novelraw Chapter 111 Eliminating Hidden Dangers
Chapter 111 Eliminating Hidden Dangers
Chapter 111 Eliminating Hidden Dangers (Bonus Chapter for Screaming Fruit)
Xu Mo's alarming warning echoed through the walkie-talkie channel, followed by a suffocating silence that lasted for more than ten seconds. Only the sporadic explosions of landmines outside could be heard, each one a reminder that their terrifying hypothesis was becoming a reality.
Just as the oppressive atmosphere seemed to solidify, the calm voice of the representative from Area A, codenamed A-02, broke the silence once more: "Comrades, please remain calm. Comrade Xu Mo of C-07's ability to so keenly and promptly identify the problem is undoubtedly a great achievement! This proves the value of our observation post and reflects the high sense of responsibility of all colleagues. Please rest assured, the intelligence has been reported to the Jiangcheng Command immediately. The Command has a professional analysis team and more comprehensive information; they will certainly conduct a comprehensive assessment based on the intelligence we provide and make the most appropriate and timely decision."
His voice carried a calmness and credibility unique to soldiers, which slightly soothed the unease spreading through the channel.
"Furthermore, please have complete confidence in the sturdiness of the fortifications beneath our feet. They are our most reliable support on the front lines. As long as we do not expose ourselves or leave without authorization, our safety is absolutely guaranteed. To reiterate, the main structure of the fortifications is safe and sound. Please remain at your posts and continue to observe."
Hearing the comfort and reassurance from the military representative, the others in the channel seemed to have found their pillar of support, and they all started chatting, encouraging and comforting each other.
"A-02 is right, we can't afford to lose our composure first."
"It's good to discover the problem; it's better than being kept in the dark!"
"I believe Jiangcheng will find a way. Let's just focus on doing our own thing."
Although the atmosphere remained tense, the previous panic had indeed subsided. Everyone refocused their attention on observation and recording, but now, their gazes towards the explosion sites outside were filled with even deeper vigilance.
About thirty minutes later, as everyone observed and secretly speculated about Jiang Cheng's response, A-02's voice rang out again on the channel. This time, his tone was noticeably more invigorated: "This is A-02. We have just received the latest instructions from command. Given the potential risk that the current minefields may accelerate zombie evolution, Jiang Cheng has decided to immediately dispatch a team of superhumans to the Red Star Industrial Zone to carry out a special cleanup mission. The focus will be on eliminating newly mutated organisms created by consuming corpses and assisting in dealing with the minefield hazard. All fortress observers are requested to continue to maintain close surveillance. If the superhuman team is spotted approaching, provide necessary intelligence support as needed, but always prioritize your own safety and concealment. Repeat, the superhuman team is about to enter the area to carry out the cleanup mission."
"A team of superhumans?!"
"Great! This should solve the problem!"
This news was like a shot in the arm for the somewhat subdued morale, and a burst of excited and expectant responses immediately came through the walkie-talkies. For most ordinary survivors and combatants, superhumans remained a mysterious and powerful force, one of Jiangcheng's trump cards in the fight against the apocalyptic crisis. Their deployment undoubtedly demonstrated Jiangcheng's high regard for this matter and gave all those stationed there immense confidence.
Hearing this news, Xu Mo felt much more at ease.
He was never worried about a few scattered level-one mutated zombies; with his superhuman strength and the weapons he had, dealing with a few on his own was not difficult.
What Xu Mo truly feared was the qualitative change that would result from quantitative change. When the number of Level 1 mutants accumulated to a terrifying level, the probability of them devouring each other and evolving into Level 2 zombies would greatly increase. That would be the true threat to the fortress, and could even trigger a regional disaster.
"It seems Jiangcheng shares my concerns," Xu Mo thought to himself. "They are equally afraid that this area will spiral out of control, giving rise to even more advanced monsters, which would have a devastating impact on the safety of the area surrounding Jiangcheng. Sending out a team of ability users for precise mine clearance is the most direct and effective response."
Outside the fortress, the sporadic sounds of landmine explosions still rang out, but the crowd had regained a relative calm, even harboring a sense of anticipation as they awaited the arrival of official forces.
Time passed in the waiting. About five or six hours later, around dusk, a familiar roar of propellers approached from afar. Xu Mo immediately moved to the observation port and saw three helicopters painted with the Jiangcheng logo flying in formation, skimming low over the fortress, heading towards an area not far away with a high density of zombies and where multiple landmine explosions had just occurred.
"The superhuman squad should have arrived," Xu Mo thought to himself. This method of directly deploying them to the core area was in line with the rapid response combat characteristics of elite squads.
However, that didn't seem to be all. As night fell and darkness completely enveloped the sky, a deep, continuous roar, quite different from that of the helicopter, accompanied by even more frequent and louder explosions, came from afar.
Soon, an observer excitedly reported over the walkie-talkie: "It's a mine-clearing vehicle. Jiangcheng has sent mine-clearing vehicles in and they are using mechanical methods to detonate those landmines."
Xu Mo immediately understood the source of the roaring sound. Jiang Cheng was employing a two-pronged approach: on one hand, sending out teams of superhumans to clear out the mutants, and on the other hand, using engineering equipment to fundamentally eliminate the source of the landmines, the "evolutionary catalyst." Efficiency was paramount, and there was no room for delay.
Xu Mo immediately picked up a powerful flashlight and carefully examined the area around Fortress C-07 through the observation hole. He was astonished by what he saw.
Within just half a day, six clearly evolved Level 1 mutated zombies had gathered around his fortress. Two of them were burly with mutated arms, making them the Strength type; the other four were relatively slender, swift, and moved like ghosts through the ruins, making them the Agility type.
"Six, and that's just on my side—" Xu Mo quickly calculated in his mind, "If we calculate based on an average of five to six Level 1 mutants being spawned near each fortress, the total number of new Level 1 mutants spawned in the area covered by all 144 fortresses in a short period of time could reach over eight hundred, close to nine hundred!"
This number is terrifying. Before this, the total number of mutants that periodically appeared in the entire Red Star Industrial Zone was estimated to be only around two or three hundred. Now, simply because of the existence of the minefield, the number of mutants has increased several times in a very short period of time.
According to the evolution ratio vaguely mentioned in the official data, although the exact probability of evolving from level one to level two is unclear, even if Xu Mo calculates it using a relatively conservative ratio of 1000:1, there is a theoretical possibility that this area could give rise to level two zombies.
"Fortunately, it was discovered early and reported in time—" Xu Mo felt a wave of fear. If it had been a few days later, and these newly spawned mutants had devoured each other several times, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Xu Mo carefully searched every corner within his field of vision but found no suspected Level 2 zombies. On the walkie-talkie, the other observers were also anxiously reporting the number of mutants in their respective areas; similarly, no one reported discovering any targets beyond their comprehension or that posed a greater threat.
It seems that the conditions for the birth of a Level 2 zombie are indeed more demanding, or that it requires a longer "digestion" time.
Just then, the roar of the mine-clearing vehicle grew closer and closer, becoming clearly audible. Xu Mo saw a rugged-looking, high-chassis heavy vehicle with a huge roller-type mine-clearing device at the front, like a steel behemoth, slowly driving along a relatively flat path through the ruins towards the C-07 fortress.
Its heavy rollers rolled over the ground, constantly triggering the buried mines and causing deafening explosions. Flashes of fire appeared from time to time in front of the vehicle, but its thick armor remained undamaged as it steadily advanced forward.
Behind the mine-clearing vehicle followed a small team of about ten people. They were dressed in uniform dark combat uniforms with special markings, well-equipped, and their movements were efficient and coordinated.
"This is the superhuman team?" Xu Mo observed intently.
The massive noise and explosion created by the minesweeper attracted all the surrounding zombies like a magnet. Roars erupted from all directions, and hordes of ordinary zombies and the six newly spawned Level 1 mutants surged madly towards the source of the sound, like sharks smelling blood.
Faced with the surging horde of corpses, the members of the superhuman team reacted extremely quickly and coordinated skillfully.
At the forefront of the group, two burly members strode forward. One had a faint, grayish-white, rock-like sheen, while the other gleamed with a cold, metallic light. Like unbreakable rocks, they met the two powerful zombies charging at the front head-on! Wielding specially crafted heavy battle knives or giant axes, they fiercely clashed.
The sounds of metal clashing and bones cracking rang out almost simultaneously. The two powerful zombies were actually stopped by them and even forced to retreat.
On the flank, several team members, armed with silenced precision rifles, calmly fired in short bursts. Their marksmanship was extremely accurate, almost every shot hitting the head, efficiently clearing out the ordinary zombies mixed in with the agile zombies trying to flank.
What surprised Xu Mo even more was that a member in the middle of the team was using a longbow with an ancient design but with flowing crimson patterns.
He drew his bow and nocked an arrow, which spontaneously ignited with intense flames. With a whoosh, the flaming arrow shot from the bowstring, striking precisely a nimble zombie that had just darted out from the side, instantly turning it into a fireball that emitted a piercing scream.
But he didn't stop there. More fire arrows were fired at the zombie corpses that had been killed by the minesweeper or by his teammates. The flames immediately rose up and quickly incinerated the corpses, completely eliminating the possibility of them being eaten by other zombies.
Xu Mo also saw that some superhumans were pressing their hands on the ground, making the land in front of them seem muddy and slowing down the zombies' advance.
This team of superhumans is calm and efficient in combat, with an indescribable sense of rhythm.
Ordinary zombies were like weeds to them, and the newly spawned level-one mutants, although causing some trouble, were quickly killed and burned one by one by the team members due to their tacit cooperation and strong individual strength. During the process, several zombies even unfortunately triggered landmines that had not yet been cleared on their way to the front, and were blown to pieces.
Just as the battle was nearing its end and the squad members were clearing out the last few scattered zombies, the member of the squad who used the Flame Longbow seemed to sense something and suddenly raised his head, casting a beam of light precisely in the direction of the observation hole of the C-07 fortress where Xu Mo was located.
Despite the great distance, Xu Mo could clearly feel that the other person's self-light seemed to penetrate these obstacles and meet his gaze.
The team member seemed to show a very faint, benevolent expression on his face, and then nodded slightly in the direction of the fortress.
Xu Mo's heart stirred slightly, and he subconsciously nodded in return.
The mine-clearing vehicle continued its relentless advance, detonating and clearing the mines around Fortress C-07 one by one. After thoroughly clearing the area of zombies and burning all the corpses, the superhuman team did not linger or attempt to communicate with Xu Mo inside the fortress.
Xu Mo vaguely saw a team leader take out a tablet-like device and record something on it. He seemed to check something, then waved his hand to signal the team to quickly assemble and follow the mine-clearing vehicle towards the next designated clearing area.
From their arrival to the completion of the mine clearance and cleanup, the entire process took less than an hour, an astonishingly efficient process.
Xu Mo silently assessed the strength displayed by the superhumans he had just witnessed. Those team members whose bodies gleamed with a rocky or metallic sheen were clearly body-enhancing superhumans; their strength and defense had been greatly improved. But why were they fighting hand-to-hand with the strength-type zombies when they had guns? They could have easily dealt with them from a distance using large-caliber firearms. This puzzled Xu Mo.
"These are the superhumans—" Xu Mo thought to himself. The diverse abilities and skillful teamwork they displayed far surpassed those of ordinary combatants and most survivors, making them a truly elite force.
Of course, although Xu Mo didn't quite understand some of their fighting styles, he chose to respect them.
Thinking of this, Xu Mo recalled the severely injured team of superhumans he had seen before, and his gaze once again fell upon the deep, mysterious ruins in the distance, a place that even Jiangcheng found troublesome.
"Even a small team of superhumans like this suffered heavy losses inside. What terrifying thing is lurking deep within those ruins?"
The walkie-talkie crackled with excited reports from other fortress observers, saying that the superhuman team had quickly identified the dangers around him and moved on to the next area.
Upon hearing this, Xu Mo also picked up the walkie-talkie to report that the problem on his side had also been completely cleared up by the superhuman team.
The atmosphere on the walkie-talkie returned to normal, and it was clear that everyone recognized Jiang Cheng's quick response and the strength of the superhuman.