The mutant snake-man, named Liang Yong, was a 40-year-old general manager of a listed company. He had just been arrested for embezzlement before the apocalypse. In his youth, he loved eating exotic meats, and when government regulations made those unavailable, he turned to eating snakes.
Just before the apocalypse, he had been bitten by a snake. On the day the apocalypse began, Liang Yong transformed directly into a snake-man, immediately devouring the police who were about to arrest him, as well as many passersby and even zombies.
After mutation, his common skills included [Constriction], [Knockback], and [Devour], with a derived skill of [Sonic Attack] that could cause dizziness, hallucinations, and vomiting.
He leveled up by devouring.
Headquarters had updated their rating standards, and this mutant snake-man was classified as a three-star monster.
The highest star rating was currently set at ten stars.
Bai Shu had just logged onto the forum when the data section updated with information on this wanted mutated snake-man.
Chen Xiaofei, who was treating his wounds, couldn't help but complain, "This information came too late. It would've been better if we had complete data earlier. My head is still spinning, and my ears are ringing. Plus, his health bar was so hard to deplete!"
"Xiao Bai, make sure to include its high defense characteristics in the report," Wang Weihu added as he bandaged his own wounds.
They had stopped at an emergency lane. Wang Weihu poured disinfectant directly onto his wounds, shaking from the pain.
It couldn't be helped.
It was a physiological reflex.
Both of them had numerous external injuries, but fortunately, as ability users, their constitution was excellent. The bleeding had already stopped; they just needed to disinfect and bandage the wounds.
After taking some oral medication, they would fully recover in about a week. For ordinary people, such injuries would mean death or months of bed rest.
Bai Shu nodded, his left ear bleeding slightly from the sonic attack. But he had no time to worry about that; he prioritized uploading the data on this mutant snake-man to prevent other teams from encountering similar monsters unprepared.
"Since no one had accepted the bounty, the reward has been increased to 200,000 points. It's just been credited. I'll transfer 100,000 points to Little Team Leader, and we four will split the remaining 100,000. Any objections?"
Bai Shu pushed up his glasses as he spoke, but at this point, no one really cared about the points.
Wang Weihu said, "It's fine, I don't mind."
Chen Xiaofei, grimacing as he wrapped bandages around himself, nodded and said, "Sure, you can even give more to Little Team Leader. If it weren't for her final hidden killer move, the three of us might have died here today."
Wang Weihu strongly agreed, looking at his injured fist and clenching it, "We're too weak. I mean, we're all too weak. They're classifying these things into star levels now? This was just a three-star."
It was only a three-star monster,
Yet it nearly wiped out their team. They used to work together flawlessly on normal missions, but today they almost perished.
Chen Xiaofei fell silent, unusually dejected, and couldn't help but sigh.
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Bai Shu quickly finished the report and distributed the points to each account. "If you're feeling discouraged now, I suggest you check the forum. We're still in the early stages of the apocalypse, and the highest-level monster that has appeared is only five-star. Also, headquarters said there will be additional rewards for successfully eliminating this three-star mutant snake-man. We can look forward to that."
It was worth noting that just the four of them plus one little zombie had taken down a three-star mutated monster.
His implication was that they had already done quite well.
Wang Weihu and Chen Xiaofei paused, then both moved closer to Bai Shu, looking at the trending posts on the tablet, where many people were praising them.
-What?! This mission that no one dared to accept, which brave team took it on? Oh, it's the 3A Special Operations Team. Alright, I have no questions.
-Damn, a three-star mutated monster! What kind of team is this powerful?
-What's the background of the 3A Special Operations Team? Newbie civilian here, seeking answers.
Due to the apocalypse, many new internet terms had emerged on the forum.
For example, combat teams with military backgrounds would call themselves "enlisted," while ordinary people who gained abilities due to the apocalypse would call themselves "civilian newbies."
The discussion was lively.
No matter how difficult the world became, gossip would never be absent; otherwise, people would go crazy.
People always need a place to unwind.
Browsing the forum was a good way to relieve stress.
When someone asked about the 3A Special Operations Team, other military comrades eagerly provided information.
-The 3A Special Operations Team? It's nothing special, just a combat team that's been rated A for 36 consecutive months over three years. [Bitter] [World-weary] [I'm not crying]
-Don't listen to the above, civilian newbies. This team is really impressive, otherwise they wouldn't be in the legendary A Group. I heard there are seven teams in A Group, and 3A is very strong! They're at the top of the pyramid. We ordinary people shouldn't compare ourselves to them; they're a bunch of beasts! Fearless of death and tireless, the kind that can survive without food for ten days!
Other comrades agreed, presumably having been compared to them by their own superiors, each sounding world-weary and pained.
This led the civilian newbies to express their admiration, thinking how cool they were!
-No wonder they're so amazing! We're so strong! Our team felt terrified when we encountered a one-star mutant animal before, almost getting wiped out. This is a three-star mutated monster! It used to be human! Not even an animal, the pressure must be immense.
-Haha, you're such adorable civilian newbies. Never killed a person before, right? For us enlisted folks, we've dealt with real people before. The psychological pressure isn't that bad, it's mainly that these not-quite-human opponents look disgusting.
-It's the 3A Special Operations Team, so it's not surprising. Haven't you seen the on-site photos and videos? My God, it's all big chunks of meat, ugh! How strong must they be to chop a three-star mutated monster into pieces like that?
-Whew, now that you mention it, these chunks with snake skin, they look just like snake meat pieces, don't they? Like chopped eel sections. Makes me hungry.
-??? The person above, don't be too crazy!
-To the person above, people shouldn't, at least they shouldn't...
...
In short, everyone was discussing enthusiastically, treating the 3A Special Operations Team as idols to worship. Only they themselves knew that it was a bit...
Chen Xiaofei rubbed his nose and said, "We really don't deserve this praise this time. If it weren't for Little Team Leader, we might not have been able to defeat that thing."
Wang Weihu also felt guilty.
Bai Shu looked back at the rear of the vehicle. Qin Luo and Xu Duoduo were both sleeping. As soon as they got in the car, Qin Luo had hastily wiped the blood off himself, applied some medicine, and wrapped himself in bandages. He then grabbed a small blanket, roughly wiped the blood off the little zombie, and fell asleep holding her. The little zombie had closed her eyes and fallen asleep as soon as she got in the car.
Chen Xiaofei hesitated, "Should we wake them up? At least Brother Qin's wounds need to be properly bandaged, and Little Team Leader hasn't changed her clothes..."
Wang Weihu peeked in to look; the two were sleeping soundly, cuddled up together.
Bai Shu shook his head and said, "Let them sleep for now. We don't know Little Team Leader's situation, and it's normal for Qin Luo to sleep right after a fight. According to the latest research, sleep helps mutants quickly recover their strength and heal wounds. If you two can sleep, you should take a nap too."