Chapter 74: 72. Maggot Men (Second Update)

72. Maggot Men (Second Update)

At this very moment, both of Xin Junmao's arms were pinned behind his back; he gritted his teeth in pain, unable to move, his peripheral vision catching the two old people standing on his left and right who were restraining his arms.

Who could have imagined that their withered, wrinkled hands contained such incredible strength? He, a young man who exercised regularly, simply could not overpower these two old people.

The members of the Evolution Heaven organization present, wearing gray robes—men and women, old and young alike—had pale complexions, hollow eyes, and were thin as rails, resembling corpses, yet every one of them possessed strength and physical fitness far exceeding that of ordinary people.

They were the Gospel Crowd who were qualified to live in the underground city and gaze upon the appearance of the Daughter of Gluttony at close range; they were equivalent to nobles among the organization's members, and it seemed that by living for a long time in the area where the Daughter of Gluttony resided, their bodies had also undergone unknown changes, as if they had truly received a blessing.

Suppressed by these monsters wearing human skin, Xin Junmao had no choice but to obediently follow the instructions of these people to avoid having his arms broken, as he was escorted by the gray-robed people toward the giant Stone Gate; he knew that behind that Stone Gate was the palace of the Daughter of Gluttony.

Just as Xin Junmao was struggling to think of a strategy to break the situation, he suddenly heard several gunshots from behind him; he instinctively wanted to turn his head, but was fiercely pressed back by the two old people who noticed his movement.

Wincing in pain, Xin Junmao could only judge what was happening behind him through the sounds he heard.

The sounds of gunfire and ricocheting bullets were constant, mixed with the sounds of tyrannical human roars; Xin Junmao heard someone faintly calling his name, and his heart suddenly leaped: "It's the Mysterious Investigators; they've finally come."

Thinking that he had hope of being rescued, Xin Junmao felt much more settled in his heart.

"Walk faster." The old woman restraining his right arm noticed Xin Junmao's little trick of walking slowly on purpose; she immediately said viciously, and quite decisively, she twisted one of his fingers, bending his right thumb to a bizarre angle.

Xin Junmao gritted his teeth in pain, beads of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead; to save his remaining fingers, he had no choice but to honestly continue moving forward.

Just at this moment, two figures moving at extreme speed suddenly vaulted over walls and skimmed across the surface, flashing past the corner of Xin Junmao's eye; immediately afterward, he felt his hands loosen, losing the feeling of being bound, and he fell down, unable to stand steadily, while the pair of old people who had restrained his arms were fiercely knocked flying.

Scrambling up and looking back, Xin Junmao was surprised to find two sturdy twin brothers standing to his left and right; they were wearing black tank tops, revealing well-defined bare arms, their faces resolute and filled with righteous awe, their eyes like torches as they looked at the followers of the Daughter of Gluttony rushing toward them.

The brothers clenched their fists, their finger joints emitting crisp cracking sounds, and they stepped forward with force, colliding with those madmen.

Fists like galloping thunder and lightning, feet like sweeping dragons; every attack from the brothers landed precisely on the weak points of the human body, and everyone hit by the brothers' fists and feet almost lost the ability to fight again.

This pair of twin Mysterious Investigators from the Snake Team were masters of traditional martial arts, their physiques far exceeding those of ordinary people; according to them, they had already been able to sense the "Qi Sense" that existed in legends of the pugilistic world and apply it, easily accomplishing things that ordinary people could not, such as vaulting over walls at short distances or injuring people with plucked leaves; they no longer needed to carry weapons, as their bodies, tempered through thousands of trials, were themselves the greatest lethal weapons.

Seeing the two warriors descend like divine soldiers before his eyes, Xin Junmao felt a sense of peace and excitement from the bottom of his heart, thinking that he was finally safe, and his heart relaxed slightly; he hurriedly scrambled up to find a place to hide.

Although these followers of the Daughter of Gluttony had undergone some mutations, they were ultimately only a bit stronger than normal people; when facing professionally trained and technologically enhanced Mysterious Investigators, their foundation was not enough to compete.

"To defend the glory of the Daughter of Evolution (Daughter of Gluttony)!"

Seeing that they were falling into a disadvantage, those crazy followers revealed even more hideous faces; they tore open the gray robes on their bodies, revealing chests where their hearts were parasitized by twisted, moving black tentacles.

Seeing those black tentacles, the Mysterious Investigators' expressions changed, while Xin Junmao's hair stood on end.

"Increase the distance!" He Jia'an and She Zi'an, the two team leaders, shouted immediately upon seeing this, and the Mysterious Investigators obeyed, retreating rapidly.

Just in the shocked gazes of the crowd, those followers with fanatical expressions pulled out the black tentacles from their chests, pulling them out along with their hearts.

This group of crazed humans trembled, their life force disappearing from their bodies at a speed visible to the naked eye, yet they still stood stubbornly and straight, holding their hearts in their hands as if they had obtained some kind of fruit bearing divine power, and then began to gnaw on their own hearts hungrily.

The followers' mouths were covered in blood and filth, their eyes rolled back, but their faces were filled with intoxicated joy; they knelt on the ground, looking up at the sky as if they had seen the holy light descend, bathing in it, but they all lost their lives one after another.

One second, two seconds... After a few seconds of silence, a sudden mutation occurred!

Suddenly, the corpses of those followers began to bloat and twitch, like insects breaking out of their cocoons, tearing open their human skins to reveal bodies of flesh and blood constructed from strips of black maggots—tall, burly, and hideous.

Watching those corpses transform into crouching, evil Maggot Men, the hearts of the Mysterious Investigators sank.

The Maggot Men moved, their actions incredibly fast, pouncing toward the Mysterious Investigators; their long limbs were filled with terrifying explosive power, and with just a single punch or kick, they could shatter stone buildings; at the same time, their bodies had been strengthened, making the damage caused by bullets limited, and even if their bodies were pierced, they would heal rapidly.

"Everyone back off, I'm throwing a grenade!" He Jia'an shouted to the nearby teammates, and Yu Lianyun, Li Yingqi, and the others all scattered to avoid it.

He Jia'an took out a grenade, pulled the pin, and timed the explosion perfectly before throwing it out; it exploded instantly just centimeters in front of one of the Maggot Men.

Boom!

The bursting firelight spread rapidly, and the shrapnel hidden in the grenade flew in all directions, piercing the bodies of the Maggot Men, while the flames instantly ignited the bodies of the Maggot Men in the explosion zone.

Li Yingqi noticed that the flames seemed to adhere very easily to the bodies of the Maggot Men, so she shouted: "They fear fire, use fire to burn them!"

"Fear fire?" The Mysterious Investigators, who had been in a bitter fight, all had their eyes light up.

Bu Gaojun, who had crawled out from a corner, spat out mud and sand, his face covered in dust; upon hearing the weakness of the Maggot Men, he excitedly took a transparent bottle containing a green oily liquid from his tactical backpack.

"Damn, isn't that Green Oil?" He Jia'an noticed Bu Gaojun's actions at a glance, and his eyelids twitched wildly when he saw what Bu Gaojun had taken out.

Bu Gaojun chuckled: "Because I saw Team Leader He use it last time, after the Blood-Flesh Other Shore Flower incident ended, I exchanged the reward I got from that event for this."