Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Bai E felt a heavy mood, having roughly guessed the reason for Minister Likok's nervousness.

Machine guns, bows and arrows, daggers, pistols… Bai E checked each piece of equipment he could carry on his person.

200 arrows, eight quivers; he couldn't carry them all, so his gaze turned to Miss Aryan who seemed to be empty-handed…

The advantage of the battle blade machine gun was that it combined the capabilities of firearms and combat knives, eliminating the need for additional close combat equipment.

Confirming that everyone was following Minister Likok's orders, the firepower at hand called back two snipers still perched outside the west gate, "AB, Bill, you come back too and rearm. Minister Likok has discovered new intelligence, we might have to actively enter the target base to provide support."

"Did we receive the orders from the officer?" Bill's voice carried some confusion.

Before anyone could explain, AB's cool voice rang out first, "Okay."

Having made the decision, it took less than two minutes for the seven soldiers who had been left behind to assemble, ready for deployment.

The firepower in Gregory's vehicle, who now voluntarily stepped forward to become the temporary commander of this squad, said, "Once we go inside, try not to shoot if possible. Wait until Minister Likok confirms whether the situation is serious, then await my command to fully engage in battle! Understood?"

"Understood!"

In an emergency, no one was inclined to squabble for authority.

When battle loomed, there was no right or wrong choice, only whether hearts were united.

"Now…move out!"

Four veterans known for their close combat abilities among the firepower standing by went ahead to scout, Bai E and the seemingly frail AB, along with another unrecognizable veteran, trailed at the rear. The seven of them surrounded and protected Minister Likok and his assistant Miss Aryan in the center, doing their utmost to ensure their safety.

Lightly stepping over the two so-called biologically enhanced bodies at the entrance, the group truly entered the ancient ruins that dated back hundreds of years.

The ravages of time had not brought much change to this base; the doors and walls, constructed out of some unknown metal, still shimmered with a matte silver-gray luster.

[You have entered the ruins, current exploration progress: 0.5%.]

The moment he truly stepped over the threshold, Bai E heard the prompt from his panel.

But he paid it no mind; being at the very back, he simply turned to look at the two corpses on the ground—

Indeed, the body structure of the biologically enhanced beings was just as the documents had described. Their flesh and blood bodies could not withstand the power of the sniper rifles; the different parts of the bodies that were hit had been blasted to pieces by the sniper rifles' might, revealing the metal structures implanted inside them.

A milky white substance that could serve as engine oil or lubricant flowed out from those semi-metal, semi-organic structures, mingling with the bright red blood in a visually striking manner.

As for signs of modified eyes or skin, meant to detect changes in the atmosphere or scan for infrared and heat, no evidence was found.

Could it be that even among these biologically enhanced beings, the extent of modification was graded?

With these thoughts of exploring new discoveries in mind, Bai E followed the team into deeper passages.

The interior of the base felt somewhat cold, and the same matte silver-gray metal that was nearly identical to the outer walls was virtually the only backdrop. The faint green light from the most basic emergency lighting made it difficult for the soldiers who had just come from the sunlight to adapt to the light.

"There's still energy inside the base…" Minister Likok had to jog quickly through the crowd to keep pace with the soldiers, his gaze sweeping across the interior of the base rumored in tales, attempting to uncover useful information from any signs he could observe.

Even emergency lighting requires a separate power supply for operation.

In hundreds of years, these biologically enhanced warriors, in order to maintain the base from rendering their "masters'" "bodies" completely dysfunctional, must have spared no effort.

The temporary commander leading the way encountered the same problem as the squad that had just breached —

Shortly after entering, they were faced with the choice of a three-way junction.

"Minister Likok?"

After looking at the portable computer screen, Likok shook his head, "We need to go deeper."

Nodding, the temporary commander quickly made a decision, "Main road, move forward."

Commander Gregory had taken this route, and finding the chief command quickly to report the incident and situation was always the right choice.

The base's interior passages were numerous, and not long after they had run a distance, they encountered another three-way junction, with the route they came from behind them and the sides unknown.

The temporary commander gritted his teeth and ordered, "Continue straight."

"Tap tap tap~"

The sound of metal combat boots in the corridor was hard to suppress, even though everyone was consciously trying to step lightly, the noise still carried far down the rectangular corridor.

All of them were warriors used to charging the front lines, none accustomed to practicing the trick of hiding their footsteps.

Miss Aryan, who was not far ahead of Bai E and staggered a bit under the weight of six quivers of arrows and some equipment, curiously turned her head to Bai E, "How come you hardly make any noise when you walk?"

Women's minds are delicate, and even in such moments of high tension, they find time to notice details others might disregard.

Bai E shook his head and gave a casual excuse, "I'm light."

Of course, the real credit went to the 63 points of stealth experience contributed by the players... Although it was not enough to completely silence his footsteps, compared to the big soldiers who couldn't quiet themselves at all, his performance was overwhelmingly superior.

Aryan might not have mentioned it, but once she did, Bai E's heart instantly tightened.

The interior of the base was very quiet, but their footsteps were very distinct...

Before his vigilance could ferment, heavy and concentrated footsteps started emanating from a side corridor.

It wasn't the hardness of military boots.

They had been discovered!

"Click!"

A soldier instinctively released the safety, but as soon as the sound of chambering a round began, the temporary commander stopped them, "Hold fire! We haven't confirmed the situation yet, try not to shoot if possible."

Not to mention, in such a silent environment, once they opened fire, they would probably face not just the squad of patrolling biochemical soldiers about to arrive.

"Take cover!" whispered the temporary commander, "Leave one person to protect the minister, the other six engage the enemy, swift and decisive!"

Upon the order, the seven soldiers immediately responded with tacit understanding, pressing against both sides of the T-shaped passage entrance, with three soldiers on each side, holding their breath in wait.

Only Bai E, the "little brother," was left behind to protect Minister Likok and Miss Aryan from any attack.

Listening to the approaching footsteps of their target, the temporary commander signaled with his mouth to everyone, "Get ready..."