After the mission was released, Chu Guang looked at the players beside him. "We now have enough clues to prove that the spore cloud gathered in this area was released from the 41st floor of the New Era Data Center."

"In order to prevent the further expansion into a greater threat, we need to completely remove it before the Tide comes!"

"This mission is very critical. It is related to whether we can deal with the threat of the Tide more calmly, and we only have a week to do so!”

"I need you to finish this in a week!”

Hearing the serious and urgent tone of the administrator, the faces of Spring Water Commander and other players were filled with excitement. There was no worry to be seen!

A time-limited mission? And it’s also a main storyline mission!

This is much more interesting than doing daily missions!

"Don’t worry, Dear Administrator!" Spring Water Commander raised his right fist excitedly, and knocked on the front armor of his exoskeleton, "For the revival of the Federation of People and for the peace of the northern suburbs, I will fulfill my mission!"

Seeing how he took the words out of their mouths, the rest didn’t know what to say. Eventually, Battlefield Cheerleader had an idea. He quickly added, “Me too!”

Darkest, Zhang Hai, and the players who arrived from the outpost also hurriedly followed suit.

"Same here!"

"Me too!"

Glad that these players had such awareness, Chu Guang’s face showed an approving smile.

"

Mhm

. Our future depends on you!"

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

...

After the mission was released, discussing strategy was next!

There were a total of 20 players participating in the operation, and the captain was Spring Water Commander, who had the highest proficiency in commanding them.

The needed supplies were quickly transported from the warehouse on Baker Street to the target location by two-headed ox.

After getting the blueprint of the building from the scientific expedition team, Spring Water Commander did not act immediately. Instead, he divided the everyone into 4 teams. He split them up into teams A, B, C, and D, and he made a careful battle plan after fully observing the surrounding terrain.

"Team A will be the vanguard, with agility type player Battlefield Cheerleader as the team leader, and perception type Darkest as the deputy team leader. From the elevator shaft to the 43rd floor, enter the room on the left side of the exit, blast the floor with explosives, and push down to the 42nd floor. Take control of the spot directly above the incubation room!"

"Your mission is the most critical."

"I need you to deploy explosives directly above the Hive, destroy the ceiling, and then dump the fuel prepared in advance to physically kill the Slime Mold in the incubation room!"

Hearing the mission he was in charge of, Battlefield Cheerleader clenched his fists excitedly. "Yes sir!"

Spring Water Commander continued to look at the other teams. "Your mission is equally important."

"Team B will serve as the backup team, with strength type ability user Kakarot as the team leader, assist Team A in entering the building."

"If Team A gets wiped out, your team is responsible for taking their place."

Kakarot put the light machine gun on his shoulder and grinned. "Roger!"

Spring Water Commander looked at the player next to him and continued. "Team C will be the cover team. Your team leader will be Neighbour Wang. Your mission is to clear the mutants from the outside of the building to the elevator inside the building, protect the back of Team A and B. You will also need to cover their evacuation after the operation is over. Or, if there are any accidents, your task is to recover their gear and VMs." 𝙍À₦ŏᛒĘȿ

"Team D is the support team. I will personally lead this team to another building on the east side of the target building. We will set up four 20mm anti-tank rifles near the 40th floor to provide fire support to you from outside the battlefield!"

"That’s all!"

Spring Water Commander was very happy with his plan.

Formulating a careful action plan was what he was best at.

The next moment, Darkest suddenly spoke. "Wait a minute, why are you observing outside the battlefield again? Aren’t you an ability user too?"

Zhang Hai couldn’t help complaining, "That’s right! You’re also wearing the freaking exoframe, are you not ashamed of yourself?"

The other players also snapped back to their senses.

That’s right. Why is this guy watching on the sideline again?

Spring Water Commander blushed. "What exoframe? It’s called an exoskeleton! Do you know what an exoskeleton is? And I’m an intelligence type player. Is there any problem with me commanding from the rear?"

Is there something wrong with it?

There is nothing wrong with it at all!

Battlefield Cheerleader rolled his eyes and loaded the LD-47J with the drum magazine in his hand. "Okay, okay, don’t explain, hurry up and move."

After being his teammate for so long, they had long been used to him being an old coward.

Although dissatisfied, it was reassuring to have a reliable leader.

Then each team began to act according to the orders he had given. Team D encountered a little trouble on the way to the support point, but reached the target position within half an hour.

Instructing the team members to place the anti-tank rifles by the floor-to-ceiling windows, Spring Water Commander calmly said in the communication channel, "Team D is in position! All teams commence the operation! Move out!"

Three succinct responses came from the communication channel. "Roger!"

The three teams on standby under the overpass immediately started to move.

The 5 players in the cover team spread out in front of the other teams, skillfully raised the rifles in their hands, and neatly shot and killed the Crunchers who were blocking the way.

The gunshots echoing on the street quickly attracted the attention of other Crunchers, and those bloodthirsty beasts quickly turned their eyes to the players, rushing up like wild dogs.

Gunshots filled the streets and the battle broke out instantly!

The Creeper lurking in the ruins fixed its scarlet eyes on everyone on the street, and let out a dangerous growl.

Seemingly having found an opportunity to strike, it let out a low growl and rushed out from under the ruins.

If it was an ordinary mercenary team, they would probably have been caught off guard by the beast. However, it was not facing ordinary wastelanders now, but a group of experienced players!

As soon as it poked its head out from the corner of the street, there was a burst of thunder-like blasts from the middle of the tall building on the east side.

The 20mm muzzles ejected flames, and 4 thick and long trailing lights fell from the sky.

2 high-explosive bombs hit either side of the monster, and 2 armor-piercing incendiary bombs slammed into the monster’s back and shoulders respectively.

Crack!

The painful roar echoed in the street, and the Creeper who just showed its head stumbled to the side.

Battlefield Cheerleader immediately seized the opportunity, raised the rifle in his hand, and fired at the beast’s head until the magazine was emptied. Then he freed his right hand, and gave a thumbs up to the building behind him.

"Nice job!"

All 4 teams cooperated seamlessly.

In just 3 minutes, hundreds of Crunchers on the street were wiped out. The 3 newbies who were waiting under the overpass received the mission and quickly ran forward with supplies.

Sending supplies once would reward them with 10 silver coins and 10 contribution points

Although there was no chance for them to shoot, it was also good to feel the atmosphere of the battlefield.

Whether it was for income or fun, the mission was much more enjoyable than cutting trees!

Looking at the players who had advanced downstairs in the building, Vanus couldn’t help but gasp in shock, "Are the residents in your shelter all soldiers?!"

That was not the first time he had such an idea.

However, the aerial images of drones seen on the screen a few times before were far inferior to the visual impact of being on the scene in person.

Looking at the flickering flames inside the main entrance of the building, Chu Guang said in a relaxed tone, "Some are, some are not, but it doesn’t matter. The battlefield is the best teacher, no matter if they have experience or not, they will eventually be seasoned experts.

In the beginning, the players all rushed in as a swarm, but soon they discovered that the ‘AI’ of some monsters had the morale settings. Dividing into groups to penetrate the weak parts of the defense line would be more effective than simply charging straight into enemy lines.

Later, in addition to tactical penetration, they also learned fire support, alternate cover, split and encirclement, and used different types of tactics against different types of enemies.

Here, no matter how stupid a person was, if they died once, they would know what to do the next time.

Vanus’s eyes widened in shock.

He always felt that the theory was similar to the clone tactics he learned in the military academy.

What about his losses? Doesn’t he need to think about that?

When did blue coats become so tough?

Vanus was puzzled.

Hyrja, who was standing aside, didn’t care much about these details, her pretty face was full of excitement, but this had nothing to do with the battle situation itself, but her conjecture was verified. "Sure enough, my guess is correct!"

"The increased spore content in the air will make the fruiting body more aggressive, and the spore cloud formed will weaken the limitation of light on the fruiting body’s ability to move!"

"It’s incredible!"

Chu Guang’s heart skipped a beat. "If an incendiary bomb is used to remove the spores from the area…"

Vanus shook his head and said, "The fuel that needs to be consumed like that will be astronomical, and it will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. Only by taking out the source can we fundamentally end the Tide..."

The gunfire in the distance had basically stopped, and the mutants on the 1st floor of the building had been completely cleared.

Newbies, who were in charge of the logistics team, sent the second wave of ammunition to the front line, and the 3 teams that entered the building had already reached the elevator shaft.

They just need to detonate the explosives twice more to complete the mission.

Looking away from his VM, Venus looked to the North where the city center was located.

Behind the steel forest was supposed to be a blue sky, but now it was engulfed by a gray-green cloud, looking from a distance like an endless sea of mist.

After a pause, he continued, "Even if you get rid of the spore cloud, things will remain like this. It will happen again every 1 or 2 years."

...

Meanwhile, in Boulder Town, more than 10 kilometers away, the sharp and piercing alarm bells echoed over the streets, as if they were coming from the huge wall.

Yaya, who was picking and choosing goods in the grocery store, was startled by the sudden alarm bell, and quickly looked towards the street outside the window.

There was a commotion among the pedestrians on the street, and many people quickened their pace. Several militiamen passed by on the street, and seemed to be shouting something at the pedestrians.

Putting the glass bottle in her hand back on the shelf, Teng Teng also stood on tiptoe and looked outside, but couldn’t see clearly, so she asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Yaya swallowed. "I do not know."

Xu Shun, who was standing by the side, was more nervous than them. He unconsciously put his hands in his pockets.

Noticing the reactions of several customers, the old woman sitting behind the counter smiled and spoke in a slow voice, "You are here for the first time, right?"

Xu Shun, who was standing by the side, nodded and asked immediately, "May I ask what happened outside? Is it something terrible?"

"That’s right, but there’s no need to panic, it’s just the Tide... This isn’t the first time it happened." Stretching out trembling hands, the old woman picked up the bronze glasses on the table and put them on, then skillfully took out 3 gas masks from under the counter and put them on the table.

With an amiable smile on her face, she continued. "Gas masks, 100% new, only 20 chips for a set."

"If you don’t want to get sick, you’d better buy and wear it."