160: Investigation begins!

Surface, White Tower Plaza.

"Calling 03, calling 03,"

"I don't see many people left standing; it's about time we left."

Perhaps bored of the game, a Pilot looked at the scattered limbs and debris on the ground and sent a communication to his teammate with a laugh.

"02, you SOB, I see you can't handle losing! You're leaving just because your count just exceeded mine? I'm going to do another sweep!"

"Suit yourself! It's useless no matter how much you sweep anyway! That portion of natural food rations is mine!"

Hearing the two communicating, the leader of this flight squad interjected:

"That's enough. We have a mission later; what will you do if you run out of ammunition if you keep playing?"

The two finally gave up, snorted at each other over the communication channel, and muted their mics.

The aircraft, circling in the air like vultures, finally did a tail-swing, reformed into formation, and flew off into the distance.

Meanwhile, on the surface—

"Can't… catch my breath… can't…"

The soldier with the broken leg stroked his collapsed chest, his voice sounding as if it were being squeezed out of a leaking leather bag.

He numbly waved his right arm, wanting to grab something, but there was nothing before his eyes—except for the darkening sky.

Beside him, a guy who looked like a Follower was clutching an arm in his embrace, muttering something about "lord of the sand sea, entering heaven…"

As he muttered, it suddenly turned into a roar—

"Why won't you strike me dead—!! Why!"

The crowd was mixed together in scattered heaps, here and there. The very few who had survived—it was hard to say whether they were lucky or unlucky.

They just collapsed on the spot, either dazed, terrified, or heartbroken.

The scent of death permeated the air, and soon, a flock of scavenging birds arrived, drawn by the smell.

They couldn't wait to land on the surface and began to enjoy this feast.

Among them, a black bird resembling a crow slowly raised its sharp beak and pecked fiercely at a hand in front of it—

"Giao——!!"

Immediately, a scream rang out. The hand curled up in pain, yanked upward, grabbed the bird's tail, and pulled out a handful of feathers.

"Caw—caw—caw—"

The startled bird flew away with a bare bottom, while the hand holding a fistful of bird feathers waved in the air, then pushed against the ground, struggling to move outward.

Before long, a head with pink hair emerged from the pile of people.

At first glance, she saw White Shark, who was pressing down on her—

She hurriedly lifted the guy's head and patted it gently,

"Hey? Salted Fish? Stinky fish? Trash fish? Are you... still alive?"

Looking at the motionless White Shark, Baili Ying's eyes gradually became dazed and terrified, and something uncontrollably welled up in her eye sockets—

"Hey, don't scare me, I know you're not dead."

"Give me a sign."

"Old senior, you said you would live longer than me…"

Suddenly, White Shark's eyelids twitched, interrupting the spell-casting that had just begun—

"Wait… stop shaking me,"

"Don't worry… I'm still alive,"

"Besides, this is a clone body; if it dies, I'll just go back."

A slightly weak voice sounded, and White Shark slowly opened his eyes.

He checked the status of his limbs; fortunately, he still had feeling in his whole body.

Good luck; it seemed he hadn't been hit by the shells.

Thinking this, he looked at Baili Ying beneath him. The terror on her face hadn't faded yet, and lines of tears hung messily on her face.

Was she scared to tears?

He pulled out his hand, wiped Baili Ying's face, and comforted her:

"Alright, don't cry, no need to worry about me."

Baili Ying's expression stiffened instantly, and she explained with a blushing face:

"Who's worried about you! You stinky trash fish! I was crying because you were pressing on me! You, you, you, you, you… do you know how heavy you are!"

"Get up quickly!"

White Shark looked at Baili Ying, who was desperately denying it but laughing through her tears, and smiled too. He braced his hands to stand up, but a sharp pain suddenly shot through his right leg—

After pulling out his right leg, he realized that his lower right leg was twisted at a bizarre angle; it was clearly broken.

Sometimes, human delay is just that magical. After you survive a disaster, some wounds only start to hurt once you see them.

Immediately, a piercing pain occupied White Shark's nerves.

"Hoo!!! Li!!! Xie!!!"

At this time, other senses gradually recovered. The surrounding thick smell of blood, burnt odors, and the gradually rising stench of corpses mixed together and rushed into their nostrils.

The sense of smell and sight delivered a double shock to the two of them.

But the daze didn't last long; the pain in his right leg forced White Shark to regain his composure.

Red fire rain was already falling from the horizon; judging by the speed of movement, it was a drop pod—

That group of guys who suddenly appeared was about to land!

"Baili Ying, listen to me. You have two sets of simple first-aid equipment in your bag. Take a set of splints and help me stabilize it."

"We can't stay here any longer; we have to leave immediately."

Hearing White Shark's words, Baili Ying nodded blankly, forcibly suppressed the feeling of physiological discomfort, opened her backpack, and started moving.

Soon, the two finished, and Baili Ying supported White Shark as he stood up.

After scavenging a gunpowder rifle and several magazines from a Protectorate Army soldier who only had his upper body left, they slowly walked toward the White Tower in the center of the plaza—

It was the closest building to them that still had a roof and wasn't on fire.

"Bang!!"

"Pfft!"

Those drop pods descended with flames and landed on the White Tower Plaza.

As the cabin doors opened, a soldier wearing the latest camouflage Exoskeleton of the Imperial Navy Marine Corps walked out. Judging by the rank, it seemed to be a squad leader.

Just after stepping down, an indescribable smell rushed directly into his nasal cavity, straight to his skull, and straight to his soul, making him almost fly off on the spot—

"All units! Turn on the Exoskeleton's respiratory filtration and internal circulation systems before leaving the drop pod!"

"It stinks like hell."

As he spoke, he looked at the surrounding carpet of blood, stepped forward, and made "squelch, squelch" sounds,

"According to orders, begin screening for suspicious entrances to the target!"

"Groups A and B, proceed to the central White Tower. Groups C and D, proceed below the city center statue…"

Suddenly, a guy covered in blood crawled out from the pile of people and grabbed the squad leader's Exoskeleton leg, giving him a fright.

"Bang bang bang bang bang!!"

The next second, the squad leader decisively aimed his muzzle downward, emptied the magazine, and then opened the command channel to say:

"Given the peculiarity of the crowd here, we have unlimited fire authority for this mission. Do not pity any civilians!"

"They likely have bombs in their arms!"

"Move out!"

"Yes!"

Thus, the Marines quickly split into several groups, raised their weapons, and began to advance—

Wherever they passed, no one survived.

(A certain mobile fleet's Void Bubble Engine: I am already trying my best to fly)

(Wait for me another hour—)