The trembling voice fell, and everyone present immediately tensed up.
"It seems... there are a few people missing..." Liu Peng hesitated, looking around tentatively, unsure of what to do.
Due to insufficient lighting and limited visibility, the 100-person team could not be seen in the forest at a glance, and only a rough estimate of the number of people could be obtained based on the size of the group.
Du Ze immediately took stock of his subordinates, and to avoid visual errors, he simply used the method of calling out names.
As he called out each name, Du Ze's expression grew increasingly solemn.
The Falcon Squad had 40 members on the mission, but after a headcount, only 36 remain. Four members are missing!
With Du Ze taking the lead, the rest of the team immediately began counting heads. Soon, the preliminary data was reported to Liu Peng.
The beautiful female assistant lowered her voice, "Four members of the Falcon team are missing, and three members from the other teams are missing in total, making a total of seven people missing."
Liu Peng's face stiffened. "Have you searched the entire neighborhood?"
"We've searched everywhere, but there's nothing, neither living nor dead," the assistant said, his brow furrowed in worry.
While enjoying rights, one must also bear responsibilities.
Liu Peng led 100 men on this mission, and he will be evaluated by his superiors. If they had fought and been eaten by zombies, that would have been one thing, but now they haven't even seen a single zombie, and seven men have already been lost. He will definitely be punished when he gets back.
With nearly a tenth of the population suddenly gone, the ranks were thrown into chaos.
Those with established teams fared somewhat better, but the smaller, scattered groups immediately lost their bearings. Although everyone looked down on Liu Peng, a mediocre person with connections, now that it was time to make a decision, everyone unanimously turned their attention to him.
When something goes wrong, someone has to take the blame, right?
"Have you noticed that all the missing people are men?" someone in the crowd raised their voice in surprise.
After his reminder, more people soon noticed the missing person's unusual behavior.
"They were all men, aged between 25 and 35," someone quickly concluded.
Suddenly, Zhang Tuo, looking tense, jumped up and pointed at Sun Lu, shouting excitedly, "Where did you take my brother?!"
Sun Lu frowned in annoyance. "Are you crazy? Am I a kindergarten teacher? Am I supposed to be responsible for looking after you bunch of overgrown babies who haven't been weaned yet?"
"You were unhappy when my brother saved Zhang Miaomiao, and you even called them lustful good-for-nothings! These missing people are all people who disagreed with you back then, so what are you pretending for?" Zhang Tuo became more and more agitated as he spoke, and rushed forward to fight Sun Lu. "You vicious woman!"
After he said that, everyone present looked at Sun Lu with a hint of suspicion.
Sun Lu's team consisted entirely of women, while the missing persons this time were specifically all men. This coincidence inevitably led everyone to speculate.
"Don't be ridiculous. If I wanted to kill these good-for-nothings, would I need to do it secretly?" Sun Lu tossed her short, ear-length hair dismissively.
Even in the talent-rich deep space base, her combat strength ranks among the top few. This time, she only brought people here to do the mission to help the new members of the team gain some contribution points.
"You bunch of idiots! When did the disappearance start? It started when they rescued this suspicious woman! Instead of suspecting Zhang Miaomiao, you suspect our Captain Sun. What a bunch of fools!" Li Jingjing, Sun Lu's deputy captain, said coldly.
The focus of public criticism suddenly shifted to Zhang Miaomiao.
Facing several suspicious gazes, Zhang Miaomiao's pale, bloodless face tensed instantly, and she squeezed out a weak voice, "It wasn't me. I didn't leave the group the whole time. How could I kill someone in front of so many of you?"
Zhang Miaomiao's two sycophants hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to stand up and protect their goddess. "That's right, Miaomiao has always stayed with the group and has never been alone. She has no chance to make a move."
"Everyone says no! Where is the person? Can people grow wings and fly away?!" Liu Peng complained, grabbing his flashlight and hurriedly scanning the darkness deep in the forest. "Get the hell out of here and find him!"
The boundless darkness was like a silent, gaping maw, instantly swallowing the light from the flashlight.
Everyone cautiously huddled together, unwilling to take the first step.
Zhang Tuo's eyes were red-rimmed. Seeing that no one was willing to move an inch, he simply rushed into the darkness alone, shouting, "You bunch of cowards! I'll find it myself!"
After a flurry of running sounds, Zhang Tuo's figure gradually disappeared from sight.
After a minute or two of silence, someone couldn't contain themselves and whispered into the thick darkness, "Zhang Tuo, come back! Let's go find him together!"
The only response he received was the rustling of leaves.
Liu Peng couldn't sit still any longer and immediately ordered everyone to search in the direction where Zhang Tuo had disappeared.
Apart from Lu Sheng and Sun Lu's group, the remaining dozens of people huddled together, moving cautiously.
Before they had gone more than a few meters, someone let out a scream.
"Holy crap! There's a head up ahead!"
At the same time, the beams of several flashlights suddenly focused on a spot not far ahead.
Just a few steps away from the group, a bluish-black, paint-like liquid, about half a meter in diameter, was slowly engulfing Zhang Tuo.
The liquid was like ointment, with a surface resembling boiling water, constantly bubbling up oily bubbles the size of ping-pong balls.
Zhang Tuo was facing the crowd, his neck submerged in a paint-like liquid, leaving only his head with messy hair, staring blankly into space.
He raised his hands lifelessly above his head, making a strange waving motion.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
