novelbin Chapter 41 Ambush
Chapter 41 Ambush
The white coin exploded into pieces, but that might not kill it, so a fireball was launched at just the right moment.
As each remnant was instantly enveloped, resembling several golden-red flowers, plumes of black smoke rose into the air.
One voice was enraged.
"Humans!!!"
It seemed as if countless people were screaming in Xu Yang's ear at the same time, their voices filled with malice and extremely hoarse.
"Ita will remember you. We will dismember your body, chew up your soul, and that will be the end of it all!"
Until the sounds of hatred cease.
Xu Yang smiled gently.
"OK."
A notification indicating that the task was completed flashed across the screen.
In this way, he should have really offended the other party, but if the other party could actually do what he said, it wouldn't just be empty threats.
Moreover, the deadline for the relevant bounty in the settlement is one week. In other words, the settlement's higher-ups have agreed that this fungal infection incident can be resolved in one week.
Ita's threat is a joke.
Xu Yang glanced at his feet, then sliced off the head of the fungal node with a single stroke, carrying the severed head as he walked towards the other infected corpses...
On the other side, Newt got out of the car carrying a pistol and walked to the circle where the infected had previously gathered.
On the ground, the crippled infected lay half-dead, like green caterpillars, struggling in vain, scraping against the ground with a rustling sound.
bang bang bang...
Newt holstered his gun, glanced around, and fixed his gaze on the center of the circle, where the Ita particles had been floating earlier.
He frowned slightly.
"Xu Yang, come and take a look."
……
"What is this?" Newt stood to the side with his arms crossed.
When Xu Yang arrived, he also noticed the unusual thing about the ground.
The soil in the center of the circle had completely changed color, covered with a layer of grayish-brown fungus. It was very fluffy, but emitted a putrid stench.
This is probably the environment described in the guide mission.
"It's a kind of fungal carpet, I suppose."
He felt a chill run down his spine, and then used a flame to set the entire layer of fungal carpet ablaze.
After the drifting ashes settled, the soil beneath was revealed to have a texture like brown sand, as if all nutrients and moisture had been drained away.
Xu Yang's eyelids twitched.
This fungus is more malevolent than flesh and blood angels; it truly deserves to be killed.
Beside him, Newt picked up half of an infected person's head from the ground and said, "That should be enough. Let's continue chopping off heads."
"Okay, wait a minute, what about the one with half a head in your hand?"
"Taking half should be enough, right?"
"Well, let's just take them all. We should be able to piece them together later."
As he spoke, Xu Yang glanced around again. This time it was almost like killing the monsters all over again. He turned to Newt beside him and said, "Let's split the bill in half."
"it is good."
……
Meanwhile, on the other side...
The isolation zone is an unknown area.
On the fluffy, gray-brown earth, a tall green tower stands majestically, with two figures standing side by side beside it.
"Didn't you say that humans are naturally less wary of children's voices and small, weak things?" a strange humanoid figure said.
Its body is densely covered with brightly colored mushroom caps, with folds between them. The caps are pale and filled with delicate mycelium, which sway incessantly like worms.
Beside it was a middle-aged man wearing a red and black robe.
The man, with pale skin and a gloomy look in his eyes, chuckled mockingly, "That's how normal people are. Maybe you've encountered someone abnormal."
"It's just a minor issue, why are you getting so worked up?"
"A node? That's Ita's only node in the safe zone!" the mushroom-man said in a low voice.
"What's the use?" the man asked, his expression unchanged. "Do you think you can establish a base in their territory?"
"You don't understand." The mycelium around the mushroom-man swayed. "There are more humans in the safe zone, so we can get more infected. As long as the node is successfully established, they can evolve into fungal beasts in batches. Each fungal beast can carry three portions of Eta particles, and so on—"
"stop."
The middle-aged man interrupted, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Why do you think that's a safe zone?"
"The Federation's space-based weapons are hanging overhead. Do you think they'll give you that much time? Just one coordinate and you're done for. Is it because there aren't enough consciousness clusters right now? Are you a little out of your mind?"
"This isn't over forty years ago, not when the Great Cataclysm had just begun," the middle-aged man emphasized.
The mushroom man opened his mouth, but said nothing.
The man sighed: "Well, anyway, forget about the safe zone. Focus on dealing with this current situation first. You've already been exposed, and the Federation will definitely send people to deal with you."
"When the time comes, run deeper into the quarantine zone, and the sect will send an angel to help you evacuate."
"Second-order?"
"Do I look like a second-tier character?" A black line appeared on the middle-aged man's forehead.
The mushroom man paused, a sense of melancholy creeping into his heart.
It simply couldn't understand why its predecessor was able to dominate this planet more than 40 years ago, with numerous allies, while now, it, also from Ita, couldn't even leave a single isolation zone, and its allies were just impoverished creatures that couldn't even send out second-tier beings.
After a moment of silence, the mushroom-man said in a low voice, "Do we really have to run away? Ita is the king of fungi!"
The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow and chuckled: "Before the safe zone was established, Earth Origin Star had many kings, but now they are all called monsters."
"And the monster can only hide in the isolation zone. I only ask one question: King of Fungi, do you want to live or die?"
"..."
Looking into the middle-aged man's eyes, the King of Fungi lowered his head.
It must survive; it still has a mission to complete—a mission entrusted to it by an unknown will at the beginning of its existence: to destroy human civilization.
Only by surviving can there be a chance for things to turn around.
But... will I be able to survive?
It looked at the green fungal tower, from which more than a dozen fungal beasts crawled out. On the gray-brown land, there were also more than a hundred infected people constantly evolving.
Too little.
……
On the other side, the safe zone.
A transport truck was slowly driving along the highway. After collecting the heads of the infected, Xu Yang and his companion drove straight to the gathering place.
"How much longer until we get there?" Xu Yang yawned, feeling a bit sleepy after sitting in the car for so long.
"About half an hour."
……
Gradually, the outline of a huge black mountain appeared in the distance.
Before they knew it, the transport truck had returned to the main road, and there were more other vehicles around it.
Not far away, it seemed that someone had set up a small shed and was selling goods in the trunk of a car, with a group of people gathered around it.
"What is that?" Xu Yang asked curiously.
"Maybe it's dealing with something that can't be exposed to the light?" Newt glanced at it and suggested a possibility.
"Why not go to the reconstruction zone?"
"Perhaps the goods were sourced from the redevelopment zone."
"..."
"It really does fit my stereotypes about this place."
Xu Yang's lips twitched as he looked out the glass.
Interestingly, the vehicle that was being used as a stall was the same SUV that had been following behind them earlier.
"Since there are no shortcuts, why not just give up and go into business instead?"
Just then, the hooded man who looked like the stall owner saw the delivery truck, waved at them, and seemed to be trying to sell something.
"Shall we go down and take a look?" Newt glanced at the figures walking towards them and slowed down the car slightly.
"Forget it."
As he watched the man approach, Xu Yang suddenly felt a sense of unease.
They went directly to the highway to solicit customers.
Are you that enthusiastic about doing business?
suddenly,
He glanced at the SUV stall out of the corner of his eye, and another man in a yellow shirt got out of the car. Seemingly to serve other customers, he walked to the other side of the stall in the trunk.
He picked something up.
Wait, that's—
What...?!
Xu Yang's eyes were filled with astonished horror.
Just a short distance away, sharp green warheads were aimed at them.
Xu Yang suddenly looked at Newt, but the latter was still staring at the hooded man who had attracted his attention.
"RPG!!!"
It's too late...
Boom——
The next moment, a rocket with a trail of flame shot straight toward the front of the car.
Bang! ! !
……
The massive impact overturned the transport vehicle onto the road, and flames roared to life on the engine.
Bang!
Another explosion occurred, and the interior of the transport vehicle was engulfed in flames.
The scorching heat baked the two boiling, decaying human figures inside the vehicle frame. Amidst the wreckage, a charred body covered in rotting flesh struggled to crawl out.
The buzzing in my ears was mixed with the noisy chatter of a crowd not far away.
"Damn it, looters!"
"How could we dare? The gathering place is just ahead."
At the stall, the man in yellow's voice instantly cut through the noise: "It's a bounty mission. It's a 'fugitive,' don't be nervous."
He then quickly turned his head and looked at several familiar faces in the crowd: "We've met before, in the settlement, remember? Raiders can't get into the settlement."
As soon as the voice fell, the chaos subsided for a moment. The other survivors all looked at the group the man in yellow had questioned. One of them, a woman with animal ears, hesitated and said, "I think I vaguely remember them?"
The others also vaguely remembered.
"Didn't we meet at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plaza before?"
……
After several rounds of dialogue, the survivors gradually calmed down and, after confirming that they were not in danger, put away their weapons.
Someone looked at the burning transport truck and said uncertainly, "There seemed to be two people inside?"
The man in yellow smiled, unconcerned: "One is the person who put the bounty on the person, and the other must be an accomplice."
"Uh... what if it isn't?"
The man in yellow frowned, about to speak.
Suddenly, the burly man in red interrupted him, saying, "So, the things in the car should be considered ownerless now, right?"
As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the cargo compartment of the transport vehicle.
A head rolled out from there.
The head of an infected person.
In the silence, everyone looked in the same direction, their eyes flashing with an unfathomable light.
It seems like there's room for even more stuff in the carriage.
A sinister voice rang out: "So it seems they really are accomplices."
The man in yellow grinned and said casually, "When the time comes, everyone who sees it will get a share."
……
Da da da……
The footsteps grew clearer.
Hey.
With his eyelids stuck together by the melted gas mask, Xu Yang opened his eyes just as black boots stopped on the road.
A shadow slowly crouched in front of Xu Yang.
Can't see clearly.
But his intuition told him that this was the hooded man who had attracted attention earlier.
Suddenly, in addition to the pain of burning flesh, another sensation appeared: something dazzled my eyes, white and flashing.
"Sorry, kid." A very low voice, with a hint of amusement in its tone.
"Could you please die for me?"
With a cracking sound, the blade pierced through Xu Yang's throat from the back of his neck...
With a snap, the hooded man twisted his arm, flesh and bone fragments tangled together. He calmly pulled out his dagger, kicked the corpse aside, and looked up at another figure on fire.
Newt.
Newt's back was stuck to the seat.
Thanks to Xu Yang's position, which absorbed most of the impact of the rocket, Newt's injuries were almost entirely caused by the engine explosion.
He is not dead yet.
Blood dripped from his burned face as his hand rummaged through a tattered bag, his fingers turning over countless shards of broken glass.
next moment.
The hooded man's mocking voice rang out: "Newt Porta, that's your name, isn't it? 10 contribution points, you're quite famous in Settlement Sixteen, huh? But now you're going to—"
The man paused, then suddenly chuckled, drew a pistol from its holster, and pointed it at Newt: "Forgot, you can't speak anymore."
The moment the finger is about to pull the trigger—
Bang!
Newt suddenly swung his arm up, making a sizzling sound as his flesh scalded against the hot plate, and between his bleeding fingers, he gripped a glass bottle.
The pink liquid swayed, aimed at his lips—
Bang!
The bottle shattered instantly, and the medicine vaporized on the hot skin.
Outside the car, the hooded man calmly pulled the trigger, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Still want to take the pills? Die!"
Bang bang bang...!
Gunshots rang out one after another, and the body engulfed in flames trembled violently, its fierce eyes fixed on the hooded man.
The man frowned slightly; both the heat and the gaze made him somewhat uncomfortable.
The gun was pointed at the pupil, and the finger twitched—
……
The magazine is empty.
The man curled his lip, seemingly muttering a curse under his breath, and slowly took out a spare magazine.
Click, click...
Suddenly, a strange, crisp sound rang out in the air.
pat.
The man looked up and saw a bullet lying on the metal frame of the car.
clap clap clap...
More bullets fell.
*Crack*
Newt stood up from the wreckage of the driver's seat, the bullet holes in his body slowly closing. His golden, vertical pupils looked at the man, and his voice was hoarse: "The snake skin potion is for external use."
Immediately afterwards—
With a thud, Newt crashed through the twisted steel.
The hooded man dodged, but a piece of metal grazed his cheek, leaving a cut.
A flicker of apprehension crossed his eyes, and he hurriedly called back, "Reed, load armor-piercing rounds!"
In their line of sight, a monster covered in dark blue scales appeared on the road.
Newt gasped for breath, feeling a tearing pain through his body.
The snake-skin potion grants the user temporary access to the mutated ability of "snake skin," but at a great cost. This isn't the first time he's used it, but it will be the last.
He stared at the hooded man with a fierce look in his eyes.
We must kill at least one!
His dark body pressed down, charging fiercely towards the other party.
……
Meanwhile, in front of the stall.
Among the crowd watching the show, the man in yellow went back to the trunk, took out a rifle, and muttered, "Damn it, why did they have to make such a fuss? I could have just finished them off with two shots earlier, then there wouldn't be all this trouble."
A fat guy nearby egged him on, "Why don't we finish off our teammates while we're at it? Wouldn't it be better to take all the bounty by ourselves?"
The man in yellow paused for a moment, then gave the fat man a cold glance.
"He's definitely an idiot, but he's also my brother."
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his gun, aimed at Newt who was charging around recklessly, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth...
on the road.
The hooded man dodged Newt's attacks, bullets from his pistol striking his chest one by one, but only making a clanging sound.
The jet-black scales covering its body resemble a suit of hard armor.
Attack only, never dodge!
A fierce glint flashed in Newt's eyes, and with no way to avoid it, his iron-like fist smashed towards the hooded man's head.
die! ! !
"Reed!"
A gust of wind swept across his face, and the hooded man was terrified.
moment--
Bang bang bang!
Just as the fist was about to smash the skull, it tilted at an angle, causing the dark body to freeze abruptly, and the power within it suddenly dissipated.
Newt staggered and instinctively looked down.
"Cough, cough..."
Three bullet holes, each about the thickness of a finger, were lodged in his chest, from which blood oozed.
next moment--
The hooded man, who had escaped with his life, instantly closed in, and along the bullet hole, the dagger plunged into flesh and blood. With his other hand, he gripped the pistol, the barrel pressed against Newt's eyelid.
Bang!
One eyeball exploded, and the bullet behind it lodged between the skull bones, stirring up some of the brain.
……
With a thud, Newt fell to his knees.
Not far away, the crowd fell silent for a moment, then burst into cheers, as if eyeing a delicious dinner.
"knock off!"
"I bet that guy's heart is shattered. Let's cut him open and take a look."
"Hey, over there..."
……
The hooded man took two steps back.
Newt knelt on the ground, a pool of red blood flowing beneath him, as if all his strength had been drained away.
Even with the snake skin serum, the final goal couldn't be achieved. If it were Xu Yang, perhaps there would be a glimmer of hope...
But Xu Yang is already dead.
I'm going to die too.
Newt trembled as he clutched the dagger to his chest, blood gushing out, and his ears ringing.
It was so noisy around. Looking around with his one eye, he saw that some of the people at the stalls in front of him had already reached the delivery truck.
Ha, whether it's the head of an infected person or one's own head.
Now, it all belongs to someone else...
The hooded man raised his gun: "100,000 points, I'm taking it!"
Suddenly, a gust of hot wind blew in.
Ape?
"Evan!" Reed roared.
What?
Click.
What followed was a cold and unfamiliar epilogue: "In your next life, remember to behead those who kill."
next moment.
Evan saw the sky, the mountains, the spinning ground, and even Reed.
The last image is of a burning figure.
Snapped.
A head fell to the ground.
Xu Yang looked at the stall. The charred flesh on his body was peeling away little by little, and his internal organs, which had been shattered in the impact, were drawing regenerative power from his genes bit by bit.
I almost died.
His eyes sharpened.
Bang bang bang!
At the very moment the gunshot rang out, a furious roar erupted!
"Bastard! Die!!!"
The man in yellow had a ferocious expression.