The gradually dimming skylight revealed the reality that it was already evening. Normally, evening would mean that the day's training was approaching, and you could look forward to whether there would be sauerkraut stew or a rare beer for dinner. But here, on the north bank of the Hui River, the most savage area in the Alliance, evening means danger and hunting. This is a radioactive bad land where ghosts roam at night, not some dry grassland on a farm for outdoor training.
Based on the speed at which the light faded, Shen Rusong roughly deduced that it would be at least half an hour before complete darkness. At that time, the ghosts and monsters would be dispatched, and he would not be able to resist it for long as he was almost bare-handed now.
Shen Rusong's mind was spinning rapidly. After confirming that the surroundings were clear for the time being, he retreated to the nearest rock, took out the map in his pocket, and spread it flat to check his approximate location.
Fortunately, the functional watch comes with a simple compass, which can distinguish north and south. You can easily identify it by chopping down trees to see the growth rings or pulling branches to measure shadows. Using the light of a lighter, Shen Rusong first found the route left during this period on the map, starting from the Huijiang Radar Station, the last reserve point he passed, and then about 11 or 2 kilometers north to the ghoul that he had just attacked. nest.
Although Shen Rusong has the latest military map in his hand, due to the particularity of the north bank of the Huijiang River and the lack of satellite remote sensing, the military map at this time cannot be as detailed as before the war and can be used as a large-scale map at the campaign level. Nature is enough. However, the maps used by hunters and scouts have to be drawn based on the experience of previous people, and there is no way to update them from time to time.
The map also marked the more active mutant beast species in each area. The area where Shen Rusong was located was of course dominated by ghouls.
"Lin Mang, Tu Qiuzi..." Shen Rusong muttered silently.
Ghouls do not have a wide range of activities. They are cave-dwelling omnivores. They rely on cave moss and mushrooms to survive to a certain extent. In the calm period, the danger level is not in the first echelon. However, mutants based on snakes and pythons such as Lin Bo and Tu Qiuzi, let alone ordinary mutant beasts, even the Renaissance Army would not deal with them unless necessary.
Snakes have particularly strong infrared sensing capabilities. As their body size increases after radiation mutation, the alienated infrared sensing is often stronger than human infrared detectors. This is equivalent to the fact that infrared detectors with low power cannot effectively illuminate hidden snakes. As soon as winter comes, the Renaissance Army has to vigorously inspect all bases and farms to ensure that there are no hibernating snakes in the territory. Even so, every spring, there is always news about a dozen unlucky guys being eaten alive by awakened forest pythons.
After some calculation, although it was still some time before winter started, the possibility of Shen Rusong's luck encountering a snake and python could not be ruled out. Forget about the forest python. This thing is too long and too big. If it finds a human, it won't necessarily move into its nest. After all, eating a small human may not make up for the energy consumed in hunting. However, if a highly venomous snake like Tuqiuzi is encountered and bitten, it is hard to say whether the universal detoxifying serum can be used. Moreover, there are too many types of short vipers such as Tuqiuzi, with different textures and skin colors. Even stepping on piles of dead leaves can't stop him from taking a bite. If he wasn't wearing special anti-bite clothing, he could basically tell the truth after just one bite.
Putting aside the mutated beasts for now, the top priority is to build a hideout. Shen Rusong inspected the surroundings and felt that a semi-open rock wall next to him was acceptable, so he went inside to make sure that no other beasts used it as a nest, and then went out to cut branches and use them as bundles to block the fire. A door was made at the opening of the rock wall, and a simple trip rope was made in front of and behind the door.
He hesitated whether to make a fire for a while. If it was a normal mountain forest, it would definitely be necessary. Fire can preserve body temperature and drive away wild beasts and bugs, and it can also increase people's confidence. But leaving a fire isn't a particularly good option here. First of all, the intelligence of quite a few mutant beasts has been greatly improved. There is a case analysis of the ghost king of the ghoul group. His intelligence has reached the level of an eight or nine-year-old human child. To a certain extent, he can understand the instructions and behavioral intentions of the captor. . If it is an ape-like mutant beast, its intelligence is no less than that of humans.
The larger the population base, the more intelligent people there are. The ghoul lair under Shen Rusong had been killed and injured hundreds of them during the cleanup process. At this moment, they should still be in a violent state, searching for enemies everywhere. Their eyes are small but they are not blind. If one of them finds Shen Rusong, he will die with both hands.
But if you don't leave a brazier, being bitten by a tick is still troublesome, and being parasitized is just a gamble.
Shen Rusong thought about it and finally lit the brazier. He needed to replenish his strength and roast his clothes. When he sprinted to escape, he sweated too much. There was no harm in simply roasting them. Besides, the clothes were too smelly and he had to peel them off. It also needs to be cleaned again to remove dirt.
Shen Rusong scraped off a pile of solidified mucus with a dagger, and smeared it on the edge of the woven tree door as a camouflage scent. Then use filtered water to carefully clean your wounds and the parts of the clothes that need to be cleaned. After all, there is a long way to go. The soles of the shoes, waist and hips, especially the penis, these places are uncomfortable, and it will consume your willpower over time.
The rations he carried were discarded along with his backpack when he passed through the tunnel. At this moment, he only had an energy bar in his trouser pocket. Although this thing replenished energy, it could not keep him quiet.
How did the logistics genius make chocolate and almonds so unpalatable? Shen Rusong thought while chewing an energy bar. I can’t blame the logistics department. Small snack-like items like energy bars are really delicious. I’m afraid it’s not my turn now. I can’t help but eat them when I want to.
I wonder how Yang Qi and the others are doing. It is no problem to exit safely. Have they withdrawn to the reserve point? Are you going to call for reinforcements next or what? Shen Rusong thought about the current situation of his teammates.
Only now did he have time to think about the situation when the tunnel was bombed. To be honest, it was impossible not to blame others. At that time, he was fighting a ghoul. He was trapped for a while and couldn't get out, and then he was given up. Who wouldn’t be annoyed if I replaced him? If he successfully goes back and sees Li Minbo, even in front of the battalion commander, no one can blame him if Shen Rusong slaps Li Minbo. Reasons follow principles and rules follow rules. Sacrifice one person to save everyone. That's right, you're not the one who loves me, right?
While clenching his teeth and thinking about going back and giving Li Minbo a beating, Shen Rusong finished chewing the energy bar. I filled the energy bar wrapper with some soil, buried it in the fire and burned it. Shen Rusong stared at the flames for a while. He was alone in Tong'anling. Whether he could survive the night in such a situation was already a gamble.
After extinguishing the fire, leaving only a few pieces of charcoal with sparks, Shen Rusong put the gun under his body as usual, huddled in the deepest part of the rock wall, closed his eyelids, and fell into a false sleep.
…
Somewhere in Tong'an Mountain, Li Minbo's Department.
"Bang!" A 12.7mm hunting heavy bullet roared out of the chamber. As the recoil spring worked, the next bullet was loaded and fired. Along with the hot bullet wind, it hit the flesh and blood of the ghoul that was attacking not far away.
The wind roared loudly in the dim forest, and the shouts of the soldiers formed in formation were mixed with the sound of the mutated beasts swarming through the forest.
"Flag flare!" Li Minbo roared. He quickly changed to the next magazine and fired at the new wave of incoming beasts.
A red flare flew up, and the blood-red color immediately covered the entire forest glade. The shooters who were ambush high up poured out bullets, suppressing the herd of animals trying to attack from the other side. However, the firepower of light weapons was not enough to completely suppress the thick-skinned beasts. Some violent ghouls carried the corpses of their companions and moved forward layer by layer despite the pressure. The attacks launched by these manic ferocious beasts, with their forelimbs pawing the ground and their hind legs leaping, are becoming increasingly difficult to repel. They pursued for half a day, and even the wounded would not retreat westward. They even have reserves that rotate waves. They firmly bite the retreating hunters, constantly harassing them, and not giving them too much breathing space. Once the hunters have to enter complex terrain such as woods, they will immediately switch to attack!
"Loading!" Firepower appeared intermittently. In the high-intensity all-day battle, even the battle-hardened soldiers were exhausted. Their only hope was to withdraw as soon as possible to the reserve point only a few kilometers away, and use Strong underground fortifications repel the herds, otherwise, in dense forests, even with air support, the effect will be very poor.
Seeing the hunters firing suppressive barrages and the corpses cunningly bouncing between tree trunks, it was hard to imagine that such unusually large creatures could use such good flexibility. The movement they made in the forest actually covered up their movements. Due to his poor body shape, even the best veterans had difficulty controlling shooting accuracy, so they had to resort to burst shooting. "Ding, ding, ding" goes out once, then again, and again.
"This way!" Li Minbo heard someone shout. He threw a grenade, and as soon as he took it off, the two burnt-red and fat monsters were blown to pieces. But the beasts wandering on the edge caught a glimpse of a gap, shook the forest, and leaped out of the smoke. Their fat bodies stretched and contracted as freely as plasticine, and they jumped directly towards the center of the team!
"Bang bang bang~" The sound of gunfire was endless, facing the bloody sky, blood flowers exploded in front of the eyes, and the sudden increase of assault firepower knocked down an incoming corpse from mid-air. The hunters retreated in an orderly manner, while the heavily armored combat engineers moved forward. The latter pushed the former's shoulders, using their heavy armor to block the attack of the ghouls whose momentum was greatly reduced.
Yang Qi's engineer shovel smashed it, causing blood to fly from the cracked jaws. Xie Guorong behind him ran out of bullets for a moment, raised his rifle with a bayonet and thrust forward. The battle became intense. Cut out several small circles from the big circle, and no matter how you move up or down, there will always be a gap. The soldiers fought back to back, their hearts trembling, their hands steady, shooting at any creature that was not standing on two legs.
"Keep the formation!" Li Minbo yelled. He found that a corpse was coming around behind him, and the front line of fire that had always been forward had to cut off and turn to deal with the rear. There were only a few shooters at the top, but there were too many corpses. They were really surrounded by one attack after another, and the lethality of the bullets seemed too weak at this moment!
Some people died, but not completely...
