Chapter Thirty-Nine: Ambush

“This really is quite bizarre!” Shen Lie exclaimed as he gazed at the forest, involuntarily drawing in a sharp breath.

He was not alone in his astonishment. Aside from Yang Weiguo’s subordinates and Du Lili’s group, nearly all of the thousand-odd survivors present cried out in terror. The crowd rippled with panic, forcing Yang Weiguo to hurriedly produce a loudspeaker and soothe the throng.

It was indeed a forest, the trees grew lush and vigorously, spaced at regular intervals. Yet, every tree inside was a different color—red, yellow, blue, green, cyan, orange, purple. Shen Lie, with just a swift glance, spotted no fewer than ten distinct hues.

But that was not the most striking aspect. The trees themselves emitted faint glows, their myriad colors transforming the entire forest into a sea of light.

“Sergeant Yang, are you sure this place is safe to enter?” Shen Lie rubbed his eyes, casting a skeptical look at Yang Weiguo.

Yang Weiguo was adjusting an instrument in his hands. Hearing Shen Lie’s doubts, he looked up with resignation. “Whether it’s safe or not, this is our only route. Everywhere else is shrouded in dense red mist. Not only can we see nothing inside, but even these antidote pills are only effective against the thin mist here. Enter the thick fog, and they’re useless.” He pointed to the pill stuck beneath his nose with a strip of tape.

Shen Lie understood that the choice of this path had been carefully deliberated. His question stemmed from the uncanny nature of the forest before them; he felt uneasy about venturing inside.

“We have no other options. Either we force our way through this forest, or we return to the town and confront those monsters. Which do you think is better?”

Yang Weiguo continued fiddling with his instrument. Soon, it crackled and buzzed—apparently ready. He clipped it to his belt, took up a long knife, flashed Shen Lie a faint smile, and returned to the bus.

“Professor, we may need to proceed on foot from here,” Yang Weiguo said respectfully to Professor Liu.

The professor chuckled. “Comrade Yang, I’ve endured hardship before. A few steps won’t trouble me. Don’t worry about me—just make sure these materials are kept safe.” He handed a cardboard box to Yang Weiguo.

Yang Weiguo received the box with utmost solemnity, snapped a salute, and said in a low, steady voice, “Rest assured, Professor. As long as I draw breath, I’ll see this box out safely!”

“Zhang, Li, you two stay with the Professor. Into the woods!”

A thousand strong surged into the forest. From a distance, it looked as if they were being swallowed by the multicolored glow.

Shen Lie and Wang Qingshan walked near the front, with Yang Weiguo leading the way. He kept calibrating his instrument, while Du Lili and Ma Zhanlin accompanied Professor Liu in the center of the crowd.

The woods were eerily quiet—no insects, no beasts. Though hundreds walked, their hearts were clouded with confusion; aside from the occasional sob, not a word was spoken.

To Shen Lie’s surprise, even after nearly an hour of walking, they had not exited the forest. He began to doubt the effectiveness of Yang Weiguo’s instrument.

After such a nerve-wracking trek, even the strongest would be exhausted. These survivors, who had barely eaten in the past month, began to grow restless. Discordant voices bubbled up among them.

“Damn it, how much longer do we have to walk? I’d rather have stayed in town and fought those spider monsters—at least that’d be a quick death!”

“Who took my bag? Give it back to me, now!”

“You little punk, you’re asking for it!”

“Ah! Stop touching my backside!”

Low growls and shouts echoed through the crowd. If this kept up, the whole group would soon collapse. Even now, there was still some food left among them; had they been truly starving, chaos would have erupted long ago.

Bang! A sharp crossbow shot rang out, silencing all other voices at once.

“What are you doing? Who authorized you to fire?” Yang Weiguo’s face darkened as he strode over to a soldier in uniform, rebuking him with a cold, harsh tone.

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

“A crow? What crow?” His words sent a chill through those who heard. In these times, a crow was not a harmless bird—it could easily be one of the mutants from the mushroom fields!

“Over there, in that tree!” The soldier, clearly a rookie, blurted out nervously.

“In the tree? Which one?”

Before Yang Weiguo could ask further, Du Lili, who had been beside Professor Liu, suddenly screamed, “Get down!”

Her shriek pierced the air, heard by every survivor. Yet none reacted swiftly, nor did anyone heed her warning. Suddenly, black shadows shot from the trees, cawing wildly as they swooped into the crowd!

With the rise of anguished screams, the group could no longer maintain formation. It was as if countless grenades had exploded among them, sending people scattering in all directions—some even dashing into the dense red fog, heedless of danger.

“Don’t panic! Stay in formation, stay in formation! Do not leave the group, do not leave the group!” Yang Weiguo’s voice boomed from the loudspeaker, reaching every corner. In that moment, he no longer cared if the noise attracted more monsters; his tone was urgent and clipped.

Swish, swish, swish! The black shadows came and went in a flash, vanishing as quickly as they’d appeared. Shen Lie could only vaguely discern that the attackers were birds.

After the attack, chaos reigned. Cries, shouts, and curses filled the air. Even Yang Weiguo’s authority was powerless against the panic; the entire group fell into utter confusion and terror.

“Everyone gather and count heads! The injured need to seek out the guards for treatment—don’t panic!” At this point, several awakened ones stepped in, directing their people to help Yang Weiguo restore order.

The headcount was quickly taken. Shockingly, more than two hundred survivors were missing after this assault. Yang Weiguo and the other awakened ones were dumbfounded. There had only been twenty or thirty of those black shadows—not nearly enough to inflict such carnage. Had the others fled into the dense fog after the attack?

“We mustn’t linger here. The more blood these creatures see, the more frenzied they become. We have to move quickly!” Professor Liu, protected by Du Lili and Ma Zhanlin, had remained unharmed and now offered his advice.

“Understood, I’ll mobilize everyone!” The soldier who fired the shot was much calmer now, and began to help pacify the crowd.

After a brief turmoil, the group resumed their slow march. Having survived this ordeal, everyone grew far more cautious, finally realizing that this retreat was not as easy as they'd hoped. The shadow of death loomed over every head; none could guess who would be next.

“Ah, no—they’re back!” someone cried from the rear. Once again, the ominous bird-shadows appeared overhead, this time slower, allowing the survivors to see their attackers clearly.

“Crows! Mutant crows from the mushroom fields! Ah, my eyes!”

These shadows were indeed the crows that had circled the mushroom fields, but darker and larger than before. Most crucially, the crows from the mushroom fields would not attack ordinary people unless provoked, targeting only awakened ones. These, however, showed no discrimination—they hunted all, treating them as prey.

“Damn beasts!” Seeing the crows claim over a dozen lives and continue to circle, Du Lili—masked and resolute—finally struck. A fiery dragon five or six meters long roared from her hands, twisting and lashing toward the crows above the crowd. The terrifying heat scorched the entire red fog corridor.

Shen Lie’s eyes narrowed. The power of this fire dragon was immense, its destructive force exceeding even his own Hammer of Apocalypse. And its attack took the form of a dragon—could this woman possess a special skill as well?

The crows, threatened by the fire dragon, screeched and fled in panic, though two were caught and burned, falling as roasted carcasses.

“Thank you, King Du, for saving us!” Once the danger passed, many survivors bowed to Du Lili, some even kneeling before her as if she were a deity.

Shen Lie had not intervened; his Hammer of Apocalypse was not effective against airborne targets, and its power was currently limited. He noticed, though, that Du Lili appeared weak after casting the fire dragon—a sign that, though formidable, her ability consumed considerable energy.