Chapter 119: One‑Sided? (Revision)

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two slicing sounds of breaking through the air rang almost simultaneously.

Two Security Team members patrolling outside the outpost just sensed a dark shadow flicker at the corner of their eyes; a numbness spread instantly from their necks to their whole bodies. They opened their mouths but could not utter any sound.

Their bodies went limp, and they were dragged by Assault Team members who had already slipped nearby into an inconspicuous shadow.

The whole process flowed smoothly, lasting no more than ten seconds from start to finish.

No one noticed the disturbance in that corner; under Qi Hengyu's command, the infiltration proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Inside the Observation Key room, several instructors gave a slight nod, acknowledging the squad's performance.

Given the current situation, Qi Hengyu led his team forward steadily, and most of the Security Team members responsible for outer patrols had been dealt with.

The present situation is a complete one‑sided sweep.

"The surroundings have been cleared; continue advancing."

Qi Hengyu whispered, his gaze turning to the tightly shut metal gate.

A burly young man behind him stepped forward, tried to push, but the gate did not budge.

"Chief, the gate has been reinforced from inside; it's hard to break through directly."

Qi Hengyu frowned, scrutinizing the gate and surrounding walls, and noticed a faint yellow‑brown energy coating them.

This is a trace of Aberrant Arts.

"Search for any other entrance," Qi Hengyu ordered, his brows tightly knit.

Several squad members immediately dispersed to scout.

They found a few ventilation duct openings, but each was only an extremely narrow slit, impossible for a person to pass through.

"Tsk, this shell is really hard."

The boy who had tried to push the gate growled irritably, delivering a heavy punch to the gate, which gave no response at all.

Qi Hengyu's eyes scanned the outpost's exterior structure sharply, his mind racing.

A direct assault on the gate would consume time and effort, and would inevitably alert those inside; the ventilation ducts are too narrow, and there are other options…

His gaze finally rested about five meters above the gate, where a relatively small metal cover used for circuit maintenance seemed not to have been heavily reinforced.

"Can we open that maintenance hatch up there?"

A tall, slender member nodded, scaling the rough concrete wall with gecko‑like agility, silently approaching the hatch.

He used a tool to carefully pry the edge of the cover; although there was some resistance, it was considerably easier than the main gate.

"Got it!"

He felt a surge of joy and applied extra force.

But the moment the cover was pried open, a loose concrete fragment beneath his foot suddenly fell away.

Almost simultaneously with the sound, inside the outpost, a Security Team member near the inner side of the gate heard the abnormal noise.

He instantly recalled Shen Zexi's earlier instructions and, without hesitation, lunged for the bright red alarm button on the wall.

"Wuu—Wuu—Wuu—!!!"

A shrill alarm blared from within the outpost, instantly echoing throughout the underground space and completely shattering Qi Hengyu's squad's infiltration plan.

"Damn!"

Qi Hengyu's face turned ashen; he couldn't help but curse, clearly this flaw was a trap set specifically for them.

But now is not the time to pursue the cause.

"Direct assault!" Qi Hengyu decided on the spot, "Objective unchanged! First eliminate the Manufacturing Department's students! Penetrate them at maximum speed!"

Qi Hengyu knew concealment was now meaningless; the best course was to force a breach while the Security Team was in internal chaos.

Even if the opponent quickly organized a defense, as long as the main force behind arrived, the Security Team would still be destined to lose.

The muscular young man roared, the keratin layer covering his fist blazing like two heavy hammers, and smashed the freshly loosened maintenance cover.

"Boom—!!!"

Amid the deafening boom, the metal cover gave way, hurling the attached concrete fragments inward and revealing a pitch‑black opening.

Before the dense dust could clear, Qi Hengyu had already squeezed through the opening, charging toward the interior of the outpost.

Inside the outpost, glaring alarm lights flashed wildly, illuminating panicked faces.

Most Manufacturing Department students had gathered in the deeper Core work area, and the sudden alarm left many bewildered.

A few Manufacturing Department students engaged in delicate work trembled; components fell to the ground, or energy circuit diagrams erred, emitting a puff of blue smoke.

They were angry and anxious, yet had no time for anything else, only looking frantically toward the entrance.

"W-what's happening? Did the Assault Team find us?"

"How long until the competition starts? How could it be so fast!"

"Where's Shen Zexi? What do we do now?!"

Panic spread among the Manufacturing Department students like a plague; accustomed to a quiet research environment, they had no idea how to handle the sudden crisis.

Luo Jinyou was now exerting all his strength to keep the crumbling passage defense intact; the earthen wall repeatedly shattered and swiftly reassembled under the fierce assault of Qi Hengyu and the few teammates he led, scattering debris.

He heard the chaos in the Manufacturing Department area behind him, his heart burning with urgency.

Shen Zexi had gone to inspect the ventilation system and had not yet returned; now he could rely only on himself.

He turned to look at the tangled mass of students behind him, his expression instantly turning cold, his voice unusually clear amid the alarms.

"Everyone stay calm! Execute the backup plan devised by Shen Zexi!"

His voice steadied some of the panicked students.

The so‑called "backup plan" was formulated by Shen Zexi during the fortification, accounting for the worst‑case scenario.

If the outpost's main gate were breached and could not be held, the Manufacturing Department would immediately take the Core materials and schematics and evacuate through an abandoned mine tunnel deep within the outpost.

"All Manufacturing Department students, abandon your current tasks immediately, take the essential materials and schematics, and evacuate according to the pre‑assigned groups! Hurry!"

Luo Jinyou, while defending against the attack, repeated commands at a breakneck speed.

The Manufacturing Department students snapped out of a daze, frantically began to pack, shoving everything from the workbenches straight into their personal backpacks.

"Others!"

Luo Jinyou looked toward the remaining Security Team members who were bewildered because their patrolling comrades had "lost contact".

"Come with me, buy time for the Manufacturing Department students to evacuate."

His voice was decisive; despite his relatively short stature compared to the others, at this moment he unleashed power far beyond theirs.

Behind him were the Manufacturing Department students hastily evacuating; before them lay a breach in the defense line that would soon be torn apart by absolute force.

Luo Jinyou took a deep breath, and the earthy yellow light surrounding him flared up again, denser than before.

"Understood."

Someone younger than himself, yet more rational than he.

Several Security Team members snapped to attention and responded, turning to charge toward the various junctions of the outpost corridor, activating mechanisms that had been preset.

"Bang! Boom!"

The few Assault Team members who rushed into the inner corridor of the outpost were caught off guard and triggered the traps.

These traps had limited power, but they successfully created chaos, slowing the Assault Team's advance inward, buying precious time for the Manufacturing Department's evacuation.

————————————————

"Quick reaction."

Wu Tianming watched the screen as Luo Jinyou calmly assumed temporary command in the crisis, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

"In Shen Zexi's absence, he swiftly stabilized the situation and executed the contingency plan; Luo Jinyou's temperament is commendable, truly a child taught by Professor Luo."

Gu Siyuan also gave a slight nod, "His mastery of earth-type Aberrant Arts is outstanding, and his command is quite methodical; unfortunately the situation remains too unfavorable for them, they can only delay as much as possible, unable to reverse the tide."