The end calendar September 1st year.

The fire-squad was driving out at six o'clock in the morning when the front line checkpoint was opened.

Due to the few weapons applications, this time the vehicle has been upgraded, and the original basic personnel carrier has been replaced with an all-terrain energy vehicle, which can help the team save at least one week of foot travel.

The car can take up to eight people. Fortunately, the luggage and supplies can be collected in the storage space, so there is no need to occupy the space inside the car.

He Qin was in charge of driving, while Merrik sat in the passenger car to watch the road.

In the middle are Torres and Sanchez, and behind are Neil and Somo sitting in the third row.

Captain Zhao Lei and newcomer Gao Ruoyun sat at the back to the front.

It can be clearly felt that everyone was still smiling when they were in the level, as if they were not nervous about the next itinerary, as if they were going to take a relaxing and pleasant outing.

However, the moment I stepped out of the level, the atmosphere in the car became obviously serious.

Zhao Lei's continued hearty laughter a second ago came to an abrupt end. Su Mo turned around and saw that he had tensed his chin and subconsciously clenched the weapon in his hand.

Merrick, the co-pilot, no longer had the intention of telling cold jokes. Her lips were closed and her eyes were as sharp as a falcon. She kept scanning the surrounding environment, and her head was running rapidly, analyzing various possible situations.

Torres and Sanchez held the rifle directly, putting his right hand on the buttstock and his left hand in the safe position to ensure that it can be activated at any time.

Even Neil and Gao Ruoyun were extremely nervous and shared the task of observing the surroundings.

On the contrary, Sumo sat among a group of veteran mercenaries, doing nothing, and was extremely relaxed.

"Aren't you nervous?"

The car drove out for more than 30 kilometers without any abnormality. Neil then breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Sumo and asked.

Generally speaking, the most susceptible part of the mercenary convoy is the front part, and the ambush sent by alien races will be stuck at this stage when humans are most likely to relax.

Although such incidents have occurred less and less recently, no one knows whether they will be attacked in the next second.

"What's nervous? Didn't this just happen to the level not long?"

Somo took out the water bottle and took a sip, "There are still 1,800 kilometers next... You can't be nervous all the time."

"Uh... what you said makes sense."

Neil was speechless.

However, the atmosphere in the car was eased to a certain extent as the two of them spoke.

As the sun gradually climbs up from the horizon, the morning sun shines through the gaps in the car windows on everyone's faces, bringing a hint of warmth.

The convoy galloped all the way, and outside the window was a deserted scene that was constantly retreating. Occasionally, you could see a few wild grass growing tenaciously on cracked land, trembling in the wind.

"I have to say that the eastern part is indeed much more desolate than other sections. No wonder it can be regarded as a base by aliens."

Sumo turned his head and looked back and forth outside the car window.

Through the teleportation provided by the game, there is a limit on one day and you must go back and forth within one day.

So the last time I went to Baiduan Mountains, Sumo didn’t have much time to appreciate the scenery of the east.

Now, we can truly see the desolation of the eastern sector.

From the rising sun to the setting sun, a whole day passed, and as the convoy safely crossed the deserted ridges and gullies, the attacks of foreign races that were guarding against did not come.

"Hey, it seems we are lucky today!" The lines on Merrick's face were no longer as cold as when he set out, and the slightly raised corner of his mouth revealed a hint of gratitude, "This alien is sleeping together today, and he really didn't come to provoke us."

The cold jokes as always caused a chuckle in the carriage. Everyone's tense mood for a long time was finally released. Even Zhao Lei sat in the last row and joked, "Maybe our team's aura is too strong, and it has already passed the upper limit that foreign races can bear."

This is the truth.

Scouts sent by foreign races are also of particular concern.

The closer you get to the human level, the weaker your strength, and the closer you get to the eastern alien race, the stronger your strength.

Similar to the screening mechanism, weak teams may be attacked several times in the first half, while powerful teams can go smoothly to the back.

Another moment passed.

As we saw the sky gradually getting late, the warm orange sunset spreading wildly in the horizon.

Zhao Lei looked at the darker and darker outside the car window, took out the map and weighed it for a moment and issued an order: "Brothers, the first point is thirty kilometers ahead. Although we have not encountered any attacks from alien races today, don't be careless about rushing to the night, find an open space to rest for a night, and keep our energy in accumulating our strength, and we'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Okay." He Qin, who was driving, responded. The car drove through a canyon and stopped at the entrance of the relatively open plain.

Everyone got off the car immediately and started building a temporary camp according to the division of labor before departure.

Due to the convenience of storage space, when Somo and Neil set up a second tent, Torres and Sanchez had already arranged a full circle of simple fortifications around the camp through short-term architectural foam to prevent emergencies at night.

A bonfire in the middle of the camp was lit up, and He Qin and Gao Ruoyun were responsible for cooking. After heating the hot-for-the-line dishes, the open pot exuded a strong aroma of rice.

After a while, the captain Zhao Lei, who was responsible for investigating the surrounding situation, and the deputy captain Merrik, walked back.

"The situation is not bad. The traces left by the alien races around have basically disappeared. The only ones that can be distinguished have been at least three or five days. It seems that they have given up on defense in this area."

"That's great, it seems like I can have a good night's sleep tonight."

Everyone sat around the bonfire, and the orange flames jumped happily, licking the iron pot on it. The rice in the pot gradually emitted an attractive aroma as the temperature increased.

Everyone's eyes swept to the iron pot from time to time, looking forward to the comfort brought by a hot meal.

Zhao Lei took advantage of this gap and carefully took out a metal ball from the inner layer of his backpack. It was the mechanical task ball that he received from the task before leaving.

A faint cold light flashed on the surface of the ball. Zhao Lei gently stroked the sphere, then pressed a small button on the side, and a row of numbers appeared on the sphere, emitting a faint green fluorescence:

12.54.09.

After just one second, the number jumped to 7.54.08, and the countdown was steadily advancing one second after another.

"According to what is shown above, it will be opened at about 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, and then we will know the specific content of this A-level mission.

This mysterious task delivery method is actually based on careful consideration of the safety of mercenaries.

Going deep into the east where foreign races control, information leakage often means a catastrophe.

When all teams initially receive the task, they can only understand the general location of the task execution. As for more critical and detailed tasks, they must leave the front line with the task ball and after a whole day of "safety isolation period" before they can unlock and know.

In this way, if an accident occurs on the way, or if the team members judge their own strength based on actual conditions, they will find it difficult to deal with the challenges they are about to face, and there is still room for turning back, which will maximize the safety of the lives of the mercenaries.

"Okay, prepare for dinner."

He Qin raised the lid of the pot and glanced at it, and greeted everyone and brought their rice bowls.

However, at this moment, a rustling sound suddenly came from the darkness not far away, which seemed particularly abrupt and harsh in the quiet night.

"Don't panic, stay alert and see what's going on!"

Zhao Lei instantly turned over and grabbed the rifle that he had always placed beside him.

Torres, Sanchez and Merrick were not slow at all, and they also grabbed their guns and ran quickly to the rear of the fortifications.

Neil, who was about to eat a second ago, put down the bowl, took out the pistol at his waist, and retreated into the darkness.

He Qin and Gao Ruoyun immediately extinguished the bonfire. The former got on the all-terrain car and were ready to drive everyone away at any time.

The latter picked up the night vision device, stepped on the tent and climbed to the top, and observed from a high place.

In just five seconds, only Sumo was left standing there.

"No, I seem to be a bit amateur after doing this."

With the help of strong hearing, Sumo could already tell that the sound just now was the sound of human footsteps, and when he heard a shallow and deep sound, the other party's situation seemed to be not very good.

After thinking about it, he simply walked into the tent and began to disinfect and prepare for the medical environment.

Sure enough, after about two minutes, three figures stumbled out of the darkness.

"Is it human?"

Zhao Lei's eyes froze. The three people who rushed over were ragged, covered in blood, and staggered, as if they could fall down at any time.

When the three of them approached, with the light of fire, everyone saw the gradually lit faces. They were three faces full of fear and fatigue, and their eyes revealed the fear of surviving the disaster.

"Save us..." One of them spoke weakly, his voice so hoarse that he could hardly be heard.

"mercenary?"

Zhao Lei poked out half of his head slightly, asked with a narrow look: "The name of the team, your name, and the code of the joint."

“Edgar, Uriel, Og…”

"Youxue Team."

“AC77B521.”

Zhao Lei quickly entered the information into the terminal device he carried with him, and the verification was quickly passed.

He then put down his guard and signaled to Merrik who was squatting beside him.

The two of them stepped forward and helped three shaky figures to sit next to the fortifications.

Torres and Sanchez next to him continued to keep alert. After all, leaving the level is equivalent to going to a completely unruly world, and the black eating and black among mercenaries has happened.

"What's going on, this look?"

With the fire, Zhao Lei saw clearly the miserable appearance of the three of them. His clothes were broken, as if they were torn by a wild beast, bloodstained on the fabric, his exposed skin was covered with bruises and wounds, and some were still gushing blood.

The man who just spoke was in good condition, but there were only a lot of injuries, but the two of them behind were almost broken by ninety degrees, and they hung crookedly under their shoulders in a strange posture.
To be continued...