Chapter 102: The Oriole Lurking Behind
Within the pitch-black passageway, ear-piercing roaring sounds rang out without end. The muzzle flashes erupting from the vehicle-mounted heavy machine gun tore apart the darkness ahead with a ferocious momentum.
The power of each bullet was almost two-thirds that of a Thunder Type-2 Revolver, yet the rain-like barrage of fire more than made up for the difference in raw power.
“Hive-Type I Vehicle-mounted Heavy Machine Gun.”
Hidden within the darkness, Zhou Ming immediately recognized the squad he had encountered before.
The owner of the Hive-Type I Vehicle-mounted Heavy Machine Gun was precisely the burly man previously named Da Zhuang.
Standing two meters tall, built like a bull, his arms were even thicker than Zhou Ming’s thighs, his muscles resembling lumps of forged iron.
If it were not for innate divine strength, then the greatest possibility was that he had used a Genetic Potion. Ordinary body-tempering martial arts, even with potion assistance, could not possibly produce such a powerful physique.
Unfortunately, although the opponent’s strength was formidable, his control over that strength had not reached the level of meticulous mastery. Otherwise, using a Thunder Type-3 Revolver would have been enough to easily kill the Bull-headed Desiccated Corpse before them.
However, relying on the continuous, unceasing assault of the heavy machine gun, the Bull-headed Desiccated Corpse—whose strength was close to stepping into the ranks of high-tier Ferocious Beasts—could only be suppressed by the barrage, unable to move.
The body, as if cast from molten iron, finally began to show crack after crack, with thick, blackened blood starting to drip down.
At the same time, the sound of shell casings falling to the ground ceased, and the muzzle flashes that tore through the darkness vanished as well.
“Captain, the ammunition is exhausted.”
“Everyone, it’s our turn.”
Hearing his team member Da Zhuang’s words, Zhang Linfeng cast a gloomy look at the people behind him.
If not for their coercion, Da Zhuang—the squad’s ultimate killing weapon—would never have exhausted all the ammunition required for the heavy machine gun.
“Hehe, Captain Zhang, just watch us.”
Seeing that the Zhang Family’s most threatening heavy machine gunner was now out of bullets, the people from the other factions immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Facing the might of the Hive-Type I Vehicle-mounted Heavy Machine Gun, none of them dared to take it head-on. Even Beast Tamers skilled in defense could not withstand the devastation of such a violent barrage.
With the class advancement materials right before their eyes, no one wasted any more time. They immediately commanded their beasts to kill the Bull-headed Desiccated Corpse.
“Charge.”
When the Bull-headed Desiccated Corpse’s head was severed, everyone immediately rushed toward the laboratory behind the alloy gate.
Zhou Ming, who had just been preparing to act from afar, saw everyone enter the laboratory and also prepared to follow closely and slip inside.
However, just as he was about to move, intense beast roars and the sounds of firearms firing suddenly erupted from within the laboratory.
“They couldn’t have found the class advancement materials this fast, could they?”
Sensing the commotion coming from the laboratory, Zhou Ming stopped, his thoughts racing. After several seconds of consideration, he still decided to move closer and investigate.
Approaching the alloy gate, the night-vision ability granted by his Serpent Pupils allowed Zhou Ming to clearly see the environment before him.
The laboratory covered an area of a hundred meters, with a height exceeding ten meters. Countless pieces of equipment were arranged throughout the laboratory.
The nutrient pods used to house experimental subjects had already been damaged. All kinds of desiccated corpse monsters formed from human–beast fusion were now locked in combat with the various factions that had broken in.
Beasts attacked head-on, while Beast Tamers provided covering fire from behind with firearms.
If a desiccated corpse monster attempted a sneak attack, the Beast Tamers would immediately control their beasts to turn back and support.
For a time, the vast laboratory resembled a cruel and bloody coliseum.
“The data box is gone.”
Just as everyone was locked in battle with the desiccated corpse monsters, a cry of alarm drew everyone’s attention.
“Who the hell secretly took the data box?”
“Quick, seal off the laboratory entrance.”
The already chaotic laboratory instantly descended into even greater turmoil.
Hiding at the laboratory entrance, Zhou Ming immediately retreated back into the passageway. Alone, he did not have the strength to face so many factions at once.
However, just as he left the laboratory entrance, the Radar Sensory Domain formed by the Ironthread Snake instantly warned him that someone else had also escaped from the laboratory.
Yet when Zhou Ming looked toward the position of the white dot within the sensory domain, he did not see anyone there.
Invisibility?
In his mind, Zhou Ming suddenly recalled the female member of the Cunning Fox Hunter Squad. Relying on invisibility, she had nearly caused him to capsize in the gutter.
Although invisibility abilities were special, being detectable by the Radar Sensory Domain clearly indicated ordinary optical invisibility.
If not for the chaotic situation inside the laboratory, the person would likely have been discovered long ago. After all, there were quite a few beasts with special sensory abilities.
It seemed that the one who had secretly taken the data box was likely this individual with invisibility.
After making a simple deduction in his mind, Zhou Ming immediately abandoned the laboratory. Locking onto the opponent with the Radar Sensory Domain, he silently followed behind.
After confirming that the people inside the laboratory could not sense the situation outside, Zhou Ming decided not to wait any longer.
If the other party had someone providing support, obtaining the class advancement materials would involve many more variables.
In the pitch-black passageway, the foot-long Ironthread Snakes slithered rapidly. Suddenly, they bared their venomous fangs at what appeared to be empty space.
“Ah—”
A startled cry suddenly rang out in the darkness. A humanoid black shadow appeared in the passageway, his entire body wrapped tightly by countless Ironthread Snakes.
The steel-needle-like fangs had already pierced his skin, frantically injecting venom.
With such a dosage of venom, even low-tier Ferocious Beasts would find it difficult to endure, let alone a Beast Tamer who had not yet advanced to the professional rank.
As the snake swarm dispersed, a naked man appeared in Zhou Ming’s field of vision.
“The same type of Genetic Potion?”
Seeing the scene before him, Zhou Ming immediately recalled that Mei Fox had been in the same condition back then, her skin changing color like a chameleon.
Then, with the sound of something striking the ground, Zhou Ming’s attention was drawn to a ring that had fallen from the dead man’s palm.
“Spatial storage equipment.”
Zhou Ming immediately controlled Inkband to bring it into his hand.
With just a simple probe using his Spiritual Power, he immediately confirmed that it was indeed a spatial equipment.
However, before Zhou Ming could inspect the items stored within the space ring, he sensed obvious movement coming from behind him.
“Not good, they also realized someone slipped out of the laboratory.”
Zhou Ming had not expected the various factions inside the laboratory to react so quickly.
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately rushed toward the second level of the ruins.
Less than half a minute after Zhou Ming left, a group of people arrived with their respective beasts. The naked corpse came into view.
“Damn it, someone was the oriole lurking behind.”
“That person shouldn’t have gone far. Chase.”
One of them crouched down to inspect the corpse and found that its body temperature had not dropped much. He immediately ordered everyone to pursue Zhou Ming.
As soon as the words fell, several canine Ferocious Beasts charged ahead.
However, with Zhou Ming’s cautious nature, it was impossible for him not to anticipate sensory-type beasts behind him. He had already set up several booby traps.
In an instant, several thunderous explosions rang out within the dark passageway.
Even the Beast Tamers exploring the second level of the ruins sensed the disturbance caused by the explosions.