Although his proposal was rejected by Xiwen, it did serve as a starting point. With the suicide squad stepping forward, the remaining base members exchanged glances. After a moment, a man walked up to Xiwen and said.
"Captain, why don't you let me go? I'm responsible for reconnaissance."
He was a relatively slender man. While others bore traces of combat, he was impeccably clean. This wasn't due to evasion, but rather a testament to his professionalism in this area.
Xiwen gave him a brief look and understood the situation, but he still asked in a deep voice, "You need to understand, this could very well cost you your life, and none of us can save you if something happens."
The man chuckled, "Captain, you can't have the suicide squad always taking the lead. My strength might not be much in your eyes, but I have a man's courage."
The other base personnel nearby instantly held him in great respect. The unspoken rule was never to let unknown crises loom, and at a time like this, no one would have said anything even if he hadn't stepped forward.
Yet, he had volunteered. Though he cited a man's courage, everyone understood it was also for the base's honor!
As comrades who faced life and death daily, how could they not have faith!
Xiwen was also moved by his words and straightened his expression, patting his shoulder. He said earnestly, "Kid, what's your name?"
The slender man before him was clearly in his early twenties, so Xiwen's address of "kid" was not at all out of place.
"Zhang Hu, from Huaxia!"
The moment the word "Huaxia" was mentioned, Zhang Hu's entire face transformed, becoming incredibly proud and confident.
Xiwen paused for a moment. He recalled a night when he was drinking with Li Chonglou and had asked him where he was from. Li Chonglou had also replied "Huaxia." Zhang Hu's tone now was very similar to Li Chonglou's then.
If that fellow were here, perhaps we might truly have a chance of survival...
Xiwen's thoughts drifted for a moment, but he quickly regained his focus. He then patted Zhang Hu's shoulder and said seriously.
"Zhang Hu, if you successfully complete this mission, you will be a member of my suicide squad from now on!"
Zhang Hu's expression froze for an instant, then he immediately snapped a standard salute.
"I guarantee to complete the mission!"
With that, Zhang Hu no longer hesitated and began removing all his equipment. For a mission like this, one had to travel light; otherwise, even a slight mistake could lead to losing one's life!
As Zhang Hu got into character, he first retrieved some items from the corpses of mutated creatures on the ground and smeared them on himself. Then, he quietly crept towards the beast horde ahead. Xiwen watched his retreating back, momentarily lost in thought.
"What kind of mystical place is Huaxia, to produce so many talented individuals..."
In truth, it wasn't just him who had this thought. Others also suddenly remembered something: it seemed that among the comrades they knew from Huaxia, not one was a coward!
Meanwhile, Li Chonglou remained immersed in the endless battle.
If one could observe from a God's-eye view, they would be horrified by a terrifying fact: the beast tide, which had initially resembled a black sea, had already shrunk by a third!
The position Li Chonglou occupied now was also several meters higher than before! These two meters weren't just under his feet, but within a radius of half a kilometer centered on his position, there were corpses of mutated creatures piled two meters high!
Facing the densely packed, frenzied mutated creatures that still surrounded him, Li Chonglou's eyes held only excitement, devoid of any fear!
Fight! Kill!
He was already fighting in a frenzy. Almost all the acupuncture points in his body had been raised to above 40. The two acupuncture points he used most and strengthened first had already reached the limit of the lower part of the脉圈 (mài quān - pulse circle).
If Li Chonglou were conscious, he would have clearly noticed that he could no longer improve his attack or defense by using these two acupuncture points.
It seemed that this was the limit of their intensity.
It was a pity that he couldn't notice this problem at all because other acupuncture points were continuously channeling energy into him, not only replenishing the consumed qi and physical strength but also making him fight stronger and stronger with each passing moment!
"Again!"
With a punch that blew a massive head into a pile of bloody pulp, Li Chonglou let out a triumphant roar. He hadn't truly experienced this kind of emotion in a long time. Or rather, this was the first time in his life he had entered such a berserk combat state.
Before he had learned 脉潜 (mài qián - pulse dive), Li Chonglou would never have even considered such a fighting style. According to normal logic, in every battle, unless it was a life-or-death crisis, one would either aim for a swift kill or try to conserve energy.
After all, human stamina was limited. For prolonged combat, or situations rumored to involve fierce battles lasting for days and nights, it was usually something found only in novels.
It wasn't that Li Chonglou couldn't achieve it before, but such combat came with significant side effects. To put it severely, it could even come at the cost of his life. Now, however, he had no side effects whatsoever!
Therefore, Li Chonglou at this moment spared no effort in conserving his stamina. He not only fought to his heart's content but also replayed all the moves he had learned previously. This allowed him to not only improve his actual strength but also subtly elevate his understanding of techniques.
In this short span of less than an hour, his strength had nearly increased exponentially!
With every punch he threw, mutated creatures half a meter away, before they could even get close, turned into piles of flesh. Even some winged mutated creatures attempting sneak attacks from above were not spared.
This place seemed to have transformed into a slaughterhouse.
The dark red blood spread outwards along the ground, with the furthest reaching the entrance to the second level. This, in turn, made the mutated creatures below even more frenzied.
Having completely lost their reason, some larger mutated creatures that couldn't push their way forward directly launched frantic attacks on the passageway. The previously impenetrable passageway was now crumbling inch by inch, causing even the ceiling of the entire second level to shake.
"Damn, if this keeps up, will it collapse?"
Old Niu and the others, still hiding in the distance, noticed the commotion above and couldn't help but feel worried.
Xiwen comforted them, "Don't worry, even if a nuclear bomb detonated, this place wouldn't collapse. These special rocks are merely an outer casing."