Chapter 10 - Siege

"It must have been a mistake in the raw data. This is impossible--"

Suddenly, he stood up furiously from the instrument, clutching his hair tightly with both hands and shouting repeatedly, "I can't be wrong, it must be those damn guys messing up the information. I need a fresh live sample--"

"What are you doing?"

A tall observer rushed over, hugged him around the waist, and pressed him against the wall beside him. He gave him a hard slap with a strong arm and said coldly in a hurry, "Don't forget your mission--"

"Chris, you don't understand," Mark raised his hand in desperation, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He said mournfully, "Those data... they don't match the original text at all. There is almost no commonality between the two..."

"Shut up," cried Chris, who perhaps realized that his actions and attitude were a little too extreme. He quickly relaxed his facial expression and toned down his voice, approaching the other person and whispering something softly.

A few minutes later, Mark, looking dejected, pulled out a flat flask from his pocket and took a sip after unscrewing the cap. With a steady look, he slowly walked over to Lin Xiang, who was watching, with an apology and fatigue in his voice: "I'm sorry, I got a little excited... I hope you understand that these virus samples are extremely important for researching immunity drugs. I must, I must, I must get a live mutated sample. Do you understand what I mean?"

Yang Guang was about to start translating, but Lin Xiang stopped him by reaching out.

He never understood why a country with a Chinese-based mother tongue would attach such importance to English education, even to the point of obstructing the work and daily life of citizens with inexplicable English proficiency tests. Did the officials in the Ministry of Education, whose heads had been squeezed by the door, have a concentrated paste made of ABCD in their bones?

Despite the damn rote English education, Lin Xiang was able to understand every word spoken by Mark and the others.

Live samples.

That is to say, they must catch a live mutated human.

Lin Xiang could understand the biological research to lock on specific targets, but he did not understand why Mark and the others had to come to Kunming.

If only for the purpose of capturing, they could choose those infected towns with sparse populations. The risk of encountering danger would also be greatly reduced based on the number of mutated humans.

He simply did not believe in excuses like satellite observation. Based on previous combat experience, mutated humans seem to have inherited some of the intelligence of the infected person. They also know how to use the environment and buildings to hide their whereabouts. A few photos cannot serve as evidence or explain anything.

The goal of these United Nations observers was live samples. But what secrets are they trying to get by any means?

"Keep the communicator open 24 hours a day and send all information back to headquarters. Two people form a combat unit and closely monitor these guys' every move."

The members of the sixty-fourth mobile unit were elite. They quickly dispersed, in front or behind, left or right, wrapping the three Americans tightly in the middle from several directions. On the surface, this was the most basic dispersed search team formation. However, if the location of each person and the monitored target are connected, you will be surprised to find that there is always a soldier constantly wandering behind or diagonal to the monitored person's position. Their expressions seem to be paying attention to the surrounding movements, but the weapons in their hands are always unconsciously pointing at their respective targets.

The scorching sun shines down mercilessly, spreading a blanket of hot whiteness in the silent city. Despite walking along the shaded parts of the streets, the search team is unable to withstand the heat rising from the ground. The sweat that seeps from the body surface soaks through the thick protective gear, creating a sticky and uncomfortable feeling that is transmitting a request for release in its unique way.

"Take a ten-minute rest in place," said Lin Xiang, wiping his sweat-soaked neck. He found his fingers covered in tiny white salt particles. Shaking his head in frustration, he took down the military water bottle hanging from his chest, twisted off the lid, and drank heavily.

"Gulp, gulp," the throat moved up and down, creating a clear sound that echoed in the ears. Everyone was drinking water, thirsty and hot, making this act the only thought in their heads at the moment.

Suddenly, Lin Xiang put down the water bottle, picked up the slanting assault rifle on his arm, squinted his eyes, and raised his ear to listen intently to the strange noise in the air.

The entire team consisted of nine people, including three observers.

But he heard the sound of the tenth person drinking water.

It was very small and light. But it did exist.

Lin Xiang never questioned any information collected by his senses. Caution and attention often mean luck and safety.

Glancing at the three Americans sitting opposite him, he found that Chris' gaze was sweeping towards his side, also full of vigilance and inquiry.

He also found it?

Lin Xiang was somewhat surprised. The voice was not loud. If it wasn't for the fact that his hearing had become exceptionally sensitive after being infected, he wouldn't have noticed anything unusual. Could it be that this American also has the same keen perception as himself?

"Gurgle--" The soft sound of drinking echoed once again. Lin Xiang and Chris almost simultaneously determined the direction of the source, leapt from their respective positions, brandishing their weapons, and rushed towards the alley next to the street.

The source of the sound was just behind the street-facing house.

A bursting water pipe crossed the empty space behind the house. Clear tap water slowly flowed out of the broken pipe, gathering in the depression on the ground, forming a temporary shallow pond with a diameter of about a meter.

A completely black mutated human was crouched in front of the pond, bringing his dry, cracked lips close to the water's edge, and struggling to drink the slightly turbid liquid. His sliding epiglottis made dull collisions from time to time.

Lin Xiang hesitated for a moment before pulling the trigger. Intense bullets splashed the water's surface, stirring up the mud and turning the pond water into a yellowish mud.

"FUCK! Damn it, stop--"

Chris' face turned red as he glared, like an angry bull: "Are you crazy? We need a live sample. Alive, understand?"

"I'm just making it no longer capable of attacking." Lin Xiang coldly looked at him, took out a small bundle of wire that had already been prepared from his backpack, and quickly and skillfully wrapped it into a live trap, tightly choking the mutated person's throat while also binding its left and both legs together... finally, he skillfully tied an inescapable sailor's knot, tightly tying the nearly two-meter mutated creature into a ball with his legs hugged to his chest.

The huge black bone blade lay quietly in the gradually clearing sewage. The connecting parts at the end of the arm had completely broken apart. Over ten bullets connected in a straight line penetrated the barrier made of flesh and blood. They tore the tendons, broke the bones, and neatly crushed the entire right arm from the middle.

Seeing this, Chris couldn't help but gasp for cold air.

He was very clear about the performance of the M5G43 firearm. In just a few seconds, such a close distance caused cutting damage, and such precise control of the gun was simply terrifyingly amazing.

"...Oliver, help me hold down its thigh, I need to extract its blood sample..."

Mark didn't waste a second, he called over another companion to assist him, and his hands quickly took off his backpack and excitedly took out the instruments from the box.

Dark red blood was drawn from the mutated body and pressed into a test tube, then sent to the interface outside the instrument.

The person with a body bound tightly, a mutated human, is unable to move. It clearly cannot feel any pain. From the scraps of clothing that covered its body, it appeared to be a human female who had undergone a mutation after being infected. However, the high-standing breasts, elastic lace panties, and any other physiological features related to a human female were no longer visible beneath the stained bra, as they were being stretched tight by bones that grew from the hips. On this abnormally tall, black body, there was no longer any trace of human physiological features.

Its life symptoms appeared to be very weak. It seemed like a patient on the brink of death, barely able to breathe.

But still, it was alive.

Lin Xiang stood at a distance and watched everything silently.

He was very clear that even if he spoke, these Americans would not tell him the real answer. As an excuse, they would even come up with a whole bunch of pre-prepared excuses and all sorts of difficult-to-distinguish lies.

Half an hour later, Mark, with a serious expression, put away the instruments slowly. Despite his deliberate control of his emotions, Lin Xiang could still read from his slightly trembling facial muscles, the cold sweat on his forehead, the unsteady fingertips, and the evasive eyes, the fear, surprise, and disappointment that were hidden...

"We need another sample."

Chris rubbed his hands with satisfaction and kicked the mutated human on the ground with the tip of his shoes: "Data from a single individual may show bias and error. If we can get another one, or more... hehe! You should understand what I mean."

Lin Xiang nodded gently.

Although it was unknown what caused the mutation to weaken, capturing such prey was not difficult. Now that they had found the first live specimen, there would certainly be others in other corners of the city...

This is China, the communicator can contact headquarters at any time and call in a lot of reinforcements. Despite facing similar opponents in previous battles to rescue survivors, the soldiers had never seen this terrifying creature up close. Naturally, the captured mutant quickly became the focus of the team's attention, and they all gathered around, curiously observing the strange creature in the field. For some reason, Lin Xiang only felt a faintly dangerous premonition in the air. The city was still quiet, the end of the streets was deserted, and the gray concrete buildings were as cold as strange stones... The place where there was no one was the safest place. His heart was pounding, his hands unconsciously tightened around the assault rifle, he tried his best to keep his eyes open, stood up his ears, observing everything around him, listening to any movement that might bring death. Chris, with a smiling face, slowly walked over. That's not a smile, it's a sneer. Danger... Lin Xiang's pupils contracted violently and became tiny needle points.

Behind Chris, Mark and Oliver each held an American-made M24A light machine gun, forming a fan angle from the left and right, tightly surrounding several team members gathered near the mutants.

"No--"

Just as the startled cry escaped, both M24A's also pulled their triggers at the same time. Intense bullets swept towards the unsuspecting soldiers, and in a moment, the final wails and the dull noise of the machine gun became the only melody drifting above the city.

"You damned bastards--"

Along with the harsh and furious roar, Lin Xiao's muscles tightened, heavily pulling the trigger, and the thirty-round magazine was emptied in seconds. To his surprise, Chris, who was standing in front of him, didn't fall, but instead approached a few more steps from a distance of less than five meters.

All the bullets missed, and his evasion speed was frighteningly fast.

"It's surprising that in distant Red China, there are also warriors like you."

Extending his pale tongue, licking the fresh red blood that splattered from the dead soldier's lips, Chris said with a cruel smile, tinged with sarcasm: "Unfortunately, I can't let you leave here alive."

Having said that, he twisted his neck with force and, with a cracking joint movement, stepped forward with a cruel smile.

Lin Xiao stood there calmly, holding his emptied assault rifle diagonally with his right hand.

Yang Guang died, Li Mingwei died, Liu Shufeng also died...

Besides himself, all five Chinese soldiers in the entire search team died under the sudden attack of the gun.

There was certainly a component of carelessness, but the strength of these three Americans was indeed frighteningly strong.

They accurately grasped the psychological curiosity of people and expertly escaped from the control range, cleverly bypassing the guards and launching a fatal blow at the weakest moment of the other party's alertness.

Clean.

Crisp.

Beautiful.

Especially the one in front of him, Chris, he clearly noticed the difference between himself and others and was specifically dealing with himself.

Who are they really?

Is the United Nations observer their true identity?

What have they actually obtained from the captured mutated humans?

Countless questions extend from the depths of the mind, but Lin Xiang suppressed them back into the depths of consciousness.

He was desperately trying to recall Chris's extraordinary actions.

He wants to record all of them and make them forever a common knowledge in his mind.

Only in this way, perhaps, can he save his life.