BFET Chapter 55

Despair

The ground was littered with corpses and severed limbs of unknown origin, splattered with sticky fluids that mixed with a foul stench and quickly soaked into everything.

Xie Yi ducked low to narrowly avoid a leaping Insect Tribute that had abandoned its body, then quickly turned and fired several shots “bang, bang, bang” to blow its head apart. Immediately after, he heard a rapid, dense sound of climbing behind him.

He glanced to the side, and a arthropod monster with a mouth full of fangs was already right in front of him.

A strong and nauseating smell assaulted his face. Xie Yi could even see maggot-like creatures wriggling excitedly in the monster’s throat.

At that moment, the arthropod monster paused for a split second.

The hand holding Xie Yi’s gun instantly shot upwards, smashing through its lower jaw. The muzzle aimed at the throat, bullets spewing out. At the same time, his other hand had somehow produced the Abyss, stabbing it straight into the monster’s left neck. Then, with a sharp twist of the blade, he sliced it open from the belly!

Viscous, grayish-white liquid covered half of Xie Yi’s body. Disgusted, he kicked the monster away and looked up, meeting Shen Shu’s gaze. He saw the other man blink at him and silently mouth a phrase: Captain, this isn’t messing around, right?

“…” Xie Yi clicked his tongue and gave him a quick thumbs-up. Simultaneously, he spun around and swept his gun across another Mutated Entity that was lunging at him.

In nearly six or seven hours of fighting, the surrounding Mutated Entities had grown increasingly numerous. All the support personnel, who had initially been on the outer perimeter, were now being forced closer to the inner circle.

These Mutated Entities had actually formed a pincer attack with those attacking the Xin’nan Defense Team!

“Damn it!” Xie Yi quickly noticed the situation.

The others around him clearly realized this as well, but it was too late.

The Mutated Entities attacked them from all directions like madmen. Everyone reacted quickly and converged.

“Fight in one direction! Quick, find a way to break through!”

Before the shout had even died down, gunfire and attacks composed of water, fire, ice, and lightning all focused on the direction of the Xin’nan Defense Team.

Trapped in the middle of the safety zone, the Xin’nan Defense Team obviously noticed their situation. They shifted the firepower of their guns and cannons back towards them again.

However, the combined firepower from both sides still failed to tear a gap in the horde of Mutated Entities that they could retreat through.

The constantly rising pollution levels, the medication used to increase pollution resistance and alleviate the mental burden of constantly expending abilities, all caused the mutations in everyone to worsen to varying degrees.

Heartrending screams began to spread from an unknown direction.

Xie Yi moved nimbly through the chaos, the Abyss in his hand flashing like fire, his gun sweeping across like a conquering army.

“Shen Shu!” He quickly found Shen Shu, who had deliberately positioned himself on the edge.

Shen Shu’s pupils had once again faded into a glassy, clear, and pale color. Mottled golden patterns gradually spread from his translucent jaw, staining it with a crimson color, and then growing upwards.

“I’m asking you.” Xie Yi grabbed his wrist. “How many of these Mutated Entities can you control at once right now? How long can you control them for?”

Shen Shu looked at Xie Yi, his pale eyes almost engulfing him. “Captain, I don’t know either, though I really want to answer everything for you.”

After saying that, he asked, knowing the answer, “Want me to try?”

Xie Yi took a deep breath. “Try it! I’ll take responsibility for whether you live or die!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out around them.

Like a signal, the explosions that followed were incessant. Blasts of fire tore through the already dim sky, ripping apart the dense tide of Mutated Entities!

Xie Yi turned his head and saw armored vehicles approaching from afar, the cannons on the vehicles firing dense artillery that landed precisely in the middle of the Mutated Entities.

His spirits lifted. It was the rescue team!

“Rescue team! It’s the rescue team!” someone shouted in the midst of the battle. “Brothers! Brothers! Hang in there, it’s the rescue team!”

Listening to the cheers erupting around him, Shen Shu’s gaze remained fixed on Xie Yi. “Looks like I can’t try it.”

Hearing this, Xie Yi turned back and clicked his tongue. “What are you regretting? You want me to take responsibility for your life or death that much?”

Suddenly seeing hope in a desperate situation was like a 100% effective stimulant. Everyone instantly gained a tacit understanding and charged at the Mutated Entities together again!

Amidst the fire and the sound of artillery, the gathered horde of Mutated Entities was quickly broken up by the well-trained rescue team and then gradually pushed back.

The road that had been completely blocked off suddenly had several gaps torn open.

Xie Yi led Shen Shu and the remaining people under the cover of the rescue team, quickly reaching the location of the Xin’nan safety zone’s shelter.

The lead armored vehicle stopped, and a person got out of the car.

Xie Yi realized it was actually an acquaintance.

Lin Zhixu, formerly a member of the Second Branch, now a member of Bai Er, and one of the few space-type ability users.

Lin Zhixu looked around, paused when he saw Xie Yi, nodded to him, and then shifted his gaze. “My name is Lin Zhixu, the person in charge of this rescue team. Where is the captain of the Xin’nan Defense Team? I need to know the current situation of your safety zone.”

At this moment, a person hurried over.

Only to see that half of the person’s face was almost covered in gray blisters, his right hand was withered and deformed, and half of it hung on his chest. As soon as he walked up to Lin Zhixu, the first thing he said was, “Our captain has sacrificed himself.”

“My name is Zhe Lian.” Zhe Lian continued immediately, “There are 8,700 surviving civilians in the Xin’nan safety zone’s shelter. The Xin’nan Defense Team currently has only forty-seven members remaining, all of whom have varying degrees of mutation, including ten who have lost their combat ability.”

Lin Zhixu frowned sternly, sighed after a long while, and raised his hand to pat his shoulder. “Thank you for your hard work. Next, I need you to find a few people to help us arrange for the orderly entry of civilians into the rescue vehicles for evacuation. Also, except for the defense team members who have lost their combat ability, please gather everyone else over here.”

Zhe Lian: “Okay, I’ll go right away.”

After Zhe Lian left, Lin Zhixu immediately assigned people to the tasks and then walked towards Xie Yi and the others.

Xie Yi had just finished distributing the medical supplies on his body when he heard approaching footsteps and turned his head to look. “Captain Lin.”

“Xie Yi, long time no see.” Lin Zhixu looked towards the position behind him. “How much combat power do you guys still have?”

Xie Yi looked back.

All the support personnel who had gathered here voluntarily, he didn’t know how many there were at the beginning, but now, including him and Shen Shu, there were only a dozen or so left. Xu Wei and Qiao Liu, who had come with them, weren’t even among them.

“The degree of mutation in all of them has exceeded 50%, and with the excessive drug reactions, I don’t think they have any combat power left,” Xie Yi said.

Lin Zhixu sighed. “So, you’re the only one left on your side.”

“No, there’s one more.” Xie Yi turned his head to look at him. “My partner, Shen Shu.”