Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

With a surge in physical strength, wounds pierced by bullets healed quickly in a glow of red light as the player charged forward.

Holding up his shield, the player managed to rush all the way to the side of the steel war vehicle.

While still a distance away, the player jumped off a huge rock by the road, his robust strength propelling his body through the air and across the vast space.

"Snap!"

His flesh smashed against the war vehicle, and the conical sharp spikes on the surface of the steel vehicle instantly pierced his body with countless holes.

Gushing blood poured out, drops of blood frothed from the corners of his mouth, yet the player felt no pain, only an enthralling rush of madness.

[You have received significant piercing damage and have entered a "Critical" and "Severe Bleeding" state.]

[Health -48!]

[You are suffering from bleeding damage, Health -3.]

[...Health -3.]

[...Health -3.]

[You are on the verge of a "Severe Injury Coma" state, please disengage from combat immediately! Please disengage from combat immediately!]

A barrage of warnings continuously erupted from the panel, but at the moment, the player subconsciously ignored them all.

In the game, a life is nothing but a number; if it wants it, let it go.

What matters is the thrill!

"Click~"

The safety catch was released, and a string of grenades slipped into the soft, vulnerable interior of the armored vehicle through the cracks and crevices.

"Boom!"

A violent fireball erupted inside the vehicle's cabin as the ammunition used by the machine intelligence ignited in a chain reaction, and an even more spectacular blaze burst from within the armored vehicle.

The seemingly indestructible armor instantly disintegrated from the inside out, shards of steel covered in spikes exploded outward, carrying with them the player's body that had been hanging on the outside, dismembering it and propelling it in all directions.

Everyone had eliminated the light machine intelligence basic combat units, much like human infantry and tank cooperative tactics; without the infantry cover, heavy armor also had its fatal flaws.

The fiery blaze lit up the earth at night, and onlookers such as Gong Yan instinctively shielded their eyes with their hands, the orange light still illuminating the lower half of their faces.

The sweeping heat wave brushed the tips of everyone's hair, and the indigenous people following Gong Yan fell silent.

Players who were further away whispered among themselves.

"Old Bear died for the second time, didn't he?"

"Yeah..."

"There are still four vehicles left..."

"Whoever loves going can go; I'm certainly not going."

Completing the mission is to gain experience, but what's the use of experience if you're dead?

Behind Gong Yan, inspired indigenous people emerged from the shadows.

"Sheng Yan, we have always been under your care, and now that our territory is threatened, I think it's time for us to do something," one of them said.

Originally, they were just ordinary people who had been frustrated in Grey Iron City; it was under Sheng Yan that they had found a new lease on life.

Sheng Yan had given them a second life, dignity, and a future.

They felt they had to give something back.

"Be someone useful to Sheng Yan!"

This phrase was engraved in the hearts of all the indigenous members selected for the town's armed guard.

"Let's go," they murmured among themselves.

Gong Yan waved her hand in a silent, almost cold gesture, "Go."

Sacrifice was anticipated.

And it was inevitable.

The world was always cold and cruel, it's just that Sheng Yan had always protected them too well.

It was time for them to face some cold truths on their own.

Arm raised from within the shadows, a man's voice rang out firm and strong, "Brothers! For Sheng Yan! Charge!"

And so, all of them pressed on towards the four advancing heavy armored vehicles with their flesh and blood.

They knew they weren't as powerful as those strange beings that seemed out of place in this world, and they also knew that the one who had just succeeded was even among those strange folks considered strong and lucky.

But if one wasn't enough, then ten would suffice; if ten weren't enough, then a hundred.

They swarmed together, using their bodies to block all the bullets for their comrades behind them, determined to rip a piece of flesh from their target.

Simple and pure.

"Pop, pop, pop, pop!"

The sound of bullets striking shields or flesh was incessant, and those torn apart by the bullet storm let out not even a whimper before death.

Their suppressed grunts were the last sound they left in this world.

A silent charge, a silent death, only the deafening roar of the machine guns filled the air.

"..."

Witnessing all this, the players gradually fell silent as well.

Many players never cared much about the background stories in the game; they only cared about the benefits they could get to show off in front of other players or NPCs.

But when that background story, considered to be of no consequence, suddenly hit them in the face, they too couldn't help but pause for a moment to immerse themselves in it.

"For this territory, they can just throw away their lives..."

"Are the beliefs in their hearts more important than life itself?"

Ultimately, there was no answer.

Nor would anyone provide one.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Fireworks bloomed one after another, and the scent of charred flesh from the scattered corpses filled the air.

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Gong Yan's group of a hundred indigenous warriors had lost over half their number, and even the twenty or thirty who were still standing were all injured.

"The next wave is coming soon!"