Chapter 185
Xiao Li's trousers were soaked to the thighs. He was carrying a sealed box full of spiritual herb seeds in both hands, wading through the muddy floodwaters, his steps uneven.
After receiving the tsunami warning from "I am the God of Wealth," the entire Northern Base was mobilized to evacuate supplies. He was responsible for transporting the seeds and spare batteries from the warehouse to the high ground shelter on the east side.
At this moment, with only two hundred meters left to the high ground, the water surface suddenly rippled with unusual waves, as if something was moving rapidly underwater.
"Xiao Li! Wait for me!" came the shout from behind. Xiao Wang, carrying a small generator, staggered as the generator's metal casing hit a rock in the water with a clanging sound.
Xiao Li stopped and turned around to reach out and pull him up, but saw a sudden surge of water at Xiao Wang's feet. The water surface instantly caved in, and Xiao Wang's body sank down. The generator in his hand fell into the water with a "plop." Before he could even scream, he was pulled underwater by a force.
"Xiao Wang!" Xiao Li's heart tightened, and he quickly put down the seed box and reached out to grab Xiao Wang's hand, but only grabbed a handful of cold water.
Only Xiao Wang's helmet remained floating on the water's surface. A few seconds later, the helmet was suddenly lifted up by a force, then shattered with a "crack," and pale red blood seeped out from underwater, spreading like ink droplets in the murky floodwaters.
The base members nearby were all stunned. Old Zhang, who was in charge of covering the rear, held up a regular laser gun and stared warily at the water: "There's something in the water! Everyone stay close together, don't act alone!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the water next to him suddenly exploded, and a creature about two meters long leaped out of the water. Its body was covered with a dark green hard shell, like an enlarged version of a beetle, but it had a long snout like a crocodile, full of sharp teeth. There were six pairs of transparent fins on both sides of its abdomen. It was its barbed forepaws that had just dragged Xiao Wang away.
"It's a mutated water beast! A second-tier one!" Xiao Li suddenly remembered the monster encyclopedia that "I am the God of Wealth" had posted before. This kind of water beast is called "Green Armor Water Devourer." It has a hard shell and is good at ambushing underwater. It likes to attack the human's abdomen because there is no bone protection there, making it easy to tear open.
He quickly picked up the laser gun from the ground, aimed it at the water beast's head, and pulled the trigger—the pale red beam struck the water beast's hard shell, leaving only a shallow white mark. The water beast was unharmed, but was enraged. It opened its long snout, let out a piercing hiss, and dived back into the water.
"The laser gun is useless! Its shell is too hard!" Old Zhang shouted, pulling Xiao Li back.
But it was too late—another green-armored water-eating beast burst out from the water beside them, grabbed the leg of a young member carrying batteries with its front paws, and dragged him into the water.
The member screamed and struggled, dropping the battery in his hand into the water. The short-circuit current sparked on the surface of the water, but it did not harm the water beast in the slightest.
The water beast's long snout approached his abdomen, and with a "hiss," its sharp teeth pierced through his waterproof suit and flesh. Blood gushed out instantly, staining the surrounding floodwaters red. Fragments of internal organs floated with the current, making everyone's scalp tingle.
"Run to higher ground!" Little Li grabbed Old Zhang and turned to run, not even caring about the seed box in his arms.
The surrounding survivors panicked completely; some threw away their supplies and desperately rushed toward the higher ground.
Some people were so frightened that their legs went weak and they collapsed in the water, whereupon they were quickly spotted by the underwater beasts, and screams of agony rose and fell.
Xiao Li had only run a few steps when he felt something wrap around his ankle. He looked down and saw the forepaw of a green-armored water-devouring beast. The barbs were already embedded in his skin, and he was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat.
"Let go!" Old Zhang turned around and fired the laser gun at the water beast's claws repeatedly. Although the beams did not penetrate the hard shell, they caused the water beast pain, and it released its claws.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xiao Li got up and ran towards higher ground with Lao Zhang. The floodwaters behind them had been stained light red with blood. At least three green-armored water-devouring beasts were darting around underwater, occasionally leaping out of the water to grab the survivors running behind them. Each attack was accompanied by heart-wrenching screams and splattering blood.
When they were fifty meters from the high ground, Xiao Li saw that the people on the high ground were in complete chaos—some people were trying to lower ropes to pull those below up, but were pushed away by those around them: "Don't pull! The water beast will follow!"
A woman, holding her child, knelt on the edge of a high ground, crying out for her husband below. But just as her husband was about to approach, he was seized by a water beast, his abdomen torn open. The woman fainted on the spot, and the child fell from her arms, but fortunately, it was caught by someone nearby.
Xiao Li and Lao Zhang finally climbed to the top of the hill. They collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, their clothes soaked with blood and floodwater.
Xiao Li looked down at his ankle; the wound was still bleeding. If it hadn't been for Lao Zhang's help, he probably would have become the water beast's prey as well.
He looked up at the floodwaters below. At least five green-armored water-devouring beasts were swimming in the water, and corpses and supplies were floating on the surface. The pale red blood was still spreading. Of the more than twenty base members who had been transferred together, less than ten remained. The others had become food for the water beasts.
"What do we do? The water beast is still down there, we can't go down to move the supplies anymore!"
Old Zhang's voice trembled, and the laser gun in his hand was still shaking slightly.
Xiao Li pulled out his communicator, the screen filled with SOS messages from base members: "Water beasts have appeared at the warehouse too! Supplies can't be moved out!"
"The waters to the east are teeming with water beasts, we're trapped in the middle!" "@I am the God of Wealth, please help! There are second-tier mutated water beasts in the flood, ordinary weapons are useless!"
Xiao Li quickly sent a private message to "I am the God of Wealth," attaching the photos and videos of the water beast he had just taken: "'God of Wealth'! A second-tier green-armored water beast has appeared in the flood near the northern base. It attacks humans in the abdomen, and ordinary laser guns cannot penetrate its hard shell. Many people have already been killed. We urgently need weapons that can kill the water beast! We can exchange them for demon cores!"
After sending the message, Xiao Li stared intently at the communicator, his heart filled with anticipation—now only "I am the God of Wealth" could save them.
In the floodwaters below, the green-armored water-devouring beasts continued their attack. Another survivor was captured, and screams rang out again. Xiao Li quickly turned his head away, not daring to look any longer, but he knew in his heart that if the "God of Wealth" could not send weapons that could kill the water beasts as soon as possible, not only would the remaining supplies not be able to be transported up, but the people on the high ground would also be trapped and killed by the water beasts sooner or later. After all, no one could stay on the high ground forever; they would eventually have to go down to find food and water.
Panic was spreading on the high ground. Some people began to loot the only remaining supplies, while others cried and prayed. Xiao Li and Lao Zhang huddled together, holding their laser guns and watching the floodwaters below warily.
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