Volume One Mutation Chapter Twenty-Six Crisis
“Is that so? All right, then. If that's the case, you may return and rest.”
“Certainly, I won’t disturb your rest any longer.” With that, Zhou Kang bowed and withdrew.
Liu Cong stroked his chin; this Zhou Kang was rather interesting. His manner made it clear he was attempting to curry favor. Unfortunately, Zhou Kang didn’t realize Liu Cong would soon be leaving. A mere No. 16 Safe Zone wasn’t worth his protection, and Zhou Kang’s efforts would ultimately be wasted.
Outside the door, Zhou Kang was also somewhat frustrated. This incident would certainly affect the impression of No. 16 Safe Zone in the lord’s mind, making it even more difficult to persuade him to stay. The more Zhou Kang thought about it, the more annoyed he became. He decided to head to the labor camp and give those two foolish thieves another severe lesson.
----
Early the next morning, Liu Cong was awakened by the blaring of alarms. He had lost the mood to train last night and simply slept through.
Opening the door, he saw several soldiers rushing down the hallway and stairs. He stopped one and asked, “What’s happening?”
“Good morning, sir! We’ve received orders to organize defenses on the city wall. Apparently, the search team outside has returned, bringing with them a host of mutated creatures.” The soldier uttered this hurried explanation before rushing after his comrades.
Liu Cong frowned and decided to see for himself.
---
About a thousand meters outside the tall city walls, a motorcycle raced at full speed, ridden by a man in military uniform twisting the throttle desperately. Behind him, five enormous cheetahs pursued relentlessly. Their bodies, larger and more threatening than mutated giant wolves, moved with broad paws that landed silently.
The big cats chased the motorcycle closely, occasionally snapping at it, but the vehicle’s speed kept them at bay.
Seeing the safe zone ahead, the soldier on the motorcycle grew excited—if he could make it back alive, his teammates in the city would have hope!
“Open fire! Be careful not to hit our own!” Zhao Meng commanded loudly. Firing now risked injuring their comrade, but the situation was urgent; any hesitation and the soldier might be caught.
Gunfire erupted like firecrackers, bullets digging craters into the ground beside the motorcycle. The rider hunched down, trying to lower his profile and avoid being hit. But the giant cats were less fortunate; their massive bodies made perfect targets. Even a haphazard shot could hit them, not to mention the skilled marksmanship of the soldiers on the wall.
Armor-piercing rounds struck the cheetahs, infuriating and hurting them, prompting them to accelerate and leap for the motorcycle.
Just as everyone expected the soldier to be brought down, a strange scene unfolded—the first two mutated cheetahs slammed headlong into an invisible wall and tumbled to the ground. The force shattered their spinal columns instantly, killing them on the spot. The remaining three, confused by what had happened to their companions, couldn’t brake in time and met the same fate.
At first, the soldiers on the wall had no idea what had caused the cheetahs’ deaths, but when they saw the figure floating in midair, they immediately understood. Reverence filled their hearts as they hurried to open the gates and welcome their returning comrade.
---
Liu Cong was quite satisfied with his performance. Ever since his last increase in power, he could control even more energy. A few days ago, he could only compress air to slow down mutated wolves; now, he could halt even larger cheetahs in their tracks.
Back on the city wall, he found a group of soldiers gathered around the returning warrior, listening to his account.
Zhao Meng, looking grim, approached Liu Cong and spoke in a low voice, “Sir, may I request a favor?”
“Go on.”
“Our team that went out to Mountain City to gather supplies was attacked by mutated creatures and is now trapped there. Communications personnel have already suffered casualties. They risked their lives to open a gap, allowing this soldier to return and report. Could you please go there? The situation is urgent, and we fear we won’t make it in time.”
“No problem. I’ll go, but I don’t know the exact location.”
“Excellent!” Zhao Meng was overjoyed. He returned to the messenger, took the watch from his wrist, and handed it to Liu Cong.
“This watch can show the location of the other team members. Head straight in this direction to reach Mountain City. Once you’re there, the watch will sense their whereabouts. Please, we beg you!” Zhao Meng pointed the way.
“This is my duty.” Liu Cong took the watch, and his body shot into the sky like an arrow loosed from a bow, becoming a black dot and vanishing.
Zhao Meng sighed, “In times of national crisis, having a figure like this among us is truly our country’s good fortune.”
“Captain, this Sword Immortal keeps flying around all day. Isn’t he just like Superman in the movies?” a soldier remarked.
Zhao Meng shot him a glance. “Nonsense. Superman is fake, movie special effects. How could he compare to our Sword Immortal?”
“Well, that’s true,” the soldier scratched his head and fell silent.
Had Liu Cong still been present, he’d likely have left in embarrassment; his posture in flight was subconsciously modeled after Superman, though he hadn’t realized it himself.
----
On a street in Mountain City, a dozen soldiers were being chased by hordes of mutated rats. They had abandoned the hard-won supplies in their desperate flight, yet the mutated rats persisted.
“Captain! There’s a subway station ahead. The passage is narrow—we can lead the mutated rats in there!” one soldier shouted as he ran alongside his captain, Wu Feng.
“Good idea! Everyone, head for the subway station ahead!” Wu Feng commanded, striding swiftly forward.
Panting, the soldiers reached the subway entrance. Without pausing for breath, they readied their flamethrowers toward the passage. But strangely, the mutated rats didn’t follow them down, instead gathering at the entrance as if holding a grudge, refusing to leave.
---
The soldiers, seeing the mutated rats hadn’t pursued, instinctively relaxed.
One soldier grumbled, “Zhao Lei, I told you not to go to that warehouse. But you insisted. Now look what happened? First, you provoked the mutated rats inside, then we ended up fleeing all the way to the zoo. If Wang Kai doesn’t make it back alive, I bet we’ll all die here!”
Wu Feng frowned, “Enough, Liu Di. Don’t blame Zhao Lei. He was thinking of everyone. If it weren’t for the mutated rats in that warehouse, the rest of us wouldn’t have to go out for supplies for two months.”
Liu Di pouted, unconvinced, “Easy for you to say. Can you bring Mouse’s life back? If not for him, we wouldn’t have lost contact with the base.”
“That’s enough!” Wu Feng barked.
“Mouse was the one who panicked and ran into the rat swarm. Can’t blame anyone else!”
“Captain, say no more—it’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, Mouse wouldn’t be dead,” Zhao Lei murmured, head bowed.
Seeing Zhao Lei like this, Liu Di, though angry, couldn’t say any more and only felt troubled. “I never thought Mouse would die by the hands of these rats. If only we hadn’t nicknamed him that.”
“Pull yourselves together. We can’t afford to let our guard down!” Wu Feng spoke up, seeing everyone so dejected.
The group responded feebly. The work of searching for supplies outside wasn’t only dangerous; sometimes, they couldn’t even rest properly. They hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours, and had been chased mercilessly by mutated rats. They were utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally, barely able to move.
Suddenly, a strange sound echoed from the dark subway behind them—clear and eerie in the empty station.
“Listen!” Wu Feng said sternly.
The dozen soldiers heard it, too—a faint scratching, as if something was crawling, claws tapping against the tiles.
Everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound. The noise drew closer, approaching the end of the passage where they waited.