Chapter 145 - 144: Madness, Forest, Fire, Mountain

Chapter 145: Chapter 144: Madness, Forest, Fire, Mountain

The three small, attacking tentacles hastily changed direction, stabbing toward the metal barrel that had appeared out of thin air!

Meanwhile, Lin Fan spun upwards, landing on the spear’s shaft and bending it into a breathtaking arc.

At the very moment this potential energy reached its peak, Lin Fan leaped and kicked off toward the tentacle skewered by the spearhead!

The tentacle’s energy flared blue under his feet, and he shot forward like a cannonball—not retreating, but advancing fearlessly toward the oncoming thick tentacle!

As he flew past, his fingertips barely grazed the spear, and he recalled it into his backpack!

Successfully retrieving his weapon was a pleasant surprise. In Lin Fan’s original plan, losing the spear was an acceptable loss. But now that his fingers had actually managed to snag it, he was overjoyed. ’Did I choose the wrong major?’ he couldn’t help but wonder. ’Maybe I should have studied gymnastics.’

But he also knew his current reaction speed and physical functions were being propped up by four potions. Never mind 1,000 HP—even 2,000 HP probably couldn’t achieve this state.

Other than not being able to fly and wearing his underwear on the inside, Lin Fan felt he was practically Superman!

The sonic boom from the thick tentacle’s attack, the dust in the air, even the expressions on the faces of zombies in the distance—every single detail was reflected clearly in his mind.

Every joint and every muscle fiber in his body responded to his will with unprecedented precision.

Originally, Lin Fan had been prepared to sacrifice an arm...

But now that he had the spear back, things were much simpler!

He summoned the spear in mid-air, gathered his strength, and swung it at the thick tentacle before him!

Using the spear as a pivot, he twisted his entire body to the side of the tentacle, brushing past it!

But even just grazing past, the offensive energy released by the tentacle clashed with the armor crystal on Lin Fan’s body, erupting in flashes of blue light.

With a casual flick, he used the spear—its head now completely gone and its shaft bent into a bow by the immense force—to shatter the head of a [500] HP zombie. Lin Fan then spun around and landed on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He recalled the spear, its durability now down by 40, into his backpack. ’No time to repair it.’ Lin Fan frowned, drew the pistol from his waist, and aimed it at the base of the thick tentacle dozens of meters away.

The tip of the tentacle that had just brushed past him was still hurtling forward due to inertia, the entire appendage bent from the sky downwards into a U-shape. Meanwhile, the tip of another tentacle was shooting straight over from the other side of the crater!

His thumb stroked the cold pistol grip, which was still sticky with dried blood.

"We did it! Wish me luck!"

Recalling a shooting stance he learned from TV, he lunged into position, one hand gripping the pistol and the other supporting it from below.

At that moment, Lin Fan was like a human vise holding the pistol steady. He held his breath, focused his mind, and heightened his five senses to their absolute peak!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

The muzzle flashed four times. Dozens of meters away, at the bucket-thick base of the tentacle above the crater, three tiny, pitiful dents appeared, along with a single, insignificant, bright yellow spark...

Like the lone star in the night sky, it met the vaporizing gasoline fumes with a sense of destiny.

In that instant, the entire world seemed to fall silent.

A door of flowing, incandescent white light first appeared between heaven and earth, then vanished downwards in a flash, returning to darkness...

But in the next instant, the entire world became as bright as day!

The moment he finished firing, Lin Fan had already turned and was sprinting out of the park with all his might!

The world before him instantly lit up. Less than a second later, a searing heat washed over him from behind, so intense it felt like it could roast his very soul!

BOOM—!!!

The roar of the explosion and the shockwave arrived simultaneously!

A wall of scorching air, like an invisible giant’s hand, swept away everything in its path!

Whether they were 300 HP or 500 HP zombies, they were like specks of dust, utterly powerless before this magnificent force.

[Acquired...]

[Acquired Material: Scrap Metal*15]

[Acquired Material: Rare Metal*5]

[Acquired Material: steel wire*9]

[Acquired Material: Blade*12]

[Acquired Material: Adhesive Tape*18]

[Acquired Material: Rubber*7]

...

The surrounding zombies were killed instantly by the blast wave, and he was credited for all the drops, but he didn’t dare to relax in the slightest!

Because he knew this wasn’t even the most terrifying part!

He was thrown forward by the heatwave, his entire body flickering with a shimmering blue halo!

The Armor Crystal’s energy was dropping rapidly!

But suddenly, the forward push stopped, and a strange feeling of weightlessness washed over him...

In the corner of his eye, he saw a small pebble next to him, not falling, but strangely suspended in mid-air.

In that split second, alarm bells screamed in Lin Fan’s mind!

With a single thought, the bent spear appeared in his hand. Ignoring the damage, he replaced the sharpness crystal and stabbed with all his might, plunging it deep into the concrete ground beneath his feet!

[-31]!

He was without the Armor Crystal’s protection for less than a second, and though he held his breath, his skin instantly turned red, a sharp, needle-like pain pricking him all over!

But he couldn’t spare a thought for this minor injury, clinging tightly to the spear shaft with his eyes squeezed shut.

A tsunami of drop notifications nearly drowned him, but the stinging pain on his arms was a constant reminder—’It’s not over yet.’

The dust and fallen leaves that had been scattered by the shockwave seemed to have had the rewind button pressed on them; they reversed course and shot back maniacally from where they came!

A tremendous suction force, like a whale inhaling water, created a buzzing hum like a passing hurricane!

Whether it was zombie remains, broken tree trunks, or massive sheet-metal billboards... everything lost its original weight and form, transforming into black silhouettes flying back behind him.

Everything blown away by the explosion was being pulled back into the all-consuming sea of incandescent white light behind him...

...

[Acquired...]

[Acquired Material: Plastic*32]

[Acquired Material: Rare Metal*21]

[Acquired Material: Fabric Fiber*18]

[Acquired Material: Leather*22]

[Acquired: Purified Water (L)*2]

[Acquired: Gasoline (L)*2]

[Acquired: Diesel (L)*3]

[Acquired: Strength Potion (M)*2]

[Acquired: Swift Potion (M)*3]

[Acquired: Hardening Potion (M)*2]

[Acquired: Wild Potion (M)*4]

[Acquired: Stealth Potion (M)*4]

[Acquired: Interface Module (M)*2]

...

...

"Quick! Get the drone back!"

The screen suddenly flashed a brilliant, stark white, then instantly lost its signal and went dark.

Ye Qingzhou’s eyes left the screen as she spoke calmly.

Zhou Chaoxian is dead, and the armored vehicle is lost. This drone is the team’s only pair of eyes. Even if the camera is broken, we have to save the main unit.

She turned her head to look at the southern sky, her trembling pupils betraying the turmoil within.

That was the direction they had come from, but now the sky there was completely lit up by the flash.

The entire world fell into a dead silence. Everyone froze, staring in horror at the distant skyline.

Beyond the dark silhouettes of layered buildings, a misshapen, orange-red "sun" was slowly rising from below the horizon, burning the night clouds an ominous shade of crimson.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, and breathtakingly terrifying.

Seated on a simple stool to the side, Ye Qingniao frowned when she heard her words, and the electrodes on her forehead twitched.

"Don’t rush me... It’s not lost, just the camera feed cut out..."

she mumbled, her lips barely moving.

Even though she could feel Ye Qingzhou’s anxiety, she remained steady, using her ability to transmit electrical signals, sensing the status of each of the drone’s rotors, carefully flying it back and descending steadily to avoid snagging the fiber-optic cable.

All the survivors in the convoy stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the southern sky, at the fiery red heavens that looked like divine punishment from a meteor strike.

Twenty or thirty seconds later, a deep, muffled, thunder-like sound rolled in, as if the very earth itself were roaring.

"What was that!"

Ye Qingniao still had her eyes closed, completely focused on manipulating the electrical signals, but the muffled thunder in her ears and the slight tremor under her feet told her it was more than just thunder. "What’s going on?" she asked in surprise and confusion.

"What happened?"

"Stay focused. There was an explosion to the south. It might have been Vehicle One..."

Ye Qingzhou said in a low voice, then shouted to a soldier staring blankly at the sky not far away,

"Captain Zhao, get your men in order! Start the generator! Hurry up and refuel!"

"The generator’s got a problem, it’s being repaired! I... I’ll go check on it!"

Zhao Cheng tore his eyes away from the fiery glow and ran toward the warehouse behind the gas station.

The gas station’s warehouse was filled with rotting flesh and bloodstains. The generator was rusted and couldn’t be started.

Fortunately, someone knew how to fix it and was currently working on it, having collected some parts from nearby vehicles.

"Boss... what’s going on?"

A man with a rag wrapped around his head, holding a wrench and dismantling the generator, asked him.

"How should I know... I heard those broads say the armored vehicle exploded... Bullshit. Did that thing have an atomic bomb on it?"

Zhao Cheng said disdainfully, covering his nose to block the stench in the warehouse.

"Boss... that guy named Zhou is dead, and the armored vehicle is gone. They don’t have many people left..."

The man suddenly stopped working the wrench, pulled down his face covering, and looked at Zhao Cheng, his eyes gleaming as he said in a low voice,

"Our guys have the most men and the most guns in this group. It should be them listening to us now..."

"Get back to work..." Zhao Cheng casually smacked the man on the head, then stood up and looked at the glow on the distant horizon, his expression complex.

He subconsciously touched the holster at his waist.

Zhao Cheng took a few steps to the side and half-closed his eyes. His gaze went past the two women to the armored vehicle parked in front of the gas station—one that didn’t belong to them—and the few heavily armed soldiers standing guard beside it. Although their weapons were superior, they were clearly exhausted.

His Adam’s apple bobbed almost imperceptibly.

...

A few minutes later, a buzzing came from the sky.

A black multi-rotor drone slowly descended from the sky, trailing a thread as thin as a spider’s web.

Ye Qingniao opened her eyes, her blue-glowing pupils fixed on the drone as she guided it to land gently on the ground.

The night wind was cool, but her face was covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

The blue light in her pupils slowly faded. Only then did she notice the unnatural glow in the southern sky. She whipped her head around and asked Ye Qingzhou, her eyes wide with astonishment,

"What is that? Is it Uncle Zhou and the others? They’re not dead?"