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The smell of blood was unusually thick in the air, the pungent odor turning the beach embankment area into a desolate scene. Approximately 10 sections of the embankment had been breached by the enemy, and hordes of mutated beasts had begun to swarm ashore.
Collaborating with the already entrenched land-based mutants, their combined forces became even more formidable.
If the first mutant attack on S City Base was a city-level war, this time, all the mutants seemed to have pooled their strength and were determined to wage a full-scale battle of extinction between the species!
"Ah... Ah Chuan, I’ve never seen so many mutants before."
Jing Xia’s voice trembled slightly.
Although he had anticipated that this beast tide would be severe, witnessing it firsthand still left him in shock. However, as he took in the grim and brutal scene, his initial terror gradually subsided. In the end, he calmly stated, "Within my line of sight, there are at least three S-class mutants."
Ji Chuancheng had just picked up an A-7 type killing machine from his waist, but upon hearing Jing Xia’s words, he paused with his expression turning grave. "Something’s off about this situation. We shouldn’t act recklessly."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Chuancheng looked up and saw the SS-class mutated conger eel unleash a blinding lightning strike from its mouth. Wu Jiqing barely managed to block it with two thick ice walls, but he still sustained significant injuries.
"With Wu Jiqing’s current level, he shouldn’t be able to withstand a full-force attack from an SS-class mutant," Jing Xia said as he cleaved a C-class mutant in two. He continued, "In my previous life, it appeared about half a year later. I think its current strength might not be as overwhelming as it seems. So... we might still have a chance to fight it with our current power."
The two of them began sprinting down from the high slope while cutting down numerous low-level mutants along the way. They even engaged in a brief skirmish with an A-class mutant.
By the time they were 50 meters away from the mutated conger eel, Jing Xia looked up just in time to see Wu Jiqing being flung toward him by the mutant’s tail.
He was momentarily stunned, but before he could react, Ji Chuancheng’s eyes sharpened, and he raised his hand to summon a massive water bed. Its elasticity cushioned the heavily injured Wu Jiqing and caught him steadily. Wu Jiqing’s left arm was covered in blood, and his face was splattered with crimson. His entire appearance disheveled.
Although he always disregarded this person, at this moment, even Ji Chuancheng couldn’t help but feel a sense of responsibility.
He handed Wu Jiqing over to a nearby agile and swift evolver then instructed them to quickly take him to the medical zone ahead.
"Big things are no big deal, but small things... tend to be biased." With a light sigh, Ji Chuanxheng quickly composed himself and raised his long black killing machine with its gunfire instantly obliterating the left side of an A-class mutant.
Hearing this, Jing Xia, while decapitating a B-class mutant, suddenly laughed. "I once gave Wu Jiqing the exact same evaluation—word for word, not a single character changed." He paused, then sighed again. "At this level of beast tide, it’s almost miraculous that we’re still alive. These mutants are fighting with reckless abandon, and we..."
"There’s still a way."
Ji Chuancheng’s cold and handsome face was splattered with a drop of blood from somewhere.
He shouted for a sensory-type evolver to come to him.
This evolver’s mutation wasn’t combat-oriented, but due to the severity of the attack, nearly all physically capable evolvers, regardless of their mutation type, had joined the fight.
"Ji..." The evolver wasn’t familiar with Ji Chuancheng or Jing Xia, nor was he part of the military before the apocalypse. After hesitating for a moment, he simply asked, "What do you need me for?"
Ji Chuancheng didn’t mince words, asking directly, "Qian Minghao, your mutation is a sensory-type and specifically sound amplification, right?"
Qian Minghao was surprised as he scratched his head.
He was about to ask how Ji Chuancheng knew his name and abilities when an A-class mutant’s long claw swung toward him. Jing Xia frowned before he kicked off the ground, and swiftly intercepted to give Ji Chuancheng and Qian Minghao a moment to talk.
Qian Minghao didn’t dare hesitate any longer. "Yes, to be precise, my ability is to reduce sound wave dissipation in a medium and amplify it. In this situation, it’s pretty much useless."
Ji Chuancheng nodded in satisfaction and said seriously, "I need you to use all your power to say a few words."
Qian Minggao was puzzled, but moments later, a voice as loud as a bell or drum reverberated across the entire beach, reaching almost three sections of the area. The sound seemed to create a unique echo effect in the air and was impossible to ignore as it penetrated the ears of every human and mutant.
"Conger Eel."
These three short words struck like thunder, causing all humans to pause momentarily, while many low-level mutants hesitated before resuming their actions.
"As a representative of all humans in S City Base, I have something to say to you."
Many people craned their necks to see what was happening, but they were held back by the mutants and were unable to focus. Only the evolvers near the mutated conger eel had a moment to catch their breath, as the massive creature suddenly stopped moving as it search for the source of the voice.
It didn’t take long for it to find the two figures standing atop a rock.
One of them was cowering with his mouth half-open, while the other stood with one hand resting on the killing machine at his waist and the other hand clasped behind his back with his expression serious as he stared at the giant mutant.
The two locked eyes for a long while.
During this time, some evolvers tried to seize the opportunity to strike the conger eel’s hide with their blades, but they only left faint black scratches on its steel-like back, causing no real harm.
"I know... I know you can understand me."
In this tense and dangerous standoff, Qian Minghao felt his scalp tingle, but he forced himself to continue, "I don’t know why you’ve launched this sudden attack now, but it’s not beneficial for us. Most of your forces are marine creatures, and even after mutation, you lose a significant amount of combat power when on land."
This information had initially been shared by Jing Xia with Ji Chuancheng.
After the previous attack, the research institute had also focused on studying the impact of marine creatures coming ashore and concluded that their strength was greatly reduced.
"We’re not entirely sure of your motives, but I can tell you this—humans now possess weapons capable of killing an S-class mutant with a single strike. No matter the cost, I can promise you that the final outcome of this battle will be—"
"Your retreat back to the ocean!"
As soon as these words landed, an uproar erupted.
Nearly all A-class and some B-class mutants stopped their attacks before brandishing their "weapons" and howling.
They expressed their dissatisfaction in the simplest way and also responded to Ji Chuancheng’s provocative statement.
Having just killed a frenzied B-class mutant horseshoe crab, Jing Xia stood atop the boulder while looking up at the man who stood tall and unwavering. Behind the heavy clouds, Ji Chuancheng’s figure stood as firm as a mountain peak with his killing intent concealed within his slightly narrowed phoenix eyes.
The wind howled, and the roars of the mutants echoed across the beach.
Moments later, a hoarse, gravelly voice boomed out, "Humans... foolish... surrender..."
Like the sound of a damaged radio broadcast, the mutated conger eel’s words were fragmented, mixed with terms humans couldn’t comprehend. However, this didn’t hinder the people on the beach from understanding.
It was mocking humanity’s arrogance, declaring them utterly foolish, and demanding their surrender.
The morale on the bloody beach surged as a team of fighters worked together to kill two A-class mutants. However, the massive mutated conger eel, which occupied a significant portion of the beach, remained motionless.
Strange, incomprehensible sounds emanated from its throat, as if it were laughing in derision.
Jing Xia’s expression darkened.
In this situation, it was clear that the other side had no intention of negotiating, and there was no room for compromise.
Marine creatures had always possessed greater physical strength than humans, or rather, most animals had stronger bodies than humans. Yet, over the past millennia, humans had managed to dominate these beasts through intelligence—until this bizarre apocalypse brought about a significant shift.
With the disappearance of most electromagnetic waves, many advanced weapons had become useless.
Light weapons were ineffective against these mutants, and heavy weapons were rendered obsolete.
Humanity’s greatest hope now lay in enhancing their own strength and developing new weapons.
Among these, the most powerful was the high-torque electromagnetic cannon developed by Qi Yang using a C-class mutated rose. However, it could only inflict significant damage on S-class mutants and was merely a nuisance to SS-class mutants.
Gripping the handle of his gun, Jing Xia swiftly drew his weapon and fired a precise shot.
He then turned to Ji Chuancheng, his anxious gaze meeting the other’s calm and composed expression. For a moment, Jing Xia was taken aback, but then it hit him.
His eyes widened in realization as he exclaimed,
"This mutated conger eel... is S-class?!"