Setting Out! Encountering a Rat Swarm
During lunch, Chen Yanshan and Liu Tingquan returned with the news they had gathered, and they talked about it as they ate.
"Captain, besides the Tianqi Club's exploration team, there are three other exploration teams still here."
"However, they don't seem to be exploring deeper now; instead, they're just searching along the edge of the entire meteorite impact zone."
This is the situation without a combat-oriented professional to lead the hunt. Without such overwhelming combat power, the hunting of mutated creatures becomes impossible.
Ordinary exploration teams usually face a mutated creature leading a pack of similar wild beasts. With the firepower of a 10-person team, it is extremely difficult to take them down without taking any damage.
If anyone gets injured, it essentially means the end of the expedition. The subsequent medical expenses could very well lead to the entire expedition team running out of money.
Therefore, adopting this method now is a last resort.
"So, in that case, only our two exploration teams are truly conducting in-depth exploration."
Mo Yuemei Earthly Dao with some excitement.
"And then there are the Special Recovery Squad under the Recovery Department Division; they're the ones who get the lion's share."
The Avatar said this.
"Oh, right."
This is the current form of the exploration team after one or two months of development.
Apart from a few top-tier exploration teams and official elite exploration teams, most others are just going through the motions, only scratching the surface.
After all, even the slightest harm is difficult for modern people to accept, let alone fighting against these mutated creatures and enhanced beasts.
Any other news?
"We also found out the Tianqi Club's exploration direction. They set off the day before yesterday, heading north. If we include their current exploration route, the northern area has basically been explored."
Avatar nodded, took out the prepared map, and pointed to the two major landing areas on it.
"Although exploration teams have also traversed this large area to the south."
I looked at their previous records, and they mostly encountered large groups of wild beasts and mutated creatures before retreating. There must be a large area that remains unexplored.
"Especially in the area of Bazi Water, the authorities moved them all out just a few weeks after the meteorite fell."
"We can start by exploring this place."
By now, we basically no longer need to think about collecting meteorites.
The main objective is to find the herd of beasts led by mutated creatures. Mutated creatures that lead herds are usually quite intelligent; they'll collect meteorites from the surrounding area. If we find their lair and eliminate them, the rewards should be substantial.
The others were excited to hear that their main mission this time was not exploration, but hunting.
Apart from Old Zhao and Old Cao, everyone else had witnessed the captain's abilities and were not afraid to fight these creatures.
Seeing their excited expressions and the captain's confident tone, Old Cao and Old Zhao wondered why they were so confident, and at the same time, they were somewhat worried about this operation.
Experienced hunters like them usually rely on traps to hunt, and the number of times they can use a bow and arrow head-on is relatively small.
That's why they are even more aware that groups of monkeys, wild boars, and some solitary felines are extremely dangerous.
However, the two of them also understood that the captain was quite skilled at using that 100-pound compound bow. Their team was safe enough to protect themselves, but they were a little worried about the possibility of injuries.
After the Avatar finalized the action plan for tomorrow, everyone returned to their tents to rest as soon as possible and conserve their energy for the day's departure.
Along the way, the exploration team encountered some close calls but managed to take down two small herds of wild boars, totaling about twenty or thirty animals.
This quantity is not too difficult for the current exploration team.
The exploration team was in the tree, waiting for their captain to lure the wild boar herd to an ambush.
In the end, I obtained three Class Change Stone and two meteorites, which was a modest reward.
At noon, after three days of travel, the exploration team finally arrived at Bazi Water.
The dozen or so houses in this area have all been emptied, with very little left behind.
From the outside, there were no signs of any wild animal activity.
The exploration team did not split up to explore, but acted together. In this environment, acting alone would be extremely unwise. If they were ambushed by a mutated creature leading a pack of wild beasts, there would likely be casualties.
However, the exploration team never expected that when they passed by the houses in the middle of the Bazi Water, a large number of rats emerged from the houses. It is now roughly estimated that there are at least several hundred rats, and each of these rats is very strong, at least the size of an adult cat.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak."
The others gasped in shock at the sheer scale of the place. It was flat and offered no natural defenses; their forces would likely be overrun very soon.
The Avatar immediately shouted, bringing the others back to their senses.
"Come with me quickly, let's go to a house first."
After several days of training, everyone had gained some experience and was no longer afraid of battle, immediately and decisively following their Avatar.
The group found the nearest house, Avatar out their machetes, and cleared a path ahead.
The others stayed behind to prevent the rats from charging and attacking.
A moment later, he rushed up the stairs to the second floor.
In such a confined space, the group advantage of the rat colony is limited.
The Avatar immediately adjusted their formation.
"Those at the back, run upstairs quickly! I'll cover you."
All around, rats were rapidly converging and rushing towards the Avatar.
With lightning speed, he swung his machete, making two cuts, one horizontal and one vertical.
"Pfft~"
The sound of flesh being pierced could be heard.
The rat that charged at them was instantly cleaved in two, its blood splattering everywhere.
The other rats, smelling the increasingly strong stench of blood, gradually turned red in the eyes, showing signs of becoming enraged.
And so, everyone quickly moved to the rooftop.
After moving to the top floor, Avatar quickly killed dozens of rats behind it. The murderous aura frightened the rats so much that they dared not move forward, and their scarlet eyes became much clearer.
Seeing that the captain had escaped, the people standing at the door immediately closed the stainless steel door leading to the roof.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the Avatar covered in rat blood, filled with both admiration and awe.
Old Cao and Old Zhao were both taken aback by the captain's bravery.
This man is practically a reincarnation of Lü Bu; he could single-handedly take on a hundred men.
However, before everyone could rest for a while, a series of scratching and biting sounds came from behind the stainless steel door.
The rats' tearing and gnawing on the stainless steel sheet was extremely loud, and their frequent squeaking caused great annoyance to everyone present.
Avatar would take several minutes for the rats to gnaw through the stainless steel sheet.