death of hope

Chapter 1069 Psychic Storm (142) Wolves in Front, Tigers in Back

"Danger! Get down!" Just as Trist warned the group, Yuna launched her attack.

The psionic orb exploded, crackling with red and black lightning, its power comparable to a salvo from the broadside cannons of an interstellar warship.

"Boom!" The massive underground fortification experienced a brief earthquake, and the entire "mountain of flesh" collapsed.

Broken bones, blood, and rotten flesh, along with equipment and rubble in the corridor, poured out like a torrent, flushing away several psionicists as if they were being flushed down a toilet.

The shockwave, intense light, and sonic boom caused by the psionic bombardment were like a tactical nuclear weapon. The survivors, including Leon and Trist, instinctively covered their eyes and ears.

After a brief period of dizziness and tinnitus, everyone was astonished to find that even such a devastating attack had failed to completely destroy the monster.

The collapsed mountain of flesh twitched eerily, "thump! thump!" The sound, as powerful as a cannonball, was its heartbeat; the monster's blood pressure had been stabilized.

The powerful heart muscle pumped the lush green blood to every node of its massive body, while the tattered tentacles scooped up the corpses on the ground and dragged them into its gaping maw.
Chewing and digesting them, they become nourishment for recovery. The corpses of psionicists seem to be more effective than those of ordinary people, and to monsters, they are like a powerful tonic.

Fascia and granulation tissue continue to grow, becoming new flesh and blood tissue. Mutant cells are dividing and proliferating at a visible rate, and any attack that cannot kill it will only make it stronger.

It is certain that the evolved monster will be even larger and more deadly than before.

·
Exhausted from overusing his psychic powers, Nai was deathly pale. He staggered and barely managed to regain his footing, yet he was still worried about others. Leaning against the wall, he struggled to walk, trying to find the psychics who had been swept away by the monster's blood, but was decisively stopped by Leon.
"Don't go! This place is going to collapse!"

"Old man! Grab the railing!" Yuna shouted, but could only watch helplessly as the elderly psychic was swept away by the blood, collapsing limply to the ground: "I'm so useless..."

"Cheer up! You're a hero! You owe no one anything!" Li Ang helped Yuna up and encouraged her.

"Don't stand still, run! It's going to collapse! The monster will recover soon! Those who are still breathing, move! Follow me!"

Trist urged loudly, deciding to share the leadership responsibility with Leon. He smashed the fire box with an elbow, pulled out a fire axe, and rushed towards the elevator.

"Take care of Yuna for me! I'm going to start the elevator!" Li Ang followed closely behind the tall, thin figure of the Spirit Clan member.

Tristana unleashed the Eldar martial arts of the Ark, wielding her fire axe to clear away debris and monster remains blocking her path, her agile movements leaving afterimages.

"Impressive skills!" Li Ang exclaimed, traversing the cleared path and utilizing the Trojan planted by the cybersecurity engineer and the backdoor left by the electrician, successfully activating the largest freight elevator: "Carry the wounded in, quick!"

The group filed in and finally reached the surface before the underground structure and elevator shaft collapsed. Unexpectedly, Higashiyama Ruriko also climbed up the elevator shaft.

When we got on the elevator, everyone cheered, but they quickly fell silent once we reached the ground. They thought they had escaped to heaven, but in reality, they had entered an even larger and more cruel hell.

·
Back in the present, the group is hidden behind a wall, caught between monsters and corporate warriors.

Toshio was still savoring the battle underground, and the boy already regarded Yuna as a superhero from an anime:

"Did you see that just now? In the elevator lobby, that big sister is even more awesome than Ultraman! She took down the monster with just one beam of light! So awesome!" "Don't swear at such a young age!" The old lady pinched Junxiong's cheek, scolding him like her own grandson.

"Ouch! Don't pinch me...it hurts!"

"Roy! Roy!" The crazy woman Anna giggled, repeating the name over and over. The scene from before seemed to have reminded her of something.
"Stop letting this idiot make a racket! He'll attract the company dogs!" someone complained impatiently.
"Yeah, why bring this crazy woman up here? She's just causing trouble. We should have left her to fend for herself underground."

Li Ang rolled his eyes at the man: "I said from the beginning that we should try our best to rescue everyone. If you don't like it, you can leave the team and go on your own."

The man avoided Li Ang's gaze, muttered a few words in a low voice, and then fell silent.

·
"This little girl is amazing, she can use her psionic energy like a laser cannon..." Everyone praised Yuna.

"No wonder she's the top talent at the research institute; all those doctors in white coats are crazy about her." The old woman changed the magazines for her dual pistols and said confidently, "With her here, we're sure to fight our way out!"

However, the morale of the group was not boosted as the old lady had hoped.
Yuna collapsed after her moment of glory, lying side by side with the spirit girl Eve on a stretcher. The strongest fighter became a burden to the team.

"The little girl is very strong, but unfortunately she's a glass cannon, too fragile..."

"I hope she can wake up soon..." someone prayed, clasping their hands together.

Just then, the sound of military boots treading on rubble came from nearby. Li Ang became alert and quickly covered the mouth of the madwoman Anna: "Shh! Take cover! Someone's coming!"

·
It turned out that a small team of corporate warriors was sent into the research institute compound to scout, but they were quickly discovered by the evolved monsters and were brutally torn apart by the overwhelming tentacles and claws. Before dying, the last one detonated a cluster grenade to end his own life.

Seeing that the squad hadn't returned, the main force on the perimeter retaliated by firing a barrage of grenades and rockets, much like soldiers fighting Godzilla in a monster movie. The effect wasn't entirely negligible, but it was more like a tickle.

Li Ang let out a long breath and released his grip. The madwoman Anna coughed, still muttering softly, "Roy...Roy..."

"We're caught in the middle, with wolves in front and tigers behind, it's so tough..." someone complained dejectedly.

"Whether we're discovered by monsters or corporate warriors, the result is the same: death..." A sense of despair was spreading.

"Quiet, stop it!" Drizzt bent down, picked up a Motorola walkie-talkie from the corpse of an Enterprise soldier, adjusted the knob to the lowest volume, and held it close to his ear:

"Listen up, squads! I am the head of the family's personal guard, and also the commander of this operation."

ひがしやまるりこ（Higashiyama Ruriko）たいい(Captain),

I command you all: do not let anyone escape; you must find Zero.

Ideally, they should be alive, but dead is acceptable. Any other escaped psionicists, once discovered, should be killed without exception.

What we at Sakura Corporation can't get, no other company can get either!
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