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

The night wind howled, carrying with it a strong smell of blood.

For two consecutive days, gunfire continued to erupt outside the abandoned mining area in Nevada.

Outside the barbed wire fence, three second-tier mutated sand wolves, each the size of a buffalo, were frantically tearing at the bunker made of stacked wrecked minecarts.

"Hold on! Open fire!"

Jon Chen, hiding behind cover, yelled at the top of his lungs.

The assault rifles spat fire, and the bullets struck the sand wolf's bone plates, only sending up clusters of sparks.

"Brother Ye! Give me the one on the left!"

Zhu Jingye, carrying a fire axe, roared and leaped out from behind the cover.

He gripped the axe with both hands and chopped it down hard on the sand wolf's back!

His body was immediately thrown back five or six steps by the recoil, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"Get out of the way, let me handle this!" Ye Xiao shouted.

He leaped forward, gripped the Tang sword wrapped in filthy cloth with both hands, and slashed down from mid-air.

This strike, under normal circumstances, could split a sand wolf and the ground in two.

But at the moment.

"Snap!"

The blade cut into the sand wolf's neck and got stuck in the bone crevice.

The sand wolf, in pain, violently shook its head.

Ye Xiao was thrown into the air and rolled four or five times on the sand before finally coming to a stop.

He knelt on one knee, panting heavily, looking utterly disheveled.

"Damn it, it's tough!" Ye Xiao got up and charged again.

It took a tremendous amount of effort, and even deliberately letting a sand wolf tear through his armor with its claws, to finally bring down the three sand wolves.

His chest heaved violently, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

Behind the defensive line, the ordinary survivors gripped their guns, their faces ashen.

"The monsters are multiplying these past few days! Our defenses are completely crumbling!"

"If this continues, the camp will be flattened sooner or later! The boss and the others won't be able to hold on much longer!"

Panic spread in the wind.

……

It is 3,000 meters away from the camp.

The top of an abandoned mining tower.

Two men in low-temperature camouflage uniforms lay prone in the shadows.

One person held a high-powered military telescope, while the other quickly took notes on a tactical tablet.

"Target 1, suspected to be a dual-type of strength and agility, combat strength assessment: mid-stage of Tier 2."

"Target 2, suspected to be a physical enhancement type, combat strength assessment: early stage of the second tier."

"Target 3, suspected to be a speed-enhancing type, combat strength assessment: early stage of the second tier."

The agent holding the binoculars lowered the equipment and pressed the earpiece.

"Captain, we've figured it out. This camp is a group of Eastern survivors banding together. There are three Awakened ones, and the rest are all ordinary people."

A deep, slightly static voice came through the headset, "An Easterner? Are you from Great Xia?"

"That should be true."

The agent looked at Ye Xiao, who was panting and looking disheveled in the distance, and said disdainfully,

"Those three Awakened Ones did not have that new type of exoskeleton armor, so they should just be people from Great Xia, not from within Great Xia territory."

"Um……"

The team leader was silent for a few seconds, his tone revealing a hint of annoyance.

"Damn it! The pressure from above is getting more and more intense! Keep a close watch on this camp and wait for my orders."

……

The scene then cuts back to the Kunlun base.

On the large screen in the main hall, countless red and green dots intertwine.

Mo Yun typed on the keyboard, bringing up high-altitude satellite monitoring images of the three decoy camps in North America.

"Brother Su, something's not right."

Mo Yun placed his hands on the control panel and pulled up the movement trajectory of the mutated creatures over the past forty-eight hours.

"Look at this set of data."

Su Ran walked over, her gaze falling on the screen.

The green dots representing the mutated creatures are converging on the three bait camps in an unusual pattern.

They appear to be clustered together, as if drawn by some invisible thread.

"The frequency of mutated creatures roaming around the three camps has remained high for two consecutive days."

Mo Yun pointed to the red trajectory line on the screen.

"Look at these migration routes, they are not natural migrations, nor are they attracted by the smell of blood."

Their march was so purposeful; they were heading straight for the camp!

"It's an inducer."

A cold glint flashed in Su Ran's eyes.

Inducers for mutated organisms are not particularly rare technological products.

In the later stages of the apocalypse in the previous life, those unscrupulous wandering merchants loved to sell this kind of thing.

Luring monsters to destroy cities and taking advantage of chaos—it works every time.

"Contact Lao Ye."

Su Ran patted Mo Yun on the shoulder, her tone leaving no room for argument.

The screen flashed, and Shen Ning's image appeared.

He was hiding in a tent in the corner of the camp, speaking in a very low voice.

"Advisor Su. This is Shen Ning, the Sharp Sword. Please give your instructions!"

"Shen Ning, check the wind direction. Focus on checking the area within two kilometers upwind of the camp. Collect air and soil samples."

Su Ran spoke very quickly, "Send it to the headquarters technical team immediately."

"clear."

Less than five minutes.

Zhou Hang rushed into the main hall carrying a portable analyzer.

"Consultant Su, Director Mo! The sample analysis results are in!"

Zhou Hang projected the data onto the large screen, pointing to an unusual peak.

Trace amounts of high-molecular-weight synthetic pheromones were detected in the soil and air.

This substance is highly volatile and has a deadly attraction for mutated creatures.

Zhou Hang adjusted his glasses, his tone certain.

"It's an inducer. However, the formula is different from the one developed by our Great Xia Academy of Sciences."

Mo Yun sneered, "Case solved. No wonder they specifically targeted small and medium-sized camps."

Su Ran looked at the map, her fingers lightly tapping the table.

"First, use the lure to attract monsters, creating pressure to deplete the camp's ammunition and the Awakened's stamina."

When the camp is on the verge of collapse and its defenses are in disarray, their special forces team will seize the opportunity to infiltrate and capture the Awakened individuals within.

"A standard procedure for attrition, infiltration, and kidnapping."

Mo Yun gritted his teeth, "As expected of an agent of the overlord of the old era, very professional."

"The more professional they are, the more at ease I feel."

Su Ran stood up, her gaze icy.

"Notify the Swordsmen at the three decoy camps to tighten their defenses."

Tell Lao Ye to prepare to close the net.

Since Eden likes to use others to do its dirty work, let's teach them a lesson about being the one who's waiting in the wings!

……

Night fell on the Nevada camp.

The firelight flickered inside the camp, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

Several ordinary refugees gathered around a campfire, roasting dried potatoes.

"Did you hear the commotion outside? Another pack of sand wolves passed by this afternoon."

A gaunt laborer was gnawing on potato peels, his hands trembling.

"Who can be kept out of this tattered barbed wire fence? Old Wang went to fix the gate the day before yesterday, and there wasn't even a bone left."

"The new leader is good at fighting, but he's only one person. If the beast tide really comes, he'll probably run faster than anyone else!"

Complaints spread to every corner.

Jon Chen led a patrol to try to quell the riot.

"Shut up! Get back to what you were doing! We have guns and bullets in the camp, the sky isn't going to fall!" Jon shouted.

The refugees retreated into their tents, but the whispering did not stop.

The Eden Observer, lurking in the shadows, took in all these reactions.

Ye Xiao sat on the roof of the tin shed, chewing on a hard, dry compressed biscuit.

Zhu Jingye climbed up and handed the kettle over.

"Brother Ye, acting in this play not only made my back ache, but also made me mentally exhausted."

Zhu Jingye stretched his thick shoulders and lowered his voice,

"That mutated sand wolf this afternoon, I watched it pounce in slow motion, and I barely managed to resist kicking it to death. I even had to pretend to be terrified and crawl backward."

"If you're going to act, you have to go all the way."

Ye Xiao swallowed the cookie, brushed the crumbs off his hands,

"Only when those below are in disarray will those above who are watching us feel at ease."

Just then, Shen Ning's extremely low voice came through the communication headset.

"Commander Ye, headquarters report. Confirmed: the enemy has used a large-scale pheromone inducer!"

According to real-time monitoring by the Pangoal Space Satellite, a number of mutated creatures have gathered around our camp.

The next wave they'll likely unleash is a medium-sized beast tide! Be prepared!

Ye Xiao paused, slowly stood up, and smiled.

"After waiting for two days, is it finally time for the main course?"