11: Section 11

The spirit seed is where the Phage Beasts store their life source essence. I didn't expect their life source essence to also be inside the spirit seed.

"Jing Yuan, stop zoning out! These guys will revive. Hurry up and kill the other Phage Beasts to buy time for Mark and the others."

Teachers at the school also said that Phage Beasts cannot be killed; they revive quickly after death. The Wasteland Hunters can only rely on the time between the Phage Beast's death and revival to escape.

However, Jing Yuan remembered that the original animation mentioned that Phage Beasts are not immortal. As long as the spirit seed is destroyed, the Phage Beast cannot revive.

Mark destroyed the Phage Beast's spirit seed during humanity's final battle.

Therefore, with the Lighthouse's weapons, Phage Beasts can also be killed.

"Erica, shoot them in the chest!"

Jing Yuan didn't explain further. After speaking, he piloted the gravity body, holding a Greatsword, and charged toward the Phage Beasts.

Erica listened to Jing Yuan and aimed for the Phage Beasts' chests, but they consciously protected that area.

It seems these guys also know that location is their weakness.

Mark led his team out of the building and immediately entered a gravity body.

Corey saw his gravity body had vanished and loudly demanded, "Where is my gravity body?"

Mark piloted the black gravity body, Dawnbreaker, and sped towards the battlefield ahead.

He saw Erica's and A-Fu's gravity bodies shooting from a distance, while Corey's gravity body was fighting the Phage Beasts up close.

The gravity body twisted and maneuvered, drawing its saber and slashing. Its movements were fluid, slaughtering a pile of Phage Beasts! Even Corey himself couldn't perform these actions!

"Who is piloting Corey's gravity body?" Mark asked over the communication frequency.

Erica heard Mark's voice and replied, "It's Jing Yuan!"

"Jing Yuan! How is he here?"

Erica was confused: "Didn't you bring him?"

Mark was speechless. After a moment of thought, he understood what had happened.

He didn't point it out but instead joined the battlefield.

Among the Wasteland Hunters, Mark's skill in controlling a gravity body was the best. And his gravity body, "Dawnbreaker," also had the best performance.

This combination of strength allowed Mark to perform a series of highly difficult maneuvers.

But today, Mark's gravity body was no longer the main attraction.

Jing Yuan piloted the gravity body, charging into the Phage Beast horde, taking down one Phage Beast with just two or three slashes.

Some smart Phage Beasts realized Jing Yuan was powerful and fled.

Jing Yuan directly threw the Greatsword. The saber flew at high speed, piercing straight through the Phage Beast's body.

Jing Yuan had just used Psychic Control to accelerate it; the power was truly immense!

Jing Yuan continued the chase, using Psychic Control to return the Greatsword to his hand, then plunged it into the Phage Beast's chest, absorbing its life source essence.

This sequence of actions by Jing Yuan stunned even Mark!

After Mark joined the battle, he had only managed to kill three Phage Beasts.

After the entire group of Phage Beasts was killed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Mark quickly said, "Hurry! Before the Phage Beasts revive, we must leave quickly. Contact the Lighthouse and synchronize coordinates!"

Seeing that all the Phage Beasts were killed, Jing Yuan didn't spare the ones killed by others either.

He approached a Phage Beast corpse, and seeing its body beginning to recover, he plunged his saber into its chest.

Now, with just a sweep of his Mental Power, he could precisely locate the spirit seed.

The Greatsword pierced the spirit seed, and the Phage Beast's life source essence was absorbed by Jing Yuan.

Mark saw Jing Yuan still finishing off the Phage Beasts on the battlefield and said, "Jing Yuan, stop finishing them off! These guys can't be killed!"

Jing Yuan wasn't surprised that Mark knew his identity. Instead, he said casually, "Captain Mark, I think I've found a way to kill the Phage Beasts!"

"What?"

Mark couldn't believe it.

"Come and look!"

Jing Yuan called Mark over, but before Mark could get close, the first Phage Beast whose life source essence Jing Yuan had absorbed had already turned into Hallowed Earth and returned underground, leaving only a skeleton.

Seeing this scene, Mark was greatly shocked. He rushed to Jing Yuan's side and asked, "What is going on?"

Jing Yuan plunged the Greatsword into the Phage Beast's chest again. His absorption of the life source essence was invisible and colorless, so Mark wouldn't notice.

"This is..." Jing Yuan wanted to say 'spirit seed,' but since he didn't invent the name, how should he explain it?

"There is an organ here in the Phage Beast. As long as you strike this organ, the Phage Beast can no longer revive!"

"An organ?"

Mark opened the gravity body's face shield, revealing a surprised expression.

They had been fighting Phage Beasts for so many years and never discovered this.

Yet Jing Yuan, who was only here for the first time today, discovered it!

"Listen up, everyone! There is an organ in the Phage Beast's chest. Destroying it can permanently kill the Phage Beast! Destroy this organ completely before these Phage Beasts revive!"

Mark was only stunned for a moment before immediately issuing the order.

Receiving the order, Erica quickly approached a Phage Beast and used her Machine Gun to riddle its chest with holes.

Jing Yuan was horrified by this sight: "No! I need the life source essence!"

Chapter 11: Charles's Little Moves

Jing Yuan couldn't tell Mark that he needed the Phage Beast's life source essence. He could only watch helplessly as the others destroyed the Phage Beasts' spirit seeds.

Once the spirit seed is destroyed, the life source essence automatically dissipates.

Without touching the spirit seed, Jing Yuan couldn't absorb the life source essence.

What a pity, at least half of the life source essence was wasted.

On the way back, Mark was very happy. In all these years, they had never returned victorious without a single casualty like this.

Without Phage Beasts chasing them, the journey back to the Lighthouse was exceptionally peaceful.

Mark and Jing Yuan rode in the same vehicle. Mark looked at Jing Yuan with the appreciation of a senior towards a junior.

"Jing Yuan, you are a born warrior!" Mark praised him.

"Then, will you take me on the next mission?"

Mark smiled and said, "I haven't settled the score with you for this time yet. Sneaking down here will result in punishment."

"I killed so many Phage Beasts, and you still want to punish me?"

Mark lowered his voice and said, "Remember, just don't tell anyone you snuck down here."

Jing Yuan smiled knowingly. No wonder everyone liked Mark; when things went wrong, he genuinely took responsibility for you.

Soon, the convoy approached the Lighthouse.

Jing Yuan looked outside through the car window.

Over the boundless desert, a "Giant Umbrella" floated in the air, looking magnificent.

This was the Lighthouse! A resource-scarce, strictly hierarchical shelter ruled by a dictatorship.

Many people regarded it as hope. But was there truly hope up there?

As the convoy drove onto the Lighthouse's lift platform, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Every time the Wasteland Hunters returned, the citizens of the Lighthouse would line the streets to welcome them.

Along the way, people shouted the names of the Wasteland Hunters and Mark.

At this moment, Mark stepped out of the vehicle and sat on the roof, receiving the cheers of the populace.

Jing Yuan sat inside the vehicle, listening to the cheers outside, and thinking of Mark's final fate, he couldn't help but feel melancholy.

If it had been before his Talent unlocked, Jing Yuan wouldn't dare say he could change Mark's fate.

Now, he was determined not to let the tragedy happen.

The convoy continued driving until it stopped inside the Wasteland Hunters Armament Preparation Depot.

Mark was arranging the unloading of supplies nearby, while Jing Yuan tidied up, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, someone rushed toward him from behind Jing Yuan.

Jing Yuan only sensed the person's presence but didn't see who it was.

Jing Yuan moved quickly, dodging the person.

The person's punch missed, and they stumbled forward.

Jing Yuan looked and saw it was Donnie.

Only then did he remember the whole Donnie incident.