Nota lowered the armored plates on the windows, and Chu Tian could once again see the long-lost sky.
Although there was some light in the car just now, it was only dim.
At this moment, the second defense ring emitted intense light, followed by a deafening roar.
Accompanying the roar was a dust cloud spreading out like a giant wave in all directions.
"My goodness, this is so intense," Nota exclaimed. "Are they trying to wipe out the Seventh Human Base?"
"What?" Chu Tian didn't know much about such high-tech destructive weapons.
Nota pointed to the gradually spreading dust and said, "They buried a solar flare bomb in the second defense ring, with a blast center temperature approaching that of the sun."
"But they shouldn't just launch such missiles without any precautions," Chu Tian knew that they couldn't be so ruthless against their own people.
Through binoculars, Hong Shang saw the dust, which was tens of meters high, approaching their location.
"I think we should leave. There's an electromagnetic burst in the dust that will disable our vehicle," Hong Shang said, putting away the binoculars and urging them to leave.
Nota also knew that once they were surrounded by the distant storm, all the electronics in their vehicle would fail.
The armored vehicle started again, and the wild roar of the engine accompanied the tires' friction with the ground as they sped away.
"Where are we going now?" Nota turned his head.
Chu Tian and Hong Shang both checked the map, and Hong Shang soon said, "How far can the armored vehicle go?"
"About three hundred kilometers," Nota said. "The nearest Sixth Human Base is about eight hundred kilometers away, and the Eighth Human Base is over a thousand kilometers away. We can't reach either of them with our vehicle."
"Is there a city nearby where we could at least find an abandoned gas station and try our luck?" Chu Tian instinctively asked.
Nota and Hong Shang instantly gave him strange looks, as if they were looking at an alien.
Chu Tian, puzzled, asked, "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Hong Shang rolled her eyes and said, "Come on, even a three-year-old knows that gasoline-powered cars were phased out over a hundred years ago. Sometimes I wonder if you're from ancient times."
"Are you telling me they use electricity now?" Chu Tian continued to ask, unfazed, as the world was promoting electric vehicles before his rebirth.
Nota nodded and said, "Yes, although they are currently researching psychic energy engines, for now, it's highly integrated nuclear batteries. But this vehicle seems to have been in service for a long time, and its power consumption is very high."
"So, this vehicle..." Chu Tian suddenly understood. How could a temporary vehicle like this be equipped with new technology? After all, it all comes down to money.
With that in mind, Chu Tian fell silent.
In the late evening, Nota stopped the vehicle in a small town's ruins called Yao Town.
Looking at the ruined city in front of them, with collapsed houses, Chu Tian could tell that this place used to be a thriving town.
After the vehicle lost power and came to a complete stop, Nota got out of the car, also taking the vehicle-mounted heavy machine gun and packing the remaining thousand-plus rounds of ammunition into his spatial bag.
"It's getting dark, we need to find a safe place to spend the night and figure out how to get back to the Third Human Base," Chu Tian said. After that, the three of them walked deeper into the town.
During this journey, Chu Tian also checked his accumulated talent points.
His talent points had now reached 1,003, but this amount of talent points couldn't upgrade his level.
He had no idea how many talent points were needed to reach the late D-level.
At this moment, while Red Shang was using binoculars to examine the surroundings, she said, "The building in front is the town hall. The houses here seem relatively intact. We can spend the night there."
Upon hearing Red Shang's words, Chu Tian and Nota looked towards the street in the distance, and they happened to see the town hall still standing.
"This small town hasn't been designated as a task area by the Federation yet, so it's completely unknown what kind of beasts might be here. We need to be cautious. After all, many high-level mercenaries have met their end in unknown areas," Nota said as he took out the heavy machine gun and loaded the remaining thousand-plus armor-piercing rounds, then led the way towards the town hall.
Chu Tian activated his psychic power perception, carefully examining the surroundings.
After a few minutes, the three of them entered the town hall.
The first floor was in complete disarray, with destroyed furniture, thick dust, and spiderwebs covering the floor.
There were also black marks on the mottled floor and walls, indicating dried bloodstains.
The elevator in the lobby had long been destroyed, and the stairs on the side were blocked by various iron cabinets and tables.
Nota put away the heavy machine gun and cleared the stairs with his hand.
At this moment, Chu Tian noticed something unusual on the fifth floor of the town hall. Each window there was sealed shut, and he could see a disheveled person huddled in a corner, looking fearfully at the stairs.
"Someone seems very afraid of us coming upstairs," Chu Tian whispered, "Let's all be on guard to avoid any accidents."
Nota nodded and didn't take out the heavy machine gun. Instead, a flame-formed longsword appeared in his hand with a flash of fire.
Red Shang also cautiously took out a dagger from her spatial bracelet.
As the three of them ascended the stairs, when they had just stepped onto the fifth floor, a woman's voice screamed, and she quickly fled into a dark corner.
As Chu Tian ascended the fifth floor and saw the figure in the corner, the system's prompt had already sounded in his mind. Unexpectedly, there was information displayed above the person's head that caught him off guard.
[Ning Wan]
[Gender: Female]
[Race: Human]
[Level: D-level]
[Talents: Thunder and Lightning, Wind Blade, Fire, Ice, Petrifying Gaze, Psychic Power Perception]
Six talents. This was the first time Chu Tian had encountered someone with so many talents. Before this, he had encountered individuals like Black Robe, who had three talents at most.
However, when he saw Petrifying Gaze, Chu Tian's heart tightened. Petrifying Gaze was a skill that could kill anyone with just a gaze. Direct eye contact would cause the target's heart to stop, blood to cool, and the body to stiffen—a skill known for its lethality.
Against opponents with higher levels, this skill would only make them feel somewhat uncomfortable, causing slight stiffness and discomfort.
If the opponent had high psychic power, this move wouldn't be very effective.
Looking at this woman named Ning Wan, she seemed very afraid of Chu Tian and the others. Chu Tian quickly spoke aloud, "Hello, we've come from the Seventh Human Base. We're not here to harm you; we're just trying to avoid the beast tide. We won't hurt you."
However, this woman hiding in the darkness didn't seem to have any intention of coming out. As a result, Chu Tian and the others stood foolish