A hide of dark gray leather, a single bull's head as large as an adult man!
The hooves of this mutated bull were thicker than an adult's waist, yet this behemoth was so enormous that Li Chonglou couldn't comprehend how it had managed to ambush him just now.
Logically, such a massive body, when truly bursting with power, should not have been silent.
The next second, the mutated bull provided him with the answer.
In his night vision goggles, the view suddenly blurred, and within mere seconds, it completely vanished from sight.
It can turn invisible?
This time, Li Chonglou was truly shocked. He had never encountered a creature capable of invisibility in his life. Though he didn't understand the principle behind it, Li Chonglou instantly grasped why he had been suddenly attacked.
He had likely stumbled right into the line of fire...
However, it was too late to ponder this. The second the mutated bull's body disappeared, a roaring sound of running reached his ears, and he felt the ground tremble slightly.
Judging by feel alone, this creature was definitely not slow!
At this moment, if it were anyone else, they would have to use ice-sealing bullets or other weapons to force the creature into revealing itself. However, doing so would create a considerable amount of noise, likely attracting all the surrounding mutated creatures.
But for Li Chonglou, this was unnecessary. He activated his Sky Eye 透视 (Tòushì) divine ability, and Li Chonglou instantly captured the mutated bull's internal organs. While he couldn't pinpoint its exact location, he could estimate its general distance from its heart. Li Chonglou immediately retreated.
At this point, the mutated bull's weakness was exposed. Although its strength was outrageously high, its speed was undeniably inferior. Li Chonglou easily created distance, leaving it behind.
His current mission wasn't to fight but to find Xi Wen and the others. He needed to ensure their safety, and if possible, complete the mission of the suicide squad with them.
After all, if the beast tide wasn't resolved, he wouldn't be able to leave even if he obtained the token.
As for the suicide squad's mission, it had always been clear: enter the third layer and kill the mutated beast that initiated the disturbance!
Yes, all the abnormally occurring beast tides were the masterpiece of a single mutated beast on the third layer. Only by finding and killing this beast could all problems be solved.
Li Chonglou was aware of this. His immediate reaction upon hearing this news was to understand that there were intelligent mutated creatures on the third layer!
However, Xi Wen hadn't mentioned the number of these mutated creatures, but it wasn't difficult to guess that their numbers couldn't be high. Otherwise, no matter how brave the members of the suicide squad were, they wouldn't have come in to 'seek death'.
As Li Chonglou searched for the others, about two kilometers away, inside a cave, Xi Wen and his group had successfully regrouped.
"What's the plan now?"
All eyes fell on Xi Wen. Their previously received mission only stated that they needed to enter the third layer first. As for the subsequent plan, only Xi Wen knew.
At this moment, Xi Wen's expression had become extremely serious. He first scanned everyone, then spoke in a deep voice.
"You all know the means by which the intelligent mutated beast controls the beast tide. I now have a sonar grenade, specifically designed to locate it. However, once I use it, we will only have fifteen minutes to finish the fight."
"Fifteen minutes is neither short nor long. Excluding our travel time and the time for retreat, strictly speaking, we will only have about seven minutes for actual combat."
The others fell silent. Xi Wen's meaning was very clear: they had to kill that mutated beast within these seven minutes, regardless of the cost!
Otherwise, the entire suicide squad might be wiped out.
At such a time, someone had to step forward as a sacrifice.
What is a sacrifice? It is a person prepared to die, and their mission is extremely important. They might deliberately expose their weaknesses, or they might trade their life for an opening, but they must force the mutated beast to reveal a flaw!
It was similar to ancient warfare, where cannon fodder would engage first, followed by the elite troops.
As for who would be the sacrifice, everyone had an idea, but it had never been discussed. They treated each other as brothers, not as true superiors and subordinates. Such a matter could almost never be openly negotiated.
Therefore, even Xi Wen dared not directly address it, merely hinting at the crucial point. The silence of the others was within his expectations, but he didn't say anything further. He simply told everyone to rest for a few more minutes before starting their action.
Five minutes passed in a flash.
As Xi Wen walked out of the cave with a cold expression, everyone's faces clearly showed that they had made their decision.
Everyone understood perfectly that any further words were now redundant. The only thing testing them now was their mutual tacit understanding and cooperation.
A tacit understanding and cooperation that transcended verbal communication.
After exiting the cave, Xi Wen directly took out a handgun from his backpack, its muzzle larger than an adult's fist. He then took out a bullet the size of a ping pong ball and inserted it directly into the muzzle.
Without another word or warning, Xi Wen raised his gun and fired a shot into the sky.
*Bang*. The sound of the firearm wasn't very loud, but as a blue beam of light shot straight into the sky, everyone's ears suddenly picked up some faint noises.
It was an extremely high-frequency sound. It didn't affect people's ears much, but the next moment, a furious roar suddenly came from a distance to their left.
The sound was slightly like a tiger's roar when it first began, but it was quickly followed by a sharp and elongated dolphin cry. Everyone's eyes narrowed instantly, and without a word, they sprinted towards the direction of the sound.
Simultaneously, Li Chonglou also heard the sound and, without any hesitation, rushed towards the direction it came from.
Approximately three minutes later, Xi Wen and his group were the first to reach their destination. In their night vision goggles, a massive body three meters tall was roaring ferociously. When it noticed Xi Wen and his group, it immediately charged at them with its blood-red eyes.
It was a mutated creature that combined a tiger and a dolphin – a dolphin's head, a tiger's body, and zebra stripes on its skin, making it look somewhat bizarre.
However, its speed was lightning fast!
Their night vision goggles couldn't track its movements, but Xi Wen raised his ice-sealing gun and fired a shot into the air in front of him.