juan tu
Chapter 56 Pursuit and Counter-Pursuit
Of the people still alive, Mogansha fainted the instant he saw the elite Spitfire Turret explode, collapsing to the ground. His mental strength was utterly exhausted, and only his willpower had kept him going until now. With the turret destroyed, that willpower vanished. Reef's legs were severely injured, and there was no need to say more about Baines. Having lost an arm and a leg, he had already done everything he could; no one could ask more of him.
So now, the only one left standing was Fang Senyan, clenching his fists, his whole body corroded by acid until he looked like a vengeful ghost! But he stood there, tall and firm, exuding a majestic aura like a mountain.
Fang Senyan glanced at Reef and couldn't help asking, "Did you use the Honor Potion? How much health do you have left?"
Reef was bandaging his knees and shook his head with a bitter smile. "One hundred and sixty-four points."
Fang Senyan nodded, but a storm of shock erupted in his heart! He knew that many variables had arisen during the initial battle, especially those Zerglings lurking underground. They had completely disrupted Fang Senyan's plans, and Reef had to hold out far longer than expected. According to Fang Senyan's earlier calculations, even if Reef reached the extreme value of 50 points in physique and received some kind of reward, he would barely be able to hold on... and that was without the lurking Zerglings!
But Reef's answer could only mean one thing: the reward Reef received for reaching the 50-point extreme value was even more powerful than Fang Senyan had imagined! Fang Senyan didn't have time to dwell on these factors now. He rushed straight to the base of the giant Spore Fungus Anti-Air Tower. This area had originally been covered with a thick outer layer, but when the elite Spithfire Turret had been shattered into a cloud of blood mist, that outer layer had receded, revealing the fleshy red inner layer.
Inside the inner layer, seven or eight massive, purplish-black veins were intertwined, leading deep into the giant Spore Fungus Anti-Air Tower. The surfaces of these veins were smooth and slimy, and each one was large enough to accommodate a person. Even without getting close, one could see that the veins were contracting rhythmically, like a heartbeat, sucking up large amounts of liquid from below in waves.
Without a doubt, this was the vital point of the giant Spore Fungus Anti-Air Tower. Given that they needed to deal with seven or eight veins, Fang Senyan abandoned the advantage of his 27 points of Strength and picked up the Prometheus III flamethrower, a weapon designed for group attacks, and pulled the trigger.
Two streams of fire spewed out, roasting the purplish-black veins until they sizzled, like fresh meat being grilled. Huge blisters quickly appeared on the surface of the massive veins and then burst, seemingly an automatic defense mechanism of the tissue, an attempt to extinguish the flames with bodily fluids. However, this behavior was useless.
Because the Prometheus III flamethrower was designed with this in mind, the flames it spewed also carried napalm particles. This additive could react chemically with water, decomposing it into flammable gases or generating large amounts of heat! Therefore, the more bodily fluid sprayed, the more violent the fire became!
In just over twenty seconds, the Spore Fungus Anti-Air Tower, shaped like a giant onion, was engulfed in flames, burning completely. From a distance, one could see that the bodily fluids inside were also undergoing violent reactions in the high-heat environment... changing from pale green to emerald green to dark green... looking like a balloon filled with boiling water, constantly emitting a shimmering green light and bubbling incessantly!
Finally, the giant thing exploded with a bang, collapsing like a giant water tower. Large amounts of bodily fluids poured down like a mountain torrent, forming a cloud of white smoke in the flames. If Fang Senyan hadn't dodged in time, he might have been washed away by the overflowing liquid.
At this moment, the Nightmare Imprint, which Fang Senyan and the others had been eagerly awaiting, finally issued a notification: "You have destroyed a giant Spore Fungus Anti-Air Tower."
"Your side mission: The Destruction of the Giant Spore Fungus Anti-Air Tower has reached the basic completion requirements."
"Mission Description: Each additional giant Spore Fungus Anti-Air Tower destroyed will grant additional rewards from both the Zerg and Humans."
"Do you wish to continue destroying the giant Spore Fungus Anti-Air Tower?"
"If you choose yes, the mission will remain in an incomplete state, and you have [time limit] to complete the next task."
"If you choose no, you will immediately receive the rewards, and this mission will end."
Even as they destroyed the Spore Fungus Anti-Air Tower, Fang Senyan tried again to summon a Host, but regrettably, as soon as this Host approached within fifty meters of the Spore Highlands area, it was destroyed again. Clearly, the defense system on the highlands remained tight, with no loopholes.
Faced with this series of prompts, Mogansha was still unconscious, his mental strength exhausted. Moreover, he didn't even have this mission, so he didn't react at all. Reef breathed a long sigh of relief and was about to choose to receive the rewards immediately, but he couldn't help glancing at Fang Senyan. Fang Senyan shook his head slightly, hoisted Mogansha onto his back, and, picking up the unconscious Baines, sprinted towards the edge of the Spore Highlands.
"Hurry up and follow, the second patrol team should be here soon."
Reef, exhausted after the bitter battle, suddenly remembered this. The first patrol team had included Hydralisks, such terrifying units. According to the Nightmare Imprint's prompts, the patrol teams would likely become more powerful with each wave! Reef immediately limped after Fang Senyan's back. In their current condition, if they were to encounter the second patrol team, full of vigor and even stronger than the previous one, there would be no need to fight at all; slitting their own throats would be the sensible thing to do.
The second patrol team wasn't much larger than the first, probably built upon the configuration of the first patrol team. In addition to the increased number of Zerglings and Hydralisks, there was still only one Lurker! However, there was a new creature! This creature was the "Queen" (the Queen is a Zerg Tier II unit, mass-producible, like the rare elite Queen Jani of the Blackthorn Clan) that could fly in the air.
Although there was only one Queen, it could be said that this Zerg force had at least three or four more attack methods. Of course, the most troublesome ability of the Zerg Queen, besides the "Parasitic Infestation" that directly killed creatures, was the "Ensnare" which had no damage ability but could significantly slow down the target. Once Fang Senyan and the others were hit, it would undoubtedly allow the incredibly fast Zerglings to bypass the melee units in front and directly attack the ranged fire output in the rear.
This time, as soon as Fang Senyan and the others boarded the Host acting as a transport ship, they were discovered by this blood-red, gold-striped Zerg Queen. It naturally rushed over, attempting to use an Ensnare to slow down the entire group. Fortunately, Fang Senyan still had a backup plan, directly summoning the remaining few Exploders. These kamikaze guys directly crashed the Queen into a cloud of blood mist, not giving it a chance to launch its skills deep in enemy territory, finally venting some anger.
When transporting crew members, the Zerg Host also had a certain recovery function within its [body], at least stabilizing the passengers' injuries to prevent them from worsening. Baines' vitality was certainly not as strong as a Contractor's. Having lost an arm and a leg and suffered excessive blood loss, he had fallen into a deep coma when "boarding," and was directly rolled up by the Host's tentacles. Now, several of the Host's brown tentacles were wrapped around his severed limb wounds, quickly stopping the bleeding and waking him from his coma.
After waking up, Baines looked gloomy and dejected... In fact, not many people would be happy with a missing arm and leg... His distraught appearance was truly worrying, making one wonder if he would swallow a gun and kill himself. Reef sighed after seeing this, "I'm sorry, I couldn't stop those damn Zerglings."
Baines had been silent, but upon hearing this, he roared angrily, "You idiot! If it wasn't for your stupid order to close in, we could have killed that pack of mutts while standing our ground! The Gravel's men fought to the death and rushed to this point, and now only I'm left. Look at me, look at me! I can no longer drive a Big Foot, no longer race with them, no longer kick other people's asses. It's all your fault!!! All your fault!!!"
As he spoke, Baines lost control, disregarding his serious injuries, his eyes bloodshot. Saliva flew from his mouth. The hatred in his eyes was almost tangible, and tears streamed down. If he had a weapon at hand, he might have picked it up and started firing wildly at Reef. Fang Senyan sighed slightly and struck Baines on the neck with a palm strike, causing him to fall unconscious again. Calming down was a top priority for him now.
In fact, Baines' extremist behavior should be classified as a psychological disorder, quite common in people who have suffered great trauma. Like in the real world, one often sees heartbroken losers smashing roadside BMWs or robbing couples on the road. Plus, this guy Baines probably had an incompatible "affinity" with Reef, so such an extreme reaction wasn't surprising. However, when Fang Senyan turned around to say a few comforting words to Reef, he was immediately shocked!