Mutant Beast

The next day.

The sun had only just peeked over the eastern horizon when Liu Feng and his four companions set out to explore.

Besides Han Bing, Liu Feng had selected only three others to join the team. All three had once served under Long Tai, but now they followed Liu Feng's orders without question.

Liu Feng had his own reasons for choosing those three.

The scrawniest of them went by the nickname "Ma Hou." He was a crack shot with a rifle, hitting his mark almost every time.

Another was big and heavyset, nicknamed "Fatty." Though his face looked honest and good-natured, a swing of his fist could punch a hole through a wooden door. Naturally, the heavy rocket launcher ended up on his shoulder.

The last man was unlike the other two. He was neither a good shot nor particularly strong with his fists, but he was irreplaceable within the team. He liked being called "Old Ge," though he preferred "Uncle."

To Liu Feng, this five-man team was practically perfect.

Before the sun had fully risen, the team had already reached its destination.

Liu Feng sucked in a sharp breath at the sight before him.

The blue corrugated steel fencing that had once enclosed the site had been pushed askew by the tangled shrubs.

Standing on the weed-choked road, Liu Feng looked at the faded red gate before him and quietly read out the words he could still make out.

"Zhongji Second... Construction Engineering."

Han Bing stepped forward beside him and explained, "This place was designated as People's Park. It should have been bustling by now, but instead..."

"Forget People's Park. Even building a World Trade Center here wouldn't have done a damn bit of good. Disaster is what truly makes everyone equal," Uncle Ge interjected with a sigh.

Liu Feng said little as the others discussed it behind him.

According to his lingering memories from last night, that strange yet familiar sound had indeed come from here. But when Liu Feng used the Iron-toothed Insect to scout the area, there was truly nothing inside except tangled shrubs and weeds. He had not even found a little trail used by animals to get in and out.

"How strange."

Seeing the confusion on Liu Feng's face, Han Bing leaned closer.

"What's wrong, Feng?"

"There are clearly signs of something living here, so why isn't there a path leading inside?"

"What should we do, then? Feng, how about we head back? Standing out in the street like this is asking for trouble if we run into a zombie horde."

Before Liu Feng could answer Han Bing, Fatty, who had been bickering with Old Ge behind them, voiced his displeasure.

"Han, are you kidding me? We got up at the crack of dawn, and you made me carry this heavy thing all the way here. You think that was easy?"

"Fatty, I get what you're saying, but this place really is too dangerous. Nobody's gone inside in all these years. What if..."

"Shh! Quiet!"

Before Han Bing could finish, Ma Hou, standing beside Fatty, suddenly barked at Liu Feng to be quiet.

Nobody knew why, but they obediently fell silent.

"Did you hear that? That sound is back!"

Han Bing held his breath and stared into the depths of the dense woods ahead. He could even hear his own heartbeat growing faster, but he still could not hear the sound Ma Hou had mentioned.

"Ma Hou, it's broad daylight. Don't scare me," Han Bing whispered, swallowing hard.

"Han Bing, shut up. Don't say a word!"

At Liu Feng's command, Han Bing clamped a hand over his mouth, not daring to utter another word.

Once Han Bing quieted down, Liu Feng held his breath and focused, carefully trying to pick up the sound Ma Hou had mentioned. In fact, even before Ma Hou had spoken, he had felt it strongly: it was getting closer and closer to them.

"Awoooo..."

The familiar sound echoed in his ears again, sending an uncontrollable tremor through Liu Feng's heart.

"That's it! That's the sound!" Han Bing said excitedly. "But Feng, the woods are full of weeds. There isn't even a path. How are we supposed to get in?"

Liu Feng smiled, took several sharp axes from the pickup parked nearby, and tossed them to the others.

"There were no roads in the world to begin with. Enough people walked the same way, and roads appeared. Fatty, you take the lead and blaze the trail. We'll follow right behind you."

"You got it, Feng!"

Fatty really was strong. By the time Han Bing and Ma Hou had used every ounce of their strength to chop down a single shrub, Fatty had already cleared a whole patch.

Following the route Liu Feng had planned in advance, the five of them pushed forward nearly a hundred meters before a dark shape suddenly flashed past their eyes.

"What was that?"

Han Bing froze, a chill shooting up his spine.

Liu Feng frowned slightly and lowered his axe. His consciousness quickly shifted into an Iron-armored Insect's perspective, but the dark shape moved so fast that even the insect could not track it.

"That thing is too fast. Our eyes can't keep up with it."

Frowning, Liu Feng told the others, "Stop advancing. Something has its sights on us. Get your weapons out, now, in case it tries a sneak attack!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Uncle Ge pulled the pistol from his trouser pocket and warily scanned their surroundings.

Holding his automatic rifle, Liu Feng sent out all the Iron-armored Insects to scout ahead.

"Awoooo..."

The familiar sound drew closer and closer, as if something were roaring right beside their ears. Liu Feng's tightly furrowed brow suddenly relaxed, and he shouted a warning to the others.

"Two o'clock! Here it comes!"

Ma Hou was standing at Liu Feng's two o'clock. With that advance warning, he threw himself flat on the ground without a thought for appearances.

Whoosh!

As razor-sharp claws swept past like the wind, the hair on top of Ma Hou's head vanished in an instant. His new look was strikingly similar to Uncle Ge's!

It was still nothing more than a dark blur. Nobody had gotten a clear look at it.

Having narrowly escaped death, Ma Hou rubbed his bare scalp, rage welling up inside him.

"Fuck its ancestors! How dare it touch my hair!"

As he spoke, Ma Hou raised his rifle, seething with anger.

Liu Feng, meanwhile, was utterly baffled.

Its attack had happened right before his eyes. Yet even with all his attention focused on it, he had still seen nothing but a dark blur.

Hm? No, that wasn't just a dark blur. There seemed to be a silver claw, too!

Looking at the top of Ma Hou's head, Liu Feng became even more certain of his guess.

By now, ordinary animals were nearly extinct. In their place had come creatures called mutant beasts. To avoid human interference, they hid themselves in dense forests or deep in the mountains.

Could this thing be one of those legendary mutant beasts?

(End of chapter)