In the apocalypse, I hoarded goods and handed over my storage space to the government.

The forefront of the defense line.

The air was filled with a cloyingly sweet aroma.

Several high-powered searchlights illuminated the area as bright as day.

At the end of the beam of light, the tree trunk twisted, and the vines moved like snakes in mid-air without wind, making an extremely faint "rustling" sound.

"stop."

Zhao Zhigang raised his hand.

The jeep braked suddenly in front of a concrete construction site.

He jumped out of the car first and pointed to the warning line 300 meters ahead.

"Advisor Su, that's it. As soon as you cross that red line, the entire forest will 'wake up' and react immediately."

"Moreover, this purple mist is poisonous; prolonged inhalation can cause a person to fall into a coma."

Su Ran got out of the car right after, without wearing a mask.

Due to the Awakened's constitution and the isolation provided by the spatial barrier, this toxin had no effect on him.

Bai Lu and the others behind him also looked relaxed.

"Is this the living forest that gives the regular army such a headache?"

Ye Xiao's nostrils twitched. "The smell is quite pungent, like rotten fruit that has been fermenting in a pile of rotten meat for three days."

"Stop joking. This thing is a bit strange; the more it suffers physical destruction, the more frantically it regenerates and retaliates."

Su Ran's gaze swept over the deathly purple expanse. "Get ready to work."

"General Zhao, have your men retreat fifty meters, lock the firing unit here, and do not fire."

Zhao Zhigang was taken aback. "No covering fire? What if there's a riot..."

"Need not."

Su Ran interrupted him, her tone flat, "It's easy to accidentally hurt friendly forces."

Zhao Zhigang opened his mouth, but in the end he waved his hand and ordered the troops to retreat.

He also wanted to see what this legendary top-tier Awakened team in all of China was really capable of.

"Ye Xiao, clear the way. Test the attack level of this mutated forest," Su Ran ordered.

"Okay!"

Ye Xiao grinned and suddenly exerted force with both legs.

boom!

He shot into the purple mist like a cannonball!

This movement was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a pot of boiling oil.

The once-dead forest suddenly erupted into chaos!

"hiss!"

A sharp screech exploded.

Dozens of thick purple vines, as thick as thighs, shot out from the tree canopy, the ground, and the crevices of the rocks, lashing fiercely at Ye Xiao in mid-air with a whooshing sound.

It was so fast that it even left afterimages!

Zhao Zhigang's pupils contracted sharply. "Watch out!"

At this speed, ordinary soldiers simply cannot react, and even armored vehicles would be dented.

Clang!

A flash of light appeared.

Ye Xiao twisted his body strangely in mid-air, and the two Tang swords transformed into two silver moons.

"Cut it off!"

puff!puff!

The sounds of sharp blades piercing flesh rang out frequently.

Those dozen or so vines, as tough as steel cables, snapped all at once the moment they touched the blade.

Instead of splattering juice at the break, a thick, foul-smelling red liquid gushed out!

"What is this?"

Ye Xiao landed, flicked the red liquid off his knife, and looked disgusted. "It's splattering blood again?"

Before he could even stand up straight...

The shriveled cocoons hanging from the branches suddenly contracted and expanded violently, like a heart.

Click, click.

Countless black beetles, each the size of a washbasin, burst from the ground.

They had enormous mouthparts, metallic-looking carapaces, and compound eyes that gleamed with a bloodthirsty red light, surging towards Ye Xiao like a tidal wave.

First-order symbiotic alien insect: Corpse beetle!

There were hundreds or even thousands of them, densely packed together, enough to make one's scalp tingle.

"Fire support team! Prepare for support!"

Zhao Zhigang felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively reached for the walkie-talkie.

Such a large swarm of insects could only be suppressed by heavy machine gun fire.

"General Zhao, rest assured that we Awakened Ones can take charge."

Su Ran's voice rang in his ear, "Just watch."

next second.

A petite figure stepped out from the crowd.

Bai Lu stood at the edge of the fortification, but her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

hum!

An invisible wave instantly swept across the battlefield.

"Stop right there!"

The first few dozen corpse beetles seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall of air.

Followed by.

"burst."

The young girl parted her red lips slightly.

Bang bang bang!

It's like setting off firecrackers during Chinese New Year.

The shells of those dozens of beetles collapsed inward instantly, and then exploded violently!

Yellow-green liquid splashed everywhere.

Psychic crushing!

Simple, direct, and efficient.

The insect swarm's offensive halted for a moment.

"This...this?"

Zhao Zhigang was dumbfounded.

Is this what a spiritualist is like?

Without even moving a finger, he instantly killed dozens of mutated insects with hardness comparable to armor steel.

Although he knew about the Awakened, he did not believe that they could surpass airplanes and cannons.

The concept of "justice is justice" that has been established for decades has been challenged at this moment.

But it's not over yet.

"The smell of these dead bugs is really strong."

Mo Yun frowned and pushed up his glasses.

He raised his hand, and a pale green mist quietly condensed in his palm.

"go."

The green mist drifted lightly towards the edge of the forest, carried by the wind.

Zizizi!

A sickening corrosive sound rang out.

Wherever it passed, whether it was the remaining beetle corpses or the broken vines, they all turned into a pool of pus with a sizzling sound.

The forest, which had been fiercely retaliating, showed signs of shrinking back after coming into contact with the poisonous fog.

Zhu Jingye was also controlling the exoskeleton, the heavy mechanical arm lifting the rotary machine gun.

Da da da da!

The gun muzzle spewed out a ghostly blue flame.

The crystal bullet, carrying terrifying high temperature and kinetic energy, swept a row of trees at the edge in half.

Wood chips flew everywhere, and flames shot into the sky.

In the center of the battlefield.

Ye Xiao has gone berserk.

"Brother Ye! Be careful at the three o'clock position on the left!" Zhu Jingye shouted.

"Received! Just in time!"

Ye Xiao swung his knife backhand and severed a vine that was trying to wrap around Zhu Jingye's ankle.

Four people.

They literally tore a hole in the edge of that forest, which was considered a "forbidden zone"!

Zhao Zhigang and his staff officers at the rear all fell silent.

"Is this what an Awakened One is?"

In this complex terrain, the advance efficiency of four awakened individuals was even more terrifying than that of a tank company!

The Bashu base under Zhao Zhigang's command also has awakened individuals, but their strength is far from reaching this level.

"That's about it."

Su Ran, who had been watching the game with his hands behind his back, spoke, and his voice was transmitted to everyone's ears through the headset.

"Sampling, retreat."

"receive!"

Ye Xiao paused, not wanting to continue the fight.

He spotted the thickest, most robust purple vine that was still writhing wildly, and a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

"Can I borrow a piece of meat?"

brush!

A flash of light appeared.

A large piece of "bark" that was still twitching was forcibly peeled off.

Ye Xiao reacted quickly, grabbing the slippery thing and turning to run.

In a few breaths, the four of them retreated back to the defensive line unharmed.

Without the stimulation, the vines contracted somewhat, but Zhao Zhigang and the others did not relax their gaze.

They knew all too well that every time this thing was destroyed, it would retaliate with even more ferocious growth.

"Give!"

Ye Xiao disdainfully tossed the lump of stuff into the metal box that had been prepared beforehand.

"This thing is disgusting, it even moves! Just like it's alive!"

Zhou Jian, who had been waiting for a long time, pounced on her with shining eyes.

"Seal it off! Seal it off immediately!"

He directed his assistant to operate the equipment while keeping a close eye on the red liquid.

Su Ran stepped forward and looked at the strange thing in the box.

"It will fight back and bleed, so there's no need to worry too much."

Su Ran turned to look at Zhao Zhigang, whose face was full of worry, and said softly,

"General Zhao, there's a great line in *Predator*: 'As long as it bleeds, you can kill it!'"

He turned his head and looked at Zhou Jian, who was in a state of excitement.

"How long will it take to get the results?"

Zhou Jian didn't even look up, his eyes were fervent, and he spoke with unwavering certainty.

"Give me three hours! I need to dissect this thing's cellular structure! I feel there's something wrong with its gene chain!"

"it is good."

Su Ran nodded and glanced at her watch.

"Three hours it is. In three hours, I need to know where this monster's weakness is."