Chapter 510: Something More Important Than Life (Chapter fully supplemented)

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The further they walked, the quieter it became. At the same time, a wisp of the stench of blood drifted through the air. Although this wisp of blood-stench was very faint, it was still caught by the members of the rescue squad. Everyone exchanged smiles, all understanding that they were about to arrive.

"In this quiet mountain cave, a wisp of blood-stench has suddenly appeared. Besides bugs, who else could it be?"

Holding this thought, everyone quickened their pace, and at the same time, their vigilance rose again. The safety catches on the guns in their hands were also engaged. As long as there was any movement, they would immediately fire and kill the bugs.

It could be said that everyone's heart was taut with a string. As long as it was touched slightly, this string would launch the most fierce counterattack. Of course, it was also possible that it would snap.

The deeper they walked, the thicker the stench of blood became. In the end, it reached a point that was almost suffocating. Every breath they took was filled with the stench of blood; the concentration of the blood-stench in the air was even higher than that of oxygen.

"Everyone, be careful." Rick took a deep breath, inhaling all the blood-stench into his own body, letting his body adapt to this state rather than rejecting it.

He understood that when fighting the bugs, there would certainly be an even thicker stench of blood. Therefore, in order to maintain his maximum combat effectiveness, he had to adapt to the blood-stench, learn to like the blood-stench, and make himself feel like a fish in water within the blood-stench.

"I'm fine, *cough cough*." Tara spoke up, only to be choked by the blood-stench into a coughing fit. That blood-stench, which was omnipresent in the air, flowed into her body through her open mouth, and her body involuntarily rejected the blood-stench, causing her to appear wretched.

"Don't be afraid." Rick said sternly: "Adapt to the blood-stench, like the blood-stench, and don't let the harsh environment affect your body."

Tara's body shook. Rick's words made her think of the captain. The captain's "Don't let a bad mood affect your performance" and Rick's words were so similar. Suddenly, Tara's eyes turned red.

She gritted her teeth, breathing in the blood-stench in large gulps. Even if it was choking, even if it was uncomfortable, she had to breathe the blood-stench.

"I will definitely come to like... *cough cough*." Tara choked a few more times, then continued: "The blood-stench."

Girls were harder to endure harsh environments than boys; this was an innate deficiency. Although it could be trained through acquired training, Tara was only a small soldier who had enlisted for no more than a few years, and she was a soldier specifically for operating space warships. She hadn't experienced training for fighting in other environments.

It was just that at this moment, she understood that if she wanted to exert the strongest combat power, she had to keep herself in a good state of mind—no, not just her state of mind, but her body as well, all had to be in a perfect state.

"Tara, you can definitely do it." Tara cheered herself on in her heart. As she breathed in more and more of the blood-stench, her body's rejection grew smaller. She could feel that her body was adapting to this environment.

Tara's self-adjustment did not affect the others. The other soldiers continued to advance step by step through the blood-stench. Under the powerful adaptability of humans, the thick blood-stench became insignificant.

Facing the blood-stench that was so thick it had almost condensed into a solid, Rick suddenly stopped his footsteps. He squatted down and pulled with his hand, dragging up a fern.

"Look at this plant, everyone." Rick held up the fern in his finger and said to the crowd.

"This plant isn't stained with blood-qi," a soldier said in surprise.

Because the blood-stench in the air was so thick it had almost condensed into a substance, the clothes of these intruders were also stained with red blood. Each of them looked like a warrior who had just emerged from a slaughter on the battlefield, bloody and fierce.

But in reality, that was just because the faint particles of the blood-stench were covering their bodies, just like how a person who jumps into a pool of blood will also be covered in blood when they come out.

The surrounding rock cliffs all presented a dark red color, which further corroborated this answer, but the ferns remained as green as ever, not affected by the blood-stench in the slightest, without the slightest tendency to turn red.

"Not only is it not stained with blood-qi, it's also devouring blood-qi." After staring at the fern for a moment, Tara made a definition.

Although the blood-stench in the air, which was so thick it was about to condense into a substance, blocked her line of sight, at such a short distance, she still saw the characteristics of the fern clearly, and a woman's sixth sense further corroborated this feeling.

"It's breathing, it's devouring, it's eating." Tara said repeatedly, a hint of horror appearing on her face, making her unable to help but feel afraid.

She was full of confidence in her guess, but this confidence came at the cost of her fear.

"That's right, it is feeding." Rick said, "The ferns are devouring the blood-stench here. Although it hasn't been stained blood-red, now it's not just bugs; there might also be traps."

Saying this, Rick's face became serious. "In the upcoming battle, we might have a one-in-ten chance of survival—no, it's more likely to be ten deaths and no life. So if anyone is willing to retreat, I won't force you."

Rick's gaze swept across everyone's faces, cold and heartless.

What he said wasn't hypocritical lies, but true words from his heart. He understood that in the Zerg's nest, there were many bug guards. He also understood that for them to capture the Brain Bug in the midst of heavy encirclement was a very difficult thing. Even if they killed the Brain Bug, how to bring it out was still a problem.

But many things, even if one knows it cannot be done, must still be done. It was just that he hoped others could make their own choices, rather than him making choices on their behalf. Although in his heart, he hoped these brothers would follow him to take risks, using their own lives to write a magnificent epic.

Suddenly, the entire small detachment fell silent. Everyone was thinking about their own future, thinking about their own hearts, wanting to make a choice. Were they willing to use their own lives to save the Federation?

Everyone was afraid of death, but because of various reasons, they suppressed the fear of death. Now Rick brought this matter up again, bringing up the fear of death again, forcing them to make a choice. It had to be said that this wasn't a very good approach.

*Pfft! * Tara let out a *pfft*, interrupting all the silence. Under the dissatisfied gazes of the crowd, she said, "Since we joined this small detachment, we definitely won't fear death. People always have things more important than life, and that is duty."

Others nodded one after another.

"That's right, Captain. Since we decided to come, we definitely have the idea of calmly facing death."

"From the moment I joined the army, I knew what I had to face."

"Captain, don't test us anymore. We won't fear death."

Listening to everyone's words in his ears, Rick wasn't satisfied. On the contrary, he looked at Tara with blame. It was Tara who ruined his plan.

What he needed were warriors who had experienced thought and could calmly face death, not warriors who made empty promises on the surface but treated their comrades-in-arms as tools for survival when facing death.

But Tara's words made this idea of his fall through. Everyone refused to quit, and others, forced by face or other reasons, naturally wouldn't quit either.

Scanning everyone, what was reflected in his eyes was everyone's head held high and chest puffed out. Finally, his gaze fell on Ye Nan and the Grim Reaper, and he said, "What do you two think?"

"Death is a very terrifying thing, but I don't think I will die." The Grim Reaper held his head high, looking at Rick's words with disdain.

Who was he? He was the Grim Reaper. He had always been the one designing others, letting others walk toward death, but no one had ever let him walk toward death—even Beth only made him approach death.

"Having courage is good." Rick weighed his words and said slowly, "But this matter is a one-in-ten chance of survival. Especially in the end, I might arrange for you to die."

Rick continued the conversation with the Grim Reaper, stating his purpose, while looking at the others, wanting to see their hearts from their faces.

Arranging for someone to die didn't mean meaningless sacrifice, but meant abandoning someone when necessary, giving others a chance to escape. The most common was when throwing away armor and abandoning weapons, arranging a small team to block the enemy, or acting as bait, letting the main force go first, while the abandoned pawns naturally had a miserable end.

It was just that many times, the choice of abandoned pawns needed to be carefully selected, because there were always some people who feared death. After being abandoned, they simply fled the battlefield, instead treating the main force as bait, letting themselves go first. Letting such people block the rear not only couldn't play the role of luring the enemy or cutting off the enemy, but would instead weaken their own strength.

So in ancient times, those blocking the enemy were usually the general's personal soldiers or people whose character was familiar, ensuring they wouldn't abandon their duty due to fear and collapse directly.

It was just that Rick was, after all, just an ordinary soldier, and only a new recruit who had been trained for not long. Let alone personal soldiers, even familiar soldiers didn't exist. So he had to take this opportunity to figure out these people's character, so he could arrange manpower at the critical moment.

"Even if you arrange for me to die, I won't die." A strange smile appeared on the Grim Reaper's face. "Because no one can make me go to my death."

When saying this sentence, everyone felt a hint of coldness emerge in their hearts. They felt some strange thing attached to their hearts, peeping at them all the time.

"This feeling..." Tara shivered from the cold, and at the same time, her gaze toward the Grim Reaper carried a hint of fear. The feeling of being stared at just now made her feel very uncomfortable in her heart.

"Although death is terrifying," Ye Nan waved his hand, his mental power extending out, driving away the cold aura around him, while fiercely glaring at the Grim Reaper, "but this world has things more important than life, and that is protection." ===== CHAPTER 511 =====