Chapter 80: Experimentals
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
The intense gunshots in the forest ahead came to a stop. It sounded like the Qing Consortium had completed its sweep of the outer perimeter. All of the wild animals that could pose a threat to them had been eliminated.
Xu Xianchu whispered to Ren Xiaosu, “This is when the Qing Consortium will set up the observation posts around the perimeter. Even with their manpower, they won’t be able to lock down such a large area with just several hundred people.”
“About how many people are there in a Qing Consortium combat brigade?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
Xu Xianchu hesitated before saying, “Approximately 4,000 to 5,000, but it’s impossible they would mobilize all of them. After all, they still have to consider keeping order in the stronghold.”
“No.” Ren Xiaosu shook his head and said, “I don’t think there’s a big problem in the stronghold. Will the people in a stronghold dare to rebel in just a few days? That’s impossible. So we have to be prepared that they have turned out in full force with at least a few thousand people.”
“Alright.” Xu Xianchu understood his argument but was hoping they would be lucky. He analyzed the situation before saying, “But actually, they will not mobilize their full force. The supplies of the various strongholds are not enough to provision a few thousand-strong expedition into the Jing Mountains for such a long period of time. It’s not that there aren’t enough supplies, but that the transportation, logistics, manpower issues, etc., all have to be considered. As their soldiers brought a lot of firearms and explosives with them, I believe the advanced party that arrived at the Jing Mountains should number around a thousand men or so after taking into account a comprehensive mix of factors.”
Ren Xiaosu thought it over. Xu Xianchu probably had a more expert opinion on military operations. He said, “I trust your judgment. But I’ll still say the same thing. If the observation posts make the perimeter too secure, I’ll take a detour out of the mountains in the direction of Stronghold 112 without hesitation.”
“OK.” Xu Xianchu nodded. He knew that Ren Xiaosu’s decision was right. After all, if he, Ren Xiaosu, and Yang Xiaojin were to face the pursuit of over a thousand people, it would surely lead to a very bad end. Xu Xianchu put on a face of determination. “If we need to resort to guerrilla warfare, we’ll have to abandon the other three since they won’t be able to keep with our pace—wait a minute! ”
As he spoke, Xu Xianchu was stunned. He looked around and asked, “Where’s Yang Xiaojin?”
Ren Xiaosu was also shocked. After looking around, he asked Liu Bu, who was at the rear of the team, “Have you seen Yang Xiaojin?”
“No, I wasn’t paying attention,” Liu Bu answered blankly.
Everyone realized that no one knew when Yang Xiaojin had disappeared during their journey!
If it were Liu Bu who went missing, Ren Xiaosu would think that he might have been taken away by something. But for Yang Xiaojin, that would definitely not be the case!
Ren Xiaosu and Xu Xianchu had thought that Liu Bu, Luo Xinyu, and Wang Lei would be their burden, but they suddenly got a feeling that Yang Xiaojin thought that all five of them were her burden.
But what exactly was Yang Xiaojin’s purpose in coming here? Ren Xiaosu realized that she might not be after the secret of the Jing Mountains at all!
Yang Xiaojin carried an even greater secret!
Ren Xiaosu and Xu Xianchu looked at each other as though they came to a decision at the same time.
“So...” Ren Xiaosu said righteously, “Yang Xiaojin might have fallen behind. As teammates, we should split up to look for her. It’ll be too dangerous if she’s found by herself.”
Ren Xiaosu and Xu Xianchu then walked separately in two different directions. Liu Bu, Luo Xinyu, and Wang Lei looked back at the way they came and wondered how Yang Xiaojin could have disappeared so quietly. Liu Bu asked, “Do you feel that Yang Xiaojin has been behaving very strangely? She paid us to join the team, but it’s clear that she has her own purpose in coming here....”
Liu Bu turned to look in the directions of where Ren Xiaosu and Xu Xianchu went. However... both of them had also gone missing!
What the fuck?!
What did you mean by splitting up to look for her? You two were obviously making your escape!
Ren Xiaosu, Xu Xianchu, and Yang Xiaojin had respectively made their decisions to drop their burdens once they got near the hinterlands of the Jing Mountains.
After all, they knew how powerful the Qing Consortium’s troops were. Whether they were to sneak in or take a detour and leave, they couldn’t afford to bring Liu Bu, Luo Xinyu, and Wang Lei along with them.
Anyway, they were not related nor owed them anything, so there was really no stress when it came to making the decision to abandon them.
But Ren Xiaosu found it quite unfortunate as he had been constantly trying to find ways to gain the gratitude of these people during the past few days. After putting in much effort and gaining 93 gratitude tokens from them, it would not be easy to earn more of them now that he had to go solo.
Liu Bu, Luo Xinyu, and Wang Lei panicked on the spot. They had wanted to seek help from the Qing Consortium but found out that they might get killed instead. Thus, they thought that it would also be a good idea to leave with Ren Xiaosu, Xu Xianchu, and Yang Xiaojin. But to their surprise, the three of them ran off one after the other!
But while they were in a state of confusion, Liu Bu, Luo Xinyu, and Wang Lei suddenly heard the rattling of chains being dragged on the ground!
They felt a tingling sensation on their scalps. Didn’t they say the monster wouldn’t be active during the day? Why did it keep following the team then?!
They remembered Xu Xia’s ravaged corpse and the wild animals that had fled from the forest the previous night. Liu Bu could even remember the sound of the monster’s saliva dripping onto the leaves.
A second later, Liu Bu turned around and ran away. He didn’t care anymore whether the Qing Consortium would kill him or not. He just didn’t want to die!
When Liu Bu started to run, the other two followed him. However, Liu Bu suddenly discovered that he could not run as fast as Wang Lei and Luo Xinyu.
Although Wang Lei was wounded before this, he had already fully recovered in slightly over two days due to the magical effects of the black medicine. He was terrified of the mysterious monster behind him, but right as he passed Liu Bu, Wang Lei suddenly saw that Liu Bu had unexpectedly stretched out his foot to trip him!
With a loud thud, Wang Lei fell heavily onto the ground. Liu Bu could only apologize in his head. Someone had to be sacrificed in order for others to live!
Liu Bu ran away as fast as he could. But before he could get far, he heard Wang Lei’s scream and the disturbing sound of chewing flesh!
Wang Lei’s scream tore into Liu Bu like a fearsome ghost. However, this scream did not last long before it stopped.
The rattling of the chains could be heard again, and the monster chased after them once more!
Liu Bu was in despair. When he thought of pulling Luo Xinyu down this time, he found that she had already gotten far away from him.
“Who is it?” Someone was talking up ahead in the forest. Liu Bu focused his vision over there and realized that the person was wearing a pure black uniform and holding a gun in his hands.
Liu Bu shouted, “A monster! There’s a monster behind me!”
He saw the consortium’s soldier making several tactical hand signals, followed by more than 20 soldiers appearing out from the forest beside him as they slowly made their way towards Liu Bu. It was a full platoon of soldiers!
The person leading the platoon ordered, “Kneel down and put your hands behind your head!”
Liu Bu immediately knelt down on the ground. He knew that if he did not follow his instructions, these combat troops would open fire and kill him. All he could do now was to leave his life in the hands of fate!
The rattling of the chains grew closer. When the owner of the chains showed up, the soldier shouted through the wireless communications equipment in his helmet, “Please send reinforcements! We’ve spotted an escaping Experimental! Fire!”
Gunfire thundered!