Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 229 Rocket Launcher

The battle in the abandoned village continued. Su Xun had finally encountered a tough opponent. Some warriors around him heard the commotion but only watched from a distance before moving away in amazement.

After all, Su Xun had given orders that they were not allowed to approach the battlefield. In a battle between fifth-tier beings, low-tier superhumans who broke in would likely lose their lives for nothing.

However, there were still some unexpected things that attracted attention.

"There's movement ahead!"

The scouts, panting heavily, brought the news back to the group. Almost everyone in the team was injured, and they had no idea how long they had been trekking through the night.

"what's the situation?"

"I don't know... There must be some kind of fight going on over there, and the fighters are very strong!"

"So, should we go around it?"

Many team members were undecided and turned their attention to one person.

The man was being carried on someone's back, his face deathly pale. He was the leader of this group. People who frequented the area might recognize him. His name was Zou Ping, a well-known superhuman in the area. He had even participated in a major martial arts competition. Although he didn't achieve a high ranking, he still possessed considerable strength.

However, I don't know what happened to them that led them to this state.

Zou Ping, lying on top of his teammate, coughed twice before speaking, "Be careful, sneak over there and lure that thing over there!"

"This...we don't know what's going on up there yet. Judging from the momentum over there, their strength might be even greater than what's behind us. What if we..."

“Yes, Brother Zou, I remember there’s a military outpost around here. Maybe we can go there.”

His teammates all spoke up, and Zou Ping took two more breaths before saying, "No way!"

"That stronghold is probably only at level two at most, it can't stop it. We can only gamble and see if it will be scared away by the two sides fighting ahead..."

As they were talking, another person ran up from the back of the group. The person's chest heaved violently, and he subconsciously lowered his voice, yet he still shouted to the crowd.

"That fish is coming this way again! Let's go!"

Zou Ping, who was lying on top of his teammate, spat out a mouthful of blood, knowing that his earlier delaying tactics had not worked. However, he had at least bought some time. Seeing his teammates panicking, he urged them repeatedly, "Don't just stand there, let's go! If we don't go now, we won't have any time left!"

Although the group was still uncertain, they had no choice but to make a decision as danger rapidly approached from behind. Despite their verbal resistance, they took steps toward the direction where the battle was taking place.

They hadn't gone far when they saw a dark shadow appear in the night behind them. The shadow was crawling on the snow, constantly twisting its body. Upon closer inspection, they could see that it was a fish whose species was difficult to identify, and its body was surrounded by powerful spiritual energy fluctuations.

This is a fourth-tier mutated fish. It's unclear why it's here, but it's relentlessly chasing after Zou Ping and his group. Even in the snow, it's displaying astonishing speed. Although it's not as agile and swift as it is in the water, catching up with Zou Ping and the others is only a matter of time.

The group's steps quickened, yet they had to slow down. Even Zou Ping wasn't sure if they were going in the right direction. As they got closer, they could see the battle taking place in the village.

It seemed that countless figures were rushing fearlessly toward the center of the village, where a storm of spiritual energy was erupting like a volcano, but the details were still unclear.

Even from a distance, it was clear that the storm-like entity had the upper hand. It remained stationary, motionless, while the surrounding figures were like moths drawn to a flame, dying in vain time and time again on their way to victory.

"Is that a person? Or a zombie?"

The group of people were stunned by the scene in the distance and remained silent for a moment. Their strategy seemed to have worked, as the fourth-order mutated fish behind them stopped chasing them after they got closer.

However, Zou Ping and the others faced a new problem: the fish hadn't left; it was merely lingering in the distant snow, constantly darting around. "It's trying to trap us here!"

Someone collapsed to the ground, and the person who had been carrying Zou Ping on his back slowly put him down.

"It's better than dying right now. Let's take it one step at a time." Zou Ping shook his head helplessly. "Who knew this bastard would hold a grudge like that? Sigh!"

"Who knew it could run so fast on land? It's all Old Ji's fault, why did he have to provoke it..."

"The person is gone, so there's no point in talking about it anymore. Besides, everyone agreed to take action back then."

The group fell silent for a moment. Zou Ping quickly treated his injuries, arranged for someone to keep an eye on the mutated beasts behind him, and then found a secluded and sheltered place to hide temporarily.

"It shouldn't be zombies. Where would there be so many high-level zombies now?" As a team that had been searching for supplies outside the safe zone, they were quite familiar with the situation of zombies in the surrounding area. After carefully examining the battlefield, they quickly ruled out their previous guess.

Those figures rushing towards the center of the village each displayed power far exceeding that of Zou Ping. He himself was already a third-tier superhuman, and the large-scale zombie hordes they had seen in the past did not necessarily have so many high-tier individuals.

"Could they all be human?" This speculation made their hearts sink slightly. Looking at the fearless actions of those figures, it was hard to imagine why they were acting this way.

"It might not be human... It's hard to say, but the thing opposite them is definitely not human."

Everyone agreed with this conclusion.

That storm of spiritual energy was simply outrageous! It didn't look human at all!

The battlefield was shrouded in darkness, and the details were not very clear. The team members looked to Zou Ping, hoping he would make the decision.

After pondering for a while, Zou Ping turned and asked, "Where is that thing we have?"

"At this."

Someone unloaded the long, rectangular box they were carrying, and when they opened it, a single-soldier rocket launcher was clearly visible inside.

This is a new weapon they purchased from the safe zone at a high price. It is said to use a psionic charge based on some incomprehensible principle. They originally intended to use it when facing mutated beasts, but when they were actually being chased by mutated beasts, they realized that whether they could break through the defenses was not the key issue; whether they could hit the target was the real problem.

We had already wasted a rocket, which was dodged by the fish after it was launched. This is why it had been chasing Zou Ping and the others for so long. However, the entity in the center of the battlefield that was constantly releasing spiritual energy had not moved. Perhaps we could try using this thing in our hands.

"They probably haven't discovered us yet. Is it really a good idea to provoke them now?" One of the team members hesitated once again.

"We've already provoked a fourth-tier mutated beast. If we don't find a way out, we won't be able to survive at all."

Zou Ping took a deep breath: "Moreover, we can't let this battle end too quickly... We still don't know what those shadowy things are, but they're at a disadvantage right now. If they lose quickly, we'll be in immediate danger right here."

The group exchanged glances, and finally nodded: "We'll do as you say!"

Seeing the trusting looks in his teammates' eyes, Zou Ping's gaze gradually hardened.

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems!"

Despite his injuries, he was the only Tier 3 superhuman in the team. His observation skills and reaction speed were far superior to his teammates', even with just a single trigger pull. He endured the pain and personally set up the rocket launcher, pointing it at the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)