Wasteland Border Inspector
Chapter 78: Transcendent Symbiosis, Tears of the Horned Starfish! (One)
The defense communication device was still receiving information.
Starting from the first message, more and more information about advanced fusion bodies was synchronized.
Strangely, when he had previously speculated that the fusion body was targeting him, Cheng Ye had been somewhat anxious and harbored a fluke mentality.
But at this moment, he suddenly calmed down, his gaze looking far toward the direction of Zone B-3.
"Big Dragon."
"Here."
"The fusion body is coming."
"Understood!"
Big Dragon was stunned at first, then immediately reacted. The honest expression on his face suddenly faded, and barely concealed ferocity burst from the corners of his eyes.
Over the years, bloody conflicts between communities due to opposing ideologies had occurred frequently. The reason Tianyuan Community could expand to its current scale was never through charity from other forces.
"Everyone, form ranks, form ranks immediately!"
Big Dragon roared explosively. Whether they were bending down to handle infection sources, on nearby patrol, or chatting casually with hotel acquaintances, everyone was stunned for a moment, then acted with astonishing efficiency.
Whoosh.
"Brother Meng, a fusion body is coming. Let us borrow your cover!"
"Damn it, hurry and get in. A fusion body is coming and you're still talking nonsense?"
The hotel leader was stunned for half a second, then immediately turned and roared angrily at the crowd behind him.
Why did the Pioneer Corps have to disband in previous years? The soaring casualty rate was also one of the important reasons.
Fusion bodies appeared with increasing frequency, often taking dozens or hundreds of lives at once.
And humans wanting to fight such monsters in the wilderness was already difficult. They could often only fight while retreating, relying on stretching battle lines to repel fusion bodies.
But now, on their own territory, there was nowhere left to retreat.
If the three hundred people at the shopping center were finished, the hotel people would have absolutely no chance of survival.
"Move!"
"Don't just stand there stupidly. Bring out all the guns and useful equipment. Move faster!"
Brother Meng and Big Dragon's roars echoed throughout the entire area.
Hundreds of people showed no panic whatsoever, completing assembly at a speed that even Cheng Ye, a modern person, found amazing.
Sandbag covers were hurriedly moved out, and four machine guns were quickly set up at designated positions.
The rooftops between the hotel's four-story buildings gradually filled with climbing figures skillfully arranging gun lines.
Two teams rushed toward the opposite side of the block, while another two cut off the tail of the block.
Facing the approaching fusion body, without Cheng Ye's orders, everyone had spontaneously formed multi-dimensional shooting positions for harassment, sniping, frontal suppression, flanking ambushes, and guerrilla harassment. The entire tactical layout seemed as if it had been rehearsed countless times.
"Two hours have passed, and you brought back two little brothers."
"But I haven't been idle either."
In the distance, there already seemed to be the sound of tentacles smashing against the ground.
Cheng Ye grinned and plugged the defense communicator back into his waist.
Although he didn't know where exactly this information was coming from, the mysterious veil of the advanced fusion body had been completely stripped away.
In the end, it was just a monster with a bit more brains.
But wasteland people's brains had already tended toward violence, and becoming monsters had weakened their intelligence somewhat. Previously facing kite tactics, charging straight in was the best proof.
"Has negative obsession toward me."
Cheng Ye quickly retreated behind cover, his mind rapidly scanning through the people who had come into contact with him during this time.
Garcia definitely counted as one. Having been beaten by Liu Bi to the point of needing emergency care, that guy must hate him thoroughly.
But Garcia was an inspector. The inspection station would definitely transfer him before an outbreak, and would never allow him to become a fusion body and wreak havoc.
Could it be those quarantined people who had left when the warehouse was opened earlier?
Cheng Ye's mind flashed to those people's behavior before leaving, then quickly dismissed this possibility.
That kind of emotion didn't seem strong enough that even after mutating into a fusion body, they would still pursue and kill him.
After all, the inspector opening the warehouse was also official duty, not deliberately targeting them.
So, who could it be?
"It's coming!"
Big Dragon shouted explosively, interrupting Cheng Ye's wandering thoughts.
Almost the instant the words fell, a tentacle fusion body appeared at the end of the street.
Two metal-like tentacles hung behind it, carrying it forward like mechanical arms.
"So arrogant?"
"Give me the rocket launcher!"
Taking the green rocket launcher, Cheng Ye focused his mind and decided to try a shot first to test the waters.
Tail flames gushed as they pushed out the armor-piercing round.
As expected, this fusion body was only superficially arrogant but actually disguising itself. The moment the rocket was fired, it strangely changed direction and accelerated to dodge.
Boom.
The armor-piercing round exploded behind it. The fusion body's two tentacles danced wildly as it accelerated toward them.
Almost simultaneously, the sound of tentacle impacts also came from behind the hotel. These monsters actually understood flanking attacks!
"Open fire!"
Before Big Dragon's roar had ended, dense gunfire had already erupted like popping beans, with hundreds of bullets weaving into a fire net rushing toward the fusion body.
This was not the fire blockade spontaneously organized by those electronics factory residents, but a real corps battle line.
How had the frontal fusion body ever seen such a formation? It was instantly shot full of holes.
"Did we get it?"
"Still need two more fatal wounds!"
Judging a fusion body's fatal wounds was very simple. Any part that didn't heal quickly after being hit counted as a fatal wound.
At this time, from head to foot, there were five visible holes, obviously still short of the last two.
Unable to withstand the frontal violent firepower, the fusion body suddenly retreated toward a nearby alley.
But Cheng Ye, carrying the rocket launcher, had been waiting for this moment. He didn't aim directly at the fusion body, but pointed the muzzle at the alley entrance and pulled the trigger with a roar!
Boom!
Blinding firelight erupted at the alley entrance. The fusion body that had just rushed into the alley was forcibly blown out by the explosion's blast wave.
"Now's the time!"
Second Dragon, standing high and waiting for an opportunity, his eyes lit up as he pulled the rifle trigger to the bottom.
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta...
More than ten rifles fired down from above in unison, instantly blasting three of the fusion body's five tentacles on its head into fragments.
"Still want to run?"
Cheng Ye rapidly reloaded and fired again.
Boom.
The explosion's fire wave swallowed the monster. The elementary fusion body hadn't even been able to approach the battle line before being torn to pieces in the flames.
However, just as the fragments were falling, a black shadow suddenly darted out from the alley entrance!
A huge mouthpart opened, swallowing all the fragments into its belly.
Visibly, the five tentacles behind the black shadow trembled slightly, and it actually drew out a new tentacle from within its body!
It was that advanced fusion body!
"As expected, infected bodies killed by explosions will be absorbed a second time."
Cheng Ye wasn't surprised.
The intelligence hadn't mentioned this information, but he had witnessed the evolutionary devouring after the explosion with his own eyes.
The person sending the intelligence was probably afraid that knowing this would make him hesitant and unable to kill even one fusion body.
Rather than worry about the advanced fusion body continuing to absorb and grow stronger, it was better to first blast the two obstructive elementary fusion bodies to death.
"Don't mind it, hit the one behind!"
At this moment, there was no time for anyone to think carefully. The six-tentacle fusion body had finished absorbing the fragments and had once again hidden in the alley and disappeared, but the fusion body behind had already arrived for the kill.
Dense tentacle impact sounds grew closer and closer, and the battle line switched again.
Cheng Ye picked up the defense communicator at his waist and glanced at it, then called Huang Sheng over and handed him the rocket launcher.
"You'll fire in a moment. I'll create an opportunity for you!"
"Okay!"
Not knowing what Cheng Ye's so-called opportunity was, Huang Sheng could only take several deep breaths and suppress all the uneasiness in his heart.
Thud.
The fusion body climbing the wall rapidly approached, raising two tentacles.
But just as everyone opened fire, a thick black-yellow bodily fluid gushed out from the monster's mouth.
Four or five hotel militia who couldn't dodge in time were covered by the fluid and instantly turned red and soft like charcoal.
"Damn it, it's dual mutation!"
Brother Meng roared, his eyes bloodshot, grabbing a machine gun and firing wildly.
The ta-ta-ta bullets formed a line, but that fusion body was unusually cunning. It didn't linger in battle. After spitting the fluid, it retreated behind the building and no longer showed itself.
What to do about this?
"I'll go!"
Realizing that the limitation humans faced when dealing with fusion bodies was this, they could only passively form battle lines for defense and could hardly launch active attacks.
Cheng Ye didn't hesitate at all. While equipping Iron Body, he pulled out Thunder-1 and held it in his hand. Without thinking, he darted out of the defense line and charged toward the back of the street.
Life-and-death battles were like this. Passive and active changed in just a thought.
However, at this moment, a black shadow seemed to have been lying in ambush for a long time. Angry and fierce, it descended from above.
Six tentacles gathered together, carrying tremendous force as they smashed down, looking as if they would completely crush Cheng Ye into meat paste.
"Beast, I've been waiting for you!"
With the fusion body's intelligence, it would never understand that even while hiding, it would still be detected by drone thermal imaging.
That so-called camouflage was like a child covering their eyes, thinking they had fooled the world.
Boom, boom, boom boom!
Cheng Ye roared angrily. The body control brought by equipping Iron Body allowed him to forcibly stop his steps during the forward charge.
The gun muzzle instantly turned, pulling the trigger to death in the direction the black shadow was lunging.
Blinding sparks burst forth. From evolving from four tentacles to six tentacles, this advanced fusion body's defense had increased by at least fifty percent!
The deer rounds that could originally easily break through defenses were actually bounced off for the most part. Only the weak spots between the body's fascia were penetrated, leaving fine holes.
"Die, go die!"
The severe pain drove the fusion body completely mad as it lunged forward recklessly.
But the next second, a silver round ball rapidly enlarged before its eyes. The moment of contact...
Boom!
No longer the gunshot of Thunder-1, but the violent explosion of a high-explosive grenade!
Terrifying shock waves exploded from in front of the fusion body. Even though Cheng Ye was several meters away, he was still swept away without any resistance.
Dense shrapnel whistled toward him. He could only use his arms to protect his head, relying on his battle armor to withstand the impact. His entire body crashed into a roadside trash can like a meteor, rolling four or five times before barely stopping.
"Captain!"
"Sir!"
The moment exclamations exploded from behind the battle line, Huang Sheng gritted his teeth and suddenly pulled the rocket launcher trigger.
Although he didn't understand how Cheng Ye had calculated the timing of the fusion body's appearance, this was undoubtedly the best moment to fire!
Boom.
The armor-piercing rocket exploded at extremely close range.
The blast wave violently threw several militia near the battle line, their life and death unknown.
But under such circumstances, no one would care about casualties.
Because if they couldn't kill this monster, it wouldn't be just a few people who died, but hundreds, the entire B-7 area.
Ta-ta-ta-ta.
Before the smoke had cleared, all firepower was already pouring out madly.
Bullets splashed toward the explosion center like a rainstorm. No one cared about the monster's condition in the smoke, only the resolute roar of emptying magazines.
Taking advantage of this interval, the hidden spitting-type infected body appeared again, and a stream of black-yellow fluid suddenly sprayed out.
The shopping center militia guarding the end of the street desperately dodged, but more than ten people were still splashed by the fluid, their bodies instantly corroded with fist-sized holes.
"Damn it, shoot it!"
Big Dragon and Second Dragon were killing with red eyes. Everyone was like they had gone mad, frantically pulling triggers.
Huang Sheng also loaded a second rocket.
However, just as he was about to pull the trigger, black shadows flickered in the smoke, and that advanced fusion body escaped again!
Although only three of its six tentacles remained and half its body had been blown to pieces by the high-explosive grenade and rocket, it still hadn't reached lethal conditions and could still recover by devouring flesh and blood.
"Beast, stay here for me!"