Boom!

A ball of fire expanded in the parking lot behind the Technology Building, illuminating the area.

Faintly, Bai Chen and the others saw the Mermen hidden relatively well, their gray-black scales reflecting the crimson glow.

They had taken advantage of the city ruins and the limited visibility to sneak within a hundred meters unnoticed.

Jiang Bai Mian's rocket didn't inflict any damage because they weren't sure of the enemies' exact location.

However, before the light from the explosion could fade, a violent barrage of fire was directed towards that area from all over the defense line.

The continuous sound of "da-da-da" and the successive explosions of shells forced the Mermen to seek cover behind various natural obstacles, leaving behind five or six corpses.

Following that, Long Yuehong, Han Wanghuo, and the others once again felt short of breath.

Even though they were surrounded by air, they felt as if they were submerged underwater.

Tan Jie's loudspeaker blared again:

"You sons of bitches! Fight me like a man!

"Have you been shrinking in the lake every day, shrinking your balls away?"

This time, he only repeated it in Merman language.

He had roughly determined the target's general area and could use the broadcast to transmit his voice, imbued with the "Taunt" ability, to completely enrage them, making them lose their minds and focus only on him.

This way, the Redstone Town residents on the defense line wouldn't gradually suffocate and could focus on fighting the enemy.

Of course, this was a very dangerous thing because Tan Jie didn't know what other abilities, or how large the range, the awakened or mutated Merman possessed.

However, after successfully awakening and gaining the "Taunt" ability, Tan Jie had become somewhat accustomed to this state.

Besides making the target angry and irrational in a one-on-one situation, making them easier to deal with, the "Taunt" ability also often made him a target, putting him in precarious situations. Yet, at the same time, it also made the enemy disregard others, allowing his companions to deal with them smoothly.

Calling it "Taunt," Tan Jie felt that the essence was to incite the other party's anger. This could be done not only with language but also through actions, postures, and so on. It's just that he hadn't yet figured out how to use electronic products to expand the range of influence beyond sound.

After only two repetitions, Han Wanghuo and the others once again felt like they were surfacing and breathing fresh air.

Almost simultaneously, two figures darted out from the defense line.

They were one male and one female, both wearing a set of iron-black exoskeletons, with armor covering their heads, backs, necks, and torsos.

Behind these two exoskeletons were obvious power packs. The arms were equipped with grenade launchers, assault rifles, and other weapons. There were no laser emitters, electromagnetic weapons, or other modules present, indicating that these were very old models.

The two Town Guard members wearing the exoskeletons moved with springs in their joints, leaping from the collapsed buildings to the ground in a few bounds, heading straight for the parking lot behind the Technology Building.

They needed to eliminate the dangerous Subhuman Awakened before the "suffocation" returned and everyone passed out from lack of oxygen.

Just then, Tan Jie, who was about to continue "Taunting," felt a sudden thump in his heart.

His heart rate suddenly accelerated.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The pounding made his head feel congested, his breathing difficult, and his vision gradually darkened.

Gathering his remaining strength, Tan Jie shouted loudly through the loudspeaker:

"He can, accelerate heartbeats!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Tan Jie could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground.

His heart felt like it would explode at any moment.

"Accelerate heartbeats... an Awakened in the Mandate Domain?" Jiang Bai Mian instantly recalled the relevant information upon hearing Tan Jie's words.

Then, she made a definite judgment:

The powerful Subhuman Awakened couldn't cause "cardiac arrest," at least not within this range. Otherwise, he could easily deal with Tan Jie without wasting so much time.

Thinking of this, Jiang Bai Mian's gaze turned to the two exoskeletons rapidly approaching the parking lot behind the Technology Building.

She believed that they wouldn't be able to deal with the target, and it was unknown how much damage they could inflict on the Mermen in that area.

This brought up a new question: what should the Old Task Force do?

Jiang Bai Mian's mind raced, and she already had two plans:

First, seize the time to retreat immediately, get out of the range of the Subhuman Awakened's abilities, and then drive out of Redstone Town, never to return.

Given that the Mermen and Hill Giants' target was Redstone Town, the Old Task Force wouldn't have to worry about being hunted down. And with the vastness of the Ashlands, the chances of encountering each other again were almost zero.

The problem with this plan was whether they could escape the other party's influence range in time. Jiang Bai Mian judged that they could. She believed that the current distance was already the limit of the Subhuman Awakened. At most, he could add another ten meters or so; otherwise, he wouldn't have taken such a risk, advancing to the forefront of the defense line. He could have hidden in a safe area and first used "accelerated heartbeats" to deal with the dangerous targets, and then let the Redstone Town Guard members suffocate together.

Also, once they retreated, the Old Task Force would no longer be able to get the ordered military-grade exoskeletons, nor would they be able to recover the distributed supplies. It could be said that they would lose everything.

The second option was to advance instead of retreat, seize the area around the Subhuman Awakened, eliminate him, and eliminate all hidden dangers, taking control of the situation on Redstone Town's side.

But this was full of variables and dangers, and people could die if they weren't careful.

While Jiang Bai Mian's thoughts were flowing, she saw Shang Jianyao, wearing a monkey mask, turn his head to look at her.

Without words, she knew that Shang Jianyao wanted to ask if they should attack.

No, he might just be notifying me to prepare myself... Jiang Bai Mian's thoughts turned, and she suddenly became alert.

The next second, Shang Jianyao, wearing a monkey mask, grabbed a "Berserker" assault rifle, jumped out of the window without glass or a frame, and landed on the collapsed building not far away.

Jiang Bai Mian gritted her teeth, no longer hesitating, abandoned the "Grim Reaper" man-portable rocket launcher, grabbed the spare assault rifle placed next to her, and jumped out of the window.

When has our Old Task Force ever suffered a loss without getting it back? Unless we couldn't find them.

After resolving this matter, I'm going to let this bastard know why the flowers are so red!

She had just stood firm and turned back, saying:

"Covering fire!"

This was not only addressed to Long Yuehong and Bai Chen but also seeking help from the Redstone Town Guard.

The sound of "da-da-da" rang out immediately, mixed with the explosions of grenades, suppressing the Mermen and Hill Giants that emerged from all directions.

Shang Jianyao and Jiang Bai Mian seized the opportunity, nimbly climbing and jumping on the concrete piles formed by the collapsed buildings, quickly approaching the ground.

This demonstrated their superhuman motor skills and balance, comparable to the apes that survived on these. If Han Wanghuo hadn't seen their skin color, he would have suspected that these were Hill Giant spies.

At this time, the exoskeleton in the lead bypassed the bullets and grenades from the Mermen through exaggerated jumps, runs, and changes of direction, quickly approaching the parking lot behind the Technology Building.

He raised his arms, frantically showering the area with grenades and bullets. Several Mermen didn't have time to change their positions and were reduced to incomplete corpses in the barrage.

Seeing that the real target was about to emerge, the heart rate of the Town Guard member wearing the exoskeleton suddenly accelerated.

It thumped as if it were drumming, causing the blood vessels on the surface of his body to protrude one by one.

In just a few seconds, the Town Guard member's vision had turned blood red, and his breathing couldn't keep up with the state of his body.

If Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, Han Wanghuo, and the others weren't suppressing this area with fire, slowing down his actions and making him stagger, he might have been hit by the Mermen's guns in areas not covered by armor, dying on the spot.

Even so, he quickly passed out and crashed to the ground with a loud bang.

Following that, the female Town Guard member wearing another exoskeleton, who was killing the Mermen in this area, also heard the sound of her heartbeat.

They seemed to be ringing directly in her ears.

Amid the thumping sounds, the Town Guard member's heart could no longer bear it, causing her to faint directly.

At this time, she had already entered the parking lot area behind the Technology Building and saw a vehicle covered in thick armor in a place blocked by walls and pillars.

Next to the vehicle stood a tall Merman wearing a crown of twigs.

Around the Merman were nearly ten of his kind remaining, either hiding in places with cover or directly huddled next to the armored vehicle, all holding weapons.

Clang!

The Town Guard member fell down, the metal skeleton and black armor on her body making a crisp collision sound with the ground.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Bai Mian confirmed two more things:

First, the Subhuman Awakened's ability to accelerate heartbeats could only affect one target at a time; otherwise, he wouldn't have dealt with the two exoskeletons so close to each other separately, resulting in the killing of many of the Mermen guarding him. Second, he didn't have any abilities like cardiac arrest, which could be judged from the time the two exoskeletons lasted.

This knowledge made Jiang Bai Mian more certain of some things but also brought new worries:

The price Shang Jianyao paid could effectively weaken the Awakened's abilities in the spiritual and mental aspects but couldn't cope with types directly targeting the body.

In a flash, Jiang Bai Mian shrank her body and hid behind a heavy stone pillar.

—Using Long Yuehong and the others' covering fire and the "cover" of the two exoskeletons, she and Shang Jianyao had bypassed many obstacles and rushed to the parking lot behind the Technology Building, each finding a temporary hiding place behind a cover.

She knew that the Subhuman Awakened must have already discovered her. Without hesitation, she took out a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it backward in the direction she had observed.

With a booming explosion, she lay flat against the ground and jumped out, aiming her "Berserker" assault rifle at the Mermen one by one and pulling the trigger in the process.

Da-da-da!

Shang Jianyao also took this opportunity to flash out of his hiding place and fire wildly at the Mermen.

One by one, the Mermen, forced out by the grenade, staggered and fell to the ground, shedding a lot of blood.

Just then, Jiang Bai Mian, who had just landed on the ground and was rolling towards another cover, heard the sound of her heartbeat.

Thump!