Chapter 79: New Variety

The roar of anti-aircraft guns echoed continuously, interspersed with the firing sounds of rocket launchers, yet not a single shell managed to hit the target. The giant insect moved with astonishing speed, slicing through the air like a ghostly white phantom; despite its massive size, it was impossible to lock onto.

"Ah!"

Whether provoked by the barrage or not, a stream of white breath spewed from the creature's maw, directly striking an anti-aircraft gun below. In an instant, both the artillery piece and the soldiers beside it were frozen into statues of ice!

"Scatter! Do not bunch up! Spread out, quickly!" an officer shouted at the top of his lungs upon seeing the devastation.

There was no need for his command; the soldiers on the ground were already scattering and running in all directions, scrambling for cover. Having retreated all the way from Yangcheng, this was not their first encounter with such giant insectoid monsters. Although they were no match for them, they had learned a few survival tactics through trial and error.

Chief of Staff Han stepped down from the tour bus with a pale face. This time, he did not dare order the vehicle to move; if such a massive target were to keep moving, it would undoubtedly become the giant insect's primary objective.

"Running? Where do you think you're going! Get over here, all of you, get over here and protect the bus!" Seeing that every single soldier had fled, Chief of Staff Han turned livid with rage and roared in fury. Unfortunately, no one paid any heed to his commands anymore. His authority had long since evaporated amid his fawning sycophancy toward the pampered young masters and mistresses.

No one listened to the Chief of Staff, and everyone forgot about firing the cannons, standing frozen as they watched the giant insect wreak havoc above the formation. With every single dive, it claimed the lives of at least two or three people.

"Let it kill. Let it slaughter. Sooner or later, it will have its fill," an officer said, holding back a soldier who wanted to raise his rifle and shoot, his voice laden with profound helplessness. Conventional weapons were utterly useless against this kind of monster; provoking it further would only result in needless casualties.

At that moment, the giant insect in the sky suddenly looped around, its hideous head aligning precisely with the top of the bus. The terrifying aura made even the infuriated Chief of Staff break out in a cold sweat, and he shrieked at the top of his lungs in sheer panic, "Oh no! Young Master Chu, get out of the vehicle! Run, quickly!"

Almost simultaneously with the frantic shouts of the Chief of Staff, the Awakened ones inside the vehicle sensed the abnormal pressure. One after another, they shattered the windows and leaped outside. Among the five privileged youths, two jumped out—one being Xu Ruobing, and the other one of the three young men. However, the pampered Young Master Chu, whom Chief of Staff Han cared about so deeply, failed to emerge!

"Whoosh!"

A streak of white light flashed as the giant insect in the sky swooped down onto the roof of the bus. Opening its massive jaws, it actually clamped down on the vehicle, hoisted it into the air, and hurled it away with tremendous force. The bulky bus flew like a toy through the air for dozens of meters before slamming into a hillside with a deafening crash.

"Oh no! Young Master Chu!" Chief of Staff Han cried out in horror as he watched the massive bus vanish from his sight. Even at this critical juncture, his primary concern remained the young master, making him quite a remarkable specimen of sycophancy.

Having vented a significant portion of its volatile temper by tossing the bus, the giant insect flicked its tail, swept up three or four more unfortunate souls, and soared away into the distance with a piercing, shrill shriek.

Watching the beast depart, the survivors could not help but exhale a collective sigh of relief. The agonizing sensation of being mere cattle awaiting slaughter was utterly crushing.

"Young Master Chu! Young Master Chu, are you still alive?" While the others were still grappling with the lingering terror of narrowly cheating death, Chief of Staff Han scurried over to the crumpled, half-flattened bus, calling out in a voice fraught with eager anticipation.

"Thud, thud-thud!" After a brief silence inside the bus, a faint tapping sound emerged.

"Ah! Young Master Chu is still alive! Quick, come and pry open the door for me!" A radiant hope bloomed across the Chief of Staff's gloomy face as he began to bellow hysterically.

Perhaps the bus was nearly out of fuel, as such a violent impact had failed to detonate it. Of course, one had to admit that the fellow surnamed Chu possessed extraordinary luck to have survived such a catastrophe. With the assistance of several Awakened individuals, they managed to pry him out of the wrecked bus shortly afterward, and he had sustained only minor injuries.

The other two victims were not nearly so fortunate. The male had been crushed and pinned by the deformed chassis, dying a gruesome death, while the female still clung to a breath of life, though she was grievously wounded and unable to speak a single word.

Death was an everyday occurrence in this apocalyptic era. Without even pausing to bury the deceased, the group was immediately forced to brace themselves for an incoming assault by spider monsters, compelling them to shake off their grief and prepare for a fresh round of slaughter.

Meanwhile, Shen Lie was facing a crisis of his own!

Luck was a truly bizarre thing. When he and Xia Ke had ridden the motorcycle brazenly down the asphalt road, they had not encountered a single monster. Yet this time, when he wanted to exercise caution by traveling on foot and slipping out of the town stealthily, he was immediately targeted by more than a dozen spider monsters.

Had they been ordinary arachnid fiends, Shen Lie wouldn't have cared if there were twenty or thirty of them, let alone a dozen. However, this particular group was extraordinary, including brand-new variants he had never laid eyes on before!

Among the dozen-odd creatures, three were not the usual brownish-black, but an eerie green. Furthermore, these green spiders lacked the markings of standard arachnids; instead, a pair of wing-like appendages sprouted from their backs. Once unfolded, these structures granted them the ability to glide at low altitudes!

It was precisely because of these three green spiders that Shen Lie and Xia Ke's stealth operation had failed. The pair had originally been navigating the shadows of the alleys. Upon discovering the tracks of the spider monsters, they had climbed up onto a rooftop, knowing that these creatures were generally disinclined to scale buildings—Shen Lie had relied on rooftop transit to evade several crises when he first arrived in Dongfeng Town.

To his surprise, circumstances had taken an unexpected turn with the appearance of flying green spiders. The moment they reached the rooftop, they were spotted by an airborne green spider, plunging them inevitably into a fierce confrontation. After fighting and running intermittently, the two had unwittingly retreated into an abandoned courtyard.

The attack pattern of the green spider monsters was largely identical to the ordinary ones, both utilizing their forelegs to slash out energy blades. However, the blades generated by the green variants were emerald-hued and possessed far greater destructive power. Shen Lie did not know whether these green spiders adhered to a hierarchical ranking system like the common ones, but he knew for certain that their offensive might far exceeded that of standard double-striped arachnid fiends.

Additionally, these green spiders possessed a ranged attack capability. After a brief period of charging, they could spit a sticky, arrow-shaped fluid. This secretion exhibited extreme corrosiveness, capable of eating away not only metal and flesh, but even gouging deep pits into reinforced concrete!

"Here they come! Watch out for the dodge!" Gripping his black spear tightly, Shen Lie stared fixedly at the three green spiders hovering in the air. Seeing one of them suddenly emit a glowing emerald radiance, he instantly assumed a defensive stance, recognizing this as the precursor to the monster's fluid projectile attack.

Though warned by Shen Lie, Xia Ke could only crouch in a corner and shiver in terror; if Shen Lie failed to hold his ground, her fate would be certain death.

"Puff!"

The glowing green spider made a retching motion, and a streak of green light shot forth from its mouthparts like a lethal arrow, hurtling directly toward Shen Lie's head. Simultaneously, all three green spiders broke into a coordinated dive, pouncing upon him in unison!