Saving Unpermitted

Chapter 65: Return to the Team

Near the festival venue.

Hu Yan appeared calm on the surface, but inside, his heart was stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down.

He quickly assembled a makeshift boat from stones and arranged the core forces of the Blackbirds to propel the fleet. The stone boat swiftly moved across the damp mud, but its capacity was ultimately limited. At most, one boat could accommodate four to five hundred people, and Hu Yan couldn’t support dozens of boats at once.

Fortunately, the battle players were well-trained and didn’t scatter. Everyone relied on their abilities and stuck closely behind the formation. The procession of thirty thousand people was vast and powerful, with various abilities on display, which was so conspicuous that it made Hu Yan want to cry.

Fortunately in the unfortunate, Y City had somehow raised its alert level. Vibrant purification mist scattered around, providing them with cover.

However, with so many players, it was only a matter of time before they were intercepted by Y City’s military. Hu Yan felt tears welling up as he knew the truth but couldn’t explain it. He could only swallow his saliva in frustration.

“Head south first.” An old man squeezed through the crowd at some point.

“Dong Lao?! When did you—”

“Just go south when I tell you to. No more nonsense. Don’t let the formation break, be wary of people from Y City infiltrating.”

“The weather in the south isn’t right. There might be an erosion storm.” Hu Yan sighed as if his teeth were hurting. “Dong Lao, I understand the need for a detour, but this direction…”

“Activate the purifiers. We have doctors in the team, and the medical support can keep up.” Dong Lao’s tone was cold. “I brought a few military purifiers to protect the front and rear of the formation. The rest can use temporary purifiers to cope. The time should be enough.”

It had to be said that, after knowing the truth, Hu Yan had some reservations about humanity. Although Shu Jun made him believe in Dong Lao, Hu Yan still felt uneasy.

Given the urgent situation, he had no choice but to listen to the old man.

As a result, the erosion storm in the south had not yet formed, but heavy rain fell at the venue. Carried by the wind, the rain clouds moved towards Y City. Unnatural flooding became more widespread. Y City was low-lying, and the real erosion storm formed right behind them.

“Luo Duan,” Hu Yan muttered, his face under the mask turning pale. “There was more than just him in the sky just now. How many people do they have?”

Even with the manipulation of the weather, the previous Luo Duan was definitely not this powerful. The scene of Luo Duan killing his teammate flashed before his eyes, and before he could digest it, another reality pressed down on him.

“Most likely, it’s an illusion.” Dong Lao looked towards Y City. “They’re using erosion substance to create false figures, disturbing the judgment of the command center.”

Hu Yan struggled for a moment and finally asked directly, “Why are you helping us?”

It was no different from betraying humanity.

Dong Lao tightened his wrinkled hands on the edge of the boat. After a while, he smiled indifferently. “If I told you it’s for the sake of righteousness, would you believe me? Even if you believe, can you feel at ease? No matter what, it won’t be easy. What’s the use of asking these questions?”

Hu Yan turned his head in annoyance.

“But we will have pleasant cooperation,” Dong Lao—or rather, Xia Liang—lowered his voice and added, “The leaders on both sides are quite interesting. They might be able to cross these hurdles.”

The old man raised his eyes, looking at Y City, which was on the verge of being engulfed by the storm. “Captain Hu, you should focus on leading the team. Y City has activated Level-A defense. At most, there will be some issues with the above-ground and underground structures. Zhu Sheng won’t give up on pursuing us.”

“Alright, alright, I get it.”

At the venue, Luo Duan stood at the center of the storm with his large black robe concealing his face.

After assimilating with the small Erosion Swamp, his abilities had increased several times over. Although he couldn’t control the wind like Shu Jun, he could manipulate moisture and make countless moves.

There happened to be wind blowing from the south during this time. As long as he took advantage of this wind and made some adjustments, the erosion storm would sweep over Y City. During the festival, Y City strictly enforced Level-B defense, which wouldn’t be enough to withstand this sudden storm.

Y City’s buildings would be severely eroded, and the citizens would be affected, putting immense pressure on the local medical system. His actions would cause significant destruction, something the command center would have to take seriously. With the homeland stained in blood and public grievances boiling, the situation aligned with their interests, and Zhu Sheng would inevitably make a thunderous move.

Once the hatred ignited, war would inevitably follow.

However, for some reason, that imposter posing as Zhu Yanchen suddenly increased the level and purified the air around Y City. The storm could still form, but it wouldn’t harm people. At most, it would flood some underground facilities and damage a few roofs. This level of contradiction wouldn’t incite public grievances among the city residents. It might even have the opposite effect—such trivial matters would distract the United Government and require them to send people to clean up the mess.

His preemptive move didn’t hit the mark.

…But it was fine.

Luo Duan watched as the storm raged on. The black rain beat down on the vibrant plastic flowers and the lush artificial lawn. The colorful lights went out, and everything gradually turned into shades of black, white, and gray.

In any battle, he couldn’t rely on just one plan, especially in such a significant event.

In the current situation, Luo Duan had also considered a fallback plan. Seeing Yi Ning’s team quickly retreating, Luo Duan curved his lips, and his pitch-black eyes gradually returned to normal. Taking advantage of the raging storm, he descended slowly and discarded the troublesome cloak.

Naturally, Yi Ning had brought several military-grade purifiers, but he gave them all to the surrounding residents. The guards quickly formed a defensive formation, using the purifiers to cover everyone and advanced toward the nearest settlement.

The Marshal’s special vehicle had excellent erosion resistance, so Yi Ning could have easily taken the car back to the city. However, this young Marshal gave it to the elderly and children, wrapping himself in only an erosion-resistant oilcloth and followed the rest of the team.

…Just as Luo Duan had guessed.

The oilcloth couldn’t completely block all the rainwater. Despite being tightly wrapped, a few drops of rain still touched Yi Ning’s skin. The black rain was a hundred times more corrosive than acid rain, and since Yi Ning had given away the strongest purifier, his wet skin began to ache slightly.

Yi Ning adjusted the oilcloth on his body and quickened his pace.

However, as he walked, the splashing raindrops disappeared. A huge umbrella suddenly appeared above his head.

Yi Ning hurriedly looked up—looking around, he saw that everyone in the settlement, around tens of thousands of people, had large, translucent umbrellas above their heads.

“Luo Duan?!” Yi Ning was surprised. “You didn’t go with Hu Yan and the others?”

“The weather in the south doesn’t look right. I took two people to check it out, but we encountered an erosion storm on the way back.” Luo Duan made a concerned expression. “I faintly saw Hu Yan’s team on the way, so I had my people follow them.”

“Why didn’t you leave together?”

“There was no mention of this rain in the weather forecast, so I was wondering if it was the start of some disaster…” He left that sentence hanging perfectly, knowing that Yi Ning would understand—Luo Duan was always a careful player who enjoyed delving into the game’s background. He was here to see if there were any prelude tasks for an unexpected event.

“But it seems I was overthinking it. I didn’t find anything unusual.” Seeing Yi Ning’s changing expression finally settle on “I understand”, Luo Duan smiled. “It’s difficult to catch up with them now, so I’ll stick with you. Anyway, you have purifiers and emergency medicine. You’re just lacking protection from the wind and rain.”

“What about Groundwater—”

“…It’s okay. They are always resourceful and have their own ideas.”

Luo Duan lowered his gaze.

“And there will be someone to take care of them.”

Yi Ning felt no sense of unease. Instead, he became more worried about other aspects. After all, he had been in the position of Marshal for long enough to know what Zhu Sheng would do after the recent incident.

The power struggle between him and Zhu Yanchen had not yet reached a conclusion when it was interrupted by those black-robed synthetic humans. Taking advantage of the chaos, Zhu Sheng could legitimately postpone his retirement and continue controlling the command center.

Yi Ning also listened to the fake Zhu Yanchen’s speech. The new synthetic humans led by the Zhu family were waiting to be put into use, and this incident conveniently allowed Zhu Sheng to focus on destroying the old models.

…Speaking of which, the Zhu family was also responsible for the defense of Y City. The fake Zhu Yanchen wouldn’t raise the city’s defense to Level-A without reason. Even if it wasn’t intentional, he could still use this opportunity to gain popularity. When the vote was held again, the fake Zhu Yanchen would naturally have more supporters.

In short, once the chaos ended, the Zhu family would benefit everywhere.

Yi Ning furrowed his eyebrows slowly.

The opposing Zhu Yanchen, who had opposed the advancement of the player system, was no longer around, and he and Zhu Sheng had no fundamental conflict that would lead to this. If the black-robed people were indeed arranged by Zhu Sheng, it meant that he was treating the health of ten thousand people as a joke.

If Luo Duan hadn’t appeared in time, even with purifiers protecting them, the health of those ten thousand people would have deteriorated significantly. The settlement was remote and had no way to compare with the subsequent medical facilities in the city.

He couldn’t hand over the settlement residents to such a leader.

“What exactly happened just now?” Luo Duan, seizing the opportunity, naturally added fuel to the fire. “I heard someone say that a ‘warrior’ claiming to be one of us appeared in the square. Marshal Yi Ning, was that your arrangement?”

“It wasn’t me.” Yi Ning was still deep in thought and spoke with a heavy tone.

“Don’t mind me. I was just asking.”

“Marshal Yi Ning!” Before Yi Ning could respond, a guard rushed over, panting. He unexpectedly glanced at Luo Duan and pulled Yi Ning aside.

The guard spoke in a low voice, but it was futile against Luo Duan, who had spent many years lurking in the command center and honing his eavesdropping skills. Luo Duan pretended to look at the storm while clearly hearing everything.

“There’s been a development from the communications unit. Zhu Sheng has dispatched troops.”

“So soon?”

“They said it’s to prevent the synthetic humans from escaping. Now that they’ve realized it, it’s better to eliminate them as soon as possible. However, there’s some damage to the city’s buildings, causing a bit of chaos. Zhu Sheng only sent a small team.”

Yi Ning sighed. “Based on this situation, the priority now is tracking.”

And then they could leave the task of extermination to the fake Zhu Yanchen. Yi Ning shook his head in anger—regardless of whether Zhu Sheng arranged the black-robed people or not, reducing the number of pursuers and focusing on tracking were deliberate decisions. Once the time dragged on too long and the frontlines were stretched, the various settlements would undoubtedly be the first to suffer.

The settlements, filled with the elderly and infirm, would be wiped out, and the old model synthetic humans would be gone. The new synthetics would enter the market without even facing employment contradictions.

The more Yi Ning thought about it, the more horrified he became.

“After I send you to the settlement, can you help me contact the main force? The storm was too intense just now, and I was too focused on protecting myself that my communication device got drenched.” Luo Duan seized the opportunity perfectly.

“You’re coming back with me to Y City.”

“But what about the mission—”

“An unexpected task. This is an order.” Yi Ning’s expression turned serious. “You’re coming back with me to Y City.”

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and his expression became complex. “The situation has changed recently. Stay by my side for now.”

Luo Duan looked at him for a moment and smirked. “Understood, sir.”

In the south, amidst the storm.

“Someone is pursuing us.” A member of the Blackbirds responsible for scouting caught up. “What’s going on, Captain Hu? Is this really a mission? It’s getting too intense, isn’t it?”

“Ignore them. Let’s pick up the pace.” Hu Yan gritted his teeth.

“They’re lightly equipped, and we can’t shake them off!” The Blackbirds member felt helpless. “Boss, we need to pay attention to the arrangement of the purifiers and make sure no one falls behind. If we forcefully increase our speed, the team will scatter—”

“It’s almost time,” Dong Lao suddenly said.

“What do you mean by ‘it’s almost time’?”

“Those two should be here soon. If they don’t come, we’ll have to start the battle early. It’s fine if it’s the one surnamed Shu, but I don’t think your sister-in-law would like that scene.”

“???”

As if casting a spell, as soon as Dong Lao finished speaking, the wind around the team instantly became still.

Outside the main force, the wind suddenly intensified. The pursuers had just steadied themselves when they were entangled by unknown things around their chests and flung away. The small team was scattered in an instant. Everything happened too quickly for them to see anything clearly. A few seconds later, the pursuers found themselves face down in the mud, with demonic black winds roaring and swirling before them.

Since they were separated from the main force, no one wanted to enter such a storm and die in vain. According to regulations, if they couldn’t regroup, they would dejectedly turn back.

“I must say, the feeling of throwing people is quite satisfying. I like this move.”

Someone landed on the bow of the makeshift boat, their voice filled with laughter.

Shu Jun supported Zhu Yanchen as they landed on Hu Yan’s boat. Unlike the fully armed Zhu Yanchen, Shu Jun didn’t wear a face mask this time and showed his face openly.

“Captain Shu?!” The Blackbirds team member who brought the news instantly became excited. “W-Why are you here? Are you a special guest for the event?… And why did you change your appearance?”

“Something like that.” Shu Jun lightly hopped onto the deck. “What do you think of my new look? Isn’t it cool?”

Hu Yan’s throat tightened. “Captain Shu…”

“With me here, everything will be fine.” Shu Jun smiled and patted Hu Yan’s head with his claw. “You’ve worked hard maintaining so many boats… Go and rest for a bit.”

Hu Yan’s eyes turned red, and he trembled as he exhaled. “Okay, I’ll slowly tell you what exactly happened.”

“Mm.”

“Next, head east. I’ll adjust the route. Even if we manage to shake off the vanguard pursuit team, it’s better to be cautious.” Zhu Yanchen patted Dong Lao’s shoulder and spoke with a calm voice. “We’ll take everyone to the new base.”

“Who are you…?” The Blackbirds team member hesitated to recognize the person who was wrapped up tightly that even their voice was muffled.

“That’s your sister-in-law.” Shu Jun answered on behalf of Zhu Yanchen, his tone relaxed. Zhu Yanchen chuckled softly, not bothering to correct anything.

Then, he glanced at the team member who was about to pass out. “Well, I hope Uncle Pan and the others are prepared. We have quite a few guests this time.”

He waved his hand, and underneath the boats, where no one could see, decayed hands made of erosion emerged from the soil and pushed the boats forward with great force. They escaped the storm area, and the wind easily gathered in one place, making Hu Yan’s fleet of thin-shell boats go even faster.

Dozens of thin-shell boats broke through the gray mist and rushed toward the horizon. Shu Jun sat at the bow, looking in the direction of their destination. The wind brushed against his cheeks, and Shu Jun suddenly realized that he hadn’t felt this kind of sensation in a long time—

The lingering smell of blood and mud lingered in his nostrils, and the surrounding darkness was full of terror, yet everything was filled with hope.

The author has something to say:

Marshal: ? Sister-in-law. (Jots it down in his little notebook in his mind)

Shu Ge, be careful.

——

Me while outlining: I need to write this and that and also this, in short, this battle situation…

Me while writing: I want them to roll around in the sheets.