Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 111: Nosedive
Most of the monsters failed to enter Y City with Yi Ning’s defense and the maneuvering of the main military force. Unfortunately, the military was no better than a sieve; there were still scattered few that managed to breach the feeble protective walls.
To achieve this result, 70% of the soldiers perished on the battlefield. Yi Ning himself hadn’t left the front line and suffered severe injuries as well. The floating spheres had blown off his right arm, and the right side of his body was entirely affected—his upper body suffered extensive erosion, his right eye was blinded by the erosion contamination, and the right side of his face was blown into a bloody mess.
He hung on by a thread, but shortly after Zhu Yanchen returned, Yi Ning lost consciousness.
Zhu Yanchen couldn’t relax either. They had only taken down the three most threatening Erosion Swamps with brains in advance, and Luo Duan would soon discover this. Sigma could still create more Erosion Swamps with brains. Even without specialized war capabilities, their threat level was several times higher than that of ordinary Erosion Swamps just by virtue of having sentiency.
Not to mention the ordinary Erosion Swamps that continued to gather inside the city. This was the outskirts of Y City, and the originally clean ground was covered in black, viscous liquid, nearly reaching people’s ankles, with a noticeable thickening trend. Ordinary Erosion Swamps were still gathering, creating a favorable combat environment for Erosion Swamps with brains.
And most of the people inside the city were civilians. Not to mention combat capabilities, it was uncertain whether their mentality could remain stable.
The same tactics were unlikely to work a second time, and even if Sigma released Shu Jun, he couldn’t make the erosion substance on the ground disappear instantly. Zhu Yanchen made a decisive decision. “Retreat into the city. Send the wounded to medical facilities, and the remaining forces will join the city guard!”
The morale of this remnant force changed—including the command group—compared to the initial confusion and helplessness. Their eyes carried more desolation and heaviness.
And a numbness towards death.
No one questioned it. Yi Ning had fought hard. With only the remaining 30% of the forces guarding outside the city, the situation resembled scattering grains of rice to feed pigeons, sparse and unable to defend anything.
The situation inside the city wasn’t optimistic either.
To prevent greater panic, Xia Liang disguised herself as Dong Lao and led the team to guard the most heavily invaded western side. Zhu Sheng was responsible for gathering everyone—Erosion Swamps continuously surged in, occasionally accompanied by strange individuals with peculiar abilities. They easily shattered the protective glass or crawled in through the ventilation ducts.
As the most prosperous city, the design of the residential areas in Y City was exceptionally reasonable. However, no matter how reasonable the everyday defenses were, they couldn’t withstand a real natural disaster. Sturdy walls developed cracks; vibrant paint turned into mottled gray. The black erosion substance flooded the sewers, submerging the ground floor steps. Newly formed Erosion Swamps with brains floated in the thick erosion substance, resembling leeches swimming in water.
They climbed up the floors, searching for the scent of the living. The outermost residential buildings were instantly covered in these peculiar “Erosion Swamp clusters”, leaving winding traces of erosion on the exterior of each floor.
The aborigines in the city center could no longer hide in their homes. They had to carry their valuable belongings and take care of each other as they left. Some people hurriedly left without protecting their shoes, so they wrapped their feet with protective cloth and wore ordinary protective shoes to step into the eroded ground. The erosion seeped into the shoes through the poorly sealed gaps, slowly and steadily devouring the skin.
At first, some people screamed in pain, but as the crowd gathered, the cries of pain gradually faded away.
No one would come to rescue them, and death still pursued them. If they left a little later, Erosion Swamps would fall from the rooftops, creating a splash of darkness. Anyone who ran slowly would be engulfed by these peculiar swamps, losing their lives.
Even if their flesh rotted off their feet, leaving only bones, people could only run.
The military inside the city tried to maintain order and get as many people on the vehicles as possible. The open trucks had limited space, and most people tightly held onto their most valuable possessions, covering their heads as they squeezed in. No one was willing to let go. The soldiers had no choice but to fire warning shots, forcing people to line up and only allowing them to keep the luggage they could hold on their knees.
The unique bitter taste of the erosion substance mixed with the smell of blood. Once people were seated in the vehicles, they began to sob—regardless of gender or age, everyone had red eyes.
At the beginning of the disaster, they cursed the United Government and the synthetic humans. Monsters and natural disasters were unrelenting, and everyone knew that. However, at this stage, no one wanted to blame anything anymore. When death was right under their noses, everyone understood what “panic-stricken” meant.
Now, all minds were pondering one thing—how to survive this disaster.
The nearby high-rise buildings had long been occupied by those who lived close by, and the latecomers were transported to the central square by vehicles. This place was adjacent to the command center, where the anti-erosion measures were the best. At this point, people didn’t even hope for a roof over their heads; they only knew to huddle together in a dark mass, as if the tighter they clung to each other, the safer they would be.
The pits dug out by the synthetic humans now resembled air-raid shelters. The United Government had added several layers using the terrain they created, turning them into protective bunkers.
Looking down from above, the square was filled with people, resembling a swarm of ants during a flood.
The survivors were mostly those who obediently stayed at home. As for those who lived on the outskirts or went out for various reasons, it was unlikely that even a complete body could be found now.
The purifiers hummed around the square as Dong Lao led the city garrison to constantly patrol, fending off countless Corpse Parasites.
“The situation is unbearable. The mutant beasts are manageable, but we can’t clean up the Erosion Swamps.” She furrowed her brow and contacted Zhu Yanchen. “If things continue like this, we’ll be worn down sooner or later. We must kill Sigma as soon as possible.”
“I understand,” Zhu Yanchen replied briefly.
“From the current situation, even Shu Jun can’t handle it. What are you planning to do?”
“Continue the retreat.”
Xia Liang’s words became a prophecy. Although Shu Jun was powerful, he lacked experience in fighting as a monster. Sigma had existed for at least a hundred years or more and, in a sense, was a natural beast. Seeing Zhu Yanchen leading the troops to retreat, it instinctively advanced, slowly extending its body.
The huge Erosion Swamp that was forced to shrink now expanded. Sigma released its body, making it look like a black wolf trying to fight against the waves of the sea. Its front paw was quickly torn away, and Shu Jun hurriedly repaired it with erosion substance, but the repair speed couldn’t keep up with Sigma’s destructive speed.
Zhu Yanchen’s army withdrew, so Sigma didn’t even need to worry about being injured by the suppression weapons. It stretched satisfactorily, earnestly tearing apart the black wolf in front of it, trying to peel away Shu Jun wrapped within.
Luo Duan stood at a high point, coldly watching as one building after another collapsed.
He had a rough assessment of the current situation—Shu Jun’s physical and mental strength were limited, and the black wolf had at most this much power. In terms of tactics, Captain Shu still had a chance to win. But in the face of absolute strength, cleverness meant nothing.
Shu Jun still lacked a bit of experience. His abilities were most likely inclined toward control and pacification, severing the active erosion from the Erosion Swamp and entering a state similar to sleep. Such an ability was more suited for healing rather than the battlefield. It could only protect Shu Jun from harm, but if Shu Jun couldn’t make contact with Sigma’s brain, this ability would be useless.
As for the other abilities—whether it was the “Mirror” that could mimic the appearance of things or the “Vines” that could control the form of the erosion, they had no killing power against an Erosion Swamp.
If all the synthetic humans attacked together, Luo Duan would be more worried. But they only had to deal with Shu Jun, which was more akin to a mantis trying to hold back a vehicle.
The black wolf stood in a sorry state opposite Sigma, resembling a three-month-old puppy compared to the still relatively vigorous Sigma. Since the encounter with Sigma, Shu Jun had been in a state of high-intensity combat, and they both knew that such a situation couldn’t last forever.
The situation was slowly reversing, proving that Y City still wasn’t prepared.
“I gave you a chance.” Luo Duan sighed. “You could have gone to save our compatriots, but you chose this side.”
“I have already taken most of our compatriots to a safe place, guided by Hu Yan.” Shu Jun’s voice sounded somewhat unstable. “As for those who stayed in the settlement, I believe in them.”
“A safe place? Without relying on the settlement, without food and water, how long can over twenty thousand people last?” Luo Duan’s expression was devoid of emotion. “There’s a limit to self-deception.”
“If you really care about them so much, you can take Sigma and leave.” Shu Jun sneered, and the black wolf trembled slightly. “I know you haven’t used your full power at all. You’re just observing the human response. Now you’ve seen what you needed to see—if you really want to leave, don’t mention me. Even if the entire human army mobilizes, they can’t stop you.”
“The deserted city strategy worked well. When I realized I was surrounded, I did feel nervous for a few seconds.” Luo Duan’s anger was still evident in his tone. “As for your suggestion… If you were in my shoes, would you leave now after losing three important abilities?”
Shu Jun didn’t answer.
“I don’t know what kind of agreement you made with humans to make you so devoted. It’s truly regrettable. I thought you had some backbone, Shu Jun.”
Shu Jun still didn’t answer, which only made Luo Duan feel somewhat disappointed. The captain of the Blackbirds was always sharp-tongued and skilled in mocking others. But now, his silence made him appear even more lacking in spirit.
After a moment of silence, the black wolf’s posture relaxed slightly. Shu Jun seemed to be about to say something, but before he could speak, Sigma launched a surprise attack.
Erosion threads descended from above and tightened around Shu Jun. The black wolf frantically shook its fur, limping and dodging, quickly retreating into the city with one leg.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Sigma grabbed hold of the black wolf with several arms and forcefully threw it towards a building. The black wolf flew toward an empty residential area, directly crashing into and breaking two high-rise buildings. It left a large crater on the third building and slid to the ground, leaving behind huge splatters of erosion substance on the exterior of the building.
Shu Jun himself wasn’t severely injured, but the black wolf struggled a few times, attempting to stand up. Sigma shifted a part of its body, and several giant arms reached out, tearing the erosion-formed black wolf apart, as if ripping apart a cotton-stuffed doll.
Shu Jun lost the initiative. He was too anxious trying to fully restore the black wolf to its normal state before Sigma’s attack, so he could only reluctantly create a skeletal structure. The black wolf now looked like a dried-up corpse, and its movements became much clumsier.
It wanted to run away while also being afraid to escape, so it could only face Sigma with its incomplete eye sockets.
From this height, Luo Duan could see the crowded central square.
“How pitiful,” Luo Duan murmured, unsure who he was referring to.
Considering the purifiers around the square, Luo Duan didn’t immediately command Sigma to approach. The dark clouds churned even more violently, and the rainwater saturated with erosion substance obediently followed Luo Duan’s command, pouring down from the sky.
The black wolf attempted to move forward but was once again sent flying by Luo Duan. It wobbled, trying to stand up, but was impaled by Sigma’s sharp fingers.
Judging from the terrible state of the black wolf, Shu Jun himself had likely sustained significant injuries. After a brief hesitation, Luo Duan instructed Sigma to throw the black wolf toward the central square.
The black wolf, with its body almost broken, was ruthlessly thrown out and collided with the protective barrier erected by the purifiers. A large amount of erosion was purified and suppressed, turning the black wolf into a shattered mess, scattering pieces of erosion onto the square. Unfortunately, the chunks of erosion were barely purified and divided by the purification machines, so they didn’t harm many people.
Luo Duan didn’t pay too much attention to it. He had achieved his main objective—severely injuring Shu Jun and throwing him into an environment lacking erosion substance. As long as he remained within the purification circle, there would be no second black wolf appearing.
Even if they joined forces with the city’s military, the human forces inside the city seemed to be only half of what they were just outside the city. They surrounded the crowd in the center, despairingly watching as Sigma approached.
It was like facing an imminent hurricane or tsunami.
An excellent opportunity for attack, Luo Duan thought. However, since humans were able to eliminate those three sentient Erosion Swamps, they must have some tricks up their sleeves.
“Prepare for ‘Full Detonation’ just in case.” Luo Duan disregarded Shu Jun, who had fallen into the crowd, and spoke to Sigma. “You can proceed now… Come, eliminate them all.”
The author has something to say:
The meat pad is gone, but it can be recreated!
Shu Ge: ?
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