Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 1396 - 697: Shoot It Down! (Part 3)

"Awesome!"

"Damn it, can you stop praising the enemy! Our strongest weapon is useless now! Isn’t this the end for us!"

"It’s over, it’s really over this time..."

"Boss, what do we do now?"

"Keep attacking or just retreat?"

"Just retreat, right? Nuclear missiles are useless, what else can we do?"

"Mom, I don’t want to die...!"

Although the explorer team members looked serious, they weren’t as worried as the people below.

"How’s it looking, Brother Chaoyang? What does your prophecy say?"

Ji Chaoyang had just entered a prophetic state again to see if the future had changed.

His vacant gaze returned to normal, his expression composed: "No change whatsoever, it’s still that future. We won’t be overrun until five hours later."

Ji Chaoyang’s words reassured Qi Xuefei, Ma Hongwei, and the others.

They turned their gaze back to the giant battleship outside.

Well, by now they couldn’t see the battleship. Only a crimson sphere completely enveloping the giant battleship was visible.

"Boss, what do we do now?"

"Let’s retreat, Boss!"

The people below had started to show signs of wanting to retreat.

Knowing they had an escape route made them hesitant to fight.

"No worries. This battleship can’t hold out for long," Ma Hongwei waved to the people below, speaking in a relaxed tone.

He genuinely didn’t seem worried.

This baffled the others.

"Huh? Shouldn’t we be worried about this situation?"

"We can’t break through their defenses!"

"But, as Brother Wei said, how long can this shield last? The battleship is so large, maintaining such a huge shield must consume energy, right?"

"Exactly!"

"If we keep attacking and depleting their energy..."

"We might still be able to take down this battleship!"

"Stop dreaming! Our nuclear missiles can’t even destroy the debris on the ground. Without the shield, we still couldn’t damage them!"

"That’s true, we should just run now; preserving our lives is the most important thing!"

The survivors were mostly intent on fighting, whereas those wanting to preserve their lives had mostly come up from underground, including fervent followers of Xu Xin and Xu Ying.

There was nothing they could do; Xu Xin and Xu Ying weren’t here and hadn’t appeared for over a month.

They only obeyed their "gods" and were not enthused by Ji Chaoyang and other explorer members.

And those people’s numbers far exceeded the survivors.

For a moment, the underground space was in chaos.

But Ji Chaoyang remained silent, squinting at the crimson sphere outside.

The last wave of nuclear missiles had entered the sphere.

Unsurprisingly, all nuclear missiles vanished without a trace, like mud cows into the sea.

The giant battleship remained inactive.

It didn’t move an inch, nor did it show any intent to attack.

It seemed to be passively taking hits.

This battleship...

Just then, the crimson shield gradually faded and disappeared, revealing the giant battleship once more.

It appeared unchanged from when it emerged from the light beam.

And the hundreds of nuclear missiles they had launched had vanished completely.

"Hiss—do you think they’re absorbing our nuclear missiles for themselves?!"

"Huh?"

"Borrowing arrows with straw boats?"

"No way, would they bother using our weapons?"

"Exactly, our weapons should really be insignificant to them, right?"

"Ah! It’s moving, that battleship is moving!!"

"Boss, should we continue attacking?!"

Ji Chaoyang looked seriously outside, speaking in a deep voice: "No, hold your fire."

From a distant hundred kilometers away, the battleship slowly ascended into the sky.

Ascending higher and higher.

Meanwhile, the bow of the battleship gradually began turning.

Of course, it appears slow because we’re viewing from within the World Tree. At normal speed, the battleship should be rapidly ascending and turning simultaneously.

What confused the onlookers was that the battleship’s bow wasn’t turning in their direction but rather... away from them.

"Is the battleship leaving?" Shi Wanyun said softly, "Is it returning?"

"Going back..."

It seemed that way indeed.

The battleship’s bow had turned toward another direction, precisely where the Transmission Array’s light connected with another light source emanating direction.

"Is it really returning?" Ma Hongwei asked in disbelief.

"If that’s the case, do we not have to fight them after all?" Qi Xuefei’s expression softened, quietly exhaling with relief.

This battleship was an opponent they couldn’t possibly contend with.

Only Ji Chaoyang’s face grew grim.

He looked at the battleship that had completed its turn, gritting his teeth, then suddenly addressed the people below: "Everyone, initiate attack!"

The people below were also wondering if the battleship was leaving, but upon hearing Ji Chaoyang’s command, they instinctively pressed the attack button.

In an instant, countless hypersonic missiles surged toward the battleship again!

"You...what are you doing!" Ma Hongwei’s pupils immediately shook violently, "This battleship doesn’t want to be our enemy. By doing this..."

His words abruptly paused, then he seemed thoughtful.

The others also fell into contemplation after the initial shock.

"It’s precisely because they don’t want to be our enemy that I’m attacking this battleship!"

Ji Chaoyang said solemnly, "Don’t forget what our mission is! It’s not about saving lives! It’s about stalling them!"

Everyone’s heart sank.

The first wave of hypersonic missiles had already arrived, and around the battleship, as the hypersonic missiles were about to strike, another protective shield emerged.

The missiles once more disappeared without a trace, like mud cows into the sea.

The shield rippled slightly.

This time, the rippling seemed more intense than before.

"Our current situation isn’t entirely bad," Ji Chaoyang gazed deeply at the protective shield around the battleship, "The fact that they intend to leave without attacking might mean they’re at their last gasp."

Though it’s unclear what the battleship experienced within the purple-black light beam, obviously, this battleship’s weapons and energy have probably...

Been mostly depleted!

They still have a chance!

"If possible, we..."

"Must take down this battleship."

"Can’t let them go back, our mission is to buy time for Xu Xin and the others."

"Even if it’s just a few more minutes."