Meanwhile, Zhao Longchuan's camp was in a fierce battle.
Although the camp was large, most of the inhabitants were just survivors who had come to seek refuge.
Many of them were women and children, possessing virtually no combat capability.
The entire defense relied on the elite soldiers trained by Zhao Longchuan, holding the city walls.
However, facing these mutant rats, which could devour anything and moved with incredible speed, the soldiers gradually began to fall into a disadvantageous position.
Requests for help echoed continuously through the walkie-talkies.
"Damn it, what are these things made of? Their teeth can bite through metal swords? This is outrageous!"
"It's the same here. My alloy shield, which has survived dozens of battles with me, has a notch bitten out of it by a mutant rat."
"Damn it, armor and protective gear are useless against these creatures. One bite, and at best it leaves a tooth mark; at worst, it's completely breached. And these things are so agile, they're just too troublesome!"
"My heavens, I thought I had held off these rats, but they dug through the city wall! Alert, the west wall has been breached, prepare for street fighting!"
Zhao Longchuan personally commanded from the central command post.
The most elite Dragon Squad guarded his side.
"Notify all ambushing archers to fire rockets filled with gasoline!"
"These rats are difficult to deal with, but they have a fatal weakness: their fur ignites very easily!"
"We'll use fire!"
As soon as the order was given, a rain of fire poured down from the sky.
Although there were many non-combat personnel from Long Country within the city, they displayed unprecedented unity in the face of this existential crisis.
They spontaneously formed a remote archery team, tasked with harassing the enemy, acting as sentries, and transporting supplies.
And despite being non-combat personnel, their strength was all at the advanced awakened stage.
While they couldn't defeat a mutant rat in a one-on-one fight, firing arrows from a distance was no problem.
Tens of thousands of arrows loosed simultaneously created a spectacular scene!
The entire night was instantly illuminated!
The overwhelming volley of arrows rained down indiscriminately around the city walls.
For the survivors, protected by armor and shields, these low-threat attacks caused virtually no damage.
But it was different for the mutant rats.
A single spark landing on their fur instantly turned them into a ball of flame.
Before long, the aroma of roasting meat slowly permeated the air.
Despite their formidable strength, the mutant rats were unable to extinguish the flames on their bodies and could only watch as they burned more intensely.
The burning rats, in agony, screeched and scurried through the horde.
Every rat they bumped into immediately caught fire, their fur erupting in intense flames.
The fire spread like a virus, rapidly engulfing the dense rat swarm and burning through it.
In a short while, the mutant rat horde was reduced to charred, roasted meat.
The remaining rats, filled with terror, scattered and vanished without a trace within moments.
"The crisis is over, we've won!"
Cheers erupted throughout the military base.
However, fearing that their cries might attract monsters, people could only stifle their voices, keeping them as low as possible, but their joy was evident.
In this battle, the soldiers suffered minimal casualties, even less than during the fight against the insect tide in the second phase.
Yet, Zhao Longchuan's face remained grim, his brow furrowed.
"Captain Zhao, we won, and with almost no losses. This is something to be happy about, so why the long face?" Jiang Chenchen asked, looking puzzled.
"We won this time, but it was a victory achieved through a trick, a lucky discovery of the mutant rats' weakness!" Zhao Longchuan said gloomily.
"Winning is what matters. The purpose of a battle is to complete the mission and achieve victory, isn't that what you taught us?" Jiang Chenchen asked, still puzzled.
"That's right, but this battle has just begun. Although we won this round through a trick, it doesn't mean we can continue to win future battles this way!"
"Mutant Type IV creatures should be comparable to survivors at the intermediate metamorph stage or above. Even those intermediate metamorphs with slightly weaker talents might not be able to contend with them."
"And these rats, like the Hexagonal Mutant Worms from the previous phase, are at the bottom of the food chain for their stage!"
"In other words, the elite forces of our camp can only barely contend with the weakest creatures appearing at this stage..."
"Once more powerful monsters appear... we will be in danger of annihilation..." Zhao Longchuan said, his brow deeply furrowed.
"That can't be right. If this is a doomsday game, shouldn't it consider balance? If the monsters are too powerful for survivors to endure, how can anyone play?"
"In the end, if most people die and only a very small number of survivors remain, what's the point of us being teleported here?" Jiang Chenchen continued to question, confused.
"Alas, do you still think this is a game even now?" Zhao Longchuan sighed and retorted.
Seeing Jiang Chenchen momentarily speechless, Zhao Longchuan continued:
"In my opinion, this world is a genuine doomsday world. According to the intelligence provided by Mr. Zhang Chen, we were teleported here by the natives using technological means!"
"I don't know the purpose of our teleportation, but this is definitely not a game, and the natives must have had their own reasons for teleporting us here."
"And those reasons are certainly not to create a fair doomsday game..."
"Furthermore... the reason it's called doomsday is precisely because humanity finds it difficult to survive in such a world, hence it's called doomsday."
"If most humans could level up and resist powerful monsters in this world, wouldn't that be akin to humanity's primitive society at its inception?"
"It would mean humans have adapted to this world and can begin a new civilization!"
"Unfortunately, judging by this stage, the world's design is not like that. Doomsday means only a select few strong individuals can survive."
"Ordinary people who want to live... must either grow to their utmost potential or constantly relocate and hide, merely surviving."
Jiang Chenchen stood frozen, stunned by his words.
Indeed, she had never considered this question before.
She had always naively believed that since the doomsday had phased suppression, it was intended to help humanity adapt to this world and eventually conquer it.
But she had never considered why the natives would have sent them over.
Nor had she ever thought that if the natives, with their advanced technology, could not survive the doomsday, why should they, the transported test subjects, necessarily survive?
There is no fairness in the world, and even less so in doomsday!