Looking at the situation through the scope, Lucas didn't know what to do for a moment.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, all the headlights of Lucas' convoy turned on again...

The people slumped over the steering wheel and lying on the seats sat up straight, their backs erect.

Under Lucas' gaze, these people got out of their cars and stood by the doors, all facing towards the town.

"Something's not right!"

Observing through the scope, Lucas felt that the situation with the convoy was even more bizarre than before.

The expressions on these soldiers' faces appeared vacant, as if something was controlling them.

"Mata Hari, try controlling the infected crows again, see if they can fly into the town. Just a few will suffice, without alarming those people."

Lucas turned to Mata Hari and said, his unease growing stronger.

A minute later, several infected crows appeared in the sky above the town. They were barely visible in the darkness.

The communication between the infected crows and Mata Hari went smoothly this time, without any interference.

But at that moment, a sudden change occurred!

The infected crows that had lost contact and fallen down earlier suddenly flew up from the town, directly attacking the few crows Mata Hari had summoned again.

Waaah!

The crows that were suddenly attacked emitted a miserable cry, audible even to Lucas and the others on the mountain.

Soon, Mata Hari lost contact with the infected crows again. However, unlike last time, these infected crows were torn to shreds.

"Just now, when those crows appeared, there was something I can't describe, like an emotional disturbance. That disturbance kept disrupting my connection with the crows. It lasted for only about ten seconds, and then I lost contact with them, and later they were torn to shreds. And now, I can't temporarily control the crows anymore."

Mata Hari walked up to Lucas and said, taking out a red insect core and absorbing its energy.

"Well, you've done a good job. Let's not act rashly for now. Let's see how things unfold."

"You should go down the mountain to the bus and take a shower, have a good rest. There's plenty of food on the bus, and it's safe there. No matter what happens, you must not leave the bus."

Unusually, Lucas showed concern for someone else, a feeling that even he found a bit strange.

"Okay."

Mata Hari nodded and folded her wings before walking toward the foot of the mountain.

"Reed, have you absorbed the energy from the insect core?"

"Take this core and give it a try. Just don't absorb too much at once, as this core's energy is quite intense."

"We might need you to go all out later."

Gritting his teeth, Lucas took out the last yellow insect core and handed it to Reed.

For now, they could only wait and see what would happen in the town.

Mata Hari's words earlier made Lucas speculate that there might be a powerful infected entity in the town, capable of controlling biological thinking and interfering with electronics and mechanical devices.

Lucas had never encountered an infected entity with such abilities, nor had he ever heard of one.

Through the scope, the soldiers were still standing by the cars without moving, not even closing the car doors.

This eerie scene made Lucas feel uneasy as he watched through the scope.

Lucas patiently leaned against a rock with Reed, waiting to see what would happen next.

Almost an hour passed, and Reed was already dozing off. Finally, when Lucas observed through the scope, something happened in the town.

Many people emerged from the surrounding buildings in the center square of the small town.

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Or rather, they weren't people, because when they moved, their entire bodies appeared stiff.

Zombies?

Those "people" who came out quickly formed a circle in the square, leaving an empty space in the center.

At this moment, the soldiers from the convoy outside the town also started moving, their walking posture identical to those on the square.

After about ten minutes, the soldiers from the convoy stopped, standing motionless on the town's streets, resembling walking dead.

Suddenly, the sound of infected crows echoed through the sky, sounding very desolate.

Lucas was well aware that these infected crows were definitely not being controlled by Mata Hari.

The infected crows hovered over the square, constantly making noise. The scope of the sniper rifle scanned back and forth between the square and the people on the streets.

Boom--

Boom--

Suddenly, two buildings on the edge of the square collapsed with a loud crash, raising a cloud of dust that blurred the scope's vision.

A few minutes later, Lucas saw countless insects, each the size of a basin and resembling beetles, crawling out from the collapsed buildings.

Buzzing--

Numerous beetles vibrated their wings on their backs, emitting a hypnotic sound that made one feel drowsy. Even Lucas felt his eyelids fighting to close.

Shaking his head vigorously, Lucas suppressed his drowsiness and continued to observe.

At this moment, Lucas had a premonition that if there truly was a powerful infected entity in the town, it would be the strongest one he had encountered since his revival.

Perhaps, just maybe, this infected entity had surpassed the yellow level and might already be at the orange level or higher.

Is the system trying to send me to my death?

How am I supposed to complete this mission?

Please don't tell me that the completion criteria for this mission are to kill those countless beetles and the powerful infected entity that is most likely present.

If that's truly the case and the mission must be completed, Lucas would prefer to commit suicide.

Because he had already noticed through the scope that every single one of those countless beetles was at the yellow level.

They were all at the yellow level, so there was no need to ponder the level of the unseen infected entity. It was utterly meaningless.

Although he wanted to leave immediately, Lucas continued to observe through the scope.

"This damn system, it's actually ignoring me at such a critical moment. What are they doing... Ugh!"

Lucas was quietly cursing the system when suddenly his throat felt like it was being choked, and his words were swallowed back down.

Crack, crack--

The beetles began to devour the people in the town, whether they were on the square or on the streets.

Next to each person, a beetle opened its grotesque and hideous mouth, biting into their bodies.

One bite, a piece of flesh; another bite, a piece of bone...

At this moment, humans truly became the food of the infected!

Food placed on a dining table without any resistance!

The people in the town, until their deaths, didn't put up the slightest bit of resistance...

Fresh blood flowed out from the bodies of those people in the town, flowing onto the streets, flowing into the sewers...

Lucas had become numb from watching.

Despite the horrifying scene, he no longer felt terror. Instead, he felt anger, sorrow, and a faint ache in his heart!

Having witnessed humans turning into zombies, having witnessed insects tearing into humans, Lucas had initially thought that there wasn't much humanity left in him, and that he had become a person with a cold heart.

But today he realized he was wrong...

It turned out that when he watched his own kind being slowly chewed by hideous creatures, he could still empathize...

Watching those people whose bodies and limbs were being gnawed off without any resistance, Lucas felt like his teeth were about to shatter...

Heartache!

Every inch of my skin, every inch of muscle, every inch of bone, every inch of organ is in pain...

"Reed, can your lightning range cover the town?"

Lucas's body didn't move, and he almost squeezed out these words from his mouth.

"Lucas, what's wrong with you? Your voice..."

Reed didn't have a scope and had no idea what was happening in the town. He only heard some strange sounds.

Suddenly hearing Lucas's voice sounding like a different person surprised him.

"Can it?"

Lucas's voice came out again, loud and almost like a roar.

"Well... well, Lucas, can you... tell me how far the place you want me to attack is?"

Startled by Lucas's voice, Reed stuttered.

"Within a straight line of five hundred meters, up to a straight line of one thousand two hundred meters, with a height difference of five hundred meters from the attack target."

Feeling Reed's fear, Lucas measured the distance and his voice sounded much more normal.

"Then, let me try. This distance should already be my limit, and I won't hold back."

Perhaps sensing Lucas's angry mood, even though he didn't know what was happening in the town, it was still his hometown after all. Reed gritted his teeth and responded.

In the blink of an eye, Lucas saw faint electric currents surrounding him.

"Don't launch the attack yet. I'm going back to the bus now. I'll notify you when to attack, and then you unleash your full attack according to the distance data I gave you."

"After the attack, find a hidden place to hide."

"If I'm still alive, I'll come to pick you up."

"Within two hours at most. If I haven't come to find you, you go back to Blue Sky Lake on your own."

"Tell the old mayor that I, Lucas, am dead."

At this moment, Lucas had a moment of determination.

He suddenly had a glimmer of understanding that the appearance of the system was definitely not for him to survive.

"You must live well. You are the hope of humanity. Protect those ordinary people."

"The motorcycle and sniper rifle are left for you."

When Lucas finished his last sentence, he had almost disappeared from Reed's sight.

"Lucas..."

Watching Lucas disappear into the darkness.

In less than five minutes, Lucas ran back to the bus.

The suicide drones quickly appeared in the sky, but they didn't get too close to the town to avoid losing control.

Finally, the suicide drones were about to carry out their mission...

Mata Hari was kicked off the bus by Lucas, who asked her to go back up the mountain to find Reed.

Lucas gave the same command to the mute girl, but this time, her command didn't work. The mute girl didn't obey the order.

"Mr. System, you made the mute girl refuse my command to leave. I guess you also think I'm really going to die this time, right?"

"I almost forgot, this is the task you gave me that must be completed!"

At this moment, Lucas felt like he understood, but also like he didn't understand.

"Let it be... if I die..."

At this moment, even if the system told Lucas he didn't have to complete the mission, he wouldn't leave.

"Mute girl, let's go."

The bus started and quickly passed through a small forest on the muddy road, returning to the main road. It stopped about seven to eight hundred meters away from the entrance of the town.

Lucas stood in front of the combat drone control panel and, through the camera of the suicide drone, noticed that the situation in the town had changed again.

Because the suicide drone didn't dare to approach the town and its camera quality was far inferior to that of the crashed drone, Lucas couldn't see clearly.

In the camera, Lucas only saw that the square in the town seemed to have collapsed, and a blurry giant figure appeared in the sunken pit. Several tentacle-like things were waving in the air.

A truly powerful infected entity had finally appeared!

At this moment, even inside the bus, Lucas felt the ground trembling.

Lucas inserted his recurve knife into his waist and carried the heavy knife on his back, while also taking the control panel of the suicide drone from the unmanned drone combat station.

He gave the command for the mute girl to stay on the bus, then quickly got off the bus, activated his stealth skill, and silently infiltrated the town.

What Lucas didn't know was that just as he left, the mute girl also got off the bus. With an impassive gaze, she glanced at the direction Lucas had left, then quickly followed.

Lucas didn't run directly to the square to kill the monsters.

Although he was angry and determined this time, it didn't mean he was foolish.

He chose the tallest building on the outskirts of the town and climbed up.

After observing the surroundings, Lucas quickly set the destination for the bus on his watch and then looked at the footage from the suicide drones.

"Reed, did Mata Hari and the others reach your location?"

Lucas asked through the radio.

"Lucas, they're here," Reed replied almost immediately, as if he had been waiting for Lucas's command.

"Reed, listen carefully. Look at the time now. In five minutes, launch a full-scale attack at the farthest distance value."

"When you can't hold on any longer, stop immediately and hide with Mata Hari."

"Alright, get ready."

After Lucas finished speaking, he took a deep breath and quietly began to wait.

As the time reached five minutes, Lucas immediately looked up at the sky.

Boom...

Boom boom boom...

In the blink of an eye, dozens of thick lightning bolts tore through the dark world!

Amidst the deafening noise, the lightning plummeted from the sky at an incredible speed, fiercely striking the small town.