Chapter 16 - Flame

The airport of the army's land aviation division has become the temporary base of the 64th mobile unit.

As soon as the helicopter landed, Lin Xiang leaped out of the open cockpit and, bending over, ran through the huge swirling airflow and into the control tower next to the runway.

Qi Yue is the highest commander of the mobile unit and also the specialized liaison of the military research department. Captured live corpses and various samples from Xiaoyang Village must be transported to the capital as soon as possible with his consent.

In the massive control tower, besides a few necessary operating personnel, no more figures can be seen.

"It's been five hours since you just left. Zhang Guan Town in the southeast suburbs sent a distress signal. The colonel went there with the last team." In response to Lin Xiang's doubt, the duty military officer gave such an answer.

Five hours?

A bad premonition suddenly emerged in Lin Xiang's mind.

Zhang Guan Town is not far away. Based on normal flight speed, the round trip will not take more than an hour. That means, for four hours, Qi Yue's rescue team has been staying there.

This is not normal.

The 64th Mobile Unit is the elite of the army and has undergone special training specifically targeting the combat style of the mutants after emerging from Kunming city. With the cooperation of the Airborne Division, even if the attack fails, they can retreat unharmed. They can never be stuck in a small town for more than four hours.

"Has the colonel sent any other messages? Like changing the combat zone or modifying the rescue plan?" Holding onto the last bit of hope, Lin Xiang asked.

The duty officer regretfully shook his head.

Without a doubt, Qi Yue's team encountered danger in Zhang Guan town.

Lin Xiang, with a face as dark as iron, immediately grabbed the helmet he had just taken off and rushed out of the tower in strides.

Just as he stepped into the cockpit, the electronic communicator at his waist suddenly transmitted a rapid tremolo.

"The West Ninth Area front line has encountered a large number of mutants. All units receiving this command, proceed immediately to the designated area for reinforcement. Repeat, it's an emergency -"

West Ninth Area is in a completely different direction from Zhang Guan town.

Accepting the command, Qi Yue is very likely to die in the battle of Zhang Guan town.

On the other hand, refusal to go to the West Ninth District would result in severe punishment for the entire squad, as it would be equivalent to disobeying orders on the battlefield.

What should they do?

The soldiers sitting in the cockpit were all looking at him, waiting for their team leader's command.

Time does not wait for people.

"You all go to the West Ninth District for reinforcement immediately, I'll go to Zhangguan Town alone..."

...

The murky sky was drizzling with rain, the smooth and flat plain was dotted with fields of various colors, the dense and low trees surrounded the edges of regular plots, tall bamboo tips bent down from the sky like fishing rods at a pond edge, and houses with flat roofs were scattered among them, divided by intersecting roads to form connected settlements, looking neat and orderly from above.

The tiny raindrops hit the front cockpit of the "Night Owl II" and turned into a dense cluster of bead-like water droplets. Through this hazy cover, the blurry gray buildings could be barely discerned.

Sitting in the cockpit, Lin Xiang was fully focused, tightly gripping the "U" shaped control handle, carefully observing the ground movement.

All personnel of the Lu Hang Squad have combat missions, and he can only fly alone to the rescue.

The area of Zhang Guan Town is small. The "Ten" shaped road paved with cement runs through the four directions of the whole town from the center. Looking down vertically, the houses of varying heights are separated and they are deeper in color and easier to recognize than the surrounding fields.

The "Night Owl II" landed on the open threshing ground next to the main road, and Lin Xiang, with a calm face, picked up the M5G43 filled with bullets from the seat next to him and slowly approached the ghostly quiet town, stepping on the wet mud underfoot.

A faint smell of blood came from the air, and besides the "shasha" sound of raindrops falling on the ditch water, the entire town was so quiet that it made one want to shiver.

There was no one, not even livestock such as chickens and ducks, and no trace was seen.

Lin Xiang understood that he had become the target of mutated creatures lurking in the dark.

The huge noise from the helicopter landing could not have escaped their notice. The habit of attacking predators would launch a deadly strike when he was most relaxed and vigilant.

The average mutant no longer poses a threat. Lin Xiang only has two questions in his mind.

One, where is Qi Yue's team exactly?

Two, why did Zhang Guan Town, located behind the defense line, get attacked?

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a crisp metal collision sound came from behind the dirt wall on the left.

The soles of his rubber boots suddenly pushed against the ground, and Lin Xiang's suddenly inflated leg muscles exploded with great strength, propelling his body to swoop towards the wall. As his sight rapidly expanded, a blood-covered figure also emerged clearly.

It was a mutant who had been infected.

Two thick arms hung weakly, strong legs bent at a semi-arc angle, messy collars and sleeves exposed large patches of rotten skin, blood and pus seeping out, soaking the cloth covering the body. The wound on the left shoulder and neck torn, leaving several vague tooth marks, was so deep that one could even see the white bones amidst the rotten flesh and black blood.

!

He stumbled forward, like a dying old man, breathing heavily through his mouth and nose, hunching his back and slowly dragging himself forward step by step. His completely white eyes seemed to have lost their function, and he could only barely judge the direction of his progress with his sense of smell and hearing.

Looking at this mutated creature who had completely changed his appearance, Lin Xiang suddenly felt an inexplicable sadness in his heart.

It was wearing a gray-green military camouflage protective suit. On the soldier identification card on its chest, the black "64" character and the eye-catching yellow and red "81" symbol were still visible and had not been covered by blood stains.

It was once a soldier in the mobile force.

Withdrawing a dagger from his waist, he quickly approached the other side, inserted the thin blade into the neck from the gap between the bones, made a forceful diagonal strike, and the head, which was already covered with parasites and rotten beyond recognition, passed through an irregular arc in mid-air and fell heavily into the mud.

This was the only thing Lin Xiang could do for him.

After biting the air several times with strong molars and biting muscles, with a cold face, Lin Xiang bent down, took off the military nameplate hanging on the chest of the mutated person, carefully put it into his pocket, wiped the bloody dagger at his feet, slanted his assault rifle, and walked into the residential area of the town.

A black body lies flat in the center of the road. The tattered cloth skirt attached to the waist indicates the deceased's former civilian identity. The obvious large bullet hole on the forehead is the best proof of death.

Dead bodies are everywhere. The black bodies, some of which have turned into slender blades at their wrist, some have just closed their fingers, and some have slightly longer joints between their elbows and arms and a color of blue-gray, have not yet completely transformed into the frightening carbon color.

Lin Xiang had seen this kind of situation in Kunming city. It was the evolutionary state before the virus infection had produced complete mutations. According to his observations, infected persons needed at least six hours to evolve into tall, agile, black monsters with a bone blade on their right arm.

All of the bodies had bullet holes in their heads. Obviously, the Qi Yue team cut off the dangerous sprouts before they mutated.

But where is the Colonel and the other team members?

This question is not difficult to answer. Based on the direction of the fallen bodies and the traces of the bullet impact, Lin Xiang's gaze also locked onto a two-story courtyard in the northeast.

He didn't rush into action, but stood there quietly, closing his eyes slightly, as if he was feeling the breath of wind that stroked his body, smelling the blood that was quite light after being swept by rainwater.

Careful, cautious, patient, these are essential principles for survival on the battlefield.

More than half an hour has passed since entering Zhang Guan town, and anyone can easily see the helicopter landing. Under normal circumstances, survivors would have already made contact with themselves. However, so far, no movement has been found.

The colonel must have encountered major trouble.

Standing silently, the minute hand of the watch has moved ten spaces. Like a statue, Lin Xiang, who was standing still, suddenly tensed up all his muscles and leaned forward like the slyest wolf, suddenly rushing towards the courtyard outside a hundred meters away.

The powerful burst of muscles instantly increased the running speed. In just a few seconds, he had crossed several mini cars parked in the middle of the road, reducing the distance of the entire route by two-thirds.

The huffing wind screamed past his ears. Leaping up, he skillfully jumped over a low wall blocking his way, and suddenly, in a 180-degree rotation, he held his shoulder-mounted assault rifle at his chest, pulled the trigger under the huge inertia impact, and ran towards the direction he was coming from.

"tata-tata-tata"

The bullets that passed through the air rotated at high speed on the designated track and directly attacked a black shadow that followed. In surprise, the shadow had no time to change the direction of its body movement, and at the moment when the bullet head was about to make contact with it, the left hand of the black shadow suddenly burst into a blazing red flame, burning the deadly flying object instantly.

He was a tall, white man with hawk-like eyes that sparkled.

Lin Xiang stood up, slowly raised the barrel of his gun and walked forward, glancing at the lieutenant badge on the opponent's gray military camouflage, focusing his gaze slowly on the skull silver ring on the right hand.

"Are you one of the Skeleton Knights?"

Borg was very surprised — in this remote country's small town, a strange Chinese soldier was able to accurately describe his identity.

He had been following the other person all along. From the helicopter landing to entering the town, he had been closely observing the young man while hiding in the dark.

His intuition told him that this was a strong and terrifying opponent.

Borg didn't choose to confront him head-on, but quietly stayed still, waiting for the best opportunity to make a move. When the opponent started to run, he jumped out of his hiding place and prepared to launch a fatal attack from behind.

The sudden counterattack was completely unexpected. Who would have thought that the prey running at high speed would suddenly turn around and shoot from an incredible angle?

Apparently, he had already discovered himself. All of this was just to lure himself into the open.

"What about Chris? And Mark, Olivia? Are they all in your hands?" Since the other party mentioned the "Skeleton Knights", Borg naturally thought of the only possible source of this word.

Investigating the small team of three people who lost contact with headquarters was one of his tasks on this trip.

Lin Xiang didn't speak, his muscles all kept in a state ready to burst out at any moment, and his sharp gaze fixed on the other person.

When he found the corpses, he had already noticed a strange aura wandering nearby. High-speed running was just a lure, and to his surprise, the assault he thought was absolutely fatal was actually burned to ashes by a flame.

Is releasing flames also one of the abilities possessed by parasites?

"You are not my opponent."

Suddenly, Borg's mouth showed a slight disdainful sneer: "Although we are both parasites, you are obviously not a red-made biological weapon from China. If you want, I can help you become the elite who controls the world."

Chris said the same thing before.

"Did you kill all of these people?" Lin Xiang's gaze was sharp as a knife.

"I only implanted a virus in one person. Killing civilians is not something I am interested in."

Borg appeared relaxed: "As for the later soldiers, as you Chinese say, 'if people don't attack me, I won't attack them.' Although I consider myself a gentleman, I'm not foolish enough to stand still and be aimed at like a target without resistance."

A faint killing intent shrouded Lin Xiang's eyes.

"Don't do anything foolish, you are not my opponent."

Borg saw through his intention: "I am a two-star parasite. Killing you is as easy as turning my hand over. From the perspective of biological characteristics, we are both superior beings higher than human existence. Between peers, we should not kill each other."

Before the words had faded, Lin Xiang had already pulled the trigger.

"Go to hell! Rude oriental barbarian--"

Spitting bitterly, Borg angrily charged forward. In the center of his outstretched right hand, a blazing ball of fire burst forth with a loud "boom."

Controlling flames was his ability.

That was not ordinary fire. The instant high temperature of tens of thousands of degrees could even melt battle tank armor, and bullets that flew through the air disappeared in the blue-red terrifying strange flame upon contact.

Lin Xiang's assault rifle had been converted to single-handed shooting, and in a moment close to the opponent's body, he quickly pulled the trigger, shooting out all the bullets in the barrel, while his left hand pulled out a dagger and stabbed towards the target's waist and abdomen.

"Looking for death--?"

The furious Borg quickly adjusted his body's center of gravity and rapidly circled his hands in front of his chest, creating a huge ball of fire that completely sealed off all possible attack angles.

At this moment, a crisp gunshot echoed from behind a pile of dirt more than ten meters away. A military standard bullet accurately strikes Borg's head from the side.