Chapter 139

Chapter 139

The daylight in North Camp was as tranquil as a deserted wasteland, with not even a bird in sight.

The maple leaves were as red as blood, the sunlight was bright but the temperature continued to drop, cold winds swept up dust and mud-stained plastic bags, withered leaves danced and twirled on the ground, and pieces of metal, broken from somewhere, emitted a rusty smell, dragged as if by invisible hands, scratching noisy lines on the concrete.

Standing atop a building and looking into the distance, there wasn't a single human being in sight for miles, only various grotesquely shaped mutants and half-dead artificial mutant monsters slithering through the streets and alleys, greedily and ferociously searching for the breath of the living.

Since the war of the immune began, the North Camp during the day had become a nest for monsters, only at sunset, entering into the night, would there be the rustling sound of human voices emerging from every corner.

This seemed to have become an unwritten rule here, the moment of sunrise and sunset was the whistle for the world lines to switch, one scene ends, another begins. Staying quiet and extremely cautious during times that do not belong to oneself was a necessary rule for survival.

The mechanical clock tower of the central elementary school, standing for half a century on a high slope, overlooking everything around, has been meticulously maintained for accuracy even through three years of chaotic end times, ensuring it pointed to the exact time.

The black hour hand with engraved patterns pointed precisely at twelve o'clock noon, the melodious sound of twelve strikes echoed over North Camp.

Many wandering mutant animals and mutants lifted their heads towards the source of the sound, but soon resumed their usual behavior, continuing to search for food. These creatures, with their low intelligence, were not good at distinguishing friend from foe, treating all immune and non-immune beings alike as part of their diet, except for those commanded by implanted [cores].

On the clock tower's rooftop, a man in black combat gear effortlessly leaped onto the edge of the wall. The howling wind made his cloak and trousers flap loudly, but he stood firmly on the ledge, his posture relaxed, his legs as if welded to the ground.

Another gust swept by, forcefully taking the man's dark gray mountain cap, revealing a cascade of bright silver hair that spilled out and fluttered wildly behind him, like the most conspicuous, most flamboyant, and most fervent flag, proclaiming the man's unique identity to all who could see.

A dark metal mask concealed his face, but above it, a pair of crimson eyes burned like blooming spider lilies, blazing amidst the cold wind.

The silver-haired man stood silently above, waiting for the mutants drawn by his scent to gather below the clock tower, waiting for the immune's scouting drones to lock onto his presence, waiting to make his presence known in this familiar yet strange place.

Xie Linyuan shed his jacket, tying it around his waist, revealing the tight combat suit unique to the Z series Mechanical War God beneath. A completely black sniper rifle formed in his left arm, heavy, cold, exuding a deadly aura.

He pressed the white light scope to his right eye, maintaining his aim while leisurely adjusting the parallax wheel.

Xie Linyuan didn't need time to aim; his left eye's analysis database had determined all the necessary information before he even made the shot. His unusual activity today was purely to create a sense of superiority over the immune, to let the entire North Camp know that a high-level Z series Mechanical War God had arrived unexpectedly.

A bullet, unknowingly when and from where, was already chambered, ready to pierce the enemy's heart.

"Do you see?" Xie Linyuan's lips parted slightly as he adjusted the scope's magnification, "That's where I spent my entire childhood, the largest scientific research base in North Camp. Doesn't it look like a beautiful manor?"

"Like a manor," Wu Yin said.

"Yes," Xie Linyuan smiled, "Countless lives and blood have nourished its soil, producing lush vegetation, covering the deepest coldness and cruelty with a great and holy mission."

"There's even a white Madonna statue fountain at the entrance..."

Before Wu Yin could finish, Xie Linyuan pulled the trigger, the bullet taking the head of the Madonna statue.

“……”

Wu Yin looked regretfully at the headless statue, his body controlled by Xie Linyuan, flipping down from the inside of the clock tower.

The gunshot from the top of the clock tower was the signal to attack. Mutants hidden in the shadows leaped out eagerly, their deep black, murky eyes rimmed with bulging spider veins, ferocious and horrific. Their bodies were several times stronger than humans, possessing the destructive power of mutants and the intelligence of normal humans, nimbly moving between roads and buildings.

In less than five minutes of their appearance, this unknown group of terrifying creatures had cleared nearly ten mutants.

This was not their first assault; from the day before to today, there had been seventy-nine such lightning strikes, all executed with trained precision, acting separately but with perfect coordination, disappearing completely after killing all targets, even if faced with difficult mutants that couldn't be killed quickly, they wouldn't linger.

The ghostly emergence of this group caught the overconfident rebel forces off guard. The immune headquarters scrambled forces multiple times, coordinating with mutant special forces for battle, but they couldn't even catch a glimpse of the mutants' shadows.

The elusive mutants always appeared unexpectedly, leaving behind devastated streets, deformed monsters, and scattered corpses, as if they had never been there at all.

The silence was as if they had never appeared.

……

Inside the temporary base in the South Camp, Xue Hongyi stood nervously, palms sweaty, trying to appear calm as he observed the five mutants in front of him.

Meanwhile, the mutants summoned by Wuyin from the zoo were also observing Xue Hongyi. Before departing, they had been informed by Jie Linyuan that they had found their Rainbow Squad's lead, Little Red, and as a representative, Sister Bai had even prepared a welcome gift for Xue Hongyi.

When receiving the gift, Xue Hongyi deliberately rubbed his hands on his clothes several times before solemnly accepting it with both hands.

...Then he saw the colorful mutants surrounding Jie Linyuan, eagerly asking where Little Tiger had gone.

They were indeed genuine mutants.

The Three-eyed Black Bear and the Three-tailed White Fox also came along, one hanging off the prince's head, curiously fiddling with the green radish tangled around the prince's ears, even the caged Six-winged White Dove followed, standing on the Golden-winged Bird's head and staring it down.

However, what surprised Wuyin and Jie Linyuan the most was the arrival of Lu Ba, the former Z series Mechanical War God who had sworn never to set foot in the North Camp again.

Lu Ba's expression was grim, but his steps showed little hesitation. Seeing Jie Linyuan's surprised look seemed to vent his frustration, his smile reaching his eyes, "1932, you said I was scared, but I can't accept that. After all, I'm still your senior."

Jie Linyuan also smiled, patting Lu Ba on the shoulder and introducing him to Xue Hongyi.

Wuyin's method to force the immune rebel forces to take the peace talks seriously was very simple—seek external help.

To serve their own interests, the immunes ruthlessly introduced mutants into the base to massacre non-immunes. Thus, they decided to demonstrate absolute military power to the immunes, showing them that the monsters they relied on were merely a bunch of fragile, disgusting trash.

When Wuyin spoke these words, they were powerful and resonant, making Xue Hongyi's blood boil, almost believing that Wu Xiaohu could summon a million strong troops with a wave of his hand, and with a mighty army of mutant creatures, they could flatten North Camp in one fell swoop.

But after eagerly waiting for three days, what arrived was a van full of bread people.

Three mutant animals stacked together were not even as big as the Golden-winged Bird, along with six frail and sickly beings. Xue Hongyi almost questioned Wuyin: Were you bringing a group of people to North Camp Square to release peace doves?

Then he learned that among these six frail individuals, five were mutants. His once troublesome yet proud mutant identity instantly became a buy-one-get-one-free cabbage.

After suppressing the excitement of recognizing his kind, Xue Hongyi analyzed the situation seriously, considering that even six mutants would hardly stand a chance against the active mutants within North Camp, especially with someone controlling those mutants and the support of the immunes.

"Six mutants indeed won't do, but what about six hundred mutants?" Wuyin asked with determination.

Xue Hongyi's blood boiled again: "What? There are six hundred?!"

"Of course not," Jie Linyuan's left eye revealed a mocking expression, "Little Red, you're so gullible."

Xue Hongyi: "......"

Xue Hongyi, in a fit of impotent rage: "Don't call me Little Red!"

"We indeed don't have six hundred mutants, but we can make the immunes believe that we have six hundred mutants up our sleeve." Wuyin said, "Little Red, go spread some rumors to the rebel forces."

"…Why are you also calling me Little Red?" Xue Hongyi was defeated, finding a place to sit down, pondering for a while before storming out to spread rumors like a pyramid scheme leader.

After a brief discussion, the five volunteer laborers got straight to work, diligently eliminating mutants throughout the entire day.

At night, when human activity peaks, the rumor of six hundred mutants joining the government forces quickly fermented in North Camp, stirring the non-immunes living in constant fear among monsters, leading to a soul-searching question—

What exactly is a mutant?

A significant portion of people didn't know what mutants were, let alone understand their essence. It's likely the immune rebel forces were in the same boat, meaning the deterrent effect was insufficient.

Wuyin didn't want to slowly build up the terror associated with mutants, giving the immunes ample time to probe their secrets. He needed a symbol of power that was universally recognized and immensely intimidating, like a nuclear bomb, where merely the name could paralyze the enemy with fear without needing to show force.

Jie Linyuan suggested, "Just use my ID number."

Wuyin: “?”

The next morning, Jie Linyuan directly climbed to the highest point of North Camp, the top of the elementary school clock tower, braved the cold wind for ten minutes, and even theatrically let his long hair flow.

With his inhuman silver hair and red pupils, he epitomized the peak of Mechanical War Gods.

He wasn't invincible, nor was he the strongest, but in the hearts of everyone in North Camp, he represented absolute martial rule.

The day after Jie Linyuan shot off the head of the Madonna statue was also the deadline for the seven-day ultimatum set by Wuyin, prompting the immune side to quickly update the attendee list for the third peace meeting and invite this mysterious, high-ranking Z series Mechanical War God, whose name wasn't on any record, to attend.