The path out of the county town was very smooth, as most of the zombies had gone to the explosion epicenter.
Even if zombies discovered Lin Yuan and his group, they would be knocked away by the protective devices welded onto the vehicles and sent to the sides, eliminating the worry of being caught under the wheels.
As the convoy drove onto the outer ring road, they encountered even fewer zombies, and the stranded vehicles on the road also decreased significantly.
Inside the number one vehicle, Lin Yuan took out his phone to check the map, then looked at the map provided by the officials in theirdrop crate, and nodded.
He picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "All vehicles, attention. 1k ahead..."
When this zombie stood up, it was nearly 2.5 meters tall, like a small giant, covered in dark mycelia, with only a pair of eerie red eyes exposed.
Due to the sudden sunlight, it seemed unaccustomed to it.
Seeing a zombie with such an obviously abnormal physique reminded Lin Yuan of a mutant mentioned specifically in a broadcast.
Tier 3 Mutant, "Ghoul."
Without further hesitation, Lin Yuan immediately switched the firing mode from single shot to full automatic, pulled the trigger, and shouted, "Open fire, Wang Zhihai! Load the grenades!! Mu Qingtian, use the sniper rifle directly! This is a damn Ghoul, Tier 3!!"
In an instant, six streams of fire lunged towards the Ghoul that had just gotten up.
The rifle bullets hitting its body actually sparked. Fortunately, it wasn't entirely impervious; quite a few bullets managed to penetrate its body.
Its head, however, was truly impenetrable. Bullets hitting the mushroom-like growth on its head splattered debris, but without hitting the skull, it was all in vain.
Fortunately, it slowed the zombie's movements. Bullets hitting its head still caused it to flinch and stagger.
"Fall back while shooting! Others take cover behind the shield bearers and reload. Wang Zhihai, high explosive rounds!! Feed it a good meal!"
"Understood!!"
A high explosive round instantly drew a beautiful parabola and slammed heavily onto the Ghoul mutant. A massive fireball instantly engulfed its entire body.
Before it could take two steps, it was blasted back onto the vehicle.
"Is it dead?"
Lin Yuan stared intently into the void within the vehicle and shook his head, "Don't know. Everyone, be on alert, ready to fire at any time. Mu Qingtian, have you found a position?!"
"Captain, I've got it. If it's held for 2 seconds, I can hit it!" Mu Qingtian's voice crackled over the walkie-talkie.
Click, boom!
What was that sound?!
Before anyone could process it, a figure burst out of a large hole in the bus, moving so fast it was almost a blur.
It was unharmed?
Fortunately, human reaction times had also increased.
The six individuals immediately opened fire, and six streams of fire once again latched onto the Ghoul. The steel torrent held back the Ghoul's assault, keeping it at bay about 40 meters away.
This brief reaction time allowed it to charge at least 80 meters.
The Ghoul instantly became enraged. Why were these insects so bothersome? It raised its hind limbs, preparing to attack.
However, its magazine was nearly empty. At the Ghoul's speed, it would take less than 2 seconds to cover the remaining 40 meters.
Simultaneously, a gunshot, louder than the previous ones, rang out.
A 7.62mm sniper round pierced its skull. It only managed to fire the spike at the tip of its limb before it fell to the ground, twitching uncontrollably as its life force dissipated.
Lin Yuan, who had been intently watching the Ghoul, saw the spike shoot directly towards Mu Qingtian. He quickly grabbed a shield and rushed forward to try and block it. However, the spike was too fast. Lin Yuan only grazed its tail, slowing down its speed and power somewhat.
But it was still a losing battle; Mu Qingtian had no time to dodge.
"Am I going to die now?" The spike, held by death's hand, grew larger in Mu Qingtian's eyes. She had already closed her eyes.
Splat.
"Brother Lin Yuan! I caught it!!! Are you okay, Sister Qingtian!"
Mu Qingtian frantically opened her eyes to see the spike of death halted about three to four centimeters from her eyes, firmly gripped by a tentacle wrapped in bandages.
"Ziqi?"
"Sister Qingtian, it's me! With me here, you're safe!" Jiang Ziqi threw the spike aside and flexed her left arm in a show of strength.
"Whoa, I'm saved." The female sniper, who had just turned the tide of the battle with a single shot, felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, accompanied by the joy of surviving.
Wu Tian and Wang Zhihai had already rushed to the fallen Ghoul. After hacking at its head three times to lop it off, they heard the voice from behind.
They also breathed a collective sigh of relief, glad she was alright.
Lin Yuan was overjoyed. He threw his arms around Jiang Ziqi, "Well done! Ziqi!!" He was about to throw her into the air in celebration when he suddenly remembered her tentacles could prick.
He abruptly pulled down Jiang Ziqi, whose feet were already at his eye level, and gave a dry chuckle, "Hahaha, sorry, sorry, I was too excited. Ziqi, why don't you chat with Sister Qingtian first? I'll go clean up the battlefield."
Jiang Ziqi: _(:з」∠)_
"On the matter of my captain's lack of boldness when it comes to women."
With Jiang Ziqi keeping Mu Qingtian company, Lin Yuan no longer had to worry. He quickly went to the Ghoul's corpse to examine it.
He reached some conclusions. This fellow had also evolved incompletely; it lacked time. If it had been given a few more days, it would have charged out of the vehicle directly.
It wouldn't have given them a chance to shoot.
Fortunately, it was not fully evolved, fortunately the curtains had always been closed, fortunately this guy wasn't very intelligent, fortunately the passengers on the bus in summer knew to close the curtains, and fortunately it was a sunny day!
Lin Yuan clasped his hands together in prayer on the spot, then drew his utility knife, confirming that this thing wouldn't attack him after death.
Only then did he put on gloves and carefully cut through the skin on the zombie's back.
After the zombie's death, the hardness of its skin had decreased, and Lin Yuan could still cut through his father's prized possession.
If it were still that hard, he would have had to resort to the corrosive liquid and venom sac left by the previous night demon.
The abnormal tissue on the Ghoul's back and the connection to its body also had nerve sacs containing mutant gel.
However, the surface of this nerve sac was closer to black, wrapped in only wisps of blood vessels, and its volume was much larger than that of the night demon mutant's nerve sac.
To describe it, it was about the size of a young coconut sold in markets.
He washed this thing clean with water and placed it in a mesh bag.
With this primary threat dealt with, the subsequent cleanup work became much simpler. Even Jiang Ziqi got her hands dirty, skewering two zombies like candied hawthorns with her tentacles.
Tsk, Lin Yuan couldn't help but marvel at how powerful this tentacle girl truly was.
Wouldn't she be even more powerful after further training?
He couldn't afford to mess with her.