Under the dense fog at Outpost T34, the Black Jiao Convoy was almost entirely wiped out. The horde of zombies and creatures, mingled with the screams of survivors, had turned the area into a living hell. Between the zombie tide, gunfights, and betrayal, the scattered convoys, confused by the chaos, were quickly annihilated by bullets and the undead.
The chubby convoy leader, uninterested in prolonged conflict, seized Qian Yu’s large truck after eliminating the remaining members of the Black Jiao Convoy. His team commandeered several supply vehicles, merged them with their own convoy, and sped away, engines roaring as they plowed through the zombie swarm.
Meanwhile, Feng Yuming, now in his half-insect monstrous form, radiated a menacing aura. He picked up Qian Yu’s handgun and casually executed two fleeing survivors before striding toward the station platform.
Tang Hai, standing on the platform, had just started to relax as his men gained the upper hand. But his face abruptly changed as he pointed toward the courtyard.
“Watch out! It’s the fog spider!”
No sooner had he spoken than the survivors, struggling against the zombies, felt the horde part in front of them. Emerging from the fog, illuminated by dim light, was a colossal spider. In a split second, one of its towering legs skewered two survivors straight through their chests.
The chaos intensified. From the zombie tide, a modified pickup truck suddenly emerged, speeding along the slope, aiming for the tracks to make an escape.
“Take them out!” Tang Hai roared.
Out of nowhere, a shadow collided with the pickup truck’s side, sending it careening out of control and flipping over violently.
“Ahhh!” Shasha screamed as Luo Ye grabbed her, kicking the door open and rolling them out just before the truck tumbled down the slope.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Feng Yuming sneered, emerging from the fog. His clawed hand lunged toward Luo Ye.
But Luo Ye sprang up, grabbed Feng’s claw, and, with a grunt, hurled him aside.
Bullets rained down. Luo Ye threw himself over Shasha, taking a glancing shot to his shoulder.
“Brother!” Shasha cried, eyes red with tears, reaching for her gun to retaliate.
Ignoring the pain, Luo Ye lifted her up, dodging the gunfire as he bolted toward the slope. Below them, the horde seethed like a living tide, leaving almost no survivors in its wake.
Feng Yuming’s gunmen were retreating toward the platform, unleashing an unrelenting hail of bullets.
“Impressive strength,” Feng sneered, stepping out of the fog. “But you’re still a lower-level weakling!”
Before Luo Ye could react, a black spike shot out of the fog. He raised his arm to block it, but the spike pierced straight through, its momentum nearly knocking him off his feet. Without hesitation, he lashed out with a powerful kick that cut through the air like a blade.
His kick struck something solid. Feng Yuming emerged from the fog, holding Luo Ye’s leg with his unmutated hand, a mocking smile on his face.
“Brute strength but no brains,” Feng taunted. “Do you even know that killing Ability Users or aberrants lets you evolve? Too bad... you’ll never get the chance.”
He twisted his wrist, and the spike embedded in Luo Ye’s arm glowed with a menacing red light.
“Brother! Watch out!” Shasha screamed, her voice breaking with desperation.
Just as Feng prepared to strike, his head jerked to the side. His left ear exploded in a spray of blood, half his face now grotesquely marred. Yet he showed no pain, merely scowling before disappearing back into the fog with a growl.
From behind the platform, wind cannons blasted through the fog, instantly taking down several of Tang Hai’s gunmen.
“Behind us! Watch out!” Tang Hai shouted. His men scrambled onto the train cars, taking cover.
A searchlight cut through the mist, briefly illuminating the chaos below. Shasha, seeing the horde surging toward them and the massive spider above, wiped her tears and tugged at Luo Ye.
“Brother, we have to go!”
Behind a massive slab of green stone at the rear of the platform, Lin Xian was drenched in cold sweat, panting heavily. The Mechanical Heart had been running at full capacity for nearly nine hours, leaving him utterly drained of energy and focus.
“I knew you two would be hiding somewhere,” came Feng Yuming’s eerie voice, its tone shifting from near to far. “Trying to play the fisherman? Hah, you think having an ability makes you untouchable?”
The sinister presence sent a shiver through Lin Xian. Without thinking, he fired a Wind Cannon into the fog ahead.
The shot hit something with a metallic clang. Lin Xian’s pupils contracted as he leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding a strike. Feng Yuming suddenly lunged out of the mist, his claw smashing the stone where Lin Xian had been hiding, shattering it into rubble.
Relentless, Feng followed up with another rapid thrust toward Lin Xian’s dodging figure.
“Interesting. You’ve got both close combat and ranged abilities. This is the first time I’ve seen something so unusual,” Feng remarked, his voice dripping with malice.
Lin Xian tensed. Feng’s words confirmed his suspicions—this man had killed more than one Ability User and had likely been hiding his power all along. It seemed the uncle-nephew pair had been engaged in plenty of murderous, thieving schemes.
A hairy spider leg slammed down from above, forcing both Lin Xian and Feng Yuming to retreat. The tremor shook the ground.
Simultaneously, gunfire erupted as Tang Hai’s men opened fire—some targeting the Fog Spider, others aiming at Lin Xian. Surrounded on three fronts, Lin Xian rolled to the ground and dove under the train for cover.
Seeing Lin Xian’s weakened state, Feng grinned wickedly and pursued him. The antenna-like spikes on his head twitched constantly, as if on high alert.
“Where’s the little girl? If she doesn’t show herself soon, you’re out of chances!” Feng sneered. He was wary of Kiki’s potential intervention, knowing her capabilities far exceeded ordinary expectations. Lin Xian’s heart sank—Feng’s power and experience far surpassed what he had anticipated.
With the zombie horde drawing closer and the Fog Spider looming overhead, Feng Yuming decided the situation was spiraling out of control. He stopped holding back and lunged at full speed. His claw extended, aiming for a fatal strike at Lin Xian beneath the train.
“Were you looking for me?”
A light, confident voice rang out. Feng’s eyes darted to the source, sharp as lightning. Knowing Kiki’s prowess, he immediately aborted his attack and leapt sideways, preparing for a counter.
Confused, both Feng Yuming and Tang Hai turned toward the voice. What they saw made their blood run cold.
The dormant 1130 Close-In Weapon System on the air-raid bunker roared to life. Its searchlights blazed, cutting through the fog, while a low hum signaled the activation of its concealed machinery. The turret’s base rotated precisely, and the barrels of its eleven 30mm cannons aligned like harbingers of death. The fire-control radar and electro-optical targeting system locked on with eerie precision.
This long-slumbering weapon of defense had awakened at last, silently bringing hell to the battlefield.