Chapter 12
The sibling duo could not care about fighting against each other anymore.
Bai Jiacao scrambled to her feet quickly and found the medical box. With practiced movements, she prepared forceps, gauze, syringes, and epinephrine.
Meng Chao dragged his semi-automatic rifle out in front of the window in the living room. With skilled movements, he got the couch cushions to form the kneeling position for shooting.
He narrowed his eyes and looked outside through the embrasure in the armor.
It was dark. The fog which stayed outside the city started heading inside like the feelers of a demon.
In the depths of the fog, red and blue lights flashed and intersected with each other.
The lights squirmed about. The monsters showed their savage figures bit by bit.
The fog was not actually fog, but torrents formed when space and time transmigrated.
If Dragon City were a stone, then the Other World would be a pond. When a stone fell into the pond, it was only natural that ripples formed from it.
When they transmigrated from Earth, they were lucky that Dragon City did not descend on a place where a foreign civilization was flourishing and had plenty of powerful fighters gathered in it.
1
Also, the space and time torrent protected them for fifty years in the form of a fog so they were not discovered by the Other World elites.
3
Unfortunately, Dragon City transmigrated to a place that was infamously known in the Other World as a cursed place—Monster Playground.
The tall mountains formed a natural barrier. They were like fangs that intersected with each other and struck fear in the hearts of all who saw them.
Hundreds of crystal veins were buried underground, and they slowly released poison as well as radiation to form a strange spirit geomagnetic storm field, so the plants and animals grew at a crazed speed and mutated.
2
Just how many monster nests were hidden there? How many new monsters were formed from mutation? No one knew the answer.
Since their dimensions overlapped, whenever the space time torrent formed a tide, the fog invaded the city and tore open a dimensional rift, so the monsters were able to appear wherever they wanted in Dragon City.
In the beginning, Dragon Citizens were incredibly troubled by the monsters who came in endless droves and “respawned” in random places. They were afraid of the fog and of the night.
Fortunately, there were martyrs in the early days who sacrificed themselves one after another, and many people managed to survive through that period.
1
With time, Dragon Citizens basically cleared the region of the Other World that overlapped with their city, and they gained a firm hold over this living space.
It had been a long time since old districts like Blessed Heavenly Garden had a huge wave of monsters invade them.
“All citizens, please pay attention, the Flaming Black Beetle horde has appeared near the kindergarten, and it is quickly passing through the geracomium and the recycling center. In five minutes, they will reach the field.
1
“‘When friends arrive, they’re served with fine wine. When jackals and wolves arrive, they’re served with guns.’ Everyone, work hard! It’ll all depend on whether we can be graded as a five-star district tonight!”
The crystal loudspeaker positioned above the resident committee fort screeched with Madam Cao’s loud voice.
The spirit energy oscillator set at the center of the field continuously released infrasounds that could not be heard by human ears to attract the monsters’ attention.
2
Shack, shack, shack, shack.
More than one hundred Flaming Black Beetles were attracted. They formed a black wave that headed to the field.
Each Flaming Black Beetle was the size of a calf. Their black shells shone with a metallic glow, and marks resembling flames covered them. The beetles had a pair of extra large arthropod mouthparts, which were like shears. They could bite through an iron rod as thick as a bowl.
1
But the fortified citizen district was completely empty of people. The buildings were protected by armor, so the monsters were unable to display their abilities.
When the monsters surged into the field…
Whoosh!
The searchlights positioned above the citizen building were suddenly lit.
More than ten thick light pillars tore apart the darkness, causing the monsters to be unable to hide their tracks.
Shick, shick, shick, shick!
Dozens of high voltage electricity towers rose from the ground around the field and fired more than one hundred blinding electric arcs. The monsters hit were electrocuted to the point that smoke came out of their bodies. They could not move.
3
Shick, shick, shick, shick!
Dozens of automatic battle fortresses that resembled turtle shells crushed crystals inside their bodies to release spirit gas of high heat and high pressure to propel bullets forward. They shot through the air and flew toward the monsters like a shower.
The principle behind it was almost the same as that of the air guns on Earth.
But since they were operated by spirit gas, they were naturally much more destructive than compressed air.
1
The Flaming Black Beetles were electrocuted to the point that they were dizzy, and then, they were shot full of holes. No matter how sturdy their shells were, insect blood gushed out all over the place. Many of the beetles were dead or injured.
“A’chao, how’s the situation?”
Meng Yishan brought Granny Wang from next door.
He also got her pet. It was a hunting dog whose genetics had been modified before, and its fangs looked like those of a saber-toothed tiger.
Both families were very familiar with each other. Right after the saber-toothed hunting dog entered the apartment, it started running around in circles around Bai Jiacao and wagging its tail vigorously.
“It’s still alright for now. We’ve stabilized the situation.” Meng Chao turned his head around. “Granny Wang, are you alright?”
“Brat, are you looking down on me for my old arms and legs?” Granny Wang lifted her shotgun. Her face was flushed red with a healthy color. She looked down on Meng Chao because of her age. “Have you ever seen the chaos when we just transmigrated to this place? During the time the virus broke out, how many zombies did you kill? How many years did you fight in the Monster War? In the past, my husband and I—”
“Granny Wang, I’m sorry, I was wrong. I knew that you’d definitely be fine. Please, keep an eye over my mom and my young sister. Thanks!” Meng Chao found a headache coming.
“Don’t worry, I might not be able to chew on rhinoceros meat anymore, but this old fella in my hand isn’t some toy!”
1
Granny Wang swung her shotgun and shoved Meng Chao away without any reservation. With a standard kneeling position, she drew close to the embrasure.
1
“Whew, so many Flaming Black Beetles? Our district is going to be rich!”
The old woman grinned.
The Dragon Citizens in the current era were full of confidence.
After arriving in the Other World for decades, Earth’s industries had gradually fused together with spirit energy technology and genetic martial arts. The fighting power of Dragon Citizens increased by leaps and bounds, and it had been a long time since they had stopped treating monsters as a threat.
The fierce creatures were just food and materials to build up the city.
Dragon City was surrounded by fog. It had little space and faced a shortage of resources. Every time a wave of monsters attacked, it was a blessing from heaven.
The monsters were covered head to toe in treasures.
Their flesh was filled with rich nutrients. If Dragon Citizens ground their shells and bones, they could use them to refine incredibly powerful alloy. The sticky liquid from their bodies was a great additive or fuel.
1
Many of the powerful monsters had all sorts of etherealized organs or crystals. They were the best form of cultivation resources.
When Other World monsters invaded, they were giving Earthlings money, equipment, and experience.
But Meng Chao knew that things would not be so simple that night.
And just as he expected, even though the first wave of Flaming Black Beetles was defeated and scattered, the fog was unusually thick. More Flaming Black Beetles surged out of the depths of the fog, and they crowded the streets until there was no space left.
They let out piercing sounds, and their shells rubbed against each other. Sparks flew out from them.
Hundreds of Flaming Black Beetles rushed to the field like moths to a flame. They crashed against the first high voltage electric tower without regards to the deaths and injuries of their own people. Their carcasses piled up high and blocked off the embrasure with the automatic guns.
“So many?”
Granny Wang’s expression changed.
The old lady had a lot of fighting experience, and she could sense danger.
BUUUUZZZZZ!
1
When the second wave of monsters attacked, quite a number of Flaming Black Beetles’ armor cracked open to reveal a pair of huge transparent wings. The creatures started flying around clumsily.
“Those are mutated Flaming Black Beetles! They’re Flying Flaming Beetles!”
Meng Yishan frowned and wiped his face. He knelt down on one knee in front of the embrasure next to Granny Wang. “A’chao, we’re going to be in slight trouble tonight. Take care to preserve bullets. Only fire when they’re close to us.”
There were hundreds of Flaming Black Beetles, and around thirty of them were mutated and knew how to fly.
They flew over the high voltage electricity towers and battle fortresses to reach the residential buildings.
The people there instantly opened fire. The firing lines intersected with each other.
Unfortunately, the Flying Flaming Beetles drifted about. They did not have a set trajectory. Their shells were smooth and curved, so it was difficult for the bullets to pierce them.
1
Even if the bullets hit their target, as long as the angle was not perfect, they ricocheted from the shell.
“Damn it.”
Meng Yishan missed the target with his entire first cartridge. He only managed to make a few holes on the transparent wings of a Flying Flaming Beetle, and the monster was still flying around.
He cursed with slight irritation.
Then, he immediately became remorseful. He should not have lost his composure in front of his son, or else, the youngster would become nervous.
But Meng Chao did not have time to be nervous.
He stared at the notification that floated in front of his eyes.
[The fires of civilization must be protected with steel and blood. Will you activate your first fighting quest: Hunter of Foreign Insects?
[Kill Flaming Black Beetles x10 and Flying Flaming Beetles x3 in tonight’s battle so that you can contribute to protecting your home!
[Reward for your first battle: 1,500 contribution points, and you can also increase the level of any of your basic skills.]
‘I’ll activate it!’
Meng Chao adjusted his breathing and heartbeat while ignoring all the gunshots and shrieks from the monsters before him.
Everything became silent.
All the details from Basic Gun Technique turned into electric signals for his nerves, and like electric shocks, they surged into the tips of his fingers, making his fingers stick firmly to the gun.
His gaze seemed to be unfocused. He was not looking at any monster.
However, he was scanning through the entire battlefield, turning the monsters’ moving trajectory, the vibrations of their wings, wind speed, and wind direction into dazzling data.
“Chao’er, are you scared? Want me to have a go?”
Meng Chao had been kneeling and aiming for a long time, and Granny Wang misunderstood him.
The old lady was equipped with her extra large shotgun, but since the shooting range was too short, it was not suited to fight against flying targets in the distance.
When she saw Meng Chao holding the semi-automatic rifle for a long time but not firing a single shot and looking like he was terrified by the monsters, she became anxious, but a slight desire to fight also started burning in her.
But before her voice could even fade away…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Meng Chao attacked.