and trust me more. I am confident that I can arrange for them to leave the city in an orderly manner."
"Okay." Mu nodded, then moved the wheelchair aside and said, "Would you like to get in and rest for a while? It's going to be tough from here on out."
Fan Tao shook her head: "I am very familiar with the situation in the city. Now that you have cleared out the monster hordes in the city, I can proceed with peace of mind."
After a pause, Fan Tao added, "But I remember that the parking lot is now blocked by ruins. If a large number of vehicles appear on those ruins, an accident may occur."
Wei Huan asked directly, "How many helpers do you need to clean this up in a short time?"
Fan Tao's gaze swept over Wei Huan and the other two, then turned to the massive Earth Beast Mother Beast. After a moment's thought, she said, "Can they help? Three? Two? One? One is enough."
Fan Tao believed that the skeletons of the five female cave beasts here represented the entirety of Wei Huan's combat power.
Wei Huan asked, "Are 20 enough?"
"ah?"
"That should be enough." After saying that, Wei Huan had a thought, and four huge teleportation portals appeared behind him. One after another, the skeletons of underground beast mothers, each the size of a truck, walked out of the portals and quickly filled his field of vision.
Fan Tao's mouth was slightly open, unable to close.
The group of challengers behind him gasped in shock.
Now, for the first time, they have a more intuitive understanding of the strength of the champions.
this
The skeletal remains of those cave beasts—one of them could overturn their vehicle! And kill them!
Wei Huan brought 20 of them at once! He could easily slaughter them all!
And is this Wei Huan's full strength? No! Look at all those running around and flying in the sky, they're all people, so why is there such a huge difference?
At that moment, a tiny facehugger suddenly jumped out of the dark ruins and leaped onto Wei Huan's back.
"Watch out!" someone couldn't help but warn.
Wei Huan simply turned slightly to the side, letting the facehugger crawl on his back, wrapping its arms around his neck and head.
Then Wei Huan whispered something.
This appearance is almost like a facehugger being affectionate.
Of course, it was the dog that came.
The dog is an elite creature, very intelligent. Wei Huan had it lead these underground beast mothers to help Fan Tao move things, and at the same time protect people.
Such complex instructions, given that they were not given in person by Wei Huan, would be difficult for ordinary undead to execute accurately.
Call the dog over, and the matter will basically be settled.
Then, Wei Huan looked at Fan Tao and said, "Gesture, don't talk, they won't understand. If they don't understand the gestures, just do it yourself, and they will imitate."
"Uh, okay."
Fan Tao's gaze fell once again on the facehugger that had jumped down. From its carapace, it looked like a spider about half a meter in size, with an oval body that was slightly angular, and a white and smooth exoskeleton that moved very nimbly.
But Fan Tao knew that the facehugger's abdomen was terrifying. She had just seen the tear in the facehugger's abdomen bite into the back of Wei Huan's head.
It's hard to imagine that Wei Huan would look at this facehugger with such tenderness.
The dog walked a few steps, saw Fan Tao standing in the same spot, then ran back, twisted its body, and gestured for her to follow.
After going back and forth twice, Fan Tao came to her senses and hurriedly followed.
Then I realized that this thing looks like a dog.
Fan Tao's destination wasn't far, only a ten-minute walk away; it was a "parking lot" located in the city's central square.
In the road challenge, the car and the challenger are bound together. If the person leaves, the car will also disappear. When they return, they will come back directly from the car.
So I don't want to be awkwardly stuck in some alley or cave, or to come back and knock someone's car off its roof.
The "parking lot" and the "challenge room" are two special areas for maintaining order.
In challenging the world, at least in major powers like Great Xia, Osam, and Tula, there are strict regulations requiring people to park in designated "parking lots" within the city.
The parking lot is marked with individual parking spaces, just like on Earth. After registering and parking in a space, the car will disappear once you choose to return to Earth.
The parking space will be reserved for 30 days, which is also the 30-day limit for maintaining the challenger status.
The benefits of doing this are not only to maintain order, but also to keep track of how many people give up their challenger status each month.
However, some countries charge for parking, while others do not.
At Supply Point 3, there is a building that we are very proud of: the government office building surrounding the central square, modeled after the first city of the Great Xia Dynasty, Qianfeng City.
In desert areas, without the aid of modern technology, it is not easy to build a four-story building.
However, there are two such buildings at Supply Point No. 3: one is used as an office and the other is a trading hall.
In the past, Supply Point No. 3 was the largest trading place within a thousand miles.
This is why, despite being just a supply point, it has a towering and sturdy city wall.
But now, both buildings have been completely destroyed in the monster's attack, leaving ruins scattered on the ground.
Once those vehicles return, they might just be crushed underneath.
Standing before the ruins, Fan Tao hesitated, then pointed ahead to the dog.
The dog, not understanding what it meant, jumped up, nimbly climbed the ruins, circled around, and returned without doing anything.
Remembering Wei Huan's instructions, Fan Tao went forward to pick up the stone.
She moved the stones one by one from the ruins and piled them up to the edge of the area.
During this time, the dog kept watching her.
Until she made her third trip back and forth...
"Whee~~Whee~~" The dog suddenly let out a sharp whistle.
Then Fan Tao saw that the abdominal cavities of the underground beast mothers surrounding the ruins opened, and one after another, white bone balls fell out in clusters.
The moment these white bone spheres landed, their eight long legs spread out and lay prone on the ground like a white wave, rustling and surging up the ruins.
Facehugger!
Countless facehuggers!!
On the battlefield, the facehugger, which sends chills down the spines of humans, also made Fan Tao's hair stand on end.
But she saw these facehuggers, after climbing up the ruins, pick up a piece of rubble, run to her feet, and drop it.
In the blink of an eye, a layer of that vast rubble was removed, yet piled up into a small mountain around him.
"Wow, so strong...? 'Come see the latest chapter# complete chapter'()"
Fan Tao suddenly realized that she could speak to such a spirit with gentle affection.
...
Wei Huan then drove the car and personally escorted the group away.
There were six vehicles and 16 people in total. Each vehicle carried two people, some of whom were comrades-in-arms, and others were couples.
They did indeed successfully log off during the monster siege.
However, for various reasons, they did not stay on Earth for long before venturing back to the Challenge World.
But once they arrived, they were trapped in the city.
Unable to leave or return to Earth, they endured fear and hunger until Wei Huan appeared.
Many of them are middle-aged.
Many of them were among the first to enter the challenge world, gritting their teeth to maintain their status as challengers, but daring not to go any further.
Staying on the second road, opening treasure chests, collecting treasure maps, and doing some business, he gradually came to regard this place as his workplace.
When the city is safe, they maintain the city's operation perfectly.
But when war breaks out, how can these people, who dare not even face challenges, have the strength to protect the city?
Now, upon hearing that they were to be escorted away, they obediently followed.
During this time, there were people who wanted to take the opportunity to get to know this well-known young genius, but when they saw the huge cave beast skeleton guarding the car, they dared not actually get close.
Wei Huan's car was in the lead.
He left the city peacefully, for he was walking the same path that the Romans had taken. The wandering monsters along this path had been cleared away, and traces of battle could be seen everywhere.
Even some distance away, the scattered remains of the wandering monster could still be seen on the ground.
That's how the Roman Empire fought: all sorts of tearing and ripping apart their prey, and once they caught them, it was a true "tears apart by five horses."
However, these body parts will soon be recycled by the Challenge World.
As for where the reclaimed parts went, most people believe that, like those humans who were swallowed by darkness, they continue to undertake the task of attacking challengers and stimulating evolution.
Wei Huan's expression remained normal, but the challengers following behind him were all terrified.
Someone in the car muttered quietly, "Are you sure everything's okay?"
Someone else replied to him, "There shouldn't be any problem. Wei Huan donated a Class V vehicle, and I heard Fan Tao call Mu Zhong 'Captain Mu.' He's a member of the Mu family and has a military rank. What problem could there be?"
When talking about the Mu family, it's inevitable to mention the Northeast Army Corps, which leads to a lot of sighs and lamentations.
"The Northeast Challenger Army was decimated by the Dark Beasts' surprise attack." The speaker was a middle-aged man with a gray beard, deep wrinkles around his eyes and brows, and a weary expression in his eyes. "Not only is Commander Hong Gang unconscious, but many outstanding soldiers sacrificed their lives in that battle. When I returned to Blue Star, I happened to see the live broadcast of the three thousand martyrs being laid to rest. My heart ached..."
The young man next to him had his eyes darting around, looking very restless.
"Master, why don't we go too? Many people in our district have decided to head to the third-level highways. In the next phase, they can go and join other military regions. The Northeast Army is clearly doomed."
The middle-aged man did not nod immediately, but pinched his brow and looked at the skeletal figures in front of the convoy.
After a while, he chuckled at his own hesitation.
Can a promising newcomer really change the future of the Northeast Army?
"Let's go! If we survive this time, we'll try our luck on the Class III highway!" The middle-aged man slapped the steering wheel. "Let's join the Southeast Challenger Army!"
Wei Huan sat in the driver's seat and switched the car to manual driving mode.
He drove very slowly so that the cars behind could follow.
Many of these people are elderly people who have been challenging the world for four or five years, but the development of their vehicles is not as good as theirs.
Of the seven vehicles, only one was a Class III vehicle, which was Fan Tao's official car and did not come along.
"We are the Road Challenge, and the core of the Road Challenge is to keep moving forward." Mu Zhong's voice sounded from behind. Wei Huan turned her gaze from the rearview mirror to look at her. "When you stop, it means that this challenge has ended."
Ambitions and beliefs alike stagnate.
They hadn't gone far when they saw the figures of the Shura army fighting.
The actual battle was more intense than imagined.
There were at least fifty or sixty wandering monsters gathered ahead, stirring up sand and mist that made it impossible to see clearly.
Occasionally, a flash of white light would appear, splashing thick blood, accompanied by roars.
Wei Huan knew that it was a spirit being used to launch a magical attack.
This is an official aid force, but they've been blocked here by wandering monsters for an unknown period of time.
Alright.
The sounds of battle continued to draw wandering monsters towards this location.
They were surrounded.
"Hang in there!! My spiritual power will recover soon, just a little longer!"
"Protect Xiaochun!! Don't let the monster touch him!!"
"Is your Ghost Step ready yet? How much longer are you going to charge it up? I'm going to die if you don't do it soon!!"
Two fully loaded Class III vehicles have been stopped here for over an hour.
The legion squads, having fought for a long time, were all exhausted.
The most frustrating thing is that when they wanted to leave, they found themselves completely surrounded.
The illusionary lizard wove a dreamscape, deceiving them into walking forward unknowingly. By the time they realized something was wrong, they were already deep in danger.
This position is one where you can neither move forward nor backward.
They were in a situation where they were about to be trapped and sacrificed.
The captain had already gotten out of the car, and together with the other three soldiers and Ghost Step, they fought the wandering monster and were covered in wounds.
If it weren't for another team with a Spirit Follower who stepped in at the crucial moment to eliminate the monster that posed the greatest threat, some of them would probably have already perished.
Even so, the battle still dragged on for far too long.
The Spirit Chosen One's spiritual power was depleted, and his Ghost Steps were so weak that his legs gave out and he lost his explosive power. Even the True Soldiers in front of him could not recover as quickly as his wounds were tearing open.
Most people are already teetering on the brink of collapse, ready to fall at any moment.
Unexpectedly, during a rescue mission, they were the ones who got stuck.
But who can we complain to? If we have to investigate, we have to blame the Dark Beast leader for the surprise attack on the Northeast Challenger Army, which resulted in the sacrifice of so many high-level challengers. Originally, this level of mission was not their responsibility.
"Those who have return charms, get ready." It was the same captain who finally spoke.
This also means that those without the Return Talisman are destined to die here.
"Anyone have a return talisman? Let me know," the captain asked.
A long silence followed; not a single person spoke.
The captain grabbed the sand scorpion's pincers and threw it away. At the same time, a sniper rifle materialized in his hand. With only 0.1 seconds to aim, he pulled the trigger, and the flying sand scorpion snapped off its tail in mid-air, howling in pain.
Putting away his sniper rifle, the captain, his eyes red, roared, "All of you, talk to me!!! Anyone with a talisman, get back here!!"