NOVPUB
Chapter 122: Chapter 122: The Flock of Mutant Birds
It was a massive flock of mutant birds!
They came too fast! Just moments ago, they were still on the distant horizon, but in the blink of an eye, they had swooped in low!
Everyone was so panicked they didn’t even have time to retract the ladder, hurriedly hiding inside the jeep!
Wei Jie wanted to start the engine and leave, but was stopped by Tian Xinyue—"We can’t run! The eyes of mutant birds are even sharper with moving objects!"
If they stayed still, maybe they could avoid detection. But if they were to drive away, the mutant birds would surely be faster than their vehicle!
Ominous clouds loomed above, a huge dark shadow covering the entire sky. The frenzied cries of birds came closer from afar, and then the vehicle was shaking violently! It was as if the dense black flock of birds were giant bullets shooting past the jeep from all around!
The light dimmed suddenly all around them, and all they could see were black and gray feathers swirling in the air!
The waves of mutant birds enveloped the jeep! Some flew straight past while others crashed directly onto the shell of the jeep! The roof of the vehicle echoed with sharp, grating scratching sounds, and outside the windows, mutant birds with blood-red eyes shrieked loudly at the people inside!
None of them had ever witnessed such a scene; they were all somewhat stupefied, and Li Qian was trembling uncontrollably!
Han Jiaojiao, seeing nothing but the oppressive darkness outside, blurted out anxiously, "Xinyue! Where are the guns?"
It was impossible for members of the Special Training Team to go out without their firearms!
Tian Xinyue, who was a bit flustered, heard Han Jiaojiao’s voice, reached out for her gun, and hesitantly said, "...No... It won’t work, there are too many of them, we don’t have enough bullets..."
Han Jiaojiao had already drawn her own pistol, disengaged the safety, and said to Wei Jie in front, "Open the window a crack!"
Wei Jie was taken aback and looked towards Tian Xinyue.
Tian Xinyue had calmed down somewhat by this time and said, "That’s not a good idea, there are too many mutant birds outside, we should find a way to break through..."
Before she could finish her words, the vehicle suddenly tilted to the right!
Everyone’s faces changed color! Wang Mengyi shouted in panic, "The tire’s blown!"
Bang! — Another loud noise came from outside the window!
The mutant birds seemed to know that delicious food awaited them inside the vehicle, each persistently diving down, their hard beaks striking the window glass like bullet heads! Cracks spread instantly like a spider web!
"Open the window!" Han Jiaojiao was already pressing the window control button, "Mutant birds are still birds! Even if they’ve grown in size, the sound of gunfire still frightens them. We don’t have to kill them all, as long as we can scare off some of them, it’s enough for us to retreat!"
Her words steadied everyone’s hearts. Yes, mutant birds are still birds. Even though they have become more ferocious due to mutation, their nature has not changed, much like the Mutant Rat, whose aggressiveness has increased, yet it remains timid and rushes into its burrow at the slightest sound.
"Jiaojiao is right," said Tian Xinyue, taking a deep breath. "Xiaojie, open the window a crack. We’ll stagger our shots to keep the gunfire continuous."
Tian Xinyue then patted Li Qian on the shoulder beside her and asked, "Are you all right?"
Li Qian, clutching her gun tightly, said with a pale face, "...Go ahead, I can do it."
Bang, bang! — The car window was on the verge of shattering!
Wei Jie, gathering his courage, cracked the window open! As soon as the narrow slit appeared, countless beaks reeking of bloodied flesh jostled to squeeze through the gap in the window!
Han Jiaojiao pressed firmly against one bird’s head and didn’t pull the trigger until the gun’s muzzle was outside the window—
Bang! —
Blood splattered! The mutant birds clustered around the window scattered a little bit, but quickly, several others dived back in.
Bang! Bang, bang! —
Up ahead, Wei Jie and Wang Mengyi were each firing to the sides, and the swarm of birds scattered a bit more!
It seemed as if everyone had regained their confidence, and they continued firing their guns with composure.
Just then, a gunshot exploded inside the vehicle followed by the sound of shattering glass!
"Ahhhhh!——" A woman’s piercing scream filled the air!
Countless black shadows poured into the vehicle, flapping their wings, opening their sharp beaks, and extending their talon-like claws, pouncing one by one or grabbing at Li Qian!
"Li Qian!!!——"
Tian Xinyue reached out to grab Li Qian! The Mutant Birds had already dragged half of Li Qian’s body out of the window! Her legs kicked twice in the car, one of which was caught by Tian Xinyue from behind, but in the next moment, it turned into a bloody stump.
Tian Xinyue was completely stunned.
Numbly, she watched as Li Qian’s body was torn to shreds like a broken doll in the midst of the Mutant Birds, with flesh and blood flying everywhere! The Mutant Birds, attracted by the flesh and blood of Li Qian, swooped in all at once, and two of them flew in through the broken window, seizing the remaining half of the leg from Tian Xinyue’s hands.
Dazed, Tian Xinyue didn’t react, while Han Jiaojiao from behind fired two shots, killing one bird, and the other flew out with the half-leg in its beak——
Han Jiaojiao bellowed, "Wei Jie! Drive!"
One of the tires had already burst, and the vehicle moved forward with difficulty, jolting violently. Most of the birds had gone to fight over the food, and only a few pursued them but were scared away by the gunfire.
The ride became more and more rough until with a bang, another tire was ruined, and the vehicle could no longer move.
Tian Xinyue remained in a daze, Wang Mengyi’s face also showed signs of bewilderment and panic, while Wei Jie was somewhat composed, just somewhat pale.
Han Jiaojiao grabbed Tian Xinyue’s arms and shook them hard! "Tian Xinyue! Tian Xinyue!"
"...It’s me... it was me who caused her death..."
"She missed her shot and broke the glass! It was an accident!" Han Jiaojiao shouted loudly, trying to snap her back to reality.
Tian Xinyue’s eyes still lacked focus, "It’s me... If I had decided to go back sooner... If I hadn’t wasted time..."
Han Jiaojiao gritted her teeth and raised her hand, slapping her fiercely across the face!
——Slap!
Tian Xinyue stared blankly at Han Jiaojiao, as large tears rolled down from her eyes.
"...It was me who killed her..."
Han Jiaojiao grabbed her arm and shouted, "From receiving the message to when we stopped, it was only three to four minutes! Even if you had decided to go back right away, we would have still encountered the Mutant Bird swarm! It was an accident! Do you understand?! If anyone is to blame, it’s that damn Su Xue! If she had told us directly about the Mutant Bird swarm, at least we could have found a safer place to take cover!"
Tian Xinyue looked shocked, while Wei Jie and Wang Mengyi’s faces also showed disbelief.
"How is that possible?...Doesn’t she fear... fear getting exposed?..."
"Exposed to what? She, as the logistics personnel, had already notified you. She could easily concoct the specifics of what she notified, or find an excuse about communication issues, or even say you didn’t hear clearly. Moreover, we might not live to get back, so in the end, it would be whatever she wants to say," Han Jiaojiao replied.
"This! How can this not make sense?!" Wang Mengyi’s face turned from white to red in extreme anger, "We are all members of the Special Training Team, why would she do such a thing?!"
Han Jiaojiao gave him a cold glance and said solemnly, "Who knows what she was thinking, but the fact remains before our eyes. During the communication, she just needed to mention the Mutant Bird attack, and we would have had time to find a place to hide. Three to five minutes would have been completely enough! But she didn’t, instead, she kept repeating the mission time change to buy time and confuse us."
"It must be her!" Tian Xinyue had come back to her senses by now, and she said through clenched teeth, "She resents me for reporting to the superiors! She was stripped of her position as the team leader and transferred to logistics, while I was promoted to team leader. She resents me!"
