Chapter 53 Mutant Rats

The next day, Ruan Ning's team received a new mission.

There was another superpowered team with them, which happened to be the Thunder Leopard Team. Their team was quite strong. In addition to the captain, Thunder Leopard, who was a thunder-type superpowered team, there were also fire-type, ice-type, and earth-type team members, most of whom were at the mid-level of level 1, with only Thunder Leopard at the peak of level 1.

The superhuman's body has been modified, and the injury he sustained yesterday has already stopped bleeding and is almost scabbed over. As long as it's not a fatal wound, it heals very quickly. That's why their team is also going on a mission today.

There was also an officer leading fifty soldiers, ten of whom were superhumans, including spatial superhumans. The soldiers seemed much more organized and disciplined.

Today their mission is to find a food factory that mainly produced bread and biscuits before the apocalypse. Today they need to see if they can find more supplies or take the equipment back to produce the food themselves.

The convoy arrived at the perimeter of the food factory, where the tall factory buildings stood silently with their iron gates half-closed.

Everyone disembarked and quickly formed a defensive formation. The soldiers took up advantageous positions, their guns pointed at the factory area. The fire and ice ability users of the Thunder Leopard Squad stood on the flanks, energy flickering in their palms.

"Proceed according to plan. Team one clears the left flank, team two clears the right flank, and the superhumans provide support from the center!" the commanding officer ordered.

As soon as the group approached the gate, a dark mass of zombies surged out of the factory area, mixed with a few mutants whose skin had turned to stone and whose arms had mutated into bone blades.

"attack!"

Gunfire erupted, and a barrage of fire covered the front ranks of zombies. At the same time, several ice spikes and fireballs were fired from the direction of the Thunder Leopard Squad, accurately hitting several mutated zombies.

Electric arcs crackled around Lei Bao, and a chain of lightning shot out, instantly turning three ordinary zombies into charred remains. The earth-elemental teammate next to him stomped his foot, raising an earthen wall to block the bone spikes attacking from the right.

Ruan Ning didn't rush to attack. Her gaze swept across the battlefield, noticing a spitting monster hidden behind a horde of corpses, preparing to spray acid.

"Water curtain." She raised her hand and set up a barrier that just blocked the incoming acid liquid, which made a sizzling corrosive sound.

Lin Yan roared and swung her battle axe, sending a stone-skinned zombie staggering backward. Zhou Min released a mental shock at the right moment, causing another speed-type mutant to pause in its movements.

The battle quickly settled into a stable rhythm. Strength-type ability users engaged in close combat at the front, while elemental users provided damage from the rear, and soldiers used firearms to cover any remaining gaps.

The ice-elemental member of the Thunder Leopard Squad performed exceptionally well, freezing the joints of multiple zombies and creating opportunities for his teammates. The fire-elemental member was equally impressive, unleashing a series of fireballs.

Ruan Ning seized the opportunity and several water blades silently swept past, precisely severing the necks of two zombies that were about to ambush the earth-type ability user.

"Advance!" the officer immediately ordered upon seeing the situation.

The team moved steadily into the factory. As Lei Bao passed Ruan Ning, he gave her a deep look. He had noticed that perfectly timed water curtain earlier.

The factory grounds were quickly cleared, and more than twenty zombie corpses lay on the ground. The group arrived at the tightly closed gate of the main factory building.

"Prepare to breach the door!"

Just as the earth-elemental ability user conjured an earth hammer to break down the door, the heavy iron door was suddenly smashed from the inside with a loud rumble!

"Back off! There's something inside!" the officer shouted urgently.

Before the words were even finished, the iron gate was suddenly smashed open, and countless mutated rats, as big as house cats, with blood-red eyes and long, sharp teeth, poured out like a flood bursting its banks! There were so many of them that they instantly covered the area in front of the gate, hissing as they pounced on the soldiers and strength-type superhumans at the front!

"Fire! Fire now!"

Gunfire erupted, bullets felling the rats in the front ranks, but more rats surged forward, stepping over the corpses of their companions! They were incredibly fast and had amazing jumping ability, lunging directly at people's faces and necks!

"Ah!" a soldier screamed as a rat bit his wrist, tearing off a chunk of flesh in an instant! Another strength-type ability user swung an iron bar, smashing several rats away, but two or three immediately got caught on his leg, their sharp teeth deeply embedded in his muscle!

The scene instantly descended into chaos!

"Freeze the ground!" The ice-type ability user of the Thunder Leopard Squad reacted quickly, pressing his palms to the ground. The cold air spread and froze an area in front of the door, causing many rats to slip and slow down.

"Fire Wall!" The fire-type ability user immediately released a fire wall, temporarily blocking the onslaught of rats. The charred rats crackled and emitted a foul stench.

But there were just too many rats! They kept crawling out of the walls, ventilation ducts, and all sorts of cracks, seemingly endless!

Lin Yan wielded her battle axe with impenetrable force, leaving a trail of rat carcasses at her feet, but her arm was also bitten several times.

Zhou Min's face turned pale. The mental impact was much less effective against these creatures, which were numerous but individually weak, and could only barely interfere with a small area.

Lei Bao kept unleashing chains of lightning, each one scorching a string of rats, but the rat swarm seemed endless, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

Ruan Ning's eyes narrowed, and her hands moved rapidly.

"A thick mist!" Dense water vapor spread out from her, enveloping most of the rat population. The mist wasn't deadly, but it greatly impaired the rats' vision and sense of smell.

Immediately afterwards, she flicked her fingers slightly.

"Thousands of water needles!" Countless invisible needles, as fine as cow's hair and formed from highly compressed water, shot into the water mist like a torrential rain! These water needles were extremely tiny, yet they could accurately penetrate the mouse's eyes, ears, and other vulnerable parts!

"Squeak—!" A series of shrill squeals from rats suddenly rang out from the mist! Large numbers of rats fell from mid-air like dumplings being dropped into a pot, or rolled in pain on the ground. Although they were not dead for the time being, they lost their ability to attack.

This large-scale, precise strike instantly cleared out a vast area, greatly relieving the pressure on the front lines!

"Excellent technique!" Lei Bao couldn't help but praise, his gaze towards Ruan Ning becoming even more different. He seized the opportunity to condense an even larger ball of lightning, blasting it into the densest part of the rat swarm, causing it to explode into a charred mess.

"Earth element, block the other entrances! Everyone else, clear out the rest!" The officer seized the opportunity and reorganized the formation.

With Ruan Ning's control of the situation and the combined efforts of everyone, the frenzied rat swarm was finally gradually suppressed. A dozen minutes later, the ground was covered with a thick layer of mutated rat corpses, and the few remaining ones managed to escape through the cracks.

Panting, many were wounded and busy tending to their injuries. Looking at the mountain of rat carcasses, a wave of fear washed over them. Had Ruan Ning not broken the stalemate with a timely, wide-range, precise attack, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Cleanup complete. Inspect the factory interior, be careful of any remaining debris!" the officer ordered, still shaken, while giving Ruan Ning a deep look. This girl had repeatedly demonstrated astonishing strength and adaptability.

Ruan Ning calmed her breathing slightly. The "Thousand Needles of Water" move she had just used required a high level of mental strength and precision in control, and it had consumed a lot of energy.

She looked toward the dark entrance to the factory, where something more important, or perhaps a greater danger, seemed to be hidden.