Chapter 1

Along the way, Nivil was silent. The Sunil soldiers rarely spoke, each with a tense expression, seemingly too pressed for time to communicate, focused on their own tasks. The air was thick with the metallic tang of the soldiers' armor and an atmosphere of grim tension, a stark silence broken only by the rumble of the war vehicles and the clanking of moving armor.

The Sunil were originally a civilization that loved life, valuing culture and art. The disaster changed their thinking; the harsh environment endowed the survivors with a pragmatic and direct attitude. This was also reflected in their architectural style: uniform steel fortresses, monotonous and sharp. Looking through the military base toward the city's interior residential area, the blocks were arranged squarely, revealing a rigid impression.

Nivil led the way, and Han Xiao and his group arrived at the mercenary area, where a large number of mercenaries were gathered, creating a noisy commotion.

Before the impending calamity, the mercenaries needed to understand the detailed intelligence.

Nivil stepped onto a platform and said in a deep voice, "The observers detected signs of bestial frenzy two months ago, and thus initiated recruitment. You are the mercenaries who have accepted the mission. Only by working together can we overcome this difficulty. If you want to receive your reward, please give it your all..."

After giving a brief opening speech, Nivil got to the point: "Guei Yu Stones (ominous language stones) grow underground on this planet. Guei Yu Stones possess mind-polluting properties. The planet's entire network of mineral veins has merged to create a mental force field, enveloping the planet's ecosystem and subtly exerting mental influence. Therefore, the beasts on this planet are in a constant state of agitation and are very aggressive. However, this is not the direct cause of the impending calamity. The mental undercurrent formed by the Guei Yu Stones erupts every few years in what we call a 'Tidal Surge.' This is the root cause of the beastial rampage."

"This time, the mental force field's Tidal Surge has come more than half a year earlier than usual. The observation department predicts that the calamity will fully erupt within the next 7 to 13 days. Our enemies are all the beasts on this planet. Generally speaking, the initial outbreak of the calamity lasts for 3 to 6 days, and we only face small beasts, equivalent to weak beast herds driven away by powerful beasts. Then comes the middle stage, which lasts about 10 days. The fighting is most frequent, the beasts are almost endless, the enemies are getting stronger and stronger, blood gathers into rivers, and gunpowder smoke condenses into clouds. Finally, there is the final stage of the calamity, which lasts about 5 days. This is the most dangerous stage. By this time, our vehicles and manpower have been greatly depleted, and the enemies we face are the most powerful beasts. They are attracted by the bloody smell of countless dead beasts..."

At this time, a mercenary interjected, "You have war vehicles, aircraft, and even interstellar warships. Isn't fighting beasts just slaughter?"

Nivil swept a cold glance, "You'll understand when the calamity comes."

Immediately afterward, Nivil opened a projection and displayed images of various beasts, introducing the creatures of this planet, which were also the monsters that everyone was about to face. Han Xiao took a look. The strength of the beasts on Sunil Star far exceeded that of Aquamarine Star. The Guei Yu Stones had existed for countless years, and mental power could subtly influence the evolutionary tendencies of organisms. The beasts of Sunil Star all lived for combat. The strong survived, and the weak were eliminated, making them extremely dangerous.

Maple Moon asked curiously, "Since you know the beasts are the enemy, why don't you just kill all the beasts normally?"

"Because of the symbiotic nature of the ecosystem, perhaps," Frenzied Blade said hesitantly.

"But this is threatening the continuation of the race. Why bother considering the ecosystem?" Meatbun objected.

"The question is, can you kill them all?"

The players began to argue noisily, each with their own views on the Sunil's approach.

There were hundreds of species of beasts. After explaining them all, Nivil distributed the information to each mercenary, and then assigned tasks according to the commissions each mercenary had accepted.

The Sunil had many resource extraction points and various facilities in the wild. During the calamity, all the people abandoned these locations and returned to Senyuan City, concentrating all their forces to protect one place, reducing the number of locations that could be attacked.

The main city was the last barrier. Senyuan City had five lines of defense, and Han Xiao's commission was to defend the second-to-last line of defense, which was relatively the safest commission. Other tasks included protecting reconnaissance aircraft, protecting sky warships, rapid reinforcement units, and so on.

Senyuan City was equipped with many defense measures. Using the main city as the core of the defense was to take advantage of the terrain. Senyuan City was not a dead end. There were escape tunnels underground. If Senyuan City showed signs of being breached, the people would be relocated in advance, escaping from the ground or the sky. Therefore, the main city was not without the possibility of falling. There were also powerful beasts underground and in the sky. If they encountered an irresistible attack in these two places, they would crash/be buried alive, so these two were the last resorts.

The two most dangerous jobs were wilderness reconnaissance and wilderness combat units. Sunil Star was covered by forests, and aerial reconnaissance had blind spots, so wilderness reconnaissance was essential. Performing missions in the wild during the calamity was extremely dangerous. If they discovered beasts that were too dangerous heading toward the main city, the wilderness combat units would have to take action, killing the beasts before they reached the main city or diverting them, resulting in an extremely low survival rate.

Therefore, no mercenaries ever applied for these two jobs; they were all filled by warriors of the Sunil race.

Mercenaries in different positions were each led to their positions by an officer. Nivil led Han Xiao and his group of mercenaries, familiarizing everyone with their positions.

Time passed quickly, and the sky darkened.

The mercenaries all lived in the military base, but Han Xiao needed to enter the city to complete his secondary profession goal. He approached Nivil alone and asked, "I would like to apply to enter Senyuan City."

"Why do you want to enter the city?" Nivil frowned.

"Some private matters. I have a friend who lives in the city, and I want to visit."

"No." Nivil flatly refused. To prevent hidden dangers, mercenaries were not allowed to enter the city unless absolutely necessary. They could only be active in the military base.

"You can't use this reason to enter the city, but your friend can visit you," Nivil added.

Han Xiao looked helpless. He had to make contact with a key plot character, but the other party didn't know him at all, so how would they come to visit?

Could he only sneak in secretly?

He had a disguise mask and the Black Night Lurker secondary profession, so the success rate of sneaking in should be quite high... right?

Whoosh—

At this moment, a gust of wind pressure descended from the sky, and several beams of light suddenly shone on the ground. A spaceship hovered above the base and lowered its gangway. One after another, Sunil Superhumans walked down. They were all hired warriors who earned commissions outside and were all returning to their race on the eve of the calamity.

On the ground, the Sunil soldiers all looked up, their eyes gleaming with admiration, gratitude, longing, and other expressions, saluting in unison, perfectly in sync.

Whenever warriors of their race returned, they were given a grand welcome ceremony and were loved by the people.

Han Xiao had sharp eyes and saw a familiar face, shouting loudly, "Hey, Rielton!"

"Green Knight" Rielton was also in the crowd. Hearing the shout, he turned his head and thought for a moment before remembering that this was a familiar acquaintance who had fought alongside him. He propelled himself with blue flames from his feet, landing in front of Han Xiao, and asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Black Star is a mercenary who accepted recruitment," Nivil saluted and answered first.

"So you're also a mercenary," Rielton realized.

"I registered not long ago. I heard that your race was in danger, so I came. I didn't expect to be fighting alongside you again." Han Xiao was skilled at making small talk. "I have an acquaintance in the city and hope to enter the city to visit. Can you do me a favor?"

Nivil said, "If he is your friend, then there is no problem."

Rielton thought for a moment. They had fought alongside each other before, and although they had only known each other for a short time, he believed that Han Xiao's identity was not dangerous and that he was quite strong, so it was no problem to do a small favor. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll accompany you into the city."

"Thanks." Han Xiao smiled. It was convenient to know acquaintances. One sentence could solve the problem, without having to risk sneaking in.

…

It had been a while since they had last met, and Rielton's prosthetic body had been repaired. Han Xiao followed him through the checkpoint. The first thing the other returning Sunil Superhumans did was also enter the city. Han Xiao and Rielton followed behind this team.

Whoosh—

Countless Sunil civilians spontaneously gathered on both sides of the street, welcoming the team with cheers like a tide. On some tall buildings, there were also posters and banners of certain Superhumans. The Sunil Superhumans were treated like heroes within the race.