160: Saturation airdrop

Five meters.

The distance between life and death.

That black waterproof package lay alone in the snow, half-submerged.

Inside was their only hope of survival.

"Roar—!"

The Death Worm, having swallowed the drone whole, went completely berserk; its massive body rolled frantically in the snow, churning up waves of snow that reached the sky and crushing the burning drone wreckage into even smaller pieces with the ear-piercing screech of twisting metal.

Suddenly, its movements stopped.

The massive, eyeless head slowly turned toward the newly appeared black package.

Wang Dalong's Adam's apple bobbed frantically, his eyes were bloodshot, and he had almost stopped breathing.

"Feng... Brother Feng... what should we do?" His voice was kept extremely low.

Lin Feng didn't speak; he just bent down and picked up a fist-sized rock fragment.

Weighing it in his hand, he twisted his waist and used all his strength to hurl the fragment far away from the package!

The rock traced an arc and landed in the distant snow with a soft "thud."

The sound was extremely faint.

But the moment it landed—

"Whoosh—!"

A black afterimage flashed past with extreme speed!

Its movements were impossible to follow!

At the spot where the rock landed, the snow exploded with a "boom," creating a crater several meters wide!

The monster appeared there almost as if it had teleported!

"It hunts by vibration and sound!"

Lin Feng uttered those words, his expression darkening.

As long as their feet stepped onto the snow, even for a momentary vibration, it would immediately draw a fatal attack from the monster!

It was impossible to get that package!

Wang Dalong's face turned completely ashen.

"It's over... it's all over..."

He slumped down onto the cold stone platform, pounding the ground in despair with his fist.

"This damn delivery was sent to the gates of hell; I can't even sign for it!"

Hope was right before them, yet forever out of reach; this kind of torture was more painful than dying outright!

However, just as Wang Dalong was in total despair.

"Whir... whirrr..."

A familiar drone hum came from the distance once again.

But this time, it wasn't just one sound! It was a whole swarm!

Like an entire swarm of bees, it was approaching them at high speed!

Wang Dalong stood up, rubbed his eyes hard, and looked toward the horizon!

On the distant horizon, a dense cluster of black dots appeared!

Not ten, not twenty!

They covered the sky!

Those weren't military drones at all; they were all the most common consumer-grade small drones on the market!

Hundreds! Even more!

"Saturated airdrop!" Lin Feng's eyes lit up instantly!

He understood the Rescue Team's thinking! If one wouldn't work, they would overwhelm it with numbers!

Upon arriving over the Altar, the swarm of hundreds of drones began dropping their attached packages one after another, like dumplings into a pot, scattering them across the Altar!

"Roar—!!!!"

This completely poked the hornet's nest!

The Death Worm fell into an extreme frenzy!

Its massive body frantically darted, lunged, and pounced around the Altar!

Packages were crushed by its massive mouth or exploded by its train-like body while still in mid-air!

High-calorie food, thick clothing, first-aid medicine... flew everywhere.

Most of the packages were destroyed in mid-air.

But there are always some that slip through!

"Bang!"

A package was struck by the worm's tail like a hit baseball, suddenly changing direction and tracing an unexpected arc... landing squarely and accurately at Wang Dalong's feet!

"Clatter!"

Wang Dalong looked down at the package at his feet, then back up at the sky, completely stunned.

Three seconds later.

"My god!! Justice from above!!"

He let out a strange cry and scrambled over to hug the package tightly, so excited he was nearly in tears!

"We have it! Brother Feng! We have it!"

Lin Feng also breathed a sigh of relief: "Quick, open it and see!"

Wang Dalong tore open the package in no time.

There wasn't much inside, but everything was a lifesaver: a few High-energy Energy Bars, two Polar Down Jackets, two Ultra-thin Thermal Blankets, and a palm-sized black hard case.

A Satellite Phone!

Almost the moment they opened the box, the phone started beeping!

Wang Dalong's hands were shaking as he tremulously answered.

"Hello?! Hello?!"

From the other end of the phone came the extremely steady voice of a middle-aged man: "Are these Mr. Lin Feng and Mr. Wang Dalong? I am the temporary commander of this rescue operation, Zhou Zhenguo."

"It's us! It's us! Commander Zhou!" Wang Dalong was almost in tears. "Quick, get us out of here! There's a man-eating monster here!"

"Please remain calm." Zhou Zhenguo's voice held no trace of emotion. "We have already grasped your situation. But now, an extremely complex problem has arisen."

Wang Dalong's heart leaped into his throat.

He heard Zhou Zhenguo continue in that calm, almost cold tone:

"The creature you discovered has caused an unprecedented stir in the global academic community. Currently, there is a massive internal disagreement within the Command Center."

"One group of top biologists firmly insists that it must be captured alive at any cost. They believe this is the greatest biological discovery in human history! Any harm to it would be a crime against all human scientific endeavors!"

Wang Dalong was stunned.

Capture alive? Crime? Are these experts out of their minds? We're about to be eaten!

"While the other group, primarily our military, believes the creature is extremely dangerous and uncontrollable. Our plan is to use heavy firepower to eliminate the threat entirely, prioritizing your safety while ensuring the ruins remain secure."

Zhou Zhenguo's voice became incredibly serious.

"These two plans are completely opposed. Until the two sides reach a consensus... neither side can act independently."

"So, the only thing you can do is use the airdropped supplies to survive as best as you can..."

"Wait."

Wait? Waiting again!

Wang Dalong's temper flared up instantly, and he was about to roar.

Lin Feng, however, grabbed the phone.

His voice was cold: "How long do we have to wait?"

A deathly silence followed on the other end.

Only after five seconds did Zhou Zhenguo utter three words.

"...I don't know."

Those three words were more despair-inducing than any bad news.

It meant their lives were placed on a scale. On one end were two ordinary people who could die at any moment, and on the other was a so-called "discovery of the century."

And those in power were arguing endlessly over it.

Lin Feng hung up the phone.

He looked up at the massive creature raging outside, then back at the bottomless hole in the center of the stone platform.

His gaze became resolute.

Wait? Leave his life in someone else's hands?

Lin Feng never believed in that!

He only believed in himself!

The emperors of the Yuan Dynasty would come here to worship every few years.

How did they get in? And how did they get out?

They couldn't have sacrificed a group of guards every time to feed this monster, right?

Impossible!

There must be something that this monster fears!

And that secret is very likely... right where they just escaped from!

Lin Feng stood up, his blood feeling as if it were on fire!

He grabbed an energy bar, tore it open, and handed it to Wang Dalong.

"Fatty, put on your clothes and refuel."

Wang Dalong took it blankly: "Brother Feng, what for?"

Lin Feng turned around and said word by word:

"We're going back down!"