37: I will protect you

Cold Qing supported Bo Qing and met up with Wang Ning and the others. Just then, Bluebird from the opposite side was also brought back by Flying Fish.

Bo Qing and Bluebird were both the snipers of the team, two unlucky fellows.

However, Bluebird was clearly more seriously injured.

Poisonous Thorn injected Bluebird with a purple liquid, and the blood on his chest quickly coagulated and scabbed over.

Even his pale face regained a hint of color.

"Where's Little Six?" Wang Ning asked with a frown.

"I only found Bo Qing, I didn't notice Little Six," Cold Qing whispered, "He doesn't have an earpiece for communication."

"You guys retreat first, I'll hold them off."

Wang Ning took a few steps forward, no longer bothering to look for Xu Jingzhe, and met Poisonous Thorn's gaze.

"Boss!" Cold Qing shouted.

Wang Ning waved his hand and said with a smile, "They're stalling for time. We've already fallen into their trap."

"Yes."

Little Loli came over and picked up Bo Qing, her face pale.

The four of them stood behind Wang Ning and retreated.

Poisonous Thorn did not stop them, a look of disdain on his face as he said, "Where's the Moon Soil Evolution Fluid Pure Liquid? Hand it over in exchange, and you can leave."

Wang Ning looked at him as if he were an idiot.

He cursed in his heart, "Idiot."

This good stuff, and they'd let it sit overnight? Was his head kicked by a donkey?

Besides, if they really handed it over, would they be let go? One must know that the Pollution Zone and the High Molecular Compound Zone were irreconcilable.

For every person who steps into the Pollution Zone, their fate is already sealed.

Survive, grow, kill... the enemy.

"You look like a human, but you have a pig's brain?" Wang Ning mocked.

"Heh heh..." Poisonous Thorn sneered, not getting angry.

With death imminent, aren't people allowed to say some harsh words?

That would be too much.

Just then, Xia Qingli also returned. Her long legs were dazzling, her waist swayed, and she stood beside Poisonous Thorn without a word.

"It's good that you're okay," Poisonous Thorn said.

"Mhm. Thank you, Boss. Since there are no Contaminants over thirty years old, let's finish this quickly, grab the pollution core, and leave." Xia Qingli's killing intent was strong.

She didn't want to split it with other arriving squads.

"Alright. Go!"

"Bluebird, protect yourself. You can take the bottle and return to Musileke City first."

Just as Poisonous Thorn finished these two sentences, Wang Ning's arms changed from gray-white to cyan, from cyan to green, and from green to almost black.

He pressed his hands forward, then slammed them down.

Immediately, this space underwent a drastic change.

The water molecules in the air condensed at a visible speed, like spiders weaving a web, crystal clear, a few seconds later.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of ice, freezing the legs of several people.

And the ice surface rapidly increased, reaching their upper thighs, waists, chests, and then their entire bodies in the blink of an eye.

A frozen cube appeared in front of Wang Ning.

Wang Ning's mouth was bleeding, but he forced a surge of energy, turned, and rapidly fled.

This was his special ability; forcibly casting a full-space freeze had already exceeded his current strength.

A minute later, the ice shattered, and the few people emerged from it, their faces not looking too good.

They had been tricked.

They thought it was a turtle in a jar, to be caught at will.

Unexpectedly, the fox was too cunning and had escaped.

"Chase! That person forcibly used such a powerful special ability, he will inevitably suffer a severe backlash." Poisonous Thorn leaped lightly, covering a distance of seven or eight meters, and in a few bounds, he was already a hundred meters away.

Except for Bluebird, everyone else quickly followed.

Little Loli, holding Bo Qing, charged recklessly, flashing past a hundred meters from Xu Jingzhe, heading straight east.

Hearing the commotion, Xu Jingzhe turned his gun and saw Cold Qing and Big Beard, both moving through the mountains as agile as monkeys.

He wanted to speak, opened his mouth, but made no sound.

If he went out now, he would be a burden to them.

Two minutes later, he saw Wang Ning, and his blood-stained chest.

"Boss, let me protect you all," Xu Jingzhe murmured.

Immediately after, several more figures swept past. Xu Jingzhe's heart skipped a beat, Mike! After waiting for about five minutes, he confirmed that no one was behind him.

He picked up his AWM and headed east to find the best firing position.

Little did he know, after he changed his sniper position, the Red Rose Squad appeared before several corpses.

He had only walked a few steps when Xu Jingzhe stopped.

"Temporarily cancel the scene simulation, I'm going to find Zhang Manyue."

System: "Ding, received."

He turned back, holding his AWM.

He could only determine Zhang Manyue's approximate location, but he couldn't find where she was hiding.

"Zhang Manyue," he called out.

A few seconds later, Zhang Manyue appeared and said, "What's wrong?"

"You go first," Xu Jingzhe said.

"What?" Zhang Manyue was puzzled.

"The people who were being chased past here just now are my... friends. Like you, they are very important to me."

"I need to protect them, to ensure they can leave safely."

Xu Jingzhe's eyes were full of determination.

Zhang Manyue smiled, her eyes forming small crescents, and rubbed Xu Jingzhe's head, saying, "They're your... friends, so they're my friends too, right?"

"How about we... protect them together?"

Xu Jingzhe's nose tingled, and he shouted, "No!"

"I want you to leave here, now, immediately!"

"Oh, little guy has such a temper." Zhang Manyue stuck out her tongue, "Your marksmanship is decent, but the first few shots missed."

Suddenly, Zhang Manyue snatched the AWM from Xu Jingzhe's hand and fired a shot diagonally upwards behind him.

A mechanical bird fell to the ground.

"Stop dawdling, enemies are coming up from below too." With that, she shoved the AWM back to Xu Jingzhe and turned to leave.

"Thank you... Zhang Manyue." Xu Jingzhe knew he couldn't persuade her.

He walked east, finding the highest point.

System: "Ding, surrounding environment simulation has been activated."

He set up his gun and aimed.

The modified AWM had an effective range of about eight li. The two groups, one fleeing and one chasing, were moving very fast.

The time wasted had already allowed them to travel three or four li.

Xu Jingzhe pulled the trigger, and the bullet shot towards Mike... "Good marksmanship!"

"Dilisi, that marksmanship is comparable to yours."

A virtual projection screen was in front of the five of them, witnessing Zhang Manyue's precise shot just now.

"This person has keen senses, able to spot such a well-camouflaged mechanical surveillance bird, tsk tsk tsk."

"I think she must be observing us right now." Yezi said with a smile, "But that boy is so handsome, I want to have a sweet romance with him."

Little stars popped out of Yezi's eyes; her focus was a bit different from others.

"Hmph, you'd even fancy a mutated man from the Pollution Zone? Are you in heat?" Autumn Cicada pouted. He was indeed damn handsome, but it was a pity he didn't live in the High Molecular Compound Zone.

"Alright, let's talk after we find the Moon Soil Evolution Fluid Pure Liquid." Lu Xiaoxiao shook her head, looking at the two of them, who would start bickering at the slightest disagreement.

It was like this in the academy, and it's still like this now that they're out.

"Dilisi, get out your 98K. I believe with your sniping ability, as long as the opponent fires a shot, you should be able to pinpoint their approximate location, right?"

"Yes, Captain. Yezi, cover me."

Dilisi placed the black portable long case on the ground and opened it.

In thirty seconds, she had assembled the modified 98K.

The girl named Yezi smiled enchantingly, took out a handful of black soil, and dropped a few seeds.

The seeds took root in the soil and grew to two meters tall in the blink of an eye. The broad green banana leaves swayed in the wind, blocking the view from outside.

"Let's go."

Lu Xiaoxiao waved her jade hand, and Autumn Cicada and Ming Xixi followed.

Zhang Manyue held the AWM, her breathing even, not rushing to shoot... Xu Jingzhe's shot arrived in an instant.

Everyone's attention was on the front, ignoring what was behind them.

Mike reacted too late and was hit in the back by a specially made AWM bullet.

However, it didn't blast through his chest as Xu Jingzhe had expected.

The bullet disintegrated!

Mike got up from the ground and brushed the dust off himself.

Hearing Mike's movement, Xia Qingli and Flying Fish stopped their pursuit and chose a cover.

"Mike, are you okay?" Flying Fish asked.

"Damn it! The cyan titanium alloy steel plate on my back got dented. Damn, such an expensive thing, I don't know when I'll gather enough pollution core to replace it."

Mike took off his clothes, revealing his strong upper body with bulging muscles.

His chest and back had both been modified. Furthermore, Mike's pursuit was full-body high-tech, except for his brain and his privates.

The combination of flesh and technology allowed him to evade this fatal blow.

"High-tech is good, but it's damn expensive!"

"It's not as good as ordinary people in the High Molecular Compound Zone, who can live for a hundred years or so by just getting a normal heart replacement," Flying Fish complained.

"Can ordinary alloy withstand this shot? Being expensive saves lives!" Mike's mechanical arm rotated.

He was very angry.

A sneak attack from behind, and it damaged his cyan titanium alloy back.

His heart was bleeding.

"Be careful. When I was chasing the two people opposite earlier, a third person suddenly appeared. His marksmanship is precise and can cause us harm."

"I thought they knew they were surrounded and had left. I didn't expect them to be so bold, wanting to work together to ambush us." Xia Qingli's eyes were cold. She hid behind a thick tree, searching for the enemy's hiding position.