paranoianovel Chapter 81 An unexpected encounter with the trio on the tall grass
Chapter 81 An unexpected encounter with the trio on the tall grass
Six pickup trucks with plenty of fuel sped across the dense, tall grass.
One after another, ferocious beasts, suddenly awakened from hibernation and with their eyes glowing green with hunger, pounced on the convoy.
Finally, amidst the intense gunfire and the explosions of bombs, they all fell into pools of blood.
It failed to hunt and died hastily.
On his second playthrough, while traveling north, he encountered a swarm of Blood-Devouring Worms. The situation was urgent, and Zit didn't have time to ask a Blue Shield member if these disgusting and terrifying creatures were confined to that area or were found everywhere.
At the start of his third playthrough, he found Xu Su and asked to evacuate. He then used the excuse that the retreat route would inevitably pass through the tall grasslands to learn from Xu Su the general information about the Devouring Insect Swarm.
These creatures live at depths of 30 meters or more underground. They are robust, with a body length of no more than one meter, and are worker insects. Their job is to clear paths, drilling narrow holes upwards from the ground.
Those that are over a meter long and relatively thinner are the soldier insects, responsible for attacking. They compress their bodies through the holes drilled by the worker insects, bursting forth with a penetrating force no less than that of a bullet just before reaching the ground.
Furthermore, the soldier insects are covered with a thick yellow mucus. If any creature gets this mucus on its wounds, the flesh and tissue will quickly rot within a very short time.
Therefore, the "splitter bug" doesn't actually split people in two; rather, it's like a bullet piercing the body. Under the influence of the mucus, the wound completely disintegrates and decomposes within seconds, creating the visual effect of "splitting a person open."
They operate in groups with a clear division of labor, and what's most terrifying is that these things are everywhere on the entire tall grassland.
There are only two reasons why he suddenly woke up.
The ground trembled from the stampede of large herds of beasts, the vibrations penetrating underground. Also present was the stench of blood, the scent that would trigger the hunting instincts of most of the unusual creatures in the border region.
Since the tall grasslands are an inevitable route, and a large number of organisms are awakening, the possibility that the swarm of devouring insects will also awaken cannot be ruled out.
With this in mind, Xu Su instructed his team members to bring along the remaining oil drums.
As it turned out, this choice was incredibly wise.
Although the routes were different, they still encountered a swarm of insects this time.
Qi Te had noticed the unusual phenomena on the ground ahead of the convoy in advance. Under his warning, Captain Xu Su, who was standing tall on the roof of the main control vehicle, calmly directed the operation.
Incendiary bombs were precisely launched, setting the plains ablaze and reducing the swarms of Bloodworms that had burst forth from the earth to ashes.
Flame is the natural enemy of most snakes, insects, rodents, and ants, including the Devouring Insect.
When the incendiary bombs ran out, oil drums came in to make up for it.
With the marksmanship of the Blue Shield team members, hitting such a large target would be a piece of cake.
In the grass, which was taller than a person, ferocious beasts lurked in the corners, waiting for an opportunity to attack. They ran around wildly, their bodies flaming and screaming.
Engines roared as the convoy of pickup trucks sped through the inferno.
Uncle D3 bent down to shield Zite from the flames.
With his foot on the pedal and positioned to the side of the vehicle, G4 quickly tapped a button-like button on the right chest of his tactical vest. The device activated, creating an invisible barrier around G4.
Similar to a vacuum effect, it can instantly displace air. Without oxygen to fuel combustion, it avoids being engulfed in flames.
Although the timeframe is extremely short, it's enough to sustain us.
Because the buffer zone has come into view.
........................
On the outer edge of the tall grass closest to the buffer zone, three transparent figures moved swiftly through the dense grass like ghosts.
"See? I told you I wouldn't mess this up."
Isaac said smugly, "A few broken defense towers, taken care of in no time. Those dog politicians in the Federation, always touting artificial intelligence, now let those old bastards experience what artificial intelligence is really like..."
Halfway through his sentence, Mukot, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped and looked ahead in the distance, saying with some surprise, "It looks like there's a fire over there?"
Soon, the three heard several more gunshots and the sound of vehicle engines.
"Damn, what bad luck! Isaac, you jinx, you're really cursed!"
Nico was extremely annoyed and wished she could immediately drag this useless teammate back to the base to feed the pets.
"Hey, are you kidding me? What does this have to do with me?"
"I used to have a really smooth run when I went on missions. But ever since I teamed up with you, I've always run into all sorts of unexpected situations. No wonder your former teammates wanted to transfer to another team."
After Nico finished speaking, Mukot nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, how many times has this happened? Little Ai, you should reflect on yourself and see if you've done anything to offend the Eternal Heaven."
"I'm not religious, you bastard!"
Isaac cursed angrily, then immediately sensed something approaching him from the dense grass.
Mukert and Nicole consciously took a step back, while Isaac took a deep breath, opened his mask, and exhaled a light green mist.
A large patch of grass, taller than a person, withered instantly, turning to ashes with a gust of wind.
The dozen or so thorn wolves that had been lying in wait there were also wiped out.
"Done."
Isaac clapped his hands triumphantly and was about to put his mask back on when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ankle.
Immediately afterwards, he was hung upside down.
"Fuck!"
Isaac cursed angrily, and just as he was about to exhale again, he felt a numbness all over his body.
Under the influence of potent neurotoxins, the trachea suddenly constricts, making even breathing extremely difficult.
Nicole and Mukert were also entangled by their ankles in crimson vines and hung upside down in mid-air.
Mukert instantly flashed back to the ground, and just as he raised his gun, he was entangled around the waist by two vines. As the paralysis hit, Nico used her powers to cut the vines binding her into several pieces.
"Help me, help me!"
Isaac, who was almost wrapped in vines like a mummy, could no longer speak. He could only plead in his heart for his teammate, who had always disliked him, to save his life.
Fortunately, Nicole is just sharp-tongued; she won't stand by and watch someone die.
With a wave of his hand, the vines that were binding Isaac and Mukot were all severed into several pieces.
The two, their bodies numb, crashed heavily to the ground.
Instantaneous movement seems unrelated to the physical abilities sequence. However, even at Rank A, this ability doesn't grant the power to open a 'spatial portal.' Its principle is a high burst of speed, which, while capable of achieving a similar effect to passing through walls to some extent, is still categorized under the physical abilities sequence.
The rule sequence, a spatial ability, allows one to open a 'spatial door' upon reaching level C. Its basic manifestation is spatial cutting; simply put, it cuts or tears the space in which an individual resides into multiple isolated or displaced local spaces.
Those vines were cut by the internal space, and to the naked eye, they looked as if they had been severed by an invisible blade.
"Damn it, if I hadn't been ambushed, I wouldn't have been affected by a mere neurotoxin."
Isaac, being a "poison man" by nature, digested the toxin in just two seconds. For him, being poisoned was an utter disgrace.
While dealing with dozens of vines that were digging up the ground, Nico yelled, "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up!"
Isaac immediately crouched down and smiled at Mukot, "Where is your eternal heaven? Why isn't it coming to save you?"
Despite the mockery, the teammates remained spirited. After quickly absorbing the toxins from the big guy's body, the three were preparing to leave this hellish place when they heard a rumbling sound approaching.
A pickup truck sped past the three men less than five meters to their left. A man in combat uniform stood conspicuously on the roof of the truck.
"Damn, this is bad!"
Nico exclaimed in surprise, then shouted, "Hey, don't go, don't go!"
The main vehicle sped past, and Xu Su stared intently at the wildly swirling vines ahead. He sprang to his feet and drew his twin swords.
Nicole's voice was drowned out by the roar of the engine, but Zit, who was lying on the roof of the car, heard it.
He looked in surprise toward the source of the sound and saw three men and women in camouflage combat uniforms retreating while dealing with the pursuing vines.
"Enter the buffer zone, there's a herd of beasts behind us!"
Qi Te shouted a warning. He didn't know what these three people did, only assuming they were bounty hunters or adventure streamers who had come to the border area to gain views.
The other party shouted a warning, seemingly trying to alert the convoy that there was danger ahead.
Upon hearing Qi Te's shout, everyone in the carriage instinctively looked towards the windows on both sides.
Cao Yingchong was immediately captivated when he saw the girl in the baseball cap effortlessly sever several vines with a wave of her hand.
Spatial ability users are extremely rare, one in ten thousand. Therefore, Cao Yingchong had never seen what spatial abilities looked like, and only assumed that the girl in the baseball cap was like him, a wind-type user.
After the convoy escaped the area affected by the Bloodworms, it was attacked by Queen Vine, and three members of Blue Shield were killed. Cao Yingchong conjured wind blades in an attempt to save them, but failed.
That thing looks soft, but it's actually quite tough. When the wind blades grazed it, they only scratched the skin.
The girl in the baseball cap was able to cut it off with ease, so her level was obviously higher than mine.
After a brief moment of surprise, the two groups of people passed each other.
The convoy sped along, roaring as it rushed toward the buffer zone.
The three who were advancing in the opposite direction were quickly surrounded.
"Oh my god!"
Isaac felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the dense, surging herd of beasts.
There are so many strange creatures, even if you drain him dry, you still can't kill them all!
"Isaac, you bastard..."
Before Nico could finish her rant, a dozen thorn wolves and countless ghost moths came rushing from a patch of scorched earth.
Just as Mukot was about to rush forward, he suddenly felt a pain in his foot.
Looking down, I saw that the sturdy leather boot had a hole in it.
No, it wasn't just his shoes that were torn; his feet were also pierced.
The intense pain that followed made the big guy realize that his left leg was probably ruined.
Before they could say another word, the three were engulfed by the horde of beasts and insects.
At the same time, the dragon's roar, which sent chills down everyone's spines, rang out once more...