Chapter 26: Counterattack and Good News
Sitting on a pile of corpses, Su Xiao now really wanted to sleep and recover his injuries through the healing aura within the base camp.
"Bai Ye, toast bread, want some?"
The Dean, with three bloody scratches on his face, called out from not too far away. Su Xiao didn't speak; he didn't even want to move a single finger right now.
Baha swooped down from low altitude, took the paper bag from the Dean, then landed on Su Xiao's shoulder. Right there on the stench-ridden pile of corpses, he began eating toast bread with Su Xiao.
"E-boo, clams..."
Baha said something in 'bird language,' his avian face full of helplessness. He was being affected by a slowing ability and wouldn't recover for a few minutes.
"Bai Ye, why do you think the Aberrants retreated?"
"Not sure. If I were commanding, I definitely wouldn't retreat now."
"Exactly. There are two possibilities now: either the power structure within the Aberrants is unstable, or the Ground Crawlers need supplies—they're very hungry."
The Dean pulled up his shirt; on his side, a large chunk of flesh had been bitten off.
"That Ground Crawler bit off a piece of my flesh and then fled."
"Fled?"
Su Xiao was somewhat surprised. Based on what he had seen, Ground Crawlers simply didn't flee. But then he thought of something.
"Controlling Ground Crawlers probably isn't easy. At the very least, they need to be fed. A starving 'beast' is very hard to control."
"Same thought. The Aberrant army's supplies should be arriving soon. This is a rare opportunity."
The Dean didn't continue. There was no need. He believed Su Xiao had already figured out what he wanted to do and his plan: cut off the Aberrants' supplies. Passively taking a beating was never the style of the Reincarnation Paradise contractors.
"Who's going?"
Although Su Xiao wanted to go, he couldn't leave the base camp now. If he left, this place couldn't be held. This wasn't arrogance; it was a result verified by the war.
"The suicide squad will go. The Fat Guy is at his limit. After eating these corpses, the Black Demon inside him will be enough to give the Aberrants a hard time."
As soon as the Dean finished speaking, a mass of black rotten flesh surged onto the pile of corpses near him, instantly devouring the Ground Crawler's remains.
Su Xiao got up and walked toward the base camp. The Black Demon surged past him—it was the purest malice, now indiscriminate between friend and foe.
"It's time to counterattack."
The Dean was smiling. Within that aged body, it seemed something terrifying was hidden.
At this moment, only four members of the suicide squad remained alive: the Little Fatty, the Poison Master, the Ghost Girl, and the Evil Living Seed.
The Black Parasite had died right before Su Xiao's eyes. The Taliban player had performed an ultimate self-destruct and turned to ashes himself.
Su Xiao and the Dean walked toward the base camp. Not far along, Su Xiao saw a contractor lying on the ground. The lower half of her body was missing; the wound was frozen with ice. Her eyes, devoid of any light, stared at the sky. One hand reached forward, as if trying to block the sunlight on her face, or perhaps trying to look at the sun through the gaps in her fingers.
"This Battle Healer is dead too."
The Dean's tone was normal. In this situation, it was too common for allies to die in battle.
"Don't step on me. And I'm not dead, just in a minimum life-sustaining state. Old man, if you have even a shred of conscience, drag me into the base camp. I saved you two hours ago."
The Battle Healer turned her head like a corpse coming back to life and extended a slender middle finger at the Dean. Originally, she was the healer in the 'Healer-Tank' combo. After an hour of cooperation, her mana was depleted.
Amu handed this 'accessory' to Bubu. On Bubu's way back to the base camp, a 'Perun Explosive Barrel' flew over, blowing the Battle Healer away. In the chaos, Bubu Wang had no chance of finding her again.
The Battle Healer found a Ground Crawler corpse, pressed it on top of herself, then closed her eyes and waited to die. Unexpectedly, she survived—not being eaten by the Ground Crawler, but being trampled to near death.
"Ya ha, not dead huh."
The passing Diamond King was full of surprise. This guy was carrying a body bag. He was responsible for burying the corpses of contractors after the battle.
Diamond King was very chivalrous and firmly believed one thing: allies must be buried after death. Since they chose to fight together, he couldn't let his own people rot in the wilderness.
But sometimes, this guy didn't speak like a normal person. Last time during the 'war halftime break,' he mysteriously approached Su Xiao and whispered, telling Su Xiao he had found a prime burial spot. If Su Xiao died in battle, he would bury him there.
At the time, Amu glared angrily at Diamond King. Diamond King raised an eyebrow and added, 'Amu, I've prepared your grave too. Don't thank me.'
Su Xiao picked up the Battle Healer and walked into the base camp with Baha. As soon as he entered, he saw Amu, who was almost wrapped up like a dumpling in bandages, and Bubu Wang limping along.
"Really rough, Amu. But at least you're not dead."
Baha broke free from the debuff state and his speech returned to normal. He was shivering—fatigue from the intense battle. He was the only one on their side capable of high-altitude reconnaissance. Detection-type equipment and items would be shot down as soon as they ascended.
Amu brought over a large pile of food. Su Xiao began eating ravenously. He needed to maintain his condition now. If the Dean's plan failed, the chaotic battle would continue.
In less than five minutes, Su Xiao finished his lunch. The comfort of a full stomach made him drowsy.
At this moment, 162 of their allies remained alive. This was even with Bubu Wang's rescue efforts; otherwise, the number wouldn't exceed 100. The third round of chaotic battle had been too brutal.
"Bai Ye, about the suicide squad..."
The Dean hesitated. Sending the suicide squad to cut off supplies this time might result in all four members being wiped out.
"Poison Master."
As soon as Su Xiao spoke, the Poison Master, sitting at a nearby table, cast a glance over. His mouth was stuffed with meat. He didn't have a body as strong as Su Xiao's, which could still have an appetite after battle. The Poison Master was now so fatigued he wasn't even hungry, but he had to eat a lot of food.
"You four are going to cut off the enemy's supplies. Oh, and also, you'll most likely all die there."
Su Xiao made no concealment, directly stating how dangerous cutting off supplies was.
"..."
The Poison Master's chewing paused for a moment, then resumed, and he nodded thoughtfully.
"Mm, unnerstood."
The Poison Master swallowed the food in his mouth and stuffed in another big mouthful. Eat as much as you can; once you're dead, there's no more eating.
The Ghost Girl, sitting next to the Poison Master, glanced sideways at Su Xiao. After a moment, she nodded. If it had been the Dean speaking just now, she would have argued—absolutely.
Some things, the Dean couldn't say. He was indeed their decision-maker, but his performance in battle was only decent, not enough to command universal respect. Su Xiao, on the other hand, had always held the southern side alone, blocking almost all the Ground Crawlers there.
"Love-struck girl, stop staring. No one's going to fall for you."
The Poison Master stood up and walked out of the base camp. The Ghost Girl hurriedly grabbed two pieces of pastry and quickly followed. The Evil Living Seed remained silent throughout, always maintaining his cool demeanor.
If the suicide squad succeeded, the battle situation would shift from passive to active. There were too many Ground Crawlers; if they kept dragging it out, their side would definitely lose.
Returning to the rest room, Su Xiao took a shower, then lay down on the bed feeling refreshed all over. He checked his merit gain records. Including kills by himself, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha, this round of battle had earned 507 merit points. If they could win, just these 507 merit points alone would be a huge profit.
Fatigue, coupled with the healing aura's recovery effect, caused Su Xiao to fall asleep without realizing it. The same happened to Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha. Amu, in particular, was snoring loudly.
Not knowing how long he had slept, Su Xiao heard a faint knock at the door. His eyes opened.
All the fatigue in his body was gone, and his thoughts were clearer. Su Xiao picked up the clock by the bed. He had slept for 12 hours and was in great condition.
Bubu Wang, yawning, opened the door. The visitor was the Dean.
"The suicide squad lost three and a half. The Poison Master and Ghost Girl came back. The Ghost Girl is almost a real ghost now. The Poison Master crawled back."
Saying this, the Dean sighed with some emotion, marveling at the suicide squad's vitality.
The Evil Living Seed was completely dead, torn apart by Ground Crawlers. Whether the Little Fatty was dead or not was unknown, but the Black Demon was still around, currently wreaking havoc near the Aberrant war fortress. Whether it was friend or foe was unclear.
After the Ghost Girl was 'killed,' she could only survive temporarily as a spirit. If this world war wasn't won, she was doomed.
The Poison Master had lost everything below his chest. The Ghost Girl, at the cost of burning her soul, had dragged him out of the danger zone, and then he crawled back himself. That's why the Dean said the suicide squad lost three and a half.
The most miserable was the Evil Living Seed. The other suicide squad members had truly impressive survivability, while the Evil Living Seed only looked impressive.
In this attack, the Little Fatty took the credit. He released the Black Demon, which split apart and charged into the Aberrant war fortress, eating the meat supplies transported from the rear down to only one-tenth.
"Meow?"
Beini's little head poked out from beside the door. Actually, Su Xiao had sensed her long ago.
"Meow~"
Beini jumped onto the bed. Her tottering figure showed her current state.
"Good job."
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. Beini had made a great contribution this time.
Beini hadn't found the World Core, but she had found a place. It was a key Aberrant location, heavily guarded. There, 9 Space-Time Power condensates were stored. The war mission only required 5 to complete.
The counterattack had officially begun.