[The piercing whistle of the anti-armor hotline rifle echoed through the lower decks.]
[Blinding red beams shot out from behind the two Astartes.]
[They surged irresistibly into the power armor's interior.]
[High-energy laser beams pierced through the ceramite-made power armor.]
[One Astartes, unable to react in time, had his helmet penetrated by a laser and died instantly.]
[Another, more cautious Astartes, fell heavily injured, on the verge of death.]
[Even so, the dying Astartes propped himself up with one hand on the metal deck.]
[Enduring the burn of incendiary weapons, he raised his bolter to retaliate.]
[The shrill scream of the anti-armor hotline rifle sounded once more, melting the ceramite arm of the power armor along with it.]
[Just as you were about to embrace death.]
[You finally held out until the team attacking the armory arrived for support.]
[You sighed in relief and lowered the useless laser pistol in your hand.]
[You stepped over the fallen Astartes' body.]
[You discovered that the one operating the hotline rifle was none other than Captain Blackbeard, along with a squad member who had gone to raid the armory.]
[You immediately understood that the commander and the other three squad members had sacrificed themselves to finally seize control of the weaponry on the armed cargo ship.]
[Captain Blackbeard handed you an incendiary assault rifle.]
[Your gaze fixed on the position of the bridge several layers of metal decks above.]
[There, the last Astartes of the Shadowmoon Grey Wolves remained.]
[In the eighth week, the armed cargo ship, now completely under control, suddenly detached from Horus' fleet.]
[In the cold void of space, countless laser cannons and plasma macro-cannons from other ships locked onto the armed cargo ship and began firing.]
[However, the agile cargo ship, under the personal command of Captain Blackbeard, narrowly evaded this deadly wave of attacks.]
[Meanwhile, a communication from Abaddon, Horus' son, spread throughout the fleet.]
[A cargo ship carrying the Letalis Storm Troopers had betrayed the Human Empire due to the influence of xenos forces.]
[The cargo ship was attempting to ram the expedition fleet to sabotage Horus' plans to attack the xenos forces.]
["For the Human Empire, for the success of the Great Crusade, and for Warmaster Horus... sink them!" Abaddon's voice was cold and merciless.]
[In an instant, the cargo ship you were on was locked by machine spirits, and plasma torpedoes restricted your escape route.]
[Subsequently, an overwhelming barrage of laser cannons and plasma macro-cannons completely engulfed the entire ship.]
[However, just as the ship was disintegrating and falling apart.]
[You and the last surviving squad member piloted a Great Shark assault boat, bursting through the flames of the exploding cargo ship.]
[You pushed with all your strength toward the direction of the expedition fleet.]
[Carrying the questions of countless fallen soldiers and Captain Blackbeard's dying words.]
[You intended to make a final, one-way boarding assault on Horus' flagship.]
[Unfortunately, the Great Shark assault boat you were piloting did not fly far.]
[You didn't even make it into the attack range of the expedition fleet's escort ships.]
[A God-Spear laser from Horus' flagship vaporized the evading Great Shark assault boat.]
[You were engulfed in unbearable heat, melting and dissolving into nothingness.]
[You died.]
[Simulation ended. Duration: 56 days.]
[Simulation rewards available for selection:]
[1. One plasma torpedo (inactive)]
[2. Great Shark assault boat manual (complete)]
[3. One month of Letalis Storm Troopers combat experience]
[Simulation time exceeded 24 hours. Simulator wear not exempted.]
[Cooldown: 56 hours.]
[Available cooldown time: 497 hours]
[Consume cooldown time?]
[Cooldown not consumed. Simulator entering natural cooldown (exemption available).]
The simulation ended once again.
Zaire, sitting cross-legged, frowned at the survival time, which had not yet been surpassed.
But when his gaze fell on the reward options...
Zaire's slightly furrowed brow relaxed.
This time, there hadn't been much combat.
Zaire had thought there wouldn't be any physical enhancement.
So, without hesitation, he chose the combat experience.
He couldn't help but sigh: "It's a pity I didn't get the incendiary weapon to deal with the Astartes. I wonder if I can salvage it?"
Before his voice had even faded, Zaire's entire body...
Underwent another strange transformation in muscle and skeletal structure.
His muscles didn't swell further but instead became denser, like tightly twisted steel wire.
Already as hard as steel, Zaire's bones grew even more rigid.
He even increased in height again, growing from 1.90 meters to 1.95 meters!
At the same time...
Even the keratin layer of Zaire's skin took on a crystalline sheen, more dazzling than before.
"Ha!"
Zaire leaped from the ground, excitedly checking the crystalline skin on his arms.
As he scratched with his fingertips, there was a faint metallic scraping sound.
Zaire blinked in surprise.
Ordinary handgun bullets probably wouldn't affect him anymore, right?
He wondered whether a military knife from Catachan could cut through his now-reinforced skin?
Zaire thought for a moment and decided to head to his secret base to test it out.
However, just as Zaire opened the door to his bedroom...
His aunt returned home from work.
In the living room, she set down her motorcycle helmet.
She narrowed her eyes as she looked Zaire up and down, standing at his bedroom door, and asked curiously:
"Zaire, why do I feel like you've gotten even taller? Is that squad training of yours really this effective?"
Zaire smiled slightly and teased:
"Auntie, I'm only eighteen. My growth spurt isn't over yet… Haven't you noticed how much I've been eating lately?"
"Oh, thank goodness business is booming… or I'd be worried I couldn't afford to feed you..."
His aunt laughed as she headed toward her bedroom.
Just as she reached her door, she suddenly turned back, as if remembering something, and said to Zaire:
"By the way, your high school teacher called me. He wanted to ask about you..."
"Why?"
"They said a lot of girls have been going missing from your high school recently… The teacher was calling to check in, to see if you'd heard any rumors among the students."
"I haven't been to school in ages… How would I know anything?"
Zaire squinted his eyes and shook his head.
His aunt paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"That's true..."
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