Chapter 208 - 203: Line of Fire (2)

Chapter 208: Chapter 203: Line of Fire (2)

The rifles in the hands of Zhang Wenyuan and Hu Chen spat fire, their bullet streams crisscrossing with precision on "Jiang Jing."

THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP—!

Amid the sound of tearing flesh, "Jiang Jing’s" upper body instantly erupted into clouds of black, bloody mist!

Under the concentrated fire of full-power rifle rounds, the human body was as fragile as a block of soft tofu.

The monster’s body, from the waist up, looked as if it had been bitten clean off by an invisible, raging beast.

Organs, shattered bone, and muscle disintegrated into a spray of debris in the storm of bullets. All that was left was a gleaming white, fractured spine, hung with a few shreds of flesh, standing starkly atop the pelvis.

Ye Qingzhou’s bullet struck one of the cars, instantly igniting the gasoline and other flammable materials inside!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

One car violently erupted in flames, followed by a second, then a third...

A chain reaction erupted. Rainwater mixed with gasoline flowed across the ground, spreading the fire rapidly in every direction.

In the blink of an eye, all the wrecked cars were consumed by the inferno. A wall of fire, a hundred meters wide, surged violently into the downpour, illuminating the pitch-black night sky as if it were day.

A scorching heatwave washed over them, thick with the acrid smell of burning rubber, dense smoke, and steam. It forced them to fall back and completely obscured their vision.

The gunfire stopped.

There was only the roar of the fire and the sizzle of rain falling into the flames.

"...Is... is it dead?"

A young soldier, his hands trembling as he changed his magazine, swallowed hard and asked in a low voice.

’That was like shooting a side of beef. We blew it to pieces. It has to be dead, right?’

Meanwhile, Zhang Wenyuan and Hu Chen at his side merely ejected their empty magazines in silence. They slammed in fresh ones, expertly pocketed the empties, and kept their eyes locked on the inferno.

"Qingzhou, what do we do..."

Hu Chen wiped a mixture of rain and soot from his face, gazing at the impassable wall of fire. A blocked line of sight was the most dangerous situation; they had no idea what had become of the half-bodied creature.

"Stay alert."

Ye Qingzhou’s brow was tightly furrowed; she hadn’t relaxed in the slightest despite the effectiveness of their firepower.

The firelight danced in her cold eyes, betraying no emotion. She was silently counting down in her head; there were still four minutes until the scheduled rendezvous with Lin Fan.

Just then.

WHOOSH—

The flames ahead suddenly parted, spreading bizarrely to either side as if torn apart by an invisible force.

A charred figure slowly emerged from the heart of the inferno.

It was a pair of legs.

The legs, with nothing but a severed spine attached, hadn’t fallen. They weren’t even burned. They simply stood ramrod straight atop the roof of a burning car, indifferent to the sheet metal glowing red-hot beneath them.

Then, as everyone watched in utter horror.

Around that ghastly white, broken spine, the mangled cross-section of flesh began to squirm violently.

SQUELCH— SQUELCH—

Countless tendrils of flesh, like black earthworms, burst forth in a frenzy. They twisted and wove together, proliferating and rebuilding the body at a terrifying speed, visible to the naked eye.

Black bones grew, dark red muscle layered over them, and grayish-white skin spread to cover it all...

"This..."

Zhang Wenyuan’s eyes widened in shock at the sight. He instinctively raised his rifle to fire again.

But a hand shot out, clamping down firmly on his rifle barrel.

It was Ye Qingzhou.

"Save your ammo," she said, her voice low as she stared at the reconstituting mass of flesh. "It seems conventional physical attacks are useless against it."

The soldiers behind them were struck speechless by the sight. The only sound was a disorganized clatter of rifle actions—an instinctive reaction born of pure terror.

Ten seconds.

Just ten seconds.

The wildly squirming mass of black tendrils finally settled.

Against the backdrop of the raging inferno, "Jiang Jing" stood once more atop the car, its upper body bare, its skin a sickly, ashen gray.

"Qingzhou, Zhang, Hu, why are you doing this to me!"

Its expression suddenly turned livid, its features twisting into a savage snarl.

"Why are you trying to hurt me! Stop it! It really hurts!"

"Fire!"

Ye Qingzhou didn’t even wait for it to finish, giving the order with a decisive wave of her hand.

A dense net of firepower rained down once more!

The monster wasn’t just wearing a comrade’s face; it was mimicking the voice of their former brother-in-arms. This finally ignited the suppressed rage in Zhang Wenyuan’s heart.

Without a shred of hesitation, he unleashed all his fury through his rifle.

He and Hu Chen, in perfect sync, laid down a crossfire. A few precise, savage bursts not only shredded the monster’s chest but also concentrated on the point where its torso met its waist.

THWAP-THWAP-THWAP—!

Flesh and blood flew everywhere.

Torn apart by the sheer kinetic force, the monster’s entire upper body—along with most of its pelvis—was instantly blown to bits. In a flash, the terrifying humanoid figure collapsed once more. Only two thick legs remained, toppling alone into the raging inferno.

"Cease fire! Retreat!"

Ye Qingzhou stared intently at the two severed limbs.

Even though they had been blasted into what looked like two stumps of ruined meat, the legs still weren’t being carbonized by the intense heat. The orange flames seemed to hit an invisible repulsive field, parting strangely a few centimeters from the limbs, unable to touch them at all.

"It’s still regenerating! Don’t waste time on it!"

Ye Qingzhou had no doubt that given a few dozen more seconds, the creature would stand up again. Without any hesitation, she waved her hand, issuing the order to retreat.

With that, she deftly ejected her empty magazine and slammed in her last full one. Under covering fire from Hu Chen and Zhang Wenyuan, she began to back away, step by step.