Chapter 55: Urban Jungle

Du Colonel's elite team, under the protection of tanks and armored vehicles, broke away from the crowd and headed towards Jinling City. Chu Yunsheng, worried about not being able to keep up with their speed, took out his motorcycle and, along with Yao Xiang, followed at a distance.

Not long after they set off, Du Colonel's team was hit by the first wave of red-armored beetles. With a large amount of lethal firepower and nearly forty awakened warriors, the team suffered only the death of one ordinary soldier and a few injuries from the dozen or so beetles, without incurring greater losses.

This was to Chu Yunsheng's advantage; the dozen beetles were enough to replenish more than one Yuan Absorption Talisman.

Along the way, a few beetles appeared intermittently, slowing down Du Colonel's entire team. By around 8 PM, according to the map, they should have reached Kun City. What appeared before the military team and Chu Yunsheng was not just a city of steel and concrete, but a mixed jungle of towering plants never seen before.

The skyscrapers were submerged under the dense vegetation, with thick, intertwining vines everywhere, as if they had suddenly emerged from another dimension.

Chu Yunsheng recognized these large trees; he had seen them at the bakery. They were tall and unseen on Earth before.

A green mist enveloped the area, dimly lit but eerie, like a monstrous beast waiting for people to come to it.

The military team hesitated for a while at the front but eventually moved forward, gradually disappearing into the mist.

Chu Yunsheng gritted his teeth and cautiously followed. As soon as he entered the city, he was enveloped by the green mist, but it seemed harmless, with no reaction from the Hex Talisman, only making him feel a bit disoriented.

The noisy crowd had been left far behind, and this strange urban jungle was eerily quiet and ominous.

Some trees had branches that glowed white, with luminous, dandelion-like fluff that danced in the air as the tanks passed by.

Other trees had bright, strawberry-like red fruits at their tops, each as large as a TV, emitting a seductive red glow.

Seeing these things, Chu Yunsheng almost thought he had reached the beetles' lair!

The road was cut into a maze by unfamiliar vegetation, and even the tanks had to move slowly. The motorcycle's noise was too loud and could easily be detected by the military team ahead, so Chu Yunsheng put it away and walked with Yao Xiang. Fortunately, the military team's speed was not fast, and the two could keep up.

The surrounding skyscrapers were entangled with thick vines, and some plants even extended from inside the buildings, revealing branches of various colors. The scene resembled an ancient, abandoned city.

The only familiar thing to Chu Yunsheng was the chaotic cars and scattered corpses below the buildings. Many of the corpses had empty heads, indicating the presence of red-armored beetles, though none had been seen yet.

Chu Yunsheng and Yao Xiang followed the military team from a distance, constantly worried about beetles or other unknown monsters jumping out from the surroundings or above.

People fear the unknown, especially in this era. Despite seeing many terrifying scenes, Chu Yunsheng held his breath, pressed against a large tree, and vigilantly observed the surroundings.

As the military convoy advanced deeper into the city, occasional chilling screams from the depths sent shivers down their spines.

The road was completely obscured, and the military convoy began to detour, with many large, uneven plants blocking the way.

The military vehicles stopped at the entrance of a hospital from the Sunlight Era, either to replenish medicine or to send scouts ahead.

Chu Yunsheng and Yao Xiang sat on a red, lotus-like plant root that protruded from the ground, with liquid visible inside.

Behind them was a real estate agency, with the words "Zhong Real Estate" still faintly visible. A few house recommendation papers were pressed under several transparent vines, praising the real estate market of 2012.

Chu Yunsheng secretly took out a cigarette and gave Yao Xiang a bottle of mineral water, keeping the Qianpi Sword close, not daring to be careless.

Suddenly, a shrill scream came from deep within the jungle on the military side. Chu Yunsheng gestured for Yao Xiang to be alert, peeking out to see the direction of the sound.

Swish! Swish! Soldiers adjusted their gun sights, aiming at the increasingly clear and hurried footsteps. No one knew what kind of monster might suddenly emerge from the green mist!

Time ticked by with each heartbeat, and Chu Yunsheng felt unusually tense, perhaps due to the quiet environment.

Two figures finally appeared in the field of vision, one in front of the other. Seeing the army, they seemed like people on the verge of thirst, suddenly encountering a heavy rain, and their running speed increased significantly!

At that moment, a gray, flat, cloth-like thing with a red eye, about half the size of a person, emerged from the green mist, catching up to the last person. The "cloth" spread out, enveloping the person's head and tightly binding the upper body. Inside, a painful scream echoed, and the body struggled as it was lifted by the "cloth." No matter how hard the person struggled, the upper body soon turned into blood, and the lower body fell to the ground, rolling.

Then, two more "cloths" flew out of the green mist, attacking the person running in front. The military soldiers opened fire simultaneously, bullets raining down on the "cloths" and the person.

Chu Yunsheng's hand trembled, and the cigarette butt fell to the ground. He thought, "What the hell is this thing? This way of dying is truly terrifying!"

However, the defense of these creatures seemed not as strong as the red-armored beetles. In the rain of bullets, two "cloths" were finally shot down, while one broke through the bullet barrage and attacked a soldier on the armored vehicle.

Before it could attack, an awakened fire warrior on the armored vehicle burned it to ashes.

Before they could catch their breath, the sound of gunfire attracted more trouble. Red eyes flickered in the green mist, and Chu Yunsheng heard Du Colonel's loud command: "Withdraw!"

The tanks roared and turned left, ice warriors began to release cold air, and fire warriors stood on the rooftops, ready to attack with the machine gunners.

Chu Yunsheng, who was watching tensely, suddenly felt Yao Xiang pull him. He became alert and followed Yao Xiang's upward gesture, gasping as he saw at least four to five red eyes staring at them.

He immediately raised the Qianpi Sword, leaped forward, and aimed to kill these "cloths" as quickly as possible to avoid attracting the group of "cloths" ahead and being discovered by the military convoy.

The "cloths" had weak defenses, and Chu Yunsheng's sword easily pierced one. The "cloth" tightly wrapped around the Qianpi Sword and his forearm, but Chu Yunsheng used the sword's energy to shatter it instantly.

The other "cloths" flew over, moving extremely fast. Concerned about alarming the group ahead and being discovered by the military, Chu Yunsheng could only manage to slash two before one wrapped around his head. He immediately felt the resistance from the Hex Talisman, and the "cloth" released a strange mist that corroded his armor.

Chu Yunsheng felt intense suffocation and panic. He grabbed the "cloth" and tried to pull it off, but it wouldn't budge!

In a panic, Chu Yunsheng reversed the Qianpi Sword and forcefully cut through the "cloth," breaking free from its grip.