Game: Civilization Paradise

KABOOM!

The Guardian was sent flying by the explosion.

"We need to get out of here, now,"

Long Ming said to Oritta.

"Right. Move out!"

Oritta decisively shouted to the others.

Long Ming led them toward the building where Xiaoqi and the others were hiding.

Seeing Long Ming’s group approaching, Xiaoqi quickly rushed out of the building.

They regrouped and ran forward together.

Just then, a large number of Guardians and mechanical dogs gave chase, firing relentlessly at Long Ming and his team.

Long Ming’s group fled in disarray, occasionally turning to fire a few shots at the pursuing Guardians.

"There’s a dense residential area ahead on the left! Head that way!"

Oritta told Long Ming.

"Got it!"

Long Ming nodded in acknowledgment.

At that moment, Sang Rui took out several smoke grenades and threw them on the ground.

PSSSH!

Thick smoke spread out, blanketing the entire street.

And since everyone was wearing temperature-regulating exoskeleton armor, the Guardians’ thermal imaging cameras were useless.

Oritta led Long Ming through the smoke, into an alley, and then into a dense residential district.

The area was filled with rows of metal, pigeon-coop-like apartment buildings.

Long Ming and his group ran deeper into the complex.

"Oritta, we can’t just keep running like this,"

Sang Rui shouted.

"We’ll hide in that building up ahead!"

Oritta made a quick decision and led Long Ming’s group toward a taller residential building.

「Several minutes later.」

Long Ming and the others hid in a third-floor apartment.

Xiaoqi and the others collapsed to the floor, panting heavily.

Sang Rui and the others immediately tended to Kula’s wounds again, injecting another powerful healing agent.

Long Ming hid by the window, observing the situation outside.

Just then, a strangely shaped, hummingbird-like reconnaissance drone flew over.

Its electronic eye scanned the entire residential building.

A series of notifications popped up on its display.

"No anomalous targets detected!"

The drone then flew away.

Then, a mechanical crawler passing below suddenly stopped. It had detected unusual tracks on the ground.

"Anomalous activity traces detected!"

"Analyzing..."

...

The mechanical crawler then raised its head and scanned the building where Long Ming was hiding.

"No anomalous targets detected in this building!"

"Building status is questionable. Marking as a suspicious target. Requesting fire support."

...

Long Ming also spotted the mechanical crawler. An intense feeling of danger washed over him, and he immediately turned and yelled to Oritta and the others.

"We’ve been exposed! Let’s go, now!"

Oritta’s group was startled by Long Ming’s words, but they wasted no time and immediately bolted out.

Just as they ran out of the building.

A supersonic missile tore through the air from a distance.

The missile scored a direct hit on the building.

BOOM—

A massive explosion erupted, and the shockwave sent Long Ming and his team flying.

When they scrambled to their feet and looked back, they saw that the building, along with several surrounding structures, had been razed to the ground.

"My god, why are the missiles here so powerful?"

Tang Ye said in shock.

"They must have upgraded the payload. Let’s move!"

Long Ming said, taking a deep breath.

"Go!"

Oritta immediately led the group to continue their escape.

At that moment, a larger mechanical dog appeared on a distant building, its crimson eyes fixed on the fleeing group.

It leaped from the building, and upon landing, its body split apart into more than a dozen smaller mechanical dogs.

They instantly fanned out and chased after Long Ming and the others.

These mechanical dogs didn’t attack when they caught up; they just stared intently at them.

"Oritta, we’ve got mechanical dogs on us!"

Long Ming said to Oritta, glancing at one of the dogs.

"Take them out. Otherwise, enemy reinforcements will be here soon."

Oritta said in a low voice, raising his weapon.

Hearing this, Long Ming also drew his Light Beam Rifle.

They fired at the pursuing mechanical dogs as they ran.

BANG! BANG! WHOOSH!

One by one, the mechanical dogs were destroyed.

But the situation remained grim. Mechanical warriors were closing in with more Guardians, flanking them.

As they ran, Long Ming’s group ran straight into a squad of Guardians.

"Intruders detected. Eliminate!"

The Guardians opened fire on them furiously.

"Break through!"

Long Ming, Oritta, Sang Rui, and Kolei piloted their Mechanical Gods, charging forward through the barrage of attacks.

CLANG! CLANG!

The dense volley of attacks struck their Energy Barriers, sending sparks flying.

Once in close range, they swung their weapons, cutting down the Guardians one after another before continuing their forward run.

Ahead of them, a ten-meter-long concrete bridge appeared, spanning a channel of sewage.

Just as Long Ming and the others were about to run onto the bridge, Oritta suddenly shouted.

"Stop! Don’t get on the bridge!"

Long Ming’s group froze, taken aback.

"Follow me!"

Oritta then leaped directly into the sewage below the bridge.

Seeing this, the others all jumped in after him.

Once under the bridge, Oritta stopped.

He raised his wristband and released a special gray stone, which emitted a faint gray halo.

VMMMM~

Just then, a reconnaissance drone descended from the sky.

Just as Long Ming was about to take out the drone...

Oritta quickly made a hand signal, telling Long Ming not to attack or move.

Although confused, Long Ming held back his attack.

The reconnaissance drone hovered in front of them, scanning continuously.

"No anomalies detected."

"Target lost!"

...

Finally, the drone turned and flew away.

"*Phew...* We’re safe for now. Let’s rest here for a bit."

Oritta breathed a sigh of relief, then walked to the bank and spoke to Long Ming and the others.

"We finally shook them."

"We’re saved."

...

Upon hearing this, Xiaoqi and the others collapsed to the ground.

The tension drained from Long Ming, and his gaze fell upon Oritta.

FZZT... FZZT...

He noticed that Oritta’s entire body was distorting, like an unstable image.

"Oritta, what’s happening to you?"

Long Ming asked in surprise.

"It’s nothing. This is normal."

Oritta replied with a smile.

"Wait, is it because of that stone?"

"That’s right."

"What is that thing?"

"It’s called an Interference Stone. It’s extremely valuable. This stone can jam electronic devices, but it also has another special function: it allows us to see the real world."

"The real world?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell us about it?"

Long Ming asked, his curiosity piqued.

Hearing this, Xiaoqi and the others also looked at Oritta with great curiosity.

"You want to know?"

Oritta replied with a smile.

"Yeah!"

Long Ming and the others all nodded.

"Watch carefully."

Oritta retracted the armor covering his arm and placed the Interference Stone on his exposed forearm.

FZZT... FZZT...

Instantly, his entire arm distorted, transforming into a black metal arm.

"A mechanical arm?"

Long Ming exclaimed in astonishment.