The desolate earth lay shrouded beneath dark clouds, while violent bolts of lightning continuously descended from the edge of the sky, illuminated by scattered pinpricks of Rainbow Light in the darkness.
Amid a world deathly silent save for the wind, a dull boom rang out.
A dazzling, scorching red light slowly rose from the ground toward the sky, leaving behind a glow like red-hot wire that lingered for a long time.
The signal flare soared in the wind.
The young man turned back, stepping through the viscous pool of blood beneath his feet, and walked toward the rear.
Before the stranded transport vehicle, a huge crack still remained in the ground. The two Burrowing Scale Worms that had poked their heads out had long since lost their warmth beneath the machine-gun barrage, reduced to mangled flesh.
Yet the massive dent in the front of the vehicle and the windshield covered in cracks remained a shocking sight.
"Brother Wuling, how are things?"
Jiang Qiao, who had just returned after firing the signal flare, leaned in to look. The complicated machinery in the cabin apparently showed no respect for the driver and continued belching thick smoke.
After only one glance, his eyes stung from the smoke, and the eyes that had only recently healed could barely stay open.
As a gold-medal assault trooper who had just been discharged from the hospital, killing two Burrowing Scale Worms was nothing. Asking him to fix a car, however, was simply asking too much.
"It'll be troublesome if we break down here."
They had received a storm warning before coming here. If they could not solve the problem, they could only huddle in the cabin through the sandstorm and pray that the rescue team set out soon.
"Cough, cough... It's a minor problem. The cooling chamber