Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 961 - 18: Death Worm Soldiers

Chapter 961: Chapter 18: Death Worm Soldiers

"The Central Hammer Team and the survivors of the Instant Noodle Team, under the leadership of Captain Tang Zheng, have arrived in Central City, concluding the first stage of the mission. Please proceed to the Tech Lab to search for the Insect Race gene samples."

"The remaining four Trojan Squads, please continue to make an effort. The map of the Beehive residential area will open in two hours. Please hurry to close the gap."

The announcement from the Silver Trojan made most of the survivors anxious, of course, the Instant Noodle Team and Hammer Team, divided into several groups, were overjoyed.

"Tang Zheng is indeed sharp, always the first one!" Dantai shook his head and smiled bitterly, outdone once again, then told his team to stop and rest.

...

"Uncle is the best." Lu Fan held up his chin and boasted to a bunch of newbies, taking pride in the achievement.

"Hmph, it’s just that our captain wasn’t in top form, otherwise we would have found a way out long ago," Su Ameng pinched Lu Fan’s nose and then laughed, "Come on, let big sister give you a hug, that pouting expression is so cute."

"No way, you big-chested woman, stay away from me." Lu Fan pushed on Su Ameng’s chest and irritably pinched it.

A few male newbies gulped and bent over; they couldn’t help it, something had risen.

"Damn it, control your dog eyes." Whack, Su Ameng lashed her whip, striking a new recruit on the shoulder, "Now go clear the way for me, I’m going to find the captain."

"Idiot, all your nutrition has gone here, huh? You should be resting and waiting for the map to open," Lu Fan said, pinching Su Ameng’s chest enviously, feeling disheartened at how long it would take for his own to grow.

...

"Let’s stop here for now, take a break," Qin Yan waved her hand, instructing her teammates to eliminate nearby hazards while feeling a sense of relief internally, glad to not have to figure out the path themselves, significantly reducing the pressure.

"So impressive, worthy of being the captain," Shen Qingshuang admired, feeling lucky to be in such an outstanding team.

...

"Damn it, what is this Tang Zheng? Why is he ahead of me?" An handsome man roared, smashing his lunchbox filled with kimchi onto the ground, splashing sauce everywhere.

"Kwon Tae Hyun, don’t be angry, it’s just a two-hour gap. Let them fight and find the way for now. As long as we kill them in the end, we will get everything," a woman with wine-red wavy hair calmly knelt on a picnic cloth, sipping fragrant Dragon Well tea.

"An Hui has a point, Tae Hyun, you should stay calm," another man rose from his sleeping bag, still as composed as ever, clearly confident in his own abilities.

"If you’re really annoyed, go take it out on those Nepalese Monkeys," a woman from the South Korean team said, applying lipstick while speaking. Her ’monkeys’ referred to three captured Nepalese captives beaten and then tied up and thrown behind her.

"Too ugly, not interested," Kwon Tae Hyun sat down, not even glancing at the Conqueror lying dismembered in the corner. For them, a second-stage captive was no different from trash.

...

The Nepalese were restless, itching to leave the maze immediately and kill that guy named Tang Zheng. One of them kept chopping at the corpse of a captured Chinese with a Dog Leg Knife, mincing the flesh.

...

"Hey, isn’t this us?" Lin Chen was excited, being the first to arrive usually meant earning a substantial amount of points, and a two-hour lead was enough to do a lot.

Teng Yuanxiang was thrilled, glad to have followed the right person, and the newbies all showed relieved expressions.

Xu Biyun remained calm. The moment she joined up with Tang Zheng, she knew it was inevitable.

Tang Zheng frowned; he was not so optimistic. Being two hours ahead also meant that they would be the first to break into the Tech Lab, which sounded ominous just by the name.

Before the survivors could react, the Silver Trojan’s announcement rang out again.

"Due to the conclusion of the first stage, the Punishment Force will arrive in five minutes. Please prepare to flee or engage. Note, Tang Zheng’s temporary team is exempt from punishment."

Just this announcement was enough to make the survivors feel an array of envy and resentment.

"Impressive!" Lin Chen gave a thumbs up, completely convinced.

With a series of beeps, the handheld radars of each person automatically opened up, displaying a three-dimensional structural diagram with a flashing yellow triangle, labeled with the words ’Gene Samples.’

The building layout consisted of numerous tiny squares. By tapping with a finger, one could enlarge or move the map for closer inspection, but the more they looked, the worse the expressions on their faces became. Just one small block could easily confuse anyone who entered.

"Damn, we’re moving out like this?" Lin Chen was close to getting a headache. "I hate having to think."

"Looks like there’s no way to wait it out. We have to break through on our own." The lab had a total of sixteen exits marked with green arrows. Tang Zheng originally planned to plant some bombs to kill off some newbies and delay his opponents, thus buying more time to explore the lab. However, considering the potential traps inside, he thought it was a thankless task. If the newbies died inside, it could also demoralize their teams. Once they became nervous, a chain collapse could occur, potentially killing even more people.

"Let’s go, Han Ze, Hu Gang, keep leading the way," Tang Zheng switched to a Heavy Magnetostorm Rifle because it was a new area and new types of bugs might appear.

"Can we switch people? It can’t always be us, right?" Hu Gang was unwilling. This was a matter of life and death; even if it meant getting beaten up, he had to speak up.

The other three newbies stayed silent, fearful of being chosen, when one of the middle-aged men more cunningly yelled, "Do whatever the Captain tells you to. Why are you complaining so much?"

"Shut up, you go," Tang Zheng of course wouldn’t fall for such insignificant skills, and directly called him out.

The middle-aged man tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to lure it, and his face turned green as he cursed himself for speaking out of turn.

"Move it, no more nonsense," Zeng Fanghai was already annoyed and kicked the middle-aged man’s butt.

Hu Gang was amused, gave his rifle a tug, and just as he was relieved to be moving to the back of the line, a large-caliber bullet wrapped in red light shot over, burrowing into his head.

Boom, like a watermelon crushed by a road roller, Hu Gang’s head exploded into broken flesh, and even half of his chest was torn apart, revealing the white bones of his spine.

Zeng Fanghai and Lin Chen had quick reactions. They immediately ducked and retreated back the way they had come.

"Suppressive fire!" If they were all his own team members, Tang Zheng would definitely have returned fire in the direction from which the bullets came. But since they weren’t, he certainly wouldn’t attract fire to himself. After shouting the order, he quickly gave Bi Yun a look to cover the retreat and, grabbing the bewildered Teng Yuanxiang, moved back.

Tang Zheng was unfamiliar with the layout of Central City, so he definitely wouldn’t fight here. He wanted to retreat back to the passage and reorganize his battle line.

"Captain!" Teng Yuanxiang was touched. Tang Zheng really hadn’t given up on her, otherwise why wouldn’t he have grabbed Shi Jing?

The newbies, seeing Zeng Fanghai and Lin Chen running, followed behind, unsure of what to do, when they suddenly heard Tang Zheng’s order. Reflexively, they raised their rifles and opened fire in the direction Zeng Fanghai and Lin Chen were attacking from.

The two Conquerors reacted too quickly and clearly didn’t have Tang Zheng’s dark tactics. This round of suppressive fire immediately drew heavy fire from the enemy.

Bullets shot out, leaving fist-sized dents in the metal floor with their tremendous force, and their aim was very accurate. Six hits shattered Lin Chen’s Light Defense Shield, but he was lucky. Just in the nick of time, he escaped into the passage. Because he drew the fire, the newbies managed to survive by luck.

"Are they Conquerors or native humans?" Obviously, bugs wouldn’t use guns, so there were only these two possibilities left. Tang Zheng didn’t need to guess anymore because the opponents had already emerged.

This was a combat team of about twenty people dressed in crude Power Armor. They were over two meters tall, weighed more than three hundred pounds, fully armed, carrying Heavy Firearms, and making an assault.

The bullets Teng Yuanxiang fired bounced off their bodies, and then, facing incoming Thunderballs, yellow Energy Shields were activated to protect them.

"Tough ones." Tang Zheng took aim at a Death Worm Soldier and burst fired seven times before he managed to break through the soldier’s Energy Shield. The soldier started to evade tactically, and the occasional shot that hit was blocked by his Power Armor, leaving him unharmed.

"We can’t take them; let’s retreat," Zeng Fanghai thought to escape and suggested, "Use traps to kill them."

Thrusters spewed blue flames, allowing the small team to move quickly and close the distance to three hundred meters in a flash. Then the rocket nests on their shoulders opened up, launching a covering barrage.

"Only fifteen shots, the firepower is too weak," Tang Zheng fired fifteen Magnetic Storm Balls, knocking down one Power Armor, but still failed to kill the opponent.

The soldier, clad in spark-emitting Power Armor, got back up, drew his Beam Saber, and charged again. But after just three steps, he was hit in the head by a red bullet and exploded.

"Can’t get away now, provide support from long range," Tang Zheng passed the Devil Flame Pistol to Xu Biyun and quickly armed the Hellfire.

Zzt, the Chest Beam Cannon charged and fired, hitting two Power Armors squarely, blasting them apart and scattering a shower of metallic parts and flesh.

Lin Chen and Zeng Fanghai, seeing Tang Zheng suddenly become an Iron Canned Head, twitched their eyes. Indeed, Captains always have a trump card. The newbies, on the other hand, were a bit more at ease.

Tang Zheng sprang into action, immediately chased by a barrage. After a few maneuvers, he evaded them all and quickly closed in on the frontmost one.

Boom, Tang Zheng grabbed his head, released an Impact Beam from his palm, melting his face into slag, simultaneously extending his left-hand back with the Beam Saber, stabbing into the heart area.

Bullets shot towards him, but Tang Zheng used the soldier as a Meat Shield while continuing his assault. Then, tossing him aside like a broken sack, he reached out for the second one.

The killing spree intensified, explosions continued, metal parts flew everywhere, tinkling and clanging! (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)