Green mist permeated the streets, shrouding all the buildings. Each structure was covered as if overgrown with moss, resembling ancient architecture left undisturbed for millennia in the Mayan rainforests, yet these buildings had been bustling with people just a day prior.
The trees lining the roads had all mutated. Their bark and leaves had peeled off and fallen to the ground, secreting a yellowish-green gelatinous substance from their trunks. Countless bubbles floated within the green gel, rupturing slowly.
The sand-fixing grass had all withered and lay on the ground.
The further the spider assault vehicles advanced, the more severe the tree mutations became.
On the street near the grand theater, all the trees had transformed into a liquid-like state. Thick, yellowish-green colloid coated them, flowing down the trunks and pooling on the ground in large, bulging masses.
The green mist in the air grew thicker, obscuring vision beyond a few meters.
The asphalt road had turned dark green, covered with a layer of powdery substance on the ground, like green snow. The buildings along the street were also coated in a layer of green powder, resembling some kind of moss.
Wisps of green gas could be seen drifting like an eerie wind.
Finally, bomb craters and ruins appeared!
The ground was littered with debris and rubble. Steel rebar, like plant roots, protruded from shattered concrete. The road surface was scorched black, bearing traces of fire everywhere. A thick layer of cindery powder had accumulated, and under the scorching of the toxic green gas, a moss-like substance had begun to appear on the surface of the ruins.
There were also many burned books, which had fallen from the adjacent library and been charred in the bombing, scattered across the entire street.
"Reporting, Commander, we have reached the bombing site! We are now searching for the gas generator!" the lizardman reported.
"Maintain safety, check your anti-chemical suits. There can be no gaps," Jiang Ye ordered.
"Yes!"
The lizardmen checked each other, scrutinizing every inch from head to toe, ensuring the seams of their suits were well-sealed and that there were no accidental cuts on the surface.
The green mist enveloping the entire city had already made them tremble. No one doubted that if their anti-chemical suits had even a small tear the size of a fingernail, they would be poisoned to death within seconds.
The search was simple; after all, the gas generator was a large object, and it was found with little effort.
The columnar gas generator had broken into four sections, but it was still emitting green gas, burning intensely as if it wouldn't stop for a year or two.
The lizardmen retreated and bombarded it with the cannons of the spider assault vehicles, firing dozens of shells in quick succession.
But upon approaching again, the gas generator was still functioning.
"Report, the spider's cannon fire cannot destroy it. Requesting bomber aircraft to drop more ordnance," the lizardman said.
"Alright, I will arrange for bombing. You withdraw from the site and find cover," Jiang Ye said, his brow furrowed.
He sent a message to Che Zhen, requesting another bombing run.
The bomber aircraft, which had not landed and were still circling near Binhai City, immediately flew over the gas generator upon receiving the order and dropped a barrage of bombs.
They circled once, then returned and dropped another barrage of bombs.
The bombing lasted for four rounds, with four hundred bombs dropped.
At Jiang Ye's command, the lizardmen rushed to the site again.
The scene had been devastated by the bombs, with overlapping craters. The gas generator was now broken into more than a dozen pieces, but the critical issue was that each piece was still spewing toxic gas.
It was somewhat like a candle that had been blown apart, but the broken pieces had all reignited.
The concentration of toxic gas in the air had not decreased; instead, it had increased.
Satellite imagery also showed that the green in the center of Binhai City had become more intense, almost a dark green.
The lizardmen at the scene were somewhat at a loss. This thing was astonishingly sturdy, completely unlike what they had anticipated.
Jiang Ye sighed. Since bombing wouldn't destroy it, they could only try burying it.
He messaged the guard forces near Binhai City, requesting them to select a wasteland forty kilometers outside the city and, using bombs or shovels, to excavate a deep pit as quickly as possible.
Digging a pit was a minor task. The troops quickly transmitted coordinates and photos. A pit forty meters deep, as if struck by a meteorite. Many spider assault vehicles stood by the edge of the pit, with spent shell casings scattered beneath their spider legs.
Jiang Ye gave voice orders to the lizardmen, instructing them to load the gas generator pieces into the spider assault vehicles one by one, close the cabin doors, and drive them to the burial pit, burying both the gas generator and the spider assault vehicles together.
The lizardmen received the order and immediately opened the cabin doors to exit.
The fierce green toxic gas instantly flooded into the cabin. It was like a submarine suddenly developing a crack in the green sea, with seawater gushing in.
The originally green lizardmen's bodies abruptly turned yellow, then within seconds, to light red, blood red, and purple red, deepening progressively.
The small bumps on their anti-chemical suits all bulged, rhythmically expanding and contracting, like breathing alveoli.
This type of anti-chemical suit was not merely an isolation material; it contained an air detection layer and a purification layer. The higher the concentration of toxic gas, the deeper the suit's color. Those small bumps were purification devices capable of absorbing small amounts of air, filtering out toxic gases, and leaving only breathable air for the internal auxiliary breathing system.
The lizardmen were clearly nervous. After leaving the spider assault vehicles, they walked forward slowly.
The ground was covered in a layer of green powder, leaving clear footprints after each step.
The lizardmen found the first fragment of the gas generator.
"Report, the temperature is too high. If I touch it with my hand, the suit will burn!" the lizardman shouted.
"Find a water hose, connect it to a fire hydrant on the street, and flush it with water until it cools down!" Jiang Ye said. "There are restaurants not far away, and the restaurant kitchens have flexible hoses."
The lizardmen retreated one by one, slowly walking towards the restaurants. Their movements were even slower than astronauts on the moon, as if they were afraid of stepping on landmines. The main concern was that the debris on the ground might cut their trousers; with such a dense toxic gas, even a slight opening would be fatal.
The restaurants had not closed their windows. The floors, walls, tables, and chairs were all covered in a layer of toxic green powder, so thick it was reminiscent of frosting on a cake.
The lizardmen found a flexible hose in the kitchen. The white hose had turned green like a snake, but fortunately, the inside of the pipe was not yet blocked.
Dragging the hose to the street, they connected it to a fire hydrant and turned the water flow to maximum, spraying it vigorously at the smoking gas generators.
A burst of boiling steam rose with a sizzling sound.
The gas generators were temporarily cooled. The lizardmen quickly lifted them and threw them into the spider assault vehicles.
Each vehicle carried two sections, and all the gas generators were recovered.
The suits on the lizardmen had turned a terrifying red-black, like solidified bloodstains. They quickly got into the vehicles, closed the cabin doors tightly, and the spiders sped away.
Leaving Binhai City, they accelerated towards the distant burial pit.
The density of toxic gas inside the cabin was terrifyingly high, and the assault vehicles were well-sealed, causing the internal air pressure to rise. To avoid being crushed before reaching their destination, the lizardmen had to open the cabin doors to release the excess toxic gas.
A convoy of spiders, emitting green smoke, passed the sand-fixing grass surrounding the city and galloped across the yellow plains.