The mother beast's corpse was set ablaze, crackling and popping against the backdrop of the rain.
Zhang Shi walked up to the giant cannon and examined this new weapon of mass destruction.
Ge Dalong came to Zhang Shi's side, put a giant cannonball in his hand, and explained.
"Last night, the zombies and beasts launched a surprise attack, which limited the firepower of the artillery. Gong Yi and a group of craftsmen stayed up all night and specially developed this powerful weapon to counter the zombies and beasts. It just so happens that you have an emergency, so I used it as an emergency measure and also to test its power."
Zhang Shi recalled the scene of shelling the mother beast earlier. The giant shell ignored the armor and entered its body, then exploded inside, blasting out a rain of blood. This scene could indeed be called a weapon of mass destruction.
"This thing is really good. Its power is comparable to modern weapons. Have Gong Yi mass-produce them. If there are any zombie or wild beast attacks tonight, use this to teach them a lesson."
Ge Dalong nodded and added.
"I also have to remind you that this weapon of mass destruction is great in every way, but the manufacturing cost is quite high, and even the shells are extremely expensive. You have to be mentally prepared."
Zhang Shi neither confirmed nor denied, but instead asked with a smile.
"Do I look like someone who's short of money? Besides, the main component of these shells is gunpowder, which we have plenty of. How much money could it cost?"
“Excluding the cost of gunpowder, the cost of one cannonball is about two gold coins.”
Zhang Shi was speechless. The price was indeed beyond his expectations, but upon closer inspection, it made sense. He could only nod reluctantly, putting on an indifferent expression.
Just as one problem was about to subside, another arose. Wu Qing sent a message with only five words.
"Something's up, return immediately!"
As the saying goes, the fewer the words, the bigger the matter. Zhang Shi and Ge Dalong exchanged a glance and then quickly headed back to the shelter.
The noise of the torrential rain became the only sound in the wilderness, but as Zhang Shi approached the shelter, he could still hear a series of bustling shouts. His face darkened, and he sensed that something was wrong.
Zhang Shi and Ge Dalong quickened their pace, their unease weighing heavily on their hearts like the increasingly heavy downpour.
When they entered the shelter, they found that almost everyone was gathered at the back of the fortress. Wu Qing was standing on the top floor of the fortress, directing something. Zhang Shi couldn't wait and teleported directly in front of her. Before he could even speak, the scene in front of him stunned him.
Behind the shelter, the once solid ground was now crawling with countless disgusting worms. Behind them, more and more worms emerged from the river, wriggling along the riverbank towards the shelter.
These worms vary in size, some as thin as threads, others as thick as fingers. They wriggle and intertwine, forming a gruesome "carpet." The worms secrete mucus, which, washed by the rain, forms slippery, shiny patches and emits a nauseating stench.
"What... is going on?"
Zhang Shi's voice trembled with disbelief; he had never seen such a bizarre and massive swarm of creatures. These worms were highly likely the culprits behind the zombie crisis, and now such a large number of them gathered together was an unbearable disaster for any living being.
Zhang Shi frowned, his eyes searching for possible clues among the worms, but he found nothing but worms.
"I don't know, but it's definitely not a good sign. What's certain is that we're in trouble."
“These worms appeared suddenly, catching us off guard. Not only were there many of them, but they also seemed to have developed some resistance to fire. I tried attacking them with fire, but it didn’t work, and the rain was too heavy, so the fire was quickly extinguished.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shi felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly looked around and found the atmosphere in the shelter unusually tense. People were either holding weapons on guard or busy reinforcing their defenses, and everyone's face was filled with anxiety and unease.
"Are there any casualties?" Zhang Shi asked.
Wu Qing shook her head, but then added, "Not yet, but if we don't find a solution soon, I'm afraid..."
“Understood,” Zhang Shi interrupted her, his gaze firm. “We can’t just sit here and wait to die. Lao Ge, you’re in charge of organizing the manpower and continuing to try to drive these worms away with fire; Wu Qing, you lead a group of people to inspect and repair the defensive facilities to ensure our defenses are solid, and cooperate with Lao Ge to attack the worms with artillery.”
Apart from Zhao Feng, who led a group of people to the transit station to guard it, everyone in the shelter pitched in, and Zhang Shi arranged jobs for them all.
Afterwards, Zhang Shi approached the craftsmen, hoping to find something that could be used, such as cannons or other devices, to eliminate these worms on a large scale.
The three quickly divided the tasks and threw themselves into the intense work. Zhang Shi headed straight for the research center, where he ran into Gong Yi walking out.
"My lord, you're back. I was just about to come looking for you."
Gong Yi, covered in sweat and panting heavily, bumped into Zhang Shi. Zhang Shi pulled him back and gestured for him to speak slowly.
"Lord Wu Qing provided some worm samples before, and we have never stopped studying the worms. Just now, we discovered a small number of worm eggs in the rainwater. They are likely to reproduce in the water source, which is why the wild animals were infected and caused the attack last night."
Zhang Shi was taken aback when he heard this. He reached out and caught some rainwater, but even with his analytical skills, he couldn't detect anything unusual.
"For this reason, we have specially designed some insect-killing bombs for worms. I have tested them and they are extremely effective at killing worm tissues and can also spread within a certain range."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shi was overjoyed, finally hearing some good news. He quickly called for his men to retrieve the insect-killing bombs and went to the top floor of the fortress to test their power.
The rain continued to fall like a curtain, but the tense atmosphere inside the shelter eased with Zhang Shi's arrival. Zhang Shi personally loaded an insecticide bomb, took a deep breath, and gave the order to fire.
With the roar of artillery fire, shells pierced the rain and landed precisely in the densely populated area of worms. In an instant, a strong chemical odor spread with the explosion, and chaos erupted among the worm swarm. Many worms, upon entering the blast radius of the insecticide shells, rapidly withered and turned into puddles of black liquid.
"It works!" Wu Qing shouted excitedly, her eyes gleaming. Zhang Shi also breathed a sigh of relief, but then tensed up again. He found the black liquid somewhat familiar, and his mind began to make connections.
"Damn, this can't be this weird!"
The successive firing of several insect-killing grenades significantly reduced the number of worms, but their resistance seemed to have become even stronger. Some worms began to attempt to bypass the blast zone and head towards other directions of the shelter. Seeing this, Zhang Shi immediately adjusted his strategy, ordering the artillery team to disperse their fire and launch a multi-pronged attack on the worms.
Meanwhile, Gong Yi and his research team were urgently developing more insecticidal bombs and sending them to the front lines. Wiping his sweat, he said to Zhang Shi, "My lord, although these insecticidal bombs are effective, our reserves are limited and the production speed is not fast. We must find the source of the insect swarm as soon as possible and solve the problem at its root."
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