Chapter 2

In a place that should have had four seasons, in this brand new era, there are still four seasons, but their meanings have changed somewhat.

Spring signifies awakening. From the large Grizzly Bears and Stone Dragons to the small Vampire Flies and Fluorescent Fleas, all would awaken from their hibernation, and after a long, hungry winter, they would naturally become particularly ferocious. Small creatures like Vampire Flies are no less dangerous than Ironclad Grizzly Bears. In this era, who knows how many kinds of plagues can quickly lead to death, and almost every type of bacteria or virus uses Vampire Flies as the most suitable carrier. Each year, the number of plagues increases rapidly. The profession of doctor has never been so important, nor so powerless.

However, spring is still the best season.

Summer is scorching, with intense ultraviolet rays in the sunlight being lethal to most creatures, including those that have mutated. Autumn is no longer a season of harvest; the grains and fruits of the old era have long since gone extinct due to their inability to adapt to the new environment. Therefore, all creatures must worry about food. Plants that can grow happily even in the harshest conditions are often more dangerous than Stone Dragons. As for winter, the only concern is not to starve to death before spring arrives.

Thin gray clouds in the sky constantly change, revealing a beautiful expanse of blue. The sunlight pours down like fire, drenching the cracked earth scorched by the heat.

The moment the sunlight fell, Turner lowered the visor on his helmet.

This single soldier's visor from the old era could filter out strong light and ultraviolet rays, protecting his eyes. Although the ultraviolet rays are now many times stronger than in the past, the surviving humans have adapted to the new environment. As for the delicate humans, they have long since become dry bones in the wilderness. The ultraviolet rays that can blind through the visor are merely a bit dazzling to Turner. The eight soldiers following him are also strong enough; while the current sunlight makes them uncomfortable, it does not hinder their movements.

Turner's right hand rested on his refurbished M3A automatic rifle. He looked around at the terrain and signaled with his left hand, and the team continued to move forward. Each soldier in the team wore camouflage uniforms and was equipped with automatic rifles, including a grenade launcher. Although the soldiers' uniforms were somewhat worn and the weapons were not uniform, ranging from the elite M3A of the old era to the common AK series, this still indicated that they were a real army, not a makeshift armed group of bandits. This army has ranks, tactics, logistics, and training. Most importantly, the organization that can support such an army must be significant.

Turner, at forty-three, has nearly twenty years of military experience and is a reliable commander. At this moment, he led his team along a bare mountain ridge, where the advantage was a clear line of sight, allowing them to see for tens of kilometers. As for whether there were trees to block the sunlight, Turner did not care; large areas of green often meant unpredictable dangers.

The howls of Rot Wolves echoed through the mountains, and Turner immediately looked in the direction of the howls. His pupils rapidly dilated and contracted, and the shape of his eyeballs subtly changed. Without a telescope, his gaze locked onto several small black dots several kilometers away. Turner then raised his telescope, and through the lens, he could see several gray-black Rot Wolves restlessly moving on the reddish-brown rocks, occasionally howling to the sky.

Turner's vision range is 1.5 times that of a normal person, at the cost of one evolution point, or, more straightforwardly, one opportunity for genetic modification. An ordinary person might have only one or two chances for genetic improvement in their lifetime, and most people choose to enhance muscle strength or physical defense. Turner, however, did not hesitate to use his evolution point on his vision. In the battles of the wilderness, being able to spot danger a moment earlier means a bit more chance of survival.

"Damn! It looks like these guys have grown even bigger," Turner cursed, then led his men toward the valley.

These few Rot Wolves, for some reason, were active in the strong sunlight of the day, despite being nocturnal. However, Turner did not need to know this. Based on experience, he judged that there was a den in the valley, which was enough. Summer is also the breeding season for Rot Wolves. At this time, there should be a few weaned pups in the den. His mission was to investigate the mutation progress of Rot Wolves and other creatures in the area, check for any new unknown creatures, and bring back a few dead Rot Wolves every three months for the base to study.

Generally, this mission would take Turner and his men about half a month in the wilderness, but it was not very difficult. Turner was already familiar with this desolate area of over a hundred kilometers. He could list off the places suitable for different creatures to live and survive with his eyes closed. With the firepower of his nine-man team, they could handle a pack of over a hundred Rot Wolves.

However, the problem is that everything is changing rapidly in this era. Turner has seen the size of Rot Wolves gradually increase. Initially, a single bullet could take down an adult Rot Wolf, but now it often takes two or three bursts to kill one. They are becoming faster and stronger. According to the base's research director, in the past 12 months, the average weight of adult Rot Wolves has increased by 12%, muscle strength by 23%, agility by 18%, and resistance to physical attacks by 35%, while their resistance to radiation has increased by 50%.

Turner, of course, could not remember or was not interested in such precise and rigorous descriptions. His thinking was more straightforward and vivid: Rot Wolves are getting bigger and more dangerous. His team used to be able to handle 150 Rot Wolves, but now they can only handle up to 100. Although it seems everything is still under the base's control, Turner's sense of unease grows stronger with each mission. Can you imagine a Rot Wolf as big as a tiger and as intelligent as a human? Turner has dreamed of this more than once.

For Turner and his mountain warfare-skilled team, a few kilometers of mountain road was just a half-hour journey. Upon seeing Turner and his team, the adult male Rot Wolf on the rock crouched low, baring its drooling fangs, and growled deeply from its throat.

This is a very typical behavior of Rot Wolves protecting their territory, indicating that there is a den behind them, with several pups that have not yet been weaned and cannot keep up with the adult wolves.

Rot Wolves usually have large territories, and a valley full of caves might only have this pack. Turner did not want to search each cave one by one. He made a gesture, and an old soldier raised his automatic rifle. The first burst sent a Rot Wolf flying into the air, and the second burst followed, with three bullets hitting the struggling Rot Wolf, causing it to tumble several times.

The remaining Rot Wolves whimpered, ignoring their fallen companion, and fled into the depths of the valley with their tails between their legs.

Turner swung his M3A and said, "Lucas, it's up to you!"

"Got it!" A young man in his early twenties removed his mask, revealing a nose twice the size of a normal person's, and sniffed his way into the depths of the valley. Despite the strong, pungent smell of Rot Wolves throughout the valley, Lucas's nose was no less sensitive than a Rot Wolf's. To him, each Rot Wolf's scent was distinct, and since they had just left, he would not mistake them.

The nine-man team walked slowly, gradually reaching the center of the valley. Their target was clear: a cave a few hundred meters away, with a few dry bones visible at the entrance.

As usual, Turner left two soldiers to guard the entrance while he led the rest into the cave to search. He was not worried about ambushes; in the narrow, long cave, the high-rate, powerful M3A was almost irresistible. Besides, five of the eight soldiers had been on over ten missions and had at least one genetic enhancement, making them capable of handling any situation. Some of the soldiers had already started assembling a simple animal cage; a live Rot Wolf pup was worth more than ten dead ones.

The cave was not deep; they only walked about thirty meters before reaching the end. However, there were only piles of dry bones and a large heap of dry grass, with no sign of the pups.

Turner's face turned ashen, and his eyes twitched as he stared at the pile of dry grass. He suddenly used his gun to cut through the grass, revealing a rock covered in filth, still with no sign of the pups.

"Lucas, you—"

Someone started to speak but was rudely interrupted by Turner: "Shut the hell up! Lucas won't make a mistake!"

Turner squatted down, pulled out a bayonet, and carefully examined a fresh wolf dropping. He suddenly stood up, pulled back the bolt of his M3A with a loud click, and shouted, "Damn it, it's a trap! Let's go!"

An old soldier followed, saying, "Hey! Boss, who set the trap for us, don't tell me it was the Rot Wolves! Ha ha..."

He laughed twice, but when he realized no one was responding, he stopped and shrugged helplessly. He also sensed the danger, but at such a time, a joke should be a good way to relieve tension.

Turner quickened his pace and said in a low voice, "Most likely the Rot Wolves! God, I hope I'm wrong!"

They took large strides, rounding the last bend and reaching the cave entrance. However, the two men guarding the entrance were bent over, trembling, and retreating into the cave! Turner said nothing, rushed to the entrance, pulled the two men aside, and looked outside.

Turner's eyes widened, and his dark brown irises were filled with a dense mass of Rot Wolves!

"God! At least three hundred Rot Wolves!" Turner's heart tightened, and he could hardly breathe!

Turner suddenly smelled a faint, pungent odor. His years of combat experience made him immediately leap backward and fire a long burst into the empty space at the cave entrance.

A black shadow flashed through the air, and sharp teeth snapped at the spot where Turner's neck should have been, but five scorching bullets ripped open its entire belly!

This was a strong male wolf weighing about thirty kilograms. The impact of the bullets sent it flying several meters, and after rolling a few times, it struggled to stand, swaying and growling at the cave entrance. Another male wolf then bit through its neck bone.

Thud! Turner fell heavily on his back, knocking over two of his men. When he was helped up, he found that cold sweat had soaked through his clothes!

An old soldier glanced outside and immediately turned pale, saying, "Boss, it looks like we're trapped."

Another man checked his radio and shook his head, saying, "No signal from the base."

"Our food and water can last ten days."

"Our ammunition is only one basic load, not enough to kill them all."

The old soldiers reported the supplies, and Turner's face grew darker with each word. He cautiously stood a meter from the cave entrance and looked outside, feeling a growing chill.

The strong Rot Wolves were patrolling back and forth, their saliva dripping onto the hot rocks of the valley, steaming and hissing. Although they were hungry, they all stayed more than five hundred meters from the cave entrance. It seemed they knew that beyond this distance, the accuracy and power of the automatic rifles would decrease. With over three hundred Rot Wolves in the valley, Turner's team had no hope of breaking through. If they left the protection of the cave, the quick and agile Rot Wolves could surround them and tear the entire team to pieces with a single charge.

Turner retreated into the cave, sat against the wall, and said, "It seems these Rot Wolves want to starve us to death. Two people will guard the entrance, changing every two hours. Lucas, Berg, you two start, the rest rest. Hopefully, our luck is good, and the base's reinforcements will find us."

The soldiers leaned against the cave wall, closing their eyes to rest. They needed to conserve their energy, as no one knew how long they would be here.

But almost no one could truly sleep. Everyone had a lingering question: How did these Rot Wolves suddenly become so smart? They knew how to set traps and stay out of the most lethal range of the automatic rifles. Despite their hunger, no wolf crossed the invisible line. Such behavior was almost like...

An army!

"Boss! Come and look!" Lucas suddenly called out urgently, keeping his voice low as if afraid to disturb something.

Turner carefully moved to the cave entrance and looked out. Following Lucas's finger, he finally saw the leader of the wolf pack.

This was a unique wolf, with a large body and smooth, pure black fur, both rare among Rot Wolves. However, the most shocking thing was that this wolf was standing upright!

The alpha wolf occasionally walked on all fours, but most of the time, it stood on its hind legs, using a variety of howls and its front paws to command the Rot Wolves.

An experienced old soldier listened carefully for a long time before exclaiming, "At least thirty different sounds! If these sounds can be combined, it's almost like a language. Is this really a Rot Wolf?"

Turner sat against the cave wall, closed his eyes, and said in a low voice, "Of course, it's a Rot Wolf. It's not strange that Rot Wolves can speak. These days, anything is possible. ... We need to find a way to kill it!"

Berg was the team's sniper. He set up his SVD sniper rifle and slowly aimed the crosshairs at the alpha wolf. The alpha wolf was a thousand meters from the cave and was clearly more alert and agile than ordinary Rot Wolves. At this distance, a hit would require a sniper with a second-level specialization in sniping and a new sniper rifle from a major company in the new era. Berg was not a second-level sniper, and he was using an old sniper rifle from the old era. Whether he could hit it was a matter of luck.

"We need to find a way to kill it!" Berg repeated to himself, the crosshairs patiently following the alpha wolf's movements.

Finally!

The alpha wolf stood straight, stretching its nose to sniff the air. Such a rare opportunity, Berg would not miss. He immediately and decisively pulled the trigger!

Bang! The powerful recoil slammed into Berg's shoulder, pushing him back ten centimeters. But in the scope, Berg saw clearly that the moment the muzzle flashed, the alpha wolf suddenly dropped with incredible agility, disappearing into the wolf pack! A second later, a large blood flower bloomed on another Rot Wolf, almost severing its flexible and powerful waist. But Berg's heart sank to the bottom; such an opportunity would not come again.

Berg buried his head in his arms, feeling helpless.

A rough, strong, and warm hand patted Berg's shoulder, and Turner's unique, steady voice sounded in his ear: "In the past twenty years, I've messed up worse things. Don't think too much, kid. If you can't do it, no one here can. Sometimes, we just need to do our best and leave the rest to luck."

Three days passed.

The alpha wolf continued to coordinate and command the wolf pack's actions, maintaining order. Any Rot Wolves that refused to obey were killed. When necessary, it still walked upright but did not stay in one place for long, often hiding in the wolf pack. Except for its wolf-like appearance, it looked more like a calm, cruel, and cunning human commander.

"We need to find a way to kill it..."

On the mountain ridge, a green eye with gray stripes stared at the alpha wolf. He had lain on the ridge, which overlooked the entire valley, at some point, wrapped in a thick, yellow-brown blanket that blended perfectly with the surrounding rocks. After observing for a long time, a gun barrel wrapped in brown cloth slowly emerged from under the blanket, and the old sight above it slowly aimed at the alpha wolf's head.