Chapter 39: The Most Shocking
Stepping over the monster carcasses, we left the thick, bloody stench behind.
The squad’s pace didn't slow down much because of these.
For the rest of the journey, no other mutated monster corpses were found, and even those wandering monsters had disappeared.
The pile of carcasses just now seed like a boundary, dividing this street into two distinctly different areas.
Without the threat of mutated monsters, the team mbers no longer needed to keep firing to clear the path, but the chill in our bones grew even stronger.
Everyone knew what this abnormal phenonon ant.
Mutated monsters had not deviated from the essence of living beings; avoiding danger was an instinct in their lives.
Within this area, there was only one danger worth their avoidance.
Those tattered Black Rat carcasses were the explicit warning.
What was she doing here?
Why issue such a warning?
No one knew the answer to such questions at this stage, but what they all knew was: the Security Team squad, ignoring the warning, had crossed the boundary and stepped into this forbidden zone demarcated by the Witch.
Once discovered, they would directly face the most direct hostility of an enraged Witch.
Luo Shi looked at his arm uneasily.
"There, a small, fixed electronic display continuously showed the signal band strength and precise position of the two reconnaissance team mbers, who were still moving at a steady, unhurried pace."
At least so far, no sudden situations had occurred.
Based on the positioning of the reconnaissance team's signal and the markers along the way, they soon caught up with the reconnaissance team’s footsteps in a half-collapsed residential building.
At the entrance on the first floor, the rifleman with the chest number ‘10-B1’ was lying prone at the window, on guard.
When Luo Shi and his group entered the residential building, he imdiately jumped down from the windowsill he was guarding, and with hurried steps, rushed to Luo Shi to report the situation: “Reporting to Captain, target has been locked on. Currently 350 ters ahead, proceeding eastward along the road. J1 is monitoring from the second-floor window.”
I noticed his breathing was slightly labored through his gas mask.
The short distance from the windowsill to the intersection was clearly not enough to make this elite Security Team mber pant.
It seed the weight of the task of monitoring the Witch was not light for him either.
“You’ve done very well. Maintain vigilance. Imdiately transmit the location back to the observation post. Reconnaissance Team Two, take over and follow. Researcher Han……”
The search process of over ten minutes felt so long for the Security Team, but it finally ca to an end.
In this operation concerning the Witch, any mistake or misjudgnt could lead to extrely severe consequences, which placed considerable psychological pressure on them.
Fortunately, the Witch’s detailed location had now been confird, which made everyone’s heart thrill with excitent.
This information, crucial to the safety of the entire Chu Sheng City, was extrely important.
Luo Shi dared not be a bit careless and imdiately reported it to the observation post.
After a word of encouragent and issuing orders, Luo Shi looked towards Han Nianling.
The two of them, one after the other, quickly walked upstairs.
After glancing at the busy Security Team mbers around, I also imdiately followed.
Although the part of this residential building facing the street had collapsed and was in a semi-collapsed state, the staircase passage was still relatively intact.
Most of the surroundings were also just low-lying ruins, with so remnants of walls at most, so the field of vision was very broad.
The place chosen by the reconnaissance team as a monitoring point would naturally not be bad.
The intact staircase could safely reach the fourth floor at most.
The three of us each held up our binoculars and observed in the direction pointed out by the team mbers just now.
Through the hazy dust floating in the air, our gazes were imdiately drawn to that moving figure.
Against the deathly silent background, that figure beca the only dynamic elent.
A windbreaker of mixed dark red and black, a petite figure carrying a giant scythe on her shoulder – this iconic attire and appearance could not be mistaken.
It was undoubtedly that Tyrant Witch.
At this mont, she was walking forward step by step.
During her advance, both her stride length and frequency remained at a normal level.
With each step, her slightly swaying body seed to be moved by the giant scythe on her person, yet she always maintained her forward movent, as if sothing not far ahead was attracting her.
‘That thing… belongs to ’
I recalled the words she had spoken before leaving the subway station.
That thing?
Was this Witch ‘Tyrant’ searching for sothing in this JD Ruined City Nuclear Wasteland Area?
And why would she say that?
Was the rcenary squad hiding behind the cover truly worthy of her addressing them like that?
“This… is the Witch?”
Now that the Witch’s position had been confird, and the target’s movent speed didn’t seem to pose any risk of losing her, the trace of impatience in Luo Shi’s heart also disappeared.
His freed-up mind, in addition to apprehension, gave rise to a curiosity aid at exploration.
The Witch… one of the most dangerous existences in the wasteland, not so commonly seen.
Compared to a photograph, a living presence could better stimulate the curiosity that accompanied the fear of the unknown at this mont: “She looks… smaller than in the photos……”
“Captain Luo Shi, in this world, the principle that danger is not proportional to size should be more profound to you than to , right……” Han Nianling’s words were simple and light, seemingly just a simple response to Luo Shi’s previous sentence.
However, when these words fell into Luo Shi’s ears, he couldn't help but shift his gaze, which had been firmly fixed on the Witch, to at the side – this young girl who had recently been made Han Nianling’s temporary personal operative.
At the beginning of their eting, let alone ‘temporary personal operative’, he even doubted whether I possessed the abilities consistent with the identity of a ‘rcenary’.
Since Han Nianling made this decision, there must be a reason behind it.
And during this period of traveling together, my calmness when facing those Black Rat corpses had slightly diminished his doubts.
The brief companionship hadn't provided more opportunities to witness my capabilities in various aspects, but at least in terms of ntal fortitude, I was indeed sufficient.
Could the aning of this sentence be… hinting at him?
Luo Shi’s thought was correct; Han Nianling was indeed, from her perspective and with her influential status, accelerating the change in Luo Shi’s impression of .
If it were ordinary tis, Han Nianling would not have gone to such trouble.
Compared to verbal statents, my own performance would have been more directly convincing.
But the current situation did not fall into the category of ordinary.
Everything that followed was unknown.
It was doubtful whether I would have enough opportunity to display my abilities and gain Luo Shi’s trust before a real crisis arrived.
The impact of a lack of trust between team mbers was extrely significant, even determining the life or death of any one person at a critical mont.
Since there was no ti, she had no choice but to step in.
The target… has stopped?
Without any warning, the Witch in our line of sight suddenly stopped moving, simply standing in place without any extra actions.
And this abnormal behavior made our hearts, which had not been calm for long, hang in suspense again.
Could it be that the reconnaissance team was discovered?
No, the Witch didn't launch an attack, but actions in response to the Witch’s reaction had to be adjusted accordingly.
Luo Shi frowned deeply.
Just as he was about to call the reconnaissance team to slightly increase the distance, Han Nianling had already beaten him to it and opened the communication headset channel: “Reconnaissance team, imdiately find a building that can cover your heads and hide!”
“How…” Before Luo Shi could even think, the answer to the question arrived proactively, accompanied by a sharp, long cry and a gust of wind.
The entire, originally peaceful street was imdiately enveloped by dust stirred up by the wind.
“Away from the windows!”
Han Nianling grabbed my arm and pulled close to the wall.
Luo Shi’s reaction was also extrely swift; he reacted at the first mont.
In the next second, a strong wind pressure burst into the room through the windows, and our ears were filled only with the roar of the strong wind.
The severely damaged interior naturally had no sealing properties whatsoever.
The powerful draft swept up the furniture debris and rubble inside, blowing them out of the room and onto the street outside with heavy thuds.
Carried by the wind, the dust quickly spread and intensified.
Amidst the dust-filled air, countless dark green water droplets were mixed in.
As they fell and touched objects, they burst, and the splattering liquid spread further.
Amidst a faint ‘sizzling’ sound, white smoke rose from the places touched by the liquid.
And the instigator of all this was flying over their heads, in the sa direction as their advance, towards the central urban area of the JD Ruined City Nuclear Wasteland Area.
"The raging strong wind finally subsided, leaving the already ravaged street in an even more unbearable state."
“Corrosive Vulture?”
Looking out the window, his widened eyes stared fixedly at the giant mutated bird flying past them from behind.
Luo Shi could suppress his voice but not the shock in his heart.
Why… why would such a monster exist in the JD Ruined City Nuclear Wasteland Area?
Coupled with the Witch appearing here, the danger faced by Chu Sheng City was several tis higher than he had imagined.
Han Nianling, who had taken off her goggles, exchanged a glance with .
Their mutual gazes confird that this Corrosive Vulture was the sa one we had seen before.
“Captain Luo, calm down. That one is still a juvenile.”
Han Nianling coughed lightly as a reminder.
Luo Shi imdiately reined in his shock, his ntal state returning to that of a Security Team squad captain.
“The corrosive liquid was sprinkled from its feathers, not secreted from its glands and discharged from its tail organ. Compared to an adult, it still has so way to go.”
Juvenile?
A juvenile is already this large?
“I will imdiately transmit this information to the observation post and request air support.” Wiping away the cold sweat that was about to drip from his brow into his eyes, Luo Shi only then realized that his palm was sore.
At so point, he had unknowingly applied so much force to the hand gripping the gunstock.
Was this fear?
It was truly a long-lost emotion.
“It’s not over yet! It’s not just the Corrosive Vulture!” I, who had returned to the window intending to catch a glimpse of the Corrosive Vulture, made another discovery.
This discovery was no less shocking than that of the Corrosive Vulture, forcing my voice to tremble involuntarily, “To the east, there’s another big one also moving towards the central urban area!”
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