With the daily nourishment of crystal core juice mixed with cat food, Zhuangzhuang's sensory range has improved considerably.
Since it provided an alert, it must be correct.
"Slow down a bit."
Lu Sheng opened the car window, leaned half his body out, and raised a kilowatt-powered military flashlight to shine into the distance.
As soon as she finished speaking, a buzzing sound that grew louder as it approached suddenly came closer, followed by the dull thud of a dead tree breaking.
The buzzing sound was deep and muffled, like hundreds of remote-controlled toy airplanes gathered together, making a loud and annoying rumbling noise.
Lu Sheng frowned slightly and raised his flashlight to shine in the direction of the sound.
A dark shadowy mass surged forward in the night, smashing through the dead trees along its path like a bulldozer.
"Close the car windows and doors, and nobody gets out of the car!"
Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes, bent down and crawled out of the car window, then leaped onto the roof.
"Woof woof!"
The rocket followed like a shadow, darting out and biting the hem of Lu Sheng's clothes, eventually climbing onto the roof of the car.
Cunning dog!
We absolutely cannot let this cunning dog steal our human! There can only be one person in this house who eats and does no work!
Feeling his position in the family was threatened, Zhuangzhuang eagerly followed suit.
What are you two doing up here?
Lu Sheng looked helplessly at the two clingy little devils baring their teeth at each other at his feet.
If she wasn't mistaken, the menacing dark mass was likely a mutated tiger mosquito.
Mosquitoes and cockroaches in the north are vulnerable groups, generally small in size and afraid of people. After several extreme weather events, they have almost all died out.
This mutant tiger mosquito is a species that was introduced from the south after the end of the world. Not only are its mouthparts sharp and hard, but its body size is almost as big as a girl's palm.
Once the mosquito pierces the skin of an animal or human with its proboscis, the anesthetic it secretes will paralyze the body and render the person unable to resist.
Moreover, because this creature inhales everything, it usually carries a huge amount of pathogens, making it the culprit behind the spread of many infectious diseases from animals to humans in the apocalypse.
Encountering just one or two of these tiger mosquitoes is troublesome enough, but a large swarm of them together means that if you get targeted, you'll be sucked dry.
The buzzing shadow was getting closer and closer.
Because mosquitoes are attracted to light, they immediately rush towards the headlights and the driver's cab.
Bang bang bang.
Although the RV was rewarded with insect-repellent features by the system, these mosquitoes, as if they were fearless, kept banging on the front of the vehicle.
Within seconds, a layer of corpses fell onto the hood.
Lu Sheng frowned slightly. If this thing got into the exhaust pipe or engine, it could easily cause the car to break down.
She retrieved the pesticides she had taken from the school's greenhouse and mixed them into a whole large bucket.
He then quickly sprayed himself with a high concentration of DEET, raised his field flashlight, and waved it at the swarm of mosquitoes that were attacking him.
"Woof woof!"
The rocket stood proudly in front of Lu Sheng, fiercely warning the giant mosquito hovering in the air.
Moving light sources attract mosquitoes' attention more than static light sources. The giant tiger mosquito was immediately drawn to Lu Sheng's flashlight and rushed over impatiently.
Lu Sheng aimed the spray nozzle at the swarming army of mosquitoes, giving them a high-end medicated bath.
She chose a pesticide containing pyrethroids, which is very effective at killing mosquitoes. (Pyrethroid insecticides are harmful to cats and dogs, but Zhuangzhuang and Rocket, being enhanced mutant beasts, are unaffected. Please be careful to avoid using them in daily life.)
The swarm of mosquitoes, soaked to the bone, became noticeably slower.
Lu Sheng pulled out his white phosphorus gun and fired three shots at the center of the shadowy figure.
The dazzling firelight pierced the night, tearing a bright opening through the dense shadows.
Just then, a cool breeze blew by, drying the fine sweat behind Lu Sheng's ears.
With the help of a favorable wind, the fire spread rapidly. The army of mosquitoes, unable to dodge in time, were engulfed in flames and turned into fireballs that fell from the sky.
The remaining few that had escaped the net, seeing the situation was turning against them, immediately fled in panic.
Lu Sheng put the remaining half-bucket of pesticide back into his spatial storage and lightly jumped off the roof of the car.
"If this mosquito were any bigger, it could eat me whole..."
Han Rui clutched her chest, still shaken. "Luckily, Sister Lu reacted quickly, otherwise we would have been sucked dry by these mosquitoes."
"No way, you're so oily, even a mosquito would get a blood clot after just a couple of bites." Zhang Xiaojuan raised an eyebrow, deliberately provoking Han Rui.
"Zhang Xiaojuan! Have you never been beaten in your life?!"
"I'm warning you, just speak normally, don't call me by my full name!"
The two quickly started fighting. Lu Sheng didn't say anything, his gaze fixed on the distance.
On a slope about ten meters away from them, two figures were vaguely lying down.
Xiao Yu used water to wash away the dead mosquitoes on the RV, and the group got back into the vehicle and drove to the vicinity of the earthen slope.
"ah!"
Upon closer inspection, Sun Tiantian and Han Rui turned pale with fright.
There were two women on the earthen slope, their faces no longer discernible, only thin skin hanging on their skeletons.
Both of them were completely naked, lying on the earthen slope, their bodies covered in wounds, and their elbows and calves at bizarre angles.
The head, neck, arms, and exposed skin were covered with mosquito bites and patches of purplish-blue marks.
"These two people were sucked dry by mosquitoes."
Xu Yi reached out and stopped the others at the perimeter, then stood at a safe distance and looked down to examine the condition of the two dead men.
"If Sister Lu had been a little slower, we would be the ones lying here." Zhang Xiaojuan broke out in a cold sweat and subconsciously touched her forehead.
Lu Sheng stared at the patches of red marks that had spread across the arms and necks of the two people. "Even if they hadn't encountered the tiger mosquitoes, these two wouldn't have lived much longer."
“Both of them had subcutaneous bleeding points all over their bodies.” Xu Yi nodded. “Their internal organs were also displaced, indicating that they had been abused before they died.”
"They...are from the Yunshan Base!"
Han Rui stared at the two corpses for a while, then suddenly exclaimed, "Look at their wrists, they have special tattoos. This is the insignia of a special operations team of the military."
"Those who can join this team are no ordinary people, so how could they be left to rot in the wilderness?"
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
Based on the conversation between Han Rui and her family, these two are clearly among the missing persons from the Yunshan base.
But why would two capable female soldiers appear here naked in the middle of the night?
Lu Sheng immediately thought of the notorious human trafficking business in the West Market.
"Let's work a little harder today and get to the West Market first."
...
At 9 p.m., the group finally arrived at the legendary black market street.
Compared to before the apocalypse, the West Market is now several times larger. What used to be just one long street has now encompassed several side streets and residential areas, practically a small community.
Although it was late, the West Market was still brightly lit.
There were many vendors hawking their wares and soliciting customers along the street, and some even set up betting platforms right there on the street.
"From now on, no one should act alone, and no one should be out of sight."
Lu Sheng tucked the compound crossbow behind his waist and solemnly reminded the people around him.
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