Gonzalez opened the metal case and pulled out a huge weapon.
The weapon resembled a flamethrower, with a large backpack connected to a long hose, the end of which looked like a spray nozzle.
After strapping it onto his back, Gonzalez opened a side panel, took out a whole box of energy cells, and quickly shoved them in. He didn't care if many fell out, then slammed the panel shut.
"Die!"
Gonzalez said, aiming the "nozzle" at the fire spirit, and then...
This thing was really for spraying water!
Large amounts of liquid were sprayed out, accompanied by a chilling coldness.
Much condensation dripped from the side of the hose, and the moment it hit the ground, frost instantly covered the surface.
Meanwhile...
Hit by the cold mist and water, the fire spirit began to writhe.
Although the fire spirit had no face, only a humanoid silhouette, one could still sense its pain.
Moreover...
As Gonzalez roared and charged forward, under the effect of the cold mist and water, the fire spirit's body continuously shrank, until finally...
*Crack!*
The magic array patterns beneath the fire spirit made a crisp sound, like shattered glass, and broke completely.
As the magic array patterns shattered, so did the fire spirit's body, dissipating into countless scattered fireballs.
Gonzalez, not entirely reassured, sprayed water at the spot where the fire spirit had vanished for a while longer, until all the fireballs were extinguished. Only then did he sigh and sit down on the ground.
Bai Ye sheathed his twin swords and walked forward, asking, "How are you guys? Are you alright?"
Ji Ruyue lowered her head sadly and said, "Li Chenjie is dead."
"Good riddance..." Bai Ye saw everyone staring at him and quickly corrected himself, "He died so suddenly. Did that shot hit a vital spot? I remember there were plenty of emergency medical supplies in the supply crates."
Ji Ruyue sighed, "Although it missed his heart by a hair's breadth, we only had emergency medicine. Injuries of that severity would require surgery."
Allen sighed, "Davis, go prepare. Regardless, we still need to bring his remains back."
Bai Ye asked, "Are we still proceeding with the plan?"
Allen nodded, "We've already paid the price of a companion's life. Are we going to back down now? If we retreat now, wouldn't Li Chenjie have died for nothing?"
*He wouldn't have died in vain; it saved me a lot of trouble to kill him.*
Bai Ye grumbled inwardly, but his face showed complete agreement. They absolutely couldn't turn back now; otherwise, what about his hidden mission?
Allen continued, "How was your pursuit? Were we attacked by crystal people?"
Bai Ye replied, "They ran too fast, I couldn't catch them."
Allen asked, "You mentioned crystal people before. What about the one whose entire body was burning with flames? What was its origin?"
Bai Ye shook his head, "I'm not too sure. I haven't seen that guy before. It might be some kind of mutated creature, or perhaps a new kind of mutant?"
Bai Ye was employing a "knows nothing" tactic.
However, Allen didn't suspect him. Mutations were common in the wasteland due to environmental factors, and humans had been researching mutated creatures for a long time, though without much success. The idea of some unknown mutated creatures appearing in another world didn't seem particularly surprising to Allen.
Soon, Ji Ruyue and Davis carried Li Chenjie's body back.
The group then gathered dry branches, piled them into a large bonfire, placed Li Chenjie's body on top, and then doused it with gasoline to set it ablaze.
The flames burned, thick black smoke billowed, and a look of sorrow appeared on everyone's faces.
Bai Ye curled his lip. What was there to be sad about?
He was just a mole, wasn't he?
Even if they hadn't known Li Chenjie was a mole, he was just the leader of the androids, not their father or mother...
But then...
Bai Ye saw the gazes of the others drifting towards him and immediately began wailing dramatically.
"Ah, Brother Li, I've admired you for a long time. We've only just met..." Bai Ye cried, "Why did you have to leave so soon? I haven't had a chance to share drinks with you, to have a heart-to-heart talk, to... to pledge eternal brotherhood..."
Ji Ruyue couldn't help but interrupt, "That's not the right phrase!"
Bai Ye stopped and asked, "What?"
Ji Ruyue gritted her teeth, "Pledge eternal brotherhood."
"Oh!" Bai Ye put on a look of sudden realization, "I haven't had a chance to... to become lovers with you!"
Ji Ruyue: "..."
Soon, the flames gradually died down. The group tidied up and set off into the wilderness again.
Their target was to leave the wilderness and return to the border via the highway.
Allen held his gun and walked forward, saying, "Everyone, stay alert. I know you're familiar with the mutated creatures distributed around the border, but this is another world. It just looks like our border, and we can't be sure how the mutated creatures here are distributed."
Gonzalez and Davis nodded.
Ji Ruyue said, "It's fine. The car was going too fast earlier for me to use my reconnaissance abilities, but on foot, I should be able to detect nearby mutated creatures."
Allen nodded, "We're counting on you."
Bai Ye sidled up to Allen, curious, "What do you mean?"
Allen looked at Bai Ye with a puzzled expression.
Bai Ye elaborated, "I feel like the reconnaissance ability you're talking about is different from my understanding of reconnaissance."
Ji Ruyue was responsible for reconnaissance in the team, but Bai Ye had never seen her do any actual scouting. Moreover, while reconnaissance personnel weren't frontline combatants, they required a high level of individual combat capability, excellent stamina, agility, and proficiency in stealth and tracking. However, Ji Ruyue possessed none of these. Yet, Bai Ye could tell that Allen valued her quite a bit.
"She's an android who experienced an anomaly during genetic cloning," Allen explained. "Her brainwaves are different from ordinary humans, and even from most androids. She can see and hear things we can't."
Bai Ye asked, "The five senses?"
Allen replied, "Yes, her five senses are superhuman, but it's not that simple. To a certain extent, she can see the future."
Ji Ruyue said coldly, "It's not seeing the future, but inferring a certain degree of the future through superhuman senses."
Allen gave a dry laugh, "Sorry."
Bai Ye asked, "What's wrong?"
Allen made a shushing gesture and lowered his voice, "Ruyue doesn't like people talking about her, so let's not talk about it anymore. As for her reconnaissance abilities, just trust them unconditionally. She's never been wrong before."