All-out: Starting with the Awakening Special Operations Unit, search, attack, and withdrawal.

[A1 Area: Broken Ridge Corridor], in the southwest direction, amidst a forest of towering, dim yellow wind-eroded pillars, stands a somewhat lonely building: the [Refinery].

Chu Hong watched as Bai Ningzhi made hand seals and shot a sword light, the purpose of which was unknown, towards the surrounding stone pillars.

Then the other party pulled me into the building.

"roar!"

A hoarse, raspy roar, as if the wind were whistling through his throat, had just rang out briefly when, in the next second...

A flash of cold light disappeared in an instant.

A thin sword beam instantly killed the humanoid monster in front of him, whose body was made of steel bars and concrete and whose head was a red alarm light.

Looking at the latter's shattered warning lights.

Chu Hong's eyes were filled with astonishment.

The monsters in this secret realm have a very unique style!

One arm is a pair of pliers from an industrial crane, and the other is made of welded steel bars, while he also holds a welding torch.

【Rust Engineers】: In the 7th stage of the Energy Convergence Realm, when the viaduct collapsed, the welders and steel bars working on the project were instantly fused together by extradimensional energy. They are still repairing that road that can never be fixed, and the flames spewed from their welding torches are their only remaining memories.

"These monsters can't be killed all at once," Bai Ningzhi said calmly.

"See that sandstorm in the sky outside? It's in the sky during the day, but it will descend to the ground at night. At that time, the monsters you killed during the day will respawn, and their numbers will be even greater."

"The pioneers could only stay in the nearest buildings; venturing out meant enduring the terrifying cutting damage from the sandstorms..."

As Bai Ningzhi spoke, she took out the map of [A1: Broken Ridge Corridor], spread it out in front of Chu Hong, and pointed to the area around the [Refinery] on it.

"Monsters will actively seek out nearby settlers."

"To escape this secret realm and enter the final [B2 Area: Mirror Lake Central], you must first survive for 7 days! After 7 days, the boss [Advanced Colossus - Remains Arbiter] will automatically revive."

"The evacuation portal to [B2 Area: Mirror Lake Central] will only open after the boss is defeated."

Chu Hong took a deep breath, already vaguely feeling the constipation one gets in a world-class secret realm.

"Isn't there a way to wake the boss up earlier, or activate the extraction point?"

Bai Ningzhi nodded: "Yes!"

She pointed to a location on the map near the core area, the oil storage area.

"Accepting and completing the benchmark mission will allow me to activate the boss ahead of time, but... I've already released my spirit sword to keep an eye on things from the shadows."

Chu Hong's eye twitched slightly: "There must be quite a few people watching this mission, right?"

We were talking about that.

"Boom—!"

A loud explosion suddenly came from a distance, and Chu Hong's expression changed.

Before he could say anything, Bai Ningzhi spoke up calmly.

Like a veteran who is already used to the battlefield procedures.

"The team that landed at the Northwest Iron Tower landing point fought with the team that landed on the broken bridge... The Northwest Iron Tower landing team, which has no nearby buildings to provide shelter, is usually the first to break out in battle in the secret realm."

"They either crossed the bridge from under it immediately and entered the abandoned building to the north."

"Either choose the zipline to the top of the tower, braving the sandstorms and cutting damage from above, and force your way into the core area [Abyss Reaction Tower]."

"Or... come to the [Refinery]!"

Looking at the extremely awkward location of the Northwest Iron Tower's landing point on the map, Chu Hong couldn't help but gasp slightly.

"So, in this current battle, the squad that landed on the bridge immediately countered the Northwest Iron Tower squad?"

Bai Ningzhi nodded gently.

"We have fewer people, and you are not yet familiar with the environment and mechanics of the secret realm. It is not advisable for you to come up and face such a high-intensity battle. If you encounter a strong enemy, I will not be able to completely protect you."

"We'll hold the fort at the refinery and fight the last team in seven days!"

"During this time, be wary of a possible sneak attack from the people at the [Trench Command Post] to the north, or the small team at the Northwest Iron Tower landing point that has been defeated or has its remaining forces turned their attention to our side."

Bai Ningzhi's arrangements were all so reasonable and calm.

Especially the small gold and small red collectibles that the other party took out.

It's clear that this Senior Uncle Bai is truly taking his escort mission very seriously...

"This is a red-quality collectible item, the Dragonfly Mirror, worth 102 million. It can cover more than 80% of the area of ​​the Refinery. If anyone breaks in, I will detect it immediately..."

Bai Ningzhi held a bronze mirror in her hand and said seriously.

After speaking, she glanced at Chu Hong indifferently, as if recalling someone's previous behavior of cursing her for being heartless because of the 500 million escort fee.

Chu Hong: "..."

[Item Name]: Dragonfly Mirror

[Item Level]: Red

Value: 1,020,092

[Type]: Craft collectibles

【Weight】: 0.15kg

[Occupies backpack slot capacity]: 1×1

[Item Description]: Made by a craftsman skilled in mechanical arts, inspired by the compound eyes of a dragonfly—the dragonfly's compound eyes are composed of tens of thousands of small eyes, covering a field of vision of almost 360 degrees, and are extremely sensitive to moving objects.

Immediately afterwards, Bai Ningzhi took out a full twenty or thirty exquisite brass-colored metal dragonflies.

[Item Name]: Dragonfly Bronze Sculpture

[Item Level]: Gold

Value: 130,092

[Type]: Craft collectibles

【Weight】: 5.12kg

[Occupies backpack slot capacity]: 2×2

[Item Description]: A dragonfly sculpture cast in brass, with a warm gold color throughout. The surface has been finely polished and partially oxidized, giving it a warm luster. The dragonfly's wings are spread out, and the wing veins are engraved with extremely fine incised lines, showing every detail. Two dark, slightly raised round beads are inlaid in the compound eyes, and the segments of the tail are clearly defined.

"With these dragonflies, as long as you don't leave the [Refinery] area, I can guarantee your absolute safety!" Bai Ningzhi said decisively.

"If you want to level up your Source Energy faster, then you need to actively consume Source Energy and engage in combat... The monsters in the [Refinery] are your responsibility."

"You should be fine, right?"

Chu Hong has no problem with it!

but......

As he looked at Bai Ningzhi, who was saying those words, his gaze clearly swept towards his lower body, causing his eyes to twitch involuntarily.

Uncle Bai, was there a hidden meaning in what you just said?

The refinery is not large in scale, but it occupies a considerable area.

It can be divided into three areas.

A tower, also equipped with a zipline, provides direct access to the core area near the assembly workshop.

Chu Hong is currently in the [Refinery Main Building] where he and Bai Ningzhi are.

And three oil tanks to the east.

However, on the surface, it seems that's all there is to it. But when Chu Hong began to unfold the [Cobweb Brain-Computer] display case and carefully examined the structure of the main building, he was amazed.

He couldn't help but gasp slightly.

There are four floors above ground and a complex underground pipe network. Looking at the direction some of the pipes extend, a cold glint flashed in Chu Hong's eyes.

So what Uncle Bai meant by being careful of a sneak attack from the [trench command post] wasn't a sneak attack from the ground.

Instead... it's underground!

He glanced left and right.

[Parino Supercomputing Core "Natasha"] Display case effect activated!

Source energy sensing shield activated!

In that very instant.

"Splash!"

【“Shadow General” Nanban Dizhu Complete】Display case effect activated!

"Go check out what's going on over there..."