EDEH Chapter 16

Sang Jue’s voice was somewhat soft: “Thank you for saving me.”

 

Huo Yanji: “Thank you for opening the door.”

 

Sang Jue glanced at the gun in his hand and said sullenly: “I really can use a gun… but it was too sudden, I couldn’t draw it.”

 

“Mm, bullets don’t work well against mutant multi-headed velvet bubble green fungal clusters.”

 

They had strong tolerance and resistance—any attack was like hitting cotton.

 

Sang Jue asked: “Then what should we do?”

 

Huo Yanji: “Use fire.”

 

Sang Jue indicated he’d remember this, following the main force toward the elevator in the depths of the underground base. They needed to go up from there to the center of the Seventh Safe Zone.

 

The observant Colin noticed that along the way, there were quite a few pale green streaks on the walls on both sides.

 

“If I remember correctly, multi-headed velvet bubble green fungal clusters are large unified organisms. There must be a mother body—what we burned just now was likely only a part…”

 

This being the case, no one dared take the elevator to the surface. If that thing was also in the elevator shaft, they’d all be trapped to death.

 

Huo Yanji had already taken the lead into the adjacent hollow stairwell. The stairs were circular, spiraling upward, with hollow steel steps underfoot. Any casual word would produce ethereal echoes.

 

Sang Jue was afraid of heights and didn’t dare look down. He’d wrinkled Huo Yanji’s neat clothing from gripping it.

 

His nose was also somewhat uncomfortable. He really wanted to transform back into an evil dragon and have a super-sized sneeze—that would definitely feel good.

 

Huo Yanji: “Don’t touch your mouth and nose with uncleaned hands.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Sang Jue obediently let go, grabbing Huo Yanji’s clothing with both hands instead, like a human-shaped tail.

 

Although these two’s interaction looked strange no matter how you viewed it, the mercenaries’ attention wasn’t on this at all. They were still discussing the green fungal clusters they’d just encountered—people always instinctively panic when facing unknown terrifying creatures.

 

“No, what the hell is this!? I’ve been going in and out of the city for over ten years and never seen this thing!”

 

“And there hasn’t been a single corpse along the way…” A mercenary sensed something was wrong. “Where did all the people working underground in District Seven go?”

 

It was impossible for everyone to have gone up to fight. At the very least, technical personnel would have stayed in the underground base to continue working.

 

“They’re probably all dead,” Colin said. “Mutant multi-headed velvet bubble green fungal clusters were eliminated many years ago, so it’s normal you don’t know about them. The largest green fungus body back then reached the size of a small safe zone, spreading through ventilation ducts, sewers, water pipes, drainage outlets—anywhere without sunlight had parts of it. Its biggest trait was being omnivorous. Given enough time, it could digest human bones, hair, blood—everything.”

 

“You mean…” someone swallowed, “all the blood and corpses we haven’t seen were eaten by them?”

 

“Yes.” Colin wore a troubled expression. “Anything consumed helps them reproduce, especially corpses, so they’re a type of contaminant that easily becomes catastrophic. We don’t know how many corpses it has digested, so we can’t determine how far it has reproduced.”

 

Another supervisor said: “Our predecessors paid quite a price to eliminate them back then. Didn’t expect them to make a comeback.”

 

“I think they left a mother sample for research back then? But if I remember correctly, that thing should be in the research institute at Waste Water. Since Waste Water was destroyed, it should have been destroyed too…”

 

Sang Jue’s ears twitched. He seemed to have heard of this place called Waste Water.

 

Ah… he remembered.

 

Earlier at the hospital, Dr. Eugene had mentioned Waste Water. Lu Tiancong from the adjacent room had gone on a mission to Waste Water, not only losing a leg but his entire team was wiped out.

 

“This can’t be a fungal cluster reproduced from the Waste Water mother sample,” Colin denied. “Unless someone broke into the Black Water laboratory and brought the mother sample out.”

 

“That’s even more ridiculous. Lu Tiancong from Team Eight is strong enough, right? He led over twenty people there to investigate recently, and damn it, they all died there. He himself is barely different from being half-disabled—”

 

“All of you shut up.” Huo Yanji suddenly spoke. “Wait for the green fungus genetic report before discussing.”

 

“…Yes!”

 

As the only person present who wasn’t afraid of Huo Yanji, Sang Jue said very bluntly: “You’re so fierce.”

 

Huo Yanji said coldly: “If you’re scared, stay away.”

 

“I’m not scared,” Sang Jue said. “You can be fierce to them all you want, but don’t be fierce to me.”

 

The group behind them: “…”

 

Thank you very much.

 

Huo Yanji walked quickly. The mercenaries were surprised to find it somewhat difficult to keep up, while the youth who had been gripping Huo Yanji’s clothing remained as composed as him.

 

“Colin, open the door.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The door before them was a steel double-leaf gate with excellent soundproofing. Even so, they could still hear the faint noise and screams filtering through from outside.

 

As Colin turned the valve, Huo Yanji turned around, facing sideways to the door, and repeated his orders: “Focus on gathering all survivors. Don’t fight alone. Enter buildings for guerrilla warfare whenever possible. Your ultimate goal is to advance toward the South Gate and rendezvous with Lieutenant Colonel Wei Heng.”

 

The reason for bringing so many mercenaries together through the underground to infiltrate the city center was for the upcoming plan.

 

The surviving original residents of District Seven would more easily feel affection and trust toward mercenaries rather than supervisors who might kill them at any moment. With mercenaries gathering them, survivors could better unite for resistance.

 

Huo Yanji himself would take a team of supervisors and act separately. District Seven’s research institute had many rare samples and materials, plus dozens of researchers—they couldn’t afford to lose them.

 

Sang Jue actively asked: “What about me?”

 

Huo Yanji: “You go with Colin. Don’t wander off.”

 

“Oh.” Sang Jue refused the long dagger Huo Yanji offered him. “I’m not used to using knives.”

 

“Click”—the valve turned to the bottom, and the gate opened.

 

Chaotic sounds poured in: screams, cries for help, bird screeches, gunshots, and explosions were endless.

 

Warm-colored light enveloped them. The next second, a giant black bird dove in, its sharp claws heading straight for Huo Yanji.

 

“Bang—”

 

The strange bird crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up dust everywhere.

 

The raised gun barrel smoked in the twilight light. Huo Yanji’s body was cut in half by light and shadow—half bathed in warm golden light, the other half hidden in cool shadows, dim and unclear.

 

A cold voice reached everyone’s ears: “Move out!”

 

Huo Yanji tossed his sidearm to Sang Jue and walked into the dusk without looking back: “Don’t lose it.”

 

This was the second time Sang Jue had heard Huo Yanji say this. He wasn’t the type of dragon to be careless with things.

 

Just as he was about to follow, Colin pulled him toward another path: “Stay close to me. The commander has important tasks and can’t look after you right now.”

 

Colin was the only supervisor following the mercenary team toward the South Gate. Sang Jue asked puzzledly: “Aren’t you going with General Huo?”

 

Colin raised his hand and fired a shot, hitting a strange bird charging diagonally from the street corner. Suppressing laughter, he asked: “Why are you calling him General Huo again?”

 

Sang Jue kicked him: “Liar.”

 

“Quite fierce—” Colin remained unserious. “How was I supposed to know you’d call him Ji-ji? Next time call him gege (big brother), and the General will definitely dote on you to death.”

 

Sang Jue: “Why would he dote me to death?”

 

Colin: “Men, you know, they all like that—”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Like being called gege.”

 

“I don’t have any blood relation with him.” Not even the same species.

 

“…”

 

The two people, completely on different wavelengths, rambled on, each thinking the other was an idiot.

 

Sang Jue sulked. Humans were really too stupid—so hard to communicate with.

 

He didn’t want Huo Yanji’s sidearm either. He wanted to go with Huo Yanji.

 

Colin simply changed the subject, explaining: “I’m following these mercenaries because military teams always need supervisors during combat to promptly deal with infected members.”

 

Although these people were mercenaries, they were currently performing the same rescue mission as soldiers.

 

When they saw comrades they’d just fought alongside become contaminated, could the others really bring themselves to act?

 

But supervisors could.

 

This was their job—they couldn’t be soft-hearted or show mercy, including eliminating infected residents.

 

Sang Jue asked: “Do you need my help?”

 

Colin kissed his gun: “Just protect yourself.”

 

The urban area of the Seventh Safe Zone was very similar to the main city, just more crowded and cramped, with narrower streets.

 

Although many deviants had flight capabilities, most were scouts and still unsuited for aerial combat with avian contaminants. The creatures were far too fast, and the waves generated by their wing beats could overturn all surrounding life forms.

 

Fortunately, District Seven’s supervisors had all reached their respective sniper positions. They needed to aim precisely at airborne contaminants, ensuring that when bullets fired, monsters died.

 

“Save me, save me!”

 

Someone suddenly burst out from a diagonal building.

 

The person staggered, and a mercenary instinctively stepped forward: “There’s a survivor! Quick—”

 

His voice cut off abruptly.

 

There was only a “pfft” sound as the survivor’s blood splattered on the spot, pupils frozen in the moment of surprised hope.

 

—It was Colin who had fired from ten meters away.

 

The survivor who fell and didn’t get up had half a leg that was rotted beyond recognition, with sticky, foul liquid dripping down his pant leg—a typical example of contamination failure.

 

The mercenaries’ leader shouted: “Don’t stand there! Move!”

 

Not everyone had the chance to witness supervisors shooting infected residents in the street. After all, infected people appearing inside safe zones wasn’t common.

 

Even when contamination indices exceeded standards at city gates, soldiers would take them to places ordinary people couldn’t see before executing them.

 

The visual impact of witnessing compatriots being killed was too intense.

 

Colin was obviously long accustomed to such situations. While mercenaries fought with diving birds, he wasn’t idle either—he’d already changed two magazines without wasting a single bullet, hitting every infected resident who emerged.

 

He kept his eyes and ears open while still having time to chat with Sang Jue: “Honestly, when I first tested for supervisor, I never imagined it would be such a thankless position.”

 

Initially, Colin had also wanted to become a deviant like Wei Lan, but man proposes and heaven disposes—his genetic testing was unqualified.

 

The examiner said that even with processed contamination genes, his fusion failure probability was as high as ninety-eight percent, so he had to settle for testing for a supervisor position.

 

After sitting in this position for several years, he realized an iron law—for supervisors, the most important thing wasn’t marksmanship or physical skills, but having a hard heart.

 

Only with a hard enough heart could one withstand knives from all directions, including the knives one stuck into one’s own heart.

 

Sang Jue said: “Be firm in doing the right thing. Don’t mind others’ gazes.”

 

Colin felt that with Sang Jue’s pretty face, he couldn’t have come up with such thoughts. “Where’d you learn that?”

 

Sang Jue: “Dr. Anya said it.”

 

Colin asked casually: “Anya? Which safe zone?”

 

He knew the names of all the doctors in the main city’s research institute and knew a bit about the Seventh Safe Zone, but couldn’t think of anyone named Anya.

 

Hmm… though it sounded somewhat familiar, like he’d heard it somewhere.

 

Sang Jue didn’t answer. He missed the doctor a bit. How much longer until he could complete his mission and return to his home planet?

 

He still hadn’t heard the ending of the fairy tale the doctor had told him last.

 

“Anyone still alive, come out! Don’t cower inside!!”

 

The mercenaries weren’t all deviants—there were also some ordinary people. Deviants transformed into their respective contaminated forms while ordinary people could only use guns.

 

Sang Jue saw several people with tails like his. If he weren’t afraid of Huo Yanji suspecting his identity, he really wanted to let his tail out too.

 

This group of mercenaries was led by a big guy named Bao Cang. He grabbed the wing of a giant bird that had swooped over his head and smashed it head-first into the ground. The bird’s head shattered, and so did the concrete below.

 

Bao Cang made no effort to hide his bandit-like nature, shouting at the surrounding buildings: “We came thousands of miles to support you—don’t be cowards!”

 

His shouting was indeed effective. Deviants of various forms kept joining, and Sang Jue noticed that tentacles were the most common deviant form. Tentacles had equally powerful strangling force—as long as they encircled a bird’s head, they could crush their brains in an instant.

 

But even with the same contamination genes, strength levels differed. A deviant more than ten meters away not only failed to strangle a strange bird but was even carried into the sky by it!

 

The strange bird flew at an extremely tricky angle. Just as it was about to enter a building’s side alley, a cold bullet cut through the air, shooting directly into the bird’s eye and penetrating its skull.

 

The mercenary fell from three meters high. Fortunately, his tentacles broke off in time, avoiding contamination—he only broke his arm.

 

The strange bird crashed beside him, kicking up dust everywhere, fluttered twice, then stopped moving.

 

No one expected that this bullet had been fired by Sang Jue.

 

“Nice shooting!”

 

Colin was also very surprised. He had thought Sang Jue’s claim about knowing how to use guns was just competitive spirit, but not only did he really know how, his marksmanship was excellent.

 

The little evil dragon never bragged.

 

His shoulder just hurt a bit.

 

Huo Yanji’s gun was ultimately a bit too big for Sang Jue. Even gripping it was somewhat difficult, and he’d just been pushed back two steps by the massive recoil.

 

The rescued mercenary got up, clutching his arm as he rejoined the team, quietly saying thanks.

 

“When we get back, I’ll have the commander get you a gun with less recoil,” Colin patted Sang Jue’s shoulder.

 

More and more residents gathered around them. One person had two eyes, a hundred people meant two hundred eyes, greatly reducing the probability of surprise attacks.

 

Even so, there were still many situations the mercenaries couldn’t handle—like when several obviously infected but still rational residents who hadn’t yet lost control came stumbling over, begging not to be killed.

 

The mercenaries’ movements clearly slowed.

 

It was perfectly normal for humans to feel soft-hearted pity toward their compatriots, but Colin had no such emotions. His bullets never hesitated.

 

Until a mercenary who had been fighting alongside them was pinned to the ground by a bird, its claws piercing through his back. Blood instantly soaked his clothes, but as if feeling no pain, he rolled over and stabbed his knife into the strange bird’s eye.

 

His comrade timely inserted a long blade into the bird’s back, slicing from neck to tail, finally rescuing him.

 

The next second, a bullet cut through the crowd, precisely penetrating his head.

 

His comrade roared: “You bastard!!”

 

This was a brother who had shared life and death with him for seven or eight years!

 

His fists clenched with a grinding sound as he was about to charge at Colin for an explanation, but Bao Cang forcibly dragged him away: “Andre, stop making trouble!”

 

Colin, usually grinning and carefree, now wore a completely calm expression: “Keep moving forward!”

 

“Fucking cold-blooded.”

 

Someone spat: “They say supervisors have hearts made of iron, and it’s true. They hesitate to kill a monster, but killing people is so damn decisive! Don’t even change expression!”

 

Sang Jue once again realized that humans were truly irrational and unintelligent creatures, easily overwhelmed by emotions and ignoring established facts—

 

Even if Colin hadn’t fired, after some time, this person would have died in a more tragic way and might even have killed his former comrades.

 

Indeed, evil dragons were more intelligent. Some humans were really too unlovable.

 

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