Whitney's icy attacks severely restricted the figure in the white lava suit, forcing him to dodge clumsily as ice spikes shot at him nonstop.
With Tabitha giving constant support and Tevin lurking in the shadows, the white-suited figure was pushed to the brink of death multiple times.
Seeing the white-suited figure in such a miserable state, Bertram felt a huge sense of satisfaction.
No matter how gifted or powerful you are, you can't beat my S-class ability, "Call for Backup."
"This time, you win, but next time, you'll all regret it!" the white-suited figure suddenly shouted coldly.
Whitney and the others felt a bad premonition.
Just as they were about to capture him, the ground began to crack open.
Thick, scarlet tentacles burst out, and a C++-level Demon Blood Octopus appeared between Whitney's group and the white-suited figure.
The Demon Blood Octopus attacked Whitney and the others, while the white-suited figure turned and fled.
"Seriously? This guy is such a coward, calling in a scapegoat when he can't win!" Bertram thought disdainfully.
The C++-level Demon Blood Octopus was no match for Whitney and the others and was quickly reduced to a pile of flesh on the ground. However, by that time, the white-suited figure had already escaped.
A prompt appeared in Bertram's mind:
[Reshape Destiny: Faced with a powerful opponent, you chose to call in numerous strong allies, forcing your opponent to flee like a rat.
Unfortunately, your opponent was well-prepared and summoned a scapegoat, preventing you from killing him. Nonetheless, your life's trajectory has significantly changed, meeting the requirements to reshape destiny. Your life experiences and insights into martial arts abilities will now merge with your current self.]
What does that mean? I'm despicable and the opponent was well-prepared?
[This Infinite Life Simulation was set to Hard difficulty. You will receive two random rewards.]
Drawing in progress...
You have obtained a Talent Upgrade Crystal!
You have obtained a Fight Again Energy Healing Crystal!
Fight Again Energy Healing Crystal: When you are on the brink of death in battle, all your injuries will be fully healed, and you will have an endless supply of combat energy for the next 30 minutes!
Another difficult life simulation.
Bertram applied the Talent Upgrade Crystal to his Silver Thread ability.
[Your Silver Thread talent has been upgraded to D-level!]
[Your Silver Thread has unlocked a new ability: Puppet Show!
For a target whose cultivation level is no more than two levels below yours and whom you have personally killed (within three hours), you can use the Silver Thread to turn them into your puppet!
This simulation has ended. The next simulation will be available in one day!]
The Silver Thread had unlocked a new ability. What a pleasant surprise!
Puppet Show? Bertram's mind raced with some sinister plans.
Then there was the new crystal, with a long but straightforward name, the Fight Again Energy Healing Crystal.
Bertram shook his head. Did the infinite life simulation really not understand him at all?
Do I look like someone who would get myself into a near-death situation?
This new crystal would probably end up gathering dust in his pocket for a long time.
A difficult life simulation, yet the rewards were somewhat disappointing.
No deep life experiences gained, no crazy insights either, and one of the two crystals might never even get used.
So yeah, in the Infinite Life Simulation, living a short life is definitely not it. It's just a huge waste. From now on, I need to figure out how to stay alive longer.
"Are you okay?" Whitney walked over and asked Bertram.
"I'm fine," Bertram replied.
"Good. I'll take you to the shelter," Whitney said.
The city was under attack by demonic blood octopuses, and the police were focused on getting civilians out safely.
The shelters were guarded heavily to protect regular people.
"Q2 mode!" Tabitha suddenly shouted at the damaged mech bike lying on the ground.
The bike instantly transformed, splitting into two hollow mech bikes that slowly rolled over toward them.
Bertram's eyes lit up. That was seriously cool.
Too bad he didn't get to ride with the girls this time.
Tabitha and Whitney took one bike together, and he was stuck sharing with Tevin, two big dudes crammed on one ride. Not ideal.
Thanks to Whitney and the others watching their backs, they didn't run into any major trouble on the way.
Soon, the four of them reached the largest nearby shelter.
The shelter had been built inside a massive sports stadium that could hold about 30,000 people.
It was surrounded by armed guards everywhere, all on high alert with weapons ready.
Bertram also found out there were three B-level fighters and twenty-four C-level fighters stationed inside.
Seeing that much defense finally made Bertram breathe easier.
"This place is secure. Stay here for now. We've got other missions to handle, so we can't stick around," Whitney told him.
"No problem, go ahead," Bertram said. He didn't mind at all.
With three B-level fighters guarding the place, Bertram felt completely safe.
"You head in first. I've already told those three B-level guardians to watch over you. Just don't run around the stadium," Whitney added.
"Don't worry!" Bertram replied confidently. His life was on the line, no way was he going to do anything dumb.
"Alright, we're off now!" Whitney said, turning to leave with Tabitha and Tevin following behind.
Bertram followed the crowd into the stadium. Along the main walkway, he passed groups of people who'd just been rescued.
They were slowly making their way inside, and fear was written all over their faces.
Even though they were safe now, the panic still hung heavy in the air.
This time, the demonic blood octopus had mainly targeted schools across the city, high schools, middle schools, even elementary schools.
Its goal was pretty clear: wipe out the new generation of humans.
That's why protecting young people had become the number one priority for the human leadership. And that was also why this stadium shelter was locked down so tight.
As Bertram looked around the stadium, he saw the crowd had gotten huge.
People were huddled together, sitting shoulder to shoulder. A lot of them were hugging their knees, trying to calm themselves down.
Bertram quickly noticed that most of the people here were middle school and elementary school students.
And judging by their uniforms and gear, they were from prestigious schools. That meant they all had strong potential.
There were barely any students from lower-tier schools like Bertram's.
Not surprising though.
For the human leadership, protecting the ones with higher potential, the ones most valuable for humanity's future, was obviously the smart move.
It's not like the others were completely ignored. But let's be real, they just weren't the priority.