When Isaac and the others saw Feng Bujue charging toward the unknown object with great confidence, they did not hesitate and followed suit.
A few seconds later, the moment Feng Bujue came into contact with the pixel, his body turned into a flash of light and disappeared. The three people behind him experienced the same thing.
[Current mission completed. Main mission updated.]
When the scene before his eyes changed, the system announcement rang in Feng Bujue's ears.
He opened the mission tab and saw that the main mission, [Enter the Contra Area's "Eight Underwater Stages"], had been removed. The follow-up mission, [Break through the "Eight Underwater Stages" and enter the Deep Breakthrough Area], had been refreshed.
"I see …" At this point, Feng Bujue finally understood why the system sent him to the "Eight Underwater Stages".
This stage was the same as Peeta. It was an "existence that should not exist". It was a paradox. If they wanted to get close to Peeta's core in this virtual dimension, they had to find a space like this. This was a place that Peeta's logical barrier could not defend against. Only through this place could they break through the firewall of the AI.
"Oh? There really are 'Eight Underwater Stages'? "Big Beardy stood still and looked at the scenery in front of him with a surprised expression.
"It does look like it …" Isaac said in a low voice as he looked around.
"Yeah, there's a lot of water around here," Lightning chimed in.
Indeed, this stage looked like a world on the water. Feng Bujue and the others were standing on a huge rock floating on the water. There were many similar floating rocks in front of them. They were spaced at different intervals, but as a whole, they extended in the same direction.
"Well, it doesn't matter whether it is or not … Anyway, if we can reach the end of this stage, we'll be one step closer to Peeta." Feng Bujue did not comment on whether this was the so-called "Eight Underwater Stages". He only pointed out the next course of action.
The four of them exchanged a few words before they resumed their journey.
However … after walking for less than three minutes, they discovered that the difficulty of the "Eight Underwater Levels" was unimaginably high.
If the six levels they had gone through before were normal Contra games, then this level was some kind of fanboy's modified masochistic game.
What welcomed the four of them here was … a vast number of soldiers of various types with astonishing strength; a web of firepower that intersected and changed constantly; hidden and deadly death traps set up; and … regular enemies that were even stronger than some of the previous mini-Bosses would appear from time to time.
To be honest, even Feng Bujue was surprised by the difficulty. If not for the help of the three NPCs, he would have had to use a certain razor to clear this stage alone without being able to use any skills.
…
"Phew … Finally …"
Two hours later, when Lightning saw the end of the floating rock, she heaved a long sigh of relief, revealing an expression of relief.
At this time, other than Feng Bujue, the other three were covered in wounds and grime.
With regards to Brother Jue … even though he looked fine on the surface, in reality, he was the one who had suffered the most damage in the team. In other words, it was largely due to Feng Bujue that the four of them were able to make it this far without any casualties.
Along the way, Brother Jue had to trigger various traps and fight new enemies for the first time. If not for the fact that he had done a good job of scouting, just based on how disgusting this stage was … it would have been more than enough for this four-man team to be wiped out ten times over.
"So … Next …" When they reached the last floating rock, Isaac opened his mouth and asked, "There's an 80% chance that we'll have to jump into that hole, right?"
The "hole" he was talking about was similar to the monster at the end of the sixth stage … It was like a pixel bug. However, this time, the teleportation point wasn't a moving object. Instead, it was a floating mass of air. The diameter of the air mass was about three meters. No matter from which angle, it would show the same distorted image.
"There's no other choice, right?" Feng Bujue replied. He stepped forward and prepared to be the first to enter.
Unexpectedly, at this moment …
Crack!
The sound of a rock cracking suddenly rang out. At the same time, the floating rock under the four of them trembled violently.
The other three were fine. After a few steps, they regained their balance. However, Big Beardy, who was carrying the small steel cannon, was unlucky. Due to the weight he was carrying, the sudden tremor caused him to fall to the ground.
No one would have thought that the result of this fall would be …
Crack, crack, crack, crack …
Just as everyone had yet to recover from the effects of the first tremor, a similar cracking sound rang out one after another.
At the same time, all the floating rocks within Feng Bujue's sight started to crack and shatter into pieces of varying sizes at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.
It wasn't over yet …
At the same time as the floating rocks shattering, the surrounding seawater turned from blue to red and turned into magma.
In the blink of an eye …
Just as Isaac and Lightning Head's expressions turned from shock to fear and were about to scream, Feng Bujue had already reacted. He used the rock under his feet that had yet to completely shatter to exert his strength. He grabbed the two of them, one in each hand, and threw them towards the floating mass of air.
As Isaac and Lightning Head screamed, their feet had already left the ground. They crashed into the mass of air and turned into light.
However …
Two seconds later, when Feng Bujue saved the two of them and turned his gaze to Big Beardy, who was the furthest away from him, the latter's lower body had already sunk into the magma and broken rocks. At this time, Brother Jue had also lost his footing. Relying on his extraordinary body movement and zero time difference calculation, he barely managed to jump back and forth on some of the broken rocks that had yet to melt and prevent himself from falling into the magma.
"What are you doing? Bastard! "
Just as Feng Bujue approached Big Mustache like a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water, he suddenly heard the latter roar.
From the moment they met until now, Big Beardy had been calling Brother Jue "Savior" and "Mr Feng". However, at this moment, he was shouting "bastard" in agitation.
"Hurry up and leave!" Big Beardy did not wait for Brother Jue's response. He immediately said, "Can't you see that I'm hopeless?"
Yes, anyone could see that he was hopeless …
Just as he said these two sentences, Big Beardy's lower body had sunk into the magma. His head and arms, which had not yet sunk, were already burning in the fire.
Perhaps he was lucky … As he had been transformed into a dimension, Big Beardy did not feel any pain at this moment, so he could still speak.
Seeing this, Feng Bujue could only sigh inwardly. He quickly stepped on a larger piece of broken rock and leaped toward the pixel mass of air.
As Brother Jue leaped into the air, he quickly turned back and shouted at Big Beardy, "Is there anything you want me to tell them?"
To be honest, Feng Bujue wanted to save Big Beardy as well, but this series of changes happened too quickly. In addition, his skill bar was locked. If he stayed any longer, even he would be in danger … So, this was the only thing he could do.
"Tell them not to be sad for me …" Big Beardy raised his head and shouted back with difficulty, "I'm just … going to reunite with my wife and daughter …"
Before he could finish his sentence, his head sank into the magma, leaving only his right arm above the surface of the magma.
At the very end, the moment before Feng Bujue fell into the pixel mass of air … he clearly saw Big Beardy's right hand slowly clenching into a fist and giving him a thumbs up.
…
Silence, a stifling silence.
After the teleportation, the original team of four was left with only three people.
In fact, Isaac and Lightning Head had already guessed Big Beardy's fate before Brother Jue completed the teleportation, so when Feng Bujue appeared alone, they silently accepted this unfortunate fact.
This silence lasted for about five minutes, and then, Isaac spoke …
"Let's go." When he said this, he had already recovered his cold expression.
Hearing that, Lightning Head used his hand to wipe his face, took a deep breath, and stood up.
After they were ready, they both looked at Feng Bujue, waiting for his next order.
It was not until then that Brother Jue truly understood the power of these two, or rather … the cruelty of this scenario world.
Isaac and Lightning Head did not even ask whether Big Beardy had left behind any last words …
It was not that they did not care about their comrade's death, but … they had gotten used to turning the sadness of losing someone into strength to continue the battle.
War could teach people many things, and the first lesson was often 'the fragility of life'.
Isaac and Lightning Head were used to facing death because they had already lost too much.
The determination and heart of a veteran was something that even Feng Bujue did not possess.
"Then …" Moments later, Feng Bujue spoke, "Let me lead the way …"
…
The three who set off on their journey needed to face the space defined by the system as the 'Deep Layer Breakthrough Zone'.
The situation there … could only be described as' madness'.
Image fragments from various games, moving sound waves with physical bodies, and countless pixel-like monsters were running around randomly, devouring each other.
Thankfully, in this chaotic space, Brother Jue's path was clear. Near their initial teleportation point, there was a conspicuous blue optical cable that stretched into the distance. Other than that, after entering this space, Feng Bujue's mission changed from 'Break through the' Eight Underwater Stages' to 'Follow the blue light and enter the' Core ''.
"There is something I want you to know." After walking for a while, Isaac suddenly said, "It's about Big Beardy …"
"What is it?" Lightning Head asked.
"That was … about a month ago," Isaac said slowly. "He told me that he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor." After saying this, he paused for a moment before continuing, "And he also knew that … with the technology of our resistance army, we can't cure this disease."
"'With the technology of the resistance army' …" Feng Bujue quickly caught the key message in this sentence and repeated it in a low voice.
"Yes …" Isaac said. "If we use Peeta's nanomachines technology, this disease can be completely cured. But … on our side, this is an incurable disease."
"Then what did you tell him?" Feng Bujue asked.
"I didn't say anything," Isaac replied. Isaac replied, "Because he's not here to ask me for advice. He just wants to find someone who can keep his secret and confide in him."
"In other words …" Feng Bujue said, "At that time, he was already prepared to die?"
"It should be said that he had no choice," Lightning Head said. "Even if he wanted to betray the resistance army and go to Peeta in exchange for treatment, there was a high chance that he would be transformed into a PM …"
"However …" Isaac said. "Just like what Big Beardy said, rather than being transformed into a PM or betraying his comrades … he would rather commit suicide." He paused for another two seconds to control his emotions. "Although he has never mentioned it to anyone, I have always known that … he loves video games. Indeed, Big Beardy's initial motive for joining the resistance was to seek revenge. But later … when he really came into contact with video games and the gaming culture that had been erased by Peeta, his mindset changed. He was no longer fighting for revenge. He had also decided … that returning video games to mankind was a noble cause, and the sacrifice was worth it."
"So in this' suicide mission ', you chose him to join the team," Feng Bujue said. "You know … he would rather die on the battlefield than in a hospital bed."
"Ha …" Isaac didn't answer Brother Jue's question. He just laughed bitterly and asked, "Do you believe in heaven? Mr Feng. "
"I … 'believe' in heaven," Feng Bujue replied confidently.
"Is that so …" Isaac replied sadly. "Then … Big Beardy should be reunited with his family in heaven now."
"I hope so." Feng Bujue wasn't so sure when he answered this question. After all, he had never been to heaven and didn't know what it was like there. Other than that … he was pretty sure that after he died, he would go to hell, so he probably wouldn't have the chance to confirm this in the future.
The three of them talked about this rather heavy topic for a while before they fell into silence again.
However, because of this, they moved a lot faster …
Because the matter in this' deep breakthrough zone 'didn't have any logic to speak of, it wouldn't generate any kind of' hostility '. The three of them only needed to avoid the seemingly aggressive data blocks and they could move forward safely.
Therefore, about thirty minutes later, they reached the end of the blue light path …
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