Chapter 201 – Descending from the Sky
The chances of finding survivors were extremely slim. Their primary objective was to retrieve the bodies of General Xie Hong and Major Xie Wei.
When they saw Tu Ran carrying someone dressed in a white advanced combat suit out of the area, everyone froze for a moment.
Ding Naiqing and Yao Bei stepped forward together, helping to lift Xie Wei down from Tu Ran’s shoulder.
Yao Bei glanced at the name tag on Xie Wei’s chest and looked at Tu Ran, asking, “Where’s General Xie Hong?”
Tu Ran handed her laser gun to a guard who had walked up, stretching her slightly sore shoulder, and said, “He went to support the western zone and asked me to bring this person back. Where are you headed?”
“We’re going to support the western and northern zones, and also search for survivors in the eastern zone.”
Yao Bei and Ding Naiqing placed the unconscious Xie Wei on a stretcher, and two guards carried him back to the helicopter to be sent to the medical department for treatment.
“Are there any survivors left in the eastern district?” Yao Bei asked, looking at Tu Ran.
Tu Ran shook her head. “I don’t know, but it’s unlikely. With such a big explosion, it would be hard for both the genetic monsters and humans to survive.”
Yao Bei’s expression was grim as she glanced at the few guards and pioneers who had hastily come to support them.
“The original plan was to divide the team searching for survivors into three parts: one part to follow Ding Naiqing to the western zone, another to follow me to the northern zone, and the remaining group to search for survivors in the eastern zone.”
Tu Ran volunteered, “I’ll join them in searching for survivors in the eastern zone. I’m more familiar with the terrain there.”
The eastern zone was safe; she didn’t want to go to the western or northern zones.
Ding Naiqing looked at Tu Ran and blinked. “Sister Ran, aren’t you going to find your team members?”
Tu Ran: Oh right, she had brought five second-generation pioneers with her. They all seemed to have gone to the western zone to support Xie Xu.
It didn’t seem right to leave them on the front lines while she stayed behind in safety.
“Which area are you in charge of?” Tu Ran asked Zhao Yan, who hadn’t spoken a word since she came out.
She primarily needed to avoid him.
Zhao Yan was speechless and responded irritably, “The eastern zone, searching for survivors.”
Tu Ran raised an eyebrow, “Ding Naiqing, let’s go. I’ll join you in the western zone.”
Zhao Yan: “…”
Ding Naiqing’s eyes lit up, and he smiled, “That’s exactly what I was hoping you’d say, Sister Ran.”
“Move out!” Yao Bei ordered.
The group split into three teams and headed in their respective directions.
Tu Ran led Ding Naiqing’s team, cutting directly through the factory’s interior, saving a considerable amount of time.
As they got closer to the western zone, the sounds of battle grew louder—the noise of gunfire, the clash of blades, the roars of monsters, and the thud of heavy objects hitting the ground all mixed together in a chaotic cacophony.
Finally, they reached the boundary between the eastern and western zones, where stacks of various finished machines, four or five meters high, blocked their path completely.
Tu Ran quickly climbed up a four-meter-high machine to get a better view from above.
What she saw was a horde of giant genetic monsters.
Every genetic monster in sight was as enormous as the one she had previously killed with her [Blooming Flowers and Full Moon] ability.
Their defenses had significantly increased; a single bullet could no longer penetrate them. It took two bullets fired at the same spot just to barely pierce through.
Even when a bullet managed to hit one of these genetic monsters, they still had the strength to resist. Just like the genetic monster she had faced earlier, even after a bullet had pierced its skull, spilling blood and brain matter, it was still able to control the moss to attack.
The entire battlefield was filled with the stench of moss, mingled with the smell of human and genetic monster blood, a scent so strong it seemed to pierce the brain.
Tu Ran, not wearing a helmet, had no choice but to endure it.
It was a chaotic battle between humans and beasts.
Tu Ran spotted a few familiar figures.
Her five team members.
Thankfully, they were all still alive.
However, one of them was clearly struggling.
It was Shen Yunhe.
He was trapped in the middle of three genetic monsters, attacked from all sides, barely able to hold his ground. With the creatures so close, his firearms were ineffective, leaving him to rely on a dagger just to hold on.
The genetic monster’s sonic attack pounded against his brain, catching him off guard. His left arm was suddenly clamped down by one of the genetic monsters, but the combat suit absorbed some of the impact, preventing the arm from being completely torn off.
Raising his right arm high, he gripped his dagger tightly, aiming to stab the monster in its eye. However, a second genetic monster leaped up and sank its teeth into his right arm, violently shaking its head. The dagger flew out of his hand, hitting the ground and was instantly consumed and corroded by the moss.
He was like a fish on the chopping block, unable to break free no matter how hard he struggled. The moss quickly spread from his arms to his torso, and the combat suit of the pioneers wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.
As soon as his skin touched the moss, he would be completely corroded alive.
Panic set in as Shen Yunhe cried out for help from those around him.
But everyone was deeply entrenched in their own battles—no one could spare any attention for him. He struggled desperately, kicking his legs frantically.
He didn’t want to die.
He had just left the training base, enduring five years of grueling training without missing a single day, pushing himself to improve in every aspect. Was he really going to fail on the very first day?
He hadn’t even entered the Threshold yet, hadn’t seen the world inside it. He didn’t want to die.
But then, something even worse happened: the third genetic monster charged at him. Its deformed body leaped up, mouth wide open, revealing rows of sharp, tightly packed teeth. It was about to swallow him whole.
Shen Yunhe’s pupils contracted.
All the strength in his body drained away in an instant.
He gave up struggling.
In this final moment of his life, he remembered Tu Ran’s advice.
Life is what matters most.
She was right. All that talk of honor, of points—it was all meaningless for a pioneer living on the edge, risking their life every day.
The honor he had desperately chased was nothing more than a shackle placed on him by those in power, a whip driving him forward to his doom.
Those in power gained everything, enjoying the fruits of his labor, while he lost his life.
His previous arrogance and self-righteousness now seemed like a joke.
“Heh…”
Shen Yunhe let out a bitter laugh and closed his eyes.
What awaited him was to be devoured by the three genetic monsters.
However, the expected pain didn’t come.
He moved his neck slightly.
His head was still attached.
He heard the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
Then, a round object rolled to his feet.
Had someone come to save him?
Shen Yunhe didn’t dare to open his eyes, afraid that it was all just his imagination.
Everyone was preoccupied with fighting their own genetic monsters; how could anyone spare the time to help him?
Yet, an image of a person’s face involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
Could it be her?
He cautiously opened his eyes.
A cold, gleaming long sword was swinging down towards him, its sharp blade leaving a dazzling trail of light as it swiftly and cleanly decapitated the genetic monster that was biting his left arm.
The path of the spraying blood had been precisely calculated, stopping just ten centimeters from him, splattering instead onto the face of another genetic monster.
Its face, covered in a thin layer of human skin, was fragile.
As the corrosive blood hit it, smoke began to rise, and the genetic monster released his arm, clutching its head and wailing in agony.
