Chapter 98 Cleaning Up the Battlefield
Looking towards the distant Qingshui County, Ruan Ning withdrew his spiritual gaze, his expression indifferent.
The fire let out a low growl and brushed against her hand.
"Let's go." Ruan Ning turned around, opened the car door, and said, "Let's go take a look."
Zhou Min and Lin Yan glanced at the chaos faintly visible at the end of the road and silently got into the car.
The SUV stopped a few hundred meters away from where the horde of corpses had been feeding.
"Get out of the car," Ruan Ning said briefly.
Zhou Min and Lin Yan were taken aback for a moment, but didn't ask any questions. They quickly grabbed their weapons and got out of the car. Da Huo also jumped out, looking warily toward the horde of corpses.
Ruan Ning walked to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and took out several empty metal water bottles.
She placed her hands lightly above the kettle, and the moisture in the air and on the surrounding plant leaves was rapidly drawn in and compressed, producing a soft hissing sound as it was poured into the kettle.
Soon, several kettles were filled, but the water inside was extremely compressed under the control of Ruan Ning's mental power and water-based abilities, resulting in extremely high internal pressure. The kettles were slightly hot, and water droplets condensed on their surfaces.
“This is…” Lin Yan looked at the several jugs of water.
“A water bomb.” Ruan Ning said succinctly, handing them the water bottle. “When I detonate it, stay away. Make sure it’s on fire, keep watch, and don’t let anything else get close.”
She also took two water bottles filled with compressed water. Using the terrain as cover, the three of them and the dog quietly approached the horde of zombies still gathering and feeding on the road. Most of the zombies were engrossed in their "food," while a few wandered around the perimeter.
The distance closed to about fifty meters, a relatively safe throwing distance. Ruan Ning stopped and gestured to Zhou Min and Lin Yan.
The three of them simultaneously hurled their metal water bottles toward the densest part of the horde of corpses! The bottles traced arcs through the air.
Just as the kettle was about to hit the ground, Ruan Ning's eyes narrowed, and she precisely triggered her long-range mental power!
"burst!"
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!"
Several muffled yet enormous explosions rang out in succession! The water jug, extremely compressed and imbued with Ruan Ning's fourth-tier water-elemental energy, exploded violently amidst the horde of corpses! It wasn't an explosion of flames, but rather the instantaneous release of high-pressure water and the impact of energy!
Countless sharp, high-speed water arrows, along with the ice-explosive energy they contained, shot out indiscriminately in all directions in a spherical pattern from the point of explosion!
The zombies within range were as if they were being hit by countless high-pressure water guns and ice spikes at the same time. Their fragile heads, necks, and joints were instantly pierced, torn apart, and frozen! The closest zombies were blown to pieces, with limbs mixed with blood and ice shards flying everywhere!
After a series of explosions, a large area in the center of the horde of zombies was cleared out. At least twenty zombies fell to the ground and were unable to get up. Many more were injured by water arrows and ice explosions, and their movements became sluggish or they lost their balance.
The explosion and energy fluctuations also alerted the other zombies. They roared, abandoned the wreckage, looked in the direction of Ruan Ning and the others, and then pounced on them with bared teeth and claws.
"Go!" Ruan Ning shouted and charged out first.
With a clear objective, she charged straight at several mutants in the horde that were noticeably faster, had unusually large sizes, or emitted different energy fluctuations.
As soon as a speed-type zombie broke away from the horde, it pounced in as a gray shadow. Ruan Ning raised her hand and unleashed a water line that was condensed to the extreme, with high-frequency vibrations along its edges, slicing horizontally like the sharpest string!
"Swoosh!" The speed-type zombie was still in mid-air when it was cut in half by the water line, its upper and lower body separated, and dirty blood sprayed out.
On the other side, a second-tier strength-type zombie with swollen muscles and rock-gray skin roared and charged forward, throwing a punch at Ruan Ning. Ruan Ning neither dodged nor evaded, and a thick, rapidly spinning water vortex shield instantly materialized in front of him.
"Bang!" The fist slammed into the water shield, producing a muffled sound. The water flow shook violently, but it firmly blocked the enormous force.
Ruan Ning's eyes turned cold, and the water shield suddenly changed shape, transforming into countless tough water snakes that coiled up the zombie's arm, instantly binding its neck and torso. At the same time, the temperature inside the water snakes plummeted and they froze rapidly!
"Crackling sounds..." The strength-type zombie struggled, its body quickly covered with a thick layer of ice, and its movements became stiff and slow.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ruan Ning closed in, conjuring an ice crystal spear in her hand. She precisely pierced its frozen and relatively vulnerable eye socket, and the cold air carried by the spear tip instantly invaded its brain, freezing it completely and killing it.
Zhou Min and Lin Yan worked together with the fire to clear out the zombies that had been injured by the explosion or were ordinary zombies. Zhou Min activated her mental power to the fullest, constantly warning of zombies approaching from the sides or behind, and applying mental interference to slow down their movements.
Lin Yan unleashed her full power at level two, her blade flashing fiercely, specifically targeting the necks or spines of zombies. The raging fire acted like a battlefield scavenger, rushing towards wherever zombies were densely packed, tearing at them with its claws and spewing flames with extreme efficiency.
Ruan Ning then dealt with another mutated zombie that was trying to spew corrosive liquid and a zombie that was lurking in the horde of zombies and suddenly attacked with metal-based superpowers.
The battle lasted less than ten minutes. Having lost the "feast" of Levi and his group, and stunned by the water bombs, the remaining zombies were quickly eliminated by Ruan Ning's team's targeted clearing efforts.
The highway was littered with zombie corpses, their blood staining the road black.
"Collect the crystal cores, quick." Ruan Ning was slightly out of breath; she had just used her fourth-tier ability consecutively, which had taken a toll on her. She took action herself, using ice blades or water blades to cut open the heads of the mutated zombies and extract the crystal cores of various colors.
The crystal cores of ordinary zombies were left to Zhou Min and Lin Yan to handle.
The fire patrolled the area, occasionally lowering its head to sniff and pawing at the corpses to make sure they weren't feigning death.
A few minutes later, all the crystal cores were collected and placed into a sealed bag. Ruan Ning glanced at the two wrecked cars and the mangled remains of Li Wei and the others, but didn't touch them. There was no need to leave any more traces.
"Let's go." She turned and got back into the car.
Zhou Min and Lin Yan quickly got into the car, and Da Huo jumped into the back seat.
The engine started, the off-road vehicle turned around, and drove smoothly towards the Dawn Base. A light dust rose behind the vehicle, gradually obscuring the land where a brutal hunt had just taken place.
An hour later, the group returned safely to the Dawn Base and were released after inspection.
The Shen family's informants were somewhat surprised to see them return. However, after waiting for a long time without seeing Li Wei and the others, they felt that the situation was probably dire.
Hurry back and contact the Shen family to inform them of the news.
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