Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 964 - 21: The Scheming Group Leader

Chapter 964: Chapter 21: The Scheming Group Leader

The blade pierced through, and Qian Xue cried out in pain. Sweat beads immediately formed on his forehead as he tensed his entire body, pulling on Teng Yuanxiang’s ankle with his right hand, dragging her in front of him, and then throwing a punch aimed at smashing her nose.

Teng Yuanxiang was very calm. Nearly forty hours of survival had transformed her considerably. Her spirit was incredibly tough. After thrusting the folding knife, she had no intentions of reconciling. She yanked back the knife and then stabbed towards Qian Xue’s mouth.

Seeing the sharp knife blade thrusting towards him, Qian Xue’s eyes bulged, nearly popping out. Then his screams abruptly ceased as an intense, piercing pain spread from the tip of his tongue enveloped in the taste of blood; next, he realized that the inside of his mouth had been churned into a mass of broken flesh by the folding knife.

Teng Yuanxiang was unsteady on her feet, allowing Qian Xue’s fist to hit her at the corner of her mouth. However, she didn’t cry out in pain. Gritting her teeth, she twisted her wrist and swiped to the side, slicing open his cheek all the way to the base of his ear.

Blood splattered everywhere. Qian Xue could no longer remain composed. He instinctively let go of Teng Yuanxiang and then took a heavy kick to the abdomen, dropping to the ground on his knees.

"Don’t move, or I’ll kill you all!" Having struck a successful blow, Teng Yuanxiang immediately hurled the folding knife at the three men who wanted to rush forward, retreating while raising her rifle.

The three men who had come with Qian Xue to cause trouble were stunned, not expecting things to escalate to this point. Facing the dark muzzle of the gun, they felt a bitter taste in their mouths and dared not make any rash moves.

"Let them go and sit over there," Teng Yuanxiang demanded when the three men exchanged glances, not heeding her words. She immediately shot at the ground near their feet. The Thunderball blasted a hole, and stray electric arcs leaped onto their bodies, making them shiver.

"Shi Jing, help me get the folding knife back," Teng Yuanxiang’s voice was cold, and coupled with the dim lighting, Qian Xue’s agonized screams, and contorted bodies, a bloody scene unfolded.

"Bastards, daring to covet me, didn’t you hear what I said? You, sit over there!" Teng Yuanxiang lifted her leg and kicked Qian Xue in the face, flipping him over. She then brutally kicked his stomach until he curled up in pain like a shrimp, at which point she stopped.

"Killing someone will deduct a thousand points, but I can cripple you all and throw you away!" Teng Yuanxiang’s words made the men obedient.

Xu Biyun arrived only to see Teng Yuanxiang’s foot, clad in knee-high boots, pressing down on a man’s face, grinding it forcefully. On the other side, two men kneeled face-to-face, slapping each other.

"What are you doing?" Xu Biyun frowned, growling in a low voice, but her eyes were on Teng Yuanxiang, evaluating her. This female newbie was definitely the most ruthless one she had ever seen. She couldn’t help but feel a bit envious; generally, such people also had the highest chance of survival.

"Bi Yun, they tried to rape us," Teng Yuanxiang said, immediately putting on a smile when she saw that Tang Zheng was kind to this girl.

"Leave it to Tang Zheng to deal with it!" Xu Biyun didn’t care about the lives of a few newbies and turned to leave.

"Put bomb collars on them," Tang Zheng said, giving Zuo Yi four collars after looking at the four unfortunate souls. The soldiers knew these men could become a source of unrest and complied immediately.

"On what authority are you handling us?" A dark-skinned, robust man challenged Tang Zheng, only to be punched in the mouth by Zuo Yi.

Spitting out several blood-drenched teeth, the robust man fell silent.

"It seems this day hasn’t yet taught you how to be a newbie?" Tang Zheng gave them an icy stare, unfriendly. "Do you need me to teach you a lesson?"

"No, no need," another man of shorter stature capitulated, looking to avoid a beating first and foremost.

"Good, that’s the smart way to go," Tang Zheng said, although he intended to kill them. He didn’t want them to give up hope. "As long as you don’t make a mistake in the next two days, the punishment can be lifted. After all, who could trust a combat mate by their side who’s unreliable?"

The newbies nodded. No one wanted to team up with scum, and even the three men came to think Tang Zheng’s measure wasn’t wrong.

"Are we done here? Then let’s get moving; the opposition has started making their moves," Zhou Xiang waved the handheld radar, urging everyone to depart.

Both parties, out of an unspoken agreement, didn’t approach each other for trouble but made obtaining the Insect Race gene samples their top priority.

Following the map, Tang Zheng and his team drove the vehicle and arrived in front of the Tech Lab ten minutes later. What they saw was a building painted white. Because of neglect, it looked a sickly pale, and the air was filled with a faint, acrid smell reminiscent of chlorine. The newbies had low immunity and immediately started sneezing.

"They’ve disappeared from the radar!" Lin He was watching the radar all the time. When she saw the red dots that indicated enemies vanish, she quickly alerted everyone.

"Qian Xue, it’s your turn to take the lead, go ahead!" Tang Zheng scrutinized the surrounding terrain, trying his best to memorize it, then ordered the newbies to scout ahead while completely ignoring Zhou Xiang and the others’ opinions.

No one challenged the command, as Qian Xue and his group had acted despicably, and the newbies didn’t dare to defy Tang Zheng, for everyone has an inherent instinct for self-preservation.

"Really thinks he’s the Group Leader now. Let him strut while he can!" Zhou Xiang muttered to himself, giving Lin He a look, signaling everyone to stay back.

"Yes, let them scout ahead," Lin He glared at Lin Chen and Zeng Fanghai, disgusted that they didn’t stand with Zhou Xiang.

Tang Zheng took out his Gas Mask and put it on, then passed the extra two to Teng Yuanxiang and Shi Jing. Xu Biyun, Zuo Yi, and the others already had them, so he didn’t need to take care of them.

"I’m so stupid," Lin Chen muttered to himself irritably. Why was he always a step behind? Had he suggested it earlier, he surely would have garnered admiring glances.

The newbies watched as the Conquerors one by one donned their black Gas Masks, their faces turning sour at thoughts of poisonous gas and bacteria. Teng Yuanxiang and Shi Jing felt extremely fortunate; without Tang Zheng, they would definitely not receive such preferential treatment.

Qian Xue and the four others hesitated, pausing in their tracks, as the shattered door of the Laboratory loomed before them like the gaping maw of a Monster, ready to devour anyone it chose.

"If you don’t go, I won’t force you, but your legs will be broken, and you’ll be left here," Zuo Yi knew someone always had to play the villain, so he took it upon himself to be the bad guy, giving them a nudge.

Finally, the team of more than thirty people started to move. Tang Zheng was seventh in line; as he proceeded, the other new members hurriedly followed, feeling safe only by his side, while Zhou Xiang and the others deliberately lagged behind.

"Those people are despicable," Xu Biyun fumed, wishing she could gun them all down with her Rifle.

"Who said that being at the rear is definitely safe?" Tang Zheng chuckled. Only a Group Leader as calm as he could inspire trust and a sense of security among Team members, "As for you, be careful. If things look bad, activate your Shields."

Upon entering the Lobby, the new members were greeted with the sight of mangled human Corpses bitten to pieces and wind-dried Bugs that had been killed. Heavy breathing filled the air, uncontrollable in their nervousness; a few female newbies were even trembling non-stop.

Beep, beep, the Radar beeped, and a map appeared on the handheld screen. In the upper left corner, there was a test tube-shaped icon emanating blue Light, obviously the focus of this mission. Tang Zheng tapped on the map, and instantly a three-dimensional map projected out, unfolding. The complex terrain made the survivors who saw it gasp in shock.

"It’s a pity the Electronic System specialist, Shen Qingshuang, isn’t here, otherwise we might completely disable those defense systems," Lin Weiguo believed that this scientific institute was undoubtedly an armed Monster -- one wrong bite and you could lose a big Tooth.

"I’m also Electronic System," Zhou Xiang grumbled, lifting his chin pridefully, "And third-order at that."

"Then you come with me," Tang Zheng was slightly surprised.

"Someone of my Talent should be heavily protected, right?" Zhou Xiang said, and then realized Tang Zheng was ignoring him and had started scouting ahead, nearly driving him insane.

After passing through the Lobby and entering the second level, the Silver Trojan presented a new choice: a direct route to the blue Potion icon was marked, but nobody dared to assume it was error-free.

"My opinion is to find our own way," Zhou Xiang never liked to be overlooked, always wanting to flaunt his presence, "After all, the Silver Trojan’s reputation for deceit is well known."

"Let’s vote by show of hands," Tang Zheng would leave the decision to the whole team when the odds were fifty-fifty. This would also let them feel like they were part of the Team, with a voice and a sense of belonging.

"Do as I say," Zhou Xiang raised his hand, then glared maliciously at the new members, coercing them to follow suit. Unfortunately, everyone ignored him, all eyes on Tang Zheng, waiting for his decision.

Snicker, Xu Biyun couldn’t help but laugh. Zhou Xiang was truly a Clown, so embarrassing.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhou Xiang’s face couldn’t stand the humiliation and he demanded an answer.

"Laughing at you!" Xu Biyun was fearless, puffing out her flat chest and meeting his gaze head-on.

"Enough, keep quiet and choose the route," Tang Zheng seemed to be scolding both of them, but in reality, Zhou Xiang was the one losing face; from vying for team command power, he was now reduced to being reprimanded just like another team member.

"You choose, you’re our Group Leader," said one perceptive newbie, currying favor with Tang Zheng. The other new members agreed, as they were at a loss about what to do.

"Then let’s do as Zhou Xiang says, since he seems so certain of himself," Tang Zheng shrugged, unconcerned.

"Hmph, you know what’s good for you," Zhou Xiang thought Tang Zheng was making amends, not realizing that he had just been lured into another trap. If the group ran into Traps or ambushes and suffered casualties, morale would surely drop, and Zhou Xiang, who chose this path, would become the subject of the new members’ complaints.

At that point, all Tang Zheng would need to do was to pick up the pieces, boost morale, and with various excuses, have the Instant Noodle Team’s new members take the lead in scouting.

After carefully navigating through the fourth level, which took twenty minutes, since there had been no attacks, the new members’ tension gradually eased, though they still couldn’t muster any combat power.

"Seems like there’s no problem, right?" The second man in line taunted Qian Xue, who was injured and not expected to survive. The three men ruthlessly pushed him to the forefront. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)