Chapter Thirty-Nine: Ambushed

"This is truly quite bizarre!" Shen Lie couldn't help but gasp as he beheld the stretch of woods before him.

He wasn't alone in his unease. Aside from Yang Weiguo's men and Du Lili's group, nearly all of the thousand survivors present cried out in terror, causing a wave of unrest to ripple through the crowd. Yang Weiguo hurriedly took out a loudspeaker to calm the scene.

This was indeed a forest. The trees grew vigorously, spaced at normal intervals, but each trunk displayed a different hue: red, yellow, blue, green, cyan, orange, purple—Shen Lie counted at least ten distinct colors with a single glance.

Yet this was not the most striking feature. More astonishing was the faint glow radiating from every tree, their multicolored light transforming the forest into a sea of illumination.

"Sergeant Yang, are you certain we can enter this place?" Shen Lie rubbed his eyes, casting a doubtful look at Yang Weiguo.

Yang Weiguo was adjusting a device in his hands. Hearing Shen Lie’s question, he looked up and replied helplessly, "Whether we can enter or not, this is the only path we have. The other areas are shrouded in dense red mist. There’s nothing to be seen inside, and even this antidote pill can only dispel the thin mist here. If we venture into the thick fog, it won't be nearly as effective." As he spoke, Yang Weiguo pointed at the pill taped beneath his nose.

Shen Lie understood that their route had been chosen carefully. His question stemmed from the abnormality of the forest; entering felt unsettling.

"We have no other choice. It's either push through these woods or go back to town and face those monsters. Which do you think is better?" Yang Weiguo continued to fiddle with his instrument. Soon, a crackling sound emitted from it, as if successfully calibrated. He clipped it to his belt, took up a long blade, flashed Shen Lie a calm smile, and returned to the bus.

"Professor, we may need to proceed on foot from here," Yang Weiguo said respectfully as he approached Professor Liu.

"Heh, Comrade Yang, I've endured hardship before—walking a few steps is nothing. You needn't worry about me, just make sure these documents are kept safe." Professor Liu smiled, seemingly unfazed by the danger, and handed Yang Weiguo a cardboard box.

Yang Weiguo received the box with utmost solemnity, snapped to attention, and saluted. "Rest assured, Professor. As long as I draw breath, I'll ensure this box leaves with us!"

"Zhang, Li, you two stay by the Professor’s side. Into the woods!"

Over a thousand people marched into the forest, appearing from afar as if swallowed by rainbow-colored light.

Shen Lie and Wang Qingshan walked near the front, with Yang Weiguo leading, constantly recalibrating his device. Du Lili and Ma Zhanlin accompanied Professor Liu at the center of the group.

It was eerily quiet among the trees—no insect or animal calls, only the shuffling of feet. The survivors’ hearts were lost; aside from the occasional sob, no one spoke.

Shen Lie found it strange that after nearly an hour of walking, they had yet to exit the woods. He began to doubt the effectiveness of Yang Weiguo’s device.

Nervously trudging for so long would drain anyone, let alone survivors who had barely eaten in a month. Murmurs and complaints began to spread, discordant voices rising within the crowd.

"Damn it, how much longer must we walk? Had I known, I would've fought those spider monsters back in town—at least that’d be a quick death!"

"Who took my bag? Bring it back this instant!"

"You little brat, are you looking for trouble?"

"Ah! Don’t touch my backside!"

Low growls and shouts echoed through the crowd. If things continued this way, the entire group would soon fall apart—even with some food supplies among them, it was only a matter of time before chaos broke out.

A sharp twang rang out—a crossbow bolt fired, silencing all other sounds.

"What are you doing? Who gave you permission to shoot?" Yang Weiguo strode over to a soldier in uniform, his tone colder than steel.

"I—I saw a crow!" the soldier stammered in panic.

"A crow? What crow?" Those who heard him turned pale; at this time, a crow was no harmless bird, but likely one of the mutated monsters from the mushroom fields.

"Over there, on that tree!" The soldier was clearly a new recruit, speaking with alarm.

"Which tree?"

Before Yang Weiguo could question further, Du Lili—who had been beside Professor Liu—suddenly screamed, "Get down!"

Her scream pierced the sky, audible to every survivor, but none responded or obeyed. Shadows shot from the trees, accompanied by ghastly cries, swooping into the crowd!

With screams and howls erupting, formation collapsed. It was as if grenades had detonated among them; people scattered in all directions, some even fleeing into the dense mist, heedless of danger.

"Everyone, don’t panic! Stay in formation! Do not leave the group, do not leave the group!" Yang Weiguo’s voice, amplified through the loudspeaker, echoed urgently and sharply. He could no longer worry about whether the noise would attract more monsters.

The shadows came and went in a flash, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared. Shen Lie could barely make out that they were birds.

After the attack, chaos reigned. Cries, shouts, and curses filled the air. Not even Yang Weiguo’s authority could restore order—the group was consumed by panic and fear.

"Gather together and count heads! Those injured, seek medical personnel immediately! Do not panic!" At this point, the awakened ones ceased to stand by and began instructing their subordinates to help Yang Weiguo restore order.

The count came quickly. In this attack, over two hundred survivors were lost—leaving Yang Weiguo and the awakened ones stunned. There had only been twenty or thirty shadows; how could such a small number inflict so much harm? Had most people run into the dense fog after being attacked?

"We cannot linger here. The more blood those things see, the more frenzied they’ll become. We must press forward at once!" Professor Liu, protected by Du Lili and Ma Zhanlin, remained unharmed and now offered his advice.

"Alright, I’ll go and rally everyone!" The soldier who had fired recovered his composure and began to calm the crowd.

After a brief period of chaos, the group resumed its slow march. Having survived this ordeal, everyone became more cautious, realizing that this retreat would not be as easy as imagined. The shadow of death hung over each head, and none could guess who would be next.

"Ah! No—those things are back!"

Another startled cry erupted from the rear. Dark bird-shapes reappeared overhead, slower this time, allowing the survivors to finally see them clearly.

"Crows! Mutated crows from the mushroom fields! Ah, my eyes!"

The shadows were indeed the crows that once circled the mushroom fields, but these were darker and larger. Most importantly, the crows from the mushroom fields would not attack ordinary people unless provoked, targeting only the awakened. Yet these crows attacked indiscriminately, treating all humans as prey.

"Damn beasts!"

After the crows claimed more than a dozen lives and continued to circle above, Du Lili—masked and resolute—finally took action. A dragon of fire, five or six meters long, roared from her hand, twisting and lashing toward the crows above the crowd. The intense heat scorched the entire red-misted corridor.

Shen Lie's eyes narrowed; the fire dragon’s destructive power was immense, surpassing even his Hammer of Apocalypse. And the attack’s form—a dragon—suggested this woman had mastered a skill as well.

The fire dragon’s assault threatened the crows, causing them to flee with terrified cries. Two were caught and roasted, dropping to the ground.

"Thank you, Heavenly King Du, for saving us!" With their terror eased, many survivors bowed in gratitude to Du Lili; some even knelt before her, treating her as a goddess.

Since the Hammer of Apocalypse was not effective against airborne targets—its power only average at present—Shen Lie refrained from acting. He noticed, however, that Du Lili was somewhat weakened after using the fire dragon. Evidently, her ability, though powerful, consumed considerable energy.