Chapter 634: Saving Others or Saving Yourself
"Bastards!" Minister Fan slammed the table in rage. "Those dogs don't do a single decent thing all day!"
"Country Y is in deep trouble, so of course they don't want us to have a smooth transition. And now that a new energy overlap zone has appeared, their advanced items were probably traded for, right? Who wouldn't be jealous?" Team Leader Chang said coldly. "Invasion and plunder are in their ancestral genes. It'd be strange if they didn't stir up trouble."
"Find that person immediately!" Minister Fan ordered. "At any cost!"
"The opponent has advanced items. It won't be easy to deal with them." Team Leader Wu said into the phone, "Can we convince Li Chun to help?"
"I've already sent people to contact him," Nie Xuan replied. "David Pierce provided some clues, and I've contacted the armed police to search for the person. But the rain has already started. Even if we find them, we can't change the current situation for now. The key is to prepare for the upcoming mutant tide."
"Someone is already working on that. You have only one task: catch that lurking player!" Minister Fan cut off the call.
Gunfire and explosions continued outside. Soon, a military officer walked in. "Minister, the temporary command center can't hold out any longer. We need to prepare for evacuation!"
Minister Fan walked to the door and saw various vehicles forming a wall around the command center. Members of the Special Defense Department and arriving rescue personnel held their ground on the rooftops, their guns firing almost nonstop. Two shifts of people worked in tandem, even saving the time needed to reload magazines. Despite this, they were still barely holding against the endless waves of mutants.
The vehicles at the front had been crushed out of shape, with some places even breached. Special Defense Department members had to use their own bodies to fill the gaps. They needed time to change weapons and reload, and their items and traits took time to activate. But the frenzied mutants didn't need rest. Their pain perception was dulled. As long as it wasn't a fatal wound, even if you shot their bodies or blew off both legs, they could still get up and bite people!
"Ahhh!" Some rescue personnel were bitten on their arms and thighs. If they couldn't kill the mutant in time, a chunk of flesh and skin would be torn off immediately. Those unlucky enough to be bitten on the neck were almost certainly beyond saving.
The temporary command center was built near the blockade line, so it was the first to be attacked by people mutated by the rain. This blockade line had actually been breached long ago, but the command center had enclosed a small area, attracting many mutants. However, more mutants had already charged into the city, spreading out on both sides of the blockade line.
"News from the research institute says these people can be saved." Team Leader Lu walked up behind Minister Fan, his eyes cold. "But before that, how many of us will die?"
The area near the Special Defense Department headquarters was almost cleared, which was a good thing. Even if mutants entered this zone, they wouldn't cause too many casualties, and it would be easier to clean up afterward—as long as they were willing to use high-lethality weapons. But that meant basically giving up on the people currently poisoned and frenzied.
The rescue personnel had already prepared the vehicles and urged them to board. Minister Fan gritted his teeth and finally said, "I can't make this decision alone. I need to report to higher-ups. But contact the military and have them prepare. Drive all the frenzied people toward the headquarters!"
The personnel of the temporary command center got into the vehicles, using armored cars to clear the way as they slowly moved toward the blockade line.
But just then, a earth-shattering explosion came from the direction of the Special Defense Department headquarters building. That fifty-story building, under everyone's watch, shifted, tilted, and finally collapsed with a thunderous roar!
The Special Defense Department members gnashed their teeth in hatred but could only turn around and leave.
Xu Huo also witnessed the collapse of the headquarters building. A massive cloud of dust surged into the black rain, making the visibility even murkier. In the dim light, it was almost impossible to see anything clearly.
"Even the Special Defense Department building was blown up!" Zheng Liang was dumbfounded. "Are we fighting a world war?"
"Otherwise, what do you think is happening?" Xu Huo had his back to them, his eyes quickly moving across several surveillance screens.
Due to the mutant interference, only four screens remained functional, with limited surveillance footage. But he still saw a Special Defense Department rescue worker leading two children through the corner of the camera lens.
"I'm going out for a while." He put on his protective suit as he spoke to the others. "The security room won't hold out much longer. There should be a frenzied rat swarm nearby. Take this time to find a safe place and evacuate."
"If I find a safe spot in advance, I'll contact you too."
"What are you going to do? We'll come with you." Brother Liang immediately said. "We've all been rained on a bit, and we're still fine. Probably because of the antidote. Instead of hiding here, we might as well go out and do something."
"If you want to go out and save people, I have no objection. But it's not convenient for me to take you along." Xu Huo said directly. "You're too slow."
The others knew that following Xu Huo was definitely the safest option right now, but they also understood that he thought they would hold him back, so they had to give up.
Xu Huo put on the "Oxygen Supply" and walked out of the security room.
There were wandering mutants nearby. He accelerated out of the residential area and first followed the direction the Special Defense Department member had taken. He hadn't gone far when he heard someone calling for help—a young couple hiding on a high floor of a residential building.
Xu Huo only glanced at them and left. The trait "Straight Line Distance" allowed him to search the nearby streets in a very short time. Soon, he found the injured Special Defense Department member. She was standing on the roof of a truck with two children, lifting one of them toward a third-floor window.
The two children were wearing face-covering raincoats, with an extra layer of protective suits on the outside. They didn't seem poisoned. But the player's arms and neck showed black veins, and blood was streaming from both legs.
The two children covered their own mouths. She carefully lifted them up. The sound of the rain masked their movements, but no one was receiving them on the upper floor. When the child reached out, they knocked over a flower pot on the balcony. The shattering sound immediately attracted three mutants. They appeared to be mutated players, moving extremely fast!
"Ladies' Seat!" The female player tossed the child upward, pulled out a pink glow stick, and drew a pink circle around the truck. The first mutant to step on the pink circle line had its feet burned. It screamed in pain and lunged forward, grabbing onto the truck wall.
"Hurry!" The child clinging to the railing jumped into the balcony on their own. The female player lifted the second child up. But the mutant that had broken through the defense line had already leaped onto the truck roof. She could only choose between saving herself or saving the child.
She jumped with all her might, throwing the child up with both hands, but she herself fell back onto the truck roof. As she descended, she pulled the last grenade from her waist...
"Wait." Xu Huo appeared on the truck roof, pressing down on her hand. He raised his water blade gun and fired at the foreheads of the three mutants.
(Chapter End)