Chapter 228: 228, The wolf pack has become spirit

It was not until Lin Qi and the others noticed the problem with Captain Zhou that they suddenly realized the backpack might contain a device capable of wirelessly charging the nanobots.

Indeed, it was because of this very device that everyone’s nanobots had been gradually depleting their energy, while Captain Zhou’s remained unaffected.

In this perilous moment, Lin Qi and the others thought that if they could use the charging device, their chances of survival would surely increase.

So Lin Qi and his companions exchanged glances, intending to demand Captain Zhou’s backpack.

But before they could speak, the forest behind them suddenly erupted, as though some colossal beast were weaving through the trees.

“Trouble! A pack of wolves is upon us!” Captain Zhou shouted: “Run!”

At this point, the others had no chance to say anything else; survival was all that mattered.

Yet when they realized the wolves were closing in, the pack had already flanked them, and all they could do was sprint faster, terrified of being caught.

Several nanobot warriors, their energy nearly spent, fell behind, but their comrades showed no intention of helping.

They only grew more desperate with each step, some even forgetting they still carried firearms to fend off the wolves.

Ren Xiaosu, hiding on a hillside, sighed at the sight. The Li Clan had indeed sent them to their deaths—if this were a squad of Li soldiers, even a retreat would have order, not the one-sided rout they faced now.

After all, these were merely ordinary people capable of controlling nanobots.

Some of them might not even match the psychological resilience of common folk.

Still, Ren Xiaosu wondered what the Li Clan’s true elite nanobot warriors were like.

“Huh,” Ren Xiaosu noticed Captain Zhou’s peculiarity and realized his nanobot energy had not diminished.

What was going on?

The next moment, the wolves on both flanks suddenly surged inward, cleaving the fleeing nanobot squad into two. Only then did the besieged warriors remember their rifles and attempt to fire.

But they were foolish enough to forget even to disengage the safeties!

Someone drew a saber from their waist—a close-combat weapon issued by the Li Clan to maximize the nanobot warriors’ superhuman physical prowess.

For these warriors, blades were far more effective than guns once combat turned to melee.

Ren Xiaosu, watching from afar, noted the saber’s blade was orange-yellow, while the edge gleamed with the same silver as the nanobots.

When the blade struck the wolves, the silver edge rippled outward like concentric circles spreading across water.

Ren Xiaosu frowned. Could the blade itself be composed of nanobots?

As one warrior’s blade sliced a wolf’s flank, the beast’s side split open like wax meeting a red-hot blade.

The wolves, witnessing the weapon’s power, abandoned their frontal assault and launched a rear ambush instead.

Captain Zhou and Lin Qi’s group fled without looking back, but even with ample energy, Captain Zhou could not outrun the wolves.

“Who has the cluster bombs? Give them to me!” Captain Zhou roared, his voice hoarse with desperation.

Someone paled: “There are still comrades behind us!”

Gunfire still echoed from the wolf pack, proof that those trapped inside had not yet perished.

Captain Zhou replied coldly: “If you wish to sympathize with them, go save them. Otherwise, stop pretending here—we’re all just fleeing, aren’t we?”

No one spoke, though someone muttered: “You’re going to kill our comrades.”

“Comrades?” Captain Zhou sneered: “You’re not even worthy to be my comrades. There are ten cluster bombs in the squad—hand them all over.”

With that, several people pulled out the explosives from their backpacks.

Ren Xiaosu, watching from afar, paled. These fools had brought cluster bombs?!

Though wolves could withstand bullets, cluster bombs would obliterate them—if a few died, his mission would fail.

Thinking this, he commanded his shadow to surge into the battlefield, shouting to the wolf king in a low voice: “Stop chasing! There’s danger!”

Most of the wolves halted, but one broke free, its wildness unchecked, charging to tear down several nanobot warriors before attempting to flee.

This wolf was nearly as robust as the king, usually seen guarding the wolf king like a left guardian.

In that instant, the shadow intercepted it, hoisting the beast onto its shoulders and retreating.

The wolf panicked, howling furiously, but the shadow ignored its cries, carrying it away decisively.

Now the wolf king’s expression shifted—how strong was this thing?!

Captain Zhou’s group pulled the safety pins on their cluster bombs, aiming to hurl them at the wolves, only to find the pack had stopped chasing.

One wolf charged toward them but was seized by a black shadow and dragged backward, growing more distant.

The sight left Lin Qi and the others stunned—what was happening? Why had they stopped?

And why was the shadow blocking that wolf?

It wasn’t that they lacked experience; the scene before them was simply too inexplicable.

Someone stared at the smoking cluster bomb and asked: “Still throw it?”

“Throw it!” Captain Zhou hurled his bomb—better to detonate it than let it kill himself.

But the explosion missed every wolf. Had they become spirits?

The blast echoed through the wilderness, sending birds fleeing skyward like a swirling mass of clouds.

The wolf king watched the smoke and falling debris in silence, having long understood human firepower, so it felt little panic.

It gazed at Ren Xiaosu and nodded, as if in gratitude—if not for his timely intervention, the wolves might have suffered heavy losses.

Ren Xiaosu could not admit it was due to his mission; even without it, he would not have abandoned allies, for they were partners.

He counted the fallen nanobot warriors—their silver machines seeped from their corpses.

Nine had died in the wolves’ encirclement, a high efficiency, though more had escaped due to the cluster bombs.

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