211: Chapter 211 Mysterious Disappearance

On the other side,

Li Zhenbang was leading his four team members on their return journey. By now, three hours had passed since their departure. According to the agreement, the advance teams were to convene at the starting point at 5:00 PM.

On this trip, Li Zhenbang and his team had collected nearly 30 plant samples, but most precious of all was the creature they had captured.

It was a small creature covered entirely in dark purple scales. It looked like a lizard, yet it had a pair of membrane-like wings on its back. Currently, it was darting around restlessly inside a specially made transparent container, emitting faint hissing sounds.

It had taken quite an effort for the group to catch this lizard. It was incredibly fast; if not for their excellent coordination, it would have slipped away long ago.

Li Zhenbang held the glass bottle tightly in his hand, glancing at it from time to time to observe its condition.

This was a genuine alien organism. Even someone as steady as Li Zhenbang couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement; he hadn't failed the trust placed in him by the higher-ups and had completed the mission.

"Maintain formation, stay alert," Li Zhenbang ordered.

"Understood..."

The others responded, quickly returning along the markers they had left on their way in.

When Li Zhenbang's group arrived at the rendezvous point, it was exactly five o'clock. Li Zhenbang only saw the personnel left behind to guard the site and none of the other teams; it seemed they were the first to return.

Seeing people returning, the soldiers of the advance team who had stayed behind immediately came forward to meet them.

Before long, news of Li Zhenbang capturing an alien creature spread like wildfire, causing quite a stir. This news also reached the real Earth outside the Rosen Bridge. A group of scientists engaged in a heated discussion about this alien organism; among them, the biology experts were so excited their eyes turned red, shouting for the creature to be sent out immediately.

After all, this was the first time humanity had discovered alien life.

Subsequently, everyone began arguing over who would get to study the alien creature. In the end, the Central Continent scientists won out. After all, the creature had been discovered by soldiers from their country, so this arrangement was beyond reproach...

The others could only pray that their own countries' teams would make some significant contributions.

On the other side of the Rosen Bridge.

Li Zhenbang and his team were taking a brief rest. During this time, two more teams returned from different directions: the teams from America and the Anglo-French alliance.

Both teams also had harvests, but unfortunately, they hadn't captured any living specimens. Mylon Harris looked frustrated because he had found one, but hadn't been able to bring back the pangolin-like creature.

This was also why they had returned late.

Three of the four teams had returned, and a strange scene unfolded: even by 6:00 PM, the Russia team had not been seen returning from the north.

Could something have happened?

The expressions of Mylon, Li Zhenbang, and the others changed. They took out their communicators and began calling, "Polar Bear Squad, this is the rendezvous point. Please respond if you receive this!"

"Polar Bear Squad, please report your position and status!"

"..."

Beep, beep, beep—

There was dead silence from the communicator, only the beeping sound indicating no response.

Someone refused to give up and called again, "Polar Bear, speak to us, Polar Bear!"

There was no answer...

Everyone's expressions grew solemn. The effective range of the communicators was at least 200 kilometers. Unless they were using vehicles, it was impossible for the Russia squad to have exceeded that distance by this time.

Someone said, "It looks like something has happened."

The three Russian soldiers who had stayed behind looked anxious. One of them suddenly stood up, grabbed his weapon, and was about to rush north, but was held back firmly by his companions.

"Igor! Calm down!"

"Let go of me! The Captain and the others must be fine!" the burly soldier named Igor roared, his eyes bloodshot as he struggled.

Another Russian soldier stepped forward calmly, requesting Li Zhenbang and the others to send a rescue party.

They certainly had to rescue them.

This was the agreement of the advance team and a consensus reached by all nations. What the officers were pondering was: what kind of danger could prevent the Polar Bear Squad from even sending out a distress signal?

"We can't wait any longer,"

Li Zhenbang broke the silence first, looking at Harris and the other officers. "We must organize a rescue team and head north to search immediately."

"Agreed."

"Check your weapons..."

Soon, two T100S reconnaissance drones took off and headed north.

A temporary rescue team consisting of Li Zhenbang, Mylon, and eight other elite soldiers from different squads assembled. Carrying extra medical supplies and weapons, they began searching along the markers left by the Russia squad when they departed.

One piece of good news was that even at 6:00 PM, the sky here was still bright. If it were night, they really wouldn't have dared to venture forward.

The rescue team followed the markers deep into the north, advancing for about 30 kilometers.

"The markers end here," Mylon said, crouching down and pointing at a small flag on the ground. He added in confusion, "Their footprints turn left here."

Li Zhenbang touched the ground with his hand. This American officer was right; the direction in which the Polar Bear Squad finally disappeared had changed to the east.

Perhaps because of these fungal mats, the ground had an uncomfortably slimy and elastic feel. If he weren't wearing an integrated protective suit, Li Zhenbang would never have done this; who knew what this hellish stuff was.

Li Zhenbang stood up: "Have the drones found anything?"

"Captain... there's a discovery..."

The scout in charge of the drones suddenly sounded parched. He stared at the screen, his pupils contracting in shock. "200 meters ahead, there's a large cavern!"

Hearing this, the group quickly gathered around the screen.

In the high-definition footage sent back by the drone, a deep, dark cave entrance had abruptly appeared in the plains. According to the drone's calculations, the diameter of this entrance was a full 50 meters.

Mylon frowned. "They went inside."

This wasn't a question, but a statement of fact. The Russian squad's tracks extended all the way to the cave entrance before vanishing.

Li Zhenbang tried calling again, but the Polar Bear Squad still didn't respond.

Having come this far, the group naturally wouldn't give up easily. After assuming a defensive tactical formation, they cautiously advanced, though they were determined to retreat immediately if they encountered danger to ensure their own safety.

The drone still led the way, lowering its altitude and flying inside with a buzzing sound.

The environment grew dim. Under the illumination of their lighting equipment, they saw that the cavern was filled with green vines covered in thorns. The thorns looked extremely sharp.

Aside from that, it was eerily quiet.

"Be careful." Li Zhenbang gestured for everyone not to let their guard down; he felt something was wrong.

And just as the words left Li Zhenbang's mouth, a sudden change occurred. The previously still thorny vines were like a nest of snakes being startled awake, snapping out from all directions and striking at the rescue team like lightning.

They were actually alive.

Li Zhenbang roared, "Open fire!"