Chapter 41
The nearby foragers were also startled. Even if they didn’t know what monster had appeared over there, their survival instinct controlled their bodies, making them move towards safety.
“Stay calm, everyone get back to the vehicles first!” The foragers scattered chaotically in all directions, while the remaining patrollers shouted as they ran.
It turned out two bulky large trucks were hidden behind the tall grass.
Jiang Jitang didn’t look at the two large trucks currently being fought over for space. He ran towards the patroller team and, taking advantage of the chaos, blended in, also running in the direction of the mudflats.
In just these dozen or so seconds, several more screams came from the distance, each from a different person.
Jiang Jitang’s footsteps didn’t pause for a moment.
Holding a shield in one hand and an electric stun gun in the other, he met the oncoming swarm of monsters at his fastest speed.
It turned out to be an adult catfish leading a group of catfish fry.
Calling them ‘fry’, like other mutated local animals, they were gigantic. Their heads were the size of soccer balls, with slender tails, about a meter long.
The key was their numbers. When they suddenly surged forward like a black tide, even the strongest warrior would feel their scalp go numb and blood run cold.
But what truly caused panic wasn’t these catfish fry, but that adult catfish as tall as a double-decker bus.
The mutated fins of the adult catfish were freer and more flexible. They were like webbed feet, allowing it to slide rapidly across the smooth mud surface, while opening its large mouth to swallow humans whole, one by one.
Many patrollers had already gathered around this group of one-large-N-small monsters, shooting while retreating, bullets flying like they were free.
Human weapons could severely injure the catfish fry, but could only leave small marks on the large catfish.
The marks would disappear in seconds, but the pain wouldn’t. The enraged catfish became increasingly savage. Every time it thrashed its tail wildly, it took out a few unlucky souls.
The cruelty of the post-apocalyptic world suddenly unveiled a corner before his eyes.
“Move aside!” Amid the chaos, a man with a half-scarred face stepped forward. He was actually holding a rather high-tech laser weapon.
The ultra-high-temperature ray left a not-very-large burn wound on the catfish’s body, filling the air with the charred aroma of grilled fish fillets. The warriors, who hadn’t had meat for a long time, instinctively swallowed saliva. The aroma stirred their appetite, making them want to sprinkle on some seasoning.
The catfish was furious. It slapped the ground, its speed increasing further.
The patrollers who had gathered were sent scattering like chickens and dogs. In the confusion, only Jiang Jitang, who had just arrived, stared at the wound on the catfish monster. The energy at the wound site was relatively purer than other places.
He had a completely logical guess.
It just needed verification.
“Ahhhhhh!” On the mudflats, a forager stuck in the mud was screaming his lungs out. His shouts attracted the catfish monster. The closer the catfish monster got, the more he screamed; the more he screamed, the closer the catfish monster got. It looked like the man and the monster were about to meet.
“Bro, lend me your detection probe.”
In his panic, the forager only saw the detection probe in his hand being taken. Then the mysterious person grabbed his clothes, lifted him up, and threw him backwards. He flew in a parabolic arc and landed on slightly drier, firmer ground.
“Ahhhhhh.” The forager couldn’t care anymore. He got up and ran towards the vehicles.
As for Jiang Jitang, who got the detection probe, of course he ran towards the catfish monster. Up close, the monster seemed even more enormous.
“Be careful, lure it towards the sea. Remember our objective; the important thing is to collect the taro needed for winter.” The owner of the laser weapon, who was also the Legion Commander of this legion, was drawing its aggro at close range while directing everyone.
With someone in command, the previously scattered team members finally reacted. They quickly integrated into different squads, protecting themselves while also using the catfish monster’s preference for chasing screaming people to lure it towards the sea.
Seeing the team members had organized themselves and were effectively fighting back, the Commander breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at the energy indicator on his weapon; still more than half left, should last until the end.
“Hope everything goes smoothly.”
This wild foraging activity was the responsibility of the 309th Legion. For both public and private reasons, he had to ensure the activity proceeded smoothly.
But the catfish monster was notoriously thick-skinned, highly defensive, and slippery. Often, when it was almost down to its last bit of health, it would just turn and run. Over time, everyone preferred to drive it away rather than waste time and bullets on it.
The team members might not know these details, but they knew a soldier’s duty was to obey orders. So they changed positions and adjusted tactics, preparing to lure the catfish back to the mudflats.
In the blink of an eye, the Legion Commander spotted a strange figure holding a shield pouncing forward from his peripheral vision.
“Who’s this individualist not following orders?” He was furious.
Before he could get a good look, the person was sent flying by the angry catfish. The Commander’s anger stalled for a couple of seconds.
“Seems like he’s not one of us,” a teammate with good eyesight recognized. “But he’s not a forager either.”
“Then who is he?”
The Commander couldn’t figure out what was going on for a moment. Wasn’t this area his responsibility? When did a stranger show up without him knowing?
Before the Commander could figure out what was happening, the person he thought was surely dead had quickly gotten up from the ground. His twisted limbs shook a few times and returned to normal, and he was charging towards the catfish monster with an incomprehensibly stronger momentum.
…None of this was normal at all.
The Commander was a tiny bit frightened.
“Again.”
Shield raised, Jiang Jitang charged forward again. Learning from his previous failure, he made no mistakes this time. But the moment he inserted the detection probe, the wildly thrashing catfish still hit him with its huge fin, sending him flying.
An area-of-effect basic attack instantly took out a squishy character.
Jiang Jitang, ‘dead’ in mid-air, opened his eyes three seconds later.
His shattered bones and internal organs had already healed, but his body still retained the sensation of pain. Jiang Jitang took a deep breath. The thrill of brushing against death made his scalp tingle. This was really…
Interesting. Extremely interesting.
The Commander watched the humanoid figure fly out for the second time.
This time, surely dead…?
!!!
Watching that figure stagger to its feet, the Commander expressed incomprehension; he was greatly shocked.
At that moment, an unusually clear sound appeared not far from the Commander, so clear it was a bit strange: “Beep, low pollution, edible and usable. Beep, low pollution, edible and usable. Beep…”
Looking towards the source of the sound, he saw the detection probe inserted into the wound. The Commander fell silent, followed by ecstatic joy that felt like it would blow the top of his head off.
“Low pollution!”
Such a large catfish monster, low pollution! Just the meat alone would let them make a hefty profit, not to mention the fish skin most suitable for making leather armor and the hard bones.
“Commander, what’s the plan? Do we fight?” The other team members also heard the sound. They were undoubtedly tempted.
But the catfish monster was truly hard to fight. They were smart, would stubbornly hold this mudflat area, and at the first sign of trouble, would immediately burrow into the mud, impossible to catch.
“We didn’t bring equipment for hunting large exotic beasts.” They were just a low-level legion. They didn’t even get pioneering tasks, could only escort these foragers, and didn’t have enough resources to exchange for those high-level military equipment.
“Boss, a low-pollution exotic beast, and this big.”
Giving up was absolutely impossible. A low-pollution exotic beast this big – catching it would make them rich.
Just when they were at a loss, the person who had been thrown far away actually came over.
“I have bait smeared with potent anesthetic. I’ll trade it for a two-square-meter piece of fish skin.”
The man was covered in mud spots, but his looks were truly outstanding. Among the group of dusty and disheveled patrollers, he stood out like a pearl. Just looking at his finely-fed young master appearance, one would never imagine he had risked his life earlier to give the catfish monster a shot.
“Deal,” the Commander agreed without hesitation. “As long as we can hunt it.”
“OK.” Facing the waves of mud slapped up by the catfish monster, Jiang Jitang charged forward.
“Dammit, what is he doing? Why is he in such a hurry? Is his bait himself? What? What is that thing?”
That strange pretty boy felt around his waist, then threw out something thicker than his own waist, very accurately throwing it into the catfish monster’s wide-open mouth.
Immediately after, something even more unbelievable happened. After just two seconds, possibly just upon contact with the mouth, the catfish monster’s fins on the mud ground began to shake violently. The next second, the shaking stopped abruptly, and the massive body seemed to power down.
“Hurry! That’s just a short-term anesthetic!” Jiang Jitang shouted.
Everyone was as if awakened from a dream. They attacked the catfish monster’s weak points one after another, like the eyes, mouth, and other vulnerable areas.
The Commander even charged forward with his laser weapon, slicing down along the previously cut mark. The whole process was silky smooth.
Seeing everyone having a blast, the long-range specialist mage who lacked firepower support was quite envious.
He wanted to play too.
The thick-skinned, highly defensive catfish monster thus died in frustration under the boost of external cheats. The numerous catfish fry were chased and shot by the other warriors. They ran everywhere, burrowing into the mud behind them.
“Can I give it a try? Seeing your shooting skills are so good, so cool, I want to try too.” The thick-skinned Jiang Jitang walked over. He also wanted to hold a gun and shoot.
