'Boom!'

In the abandoned amus.e.m.e.nt park, a zombie girl, which had just jumped off from a rusted metal swing frame, was killed immediately while she was still roaring. Bright yellow corrosive liquid splashed and small eroding holes appeared in the snow.

Jiang Lius.h.i.+'s minibus, which was rus.h.i.+ng toward the swing frame, slammed into the wall of the old playground.

"Brother Jiang, the closer we get to that Beast Nest, the stranger those zombies are. Their blood isn't red, and it's toxic," Zhang Hai said to Jiang Lius.h.i.+ with dread while staring at the zombie girl.

Doom Walker's fleet continued taking detours according to Hou Dingkun's plan, so they had been separated from the 5th Channel's various organizations. They were currently crossing the eastern part of Yangchang County and had cleaned several areas up till now. At the same time, the farther to the east, the more viscous the blood lichens on the ground were. Pa.s.sing all the way through the town, they could see that the blood lichens had covered all dwelling houses and steel structures. It was as if a huge b.l.o.o.d.y ma.s.sacre had taken place there. 

Moreover, the mutant zombies and beasts were very strange. After killing a few mutant beasts, the blood flowing from their wounds was not bright red but blue-green. If that were not enough, their meat was not consumable, and some of them did not even have mutant nuclei.

"Zhang Hai, if you observe more carefully, you will notice that the skin and flesh tissue of some mutant zombies and beast we killed are similar to blood lichens," Jiang Liius.h.i.+ said lightly.

"According to the information provided by the military government, the deceased's bodies can't be left in the beast nest's area. They should be incinerated on the spot. Otherwise, all the bodies must be brought back to Xiayuan Safety Zone. At first, I didn't understand why the military government gave such an order, but now we have a rough understanding."

After hearing Jiang Lius.h.i.+'s words, all the members of s.h.i.+ Ying Squad were thunderstruck. They had chanced upon the terrible truth. Apparently, the beast nest's area was so bizarre that it could erode and control the bodies.

After doomsday, the zombies that had actually appeared differed from the ones someone would see in movies or games. They had mutated from living humans. However, the bodies controlled by this area were exactly the same as one would see in the movies. 

The level-5 Wilderness Order in Yangchang County had various scores. As long as any mutant zombies or mutant beasts were killed, they could all get one point. However, if they really wanted to complete the level-5 mission to perfection, they had to enter the beast nest's core area.

Not every organization that entered had Hou Dingkun's determination. By the time they arrived at the area in which the beast nest was located, it was getting late.

Jiang Lius.h.i.+'s minibus was driven in the front of the whole team. Its sharp engine sound broke the silence of the night, while its headlights illuminated the way in front. Originally, a heavy truck was in the lead, but mutant beasts would rush out from time to time. In order to protect the entire team and speed up their pace, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ accelerated the minibus to lead the way.

"Stupid! Running so fast!" Ding Yi cursed. The three modified armored vehicles of Ding Yi's team followed closely because they didn't have the courage to slack off.

However, due to the snow and ice, coupled with the coverage of blood lichens, the ground was incredibly smooth, and even the armored vehicles were slipping. But they noticed that the minibus was being driven as if it was an ordinary road.

Whether there was a collapsed river valley or an obstacle, such as a brick wall or a rotten tree roots, it was all the same for the minibus. Nothing could stand in its path, and it kept rus.h.i.+ng all the way. It resembled a tank, and it could adapt to various complex terrains.

'Boom!'

A rus.h.i.+ng mutant porcupine collided head-on with Jiang Lius.h.i.+'s minibus. It roared and rushed toward Jiang Lius.h.i.+'s minibus again. And then dense and raging gunshots came from the minibus' roof, and a b.l.o.o.d.y wound was torn open on the mutant porcupine's body.

"Brother Jiang, this is a normal mutant beast! We have fresh meat to eat again!" Zhang Hai and Sun Kun shouted happily.

Ding Yi drove his car rus.h.i.+ng quickly. Actually, he was totally scared by that scene. However, at the same time, he was also surprised.

"Eh? What's that in the minibus' front? Why did the mutant porcupine stop after being hit by that thing?" Ding Yi wondered.

After Jiang Lius.h.i.+'s minibus was stopped, Ding Yi saw a V-shaped ram in front of it. With that addition, the minibus resembled a metal monster.

"Oh, my G.o.d!" Ding Yi shouted. No wonder Li Yuxin believed that the minibus was safer than anything else.

"Everyone, get down for a rest! Set fire to make dinner!" Hou Dingkun shouted from behind. He was delighted because s.h.i.+ Ying Squad had helped them deal with many dangerous situations along the road.

A pile of bonfires was burning.

Jiang Lius.h.i.+ offered most of the porcupine's meat and its nucleus before splitting other mutant meats. All the members of Doom Walker cheered for his benevolence.

"Captain, if I am not mistaken, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ hasn't joined Doom Walker. Why is he so popular among them?" One member of the Eagle Guard took a bite of the mutant meat jerky and asked curiously.

Ding Yi didn't give an answer as he was also wondering about it. He came to the conclusion that they had underestimated s.h.i.+ Ying Squad. While thinking, he could not help but look at Jiang Lius.h.i.+'s minibus enviously. 

"Zizi-"

Suddenly, a sound came from the radio, "The military's temporary radio station has an important message to transmit: Yao Ming, a member of the Military Commission, no longer serves as Commander-in-Chief in this counterattack. He was replaced by Commander Peng Dinglong. And Li Yinqiang was appointed as Deputy Commander…"

Hearing this piece of news, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ whispered in his mind. 'They changed the leader so suddenly? It's out of the ordinary! Seriously, it will disturb the army's morale and even lower it… Li Yinqiang became the Deputy Commander?' Jiang Lius.h.i.+ thought carefully, and at the same time, he had a nagging feeling in his heart.

Under the shadow of the fire, that sudden piece of news made the lively atmosphere calm down instantly. Obviously, it had a great impact on everyone.

"The military's decision has nothing to do with us! Even if they have changes in the chain of command, it's none of our business, so eat and drink sequentially. After completing our task, we will leave at once!" Hou Dingkun stood up and said loudly. And then the crowd became a little quiet.

Jiang Lius.h.i.+ took a look at Hou Dingkun. In Jiang Lius.h.i.+'s mind, Hou Dingkun was ordinary when doing other things, but he was quite good at leading a team. 

'Da, Dadad' Loud gunshots broke the silence. Several feeble rays of light occurred over the icy winter night.

'Boom!'

The huge explosion was accompanied by a soldier's screams coming from a remote place. All of them were shocked by this loud sound.

Suddenly three dark figures stood up from the crowd and galloped in the direction of that explosion. Two of them were burly members of the Eagle Guards, but the other figure was pet.i.te and agile. It was none other than Ling. She was rus.h.i.+ng toward that direction quickly like a flash of lightning. Her pet.i.te figure appeared to be swept on the tip of the gra.s.s. She quickly changed direction and disappeared into the darkness. Seeing that scene, Hou Dingkun felt embarra.s.sed as none of Doom Walker's members had reacted as fast as them.

"Why are you still here? Hurry and send someone to investigate what happened!" Hou Dingkun shouted to his subordinates. Later, two of s.h.i.+ Can's subordinates rushed out to chase after the other three.

About a quarter of an hour later, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ heard a gentle sound above his head. Ling was like a palm civet, flying down from a tall tree in the distance.

"Captain Jiang, it was a fight related to Black Water Organization and Stone Riprap Squad," Ling reported, "The place where they are going is almost the same as ours, but they encountered a large group of mutant beasts and mutant insects, which attacked them. They are located near Zhangfan Village."

Seeing Ling, Ding Yi felt awkward and surprised.

The reason why their team was called Eagle Guards was that they were the fastest in the entire Xiayuan Safety Zone. All the members of Eagle Guards were good at scouting and lurking in the shadows. The two people he had sent were outstanding members, but still, Ling beat them to it.

After Ling reported everything, the Eagle Guards' members returned. Later, s.h.i.+ Can's two subordinates also came back. What they reported was just the same as what Ling had said.

"Black Water Organization and Stone Riprap Squad?"After confirming the information, Hou Dingkun cursed, "These two teams have banded together like traitors!"

In the 5th Channel were six major organizations, of which Black Water naturally stood on the top. Stone Riprap Squad was the third one, and Doom Walker was the fourth one. Hou Dingkun felt grieved when he heard about those two groups allying with each other. Moreover, they also wanted to attack the beast nest directly.

"Ling, did you see Lu Changfei?" Jiang Lius.h.i.+ asked suddenly.

"No." Ling shook her head. "But I could feel a surge of suppressed energy fluctuations, which was distinctive."

"Suppressed energy fluctuations? That must belong to Lu Changfei. Any level-2 paranormal can restrain their energy fluctuations," Jiang Lius.h.i.+ a.n.a.lyzed while he looking at Ling. Since Ling could sense that kind of energy fluctuations, it meant that Ling had become more powerful. 

"Captain Jiang, what do you think we should do now?" Hou Dingkun turned to ask Jiang Lius.h.i.+. He was irresolute because he didn't want to meet those two terrible teams. However, he also didn't want to give up on his plan. As a result, he had to pin his hope on Jiang Lius.h.i.+.

"We just need to follow our original plan. Sooner or later we will meet them," Jiang Lius.h.i.+ answered directly. In Jiang Lius.h.i.+'s mind, Lu Changfei was not as dangerous as everyone thought. 

However, Ding Yi was shocked after hearing Jiang Lius.h.i.+'s answer. Of course, he knew about Black Water Organization and Lu Changfei, who was one of the top ten powerful paranormals in the military. The moment Ding Yi heard his name, he felt helpless and unwilling to fight against him. Unfortunately, never had he expected that Jiang Lius.h.i.+ had the intention to face him!

"Well, I will give up my life to accompany you! Just fight with them! The east area of the beast nest is the weakest part. We must start cleaning that area!" Hou Dingkun waved his hand fiercely.

Before his voice had died away, all members of Doom Walker felt embarra.s.sed. Obviously, it was them who had asked s.h.i.+ Ying Squad a favor.