Chapter 404 Encounter Battle

After that, Ling Mo conjured another armored vehicle, and they continued on their way to Cang Hai City.

However, on the road ahead, no monsters showed up—though that’s not entirely accurate; it should be said that they had encountered monsters, but upon seeing them, those monsters didn’t mindlessly attack—they turned tail and ran.

This left the chubby guy, who had a belly full of pent-up anger from being mocked by a dog earlier, with no chance to vent his frustration. The few shots he managed to fire were all dodged swiftly by the monsters, not even brushing their hair.

While this ensured a smoother journey into the city, it wasn’t exactly good news.

It was impossible for the large gecko they previously encountered to inform all the scattered monsters that they had arrived in such a short time, let alone advise them that the correct action upon seeing them was to run away.

And this might mean… that these monsters possessed a quicker communication method, able to relay important information to all nearby monsters in an instant, which is why the ones they encountered next knew they were “unstoppable”—at least, they were unstoppable one-on-one, prompting them to flee.

Yet, this situation didn’t give Ling Mo and the others the slightest bit of joy.

“Why do I feel like they’re luring us deeper?” The chubby guy had already given up on his machine gun position, squatting behind the driver’s seat to observe ahead, “It feels like something’s off.”

“You finally noticed?” Ling Mo chuckled, “It’s obvious; these guys are probably waiting for us to get inside before they jump us… that’s troublesome.”

As he said this, his expression became somewhat serious.

At this point, they could roughly gauge the immense danger inside Cang Hai City.

The chubby guy swallowed hard: “It’s a setup… We act like we’re fishing, and they lure us in for the kill, right?”

Xia Xinyan looked at the rapidly approaching Cang Hai City and softly said, “Let’s proceed on foot from here; it’s too dangerous in the vehicle.”

If they were ambushed by a horde of monsters in the vehicle, Ling Mo might not even get a chance to shoot back.

“I was thinking the same,” Ling Mo nodded, slowly stopping the armored vehicle, then raised his hand to snap his fingers, “Here’s a set of gear for you.”

As soon as he spoke, everyone—including the fox—was equipped with full-body battle armor. This wasn’t the standard issue armor given to previous teams but custom-made armor tailored to each person’s needs to provide maximum assistance without hindering their movements.

Of course, Monika was the exception; Ling Mo gave her a symbolic set of armor—he felt her own defense was already stronger than their armor.

However, Monika was quite intrigued: “Wow, so this is what it feels like to wear armor—kinda cool.”

Xia Xinyan activated the armor Ling Mo had prepared for her, exited the vehicle first, and the others followed.

They had now entered Cang Hai City. From their vantage point, the city had turned into a wasteland, with numerous collapsed buildings blocking many streets. The remaining sturdy high-rises looked dilapidated, as if they might topple at any moment, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of the apocalypse.

More critically, there was nothing on the streets.

Not even the lowest-grade zombies commonly found in other cities—this city was terrifyingly quiet.

“Damn it, it feels weird not to see a single monster,” the chubby guy frowned as they ventured deeper into the city. “So quiet… there’s nothing on the streets.”

Just then, a thunderous explosion echoed nearby, causing the ground to tremble. Xia Xinyan noticed a building on their left beginning to lean and collapse toward them.

“Watch out! That building!” Xia Xinyan pointed in that direction, then grabbed Ling Mo and ran, “Go!”

The others were startled and quickly scattered to avoid the area of the collapsing building. Almost the next second, that building crashed down onto their previous location, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

The collapse separated Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan from the others, and before they could react, several loud explosions resounded in the vicinity, and they noticed several buildings around them beginning to tilt and fall toward their general position.

Ling Mo’s expression shifted slightly: “These monsters can really set off directional explosions?!”

Xia Xinyan furrowed her brow slightly and said softly, “Something’s coming, a lot of it.”

The first encounter battle after entering Cang Hai City had begun.

The collapsing buildings weren’t a big issue for them; unless someone had rocks for brains, they couldn’t possibly be hit given their reflexes and speed. However, this sudden chaos certainly achieved its goal of scattering them, making it impossible for them to regroup for a short time—at that moment, the monsters appeared.

They surged like a mountain or sea toward their location. Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan moved to a slightly elevated spot to assess their surroundings, and it could be said to be a sea of darkness, with no escape route whatsoever.

“This is not good,” Ling Mo frowned slightly.

Xia Xinyan scanned the area and remarked, “They’re all zombies.”

Zombies wouldn’t get any stronger, but their numbers posed a serious problem.

“Do we fight or flee?” Ling Mo pondered for a second before asking her.

While fighting wasn’t impossible, they were here for reconnaissance, not a final showdown; he was worried about things going awry.

“Flee.” Xia Xinyan decisively replied, “Now’s not the time for fighting. Use a flying device—can we find a way to get the others out too?”

Ling Mo immediately summoned a flying backpack, then pulled her into his arms, securing the two of them with a strap before taking off.

At that moment, Xia Xinyan didn’t care about any intimate interactions. She opened a communication line, shouting, “Others! Zhang Dayi! Bai Yu! Where are you? We’re surrounded, figure a way out!”

“Bai Yu, Xiao Bai, and the fox are with me; you don’t need to worry,” Monika’s voice came through, “Don’t worry, I’ll bring them to find you. As for the chubby guy… good luck!”

“Damn it…” the chubby guy shouted, “Old Ling, help me! I’m right below you! I saw you take off! Just toss me a flying backpack!”

Ling Mo glanced down and noticed a flash of electric light amid the dust— the chubby guy was signaling his position.

Ling Mo instantly conjured another backpack and tossed it down: “Hang in there, stay alive.”

“…Are you wishing for my death?! No time for that, gotta run! Damn it! They’re coming!”