Chapter 165: Chapter 154: Controlling a Mutant Beast! Lu Feng Is Bombarded
Many bases emerged after the apocalypse.
When Lu Feng played the game, the main characters’ team had visited many Survivor Bases. Some were large, some were small, but without fail, these Survivor Bases all had exploration teams of some kind.
These exploration teams explored the outside world. Sometimes, they scouted for other survivors to recruit into the base. After all, in the apocalypse, people were the greatest asset.
They might also search for food, and if they discovered something like a food warehouse, they would report anything they couldn’t carry back so the base could send a team to retrieve it.
Of course, they might also hunt monsters. After all, killing monsters was a way to obtain crystal cores and various other materials.
Qingfeng Base, of course, had its own exploration teams. The primary mission Lin Jiao had given them was to find survivors, then assess and invite them, absorbing anyone suitable to strengthen the base.
Additionally, she had the exploration team search for things like Gold and jadeite.
Because those were the things her boss needed.
The warehouse in Qingfeng Base’s underground air-raid shelter was already stocked with quite a bit of it.
For the exploration team to be calling for help now, they had clearly run into a crisis.
"Exploration team, send your location. We’ll get there as fast as we can!" Lin Jiao’s voice crackled through the walkie-talkie.
These old-fashioned walkie-talkies were clearly a massive asset for Qingfeng Base.
Although the communication devices of the Apocalypse World were more advanced, they all relied on network signals. But after the apocalypse began, some kind of energy surge had fried all the networks. Even satellite signals couldn’t get through.
This was one of the reasons the government collapsed after the apocalypse. Besides the fact that the human elite and top leadership had already fled the planet, the signal issue was a major factor.
The remaining government officials weren’t high-ranking to begin with, and with the complete loss of communications, they couldn’t organize any effective resistance. Their messages couldn’t get out, and slowly, the situation deteriorated even further.
After Lu Feng brought these walkie-talkies from the real world for Qingfeng Base to use, it turned out that one of the old masters in their research team was an expert in signal equipment.
This old master even knew how to modify some pre-apocalypse signal transmitters and receivers to link up with the walkie-talkies, extending their range and effectiveness.
The walkie-talkies Lu Feng had brought didn’t rely on satellite signals, but rather generated their own analog audio signals. Therefore, with the old master’s modified equipment, their potential was even greater.
"Conductor Lin, we’re on Wanlin Street in the Canghong District! We’re under attack!" The exploration team’s desperate voice came over the walkie-talkie again.
Lin Jiao’s voice rang out: "All teams outside Qingfeng Base, check your electronic maps for the location! Anyone nearby, provide support immediately!"
In that same instant, Zhao Jia, Chen Lin, and the others hastily pulled out map devices and began looking up the location of Wanlin Street in the Canghong District.
Clearly, the people of Qingfeng Base—whether they were from Red Leaf Base or the original survivors—were now remarkably united.
Chen Lin, clad in his Mecha armor, found the location first. "Wanlin Street in the Canghong District isn’t far from our position at Red Leaf Base," he said immediately.
Lu Feng stepped forward to look at the map and was surprised to see that the team was being attacked not far from the buildings where he had ambushed Guo Qi. The two locations were in adjacent districts.
"Sir, should we go provide support?" Chen Lin asked at once.
"You stay here and keep an eye on Red Leaf Base. I’ll go myself. Send the map location to me." As he spoke, Lu Feng directly pulled the motorcycle he had previously brought into the game back out of it.
Then, he re-entered the game, left Red Leaf Base, found a zombie-free area, and brought the motorcycle into the game world again.
’My backpack space isn’t big enough yet. If I could just unlock a couple more slots, I could expand my inventory and store the motorcycle directly inside.’
Lu Feng started the motorcycle and tore off, heading straight for Wanlin Street in the Canghong District.
After some time, he passed the buildings where he’d ambushed Guo Qi. It wasn’t long before he heard the sound of gunfire.
He immediately steered the motorcycle toward the sound.
As he drew closer, he could hear a beast’s roar mixed in with the gunshots.
Inside a building, several survivors were firing at a Mutant Beast through the windows. The creature had a spotted coat; it was clearly a Mutated Cheetah.
A single figure was darting around, dodging the Mutated Cheetah’s pounces and drawing its attention to give the other survivors a chance to fire.
Unfortunately, this Mutated Cheetah was clearly stronger than a Slaying Dog, and the ordinary bullets seemed to have no effect on it.
The survivor drawing the beast’s aggro was incredibly fast, far beyond a normal person. Otherwise, he would have already been torn apart by the Mutated Cheetah’s claws.
He was a Speed Ability User, one who had received his Speed Ability Crystal Stone from Lu Feng himself. Unfortunately, speed alone wasn’t enough to handle the Mutated Cheetah.
Seeing this, Lu Feng slammed on the accelerator and charged the motorcycle directly at the Mutated Cheetah.
The Mutated Cheetah was clearly intelligent. It noticed Lu Feng and, instead of continuing its futile attacks, switched targets. It lunged at Lu Feng, trying to catch him by surprise.
Lu Feng sneered. A laser rifle materialized in his hands, and he fired shot after shot at the pouncing Mutated Cheetah.
After just three laser blasts, the Mutated Cheetah slammed heavily to the ground. The wounds were instantly cauterized by the beams, with barely any blood spilled.
Laser weapons were incredibly powerful. It was a shame they were so rare. So far, he had only come across three, and all of them were at Qingfeng Base.
[Congratulations! You have killed a controlled Mutated Cheetah and gained 350 EXP!]
[Congratulations! You have killed a zombie and gained 10 EXP!]
Lu Feng frowned as he read the notification about the Mutated Cheetah.
’A controlled Mutated Cheetah?’
’Does that mean someone—or something—is controlling it?’
While Lu Feng was pondering this, the man who had been dodging the Mutated Cheetah’s attacks hurried over and greeted him respectfully. "Boss!"
Lu Feng recognized him.
He was the leader of Qingfeng Base’s exploration team, the very same man Lu Feng had personally given the Speed Ability Crystal Stone to.
Seeing that the cheetah had been dealt with, the other survivors filed out of the building, greeting Lu Feng with equal respect.
"What happened? Why did this Mutated Cheetah attack you?" Lu Feng asked immediately. ’A controlled Mutated Cheetah normally wouldn’t attack a specific target without orders.’
He even wondered if the Mutated Cheetah had been controlled by that Hexagonal Beast that had escaped.
After all, in the "Zombie Frenzy" story arc, the Hexagonal Beast could control not only mutated zombies to command lesser zombie hordes, but also other Mutant Beasts to command weaker herds of their own kind.
But he dismissed the thought as soon as it came. For a Hexagonal Beast to control another Mutant Beast, it had to pierce its head with its tentacles.
Killing a beast controlled that way wouldn’t generate a special notification, just like how killing the zombies it controlled didn’t give any special alerts upon gaining experience.
This was obviously different, so he could rule out the Hexagonal Beast.
Hearing Lu Feng’s question, the exploration team’s leader quickly explained, "Boss, I don’t know the exact details. I just remember we found another gold shop. We were in the middle of loading up the Gold when gunfire erupted. Someone ambushed us and killed two of our brothers."
"When we formed up to find our attackers, this Mutated Cheetah showed up and started hunting us!"
Lu Feng’s expression turned grim at his words.
Based on the team leader’s description, the one controlling the Mutated Cheetah had to be human—and a human who used guns.
’Humans controlling Mutant Beasts?’
Lu Feng racked his brain, recalling plot points from the game and information he had read on the forums.
Suddenly, he remembered a piece of lore, and his expression grew even more serious.
’If it’s them, this could get messy. They’re notoriously difficult to deal with, taking up a significant portion of the game’s storyline and even causing a period of chaos among the survivors of Celestial Sea City.’
FFFWIP!~
FFFWIP!~
...
Just as Lu Feng was lost in thought, he suddenly heard a series of whistling sounds cutting through the air.
"Dammit! It’s a grenade launcher!" one of the survivors shouted, his face paling. The words had barely left his lips when a violent explosion went off right next to him.
The survivor was blasted off his feet, a severed leg cartwheeling through the air.
By the time his body hit the ground, he was already dead.
The sight stunned everyone.
The exploration team leader immediately activated his speed ability and sprinted for the cover of the building—it was the best option in this kind of situation.
But just as he took off, a shell exploded behind him, the blast wave flinging him through the air. He slammed hard against a wall, coughing up blood.
He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath and unable to move. He was clearly critically injured.
And he was an ability user with enhanced physical attributes. An ordinary survivor would have been killed instantly.
BOOM!~
BOOM!~
...
A series of explosions rang out. With each fiery blast, the remaining survivors from Qingfeng Base were thrown through the air amidst sprays of blood. They were dead before they hit the ground.
Lu Feng instantly activated his energy shield ability, condensing a barrier around himself. Just as he was about to log out of the game, explosions detonated all around him. The impacts distorted his energy shield, sending him tumbling through the air and leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
In all his time in the game world, he had never faced such a ferocious assault.
Clouds of dust kicked up by the shells now choked the air, and through the haze, the crisp sound of approaching footsteps could be heard.
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