Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 616 - 609: Anomalous Village

Chapter 616: Chapter 609: Anomalous Village

"This isn’t a good sign. Fulajie’er’s domain perception is limited. If she can perceive souls other than ours, it indicates that this person’s soul domain is very strong," Cheng Ziang spoke, pausing slightly before adding, "Moreover, I also seem to feel it, like someone is watching us."

"Hey, don’t scare people as soon as you land. I’m already sweating because of you." Hu Daoke, holding a gun, said in terror while remaining alert.

"Fulajie’er, prepare to initiate search mode!" Luo’er calmly instructed.

"Received!" Fulajie’er nodded, preparing to act.

Suddenly, there was a commotion coming from the woods not far away. Everyone immediately raised their guns towards that area, followed by the click-clack of gun loading.

"Bang, bang, bang!!!"

At that moment, the sound of machine gun fire blazed in the sky. The projectiles from the anti-aircraft machine gun shredded into the forest like a pile-driver, snapping tree trunks in half, and causing tufts of soil and shredded shrubs to fly into the air.

"Is it the enemy?" Luo’er asked tensely, clutching his gun.

"I don’t know..." fear crept into Tangmo’s voice, obviously startled by their conversation.

"Fulajie’er, go!" Luo’er commanded.

"Received!" Fulajie’er nodded and immediately disintegrated, flying towards the battered woods.

"This aerial support is a bit wild. We haven’t even had a chance to respond, and they just start shooting." Hu Daoke stuck out his tongue, speaking with lingering trepidation.

"When Fulajie’er returns, have her notify the weapons control personnel in the sky to fire according to my orders. Don’t just shoot randomly." Hearing his words, Luo’er looked up at the hovering transport plane overhead, frowning.

It’s normal for the transport plane in the sky to react faster than the Advance Team due to their broader field of vision. But Luo’er did not want them to open fire at the sight of an anomaly. There is a high risk of friendly casualties if they fail to cooperate with the ground team. It would be best for them to follow his command, even though it might mean sacrificing their air superiority. This way, Luo’er can assess if they truly need the support.

"Luo’er, there is nothing over there!" Fulajie’er soon flew back to report.

"I see!" Luo’er nodded.

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a commotion from another part of the jungle broke out. Once again, the furious sound of machine gunfire echoed from the sky. Spent bullet casings clattered down from the transport plane, bouncing on the ground before rolling to Luo’er’s feet.

"Fulajie’er, go tell the people above to take the Advance Team’s gunfire as the command to open fire. Don’t shoot blindly; it could easily lead to friendly fire!" Covering his ears, Luo’er yelled at Fulajie’er.

The transport plane’s unwarranted gunfire again vexed Luo’er. He had just recovered some of his hearing when they started a wild fusillade, leaving him temporarily deaf, once again.

"Are these people insane? We are on a mission, not here to fight zombies. It would seem they want to attract all the zombies in the vicinity!" Hu Daoke couldn’t help but curse aloud.

"Stop complaining, everyone. Be vigilant; the gunfire may have attracted monsters." Cheng Ziang looked around earnestly, with a gun raised and said.

Thanks to Fulajie’er’s intervention, the transport plane in the sky eventually stopped firing. They were hardly on the ground for few minutes before they had already fired around a hundred rounds, leaving a pile of 12.7mm casings everywhere.

After the gunfire ceased, the Advance Team formed a circle, guns at the ready, but there was no strange movement nearby. Apparently, Cheng Ziang’s theory was correct for the moment: very few monsters were in the center of the infected area. Presumably, these monsters preferred hunting in expanding territories, abandoning the barren central area.

Luo’er checked that map finding the direction in which they should advance. According to the map, they would reach an abandoned village after another 5 km. This village was already damaged on the day when the Door of Annihilation was opened, and a lot of Corpse Demons originated from this village.

The path through the woods was embedded with stones, and a small stonewall flanked the road. Although it wasn’t the best road, it wasn’t too bad either. However, only one-third of this 5km road was embedded with stones.

Following the road, the group arrived unscathed at an abandoned village. Upon Luo’er warning, the transport planes hovered a hundred meters above ground. Luo’er was concerned that flying too low might attract nearby monsters or corpse demons.

The village located at the edge of the forest is a typical Aud settlement. However, it appeared desolate, with weeds and shrubs growing all over the village roads.

With their guns at the ready, the group carefully approached the village. According to the aerial photos, a large group of corpse demons had just passed through here yesterday, and they planned to see if any had been left behind.

Luo’er was not overly worried about keeping the transport planes so far away. He instructed Fulajie’er to patrol the nearby area with him at the center and to inform him of any issues. Fulajie’er obediently patrolled back and forth, seemingly forgotten the subtle off feelings she had earlier.

"Everyone spread out and maintain a distance from each other. If anything seems off, shoot immediately, no need to ask for permission," Luo’er made a gesture and said to the group upon reaching the edge of the village.

Upon his command, the Advance Team spread out in search of suspicious targets. Tangmo, who had barely walked ten meters forward, suddenly changed color, her voice trembling as well.

"Luo...Luo...Luo’er...you...you look at..." Tangmo tremblingly pointed to the bushes not far away while speaking to Luo’er.

"What’s wrong?" Luo’er stunned for a moment and hurried over.

The Tangmo he remembered was not that timid, and if she was scared to the point she could barely speak, something frightening must’ve been discovered.

He came to Tangmo, followed the direction she was pointing and got taken aback. He saw dozens of chunks of human bodies, including their limbs and torso, scattered in the grass not far away. They seemed to have been cut into pieces by something and were chaotically scattered among the grass. Luo’er also noticed that he couldn’t find any heads among the scattered remains.

"What’s wrong?" Cheng Ziang, noting Luo’er’s unusual demeanor, came over and asked.

"Could it be that the exotic insects or beasts don’t avoid eating corpse demons like we thought?" Luo’er turned to him, his eyebrows furrowing.

Upon hearing his words, Cheng Ziang pondered awhile then bravely approached. These remains had started to rot, and the moment he approached, a swarm of flies scattered into the air.

Cheng Ziang waved his hand, the protection from his gas mask preventing the putrid smell of decay from reaching him. He squatted down and began examining the remains scattered amongst the grass.

After examining for a while, Cheng Ziang stood up and walked over, definitively stating: "This wasn’t the work of monsters!"

"Do you have any discoveries?" Luo’er asked.

Cheng Ziang sighed slightly and replied, "The cuts on these chunks are neat, obviously sliced by something sharp like a sword or knife. As per our understanding, neither the exotic insects nor beasts are capable of this."

"So you’re implying someone attacked these corpse demons with weapons, and then chopped them up?" Luo’er asked, frowning.

"There is that possibility, perhaps it was the Church’s army during the initial outbreak," Cheng Ziang suggested.

"No, that’s not right!" Upon hearing his answer, Luo’er immediately shook his head.

"What’s not right?" Cheng Ziang blinked, taken aback by Luo’er’s response.

"The outbreak happened over two months ago. Logically, these chunks should be over two months old too, there’s no way they could be preserved so well," Luo’er looked at the chunks and said.

"But these chunks are possibly from corpse demon bodies, don’t forget they carry viruses!" Cheng Ziang countered.

"If there was a virus, those wouldn’t be there," Luo’er pointed at the flies fluttering in the air.

"This..." Luo’er’s comment stumped Cheng Ziang, leaving him momentarily speechless.