Chapter 144: The Night's Abyssal Encounter

Chapter 144: The Night's Abyssal Encounter

The tracked armored vehicle continued its journey as the sky gradually darkened.

Although visibility during the day in the mist was already low, it was even worse at night, almost to the point of not being able to see one's hand in front of one's face.

"It's getting dark, we need to find a place to rest. The visibility at night is too low, sometimes I even doubt if my perception skills can see the road ahead clearly," said Wu Weibing as he drove cautiously, fearing he might drive into a ditch.

Indeed, they needed to find a place to camp for the night. Both their mental and physical strength were insufficient to continue the mission.

Moreover, night was when the Abyssal creatures were most active, making it the most dangerous time of the day.

"We need to find a suitable camping spot," Lu Heng said as he took out a map to examine.

One of the soldiers in the team pointed to a location on the map and said, "I've been here before. There's a forester's house at this spot, we can rest there."

When the team was assembled, they specifically included a soldier familiar with the Sulfur Valley environment, and they followed his advice on the route.

"Then let's head to that location."

Half an hour later...

The team arrived at the forester's house marked on the map. The house was crudely built with bricks and stones.

However, in such a remote area, having a shelter from the wind and rain was already a blessing.

The team members got off the vehicle and carried the essential supplies into the house, then covered the vehicle.

The house was empty, as the forester had likely evacuated the mist zone. Some cooking utensils were left behind.

After confirming the camping site, the team split into three groups. Two groups went out to gather firewood, while the other stayed to fix up the house and set up weapons.

As they might encounter Abyssal creatures at night, they needed to set up weapons and lay traps to prepare for potential dangers.

After collecting enough firewood, they lit a bonfire and hung a pot to boil water for soup.

The main food was compressed biscuits, which were ordinary in taste. They also had some meat canned food, which they cooked into soup. Soaking the biscuits in the soup improved their taste significantly.

After filling their stomachs, Wu Weibing took out the crystal cores he obtained from clearing the battlefield that day.

"We got two crystal cores today. Take a look and see if anyone needs them. If you do, feel free to use them."

As the team's logistics officer, he was in charge of managing the spoils of war.

Lu Heng reached out and took the two crystal cores, examining their attributes.

The first was a C-Class skill core, Advanced Corrosive Mucus, an upgraded version of the corrosive mucus from the Abyssal Slimebugs.

The second was a B-Class skill core, City-Breaking Charge.

City-Breaking Charge: Increases speed and initiates a charge powerful enough to break through city gates. All objects with a mass lower than the user's will be knocked away. Due to the intense impact, the user's body is highly susceptible to damage. Skill Cost: 30 Source Energy; Skill Level: B-Class.

Upon seeing this skill, Lu Heng's eyebrows furrowed.

This skill was incredibly powerful, but it had its drawbacks.

As described, the intense impact could harm the user's body. Lu Heng remembered a Metahuman from his past life who used this skill.

The force was enough to knock opponents flying, but if it hit an immovable object, the user would suffer a severe headache.

Moreover, the Metahuman from his past life could only use 60% of the skill's power; any more was unbearable.

The skill's characteristics were evident.

In fact, this skill was meant for defensive Metahumans, specifically those specialized in defense with exceptionally high physical attributes.

For a combat-oriented Metahuman, using this skill would be akin to a self-harming move, hurting the enemy a thousand and oneself eight hundred.

Seeing this skill, Lu Heng took it in his hand and said, "I can use this. I'll take it."

No one objected.

Most of the team members had military backgrounds or were from the National Defense University. Their goal was to find the rift points and complete the mission; they wouldn't let a skill core create discord among them.

Lu Heng's reason for taking this core was simple.

The Robo Tiger had three skill slots, and only one was in use. City-Breaking Charge was perfect for it.

The downside of City-Breaking Charge was that if the user's defense wasn't high enough, they could harm themselves due to the intense impact.

Robo Tiger had no such issue; its entire body was made of liquid metal, and even if it deformed, there would be no damage.

Using this skill on Robo Tiger was essentially side-effect free.

Lu Heng held the skill core and walked out of the house. He patted the Robo Tiger's head and then put the core into its mouth.

A few minutes later, the City-Breaking Charge skill appeared on Robo Tiger's data panel.

"Familiarize yourself with the skill data and analyze its usage and timing," Lu Heng said, patting the tiger's head again before turning back to the house.

Robo Tiger's mechanical core had a high level of intelligence, and with the integration of Source Essence, its computational power far exceeded that of Bluesphere's AI. Analyzing the skill was a simple task.

...

At night, the team split into three groups, taking turns to keep watch while the others rested.

In the middle of the night, everyone was awakened by Wu Weibing's voice.

"Wake up! Something strange has appeared outside!"

Several team members with military backgrounds immediately sprang into action.

Lu Heng quickly opened his eyes and sat up, turning his head towards the door. He noticed a strange substance spreading out from the door crack.

This substance resembled a carpet, spreading across the floor at a visible speed, about to cover the entire room.

"What is this? So disgusting!" Lin Zeyu stood up, and as he stepped on the substance, a layer of it stuck to the sole of his shoe.

After getting stuck to the shoe, the substance started growing diagonally, and no amount of shaking could get it off.

The group hurriedly stomped their feet, but the substance continued to spread up their shoes.

Lu Heng frowned at the sight and advised, "Fire it up and burn it!"

The fire from the previous night had left only ashes.

However, there was a flame manipulator in the team who could easily release flames.

Flames shot out, scorching the entire house.

The "carpet" on the ground quickly retracted upon contact with the flames and retreated back through the door crack.

The "carpet" had been temporarily repelled, and the group breathed a sigh of relief, then began pondering the issue.

"What exactly is this?"

"It's probably a fungus carpet," Lu Heng said, recognizing the substance.

It was indeed an Abyssal Fungus Carpet, but unlike ordinary bacteria, it could be considered a bacterium from the Abyssal world.

"A fungus carpet? Is it something from our world or from the Abyss?" The group's eyes widened, their understanding of the world was severely challenged.

"It's an Abyssal Fungus Carpet. Getting a little stuck isn't too dangerous, but if it grows inside the body, it'll be troublesome, and even hospitals can't remove it."

Lu Heng pointed to the tracked vehicle outside and said, "Let's go check the car. This stuff can corrode metal."

The flame manipulator immediately sprayed flames to clear the way and ran out to remove the cover from the tracked vehicle.

As the cover was pulled off, they saw that the entire vehicle was covered in the fungus carpet, as if the vehicle had grown fur.

This flesh-colored fungus carpet with its fuzzy appearance made their scalps tingle.

Before anyone could remind him, the flame manipulator sprayed fire to burn off the fungus covering the vehicle.

Upon contact with the flames, the fungus carpet released dense dust.

The group quickly covered their noses, worried about inhaling the spores into their lungs. If the fungus carpet grew in their lungs, it would be over.

After the fungus carpet was cleared, Wu Weibing hurriedly climbed onto the vehicle and tried to start it.

However, the vehicle's engine showed no signs of life.

"It won't start!"

Lu Heng bent down to inspect the underside of the car and sighed, "This car is useless now. Even if the engine can still start, the bearings won't turn."

The fungus carpet had covered the entire vehicle earlier, and it had already grown into the bearings, causing bulging in the metal parts like the wheels and bearings.

Lu Heng straightened up and said, "Check the weapons for any issues. For the rest of the journey, we'll have to walk."

According to the original plan, they could drive through most of the misty area, with only a small portion requiring them to walk.

So, the plan was to walk from the beginning.

Now, they were just starting the walking part earlier.

However, this would prolong the duration of the mission.

Moreover, some weapons couldn't be brought along.

Especially the 20mm machine gun, which was a vehicle-mounted weapon, would be too cumbersome for individual soldiers to carry.

"What should we do? This gun is our most powerful weapon," Wu Weibing checked the machine gun, which was still usable.

But with the vehicle immobile, it was difficult to carry.

It wasn't entirely impossible to bring it along, as metahumans could use their physical abilities to carry the machine gun, but it would affect the team's travel speed.

Lu Heng considered for a moment, then patted the mechanical tiger and said, "We can bring it. Let the mechanical tiger carry it on its back."

"Is that possible?" Wu Weibing wasn't sure about the mechanical tiger's carrying capacity.

After all, it didn't look like it could carry weapons.

And they couldn't see the mechanical tiger's data.

Lu Heng waved his hand and said, "Bring it over."

Wu Weibing lifted the machine gun and placed it on the mechanical tiger's back.

The metal surface of the mechanical tiger was a bit slippery, and without any interface to secure it, the gun wasn't stable.

However, what happened next astonished everyone.

The metal on the mechanical tiger's back started to deform, forming a bracket that directly connected to the machine gun's interface, fixing it in place without even needing to screw it in.

"This thing is... too amazing," Wu Weibing exclaimed in awe.

Lu Heng checked the weight and said, "Let's hang two more boxes of supplies. We can't carry much more."

The mechanical tiger wasn't designed for transporting supplies, so the amount it could carry was limited.

However, with the machine gun and two boxes of supplies, the team's burden was significantly reduced.

Finally, after loading everything, there was still a little space left on the mechanical tiger's back.

Lu Heng waved to Su Muyu and helped her onto the tiger's back, "This mission might take a few more days, and you're the only one with a vehicle left."

Su Muyu pursed her lips and said, "Is this appropriate?"

The team members chorused, "It's appropriate. We still need you for reconnaissance."

When Su Muyu used her summoned vision for reconnaissance, it was inconvenient for her to move, so having her ride on the mechanical tiger would improve the team's Isha prayer efficiency.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end