53: Chapter 53 Interception

The scout and assault specialist Night Owl is a Tier 5 Evolver.

Night Owl's physique is lean and upright, with a clean and well-proportioned frame. There is not an ounce of excess fat on his body; every inch of his tense muscles is condensed with extreme explosive power, like a killing Sharp Weapon meticulously carved by nature, born specifically for stealth and hunting.

His limbs have smooth and sharp lines, and every movement is soft and silent, like a wild cat lurking in the darkness. Beneath his calm exterior lies a lethal speed capable of tearing apart prey at any moment.

A pure black tight-fitting tactical suit clings closely to his body, outlining every tensed muscle line on his shoulders, back, waist, abdomen, and limbs.

A lightweight tactical helmet is firmly secured on his head, and dark anti-glare goggles cover most of his face, revealing only a pair of eyes embedded in the shadows—cold, sharp, like a hawk patrolling the wilderness, carrying an inherent, chilling killing intent that sees through everything.

The demolitionist Iron Weld is a Tier 4 Evolver.

His build is average, lacking an exaggeratedly muscular physique. His eyes are constantly filled with the focus and obsession unique to technicians; when discussing modifications, demolition, or mechanical disassembly, a near-fanatical light ignites in his eyes.

Iron Weld's attire does not seek lightness, only practicality and durability.

A thickened, work-style heavy protective suit is wear-resistant and scratch-proof, effectively resisting debris impact and close-range splash damage. His body is covered in tool pouches of various sizes, bulging with all kinds of electronic parts, demolition accessories, and maintenance consumables.

A closed tactical helmet integrates a micro-communication array and a wide-area terrain scanner, capturing surrounding signals and terrain information in real-time.

On his back, he carries an oversized, modified tactical backpack that weighs heavily on his shoulders. Inside, it is packed with electronic jammers, portable detectors, modular C4 explosives, and circuit disassembly tools—all the confidence he needs to sweep away obstacles and control the battlefield.

His sidearm is a tactical shotgun with a shortened barrel. The gun body is mottled, covered in wear marks from repeated use. Its close-range power is overbearing, making it a Sharp Weapon for both clearing areas and breaking through obstacles.

According to intelligence gathered from multiple sources, an elite escort squad from the New Era Biotech Company will pass through the broken Guxiang City today.

This squad is escorting an evolution serum that can enhance the potential and strength of Evolvers.

Although intelligence indicates that this is not the latest model of evolution serum, it can still significantly strengthen the human physique and improve survival tolerance in the extreme environment of the apocalypse, with a slight possibility of prying open the dormant genetic locks of the human body and stimulating hidden evolutionary potential.

In the apocalypse where order has collapsed, exotic beasts run rampant, corpse tides are everywhere, and resources are scarce, the path of evolution is difficult to tread.

And the evolution serum, with a value far exceeding gold in peaceful times, is a top-tier treasure crazily fought over by all survivor factions and lone Evolvers.

For the Blood Fiend Squad, struggling at the bottom and fighting for their lives, this is both a peerless opportunity to ascend to the heavens in one step and completely change their destiny, and a perilous gamble with nine deaths and one life, leading straight to Hell.

On top of the high-rise building with broken walls and ruins, the night wind sweeps past, carrying dust from the ruins.

Captain Xia Dong is hidden in the thick shadows, his aura silent and cold. His low, hoarse voice is transmitted through the encrypted headset, precisely reaching the ears of every team member without a trace of unnecessary emotion:

"The target will enter the ambush zone in five minutes. Three light armored vehicles. The first two have obvious battle damage, and there are gaps in the vehicle body defense. There are nine security personnel accompanying the vehicles."

"Remember the core objective: only seize the silver refrigerated box. Make the actions clean, finish the battle quickly, withdraw immediately upon success, and do not engage in prolonged combat or greedy killing."

Deep within the ruins of the dead-silent Guxiang City, the dull and heavy roar of engines approaches from afar, crushing the long-standing desolate silence.

Three light armored vehicles, painted in the exclusive deep blue livery of New Era Biotech and marked with white standard serial numbers, drive slowly along the main road of the ruins, where a gap has been barely cleared.

The rotating surveillance cameras on the roofs scan the surroundings incessantly, and the light machine gun turrets with cold, gleaming lights are ready to fire, their cold metallic texture exuding a sense of oppression.

Behind the airtight bulletproof windows, vigilant and sharp gazes peer out constantly. The security personnel inside the vehicles have their nerves on edge, not daring to relax in the slightest.

Along the way, they have encountered successive waves of mutant corpse tides and surprise attacks from giant mutant beasts. The squad's combat power has been reduced by more than half, and everyone is injured, physically and mentally exhausted.

As long as they successfully pass through Guxiang City, they can meet up with the main force five hundred miles ahead and completely escape danger.

A thousand meters away, on the roof of another high-point ruin, Sniper Leader You Tong holds her breath and focuses, suppressing the rise and fall of her chest to the extreme; even her breathing is so light it has almost vanished.

The crosshairs of the high-precision sniper scope are firmly locked on the passenger seat of the second armored vehicle. Through a tiny gap in the window, she clearly sees a researcher wearing a pure white biological protective suit, arms tightly clutching a silver metal refrigerated box, body tense, protecting it airtight.

"Target locked. Evolution serum container confirmed, located on the front right of vehicle number two." Her cold, clear voice comes through steadily, without a ripple of emotion.

At the same time, on the flank of the battlefield.

Night Owl has long since perfectly concealed his figure using the crisscrossing broken walls of the ruins and withered, intertwined mutant vines, maneuvering like a ghost to the abandoned sentry post on the side of the convoy.

The broken walls of the sentry post form a natural cover. He half-crouches, his entire body's muscles completely relaxed, his breathing long and steady, merging completely into the surrounding dead-silent darkness. Only his fingertips rest lightly on the trigger of his modified rifle, his killing intent completely restrained, waiting for the moment to strike, ready to fire at a touch.

The convoy moves forward at a steady speed, finally driving slowly into the death trap preset by the Blood Fiend Squad—an intersection surrounded by tall, ruined buildings, with an open view but no escape cover.

The moment the front of the vehicles fully enters the encirclement, a flash of light gleams in Iron Weld's eyes, and he decisively activates the portable global communication jammer in his arms.

A subtle crackling of electric current quietly spreads. Within a hundred-meter radius, all radio and communication frequency bands are instantly filled with garbled current, and the harsh noise completely swallows all signals.

The New Era squad's vehicle-mounted communications and walkie-talkies all fail, completely cutting off all possibilities for them to call for help, report their situation, or call for reinforcements.

With all escape routes cut off, the hunt officially begins.

Captain Xia Dong, high up in the building, feels a monstrous killing intent surging in his eyes. He sinks his waist, stabilizes the heavy machine gun "Skull Crusher," and abruptly pulls the trigger.

"BOOM——!!"

A deafening roar suddenly explodes, tearing through the sky over the ruins!

A violent rain of large-caliber armor-piercing bullets pours out. The engine hood of the first armored vehicle instantly explodes and deforms, the entire bulletproof front windshield shatters with a bang, and sharp steel fragments fly in all directions.

The vehicle body suddenly loses control, billowing with thick black smoke and scorching heat waves, crashing hard into the concrete debris piled on the roadside. The violent impact causes the vehicle to shudder intensely, jamming it tightly between the ruins, completely destroyed.

The vehicle-mounted machine gunner on the roof, unable to react in time, has his head jerk violently.

A thousand meters away, Sniper Leader You Tong's sniper bullet precisely penetrates the weak point of the helmet, killing him with one shot.