A single-player post-apocalyptic game, but with an all-female teammate mod.

Aono practically turned himself into a human wall, wedged tightly between the short zombie and Dudu.

"laugh--"

The short zombie delivered a flying kick that landed heavily on Aono's side.

He was sent flying horizontally.

It only stopped after bumping into a column of mycelium next to Dudu. A sweet taste rose in its throat, and it almost passed out.

But he ignored the pain and just stared intently at Dudu.

The signature roar of the flamethrower began to become intermittent.

The girl bit her lip, her face gradually turning pale.

The last wisp of flame fell weakly and went out.

The charred area on the heart of the mycelium is recovering at an astonishing rate.

"No...that's all."

Dudu turned to look at Qingye, her voice trembling slightly.

The flamethrower ran out of energy, but it was still two-thirds away from completely destroying the mycelial heart.

Based on the previous situation, at least one fully powered flamethrower would be needed to completely destroy this massive mycelial heart.

As for using a stone spear to poke it...

The damage caused cannot keep up with the recovery speed of the mycelial heart.

Aono's face darkened.

They brought quite a few flamethrowers today, a total of five, but they still used up a lot of them along the way.

Road clearing, lighting, and cleaning.

This is the last one in Dudu's hand.

Fall short.

Aono was in a bad mood, but knew that he had no choice but to retreat for the time being.

Fortunately, all the intelligence has been gathered. After resting and recuperating on the Ark, we'll bring enough flamethrowers next time, and we'll definitely be able to wipe out this mycelial nest.

Aono wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up, using the fire axe for support.

"Dudu, let's retreat for now. We'll come back fully prepared next time."

"Ah."

Without time to say much, Aono and Dudu quickly reunited and then decisively retreated in the direction they had come from.

Like the giant zombie, the short zombie did not try to stop the two.

Its figure flickered and it had already returned to the side of the mycelial heart.

22. Fight to the death

The stench behind them gradually receded, replaced by the relentless roar and vibration coming from the direction of the platform.

Aono and Dudu approached the purple-haired older sister, who was also covered in blood. "General Raiden, we're retreating."

However, the slender figure wielding the long-handled naginata did not respond at all.

General Thunder remained standing in place, slashing again and again at the giant mycelium zombie's ever-regenerating torso.

Her movements remained precise and swift, but her fatigue and helplessness were even more evident.

Aono and Raiden General had similar injuries, but the duration of their battles was completely different.

Moreover, in terms of physical strength, Aono is far superior to Raiden General.

If it weren't for Wu Xiang's previous slash that severely injured the giant zombie, leaving it almost completely unrecovered, General Lei Dian would probably have been pierced through by those tentacles long ago.

It's a real piercing, the kind of piercing that leaves many bowl-sized holes in the body.

"Did you hear me! Retreat!"

Aono called out again, and even tried to rush up and pull her away.

But as soon as he took a step, he abruptly stopped.

As General Thunder deflected the mycelial tentacles lashed out by the giant zombie, his pale profile swept across his direction.

There was no anger, no anxiety, not even a flicker of doubt in those purple eyes.

She saw it, but didn't "understand".

Like a machine that strictly follows instructions, it will not change its process due to external noise.

“It’s no use…” Dudu leaned against the wall, panting, her voice hoarse, “She’s just a doll now…”

To be precise, she is an NPC who only fights according to fixed logic.

Clearly, General Thunder will not leave until the source of the zombies is resolved and the game is completely cleared.

Thus, a multiple-choice question appeared before Aono.

First, I'm betting that General Thunder will respawn, so I'll be fully prepared before coming back next time.

Second, let's turn back now and do everything we can to solve the problem of the mycelial heart.

Aono's expression shifted between light and dark.

He didn't want to gamble, and he couldn't afford to.

If General Thunder dies in battle and no similar survivor characters are spawned, the difficulty of the next raid will become hellish.

In the worst-case scenario, we might get stuck with these two bosses until—a hopeless end awaits us.

boom!

The giant zombie slammed down with a punch, but General Thunder dodged to the side and sliced ​​off half of its arm with a backhand slash.

The severed limb fell to the ground, but soon the hyphae slowly wriggled and intertwined, forming a new arm.

Aono took a deep breath, the air entering his lungs carrying the smell of rust and burnt ash, like swallowing a mouthful of scalding ash.

He stared at General Thunder's retreating figure.

His purple hair was stuck to the side of his neck with blood. Every swing of the naginata was so precise it was almost cruel, yet it was repeatedly swallowed up by regeneration.

Non-vegetation, ruthless Practice makes perfect.

Even though reason kept reminding him.

This is just an NPC, a puppet without feelings or will, and it's an attempt to reset it.

Reason urged him to leave, but his gaze remained fixed on the battlefield.

When he saw the blood-stained purple figure silently standing in front of him, enduring the giant zombie and preventing it from attacking him and Dudu, Qingye couldn't maintain his rationality.

"I'll bet you anything! My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens!"

When Aono uttered the cringeworthy line in a low voice, his voice was still panting, but he was no longer wavering.

If you always gamble on luck, you'll eventually lose.

The price of losing a bet is often not just starting over, but having the chance to "start over" completely wiped out.

He suddenly turned to look at Dudu, "I'll hold off this giant zombie from now on. You take General Thunder to destroy the heart!"

"General Thunder's lightning ability is even more effective at countering the mycelium's regenerative ability than fire. Even without a flamethrower, she can destroy the mycelium's heart."

Dudu was taken aback for a moment, then nodded emphatically.

"Understood, Aono-nii. Even if it costs me my life, I'll stop the other... B-Boss!"

The girl's expression was resolute, her orange ponytail swaying gently, as if she were about to bravely sacrifice herself.

Given her strength, facing that ridiculously fast BOSS would indeed be extremely dangerous.

But Aono wouldn't sacrifice Dudu to save General Raiden.

Putting aside the fact that one of them is ultimately just an NPC, there's also the beautiful female teammate who's been with me for many days.

However, considering the gold coins and resources spent on recruitment, he would never sacrifice Dudu.

Aono was stunned for a moment, then said irritably, "You think I'm sending you to your death?"

"And how long can you hold them off? Even if General Thunder's ability counters the mycelium's regenerative power, it will still take quite a while to completely destroy the mycelium's core."

"What you need to do is take General Thunder to the Heart of the Mycelium, and then fight that BOSS with her, attacking the Heart of the Mycelium during the gaps."

"Will it really work? The regenerative power of that mycelial heart..."

Dudu hesitated for a moment, "And we also have to withstand the BOSS's attacks."

"Okay, trust me."

Aono said decisively, "General Thunder is very effective against that speed-specialized BOSS. The two of you working together can definitely do it."

As soon as he finished speaking, he picked up the fire axe and rushed to the purple-haired woman.

The axe blade slammed heavily into the giant zombie's slamming fungus fist, using the recoil to slide backward, while turning to General Thunder and saying:

"The source of everything is inside. I'll hold them off here. You follow Dudu to the source and prioritize destroying the mycelial core!"

General Lei Dian paused almost imperceptibly in his sword-wielding motion.

The amplitude was small, but Aono could see it very clearly.

He was overjoyed, knowing the plan was feasible, and quickly continued, "Your lightning abilities are needed to resolve the source of all the disasters."

The keyword was fully triggered.

The next second, General Thunder's unwavering purple eyes suddenly solidified, and she instantly turned away from the giant zombie.

"Dudu, the rest is up to you!" Qingye called out one last time.

The girl turned back and gave Aono a deep look before quickly following General Raiden.

……

The giant zombie let out a deafening roar, its tentacles sweeping across, smashing the ground where Aono was standing into spiderweb-like cracks.

Aono dodged to the side, and the fire axe swung upwards, tearing open a deep wound that exposed bone.

But the grayish-white flesh immediately began to wriggle and heal.

protracted war.

Pure consumption.

He was breathing heavily, each breath carrying the metallic smell of blood.

Without the restraint of the lightning element, the giant zombie's strength and regeneration are increasing, while his stamina and concentration are continuously declining.

The two consecutive head-on battles took a toll on him more than he had anticipated.

Several times, the giant zombie's attacks almost grazed past my body, the strong winds they generated stinging my cheeks.

The situation was equally critical in the tunnel on the other side.

The diminutive zombie pounced on Dudu in a blur, only to be cleaved away by General Thunder's blade.

Her movements were still precise, but her speed had noticeably slowed down.

“This is it!” Dudu pointed to the heart of the mycelium.

Upon hearing this, General Thunder swung his sword, and the blade, wreathed in purple lightning, pierced the heart of the pulsating mycelium.

The grayish-white mycelium, resembling blood vessels, contracted wildly, then charred and died in the lightning, but in an instant, new mycelium spread out from the edge, enveloping and repairing the wound.

"It is possible, but at this speed..."

Dudu frowned, but before she could finish speaking, the small mycelium zombies, resembling apes, attacked again.

General Thunder silently stood in front of her, slashing her again and again.

Her purple hair was already soaked with sweat and blood, and her hand holding the knife was frighteningly steady, yet frighteningly stiff.

Fortunately, she was an NPC. Even though her body was already beyond its limits, it only made her movements slower and more mechanical, but she never stopped.

While continuously deflecting the attacking dwarf zombies, General Thunder continued to carry out the order to "destroy the core".

At the platform, Aono was punched into the wall by a giant zombie, and rubble fell down.