Although Gou Fugui thought it was unlikely that an eagle could chase someone from Asia to the primeval forests of Africa in just a few days, it proved that even an eagle, when determined, could accomplish a revenge feat that spanned thousands of miles.
When Gou Fugui looked up at the huge, very familiar eagle circling in the sky above them, he even took a minute to think about whether the eagle had come here with the crowd or was deliberately and systematically leading a group of zombie bird minions towards them.
Or perhaps it came specifically after hearing Sanchez's address to his fellow countrymen around the world?
If it's the latter, the wealthy and beautiful woman feels that this is starting to feel like a horror movie.
By this time, all non-combat personnel at the Washington base had taken refuge in the most robustly constructed research facility. The soldiers, dressed in specially made combat suits and armed, stood on high platforms or lay prone behind the fortified defensive barriers.
At this time, there were zombie beasts in both the sky and on the land.
Although the zombie birds have sharp claws and points infused with mutated toxins, they are mostly small in size and have difficulty tearing through the soldiers' specially made combat uniforms.
In addition, the combat suits were equipped with sturdy windproof goggles, so these zombie birds could not attack the soldiers' eyes and brows. The soldiers at the Huazhou base prioritized attacking the ferocious, terrifying, and sharp-toothed zombie wolf pack that could easily bite off a person's arm and neck.
Compared to the smaller zombie birds that can only attack by diving, the forest wolves in this primeval forest are much larger and have a variety of attack methods.
Led by their alpha wolf, these zombie wolf packs, in groups of three, resembled a triangular dagger, nimbly attacking the warriors at the Washington base from different directions.
Clearly, the simple fence built by the Washington base with wood and mud was not enough to stop these highly agile forest wolves, not to mention that these wolves had gained even more strength and speed due to their zombification.
In just a few brief encounters, two Washington warriors were unable to dodge in time and were bitten on the arms by the well-coordinated triangular formation of zombie wolves.
As blood flowed, the two Washington soldiers turned deathly pale. But their squad leader quickly tossed two bottles of gray potion from his pocket: "We'll cover you! Drink the antidote now! There's still time!"
The two wounded soldiers gritted their teeth to suppress their pain and quickly downed the two bottles of gray antidote, finally escaping the danger of turning into zombies.
However, before the two of them could decide whether to continue fighting with their guns or retreat to the research institute, a piercing, sharp eagle cry suddenly rang out from the sky.
At the same time, the leader of the forest wolves, which was several sizes larger than a muscular man, stood on the high ground in front of the Washington base and let out a long howl!
Then, Gou Fugui, who was protected in the center of the team by Xie Tianlang and Qin Feng, saw the half-zombie eagle swooping down from the sky. Before the two wounded soldiers could react, the blood-stained, steel-like claws instantly pierced through the shoulders of one of the wounded soldiers and easily carried him into the sky!
As the other soldiers in the squad angrily fired their guns at the half-zombified giant eagle, Gou Fugui's eyelids twitched. Before he could even shout a warning, three zombie wolves charged at the squad, which was weakened by the wounded. One of the wolves opened its bloody maw and snapped the neck of another wounded soldier who had just drunk the antidote.
The bloody and gruesome scene filled everyone who witnessed it, including Gou Fugui, with anger and sorrow. But besides anger, Gou Fugui also felt a strong, uncontrollable chill of fear welling up from the depths of his heart—
Were the eagle's cry and the wolf's howl just now merely a coincidence, happening one after the other?
The eagle chose a wounded warrior to carry him into the sky and let him fall to his death, while the wolf pack chose another wounded warrior and, despite being shot, bit off his neck.
That single cry of an eagle and howl of a wolf sealed the fate of the two Huazhou warriors, leaving them with no chance of survival.
It even wasted two extremely precious Tier 3 potions.
If this is just a coincidence, then it's too much of a coincidence, but what if it's not a coincidence at all?
Gou Fugui closed his eyes.
Therefore, this was an effective and extremely ruthless "murderous collaboration" between the kings of the sky and the land.
This is a collaboration that would terrify any human being, yet the two parties who cooperated in this way were merely two animals.
They might even be zombified animals, animals that should have no intelligence or reason whatsoever.
Gou Fugui took a deep breath.
At this point, he could no longer deceive himself and ignore this terrible development—
The animals that were completely zombified became walking corpses like the undead, but the giant eagle and the leading forest wolf underwent some kind of secondary mutation. Not only did they not die and become walking corpses, but they also possessed the powerful strength of zombification and a high intelligence beyond that of ordinary animals, enabling them to communicate across species.
Gou Fugui couldn't help but smile bitterly.
This is a complete disaster.
Before the human superhumans of zombie novels even appeared, zombified animals began to grow brains and evolve.
Even though the only animals that have become semi-zombies are the eagle in the sky and the wolf in front of us, there are already two exceptions. Will there be fewer in the future?
In the first few days, the chances of animals being infected and mutated by the liquid gold were much lower than those of humans. Only pet cats and dogs that had close contact with humans, or animals that had been bitten by too many mutated undead, would undergo the mutation into zombies.
This was supposed to be a time for humanity to catch its breath in this disaster.
But this window of opportunity was finally lost, just two weeks after the disaster began.
The infection and mutation eventually spread throughout the animal world, and even a more terrifying secondary mutation occurred.
Gou Fugui closed his eyes. He heard another wolf howl and eagle cry in his ears, accompanied by the intense sound of gunfire.
When animals begin to mutate on a large scale, and when these mutated animals begin to attack humans with hatred...
Perhaps, this is the beginning of the world's true end.
If it's just zombified humans, given enough time to research the antidote for the golden liquid mutation, humans can hold onto their cities for a few years or months and eventually succeed in researching it and finding a new way out.
However, with large numbers of animals beginning to mutate, the time humans could survive was greatly shortened.
Besides researching an antidote for the mutated liquid gold, the virus that mutates again in animals is the second major obstacle weighing on humanity.
...I just hope that no third mountain will fall from the sky.
Otherwise, this world might truly be beyond saving.
"Aaaaaaah!!"
Gou Fugui shot a zombie bird that swooped down at him, and saw a wounded soldier being dragged into the sky by a half-zombie eagle.
Even as the surrounding soldiers fired wildly at the giant eagle, all the bullets that hit its body were deflected by the other half of its wings, which were covered in blood and rotting bones, as long as they did not hit its head precisely.
Clearly, after half a month, the giant eagle had a better understanding of human attack methods and had learned to defend itself better.
Gou Fugui frowned deeply: "This giant eagle is too troublesome. I'll go to the research institute and ask if there's any way to shoot it down directly."
Xie Tianlang glanced at Gou Fugui, knowing what he was going to do, but did not stop him. He simply said seriously, "Be careful."
The long-haired young man smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, it's not the first time."
Then Gou Fugui ran towards the research institute, intending to transform into the long-eared owl Fugui right behind it. However, as he ran towards the institute, he heard the sharp cry of a giant eagle from the sky.
Gou Fugui looked up and saw that the giant eagle's half-black, rational eye was filled with a ferocity and ruthlessness that wanted to kill him.
Without a doubt, this giant eagle remembers him and is seeking revenge. If he were caught in its talons, it would surely end up like someone bungee jumping without a safety rope.
This half-zombie giant eagle was incredibly fast, but the wealthy beauty was just as quick to react.
Looking out the glass window of the research institute, Si Mingri watched helplessly as the giant eagle was about to grab the running long-haired youth. But the youth pulled a round metal ball out of his pocket, pulled open the small ring on the metal ball, and threw it upwards!
Then the giant eagle was enveloped in the familiar yet loathsome smoke of the tear gas explosion.
"Jehovah—!!"
It really is that annoying guy!! It really is that guy who likes to fart with smoke!!
The giant eagle flapped its wings and rapidly ascended, and as the smoke dissipated, Si Mingri could no longer find Gou Fugui, who should have been heading this way.
The boy in the wheelchair frowned deeply.
Where did that person go?
Wasn't he running this way?
Could it be that he was injured when he threw the smoke bomb, or that he didn't have time to run to the research institute and hide elsewhere?
Si Mingri pursed his lips to stop himself from thinking too much, but he couldn't help but think about the worst possible outcome. When he couldn't help but reach out to open the door of the research lab and go out to find someone in his modified wheelchair, he suddenly heard a bird's cry that was different from the sharp and piercing cry of the eagle. It was a clear, somewhat undulating owl's cry.
Then the wheelchair-bound boy and the other staff members in the research institute saw an owl that was several times smaller than the eagle that suddenly flew out of the forest.
"Where did this owl come from? Good heavens, is this owl going to fight that zombie owl?!"
"That's an owl... Is the one with two feathers on its head a long-eared owl?"
"Although long-eared owls are also birds of prey, the difference between these two is too great, isn't it? I'm afraid they can't win!"
The researchers in the institute were discussing anxiously in hushed tones, while Si Mingri sat at the front, looking through the glass at the familiar long-eared owl he had seen before at the Yanshi base, and for a moment felt a sense of disbelief.
Is this really the owl that fought against the zombie eagle in Washington state?
How did it get here? Did it come with Xie Tianlang and their plane?
Or perhaps it received orders from Xie Tianlang?
But why didn't he see this owl before? Instead, Xie Tianlang changed his pet to a honey badger and eventually released it.
For the first time, Si Mingri felt that the animals around Xie Tianlang seemed a little strange.
Whether it's the owl that throws smoke balls or the honey badger that can dodge Sanchez's various traps and steal the golden flower, these two animals are too smart and too powerful.
They are so intelligent that... their intelligence is completely unlike that of these two species.
The boy in the wheelchair subconsciously squeezed the armrest of the wheelchair; his intuition told him that something was wrong.
However, he doesn't have time to think about this issue right now.
Si Mingri watched the long-eared owl in the sky, which had once again scared away the giant eagle with a flashing explosive ball, and memorized its appearance.
Ultimately, the pack of zombie wolves and zombie birds retreated after attacking the Huazhou base for more than half an hour.
Those zombie-like animals without their own consciousness will certainly not give up biting and infecting living people, but their remaining instincts still obey the control of the "tribal leader".
When the half-zombie-like forest wolf discovered that the eagle in the sky was being chased and attacked by another owl with strange weapons, and when it realized that dozens of wolves in its pack had been killed, the wolf king howled to the sky, then turned around and led his pack away.
Continuing here will not bring any advantage; the casualties will only increase, so we should not stay here.
Just as it was leaving, the king of the forest wolf turned its head for a moment, its scarlet and dark blue eyes staring at the human in its eyes without any emotion.
After the zombie-like animals that had attacked them left, the Washington base relaxed slightly and began to tally the number of casualties.
Although dozens of soldiers were bitten by zombie animals, fortunately they all took the third-level treatment blocking agent immediately and were not infected with the zombie virus.
The third-order treatment blocking agent is a hybrid version synthesized by Si Mingri based on the first-order agent developed by Sanchek and his team, and the second-order agent developed by himself.
It can slow down the spread of the virus in the first instance and block its spread at the same time.
The effect is actually the same as taking the first-tier potion first and then the second-tier potion; it's just simpler and easier to carry.
"Hey, boss! Where's Brother Fugui? Didn't he go to the research institute? Why is he nowhere to be seen now?" Song Sanchuan was the one in the team who was on good terms with Gou Fugui, so he naturally paid more attention to his brother's whereabouts.
Upon hearing this, Xie Tianlang looked up at the sky, but there was no sign of his beloved Owl Fugui. He frowned slightly but wasn't too worried.
"He probably just needs to pee. Or maybe he's made some new discovery? He should be fine; he'll be back on his own in a little while."
Song Sanchuan puffed out his chubby cheeks: "Boss, don't you think..."
Xie Tianlang slapped him across the face: "No. Shut up. Go do your work, see what data needs to be analyzed, and also compile statistics on the anomalies of the various attacked bases around here."
"besides……"
Xie Tianlang frowned slightly as he said those two words. His sharp eyes looked at the ground stained with the blood of the zombie animals, and he added, "Connect to the satellite and keep a close eye on the changes in the forest."
It started as humans, and now it's animals. Xie Tianlang let out a soft breath, hoping that there wouldn't be a third kind of mutation.
At this moment, Owl Fugui flew silently in the sky, feeling the wind leaping and flowing around him and his wings.
Why do humans yearn to fly?
Because this is the closest feeling to freedom.
Xiao Fugui was almost intoxicated by the feeling, but after seeing the giant eagle flying in front of him, he tried to perk himself up again.
Being constantly attacked by this giant eagle is really annoying, so the clever and brave Owl Fugui plans to track the giant eagle to its lair and then one day launch a surprise missile to kill it.
It wasn't that he no longer valued animal life; it was just that, in his view, even if it hadn't completely turned into a zombie, this giant eagle was no longer a "normal life."
It certainly cannot be the force that repairs the core of the world.
Owls fly silently, and Owl Rich itself is very good at concealment. The huge eagle, which had been hit by smoke bombs several times, did not notice the owl following behind it.
Then, at dusk, on a high cliff at the southernmost tip of the forest, almost close to the sea, he actually saw the giant eagle's nest.
Originally, Xiao Fugui planned to take a quick look at the locked location and then leave.
However, perhaps because the owl's eyesight was too good, or perhaps because he was close enough, in any case, with one glance, Owl Rich not only saw the nest of this giant eagle, but he also saw three chicks stretching their necks inside the nest, waiting to be fed.
They chirped and chattered at the giant eagle.
The giant eagle, however, did not fly into the nest. Instead, it hovered outside the nest as if to soothe and guard it. Then, it swooped down, easily caught a hare, and quickly slammed it violently against the mountainside.
It was a wild rabbit that had turned into a zombie.
The giant eagle hunted again, and after three attempts, it finally caught a hare that was not infected by the mutated virus.
However, it cannot swallow the rabbit to digest it and then feed the meat back to the chicks, because it understands very well that once the prey enters its mouth, it can no longer be eaten.
So, the owl, perched on the treetop, quietly watched as this eagle, which was unusually arrogant and terrifying when facing humans, clumsily and slowly used its talons, which were not mutated or corrupted, to tear open the fur of the hare bit by bit, painstakingly tearing out the smallest strips of meat, and then struggling to grab these thin strips of meat and throw them into its nest.
It has reached its limit.
However, the three chicks didn't seem to be old enough to eat meat strips yet.
They tried to peck at the small strips of meat, but their beaks, which were not yet strong enough, could not peck through the meat.
Food was placed right in front of them, yet they were incredibly hungry.
Xiao Fugui watched as the eagle anxiously pounded against the mountainside, even letting out sharp cries, but ultimately could not offer any help to its chicks.
"..."
The last rays of twilight fell upon the sea.
As night fell, the owl spread its wings and disappeared into the forest.
A heavy sigh.
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