119: Chapter 119 Battle at the Settlement, Mutant Attack

The Roar of the pickup's engine gradually slowed, finally coming to a halt at the edge of a dense graveyard of abandoned cars. This place was like a forgotten steel labyrinth, where hundreds of dilapidated cars were piled haphazardly. Rusted bodies collided and squeezed against each other, forming narrow passages. Some car roofs were crushed and dented by heavy pickups, their windshields shattered into spiderweb patterns; some SUVs had their doors wide open, cabins stuffed with blackened debris and bodies covered in scratches of varying depths; others lay overturned on the ground, wheels facing the sky, rusted chassis exposed and tangled with dried weeds and zombie remains. The dark red glow of the magma spilled through the gaps between the vehicles, casting distorted shadows on the ground. Besides the smell of rust and rot, the air was also filled with a faint acidic stench.

"Everyone, pay attention. We're staying for ten minutes to farm dream coins. Prioritize clearing Ordinary Zombies and watch out for mutants!" Li Mubai pushed open the car door, the faint glow of [Star Rail] spreading out, instantly marking the dense red dots within the gathering point. "At least fifty Ordinary Zombies are scattered in the gaps between vehicles, and there are two high-energy reaction bodies—likely mutants—moving around us!"

"Copy that!" Everyone moved quickly, forming a defensive circle around the pickup. Chen Rui leaped onto the roof, [Thousand Faces] instantly transforming into a cold, gleaming alloy longsword engraved with lightning patterns. "The view from the roof is good; I'll handle long-range cutting and lookout!" Zhao Hu stood at the edge of the truck bed, [Giant Strength Berserk] fully activated, his muscles bulging as red light permeated his body. [Roar] perched on his shoulder, the black patterns on its silver-gray fur lighting up as it let out a deafening, deterrent howl. "Leave the Ordinary Zombies to me; I'll kill as many as come!" Lin Wan stayed in the truck bed, her hands raised slightly as emerald wood element buds and ice-blue Water Element buds floated before her. Ripples of elemental energy centered on Lin Wan covered everyone, while [Qingyu] flapped its wings, keeping a constant eye on the time and surrounding movements. "I will maintain the [Purification Halo] every 2-5 minutes during combat, while also using light Physical Specialization Reinforcement and elemental attacks for support."

Before her voice could fade, a dense creaking sound came from deep within the gathering point. Dozens of Ordinary Zombies shambled out from the gaps between vehicles, their gray, withered skin clinging to their bones as they converged on the pickup with twisted limbs. "Kill!" Zhao Hu was the first to charge forward, his fist carrying a powerful wind as it smashed into the lead zombie. With a dull thud, the zombie's head instantly caved in, splashing blackish-brown blood across the ground. [Roar] leaped up and unleashed an electronic Roar at the zombie horde. Where the sound waves spread, several zombies became sluggish, and Zhao Hu took the opportunity to deliver a sweeping kick, knocking three zombies to the ground before crushing their skulls.

Chen Rui swung his sword from the roof, the long blade drawing silver arcs that precisely severed the arms or heads of zombies approaching the pickup with fluid, graceful movements. "Zombies are dense in the left passage!" Just as he finished speaking, [Thousand Faces] transformed into a crossbow with a telescopic sight, precisely piercing the back of two zombies' heads. "Done!"

With a flick of her finger, Lin Wan's emerald wood element power spread out, condensing into several thick thorns that firmly entangled over a dozen zombies approaching from the right, preventing them from advancing. Simultaneously, the ice-blue Water Element quickly condensed into dozens of ice spikes, raining down like a storm and piercing the zombies' heads. "Right side cleared, watch the rear!"

Li Mubai and Zhang Hao took advantage of the combat gaps to move quickly between the abandoned vehicles near the pickup. Li Mubai used [Star Rail] to scan the interiors, precisely locating well-preserved gasoline cans. "There are two cans of gasoline in the trunk of this sedan!" He raised his hand to flip open the deformed trunk lid and slung the gasoline cans over his shoulder. Zhang Hao, meanwhile, rummaged for repair parts. The light pattern on [Silver Star]'s forehead lit up as it performed a quick scan with [All-Knowing Eye (Pseudo)]. "The engine parts of this pickup are intact and can be removed as spares!" He deftly disassembled the parts with tools, while his peripheral vision alertly observed the surroundings—the moment an Ordinary Zombie fell, a clump of grayish-white mental matter drifted out and flew toward the depths of the gathering point. His heart stirred, and he signaled [Silver Star] to record the trajectory.

At that moment, a sharp screech pierced the air! Two dark shadows lunged from behind an overturned SUV, their speed far exceeding that of Ordinary Zombies—one had arms transformed into half-meter-long, sharp bone blades that glinted coldly, a Blade Zombie; the other had viscous yellow-green liquid dripping from its mouth and a bulging chest cavity, clearly a Spitter Zombie. They had a clear target, lunging straight for Li Mubai and Zhang Hao, who were collecting supplies!

"Watch out!" Chen Rui reacted the fastest, [Thousand Faces] instantly transforming into a flamethrower that blasted raging flames at the two mutants. The fire scorched the mutants' skin with a sizzling sound. The Blade Zombie's movements faltered, but the Spitter Zombie didn't care, opening its mouth to spit a glob of yellow-green corrosive liquid toward Li Mubai!

"Move!" Zhang Hao pulled Li Mubai aside to dodge. The corrosive liquid hit the ground, instantly emitting white smoke as it ate a large hole into the asphalt road. Li Mubai quickly deployed [Star Rail], an orange-silver light shield blocking the Blade Zombie's bone blade attack. With a crisp 'clang,' the shield rippled. "Zhao Hu, support!"

Hearing this, Zhao Hu turned and charged toward the mutants, the red light of [Giant Strength Berserk] growing even more intense as his fist smashed toward the Blade Zombie's head. The Blade Zombie raised its bone blades to parry. With a 'crack,' the bone blades and fist collided, sending sparks flying. Zhao Hu was jolted back a step, while the mutant was also knocked back several meters. [Roar] leaped up and unleashed an electronic Roar at the Spitter Zombie, the sonic impact causing its liquid-spitting action to lag.

Lin Wan immediately controlled thorns to entangle the Spitter Zombie's limbs while condensing a massive ice spike to precisely strike its chest. With a squelch, the ice spike transfixed the Spitter Zombie's body, and yellow-green liquid gushed out, corroding the surrounding thorns. "Deal with the Spitter Zombie first; its corrosiveness is too strong!" she shouted, releasing a mini [Purification Halo] again to clear the corrosive mist from the air.

From the roof, Chen Rui adjusted his angle as [Thousand Faces] transformed into an armor-piercing sniper rifle. He aimed at the Blade Zombie's head and fired. With a 'bang,' the bullet hit precisely but only left a white mark. "High defense!" He frowned, then switched to a serrated longsword and leaped from the roof, hacking at the Blade Zombie's joints. "Zhao Hu, attack its joints!"

Zhao Hu understood and fully activated [Giant Strength Berserk], smashing a fist into the Blade Zombie's knee joint. The sound of bone shattering was clearly audible. As the Blade Zombie fell to one knee, Chen Rui took the opportunity to sever one of its bone blades, green blood gushing out. Li Mubai seized the chance to close in, [Star Rail] condensing into a silver blade shining with starlight, which he swung at the Blade Zombie's head, completely ending its life.

By then, the thorns controlled by Lin Wan had completely bound the Spitter Zombie, and ice spikes continued to pierce its body until it finally fell lifelessly to the ground, no longer moving.

"Three minutes left!" Lin Wan raised her hand to check the time and released the [Purification Halo] once more. "About a dozen Ordinary Zombies left!"

Everyone picked up the pace. Zhao Hu and Chen Rui worked together to clear the remaining Ordinary Zombies, while Li Mubai and Zhang Hao moved the last can of gasoline and the repair parts onto the pickup.

[Killed "Ordinary Zombie" * 1, gained 1 dream coin]

[Killed "Ordinary Zombie" * 1, gained 1 dream coin]

...

[Killed "Blade Mutant" * 1, gained 10 dream coins]

...

[Killed "Spitter Mutant" * 1, gained 10 dream coins]

...

The dream coin notifications projected by [Star Rail] kept refreshing; they had accumulated nearly a hundred dream coins within the ten minutes.

"Time's up, retreat!" At Li Mubai's command, everyone quickly boarded the pickup. Zhang Hao started the engine, and the pickup roared out of the abandoned car gathering point, leaving the zombie horde far behind. On the roof, Chen Rui wiped the longsword that [Thousand Faces] had become; Zhao Hu panted heavily; Lin Wan checked the collected supplies; and Zhang Hao's gaze swept across the depths of the gathering point. [Silver Star]'s data stream was rapidly analyzing the trajectory of the mental matter recorded earlier—a clue regarding the mutants and the destination was quietly becoming clear.