Chapter 84 Audacious

Chapter 84: Chapter 83: Audacious

After a brief silence, Chairman Wu stared at the skinny man and asked, "How strong is that... Sun Wuyan?"

The skinny man subconsciously glanced at Han Ning before answering. "Boss Sun is strong, sure, but..." He paused, stealing another look at Han Ning as he lowered his voice. "This gentleman feels even more terrifying than Boss Sun. Boss Sun definitely couldn’t beat Captain Lei into this state with just one move..."

In his eyes, Han Ning’s strength was probably even greater than that of Sun Wuyan, who had managed to gather over a hundred Awakened.

Han Ning remained expressionless.

Chairman Wu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pressed on. "And what exactly is a Black Snake Monster?"

At the mention of the name, a trace of fear flashed across the skinny man’s face. "Monsters. They’re incredibly terrifying monsters, and their numbers are horrifyingly huge.

"They have snake scales, and their facial features kind of resemble monkeys, with vertically slit pupils and mouths that split all the way to their ears.

"Their lower bodies take the form of snakes, yet they have two human-like arms! They look like a mix between a human and a snake!

"These monsters possess a certain level of intelligence. They know how to use tools and have a complex internal social structure.

"When a group of Black Snake Monsters gathers together, they can control the floodwaters within a certain area.

"Individually, they can also spew out a black smoke like ink. If even a little bit gets on your skin, the flesh rots rapidly.

"These damn things weren’t originally in the west. It was those soldiers who discovered them first, and then a fight broke out.

"We don’t know much about these monsters at present. We only know their numbers are staggering. The weak ones are even weaker than ordinary people, but as for the strong ones, I’ve seen some even more powerful than Captain Lei. No matter what, just by sending those weak Snake Monsters and using swarm tactics, they could overwhelm and kill us all."

Han Ning thought of the endless Coral Monsters in the eastern waters. The sheer variety of monsters in this world was truly despair-inducing. But things were already so desperate that one more threat hardly mattered.

He tried his best not to dwell on it and shifted the interrogation to another angle. "The soldiers you mentioned... are they the army stationed in the west?"

The skinny man nodded repeatedly. "Yes, that’s them."

"So your guns... you robbed them?" Han Ning continued to ask.

"Yes... yes... Sun Wuyan led us to ambush a squad of soldiers and snatched their weapons," the skinny man swallowed, speaking with great unease.

"You lot sure have a lot of nerve." Chairman Wu couldn’t help but gasp in shock. "Aren’t you afraid they’ll come knocking for revenge?"

Han Ning also frowned slightly. Ambushing the regular army for weapons—this group consisted of the absolute worst kind of desperados.

"Heh." At that moment, Lei Gang—who had been lying silently paralyzed on the ground, his four limbs shattered like a puddle of mud—let out a cold sneer. "Revenge? Do you really think those guys in uniform are a united front?

"After crossing over to this hellhole, the rules of our former civilized society vanished a long time ago.

"Human selfishness and greed grow wildly like weeds.

"Do you think subordinates who have awakened abilities are still going to willingly listen to superiors who are just ordinary people?

"Without the state apparatus suppressing everyone, might makes right.

"They split into several factions internally a long time ago. They’re already fighting each other to the death, so how could they have the time or energy to care about us?"

Han Ning felt that such a situation was entirely plausible. However, there had to be some with firm convictions who remained loyal to their commanding officers. It was just hard to say for sure. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have fractured into multiple groups.

"They have firearms and can face the Black Snake Monsters head-on, so they must be quite strong, right?" Han Ning asked.

This time, Lei Gang neither retorted nor answered. He simply closed his eyes, as if he disdained speaking any further.

Han Ning turned his gaze to the skinny man.

Feeling his stare, the skinny man trembled and hastily replied, "Yes, they’re very strong. They have firearms to shoot down monsters, making their efficiency much higher than ordinary Awakened. Because of this, they accumulate Energy very quickly. Every Awakened over there is stronger than me, and the most powerful ones are probably on par with you. I have no idea just how strong they really are."

Hearing that the army had crossed over together, Han Ning had already somewhat anticipated this. Although he had his interface, his early-stage monster-killing speed definitely couldn’t compare to fully automatic rifles, submachine guns, or even some more devastating heavy weapons.

Even in his fully transformed state, he felt his speed still couldn’t outmatch a bullet. His body could probably withstand standard gunfire, but it absolutely couldn’t survive a concentrated volley of heavy firepower. The steel torrent of human weaponry was not to be underestimated.

But without production lines, there would eventually come a day when their ammunition ran out.

He reconsidered, "Not necessarily. Human Superpowers are so varied. What if someone awakens an ability similar to a machine tool and just hand-crafts ammunition?"

Han Ning let his thoughts wander.

Next, Han Ning and Chairman Wu thoroughly questioned him about several key issues, including the army’s internal factions, the distribution of the Black Snake Monster Swarm, and their behavioral patterns.

To save his own life, the skinny man told them absolutely everything he knew. Lei Gang, on the other hand, kept his eyes closed and stayed silent, looking as if he had resigned himself to fate.

Once they had asked enough, the two men dragged Lei Gang, who looked like a dead dog, and the other captives out of the cabin.

In a relatively spacious conference room inside the main building of the Biyun Resort, smoke curled through the air under the flickering candlelight. Han Ning and the people of the Biyun Resort sat around together in a solemn atmosphere.

Chairman Wu gave a detailed recount of the intelligence gathered from the interrogation. He clearly laid out everything—from the strength and desperate nature of Sun Wuyan’s team to the military Awakened, right down to the horrifying numbers and bizarre abilities of the Black Snake Monster Swarm.

Everyone compared the information they had individually gathered during the interrogations.

"We can basically confirm that the information we received is true," Chairman Wu said, his expression tinged with fatigue. "I didn’t expect such massive events to have occurred in the west side of the city. If the Black Snake Monster Swarm spreads over here, we definitely won’t be able to hold them off.

"No wonder the water level is rising faster and faster.

"Sigh, one trouble follows another..." He rubbed the space between his eyebrows and let out a long sigh.

Aside from Han Ning, everyone else attending the meeting appeared deeply worried.

According to their tallies, the previous battle to fend off the invaders had cost the lives of a full fifteen Awakened. Over thirty ordinary people had also died. It was a heavy loss. If it hadn’t been for Han Ning, even more would have died, and they might have even been completely wiped out.

"Chairman Wu, what should we do next?" someone couldn’t help but ask.

Chairman Wu’s mental state was already poor, and now that he was hosting a meeting, he felt incredibly dizzy. He tried hard to stay awake and said, "Let’s fix the boat first, then be ready to evacuate to the north at any time. The terrain is higher there, and we haven’t heard of any powerful monsters in that area."

"What about those scumbags?" Vice President Zhao asked through gritted teeth.

Chairman Wu’s spirit rallied slightly as he replied coldly, "Keep a few alive for questioning so we can get more information. Kill all the rest! We will avenge our fallen brothers."