Chapter 318: Protocol 3

Chapter 318 – Protocol Three

The Mountain City.

Lin Yu was drenched in blood, crouched within a cramped cavern shielded by two massive boulders.

Beside him lay two corpses.

One, the ranger of their party.

The other, the shield‑bearer who had spent the whole ordeal doubting whether he could ever return alive.

Now he need not doubt any longer, for he truly was dead.

Gazing at the half‑crushed body, at the pink‑tinged pulp oozing onto the ground, even Lin Yu—who had spent more than a decade clawing through monster‑ridden battlefields—could not help but feel a bottomless dread.

From beginning to end, he had never seen the creature that had assaulted them.

Its bulk was so immense, for a fleeting moment Lin Yu even wondered if it were a moving city.

Yet, shrouded in a heavy veil of fog, its shape remained an inscrutable silhouette.

All he knew was that his shield‑bearer companion had been a heartbeat slower, and was torn to fragments by an attack that seemed to come from nowhere.

And he himself, only a heartbeat faster, managed to slip away from the death‑laden mist.

Lin Yu’s fingers trembled lightly, and the scout who had survived by sheer luck trembled likewise.

“We can’t get out.”

The scout’s upper and lower teeth clattered uncontrollably.

His voice was hoarse, like the wail of a shattered bellows.

“That monster—”

“It’s a Tier‑One monster!”

“It’s the very one that the previous squad mentioned.”

“Ji Xing! Do you remember? Ji Xing once escaped from that monster’s clutches.”

“No.”

Lin Yu shook his head.

“That’s not the same creature.”

“It’s also a Tier‑One, but a different one!”

He drew a deep breath, then continued:

“Near the Mountain City there are far more than two Tier‑One monsters—countless, in fact.”

“When we entered they were dormant, but now they have risen as the city itself has.”

“We truly cannot escape.”

“The longer we linger, the more revived Tier‑Ones will appear.”

“One of the city’s chief defenses now serves them; we have no chance of survival.”

“What do we do?!”

The scout’s voice rose a notch, while Lin Yu’s stern gaze swept over him.

“What do we do? Die here!”

He clenched the knife in his hand and went on:

“Since we have come here, we must be ready to meet death on this spot.”

“At least our mission is complete!”

“We have delivered vital intelligence to the Huaxia forces; they have launched the decisive battle against the Beast Tide!”

“The Beast Tide besieging Jinling will soon be quelled—this will be the first time humanity in this world has triumphed over the Beast Tide!”

“We will be remembered by all— isn’t that enough?”

With those words spoken, the scout’s fear‑etched expression softened a little.

Indeed.

Isn’t that enough?

He had lived nearly thirty years and had long grown weary of this wretched world.

Perhaps now is the moment to depart in a blaze of glory?

He inhaled deeply, exhaled deeply, repeating the cycle until his frantic heart steadied.

“My apologies, sir.”

“I have overstepped.”

He strained to lower his voice, saying:

“But we must devise a plan; we need to act, not simply sit here awaiting death.”

“I understand.”

Lin Yu raised his hand, cutting off the scout, then said:

“Evacuation is no longer possible.”

“We have ventured too deep; outside lie countless revived monsters and a host of bizarre machines—penetrating their watch‑towers is impossible.”

“The only way out lies ahead.”

“Ahead??”

The scout stared dumbfounded at the direction Lin Yu indicated.

“The Mountain City?!”

“Yes, the Mountain City.”

Lin Yu nodded slowly.

“The city has not yet fully revived.”

“At least the unlit districts remain in the wake of the Huaxia army’s assault.”

“Those places should be safe. If we can reach the city proper, perhaps we still have a chance to live!”

“We should go in?”

“Otherwise…”

Lin Yu’s voice deepened:

“We are now less than two kilometres from the edge of the Mountain City.”

“At our pace, we can cross in at most five minutes.”

“If we can enter the city, we will find a new shelter.”

“There it will be safer than here.”

“Follow my lead.”

We must go right now!

The words fell, and Lin Yu sprang to his feet.

Every muscle in his body tightened to its limit; after a fleeting pause, the taut muscles suddenly relaxed, and his body shot forward like an arrow.

The scout followed close behind, and the two shared no further words.

In their eyes only a single target remained.

The mountain city!

The vegetation ahead grew sparser, and the road grew ever flatter.

They were now very close to the final goal.

Yet the retreating road and the inexorably slipping time stretched out, seeming interminably long.

Five hundred meters.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Yu noticed the massive shadow behind him drawing near.

He did not stop, nor did he attempt a counter‑strike.

For he knew that before that monster, he was as insignificant as an ant.

How could the claws of an ant ever harm a towering “giant”?

To survive, there was only one way: to run.

Faster.

Even faster!

Only three hundred meters remained.

Lin Yu had already sighted the colossal building.

He also saw, on its façade, the wide-open door.

He did not know what lay beyond that door, nor whether he could live after stepping inside.

Yet it was his sole hope now.

“Keep up with me!”

He shouted, accelerating once more, while the scout behind him unleashed astonishing strength, leaping several strides ahead of him.

A mist began to gather around Lin Yu; instinctively he held his breath, only to realize moments later that this seemingly thick, perilous fog might be nothing more than ordinary

water vapor?

One hundred meters.

In five seconds he could be inside that building.

Lin Yu did not look back, yet his other senses sent him an alarm of extreme danger.

The monster might already have launched an attack.

Only, the assault seemed not yet to have reached him.

A buzzing noise pursued him relentlessly, a bone‑chilling cold spreading from his legs to his whole body.

His eardrums throbbed violently, even bleeding.

The spray of blood hung in the air; he could feel his innards trembling wildly.

One step.

Only one step left.

Lin Yu, right behind the scout, slammed into the building.

“Bang!”

He fell to the ground.

A fierce pain rendered him immobile.

In that instant he relinquished all struggle.

That was the very limit of what he could muster.

His gaze swept the surroundings swiftly, and then he realized the structure might not be as solid as he had imagined.

At the very least, it could not shield against the monster’s assault from outside.

Yet he had no recourse left.

Let this be the end.

Lin Yu closed his eyes.

The next second.

He suddenly heard a vague voice.

“.Protocol Three.”

“Do not damage disaster‑recovery facilities.”

(End of Chapter)