At the base entrance, Qin Jiangchi stood with a heavy look on her face, staring into the distance. Nearby, quite a few security personnel were on high alert.
Clearly, her all-channel broadcast had already pulled a large number of Defense Department staff to assemble here.
"Looks like it's not something small…"
Hao Fan emerged from the armory's underground access. The severity in the air made it obvious: even after dealing with the anchor, there were still bigger headaches to handle.
He also spotted the Administrator within his line of sight.
When they'd left the underground lab earlier, Hao Fan had wanted to detour to the armory, while she went to clear the remaining angels—so they'd split up.
Now they'd regrouped at the base entrance.
"Engineer Qin, what happened?"
Perlica stepped forward to get the situation first.
But before Qin Jiangchi could answer, Perlica followed Qin's gaze—and saw the silhouettes of numerous masked bandits outside the base.
"Landbreakers… this many?"
Perlica's brows knitted tightly. She'd already realized how serious it was.
But it was worse than she'd expected.
"I'm afraid that's not even the biggest problem. Look."
Qin Jiangchi pointed toward a column of smoke rising straight into the sky far away.
Even from this distance, it was impossible not to notice.
"That direction… that's the planned deployment zone for the Protocol Core."
Perlica's frown deepened.
As for the Protocol Core—earlier, the Administrator had seen it outside the Dijiang. It was said to be the ultimate form of Protocol Originium technology.
She still didn't really understand what that meant.
Amnesiacs weren't exactly known for having complete common sense.
And Hao Fan—the transmigrator—had never even heard the term "Protocol Core."
He hadn't played the open beta yet!
The thought made him feel tired.
On his way out of the armory, he'd originally intended to tell Qin Jiangchi about the medical supplies problem—but with things looking like this, there was no way to cut in.
"The smoke is significant. The deployment zone has already been completely occupied."
Qin Jiangchi spoke with a grave expression.
"With angels all around, they still infiltrated here… Why didn't we detect any warning signs at all?"
She couldn't make sense of it.
The base security under the Defense Department didn't slack when it came to Landbreakers—there shouldn't have been negligence.
But the facts were the facts, and it was baffling.
Perlica thought back to the Landbreakers they'd fought in the lab.
"So those earlier ones were just the advance team… Engineer Qin, do we have anything we can use?"
"The Defense Department has collected as much information as possible. I'll sync it to you both."
Qin Jiangchi opened her communications terminal and began sharing intel.
Hao Fan—who didn't have one—shamelessly squeezed in beside the Administrator so he could read it too.
Infrastructure damaged; power cannot be restored; multiple areas sealed off.
Large numbers of Landbreakers roaming outside Hub Base; objectives unknown.
The situation really was terrible.
Hao Fan couldn't help feeling worried.
Qin Jiangchi continued, explaining:
"We haven't recovered from the anchor strike."
"There are many wounded, and base power hasn't been restored."
"Angels destroyed several backup routes. Many functions are paralyzed."
"The attacking Landbreakers have been confirmed as the Bonecrusher Clan… We have no idea what their purpose is, but with timing this perfect, it's hard to call it coincidence."
"If we let this situation continue, we won't be able to successfully deliver the Protocol Core."
"Our emergency plan authorizes us to activate Protocol Resonance—forcing power through large-scale Originium activation—but its energy consumption is… absurd."
Qin Jiangchi looked genuinely troubled.
Even she didn't know what to do anymore.
But Perlica offered an answer.
"No. There's still a way."
Her tone was decisive.
"As long as we can bring down the Protocol Core, we can restore base operations."
"You mean… use the Protocol Core to power the Resonance Towers?"
"Exactly. We can use the Integrated Industrial System to build relay lines. Once the Protocol Resonance Tower starts, the base will have breathing room."
"There are Landbreakers wandering along the route. If only we could weaken their forces…"
After some discussion, Qin Jiangchi agreed the plan was highly feasible.
But given the base's current condition, it was difficult to spare manpower to clear the Landbreakers outside.
Just then—
A familiar voice cut in from behind.
"How is that difficult?!"
Chen Qianyu arrived at last, bringing Andre—who had finally agreed to leave the underground lab—late to the base entrance.
Hands on her hips, she declared confidently:
"Isn't that why we're here? Administrator, you saw it earlier—dealing with these Landbreakers is easy for me!"
She looked completely self-assured.
Andre, on the other hand, didn't share that fearless confidence.
"This old body can't be swinging blades around anymore… but when it comes to the Protocol Core, I can still help."
He poked his fingers awkwardly—clearly not brave enough to go fight Landbreakers.
But when he mentioned the second half, he regained confidence.
As the chief engineer of the Integrated Industrial System, this was his domain—his expertise.
Qin Jiangchi acknowledged that.
Of course… she hadn't forgotten his earlier attempt at playing hero, either. She fully intended to lecture him later.
But for now—business first.
"Should we plan a bit more? There are so many enemies outside…"
"Don't worry, Engineer Qin."
Perlica spoke calmly, steady as ever.
"I'm not only a Supervisor of Endfield— I'm also a member of Endfield's Crisis Response Team."
"Now I am too~!"
Chen Qianyu suddenly chimed in, clasping her hands toward the Administrator in a lively, martial greeting.
"Let me officially say hello—Administrator, please guide me!"
"Mm. I'll be relying on you."
The Administrator gave a light nod, a faint smile lifting the corner of her mouth.
She also liked this kind-hearted dragon girl, and considered her someone trustworthy.
Incidentally…
The Administrator still didn't truly understand what being part of the Crisis Response Team meant—only that she herself counted as a member now.
As the tension finally eased—
Hao Fan found his opening.
"Uh, so… can I join this operation too?"
He raised his hand to speak.
"I've got something I need to do out in the wilderness."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (123 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (110 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (780Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (165 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (115 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (125 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty…then Who Am I? (120 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (54Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (76 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (63 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (83 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (70 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (70 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (80 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (75 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (60 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (80 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (60 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (40 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it