The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

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Within the channel, the voices of the various responsible persons responded in turn.

"Remember our objective: eliminate remaining high-threat targets, locate and recover the Radiant Silver fragments, collect core samples, and now enter the water!"

"Roger that!"

Everyone trembled slightly and responded in unison.

thump! thump! thump!

The sounds of water splashing echoed one after another.

"Attention all groups, disperse and move out according to the predetermined coordinates. Good luck!"

At the commander's command, the team quickly split into three groups.

The first source point clearing team, composed of the main forces of the navy and army, was well-equipped and sneaked into the deep darkness on the left.

The second source point clearing team, a mix of some army troops, other elites, and some experts from the settlement area, advanced to the right front.

The third source point clearing team, where Han Ning was located, maintained its current formation, slightly adjusted its direction, and dived straight down into the deep sea abyss directly in front of it.

After the diversion, the underwater world was magnified countless times, leaving only the faint hum of the team's thrusters and the sensation of water flowing over the body.

Underwater after a nuclear explosion, the light is extremely dim, and the seabed sediment stirred up by the explosion lingers like a thick fog, resulting in very low visibility.

The water temperature was unpredictable, sometimes icy cold, and sometimes a strange warmth could be felt through the diving suit, which was the residual energy of the nuclear explosion.

As the depth increases.

The powerful water pressure squeezed in from all directions.

Chapter 297 Deep Dive

Communications were severely disrupted, with channels filled with jumbled electrical hissing—the lingering disturbances caused by the nuclear explosion to the Earth's magnetic field and the deep-sea environment.

The descent was rather monotonous, consisting of nothing but water and endless darkness.

Undercurrents surged, and warm ocean currents rushed in from afar, washing heavily over them and bringing with them a strong sense of radiation.

Occasionally, one can see the corpses of marine creatures, either killed by the shockwave of a nuclear explosion or scalded by the eerie high temperature, floating silently with distorted shapes.

“Energy readings continue to rise…background radiation exceeds normal levels by 700 times…” A member of the atomic fission team regularly reports the data.

Nuclear explosions release large amounts of radioactive material, which can pollute waterways and pose a long-term threat to aquatic life.

However, these waters have long been affected by the Kuroshio Current, so even if they are polluted again, it's like "having too many lice to be afraid of being bitten."

As for the Awakened... according to calculations by scientists specializing in atomic fission, Awakened individuals at the Great Blackstone level can withstand the nuclear radiation from the aftershocks of a nuclear explosion.

Not to mention the Iron grade.

As for the epicenter of the nuclear explosion, that's hard to say.

"The core area of ​​the third source point is just ten kilometers ahead."

None of the three source points are located near the ruins of the former Egret City.

Instead, it is generally located in the waters outside the western part of the mountains, while the ruins of Egret City are located on the southern side of the mountains.

"The depth continues to decrease."

"Current depth is 534 meters underwater."

"624 meters underwater"

"... "

"924 meters."

They continued advancing until they reached an area approximately 5 kilometers from the center of the third nuclear explosion, at a depth of 924 meters.

At this depth, the Black Rock-level ability users who were following nearby were already struggling to hold on.

Not only the water pressure, but also the radiation levels near the nuclear explosion zone are alarming.

Seeing this, Zheng Weiguo ordered on the public channel: "All Blackstone-class members, stop diving, find the nearest cover, remain still to reduce oxygen consumption, and await our orders at any time."

In an instant, the members of the Black Stone level dispersed and hid in groups of three.

The remaining 45 Iron-level elites continued their descent.

The scenery ahead began to change.

The number of aquatic creature corpses that were originally scattered gradually increased.

First they appeared sporadically, then they appeared in large numbers.

The monsters died in extremely gruesome ways, their bodies twisted and their shells shattered, as if they had been crushed by an invisible force. They were clearly killed by the massive shockwave from the nuclear explosion.

Some of the bodies even showed an abnormal semi-molten state, which was likely caused by the high-temperature fireball generated by the nuclear explosion.

The further you go, the denser the monster corpses become, piling up until they almost cover the entire seabed ahead.

These corpses varied in shape and size.

The team had to slow down to avoid the floating obstacles.

Zhao Kai swung his battle axe and pushed aside a giant crab monster corpse blocking his way. The corpse was light and airy, as if its interior had been completely destroyed.

"Activate active sonar scanning, filter low-frequency interference, and advance in an assault wedge formation."

The team continued forward for about one kilometer.

Zheng Weiguo's command rang out amidst the noisy communications.

"Azure Cloud's forces, spread out on the left flank, be alert for any potential biological attacks!"

The first few minutes were unusually calm, with only the sound of water flowing over the protective gear.

However, this calm was soon shattered.

"A high-energy reaction has appeared to the right front, in large numbers and at an extremely high speed!" the naval sonar technicians suddenly warned.

Almost simultaneously, Han Ning's spirits stirred.

A large wave of life energy, filled with an aura of destruction, is rapidly approaching from the deep water area to the right front.

"As expected, these monsters were not so easy to kill; they were not completely eliminated."

Zheng Weiguo's voice turned serious.

"Attention all units, Sword of Judgment, form an anti-impact formation, naval firepower coverage, Azure Cloud support on the left flank, intercept any stragglers."

As soon as the order was given, a dark shadow broke through the water curtain and appeared in the crowd.

Those were some ugly monsters whose shapes were indistinguishable from other creatures.

Their scales and bones were mostly broken and charred, and some parts of their bodies were even in a semi-melted and semi-solid state, seemingly survivors of a nuclear explosion.

Suddenly, a deep roar came from the dark distance ahead.

Ripples appeared in the seawater, sweeping in from afar and spreading to everyone.

"What happened? How did our whereabouts get discovered like this?" Zhao Kai asked in horror.

"No, it's possible that they were just retreating and we just happened to run into them."

Han Ning's expression was serious.

The spreading fluctuations carried a strange, magical power.

Han Ning and Zheng Weiguo, who had higher mental strength, were alright, but some of the weaker Iron-level experts who assisted them in the attack and followed behind were instantly bleeding from all seven orifices, clutching their heads, and some even lost consciousness and fell into the sea.

Even Han Ning felt dizzy and had a buzzing sound in his ears, let alone other ordinary people.

"That was the mental shock we experienced when we entered the core area. Retreat!"

Zheng Weiguo directed everyone to retreat temporarily, waking up those who had been submerged in the seawater and quickly moving backward.

The others were confused, but those who were still somewhat clear-headed opened their eyes wide, trying to see what was happening.

In the dark, deep water ahead, a distorted figure could be vaguely discerned.

They rode on enormous sea monsters.

However, at this moment, both the sea monster and the figure on it seemed to have been thrown into a furnace and burned, with large patches of skin peeling off to reveal the charred and carbonized muscle tissue underneath.

The intense heat of the nuclear explosion clearly dealt them a devastating blow, but their tenacious vitality allowed these monsters to continue moving with their mangled bodies.

The leading monster was particularly eerie; it had almost lost its complete form and lay like a puddle of scorched asphalt on the back of a similarly mutilated, shark-like mutated creature.

In the center of this tar-like body, a distorted skull outline can be vaguely seen.

It was nothing but bones, with a few charred bits of flesh hanging from its palm, holding a small piece of something that shimmered with pure silver light and whose edges were swirling with thick black mist.

"A fragment of Radiant Silver?" Han Ning's expression shifted, and he was about to make a move.

Deputy Director Luo, who was standing next to him, raised his hands and clasped them together in front of his chest.

A pink halo spread out from his palm, forming a huge triangular cone-shaped domain that enveloped the entire Third Sweep Team.

The internal structure of this field is like that of countless tiny geometric crystals, through which light is constantly refracted.

The moment the pink domain took shape, the black energy surrounding the gleaming silver fragment in the skull's palm surged violently, and a piercing mental shriek powerful enough to tear apart the soul hurtled forth.

The light barrier in the pink area rippled violently, emitting a piercing noise similar to metal being scraped at high frequency, steadily blocking the invisible, deadly impact.

Some members of the team who were preparing to launch an attack felt a wave of fear. If it weren't for the protection of this domain, there would probably have been casualties just now.

"Remember what I just told you, kill them!"

Chapter 298 Approaching the Core

"Roger that!"

As soon as Zheng Weiguo gave the order, a brief confirmation sound came through the communication channel.

The members of the Sword of Judgment quickly changed formation, and the runes on their diving suits lit up one by one, forming a faint wall of light in the dim underwater environment.

The thrusters of the Navy's "Jiaolong" team hummed softly, simultaneously opening their dark muzzles and firing several high-pressure water jets at the distorted black shadows surging from the right front.

A flash of green light enveloped Han Ning, and his body rapidly expanded within the flowing halo, transforming in the blink of an eye into a giant tiger covered in dark gold fur and engulfed in blazing flames.

Molten Gold War Tiger Form.