"Borg, I don't want to give up on you, and I don't want to see each of you too early in Hell."
Facing doubts, facing disbelief in his own abilities...
Devon's approach is to break through with sincerity.
Borg also lowered his head, starting to think.
Undoubtedly, Devon's severed arm was Devon's own choice. If the other party had listened to him, he wouldn't have lost an arm.
But ultimately, it was to protect himself that the other person had to sever his arm.
And Devon's words were very accurate: in the subsequent challenges, he might not matter anymore. So when the population quota is full, should he sacrifice himself?
These words are very sincere, yet they hit the core of the issue.
Devon said:
"There are many difficulties ahead, but that's precisely why it indicates the right answer is hidden there!"
After some simple bandaging, Devon and the others set out again.
Confronting countless Mechanical Beasts, although they were all injured, they were exceptionally united this time.
This also led Wen Xishu, waiting for his teammates to return, to suddenly see the guidance "Team Cohesion +30" appear in his vision.
Wen Xishu didn't know the situation, but he imagined...everyone must be extremely united now.
...
...
Devon guessed right.
With Borg's help, they finally used hacking interference to make countless mechanical animals lose their combat targets.
Borg couldn't change the deepest code layer of these Mechanical Beasts — to kill humans.
But because the Mechanical Beasts had evolved into pure Mechanical Life, Borg could modify the secondary code — the defense zone.
Borg could change their guarding area, making them immediately abandon patrol of that region before his group entered it.
With Borg's help, the team quickly advanced to the heartland.
Here lay an extremely precious glowing object.
If Wen Xishu were here, as the commander, he would receive individual guidance — "Energy Core," an orange item.
If the mission is perfectly accomplished, this item can be permanently possessed.
The Compass also accurately pointed to the final trail — the Energy Core.
At this moment, Borg understood; the Compass was right. He was also not wrong; if he had chosen his path, he might already be back at the tavern.
But choosing this path leads to finding the key item.
Although they didn't see the guidance, their intuition tells them this thing is very crucial.
"I will change the defense code of these mechanical creatures, make them switch guarding areas, Devon, you steal it, Cavendish, you cover."
Devon and Cavendish nodded, and the three began to cooperate.
At the moment when the mechanical creatures' codes were altered, Devon started to move. Dozens of Mechanical Beasts, under Borg's control, began to retreat.
But once Devon entered their line of sight, he would still be bombarded with firepower.
However, with the increased team cohesion, hardly any extra instructions were needed, as if Devon knew Borg's operational details; he could always accurately avoid the Mechanical Beasts' sight while advancing.
A few times when he almost came into contact, Borg seemed to sense it, immediately accelerating his hand speed, and turned the Mechanical Beasts away.
Even though he had lost an arm, the agility of his movements hadn't decreased.
Finally, Devon obtained the glowing orb embedded in the mechanical stand, guarded by countless Mechanical Beasts like a piece of artwork.
Devon also breathed a sigh of relief.
His ability is to establish a data connection; as long as the other party has a similar device, he can establish a link even with a very crappy computer.
In the apocalypse, his ability was not very useful… but at this moment, he seemed to be born exactly for this.
The door finally appeared, not far in front of Devon.
Devon immediately retreated, while telling everyone:
"Go!"
Yes, they must go quickly.
Because once the glowing Energy Core was taken, an alarm sounded instantly.
Borg also started to accelerate his run, knowing at this moment all Mechanical Beasts' instructions are to guard this area; if they don't leave, they are sure to die.
Cavendish, carrying Elsa, dashed towards the door. As he passed Devon, Devon handed the glowing orb to Cavendish.
Devon stepped back because he needed to protect everyone, and as Borg brushed past Devon, Devon suddenly had a bad premonition.
Devon pushed Borg fiercely, and Borg felt an incredibly strong force push him into the door.
The next moment, flames appeared, and a crimson beam pierced through Devon — his shoulder.
Borg even felt the surroundings starting to change, appearing with elements from the tavern, but he could see Colonel Devon being penetrated by a bullet.
"No!"
At this moment, Borg had fully accepted this stubborn, initially stupid soldier. He didn't want Devon to die like this.
Thankfully…
At the critical juncture, as he was about to be minced meat by dense firepower, Devon finally endured the severe pain, releasing all his strength, and rushed into the door.
...
...
Bang!
Devon's body fell heavily, and Borg shouted:
"Quick! Quick! Save him! Elsa, save him!"
There was no celebration for victory in the tavern; instead, everyone got busy.
Elsa, almost exhaustively, unleashed her power, saving Colonel Devon.
Colonel Devon's painful expression relaxed into a smile:
"Heh-heh, mission accomplished. Commander, we made it back alive."
Borg was almost in tears at this moment, completely integrating into the team after a life-and-death crisis.
He also surprisingly found—
Commander Wen Xishu was indeed still alive.