The next second, she drew a tactical dagger, dug the bullet right out of Jose’s thigh, and wrapped the wound with a medical bandage.

Jose’s injury was immediately stabilized, pulling him back from the brink.

"Fuck!"

Jose cursed under his breath, pulled a pill case from his backpack, and swallowed a blue pill. The bandaged wound began to visibly heal.

Once he could move again, he immediately rejoined the fight.

Just then, Dino and Guardian Chapter burst from the left and right sides of the truck. They sprinted toward the river ahead and leaped in.

When Long Ming saw the two jump into the river, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

’These escorts are really going all out.’

Meanwhile, Jiafei, who was hiding on top of the wall, saw Dino and his partner jump into the river. His expression tightened, and he quickly said to Obi,

"Boss, those guys jumped into the river."

"What’s there to be afraid of? You think they’re supermen who can just swim across? That river’s a torrent. It’ll sweep them away in a heartbeat!"

Obi snapped back.

Even the divers he had stationed were just lurking by the riverbank; crossing a current that strong was impossible.

Hearing Obi’s words, Jiafei looked at the turbulent water. He couldn’t see any sign of Dino or Guardian Chapter, and the knot of anxiety in his chest loosened.

However, the situation was looking increasingly grim for them. So far, they hadn’t managed to kill a single person on the other side, while they had already lost over thirty of their own men.

"Boss, I don’t think we can take these guys..."

Jiafei swallowed hard and said to Obi.

"Damn it, even if we can’t beat them, we have to pin them down!"

Obi shot back, his eyes bloodshot and furious. He was starting to lose his cool.

Just then, Dino and Guardian Chapter swam ashore on the left and right banks, quickly sneaking toward the bridge.

But Obi’s subordinates spotted them almost immediately.

Guardian Chapter immediately raised his weapon and took aim, but before he could fire...

WHIZ—

A bullet shot past, scoring a direct headshot and killing the player instantly.

Guardian Chapter froze for a second, then glanced back. He saw Long Ming firing single, precise shots. An excited grin spread across his face, and he licked his lips.

Then, he quickly began to flank, circling around behind the metal crates.

"Quick, take them out!"

Obi panicked when he saw Guardian Chapter and Dino flanking them.

Unfortunately for him, Long Ming’s group laid down constant long-range suppressing fire on Obi’s men.

They couldn’t focus their fire on Guardian Chapter and Dino. The few who dared to peek out were instantly picked off by the two.

Soon, Guardian Chapter and Dino closed in from both sides. They pulled out grenades, cooked them for a few seconds, and tossed them behind the metal crates.

BOOM—

A huge explosion erupted.

Guardian Chapter and Dino immediately charged forward, raising their guns and spraying bullets.

"Aaargh!"

Amidst agonizing screams, the remaining players were gunned down one by one.

Before long, the players at the bridgehead had been completely wiped out.

Guardian Chapter and Dino then crept toward the wall. As they got close, they pulled out high-explosive grenades and lobbed them up at the enemy position on top.

"Boss, look out!"

Seeing the grenades fly up, Jiafei immediately tackled Obi.

BOOM—

A massive explosion swept over them.

Seeing this, Long Ming and the others immediately charged out from behind the truck and rushed across the bridge.

Meanwhile, Guardian Chapter and Dino rushed into the city, climbed the stairs to the top of the wall, and quickly finished off the remaining players.

Obi, dazed and disoriented from the blast, shook his head. Fighting through the ringing in his ears, he had just struggled to his feet when he was met with the sight of Guardian Chapter standing before him with a savage grin.

Before he could react, Guardian Chapter slammed him to the ground with the butt of his rifle.

Before long, Long Ming, Qin Ye, and the others arrived.

Guardian Chapter dragged Obi over and threw him in front of Qin Ye and the other clients.

Looking at the wretched Obi, Long Ming couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. ’These guys are incredible. They fought their way across the bridge and into the base city without a single casualty.’

Just then, Qin Ye stepped forward and planted his foot on Obi’s face, cursing arrogantly.

"Fucker, who do you think you are? A piece-of-shit loser like you dares to block our way?"

"Fuck you! Just wait till I get my hands on you."

Obi cursed back defiantly.

"Hmph, you’re asking to die!"

Qin Ye pulled out an automatic pistol and fired repeatedly at Obi.

BANG! BANG!

Obi was instantly riddled with bullets, as dead as could be.

Ptui—

After emptying the magazine, Qin Ye spat on Obi’s corpse.

Just then, Obi’s body began to dissolve into motes of light.

Long Ming watched this scene without a word.

After venting his anger, Qin Ye turned to Long Ming and the others and said magnanimously,

"You all did a great job. All the loot here is yours. I’ll give you ten minutes. Go clean up the battlefield!"

Hearing this, Long Ming and the others immediately fanned out toward the dropped backpacks.

As for the backpack Obi dropped, they left it for Guardian Chapter and Dino by unspoken agreement, since the two of them had been the ones to capture him.

「A few minutes later.」

Long Ming looted nine backpacks, picking up two 5.56mm magazines and two high-explosive grenades.

He didn’t take anything else, not even the guns, because being over-encumbered would affect his mobility later on.

Long Ming glanced around and saw that basically all the other backpacks had been looted. He walked over to Qin Ye’s group to wait.

He looked up and gazed into the city. Countless residential buildings made of reinforced concrete came into view. The entire base city was a magnificent sight.

Long Ming and his team were currently in the base city on the outskirts of the Observatory Base.

This place was once used to house the families of the Observatory Base staff. The Observatory Base itself was situated on the mountain peak rising from the center of the base city.

Just then, Xu Lie and the others gradually regrouped.

Seeing that everyone was present, Bai Xiu addressed Long Ming and his team.

"Alright, we’re about to enter the base city. Let me brief you on the specifics of the situation."

Hearing this, Long Ming and the others all turned to look at Bai Xiu.

’Of the five clients, this was the only guy who seemed smart and reliable.’

"You all see the Observatory Base on the central mountain peak, right?"

"Yeah."

"There are only two ways to get from the base city up to the Observatory Base. The first is via the twelve steel lift platforms that encircle it, but unfortunately, the lifts are broken. There’s no way up."

"And the other way?"

Dino asked, looking coldly at Bai Xiu.

"The other option is to climb one of the four large staircases that lead straight up to the Observatory Base. Of course, I don’t need to elaborate on the difficulty. With staircases that straight, anyone going up or down will be a sitting duck!"

Bai Xiu replied very seriously.

"It can’t be that simple. If it were just a problem with the stairs, this instance wouldn’t be that difficult. We could just speedrun it and be the first ones there."

Long Ming questioned Bai Xiu in a low voice.

"You’re right, it’s not that simple. First, even though the Observatory Base has fallen, its defensive weaponry is still active. The bottom, middle, and top of the mountain are all equipped with Gray Crow Close-In Defense Towers and KAG Turrets. Of course, that’s not even the scariest part. The most powerful defensive weapons are the round-topped Tesla-Storm Towers on the summit. The moment the hidden cameras and infrared sensors spot you, you’re flagged as an intruder and subjected to a terrifying barrage of firepower."

Bai Xiu explained in detail to Long Ming and his team.

Hearing this, Long Ming’s brow furrowed, but he didn’t say anything, merely watching Bai Xiu patiently.

’If they dared to take on this instance, they must have a strategy to clear it.’