The Strike Team

"No!" Luanshi Fusheng gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his expression hardening with resolve once more. "I have to carry the hopes of my teammates—and survive!" *Boom!* The fire elemental behemoth swung its massive fists again, hurling a flaming boulder through the air in a fiery arc. It crushed two sorcerer players who were mid-cast over a hundred meters away, flattening them into paste. "Forgive me, brothers! I'll explore this land in your place!" Paying no further heed to his remaining teammates, Luanshi Fusheng popped his Champion abilities—Dash, Action Surge, and Longstrider—and sprinted headlong across the wasteland like a gust of wind, covering hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye. *Roar—!* The furious molten behemoth gave chase behind him. With magma blanketing the terrain, the colossal creature moved astonishingly fast, swimming across the ground through the molten rock like a rapidly shifting mountain as it bore down on him. Luanshi Fusheng felt the ground violently pitching beneath his feet, making it hard to keep his balance. Casting a glance back out of the corner of his eye, he realized the behemoth was already less than a hundred meters behind him! Scorching gales blasted against his back, and the acrid stench of sulfur choked his nostrils. He knew very well that he could only match the behemoth's speed while all his mobility skills were active. The moment their durations ran out, the monster would inevitably run him down. If this went on, he was dead meat! Suddenly, through the dense smoke, Luanshi Fusheng caught sight of a towering cliff in the distance. The sheer rock face was steep enough that the fire elemental behemoth wouldn't be able to scale it anytime soon. Drawing closer, he spotted a deep, narrow cavern perched high on the cliffside, resembling an open, oval-shaped maw from afar. *This might be my way out!* A surge of excitement washed over him, like a glimmer of dawn piercing through the dark. Sprinting to the cliff base at top speed, he relied on the immense spring provided by *Jump* to leap a dozen meters into the air. Bounding from one rocky protrusion to another, twisting and vaulting with agile footwork, he finally landed before the cavern entrance. *Boom—!* The fire elemental behemoth continued its enraged roar, gliding across the molten earth as it charged toward him. Its advance shook the ground in a deafening rumble, making the entire cliff shudder and sending showers of loose stones tumbling down. Opening its steaming maw, the behemoth spewed molten lava bombs from its throat. They rained down in a fiery barrage, hurtling straight toward Luanshi Fusheng's position. "Screw it!" Throwing caution to the wind, Luanshi Fusheng ducked his head and plunged straight into the deep cavern. The interior was likewise filled with steam, smoke, and ash, with flickering tongues of flame casting dancing shadows across the cavern walls. Yet strangely enough, Luanshi Fusheng noticed the floor beneath his feet was undulating with a subtle rhythm, almost as if... it were breathing. He took a cautious step forward into the dim cavern, only to feel his foot sink into something soft and fleshy, coated in a layer of viscous slime. *What... what is this?* Terror washed over his face as a horrifying suspicion crept into his mind. He stiffly turned his head back toward the entrance, only to see rows of jagged, razor-sharp fangs suddenly emerge along the cavern's rim before snapping shut with a violent slam. *Bang!* In the pitch-black darkness, the soft mass beneath him writhed violently, coiling around his body like a gigantic python and dragging him deeper into the "cavern." "No—!" "I can't die here! I haven't proven the strength of commoner players yet! I haven't gotten my rewards—!" Luanshi Fusheng thrashed in desperation, screaming at the top of his lungs, but scalding digestive fluids flooded over him, engulfing his body and rapidly dissolving his flesh and bone. Only now did the awful truth dawn on him: This was never a cavern—it was the mouth of a colossal monster! A trap meticulously laid in wait! The rock wall shook violently as countless fissures spiderwebbed across its surface. A slender, wormlike monstrosity burst from the stone, revealing its grotesque, twisting frame. As the corrosive fluids dissolved him, Luanshi Fusheng finally glimpsed the creature's inspection window. [Giant Magma Worm] [Challenge Rating: ???] *Bosses running around everywhere, elite monsters treated like trash... What kind of godforsaken hellhole is this?!* Before slipping into total oblivion, Luanshi Fusheng let out a miserable wail deep inside his soul. ... "Sure enough, word just came in from the statistics office. The Mortal Guild got wiped out." "Already? How long has it been?" "Damn, he sounded so confident I thought he had real skills. Who knew he'd get sent back to the respawn point that fast?" "This place is cursed as hell..." "They were just trash. Let's go!" The players buzzed with chatter, their faces filled with astonishment. Yet tempted by the lucrative rewards, more groups still chose to take the gamble and venture into the Doomsday Forbidden Zone. Before long, they too experienced the zone's horrors firsthand. The River of Lava alone claimed over a hundred lives. Most players who attempted to fly or teleport across using magic were disrupted by erratic arcane turbulence, plunging into the scalding magma with bloodcurdling screams to be reduced to charred cinders. Even after crossing the river, the scorching heat and ash-choked air proved lethal. Many ill-prepared players died of heatstroke or choked on the dense fumes before they could make it a few dozen steps. Venturing deeper, the cursed land grew even more treacherous. Fearsome beasts typically found only in the depths of the Lava Caverns roamed freely across the forbidden zone, ready to pounce from the smoke and tear players to shreds without warning. "Trash devs!" "Did you seriously spawn fire elemental behemoths like they're goblins?!" "I can't take this! Debuffs all over, a boss every three steps—can anyone actually clear this garbage map?" "I owe Brother Fusheng an apology. Lasting half an hour in there was already impressive. I stepped straight into lava and burned to death the second I set foot inside!" Over the next few days, players continuously formed strike teams in an attempt to cross the Doomsday Forbidden Zone, but most were wiped out within thirty minutes. The team that lasted the longest was an elite pro squad from the Wangquan Guild. Even so, they only endured half a day, advancing just over twenty kilometers before vanishing into the smoke without a trace. In stark contrast to everyone else, the Machine Cult players had yet to set foot inside. Instead, they busied themselves purchasing death recordings from fallen players, methodically compiling data. In a secluded corner by the boundary line, Singo was scribbling frantically into a notebook, speaking with unmistakable excitement: "Just as I thought. The difficulty of this zone is off the charts. Barging in blindly is pure suicide, and even with full preparation, the survival rate is razor-thin." Mantou rolled his eyes. "Truly Elezerg's number one masochist. Seeing an absurdly broken dungeon doesn't scare you—it turns you on! Hakidog, you really are something else..." Ignoring Mantou's banter, Singo flipped open his densely scribbled notebook and spoke in rapid succession: "Step one is crossing the River of Lava. From my observations, virtually all flight and teleportation spells are neutralized by the magical turbulence at the boundary. We need to rely on low-tech methods—such as the grappling lines Luanshi Fusheng used." Xiaye Qiuyu's eyes flickered, and she chimed in, "I can sense the turbulence myself. The Weave here is vastly different from the outside world, as though severed by a chasm. Maintaining a spell across both sides simultaneously is practically impossible. "Even the spell-driven stone golems deployed by Magic Coin lost control the moment they crossed the River of Lava. "What's more, the Weave inside the Doomsday Forbidden Zone is wildly unstable. It resembles an ocean caught in a storm surge, with turbulent waves crashing constantly. One slip-up and a spell will either fizzle or backfire on the caster." Singo nodded and continued, "Another critical point: the sheer influx of players here has attracted swarms of magma fish. These predators can leap out of the lava at any moment to drag us down. We must cross rapidly and prepare cold elixirs in advance to drive those fire elemental creatures away..." Before he could finish, a wet gurgle rose from the River of Lava. A monstrous fish dripping with molten rock whipped its tail and surged into the air, swallowing several players suspended mid-crossing in a single gulp. "Holy crap!" "There are mobs in the river too?!" Amid terrified shrieks, the magma fish crashed back into the lava, kicking up waves and spraying molten droplets that severely burned several nearby players. Mantou shuddered, muttering under his breath, "Talk about cheap..." As if paying it no mind, Singo pressed on: "Point two is adapting to the internal environment. According to my data, the forbidden zone has extreme temperatures, toxic atmospheres, and near-zero visibility—essentially a hybrid of the Elemental Plane of Fire and Avernus. "Although our dragon transformation progress is relatively high, we still need defensive measures. *Endure Elements*, *Air Bubble*, and smoke-piercing spells are absolute necessities." Tiansheng Zhankuang rubbed his polished bald head and grinned. "I spent plenty of time in Avernus. I still have a few sets of infernal iron gear on hand; wearing them will completely insulate us from those environmental hazards." Singo gave a slight nod. "Good. Point three: the monsters inside the zone. "Their average level is exceptionally high, and they appear in vast numbers. Kazul's awakening likely warped the local environment, tearing open spatial rifts that drew in native beasts from the Elemental Plane of Fire. "To put it bluntly, even a random hound pulled out of that place would be level ten or higher. We must remain on high alert at all times, or we'll end up face-down in a ditch..." After laying out his analysis, Singo rested his chin on his steepled fingers and concluded in a deep voice, "Therefore, the ideal candidates for this mission are stat monsters who don't rely on gear or spells—those with high dragon transformation progress who can bulldoze their way through on raw physical power!" "Wait, doesn't that mean..." Realization struck, and the group turned in unison toward the Machine Cult encampment. There, a squad of Vigitas Dragonscale Marines stood ready, eager for action. Clad in crimson power armor bearing the crest of the Cinder Empire, they hefted power axes and chainswords, their frames laden with intricate combat gear. Their massive pauldrons resembled slabs of solid rock. Bathed in the crimson glow, these warriors stood three to four meters tall and weighed over half a ton. Stationed along the lava river's edge like rugged colossi, they radiated an unstoppable, imposing presence. At the forefront, Gangtie Kuangchao grinned fiercely and raised his chainsword high. "Move out! Flatten this so-called Doomsday Forbidden Zone—for the Emperor!" "For the Emperor!" With a thunderous, ferocious battle cry, the Dragonscale Marines leaped forward. Their bio-engineered muscle fibers granted them immense physical might, propelling them over a dozen meters into the air and shaking the riverbank so hard that loose stones scattered in all directions. Reaching the apex of their leap, they cleanly drew their grappling guns and squeezed the triggers at the rocky outcrops on the far shore. Grappling hooks trailing heavy steel cables shot forth, sinking deep into the bedrock. As the cables winched back at high speed, the Marines utilized the momentum to land smoothly on the opposite bank. One after another, the Dragonscale Marines touched down, sending tremors through the rock and kicking up clouds of dust. A second wave of Marines vaulted high into the air, reaching a dozen meters aloft. But right then, the surface of the lava river bubbled furiously, giving rise to a massive whirlpool. *Splash!* With a deafening roar, a seven-meter-long magma monster fish breached the surface, its gaping maw lunging straight toward a Dragonscale Marine suspended midair. "Look at the size of that thing!" "It's over! Looks like even the Machine Cult's taking casualties!" The crowd watching from the riverbank erupted into an uproar of panicked shouts. Yet the airborne Dragonscale Marine showed no hint of fear. Flipping his power sword over his head, he twisted his body midair in a controlled roll, turning himself upside down so the gleaming blade pointed straight at the monster fish's skull. Suspended inverted in the air, he used his other hand to draw his grappling gun, aimed at the opposite cliff, and pulled the trigger. *Bang!* The grappling hook shot forward and bit into the opposite rock face. The specialized steel cable contracted rapidly, yanking the Marine forward at blistering speed. Riding the cable's momentum, he swung his power sword with crushing force. The blade unleashed a disruptive energy field that cleanly sheared through the monster's rock-hard skull and flesh, severing its upper jaw from the lower in a single strike. An instant later, the Dragonscale Marine touched down on the far bank, kicking up a burst of gravel and dust, completely unharmed. The colossal magma fish crashed back into the river, sending up waves of lava before floating to the surface, stone dead. Once the behemoth died, numerous creatures lurking within the magma—smaller magma fish, lava piranhas, flame lizards, and fire elemental predators—swarmed the carcass, tearing apart and devouring the energy-rich corpse. On the shore, Mantou stood slack-jawed, unable to resist muttering in awe, "What absolute chads..."