Chapter 158 – Flower of the Army

Yu Zai led Su Lifeng all the way to a subway entrance. What surprised Su Lifeng somewhat was that the subway was actually still running.

“Only one trip a day, so we need to hurry.” The hall of the past was not only empty now, but many places were also completely dark. Just walking in gave people an eerie feeling.

Compared with the scenes he had seen earlier through the windows of those buildings, Su Lifeng also felt as if everything were gradually collapsing.

Within the temporary quiet, there was in fact an aura of something slowly rotting…

When they arrived at the platform, several people were already waiting for them.

One glance was enough to know that these people were all Mutants, but their clothing and appearance were still the same as ordinary soldiers. One of them handed a radio earpiece and a bulletproof vest to Su Lifeng, then extended a hand. “Li Heng.”

“Su…”

“We know who you are.” Another person suddenly interrupted him.

Su Lifeng glanced at him. This person was chewing gum and raised his chin toward him, counting it as a greeting.

“Don’t mind him. Firebug is just like that,” Li Heng said somewhat awkwardly.

Yu Zai also accepted equipment and began putting it on while introducing them. “Li Heng is my deputy captain. But this time is also the first time we’ve gone on a mission together. Whether we can regain trust in the future depends on this.”

“After staying in an observation room for a week, my hands feel a bit rusty,” Li Heng said with a smile.

Su Lifeng copied Yu Zai’s movements and put on the bulletproof vest, while glancing at the others. To his surprise, among these people there was actually a female soldier. Perhaps sensing that Su Lifeng looked at her for an extra moment, she turned her head and glanced at Su Lifeng. Her slightly thin face showed no change in expression.

In reality, aside from Li Heng and Firebug, the rest of the team all looked rather cold, and they did not speak much with one another.

But judging from Yu Zai’s accustomed expression, there should not be any problems with coordination…

“This subway leads directly to Shencheng, but reaching Shencheng means going overground, and you understand the risks.” Yu Zai was already holding a very short submachine gun in his hand. Su Lifeng did not know much about firearms, and when Yu Zai drew a handgun and handed it to him, Su Lifeng directly refused.

“No need,” Su Lifeng said.

“Right, you’re strength-type.” Yu Zai revealed an expression of understanding and nodded. Then he took out a helmet. “Put this on. The route won’t be safe. It has a headlamp on it and is fairly useful.”

As the reinforced bulletproof glass slowly opened, Su Lifeng suddenly discovered that they intended to enter the subway tunnel directly.

When Yu Zai told him about the mission, he had not described the details, only the key parts, so Su Lifeng was not very clear on the specific process. However, even if they were going through the tunnel, he did not have any special reaction. After freezing for a moment, he followed them down.

Li Heng led the way, followed by the soldier named Firebug. Bringing up the rear was a very tall man who looked taciturn.

The moment they entered the tunnel, Su Lifeng felt the air was somewhat stuffy. But the deeper they went, the more there was a feeling of pressing cold.

“The climate really has changed…” Along the way, he glanced at the little insects clinging to the wall and thought inwardly.

These insects were very common in underground caves, but their color was generally black. Here, however, they were reddish.

For such a great change in shell color to occur in insects in such a short time showed just how strong the influence brought by the damage to the Protective Layer was.

“Relax. Xenospecies won’t hide inside insects that small.” A voice suddenly came from beside him.

Su Lifeng looked up and found Firebug staring at him with a faintly mocking smile.

Su Lifeng did not care much about such inexplicable sarcasm, but he still gave a cold snort.

That actually made Firebug pause for a second. He muttered under his breath, “Couldn’t tell you had such a temper…”

But Su Lifeng’s attention soon shifted back to some moss growing nearby. He even reached out to touch it, then brought his fingers before his eyes for a look.

Even so, he did not slow the group down. Every time he fell a little behind, he would silently catch back up after a while.

The others watched Su Lifeng’s expression remain unchanged, and before they realized it, the way they looked at him began to shift.

“We’re almost there. Everyone, be careful,” Li Heng said.

But the moment his voice fell, someone suddenly kicked something, producing a crisp clink.

The sound echoed through the empty tunnel, instantly making everyone hold their breath.

Yet several seconds later, everything was still calm.

The man who had made the noise raised his head and said, “Sorry, looks like it’s fine…”

Before he could finish, however, his voice abruptly vanished.

An enormous rat dropped from above and landed on his head.

The man’s eyes went wide. His mouth opened, and he forced out three words. “Kill… me…”

But just as he made a sound, the rat’s tail stabbed viciously in through his eye. The man immediately let out a scream that tore through the lungs.

“Ah! Ahhh! Hurry up and kill me!”

He struggled madly. Blood kept pouring from his eye, and his voice became exceptionally shrill as it echoed through the entire tunnel. For a grown man to scream like that showed just how much agony he was enduring.

One soldier beside him raised his gun, but with the man thrashing so wildly, he could not get a clean aim. At that moment, the female soldier suddenly lunged forward, rushing right up to him before reaching out toward the rat.

The rat lifted its head and stared coldly at her. Its pair of red eyes looked almost thinking, carrying a mocking smile.

“She’s not planning to use her bare hand, is she?” Even Su Lifeng was startled.

But at that moment, he suddenly saw a breath of white vapor spray from the female soldier’s mouth.

At the same time, the temperature around her plunged, especially around the center of her palm. A surge of cold air that even Su Lifeng could feel instantly welled up.

“Kak, kak…”

The rat, along with the man’s head, was immediately covered in a layer of frost. The female soldier then raised her gun, aimed at the man’s head, and fired.

Blood flowed out from beneath the frost. The female soldier lowered her muzzle without a trace of expression and turned around.

“This is… Awakening? She’s Awakened too?” Su Lifeng was shocked. He had only Awakened yesterday himself. Could this female soldier also be one of them?

But Awakening was something anyone had a chance at…

“Bang!” At that moment, another gunshot rang out. As yet another rat fell from the air to the ground, Firebug shouted with his gun in hand, “Don’t just stand there! There isn’t only one!”

Dense red dots appeared in the darkness. A rough estimate put their number at several dozen at least. And right then, Su Lifeng and the others heard a teeth-souring “scrape.”

It sounded like something was scratching the wall with its nails. Just listening to it was enough to make one’s scalp crawl…