40: Chapter 40 Sand Scorpion Armor

Ren Chuan immediately brought Xiang Nan to find Wang Ting in the Outpost Camp.

Upon seeing Wang Ting, Xiang Nan reported the situation immediately.

"Boss, I found the woods and the water source, but there are Thorn Vine Beasts there. Moreover, judging by visual estimation, the entire forest is filled with Parasitic Fungus Vines, with at least one or two hundred of them just on the outer periphery. I'm afraid it'll be very difficult for our few people to completely clear out the entire forest."

The overwhelming Parasitic Fungus Vines left Xiang Nan with lingering fear.

The area of the woods was not small, and the rushing Parasitic Fungus Vines chased after them like a green wave.

He had no way to count them in detail and could only roughly estimate the number of Parasitic Fungus Vines, but just a glance across them was no less than the number of monsters that raided the stronghold that night.

Xiang Nan's words caused the expressions of Feng Bo and the others present to change slightly.

Feng Bo furrowed his brow, his expression solemn: "If it were only Parasitic Fungus Vines, our twenty combat personnel plus one to two thousand bullets should still be able to handle them as long as the position is suitable, but I'm afraid we can't handle the Thorn Vine Beasts."

They had all witnessed the Thorn Vine Beasts launch a charge with their own eyes; that terrifying power meant ordinary defense lines simply couldn't do anything to this behemoth.

Although the rifles in their hands could kill the Parasitic Fungus Vines, bullets falling on monsters like the Thorn Vine Beast would have their effectiveness drastically reduced.

After listening to Xiang Nan's words, Wang Ting didn't show any dejected expression at all; instead, a sharp glint flashed across his eyes.

"Leave the Thorn Vine Beast to me to resolve."

Pausing slightly, he instructed Feng Bo: "Xiang Nan's squad will rest first, and you pick the second group to come with me to check out the situation."

"This…" Feng Bo hesitated a bit, but still nodded in agreement, "I'll go arrange it right away."

Subconsciously, he actually still wanted to ask the Shelter's Zhao Kun or Fan Da for reinforcements.

But when he saw how confident Wang Ting looked, he actually dispelled this thought in his heart.

Elite individuals among low-level anomalous entities were indeed formidable, but it wasn't that there was no way to deal with them. Moreover, the combat power Wang Ting displayed was far stronger than an ordinary captain-tier; maybe he really had a way.

Everyone went to prepare, and Feng Bo even specifically had people bring along the remaining three grenades.

The Shelter had only given them four grenades in total. This was even something Boss Fan specifically had the Supplies Group prepare just to guard against the Thorn Vine Beast.

These three grenades were also one of the reasons Feng Bo believed Wang Ting could handle the Thorn Vine Beast.

However, he didn't know that Wang Ting had other plans in mind.

'Since the Thorn Vine Beast has already appeared, I might as well take this opportunity to push the cataloging progress to 100%. I wonder if I have a chance to take down this Thorn Vine Beast fighting alone?'

After taking the virus potion, Wang Ting's physical strength had been greatly enhanced. In terms of intensity, it was already no less than a warrior who had broken through limits twice, or even somewhat exceeded it.

In his normal state, Wang Ting's strength was already close to one thousand kilograms, and his speed and endurance had also surged significantly compared to before. Although he only looked more robust and well-built on the outside, with terrifying power contained within his muscles, he was already a humanoid beast.

'The Thorn Vine Beast is covered in thorns; I still need to be a bit careful and stack some armor so that it'll be safe enough.'

With a flash of thoughts in his mind, Wang Ting's consciousness fell onto his own panel.

[Collector: Wang Ting]

[Life Rank: Tier 0]

[monster points: 156]

[Cataloged Monsters: Scarecrow, Rot Soil Hound, Sand Scorpion, Zombie, Lizard Hound, Parasitic Fungus Vine, Thorn Vine Beast (57%)]

9 days had passed since Wang Ting last redeemed the virus potion. Calculated at 12 monster points settled per day, he now had more than enough to redeem the sand scorpion armor.

One trait or creation every ten days; this was Boss Wang's greatest capital.

"Redeem sand scorpion armor."

The sand scorpion armor had a combo effect with Scorpion Skin, which could significantly enhance defensive power. In terms of enhancing strength and cost-effectiveness, it was Wang Ting's first choice of creation.

He used to worry that exposing it would make it hard to explain its origin, but now Wang Ting felt he could be a bit bolder. The Outpost Camp was currently under his control, and it was also time to show his muscles.

As his instruction was issued, his monster points decreased by 150 points, and then deep within his consciousness, a set of earth-yellow armor wrapped in bubbles slowly emerged.

With a thought, he wanted to take out the armor and wear it on his body, but the next moment, that sand scorpion armor actually directly enveloped his body, completing the wear instantly.

His face showed astonishment, followed by a smile: "It's even more convenient than I expected."

The earth-yellow armor, resembling ore, completely covered Wang Ting from head to toe. The armor plates were hard and exuded a metallic luster. The chest and shoulders, waist and abdomen, knees and elbows... every part had flexible armor. It was hard yet not bloated, fitting his body completely like a specially made combat uniform.

Wang Ting swung his fist, and his movements were unexpectedly smooth without the slightest feeling of stagnation. Neither his speed nor his strength was affected in any way.

Aside from the crisp sound made by the arm's carapace armor colliding, he didn't feel any discomfort at all.

He took out the machete at his waist and slashed directly at the armor with considerable force. A clanging sound rang out, and the machete only left a white mark.

'It actually didn't break the defense.'

Wang Ting was surprised in his heart; the force he used just now was not small. If it were the armor of an ordinary Sand Scorpion, it probably would have been slashed through by now. From this point alone, it could be seen that the defensive power of the sand scorpion armor was much stronger than that of ordinary Sand Scorpions.

'Then next is to activate Scorpion Skin and sand scorpion armor together.'

Wang Ting activated the trait of his Scorpion Skin, and a layer of carapace-like skin quickly emerged on his skin beneath the armor.

A special feeling came from all parts of his body. Activating Scorpion Skin actually integrated with the sand scorpion armor, and the entire armor at this moment seemed to become a part of Wang Ting's body, just like an extension of his skin.

The earth-yellow armor gained many black patterns, and taking the body's spine as the center, they extended toward the armor on all four limbs, forming magical inscriptions-like patterns.

If one carefully studied the surface of the sand scorpion armor, they would find that where the black patterns spread, a layer of faint extraordinary energy was now attached, forming a special protective layer.

Wang Ting could feel that his body's defensive power had undergone a leap forward enhancement at this moment.

'Can it stop bullets this time?'

Facing the spot that had just been marked with a white scratch, Wang Ting moved his mind and took out a pistol. Just as he was preparing to shoot and test it, he suddenly thought about it and felt it wasn't appropriate.

"To be safe, let's pad an iron sheet."

Although Wang Ting had the heart to test it, it was his own body after all, so he had to add another layer of defense.

He stuffed an iron piece between the back of his hand and the armor, padding it at the very bottom layer.

With a bang, a gunshot rang out. The bullet landed on the test location, and the bullet head shattered into pieces. Meanwhile, only a white mark appeared on the sand scorpion armor.

Wang Ting's mouth curled up, revealing an extremely confident smile.

...

The team was assembled very quickly. This time, those preparing for battle were more experienced Guard Team members like Feng Bo, Ren Chuan, and Dong Hu. Everyone was fully armed.

"Boss, take these three grenades." Feng Bo handed the three grenades into Wang Ting's hands, "Grenades are lethal to the Thorn Vine Beast, but you still need to be extra careful."

When they first encountered the Thorn Vine Beast, Zhao Kun had severely injured it with grenades. However, due to the interference of the Parasitic Fungus Vine army, there was no way to continue attacking it, so it wasn't completely killed.

Wang Ting took the grenades, his gaze falling on Ren Chuan as he asked: "Help me find two spears. I remember these things should have been brought along too."

The few people were slightly stunned at first, and then Ren Chuan nodded: "We have this stuff, I'll go get it for you."

Ren Chuan brought back two metal-forged spears. These were spears polished from steel pipes, originally used by Guard Team members on sentry duty. They had a relatively long attack distance, making them a bit more convenient than knives.

Wang Ting held them in his hand and weighed them. They weren't light, weighing about seven or eight catties.

"Set off."

The team's goal was clear: to scout and deal with the Parasitic Fungus Vines and Thorn Vine Beasts inside that forest.

Therefore, their marching speed was very fast, and they brought plenty of ammunition, with almost everyone carrying four or five magazines.

Walking for over an hour, the sporadic Parasitic Fungus Vines along the way were all directly killed by Wang Ting himself, heading straight up the hillside diagonally opposite the forest all the way.

Xiang Nan ultimately couldn't put his mind at ease and still followed the team over.

With his guidance, the team didn't rashly get too close, observing the movements of the forest and the small river from afar at a distance of about 300 meters.

The forest looked calm, but the tree trunks and branches were covered with many vines.

Although not as dense as the town center, under the mutual cover of these vines, it was temporarily difficult to distinguish which were the branches and leaves of the trees and which were the vine leaves.

The forest moved without wind, and rustling sounds came from time to time—this was the Parasitic Fungus Vines quietly moving among the trees. Sometimes one could even see the vine tentacles swaying like long snakes, which was particularly frightening.

Dong Hu's brow was tightly furrowed, and his words were not lacking in worry: "It seems there really are quite a few Parasitic Fungus Vines in the forest."