After enduring two waves of lightning strikes, Luo Shu felt like his throat was burning.
He couldn't hold on any longer!
And when the third wave of lightning descended, Jianjia Cangcang was the only one left to share the damage—meaning the burden on him would be even greater.
If they didn't reach their destination before the third wave hit, Luo Shu would have no choice but to abandon his teammates.
Dying together might sound noble, but staying alive to avenge them was far more meaningful!
Aeolus, who had been momentarily stunned by "Zeus," finally snapped back to reality after Luo Shu's shout.
"We're here! Right above that rock up ahead!"
About ten meters away stood a massive boulder—Luo Shu's destination.
Though this boulder wasn't the core area of Anomalous Item-3480, it was the highest point of Mount Mytikas.
Its towering presence was unmistakably the favored style of that being—no mistake about it.
"Run faster! We're almost out of here!" Luo Shu yelled to his companions.
At the same time, he flipped open the Anomalous Item Catalog to page 71 and activated his ability.
A dark, gaping hole suddenly appeared above the boulder.
You guessed it—this was His spatial tunnel!
As one of the most important sites of the Foundation and a training ground for cloned reality benders, He had naturally set up a spatial tunnel in Area-13.
And to maximize efficiency, He had placed the tunnel's exit right beside the boundary of Anomalous Item-3480.
This way, if a White Event ever occurred within Anomalous Item-3480, He could quickly transport the cloned subjects there for training.
That was why Luo Shu had Aeolus lead them straight to the summit of Mount Mytikas.
The time Aeolus saw Him bringing Barbie here was at this very spot.
Now that Luo Shu had found the spatial tunnel, there was only one thing left to do—get his teammates inside!
But there was still one major problem.
The boulder at the summit was at least ten meters tall. Even if Luo Shu used his vertical climbing ability, it would take him several seconds to scale it.
The other four had no such ability—expecting them to climb up on their own would take at least half a minute.
And above them, the dark clouds were already overflowing—the third lightning storm was about to strike!
No time!
But this wasn't enough to stop Luo Shu. The logistics captain had already demonstrated the versatility of size manipulation, and now Luo Shu applied it in reverse.
He placed a hand on the boulder and shrank it down to just half a meter tall, then pulled his teammates onto it.
At that exact moment—
BOOM!
The third lightning storm struck.
Dozens of bolts of lightning rained down toward them.
Without hesitation, Luo Shu canceled the size manipulation.
The boulder instantly returned to its original size.
Like a reverse bungee jump, the five of them were flung upward—straight into the air—just as the lightning was about to hit.
Before the bolts could strike, Luo Shu dove headfirst into the spatial tunnel.
On the other side, the silhouette of His throne could faintly be seen.
They were safe!
Luo Shu turned back and shouted into the open air:
"I'll be back!"
Whether it was true or not, a final taunt never hurt.
Though his current posture—flung skyward—looked suspiciously like Hui Tailang from Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf...
While delivering his parting words, Luo Shu grabbed Jianjia with one hand and IR1705 with the other, dragging them into the tunnel.
Aeolus and the logistics captain, hanging at the outermost edges of the group like the tails of a "人"-shaped formation, weren't so lucky—
ZZZT!
They got grazed by the lightning.
By the time Luo Shu and the others emerged inside the castle by Lake Erie in the New World, Aeolus and the logistics captain's hair had been completely scorched off, leaving them bald.
Their skin had turned black and was peeling away in patches, revealing raw, red muscle beneath—like anatomical models in a biology lab.
The logistics captain exhaled a puff of smoke and muttered, "I smell barbecue..."
IR1705 couldn't bear to look and turned away, utterly unwilling to associate with them.
"Hold on tight! One more jump!" Luo Shu warned, making sure IR1705 didn't let go of the logistics captain's hand.
He activated the spatial tunnel again—this time, choosing the one leading to South Carolina.
Meanwhile, back on Mount Mytikas, Luo Shu's voice echoed:
"I'll be back—back—back—ack—ack—"
The four members of Achilles' Heel stared at the now-empty boulder, feeling as though millions of alpacas were stampeding through their hearts.
"Why did You have to put the tunnel exit there?!"
All four of them cursed inwardly.
"Zeus" grumpily deactivated his lightning ability, and the skies above Mount Mytikas quickly cleared.
But the hearts of Achilles' Heel remained clouded.
This was beyond humiliating!
Not only had Luo Shu infiltrated their base undetected, but he had also rescued three prisoners and triggered a massive containment breach.
If they had at least managed to kill Luo Shu on the mountaintop, the earlier losses might have been acceptable. But now...
Ugh. No words. Just exhaustion.
The four of them silently began their descent. There was nothing left to say.
The moment they stepped outside Anomalous Item-3480's influence and returned to the underground river passage, Barbie's tactical terminal regained signal.
A message immediately popped up:
"Multiple reality benders detected in Columbia, South Carolina—two Class-3, three Class-2! Achilles' Heel field team, prepare for immediate deployment!"
Given the numbers and power distribution, there was no doubt—the sudden appearance of reality benders in South Carolina had to be Luo Shu and his group.
Even if Luo Shu and Aeolus could use anti-bending to mask themselves, the other three would still be detectable.
Only a Scranton Reality Anchor could suppress their Hume levels.
Luo Shu had long since realized this, so he didn't even bother hiding.
Even if the Foundation's satellites could track them instantly, Achilles' Heel's field team wouldn't arrive that quickly.
By now, Luo Shu had already dialed Waiter's number.
"Hey! I'm in South Carolina. And I brought you two gifts."
"What gifts?" Waiter asked curiously.
"IR1705 and the logistics captain."
Luo Shu didn't like owing the Chaos Insurgency favors—which was exactly why he had risked so much to rescue these two.
This way, he wouldn't be constrained by debts in the future.
He could move forward on his own terms.