Chapter 73 Three-on-One Battle
After leaving the village, the three arrived at an abandoned town thirty kilometers away from the base.
At the entrance, Ruan Ning raised her hand, signaling the two people behind her to stop. Her spiritual energy spread out like a fine net, and her brows furrowed slightly.
"There's something there, very strong," she whispered, her voice unusually grave. "Two targets, energy reaction... no, it's a level two mutant!"
The words had barely left his mouth!
"roar--!"
The second-floor window of a three-story building on the left suddenly exploded. Amidst the flying debris, an unusually tall, rock-grayish-white, power-type mutated zombie roared as it crashed through the wall, slamming heavily onto the ground like a cannonball, leaving spiderweb-like cracks in the concrete!
Its eyes were bloodshot, its muscles were bulging, and it exuded a suffocating sense of power.
Almost simultaneously, the curtain of a convenience store on the right suddenly burst into flames without any wind!
A relatively small but exceptionally swift zombie emerged from the flames, its fingertips dancing with orange-red flames. It opened its mouth and unleashed a blazing beam of fire towards the three! A fire-type mutated zombie!
"Scatter!" Ruan Ning shouted, and the three of them instantly fell in different directions.
The fire grazed Lin Yan's back, the scorching heat sending shivers down her spine.
The battle erupted instantly!
As the fire line approached, Ruan Ning's eyes turned cold. Water vapor condensed around her, and three azure-blue water arrows with sharp edges instantly formed, shooting towards the fire-type zombies with a whooshing sound!
At the same time, with a wave of his left hand, a flowing, transparent water shield appeared in front of Zhou Min, blocking the splashing sparks.
"laugh--!"
The water arrow collided with the fireball, releasing a large amount of steam. The fire-type zombie was forced back a step, and the attribute advantage caused it to let out an angry roar.
On the other side, Lin Yan dared not confront the powerful zombie head-on, and nimbly circled around an abandoned car. The powerful zombie punched the roof of the car, denting the entire roof!
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Yan slashed at the back of his knee with her Tang sword, but only left a shallow mark, which made her arm go numb.
"Zhou Min, report the location!" Ruan Ning maintained the water shield while conjuring more water arrows to continuously suppress the fire-type zombies.
"It's charging up for an area-of-effect attack! Three seconds!" Zhou Min's face turned pale, and her mental energy was running at high speed.
Upon hearing this, Ruan Ning decisively abandoned any ranged attacks. She made a fist with both hands, and the moisture in the air rapidly gathered, condensing into a water whip nearly three meters long, as thick as a wrist, with a sharp tip!
"Smack!"
Like a living venomous snake, the water whip, with its sharp whistling, bypassed the burning obstacle and lashed out at the fire-type zombie! The fire-type zombie tried to protect itself with flames, but the energy on the water whip instantly shattered the flames and precisely wrapped around its neck!
"Lin Yan!" Ruan Ning shouted, pulling back sharply with both hands! The water whip tightened abruptly, the powerful force causing the fire-type zombie to stumble and expose its vulnerable frontal opening!
Lin Yan understood immediately, unleashing her full power and charging in from the side like a cheetah, her Tang sword aimed straight at the fire-type zombie's eye socket!
"puff!"
The blade pierced through! The fire-type zombie struggled violently, its flames flickering around it. Ruan Ning's eyes sharpened, and the water whip instantly changed shape, its tip condensing into a thin, rapidly spinning water blade!
"die!"
The water blade flew out of her hand and cut into the head of the fire-type zombie that Lin Yan had stabbed, like a circular saw!
"Crack...ho..." The sound of the skull being cut open was sickening. The fire-type zombie froze, its flames went out completely, and it collapsed to the ground dead.
Almost at the same moment the fire-type zombie fell, the strength zombie violently smashed through the abandoned car, its enormous hand slamming down towards Lin Yan, who had just landed and was exhausted! The force was immense, and there was no way to avoid it!
"Watch out!" Zhou Min screamed.
Ruan Ning reacted extremely quickly, abandoning her focused attack and forcefully pushing forward with both hands! Energy surged forth from her body, and a thick, giant water shield with rapidly rippling surfaces instantly appeared in front of Lin Yan!
"boom!!!"
The giant hand of the zombie slammed down on the water shield! The water shield shook violently, and countless water droplets exploded on its surface, barely blocking this fatal blow. However, Ruan Ning's face turned pale, clearly indicating that she had consumed a great deal of energy.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Yan rolled away to avoid the attack. Seeing the violently pulsating water shield and Ruan Ning's pale face, a fierce determination surged within her. Her gaze locked onto the relatively vulnerable ankle of the power zombie, which had slightly lifted due to the attack. Concentrating all her strength into her fist, she roared and slammed it down!
"Bang!"
With a cracking sound, the massive body of the powerful zombie lost its balance and fell to one knee!
Chance!
Ruan Ningqiang gathered her energy, dispelled the water shield, clasped her hands together, and then suddenly pulled them apart! A massive, solid water blade, its edges gleaming with a cold light, formed between her hands, and the temperature in the air plummeted!
"cut!"
With her icy shout, a giant water blade shot out, precisely slicing across the neck of the power zombie as it knelt down!
"Gurgle..."
The enormous head rolled to the ground, the headless corpse swayed, and then collapsed with a crash.
The battlefield was deathly silent, save for the crackling of a few embers and the heavy breathing of the three men.
Ruan Ning walked to the corpse of the power zombie, used her water blade to cut open its skull, and handed the earthen-yellow crystal core to Lin Yan. She also took out the red crystal core from the fire zombie herself.
Holding the still-warm crystal core, Lin Yan felt the surging power within and began to absorb it without hesitation. The barrier of the peak level one shattered under the impact of the level two crystal core of the same type, and an even stronger sense of power surged through her body, while a tingling, healing sensation came from the wound on her arm.
She opened her eyes, her gaze sharp and restrained, her aura more than twice as powerful—a level two strength ability user!
Ruan Ning looked at Lin Yan, who had successfully upgraded, and then at Zhou Min, whose eyes were more determined than ever despite her exhaustion. She then used water to quickly wash the dirt off her hands.
All three were exhausted, their bodies covered in blood and dust.
Ruan Ning decided to spend the night there. The three of them found a relatively intact two-story house and, after a careful inspection, decided to rest there.
Upon entering the room, Ruan Ning channeled her remaining supernatural abilities, conjuring several clear water spheres. The water spheres floated in the air, swaying slightly. They used this precious water to quickly wash the bloodstains from their faces and hands, and then treated the abrasions on Lin Yan's arms.
The cold water glides across the skin, relieving some of the fatigue and allowing the tense nerves to relax slightly.
Without lighting a fire, the three sat down against the wall and silently ate their hard, dry rations while drinking cold water.
No one spoke. The life-or-death struggle of the day still echoed in their minds. Their muscles trembled slightly from overexertion, but the sense of relief at surviving the ordeal and the invisible bond formed after defeating a powerful enemy together were quietly growing in the silence.
After finishing their meal, Ruan Ning spoke first, her voice hoarse from the battle, but her tone leaving no room for argument: "I'll take the first shift, Lin Yan second, and Zhou Min third. Take some time to rest."
Lin Yan and Zhou Min had no objections. Lin Yan, having just advanced in rank, needed time to consolidate her strength and soon fell into a light sleep, leaning against her backpack. Zhou Min, having exhausted her mental energy, almost immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Ruan Ning sat in the shadows by the window, her gaze warily scanning the desolate street outside through the gaps in the torn curtains.
Moonlight streamed down, outlining the grotesque silhouette of the town's ruins. She listened to the gradually steady breathing of the two people behind her, felt the energy slowly returning to her body, and felt a slight stinging sensation in the palm of her hand.
The town was not safe at night; the occasional howls of unknown mutated creatures echoed from afar, adding to the terror.
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