The two could only dare to catch their breath for a moment, as they heard the sounds of mutated creatures passing behind them, one after another.
It was only then that they both seemed to react, glancing at each other.
Was that the direction of the exit?
It seemed so. Could reinforcements have arrived?
Exchanging glances, they quickly reached a consensus: it seemed like reinforcements had indeed arrived, otherwise, they wouldn't have lured all the mutated creatures away.
They were saved!
Both saw joy in each other's eyes. After several minutes passed with no further strange noises from behind, Xiwen and Old Liu finally emerged from the rocks, cautiously peeking outside.
"Captain, the mutated creatures are really gone!"
Old Niu said to Xiwen with a hint of surprise. Then, the two of them left the rocks together and soon discovered others.
"Did reinforcements arrive?"
Everyone realized this, and their faces were filled with the joy of having survived.
Only Xiwen's expression was grim.
"Where are Xiao Ba and the others?"
The two remaining members of the suicide squad, besides Xiwen and Old Niu, immediately changed their expressions and rushed to search the surroundings. The others exchanged bewildered glances, temporarily suppressing their joy, and helped search for the missing members of the suicide squad.
Unfortunately, all they found were corpses.
Looking at the mangled remains that couldn't even be pieced together, the members of the suicide squad's eyes instantly reddened.
"These beasts! I'll kill them all!"
One teammate of the suicide squad, looking at the corpse of his brother with whom he had faced danger and even shared drinks just last night, was overwhelmed by a surge of grief and rage.
"Xiao Qi, calm down!"
Xiwen rebuked. If they couldn't remain calm in such a situation, they could lose another teammate at any moment, even though he himself was equally sad and angry.
"Calm down, how do you expect me to calm down!" Xiao Qi retorted, his voice tinged with tears, the first time he had ever argued with Xiwen.
"If it's for the mission, we can die, because our very existence is for executing missions!"
"But the mission isn't meant to be suicide! This whole situation was caused by those damned enforcers. This is clearly Tie Lin's problem, so why should our suicide squad take the blame? Why should people from our suicide squad be the ones to die!"
Xiao Qi shouted at Xiwen with a heartbroken cry, and his words silenced everyone present.
Yes, the base's responsibility and mission were to guard the beast nest. If it were merely due to the abnormality of the beast nest, they wouldn't be so grief-stricken now.
However, the reality was that it was due to the enforcers from Tie Lin!
Their sudden ambush had depleted all their weapons and manpower, which led to the beast tide erupting in an uncontrollable state when it returned.
If they hadn't been caught between enemies from both inside and out, the base's equipment and facilities would never have fallen so completely in such a short period!
In other words, this time their base was purely being scapegoated!
"Alright Xiao Qi, the priority now isn't to discuss this. We need to figure out how to meet the reinforcements and safely leave the base first," Xiwen sighed, stepping forward to pat Xiao Qi's shoulder comfortingly.
However, Xiao Qi's emotions did not calm down at his words.
"Captain, are we just going to leave like this? Are we just going to slink away like stray dogs clinging to life!"
"I'm not willing to accept this! Why were we besieged all night and not a single person from Tie Lin came to support us! Why didn't those in charge manage those enforcers properly! And for what reason do those people allow these things to exist!"
Xiao Qi shouted almost maniacally. His questions came not only from his own heart but also from the hearts of everyone present. However, Xiwen's expression instantly turned grim, and without a word, he struck Xiao Qi with a chop to the neck, knocking him unconscious.
With Old Niu carrying Xiao Qi on his back, Xiwen coldly surveyed the surroundings and said in a deep voice, "I know you all feel grief and anger right now, but this is not the time for your emotions to break down!"
"No one wanted this to happen. The purpose of the base, and the purpose of Tie Lin, have never changed! If you fear death, you can leave now; no one will blame you!"
Xiwen's seemingly heartless words were spoken without hesitation. Everyone's expression changed, but in the end, they said nothing more and lowered their heads.
The absence of deserters during wartime was precisely to avoid affecting morale!
Xiwen's goal was the same. If he didn't say these harsh words, once everyone's emotions were influenced by Xiao Qi's outburst, they might not be able to unite in the upcoming battle, which would be fatal to them!
Old Niu suddenly leaned in and whispered into Xiwen's ear, "Captain, Xiao Qi was just momentarily overcome by emotion..."
Xiwen shook his head, interrupting Old Niu, "I understand. I'm not blaming him; I just don't want others to be affected."
"That's good," Old Niu said, relieved. He had been worried that Xiwen would look at Xiao Qi differently after his outburst, as those words were indeed quite unsettling.
Tie Lin headquarters had indeed performed very poorly this time.
Xiwen turned his gaze towards the exit, his expression suddenly becoming complex, and he murmured with a touch of bewilderment, "Geni Xiao, what the hell are you doing..."
Geni Xiao, as the chief executive of Tie Lin, was almost entirely responsible for this situation. After all, Tie Lin was not some remote wilderness; its strongholds were in direct communication with each other, and the base was even connected to headquarters. Therefore, Geni Xiao knew about the situation at the base almost immediately!
This was why Xiwen was utterly bewildered. He couldn't understand why Geni Xiao hadn't sent reinforcements sooner. Was it to ensure the Tie Lin competition could continue?
However, Xiwen was unaware that at this very moment, Geni Xiao was also unleashing his fury upon headquarters.
"I'm saying this for the last time! If your people haven't resolved the enforcers' procedural issues within half an hour, I'll lead my men and raze your headquarters!"
After saying the last sentence, Geni Xiao slammed the phone down, smashing the table into pieces and startling the guards outside the room.
If it weren't for the fact that the person inside was the strongest in all of Tie Lin, they might have already忍不住 gone in to inquire about the situation.
After smashing the phone and the table, Geni Xiao's rage had still not subsided.
Sinking heavily into his chair, a murderous glint appeared in his eyes.