Chapter 600: Hidden Card
Chapter 600: Chapter 600: Hidden Card
Someone was raising Mutated Animals.
This sounded utterly bizarre. However, Adrian Paige had already led his men to inspect the path ahead. It was exactly as Nina Jacobs had said—these mutated moles that hollowed out the ground only appeared along this middle stretch of the road. The road further ahead showed no signs of being hollowed out. This meant it was highly likely that someone had deliberately placed this batch of mutated moles here in advance. If they hadn’t discovered it beforehand, the convoy would have fallen beneath the collapsed road, and those mutated moles would have seized the opportunity to attack and eat them. In that case, casualties would have been inevitable.
"Someone is playing a hidden hand," Adrian said coldly.
Ivan Young also crouched by the collapsed section, looking down. His expression was full of disbelief. "It’s exactly the same."
The nature of this collapse was nearly identical to the caved-in roads they had seen in South Riven.
Nina stood to the side, waving her hand to activate her Earth Element Superpower. In an instant, the previously collapsed road was restored to its original state.
"It seems the road ahead is going to be very interesting," she said.
Interesting? Adrian, who had initially been somewhat worried, felt the corners of his lips curl up into a smile when he saw Nina like this. Her expression was clearly one of excitement. He thought to himself that perhaps he should also look forward to the rest of the journey.
To deal with any sudden emergencies, Nina proposed that their vehicle take the lead at the very front of the convoy.
"Further ahead is the Twin City Corridor. No matter what happens on the road, do not disrupt our previous rhythm," Adrian instructed the group.
"Yes, sir!"
Even though they had been traveling for more than half a day, no one felt tired. On the contrary, their morale was soaring higher and higher.
Marcus Miller hesitated for a moment before tapping on Nina’s car window. "Captain Jacobs, I think I can still hear that kind of sound."
"I know. We’ll be careful." Nina had Wayne Warner start the vehicle.
"What kind of sound could it be? Why can’t I hear anything?" Shirley Lucas looked out the car window. On both sides of the road lay seemingly impenetrable permafrost, and the village visible in the distance had been reduced to a pile of ruins. It looked as if there was absolutely nothing out there.
Hartley also tried listening closely but heard nothing.
"Some low-frequency sounds are very difficult for humans to perceive. Five’s hearing is quite sensitive. If he says it’s there, he’s most likely right," Nina said.
She, too, could hear the faint sound of those vibrations through her Five Senses Enhancement. Moreover, she glanced at her system map. A Zombie Horde had already begun to gather on the road ahead.
More than half an hour later, Adrian brought the convoy to a halt. His Spiritual Element Superpower had been the first to sense an anomaly.
Nina checked the distance; it was less than three kilometers away. Adrian was an Intermediate Superpower User, so his perception range was larger than Hartley’s.
Several drones sped past, and the situation on the road ahead was quickly relayed back. Just as Aaron Lynch had said, that road was indeed filled with zombies.
"Should we lure all those zombies away?" Holden Shaw asked. Both sides of the road were open fields. It looked entirely possible to use a Speed Element Superpower to draw the zombies to the sides.
"There’s no need. However many come, we’ll kill them all," Nina replied.
"Two kilometers!" Hartley warned. The zombies were approaching rapidly!
"Too many... There are too many..." Aaron felt as though he had plunged right back into the nightmare from a few days ago.
The only difference this time was that the people from the City D Base were waiting for the Zombie Horde’s arrival.
"Julian Wells, pave a three-hundred-meter sheet of ice ahead!" Nina shouted.
Julian froze for only half a second before reacting. This was the first time Nina had ever called his name. He immediately activated his Ice Element Superpower, and a thick layer of ice rapidly covered the ground ahead.
"Done." Within a few minutes, Julian had completed an icy path. He looked at Nina triumphantly, but she said nothing more.
He initially thought the purpose of this ice path was to make the approaching zombies slip or restrict their movements. It wasn’t until countless zombies had crossed the ice and lunged at them that he finally understood Nina’s true intention.
"Julian Wells, low-temperature deceleration! Sylvie, you and Wayne Warner use lightning strikes within the freezing water mist! Alister Keller, maximize the Attack Power of those three!" Nina commanded while fighting off the surrounding zombies alongside the group.
There were still many zombies ahead. Although she could protect everyone with her Diamond Sand Cover, she didn’t want the group to miss out on an opportunity to train.
Low-temperature deceleration... Shock and pleasant surprise flashed in Julian’s eyes. He wondered how she knew his signature move.
As an Ice Ability User, he excelled at controlling temperatures. Although he had demonstrated this move during the Superpower User tournament, he had only used the low temperature to make metal brittle. He never expected that Nina would be able to see that his temperature Control could also produce a decelerating effect.
"Understood." This was the first time Julian was displaying this technique in front of everyone.
Amidst a massive expanse of water mist, the ceaselessly surging Zombie Horde behind actually began to slow down just seconds later. The recently formed ice surface amplified the freezing effect of the mist to its maximum.
Alister, possessing the Water and Wood Dual Element, followed Nina’s instructions and instantly expanded the freezing water mist.
"Mr. Warner, l-let’s begin," Sylvie said, feeling somewhat nervous. She knew how formidable Wayne was and worried that she wouldn’t perform well.
Wayne nodded. Immediately, two streaks of Thunder Element Superpower wrapped around the giant cloud of mist like lightning.
Some Mutated Zombies tried to break free from the lightning-infused mist, only to be dragged back by Alister’s Wood Element Vine. Meanwhile, the zombies in the rear continued to push their way into the electrified fog.
"That should be about enough," Nina said after taking a glance.
The Flame Stone Blade in her hand spun rapidly. SLASH! She swiftly dispatched a zombie that was just about to pounce on a rescue team member from behind.
"T-thank you!" the man stammered, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Just then, a crackling SIZZLE and a massive explosion echoed from the front. The electrified mist burst open as if it could no longer contain the built-up energy. Within moments, the hundreds of zombies trapped inside were reduced to charred corpses.
Even Julian and the other three hadn’t expected to achieve such an incredible result just by working together. However, they had no time to celebrate, as another dense swarm of zombies was already surging forward.
Adrian summoned a Wind Dragon Vortex to sweep up a large swath of zombies, while his other hand conjured a Wind Wall to block the undead suddenly appearing on the opposite side, shielding the rest of the group. Right at that moment, an Intermediate Mutant Zombie lunged forward and entangled him in a fierce fight.
He looked at Nina, and she instantly understood. An Earth Element Sand Shield replaced the Wind Wall, granting everyone a brief moment of respite. With the others safe, Adrian could focus entirely on dealing with the Intermediate Mutant Zombie before him.
Seeing that the zombies were gathering in massive numbers, a colossal Fire Phoenix spread its wings in mid-air. Its crimson and gilded fiery feathers unfurled layer by layer. Then, with the speed of lightning, it dove straight into the dark, swarming Zombie Horde below!
Nina stood at the very front. A fierce storm of raging fire and wind erupted with her at the epicenter, instantly blasting the zombies lunging at her high into the air. Countless Wind Blades seized the moment, slicing through them. By the time the zombies hit the ground, they had been reduced to nothing more than rotting flesh and blackened bones.
The Phoenix had already set a large portion of the Zombie Horde ablaze. Nina poured a massive amount of Superpower into it, and even the fierce winds fueled the growing flames. Viewed from a distance, the road had transformed into a path completely engulfed in a sea of fire.
Riding the updraft, Nina stepped on the wind and hovered in mid-air. From this vantage point, she got a clear view of the situation in the distance.
"There really is something wrong with this road. Holden, come with me to take a look," Nina said, pointing toward a distant spot.