Chapter 37
At dawn, the Gobi Desert, having shed the night's bitter chill, welcomed the dead silence and sweltering heat of day. The blood-red sun crept over the horizon, tinting the boundless sea of sand with an ominous crimson. Chen Mengzhou's figure moved swiftly across the undulating sand dunes, his footprints quickly obliterated by the relentless wind.
The warning in Chu Li's dream was like a maggot in her tarsal bones, dispelling her last shred of hope. The combined search net of the "Scavengers" and "Hounds" was tightening. She had to leave this area before they completed the encirclement, heading west to find the illusory "Weeping Wall."
Spatial perception was heightened to its limit, sweeping across a radius of several kilometers like an invisible radar. Aside from the occasional mutant lizard burrowing in the sand and dead shrubs, the area within its perception was completely barren, devoid of any signs of large-scale life or mechanical activity.
But this didn't reassure her. The technology the Foundation and the Scavengers possessed definitely allowed them to block or disguise their energy signatures.
She could only rely on the most primitive caution and speed.
After running for hours, the sun rose higher, turning the Gobi Desert into a massive oven. My sweat evaporated as soon as it seeped out, leaving my throat dry and aching. My water reserves were running low, and I had to find a source quickly.
Based on her observation of the terrain and her vague grasp of the direction of groundwater flow through spatial perception, she adjusted her direction and sneaked towards the downstream of a dried-up ancient river channel.
After walking forward for about half an hour, we saw a relatively low-lying area ahead. Several unusually tall, strange willows with cracked bark were growing tenaciously, indicating that there might be water underground.
Chen Mengzhou slowed down her pace and approached cautiously. When she was about a hundred meters away from the strange willow bush, she suddenly caught a faint, unnatural energy reading at the edge of her spatial perception!
It's not a living thing, nor is it the kind of corrupted energy that erodes corpses. Instead, it's some kind of... low-frequency energy pulse that's unique to precision instruments on standby!
There is an ambush!
She instantly crawled to the ground, her body pressed against the hot sand, holding her breath.
Perception was like an invisible tentacle, cautiously exploring the source of the pulse.
The source is behind that strange willow bush! Cleverly disguised as a pile of sand and dead branches! There's more than one source! There are at least three hidden energy sources, arranged in a triangular pattern, forming a perfect ambush circle!
Was it the "Scavenger's" automatic induction mine? Or was it a tracking trap set by the "Hound"?
What a close call! If her spatial perception hadn't been significantly enhanced, she would never have been able to detect these deadly devices that had almost blended in with the environment!
They cannot be triggered. Once detonated, the huge noise will immediately attract nearby enemies.
She slowly backed away, making a wide circle, trying to flank the death trap.
However, as she moved——
Buzz!
The pulse frequency of the three hidden energy sources suddenly increased! They instantly switched from standby mode to active mode!
Discovered?! They have motion sensing?!
whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Three blazing white energy beams shot out from the camouflage point without any warning. They were not shot towards her previous position, but preemptively blocked her possible escape routes to the left, right and rear!
At the same moment, the sand in front of her suddenly exploded! An unmanned reconnaissance platform, shaped like a mechanical spider and covered in sandy yellow camouflage netting, suddenly leaped out! The sensor on the platform's top flashed red, and the black muzzle of a gun instantly locked onto her!
This isn't just a simple induction mine! It's an intelligent, automated defense platform with active attack and tracking capabilities! Foundation technology!
There is no time to think!
Chen Mengzhou's body's instinctive reaction was faster than her brain's! The moment the gun locked onto her, spatial energy suddenly erupted!
Not defense, not dodge!
But - twisted!
The space in front of her body suddenly underwent violent refraction and distortion, like a funhouse mirror!
Bang!
The high-explosive bullet fired from the platform crashed into the distorted space, and its trajectory suddenly deviated strangely. It flew past her temples by a hair's breadth, shot into the sand behind her, and exploded into a wave of sand!
And that extremely brief moment of stiffness after the platform was shot!
Chen Mengzhou moved!
His body shot forward like an arrow, not retreating, and rushed straight towards the mechanical spider! He gripped the bayonet in his right hand, spread the five fingers of his left hand, and concentrated the spatial energy at his fingertips, forming an invisible sharp blade!
The mechanical spider reacted extremely quickly, and the auxiliary arm popped out an electric baton and swept it over!
Chen Mengzhou did not dodge or evade, but suddenly swiped his left hand forward!
Swish!
The invisible spatial blade cut through butter like a hot knife, effortlessly severing the sweeping metal auxiliary arm along with the sensor behind it! Sparks flew everywhere!
The mechanical spider lost its balance and its movements froze!
Now is the time!
Chen Mengzhou's bayonet was like a poisonous snake coming out of a hole, piercing into the gap in his armor with incredible precision and twisting it fiercely!
Snap!
There was a crisp sound of shattering components from within! The red light in the mechanical spider's eyes instantly went out, and it collapsed to the ground, turning into a pile of scrap metal.
Get rid of one!
But the other three hidden attack points lit up again! Energy beams shot out one after another!
Chen Mengzhou did not stop, using the wreckage of the mechanical spider as a temporary cover, and made all kinds of rapid changes of direction and short-distance flashes on the sand that violated the laws of physics, narrowly avoiding one deadly beam after another!
Get closer to the second attack point!
It was a half-buried automatic turret! It was spinning madly trying to lock onto her!
Chen Mengzhou stomped his foot fiercely! Spatial energy penetrated beneath the sand!
boom!
The sand beneath the turret suddenly collapsed inwards! The turret instantly lost its balance, the muzzle tilted, and the beam shot into the sky!
Chen Mengzhou came close like a ghost, and stabbed the bayonet fiercely into its energy interface!
Bang! Black smoke billowed from the turret, and it misfired!
The third and fourth attack points seemed to realize the disadvantage of close combat and retreated simultaneously, releasing a large number of micro-tracking drones! Buzzing like a swarm of bees, they pounced from different directions!
trouble!
Chen Mengzhou's eyes became fierce, he clasped his hands together suddenly, and then pushed outwards!
"Space shock!"
Buzz!!!
An invisible, violent space shock wave suddenly spread out in all directions with her as the center!
Those rushing micro drones were like hitting an invisible, high-speed vibrating wall, exploding instantly and turning into metal debris all over the sky!
The two retreating attack platforms were also hit by the shock wave. The precision components inside were instantly overloaded and paralyzed on the ground with sparks!
Everything happened in a flash!
In just over ten seconds, all four automated defense platforms were destroyed!
Chen Mengzhou panted slightly, sweat on his forehead. Continuous use of his abilities took a toll.
She quickly checked these platforms, trying to find some information, but they had obviously been strictly cleaned up and had no identification or useful data.
We can't stay here any longer. The sounds of the battle here have probably been reported back.
She quickly dug out some turbid but drinkable groundwater from under the strange willow trees, filled her kettle, and not daring to stay any longer, immediately stood up and prepared to leave.
However, the moment she turned around——
Her spatial perception suddenly caught sight of three high-speed heat source signals on the far horizon, hurtling towards her! Extremely fast!
It's a vehicle! And it's a modified high-powered off-road vehicle!
The Hounds are definitely nearby! They were attracted here by the explosion!
Chen Mengzhou's face darkened, and without any hesitation, he immediately ran towards the flank in the direction of the attacking vehicle!
We must get out of this area before they surround us!
She increased her speed to the limit, leaving a trail of dust on the sand dunes.
The roar of the engine behind me was getting closer and closer, and I could even hear the hideous laughter and curses mixed with the noise of electricity coming from the loudspeaker.
"I saw her! Over there! Chase her!" "Don't let her get away! The boss said the reward will be doubled if she's caught alive!"
Bullets began to whiz from behind, hitting the sand and stirring up a trail of dust.
Chen Mengzhou kept changing direction, using the undulations of the sand dunes to dodge the bullets. But the other car was too fast and seemed to have some kind of tracking device, constantly following her direction.
This won't work! I'll be exhausted to death!
Her eyes quickly swept ahead, and she saw a rocky area of wind-eroded rocks! The terrain there was complex, and perhaps they could escape the vehicle!
She immediately turned and rushed towards the rocky area!
The vehicle behind is following closely!
The moment he rushed into the rocky area, Chen Mengzhou suddenly dodged behind a huge rock to the side!
The off-road vehicle in front didn't have time to brake and crashed into a protruding stone pillar!
Boom! The vehicle rolled over and disintegrated, bursting into flames!
But the two cars behind quickly slowed down, and seven or eight "Hound" members wearing messy leather armor and with ferocious faces jumped out of the cars, rushed in howling, and began to search!
"She's hiding! Search! Find her out!"
The sound of gunfire and shouting echoed in the forest of strange rocks.
Chen Mengzhou leaned against the cold rock, slowly regulating his breathing. Bayonet in hand, his spatial perception locked onto every approaching enemy.
Hounds... these hyenas who work for money... are easier to deal with than scavengers, but also more crazy.
A Hound member, rifle in hand, carefully walked past the rock where she was hiding.
Chen Mengzhou attacked silently! The bayonet was like a venomous snake, instantly severing his throat! With his other hand, he covered his mouth and gently knocked him down.
Clean and neat.
She was like a shadow among the rocks, constantly moving, and every move she made would take a life.
Screams rang out one after another, and the remaining Hound members finally felt fear and began to shoot indiscriminately in panic.
"Come out! Bastard! Come out!" "She's not a human! She's a ghost!"
Fear spread quickly.
Chen Mengzhou's eyes were icy, like the most efficient harvesting machine. These scum deserved death.
Soon, only the last Hound member was left in the rocky area. He leaned against the vehicle, shooting around in panic, but his bullets soon ran out.
Chen Mengzhou slowly walked out from behind a rock, his bayonet dripping with blood, and looked at him coldly.
"Don't... don't kill me..." The Hound member was so scared that he dropped his gun and knelt down to beg for mercy, "I... I can tell you the information! Buy my life!"
Chen Mengzhou did not stop.
"It's... it's about the 'Foundation'! They... they not only sent us 'hounds'... but also... the 'exploration team'! They're less than fifty miles to the west! They're digging something! Something very important!" He shouted incoherently, trying to grasp the last straw.
Exploration team? Digging?
Chen Mengzhou paused.
"What are you digging for? Where exactly?" Her voice was cold.
"I... I don't know what I'm digging for... I just know that the Foundation attaches great importance to it... The location... It's right under a place called 'Blackstone Mountain'... There's a large mine entrance there... It's heavily guarded... That's all I know! Spare me..."
Blackrock Mountain? The mines?
Chen Mengzhou wrote down the name.
Then, in the Hound member's desperate gaze, the bayonet swept across.
The world is quiet.
She quickly searched the vehicles and bodies, finding some ammunition, food, and a crude map of the area. The map did show a place called "Blackstone Mountain" in the northwest direction.
What are the Foundation exploration teams digging up there? Is it related to "Pandora"? Or... something else?
Chu Li's warning echoed again.
She glanced west, then glanced at Blackrock Mountain on the map.
After a brief pause, she changed direction and rushed towards Blackrock Mountain.
She has no clue about the "Weeping Wall" for the time being, but this nearby Foundation base may be able to give her some unexpected answers.
Or, a new storm.
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