121: Chapter 121 Using a borrowed knife to kill

When Wu Ran returned to the ambulance, Little Claw had already flown down from the wreckage of the Overpass and was crouching on the hood waiting for him. Its golden feathers glimmered faintly in the strange fog, its pupils narrowed to pinpricks, and a very low, rumbling sound emitted from its throat.

He opened the car door and let Little Claw stand on his left shoulder. He fully released his perception Sequencer ability, and his perception range, previously blocked by the strange fog and ruins, suddenly expanded. Now he could clearly "see" every figure in the ruins of the Trading Market; their Sequencer energy fluctuations appeared like flames of various colors in his perception.

The Speed-type Sequencer's energy fluctuations were light and fast, and he was darting back and forth along the edge of the ruins, scouting the path. The burly man with a shotgun on his back had energy fluctuations that were heavy and volatile, typical of a combat-type, and he was crouching beside the wreckage of a bulletin board, counting ammunition. The Defense-type's energy fluctuations were heavy and dense; its iron-gray skin shimmered with a cold, hard metallic luster in the strange fog, and it was stacking supplies moved out from the Registration Office basement onto a cart, one box at a time.

Cang's energy fluctuations were the deepest; his gray-black Sequencer energy was like a piece of red-hot iron wrapped in thick cloth. He was currently leaning against the bulletin board, clutching the map marked with safe node locations and sketching something on it with a pencil. They were waiting for the Speed-type to finish scouting and return, then they would continue searching toward the military supply depot.

Human hearts are more terrifying than anomalies. After the collapse of the Beishan Safe Zone, it seemed this group of Sequencers from the Fang Organization had quickly shifted their primary hostile target to the Yuanteng Base.

These types of Sequencers deserve to die. Compared to anomalies, they pose a greater threat to survivors. Since that's the case, let the anomalies and them fight each other.

By borrowing the knife of the anomalies, these opportunistic raiders would be left in the ruins forever. Even if they couldn't be wiped out, at least their combat strength would be depleted, severely denting the main force of the Fang Organization.

Several B-Class Anomalies were entrenched in the direction of the Core Zone. Earlier, while searching for supplies in the ruins, he had sensed at least three of them confronting each other deep within the Core Zone.

Anomalies have an extremely strong sense of territory, especially when they have just reclaimed their turf. Any intruder entering their territory would be seen as a provocation. If he could create some noise and make these B-Class Anomalies think someone had invaded their territory, they would definitely rush toward the source of the sound.

Cang's group was scavenging for supplies in the ruins of the Trading Market. It wasn't too far or too close to the Core Zone, just on the edge of the anomalies' territory. As long as the commotion was loud enough, the anomalies would certainly mistake the people in the Trading Market for intruders.

Wu Ran began to activate the heart of industry. It was quiet inside the ambulance, but his perception had already spread to the collapsed garrison dormitory building on the west side of the Core Zone. The building had tilted significantly, with only a few steel beams barely supporting the frame. On the rooftop, several rusted steel bars were being awakened by the active pulses of the heart of industry, slowly popping out from the concrete debris and hovering in mid-air, trembling slightly.

Little Claw shook its wings on his left shoulder, its golden feathers fluffing up slightly, ready for battle. Little Mist was curled up on the passenger seat, its dark purple vertical pupils slightly constricted, the bone spur at the tip of its tail tapping against the car window glass rhythmically. It was ready too.

"Let them fight first." Wu Ran pressed down on Little Claw's wings, letting the active pulses of the heart of industry extend further. The steel bars on the roof slowly rose to their highest point, paused in mid-air for a moment, and then slammed into each other. The sound of metal clashing exploded over the ruins, sharp and piercing, like two knives striking against a stone slab. The lingering sound bounced back and forth in the empty alleys of the ruins, carrying very far.

The B-Class Anomalies that had been confronting each other deep in the Core Zone stopped their screeching simultaneously. After a brief silence, the first one moved. Its energy fluctuations moved outward from the center of the Core Zone at an extremely high speed, with gray-black energy surging violently around its body. Immediately after, the second one moved, followed by a large-scale Anomaly Tide.

Wu Ran withdrew his control of the heart of industry and leaned back against the seat. His perception clearly captured the movement trajectories of the three B-Class Anomalies.

The first one crashed through the wreckage of the Core Zone's outer wall, its bone armor scraping a dazzling shower of sparks against the concrete debris. Its size far exceeded that of an ordinary Elite Specter, and every bone spur on its spine was as thick as an arm. As it charged through the main entrance passage, it casually smashed a Rotten Skin Ghost that couldn't dodge in time, with rotting blood sizzling as it splattered on the gravel ground.

The second one followed closely behind; it was slightly smaller but faster, its sharp claws at the ends of its limbs plowing deep furrows into the ruin's ground. The third one circled from the side to the other side of the garrison dormitory building. It seemed to have sensed something, paused for a moment in front of the dormitory ruins, and then, attracted by the scent of living people from the direction of the Trading Market, suddenly turned and charged toward the market.

In the ruins of the Trading Market, the Fang Organization's Speed-type Sequencer was the first to notice something wrong. When his toes touched the ground to sense vibrations, he suddenly froze, his face turning deathly pale in an instant. He heard the harsh, grating sound of bone armor scraping against the gravel ground, and that sound was rapidly approaching.

"Something is coming! It's an anomaly! Damn it, three B-Class leaders are charging over from the Core Zone!" He basically roared it out.

The burly man with the shotgun on his back stood up abruptly, threw the ammunition box onto the cart, and grabbed the shotgun leaning against the bulletin board. The Defense-type threw the canvas bag it was carrying on its shoulder onto the cart; its iron-gray skin hardened to the limit in an instant, and it crossed its arms in front of its chest, blocking in front of Cang. Cang folded the map and put it in his pocket, then pulled a short-handled battle axe from the inside of his coat with his right hand, the blade shimmering with a very faint, gray-black light.

The first B-Class Anomaly crashed through the broken wall at the edge of the Trading Market. Broken bricks and concrete blocks flew everywhere as they were struck by its bone armor. After charging into the market ruins, it didn't hesitate for a second and lunged straight at the burly man with the shotgun who was closest to it. The burly man didn't have time to aim and instinctively held the shotgun horizontally in front of his chest to block.

The sharp claws slashed against the gun body, sparking a string of fire. The impact pushed him back several steps, his back hitting the wreckage of the bulletin board with a dull thud. He didn't fall; after stabilizing himself, he quickly pulled the bolt and fired a shot at the anomaly's head.

The pellets hit the bone armor, leaving only a few shallow bullet marks, but the impact caused the anomaly's lunge to deviate. The sharp claws grazed his shoulder, tearing open a gash in his combat uniform.

The second B-Class Anomaly followed closely and charged in. It bypassed the Defense-type's line of defense from the side, its sharp claws at the ends of its limbs aiming straight for Cang's back. The Speed-type darted out from the side, clutching a short blade in its hand, and stabbed fiercely toward the anomaly's limb joint.

The short blade pierced into the gap between the bone armor. The anomaly, in pain, let out a piercing screech and swung its limb, swatting the Speed-type away. The Speed-type flipped twice in the air and crashed onto the gravel ground, its back slamming into the edge of the cart, causing the ammunition box to flip off the cart and scatter everywhere.

The Defense-type rushed up and withstood the frontal impact of the third B-Class Anomaly. The moment its hardened skin collided with the anomaly's sharp claws, a burst of gray-black energy debris exploded. Its feet slid back half a meter on the gravel ground, but it stubbornly didn't let the anomaly take another step forward.

Cang flashed out from behind it, his short-handled battle axe striking the anomaly's limb joint. Gray-black energy exploded on the axe blade, cracking the bone armor at the joint. The anomaly let out a furious screech and swung the bone spurs on its spine, smashing down toward Cang. Cang dodged to the side, and the bone spurs slammed into the ground, sending up a spray of gravel.

"Forget the supplies! Everyone retreat first!" Cang roared at the others, his battle axe hacking back the pursuit of the anomaly in front of him. The few of them began to retreat toward the edge of the ruins under the siege of the anomalies. The Speed-type scrambled up from the ground, clutching its bruised ribs, and limped outward. The burly man with the shotgun fired off his last few rounds and threw the empty gun at the anomaly. The Defense-type fought while retreating, the corrosion dents on its hardened skin increasing.

Wu Ran started the engine. The energy fluctuations in the direction of the Trading Market were moving toward the edge of the ruins, and Cang's people were retreating toward the Overpass. He turned the steering wheel half a turn to the southeast, and the ambulance silently slid out of the shadow under the Overpass, driving toward the Provincial Road.

In the rearview mirror, the strange fog over the ruins of the Trading Market was still surging violently, and the screeching and the crisp sounds of bone armor clashing echoed over the ruins for a long time before gradually subsiding. The Fang Organization's reconnaissance squad was severely crippled under the siege of the three B-Class Anomalies. The supplies on the cart were all lost, and as a group of battered and wounded soldiers, let alone continuing to scavenge for supplies, it would be a stroke of luck if they could make it back to the Fang Organization's main force alive.