[Party 3, joined party 6.]

  [Party 5, joined party 9.]

  The parties that were summoned to different locations started to meet up. Cha Jun Sung’s group also finally met up with party 4 after 3 hours. In that time, they swept through 3 Blood Demon habitats. The frequency at which the 10 parties found habitats were 2 or 3, with 4 at the most.

  Less than sacrifices, there are no people with injuries. Level 3s cannot create much damage to the battlesuit. It takes a level 4 to make them feel like they have taken a hit.

  [Parties 1, 2, 7, parties 3, 6, 8, parties 4, 10, parties 5, 9. We’ve been divided into 4. There isn’t a particular threat, so let’s gather together slowly.]

  Everything beyond level 5 must be in what is called the Public Underground.

  A warden and defensive force will be necessary to guard hundreds of thousands of cocoons. They have an ominous foreboding that all of the difficulty will be saved for last. If that is right, this right now is the calm before the storm. What the force can do is to kill as many Blood Parasites as they can.

  Droplets from the ceiling fall into rotten waters. A few Lifers subconsciously follow the sound. They only looked at it because they heard it. 10 parties combined into 4. Even now, the parties that are close to each other are moving towards each other. They also found paths into the Underground.

  Woong!

  One of the battlesuit’s basic functions is to use a field scan, electromagnetic waves, and echolocation to project the surroundings’ features as a hologram. The farther they go into the Underground, the less effect the field scan has. It either does not function fully because it is so far below the ground or because the walls are so thick.

  They need to limit the radius to within 30m if they want to be able to see clearly. If they spread out and each person turns on the field scan to link them, the situation becomes much better but it is not a wise choice. They need to be together in order to prevent attacks.

  They do not think that they can complete the mission without any sacrifices. However, they need to maintain a full force until they come face to face with the head of the Public Underground. If dying is inevitable, it is better to go there and die while helping the others.

  A level C Lifer with a battlesuit is powerful, but the situation changes if the mutant attacking is a level 5 or 6. They are just 100 people. It may feel like a lot, but it is a small enough number that it can reach 0 quickly if people die off one by one.

  Time keeps passing. There are no attacks. This makes Cha Jun Sung even more nervous. Where are they all hidden that they do not appear?

  [Parties 1 and 2 joined parties 3, 6, 8.]

  Party 1 is made of rankers and party 2 includes Strategist. Parties 1 and 10 have the greatest power in the force. Ultimately, 6 parties have met up on that side. 60% of the force has gathered, so they can get through most threats easily.

  “Why aren’t we getting any closer to parties 5 and 9?”


  “Could it be that they’re lost in one place?”


  Cha Jun Sung looks at the signal that parties 5 and 9 give off, and reads the distance. They are about 1.2km away. It is fairly close, but they are not getting any nearer to each other. The radio is quiet as well. It does not seem like anything major happened to them.

  [Party 5, your movement is slow. Is something happening?]

  Cha Jun Sung radios in. They themselves are moving, so they will meet up even if party 5 does not move, but they need to know if there is a reason for it.

  [We are at a wall.]

  [Wall?]

  [We followed a field scan and signals from parties 4 and 10, but all we see is a wall.]

  It seems they went into the wrong path. It is a path that they spent hours to get through. If they want to go back to find a new path, it could take a full day. Instead, they are standing in place without being able to do anything.

  “We’ll go.”


  “Alright.”


  Cha Jun Sung’s group is finding their way well. They could end up at a dead end like parties 5 and 9, but they have not been stopped yet.

  [Wait where you are. We will go from here.]

  [Confirmed.]

  Since they are getting closer, they will do what they can. If they need to go back, they will make that call when they need to.

  ***

  20 Lifers move in the direction that the water is flowing, with 1 party waiting on either side.

  Knock knock!

  “Can they see this?”


  “I’m sure they’ll be able to.”


  The battlesuit’s punch power is enough to make a dent on an armored car. Breaking a wall is nothing. Even if it is stronger than they thought, all they have to do is set off a bomb.

  They do not do that though because the commotion could bring Blood Parasites to them. Since it is an annihilation mission, they need to kill them as they appear. The problem is that their power is currently divided. They will fight if they cannot avoid a battle, but 2 parties do not have to take on everything. What if a level 6 hears the explosion and appears? 4 or 5 people will die at the least.

  “We radioed in, so let’s wait.”


  “We’ll be 40 people if we join with those on the other side. Since it’s a party made up of rankers like party 1, our survival rate will go up, won’t it? I really want to go back alive. Let’s be careful and more careful.”


  The 20 Lifers agree with the party leader, and sit with their backs against the wall. It is simple. They do not need to find the path for now. They can wait like this until parties 4 and 10 come near.

  “How deep do you think this is?”


  “I’m sure it’s about 1m.”


  Was it because they were bored? 2 Lifers approached the channel. The party leader did not stop them.

  It is all the same whether they stay seated or stay nearby. And it may seem useless, but it is not a bad idea to have the channel depth measured.

  A Lifer takes out a tape measure and looks down into the channel. He will stop if something gets caught. That will be the ground.

  “Wow! It’s 3m! It’s deeper than I thought.”


  “Oho!”


  It is deep enough for someone to drown in. They cannot even see into it because it is so dirty with garbage. They cannot identify the situation inside with heat sensors either because it is cold. And the field scan cannot penetrate through water.

  “Huh?”


  “What is it?”


  “The tape measure moved.”


  The Lifer looks puzzled. Something bumped into the tape measure as it passed by. Could it be that his hand was shaky? Or was it hit with garbage?

  [Strengthen battlesuit outer armor! Weak movement did hit the tape measure.]

  Papat!

  The Lifer is surprised and goes backward. The helper in his battlesuit as given him the information.

  “Leader! Something is inside the water!”


  The Lifers are surprised and take out their weapons. The party leaders also gulp and check their senses.

  “It’s coming.”


  “In the back!”


  It is not in the water. Writhing shadows are coming out of the path that they came through. They are Blood Parasites.

  “It seems like those guys used the waterway.”


  “Prepared to shoot!”


  A party leader raises his hand. The Lifers aim at the Blood Parasites with their guns. There are a lot of them, but they are all just level 1. They feel stupid for having been nervous.

  “Shoot.”


  Pew pew pew pew!

  Dozens of submachine guns go off and pelt the Blood Parasites. They cannot get close and get pushed back by the bullets, rolling away. Some even ran away on their own.

  “They’re just Blood Parasites, but we ***

  “Thank you!”


  The chief is the rank of Strategist in the world federation. They have caught their enemies while recoiling. Results are results.

  Burble burble.

  When the Lifers’ attention focused on the Blood Parasites, a bubble the size of a person’s head formed in the center of the channel. The Lifers did not notice it because its sound was overshadowed by the sounds of shooting and the Blood Parasites screaming. And that was a signal for another battle.

  Bang!

  2 large mutants spring out of the water, coiled like snakes. It happened unexpectedly. Rotten water wets the battlesuits.

  Kyak!

  “They’re Blood Suckers!”


  Bang bang!

  The 2 Blood Suckers that have come on land sweep the Lifers with a strong whip of their tails. The space is small and they are close to each other, so they all fall over like bowling pins.

  Boom bang bang!

  Most of them hit the wall or went flying far, but a few unlucky Lifers fell into the rotten water of the channel. Battlesuits are waterproof, so the water did not go through. If it had, that would have been another kind of hell.

  If the 1st round was the Blood Parasites’ gimmick, the 2nd is the level 5 Blood Suckers’ surprise attack. It was not even over yet. There is still a 3rd round.

  “Over – over there!”


  “What!”


  The passage that the Lifers took to get here is completely full with hundreds of Blood Devils. They are swarming in like bees swarming to a hive.

  “How dare they! Brace up the battle line and block the front! We’ll take these guys!”


  Woong!

  20 people’s battlesuits shake. Surprise attack? They have used their heads, but this much cannot do anything to 2 parties. They had just been surprised for a moment.

  “We’ll kill you!”


  Bang!

  2 party leaders fly at the 2 Blood Suckers. At the same time, 18 Lifers delve into the Blood Devils coming at them from the front. Underpass does not follow the form of a regular waterway. It is figured so that citizens can escape if emergencies arise in the large city, so it is a space where they need to battle in close quarters.

  Bang!

  One of the thorns on the Blood Sucker’s body is destroyed. It is as thick as a person’s arm, and grazes a party leader’s battlesuit as it flies by.

  The thorn is embedded so far in the wall that it is not visible. While he was turning his body to avoid the thorn, the Blood Sucker smacked down on the battlesuit.

  It is a disadvantageous terrain for everyone, Lifers, Blood Suckers, and Blood Devils alike. It is complete chaos. They will probably win if they keep going like this, but battlesuits will be destroyed.

  A Blood Sucker straightens its body vertically. Its body is enclosed by the waterway, but the length from its head to tail seems to reach about 25m. As it is more evolved than the Blood Devil, it is more unsightly and its coloring is darker. They are exactly the same as those that Lifers saw in the virtual game.

  ‘Did they know the force was coming and send an advance team? In order to get an idea of the enemy’s ability to fight?’


  The party leader thinks as he watches the Blood Sucker. It is just a guess. The Blood race must be pretty smart from the way they used trickery in a feint operation. He cannot tell if their leader is smart or if these guys are smart.

  [Parties 5 and 9! Engaged with Blood Suckers!]

  The radio comes in constantly. They do not have the time to report properly. In that time, they kill one more. Other parties are far away, and cannot even come because of the wall. These 20 people need to handle it.

  “Leader! I’ll support you!”


  “What about the front?”


  “1 party can handle it!”


  10 people are plenty able to block the Blood Devils that are simply coming at them from the front. As long as they do not experience a concentrated attack, it is easy to kill several at a time.

  8 Lifers attack from behind the Blood Suckers. They brandish their vibrating weapons or pull out the thorns. As they do so, the Blood Suckers become more frantic.