Let’s Work Together

When Gibbs dashed out of this building that looked like a capsized ship, Chen Xiaolian almost didn’t recognize this guy.

While in the command monitoring hall, Gibbs was wearing the uniform of the Angel Corps—a kind of uniform somewhat similar to military attire in sci-fi movies. But now, Gibbs was clad in combat gear.

A composite exoskeleton armor—thoroughly miniaturized, with exoskeletons only at crucial joints, chest and back plates, and energy materials.

Weapons devices were attached to the waist and legs. Beneath the exoskeleton armor, there was also Class A protective clothing.

This design resembled the exoskeleton armor in the movie “Special Forces,” but more miniaturized, delicate, and compact, without being cumbersome.

At least when Gibbs dashed out from inside, his posture and movements were no different from an ordinary person—on the contrary, he seemed more agile and nimble.

And following behind Gibbs was… a woman!

Seeing this woman, Guan Shan’s expression suddenly became very intriguing.

He even blurted out in astonishment, “Tina!”

Seeing Guan Shan’s strange expression, Chen Xiaolian suddenly realized that the woman following behind Gibbs must have some special identity.

The woman was very young, with brown hair, a sweet face, and skin that resembled a light chocolate color. She had a slender and delicate figure, dressed in a tight-fitting jumpsuit, which seemed to be made of leather-like material—although, of course, Chen Xiaolian dared to assert that this must be some kind of protective clothing.

In terms of appearance, the woman somewhat resembled the famous Latin beauty Jessica Alba, exuding charm and sweetness like an angel, with even more delicate features and a more perfect figure.

As Gibbs dashed out of the building, he immediately spotted Chen Xiaolian and Guan Shan standing before him. He halted abruptly, warily eyeing the two individuals before him.

He made a subconscious defensive gesture, causing Chen Xiaolian to raise an eyebrow: Gibbs took a step forward, positioning his body in front of the woman behind him.

This action seemed entirely natural.

“Mr. Gibbs,” Chen Xiaolian said solemnly.

“And who are you two?” Gibbs clearly didn’t recognize Chen Xiaolian, but when he saw Guan Shan clearly, his expression turned peculiar. “Guan Shan? What are you doing here? Did Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild send you?”

Guan Shan remained silent, casting a glance at Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian sighed and spoke again, “Mr. Gibbs, the person looking for you is me.”

“And who are you?” Gibbs frowned, scrutinizing Chen Xiaolian. “I remember you. You were standing beside Bluesea in the command hall. Are you also from Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild? Hmph… I belong to the Angel Corps, and I’ve been suspended. What do people from Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild want with me?”

“I’m not from Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild,” Chen Xiaolian quickly interjected. “Let’s cut to the chase. The situation is urgent, and we don’t have time for small talk. To be precise, I need your help, or rather, we can help each other, to find a way to escape from here.”

Gibbs stared coldly at Chen Xiaolian, his hand already reaching for something at his waist—a metallic bronze object. Although Chen Xiaolian was certain that this thing must be some kind of energy weapon. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“No, you do understand. Of course, you understand,” Chen Xiaolian met Gibbs’ gaze. “After leaving the command hall, you could have gone straight to the ‘Gate’ and left. But you didn’t! Obviously, you’re well aware that the Gate has become very dangerous. And… it seems you didn’t intend to leave alone but came here instead. Let me guess, is the beautiful lady behind you your friend? Someone very close to you? So, after leaving, you came here first, wanting to escape together with her?”

Gibbs squinted but remained silent, his eyes scanning around, trying to find an escape route.

“I’m his wife,” the beautiful girl behind suddenly spoke, her voice soft but calm. “Although we never had a wedding, of course, weddings don’t exist in Zero City.”

Guan Shan’s mouth fell open as if he could swallow a whole egg. “Wife? My goodness, Gibbs, you really outdid yourself! The Flower of Rodria! How many people’s goddesses in Zero City, and you managed to quietly win her over. Your secrecy is impressive.”

“Hmph, Guan Shan, stop babbling now. What exactly do you want?” Gibbs’ gaze remained vigilant.

“Don’t you want to know what’s happening at the ‘Gate’ right now?” Chen Xiaolian asked.

“I don’t need to ask to know,” Gibbs shook his head. “Let me guess, Plan Thirteen, right? Hmph… I’ve seen all those plans, even participated in numerous virtual drills, and contributed to the planning.”

With that, he glanced at Chen Xiaolian and then at Guan Shan. “Let me guess, the Gate is blocked, isn’t it? If the Gate were clear, you wouldn’t have come to find me. And you, Guan Shan, you should have evacuated with Bluesea. Your presence here indicates that the Gate is no longer an option for leaving. Are there enemies outside? Then, the next step is Plan Thirteen, using a large-scale interference device to seal off the Gate, right? How much time do we have left?”

“Seventeen minutes and thirty seconds… ah, it’s now twenty-nine seconds,” Chen Xiaolian checked his watch.

“Then let’s not waste any time, don’t block my path,” Gibbs stepped to the left, but Chen Xiaolian immediately stepped sideways to block him.

“What are you doing?” Gibbs’ gaze turned anxious.

“Your expression alone is enough to confirm my suspicions. Gibbs, do you have a way to leave Zero City?” Chen Xiaolian said in a deep voice.

“I don’t,” Gibbs shook his head, looking at Chen Xiaolian. “And you, who are you? What do you intend to do?”

“My name is Chen Xiaolian, leader of an outsider team, and a friend of Bluesea. By the way, the person who participated in last month’s Blood Verdict was me.”

At the mention of the arena, Gibbs finally showed a hint of alarm on his face, displaying obvious apprehension in the presence of Chen Xiaolian.

After all, during that arena battle, Chen Xiaolian’s combat prowess was enough to cause a sensation throughout Zero City. He exhibited [S] class strength, effortlessly overpowering and killing A [class] strong opponents!

With someone of such caliber standing before Gibbs, he clenched his weapon tightly, then finally relaxed his grip.

Chen Xiaolian noticed this gesture from Gibbs.

“Alright, what do you want?” Gibbs looked at Chen Xiaolian. “I admit that I have no chance of resisting against someone like you.”

“I said, I want to help each other and find a way to leave this place.”

“Why me?”

“Because I witnessed everything in the command hall. You were one of the few smart individuals present, and, for the Zero City system, you are a true expert. When it comes to escaping, I would rather place my bet on a smart expert like you.”

Gibbs remained silent.

Chen Xiaolian sighed and made a more direct and convincing move.

He suddenly raised his hand and waved it lightly.

All the streetlights on the street went out!

Then, Chen Xiaolian waved his hand again, and all the streetlights lit up once more!

Gibbs finally changed his expression. He exclaimed, “How did you… How did you do that? Did you… invade Zero City’s lighting control system?”

“Don’t ask me how I did it; that explanation is too long. Now, I believe I’m qualified to cooperate with you, right?” Chen Xiaolian said.

“Fine!” Gibbs exhaled. “I have some ideas that might give us a chance to leave here, but… I’m not sure, and time is running out. Let’s talk on the way.”

…

A flying car, brought out by the woman named Tina, appeared in front of the four individuals. Gibbs quickly jumped into the driver’s seat, while Tina sat in the passenger seat. Chen Xiaolian and Guan Shan immediately jumped into their seats as well.

This was evidently a hovercar utilizing some form of anti-gravity technology, swiftly heading towards the direction of the Elder Council’s circular building.

“Are we going to the Elder Council?” Chen Xiaolian asked from the back.

“More precisely, we’re heading to the location of the backup power unit behind the Elder Council,” Gibbs shook his head as he drove.

The flying car swiftly navigated through the streets, and Gibbs decided to ascend in altitude, flying over the tops of the buildings.

From the hovercar, Chen Xiaolian could see many outsiders wandering aimlessly on the streets, some even resorting to looting by breaking into abandoned buildings or shops that once belonged to certain teams.

In the distance, the central square was still bustling with members of the Angel Corps, along with various aircraft and war vehicles gathering around the Elder Council’s circular building.

War fortresses were being erected, equipped with three-dimensional gun turrets, various beam energy weapon launchers, and numerous magic arrays.

Strange lights were visible in the air.

“That’s the fluctuation of magical power; they’re forming a large-scale magic barrier.”

Tina, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly spoke up. “It seems our team has joined in; I recognize our captain’s unique mark on that magic array.”

Ignoring the woman’s remark, Chen Xiaolian turned to Gibbs and asked, “So you never intended to leave through the Gate from the beginning, right? After leaving the command hall, you didn’t even head to the main gate in the central square; instead, you went to your wife’s residence to find her and take her away?”

“I don’t believe those guys can pull this off,” Gibbs suddenly became outspoken, his demeanor changing drastically. He had originally appeared as a bureaucratic type, somewhat dull and scholarly, but now, his temperament shifted significantly as he exclaimed loudly, “Most of those guys are fools! Even if there are occasionally a few smart ones, like Lord War Angel or your team leader, Mr. Bluesea. But they are burdened with too many constraints and have to follow those fools to do stupid things.

Believe me, I know the Angel Corps’s defense plan very well, and I think it’s fundamentally flawed!”

“You say that, but do you have any evidence?” Guan Shan, hearing Bluesea being evaluated by the other party, spoke with some dissatisfaction.

“Because Plan Thirteen itself is a foolish and stupid plan,” Gibbs sneered. “Deploying a large amount of firepower in the central square, attempting to give the invaders a head-on blow, then delaying the enemy’s advance as much as possible in the Southern Street as the second area, and finally using the Elder Council as the ultimate defensive stronghold for a life-and-death resistance… It’s ridiculous, a stupid plan!”

Chen Xiaolian sighed and glanced at Gibbs. “So, what do you think should be done?”

“It’s simple. In the central square, we must deploy the most elite combat personnel and the strongest experts! There must be at least one [S] class expert stationed in the central square!

Because that’s the only gateway for invasion. The invading enemy must first seize control of that area, then establish a forward position, a bridgehead, and secure their foothold before continuously pouring their forces in through the gate.

If I were the defending commander, I would immediately deploy at least one [S] class expert in the central square. With [S] class strength, forcefully crush the invading vanguard, destroy their forward units, and prevent them from establishing a bridgehead, thus preventing them from occupying the central square gate and making it impossible for them to smoothly bring in more forces from the other side of the gate.

We must use the strongest combat power right from the start to disrupt the enemy’s bridgehead establishment as much as possible.

The gate has limited capacity, and even if the enemy has a lot of strength, they cannot all come in at once; they will have to send their troops in bit by bit.

So, from the beginning, we need powerful forces waiting at the gate, eliminating them batch by batch as they come in—hence, it’s essential to ensure that at least one [S] class expert is stationed!

Instead of what we have now, it seems like there are many combat personnel stationed, but in reality, there’s not a single real expert! They are all guarding the Elder Council, preparing for the final battle… which is simply foolish!

The forces currently deployed in the central square may seem plentiful, but they are all cannon fodder. They never intended to achieve anything in the central square; they’re just buying time, buying time for the defense line of the Elder Council’s building— but this is meaningless!

Because once the central square is lost, with the only gate wide open, no matter how solid the defense line of the Elder Council’s building is, it will eventually be breached by the endless invasion forces pouring in from outside!”

“So, if we were to implement your plan, would it lead to victory? Preventing the fall of Zero City?” Guan Shan asked with some defiance.

“…No,” Gibbs fell silent for a moment before speaking softly, “Even if we follow my approach, the outcome would be the same. It’s just that, according to my deductions and calculations, if we were to execute my plan, perhaps we could delay the time of ultimate demise by a few hours. But the inevitable outcome of Zero City’s fall is unavoidable.”

“An [S] class expert, fighting desperately, indeed can crush the invading forces in the central square and hold on for a while,” Chen Xiaolian nodded. “Organizing the enemy’s establishment of a bridgehead, facilitating their calm influx of more invasion forces, I agree with your plan. So why wasn’t your plan approved?”

“Because this is Zero City, controlled by those ‘elders’,” Gibbs replied with a tone full of mockery. “Even an [S] class expert’s power is not infinite. In high-intensity combat, sustaining for tens of minutes or even hours, once the opponent realizes something is wrong, they might also send in [S] class forces to vie for control of the gate.

So, having an [S] class expert immediately deployed in the central square means a hundred percent chance of death. Either they would be worn down to death, or they would be killed by the opponent when they were exhausted.

No Elder Council approved this plan… because they themselves are [S] class experts. And they are [S] class experts from different teams. No one would be so noble as to sacrifice themselves first and leave hope to other teams.”

“So, your plan is actually useless, as the outcome is the same, Zero City falls, right?” Guan Shan said defiantly.

“According to my plan, we could delay the time by a few hours. Maybe during these hours, a miracle could happen. Perhaps… during these hours, we might find a way to close the gate, or reactivate Zero City’s protection program.

Buying time, even if it’s just a few hours, an hour, or even a few minutes, every extra minute gives us more hope, even if it’s just a tiny bit,” Gibbs sneered.

“We have fourteen minutes and forty-eight seconds left,” Chen Xiaolian glanced at his storage wristwatch and swiftly said, “Tell us your plan.”

“We’re almost there,” Gibbs said.

He steered the flying car in a sharp turn in the sky, just bypassing about five hundred meters outside the circular Elder Council building.

There were already Angel Corps’s equipped flying sentinels forming a defense line in the sky, but the flying car veered around their perimeter, heading towards the area behind the Elder Council building.

Chen Xiaolian recognized the area behind… it seemed to be…

“Is this the arena?” Chen Xiaolian was somewhat surprised. “What are we doing here?”

“The arena and the location of the backup generator,” Gibbs stopped the flying car about two hundred meters away from the arena.

There’s a square building here, entirely metallic in appearance, resembling a Rubik’s Cube.

The building is on the right side of the arena, about two hundred meters away. Chen Xiaolian noticed a faintly dangerous metallic sheen on the surface of the building.

“Welcome to the Rubik’s Cube,” Gibbs jumped out of the flying car and walked to what seemed like a circular door. A beam of light shot out, scanning Gibbs’s body, quickly turning green.

Gibbs turned back and said, “Stand here and don’t move, don’t touch anything. The defense system of the Rubik’s Cube is powerful. Unless you want to be split into cells by energy weapons.”

Gibbs rushed into the circular door, and after a dozen seconds, he peeked out from the door, “Alright, come in! I’ve temporarily deactivated the defense system, but it’s only for fifteen seconds. Hurry!”

The three of them rushed into the door and found themselves surrounded by spiraling-shaped buildings, dozens of them in sight.

“The Rubik’s Cube Building… it’s like this inside,” Guan Shan couldn’t help but sigh.

“How could you deactivate the defense weapons here?” Chen Xiaolian looked at Gibbs.

Gibbs, however, was swiftly inputting something on a control panel on the wall, while casually saying, “Because I used to be one of the responsible persons here, and… I participated in designing the outer defense weapons of the Rubik’s Cube Building… There we go! These guys are indeed lazy enough. Even though I’ve been transferred from here for so long, they haven’t conducted a thorough search and haven’t discovered the secondary defense key I left behind.”

“Speak in plain language, can’t understand anymore, tech geek!” Chen Xiaolian grumbled discontentedly.

“It’s simple. Before I was transferred, I left a small backdoor in this system, so I can still open the defense system here and bring you guys in, it’s that simple.”

“Isn’t that a violation of safety regulations! It’s a serious breach of conduct,” Guan Shan frowned.

“So what, are you planning to report me now?” Gibbs rolled his eyes directly.

“Alright, dear, I’ve told you before, don’t be so harsh. We’re in a cooperation now,” Tina walked over, took Gibbs’s hand, and whispered softly.

“Okay. You’re always right,” Gibbs looked at Tina with gentle eyes.

Then this tech geek snapped his fingers, and silently, a spiral-shaped staircase descended rapidly from above the four of them.

Gibbs pulled Tina along and ascended the spiral staircase, then glanced at Chen Xiaolian. “Hurry up, whether we can get out or not depends on whether my guess is correct.”

Soon, as all four of them ascended the spiral staircase, it suddenly started spinning rapidly and then descended into the bottom of the building.