"Roar! Roar!" One Mutant after another surged forward, leaping and charging. With limbs that were infinitely close to human, they performed movements that were infinitely close to wild beasts. They leaped and bounced among the trees and undergrowth, repeatedly opening their jaws wide to bite at Yi Mao and the others. When they got close, even the saliva they sprayed could splash onto their faces!

And what was truly despair-inducing was that during this time, Mutants that had come from who-knows-where in the jungle kept joining the fray. Looking from afar, the Mutants had almost formed a complete circle around them. They were already at the bottom of the circle, and the gap directly in front was moving forward at a speed exceeding theirs, making it utterly impossible to reach!

"Why are there so many Mutants here!" Yi Mao screamed, losing control, and actually aimed his gun at Jin Dong, who had been flying at a constant, moderate height. "He deliberately lured them here!"

Jin Dong, flying in the air, couldn't dodge. He could only block with the skateboard he had been given earlier. After barely blocking two shots, he was dragged forward by the kite string.

Xu Huo had already landed. He set up the "Emergency Shelter No. 101" in a position relatively far from the Mutants, took the skateboard from Jin Dong's hand, and threw the man inside. Standing at the entrance, he said to Liang Song and the others, "One item from each of you!"

Making such a demand in a critical situation was somewhat suspect of taking advantage of others' misfortune. However, Liang Song and the others had no room to bargain. They threw their items over from more than ten meters away.

Once Xu Huo got the items, he moved aside. Liang Song and the other man first threw Yi Mao and Wan Xiao over, then sprinted with all their might themselves, finally managing to jump into the refuge just before being overtaken by the Mutant horde.

"Bang!" As soon as the door closed, a dense but not overly loud barrage of impacts sounded from outside, washing over the shelter from all directions like raindrops.

It took Liang Song and the others, who were either leaning against the wall or lying on the floor, several seconds to regain their senses and take in the space.

It was just a small room of a little over twenty square meters, even equipped with simple tables, chairs, cabinets, and lighting tools. The current illumination came from a rechargeable lamp. Next to it was an open mini-kitchen. Although it wasn't connected to a power source, you could prepare some instant food.

It was completely safe inside.

"Is this also an item? There are actually items like this." Yue Weiping touched the floor. "We can barely hear the sound of the Mutant horde passing outside. This item is truly impressive!"

Normally, they should have been swept away by the tide of Mutants. But this room didn't budge an inch, showing just how sturdy it was.

"Use the cleaning solution to wash up," Xu Huo reminded them. "Don't spread pathogens everywhere. If we lose even this last place of refuge, everyone will have to go outside."

Hearing this, they immediately restrained their movements, trying not to touch too many surfaces. After using the necessary cleaning solution and antidote, Yue Weiping turned to confront Jin Dong.

Jin Dong repeatedly explained that he also didn't know why things had turned out this way, and said that when he came last time, he hadn't encountered so many Mutants.

"You came over a year ago! During that time, you were crazy and unaware of what was happening. What's strange about the cleanup area changing?" Wan Xiao said through gritted teeth. "In short, we've been screwed over by you. Now none of us can even think about going back!"

"There's another situation. What happened to you guys earlier? You suddenly became abnormal?" Liang Song asked.

Yi Mao was confused, but Wan Xiao reacted swiftly, taking out the tools he carried for self-examination. Several minutes later, after the results came out, he frowned. "We still fell for it. Perhaps the air in the cleanup area is also contaminated."

Yi Mao gulped. "If the air is contaminated, what symptoms would appear?"

As for symptoms, it was probably excessive excitement, reduced perception of pain, and a lack of fear.

The Mutant horde invaded the jungle, just as the warriors who had arrived in this area encountered them. Unable to avoid them, they had to rely on firepower. Just as they were about to be completely wiped out, the Mutant horde actually changed course midway, heading towards the canyon area ahead.

"What's going on?" The group that had previously encountered Xu Huo and his team was also among the survivors. The one who spoke up was a tall man. He had just walked up to the black-hatted man leading them when a bullet flying towards them pierced his chest!

This shot was originally aimed at the black-hatted man, as the trajectory showed. It just happened to be blocked by the tall man.

The black-hatted man propped up the tall man's corpse as a shield in front of him. Seeing a few scattered Mutants appearing in the distance, he shouted loudly, "These Mutants are different from before. They probably have intelligence. Everyone, be careful!"

On the thermal imaging, those gun-wielding Mutants clearly understood tactics. They actually formed tactical squads to advance, with those providing cover, those charging forward, cooperating very closely!

The people on the black-hatted man's side had mostly participated in military training and knew basic evasion methods. Using the cover of vegetation, they quickly dispersed and began a battle of wits and courage with the appearing Mutants.

On thermal imaging, it wasn't easy to completely conceal one's tracks. But once successful, harvesting an opponent's life became very easy.

"Bang!"

Gunfire sounded intermittently. Both sides suffered casualties, and they infiltrated each other's combat zones. Not a single person retreated, so as time passed, the numbers on the black-hatted man's side also kept decreasing.

After several rounds of bloody clashes, the remaining injured people on the black-hatted man's side were few. The black-hatted man had no choice but to issue a retreat signal. After receiving the return signal, he crawled backward on his stomach. However, before he had gone more than a few meters, a Mutant with bared claws appeared behind him. It knelt on his spine, breaking it, and then strangled him to death alive!

After the black-hatted man breathed his last, the Mutant that strangled him made a strange, panting sound, dragged his corpse, and quickly disappeared deep into the grass.

The remaining people on the black-hatted man's side were almost all killed in this quiet manner. Some were dismembered after death. Scattered body parts were left on the spot, while intact corpses were dragged away. In a short time, the jungle returned to tranquility.

Over at Xu Huo's side, after replenishing their stamina, the group emerged from the refuge. The jungle, ravaged by the Mutant horde, was unrecognizable. Large patches of topsoil and green vegetation had been overturned. The exposed plant roots and stems and the soil emitted a strange odor.

Learning from the previous lesson, they tried their best to cover their mouths and noses, using their own protective shields. As they proceeded along the planned route, they also discovered many dismembered limbs of warriors.

"Probably torn apart like this by Mutants," Liang Song said.

They walked further and soon encountered a burning pile of corpses.

Yes, a two-meter-high pile of corpses doused with fuel and set ablaze.

Xu Huo checked the traces around the area and reported back, "There was a firefight here."

"These are the people we encountered earlier..." Yue Weiping frowned. "The Mutant tide just passed. Who on earth did this?"

"There are signs of brutal killing nearby," Xu Huo paused and said, "Since they know to burn the bodies, ruling out Mutants, perhaps it was warriors who fell into hallucinations."