novelraw Chapter 371: Strange choice
Chapter 371: Strange choice
If they were in the bunker, with the forbidden power generated by the white stones blocking the signals, it would have been impossible for the walkie-talkie communication to get through.
Clearly, Atos had calculated the timing, using his own strength to forcibly leave the bunker to send this message, and his fate was easy to imagine.
"Commander!" Bllaned, beside him, was already in tears.
"Bllaned, if the white stone turrets in the base were to explode, what would be the range of destruction? Would it harm the people in the bunker?" Alexander asked gravely, his face stern.
The white stone towers in the base were essentially giant bombs, intended for a mutual destruction strategy.
If it weren’t for the need to transmit a message to Alexander, Atos would have likely used them already. But to pass on his final orders, Atos chose to wait, forfeiting the chance for mutual destruction.
"Alexander, don’t be rash. Although the primary lethality of the white stone turret explosion is the release of white mist, at close range, you won’t have a chance to survive! Moreover, the explosion range should be about one kilometer. Such a large-scale beetle swarm can’t be completely eradicated."
"We still have a truck specially loaded with white stones, right? Those instruments should include detonation devices! Along with these thousands of tons of white stones, it should be enough!" Alexander said resolutely.
"No!" Bllaned flatly refused, "Our mission is to deliver the supplies back! This is more important than our lives, it relates to all of humanity. Perhaps the timing of our supply delivery will enable the underground research to find a way to combat the black beetles."
"That’s your mission, not mine!" Alexander shook his head and said, "Order the convoy to slow down and turn around. The vehicle loaded with white stones stays; attach the detonation devices."
"Alexander!" Bllaned tried to persuade him further, but Alexander’s tone left no room for doubt.
In the base, there was still Sophia...
999 giant trucks, with billowing dust, disappeared on the broken earth.
Sitting in the remaining heavy truck, Alexander’s gaze was solemn as he slowly started the truck. Facing death for the first time, although knowing it wouldn’t be the real end, was still inevitably heavy.
The truck started, accelerating continuously on the road, heading towards the defense base.
Soon, a huge, pot-cover-like black dome appeared in Alexander’s view. The number of black beetles was indeed terrifying; even seen from a distance, they were yet to enter the beetles’ sensory range.
The vehicle was accelerating, quickly reaching its top speed.
At this moment, the swarm of beetles finally noticed Alexander’s presence. Countless black beetles immediately swarmed towards the heavy truck.
Alexander didn’t slow down at all; he floored the accelerator and headed straight into the swarm. With a speed of only seventy kilometers per hour but carrying thousands of tons and measuring 29 meters in length, even this speed gave the truck a terrifying amount of kinetic energy.
Probably, even the several meters thick walls of the defense base might not withstand such a horrific impact, let alone these beetles.
The sound of beetles bursting upon impact with the truck was continuous. The beetles that weren’t crystallized by body fluids exploded into a cloud of black powder under the force. The massive truck forged a path through the sea of black beetles.
After wedging the accelerator with a toolbox, Alexander struggled to open the door, surrounded by Ghost Energy that formed a whirlwind of steel needles.
Due to his research on the Ghost Pill and mastery over Ghost Energy, Alexander had a level of control and understanding that far surpassed that of veteran inheritance Ghost Emperors. Although he couldn’t mimic the true talents and Ghost Skills, creating several hundred low-grade steel needles was no issue. Additionally, the beetle corpses served as Ghost Food to replenish his Ghost Energy.
Leaping out of the door, Alexander stood on the front of the truck. Countless steel needles danced ahead, knocking down the terrifying number of beetles.
The sheer volume of black beetles was so immense that even the kinetic force of the heavy truck couldn’t prevent a reduction in speed once they reached a certain quantity. For a beetle swarm of this scale, a decrease in speed meant halting progress.
He had to drive the truck to the base, or at least to the main gate. There, at the center of the beetle swarm, the white stones’ self-detonation would be most effective. Only there could he detonate the white stones in the truck while triggering the explosion of the white stone towers in the base.
The whirling steel needles tore through countless beetles in front of him, but more black beetles surged like a tide. More and more black beetles meant that Alexander had only progressed a hundred meters or so before he had to retreat back into the truck, using its defenses to continue killing beetles.
Finally, just a few dozen meters from the main gate, the truck began to slow. As it slowed, more black beetles found the opportunity to surge up, creating a vicious cycle.
When the truck was only ten meters from the gate, the force of the impact was reduced enough for the beetles to climb aboard.
In less than a second, the truck was enveloped by countless black beetles, forming a massive beetle ball. This black mass expanded to several meters in diameter almost instantly and continued to grow.
The truck came to a stop, just five meters from the gate of the base.
The immense pressure from the giant beetle mass even began to compress and deform the entire body of the truck. The high-strength bulletproof glass couldn’t withstand the pressure and shattered, allowing countless black beetles to crazily swarm towards the driver’s seat.
"Die!" Alexander roared, unleashing a burst of Ghost Energy from his entire body. The surging Ghost Energy tore apart the entire mass of black beetles.
Transforming a handful of beetle corpses into Ghost Energy, Alexander’s figure soared into the sky, landing a fierce punch on the steel gate of the city wall.
The gate, made of high-strength steel and half a meter thick, with white stones embedded behind it, was already weakened. The white stones had shattered, and the gate was pitted from the relentless gnawing of the countless black beetles.
Alexander’s punch, utilizing the full force of the Underworld Sword technique, instantly shattered the gate.
Countless black beetles swarmed towards him. Even a prince-level character, let alone Alexander at full strength, wouldn’t last long against such a horde of beetles.
Fortunately, the situation was already sufficient for his plan. Alexander gave up on resisting and forcefully pressed the detonator in his hand.
Instantly, a terrifying explosion sound came from the heavy truck behind him, and a massive column of white light shot up into the sky. Alexander’s entire body was instantly obliterated in the blast.
In the moment his body disintegrated into nothingness, Alexander’s spirit seemed to be yanked away, his consciousness rapidly ascending, as if a deity gazing upon the earth from above.
He witnessed the dazzling white shockwave, the thick walls of the city, tens of meters high and incredibly sturdy, shattering under its force. He saw the shockwave, accelerated by the gateway he had blown open, rush into the base, instantly detonating the white stone turrets within.
Another deafening boom shook the earth. Waves of white light swept across the land, twisting and tearing apart countless black beetles.
After the shockwave, a sea of white mist enveloped the entire base, rapidly expanding over dozens of miles. Under the pervasive white mist, innumerable black beetles struggled in vain, soon covered in white spots and falling lifelessly to the ground.
Alexander’s attention drifted to the distance, where he saw a lonely continent floating in a pitch-black void. There were no stars, not even a rear base.
The surrounding space began to shatter like broken glass, the earth cracked, mountains crumbled, and the whole world fragmented into myriad dazzling, twisted lights.
A wave of dizziness hit Alexander, and in the next moment, he found himself in a pitch-black space, all his surroundings vanished, leaving only infinite darkness. He regained control of his body; all his skills, talents, and Ghost Energy were instantly restored.
The storage ring from Karin quietly rested on Alexander’s finger.
In his mind, the familiar sound of the Horror Instance notification rang out: "Respected participant Alexander, congratulations on completing the Underground World Instance. You will receive the reward, the Portal of Transference!"
In the black void before him, two massive golden gates materialized, slowly opening. On one side, the world at the bottom of the well he had just seen, with countless Xiao fish glimmering in the darkness like a brilliant starry sky.
On the other, a bustling city full of life and activity, the same Alexander, with dazzling neon lights twinkling, and nearby in a square, a charming doll statue caught Alexander’s attention.
"This is... Earth!"
"Respected Chosen One, you may choose to enter through one of these two Transference Gates. This choice is irreversible and the rewards are unique. Please choose carefully!"