Chapter 195: Enemy at the Gate
The aftermath in the laboratory was resolved quickly.
Night Raven was obviously an expert at this. He used some shadow power to completely devour the Plague Doctor's body and the remaining core data, leaving only some insignificant traces pointing to the "evil god pollution accident."
Those imprisoned infected people lost the support of the source of the plague. Although they were still weak, the terrible blue-black lines under their skin were slowly fading, and their lives were saved.
As for whether they can survive the subsequent cleanup by the Investigation Bureau, it is not something we need to worry about.
We left Rust Town just as quietly as we had arrived. As we parted outside the sewage treatment plant, Night Raven fulfilled his promise and gave me a memory chip.
"What you requested is a copy of Feng Rang's investigation notes. Also, some of the basic research data from the Plague Doctor on cold poison and mental transmission. It might be of some inspiration for your research."
His voice remained calm. "See you at the next salon, Mr. Xingqiong. I hope that by then, you won't be someone else's prey, or... mine."
Before he finished speaking, he turned into a wisp of green smoke and dissipated in the night wind.
I clutched the chip, not checking it immediately. Instead, I quickly returned to the Black Dragon Gang's base. The sky was already turning slightly white, but the dawn brought not hope, but a deeper sense of oppression.
The atmosphere inside the stronghold was noticeably different from before. The patrols had increased in number, their eyes filled with wariness and fatigue.
I noticed that there were some new faces in the base, but there was a vague sense of anxiety in the air.
Not long after I returned to the office, Bai Zang came to visit. He was still wearing a neat white shirt, and at first glance he looked like a clean-cut pretty boy, but there was an unwavering coldness between his brows, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"You're back?" He said, his voice a little hoarse. "Just in time, the situation is a bit troublesome."
He quickly updated me on the situation: several small shelters near the base had broken out into fierce fighting due to resource shortages, and one of them had been completely wiped out.
Scattered defeated soldiers and refugees tried to approach our territory like headless flies. The outer patrol teams were under tremendous pressure and had to take tough measures to drive them away. Only a very small number of talents who had been strictly screened and confirmed to be valuable, such as doctors and technical workers, were absorbed in.
"The supplies in the warehouse can still last for a while, but living off the resources is not a solution." Bai Zang said concisely.
"Before, thanks to the gift from 'Starry Sky Lord', we were able to use those meat balls to barely survive, and even help the new members to establish themselves. But now..."
He paused, looking at me sharply. "Those meatballs out there are almost gone. We don't have much in stock anymore. It's getting increasingly dangerous out there lately. The hunting team doesn't dare venture far, and the harvest is meager. Rations are starting to tighten, and the morale of the people down there is... a bit unsettled."
I understood his point. Under the pressure of survival, so-called order and morality became incredibly fragile. The "old, weak, sick, and disabled" in the stronghold, who had no fighting ability but were still expending considerable resources, had begun to become an unnecessary burden in the eyes of some.
In the dark corners, there must have been discussions about this, or even worse proposals. Hakuzo could suppress it for a while, but if the situation continued to deteriorate, chaos would sooner or later break out.
"Faith can unite people, but it can't be eaten." I said slowly, "We must find a new and stable source of supplies. I will find a way to do that."
Bai Zang's eyes flashed coldly. After a moment of silence, he said coldly, "It hasn't come to that yet. I will adjust the patrol route and increase the search intensity in the nearby area. You..."
He didn't finish what he said, and I didn't know what he was saying. I just nodded as a response.
However, the situation deteriorated faster than anyone expected.
That afternoon, a sharp alarm suddenly sounded throughout the stronghold.
"Enemy attack! A large number of troops are coming towards us!" The team members on the watchtower shouted at the top of their lungs.
Bai Zang and I immediately rushed up the wall. In the distance, we saw smoke and dust billowing, and a huge crowd of people rushing towards the stronghold like a flood bursting through a dam!
They were not scattered refugees, but an armed force that looked large but in disarray.
They were dressed in rags, but they held a variety of weapons in their hands, from homemade swords and spears to rusty rifles, and their eyes were full of despair and crazy greed.
This group of doomsday refugees, numbering at least a hundred, had been able to integrate into a small force so quickly. It was obvious that many had been screened out along the way. Of those left, many were Evolved, making them quite formidable.
"Prepare for defense!" Bai Zang's voice was icy cold, instantly echoing throughout the entire wall. His face was gloomy at this moment, and his eyes were fierce as he stared down.
There was no negotiation at all. The defeated thugs rushed forward and started a crazy attack.
Bullets, stones, and even burning oil bottles were thrown indiscriminately at the walls and gates of the stronghold, and the evolvers also used their own abilities to target the gatekeepers on the watchtower.
The guards on the wall immediately returned fire. Gunfire, explosions, shouts, and screams instantly intertwined, shattering the brief silence of the ruined world and leaving the outskirts of the stronghold in chaos.
Although this group of defeated soldiers was in disarray, they were numerous and were obviously mixed with some elite armed personnel from the survivors' camp. Their attack was quite methodical, focusing on the gate and several relatively weak sections of the wall.
However, after all, the stronghold was left behind by the Investigation Bureau, and ordinary evolvers do not have the ability to break through this line of defense.
But that doesn't mean they can do whatever they want.
Bai Zang personally commanded the front line. He was extremely ruthless and specifically killed those enemies who looked like leaders or carried heavy firepower. He shot them one by one with incredible accuracy, stabilizing the shaky defense line.
I wandered around the wall, my Miao Dao not unsheathed, but constantly using my illusory authority to slightly distort the trajectory of bullets shot at key locations, or create brief illusions in places where enemies gathered, causing confusion and infighting among them.
I can't expose myself too much, but I can provide just enough support to relieve the pressure on the defense.
The battle lasted for nearly an hour. Finally, after leaving behind dozens of bodies, the defeated soldiers, seeing that they could not take the city after so long, lost their morale and retreated like a tide.
The walls were in ruins, thick with smoke, and the groans of the wounded echoed. The guards sat slumped behind the battlements, breathing heavily, their faces filled with fear and exhaustion.
Bai Zang stood on the wall, the corners of his white clothes were stained with smoke and blood. He looked at the retreating enemies in the distance, his eyes frighteningly cold.
He slowly wiped the blood from his face and said coldly to the squad leader beside him, "Increase the security, clean up the battlefield, and count the casualties and losses. Collect all usable weapons and ammunition."
He gave orders in a clear and terrifyingly calm manner, as if the bloody conflict just now was just an everyday trivial matter.
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