Chapter 858: Lofty Mountain

Hiss—

Chi—

Airflow jetting, reverse thrust.

The strong airflow jetted from the reverse thrust nozzle on the fighter's belly blew up the withered branches and leaves on the ground.

Near sunset, the warm yellow afterglow reflected a metallic sheen on the jet's all-black fuselage, and streams of hot evaporating water vapor slowly rose.

Engine shut down, cooling down.

After 4 hours and 9 minutes of high-speed flight, the fighter finally landed on Highway 109 in East Mountain County.

The huge fuselage almost occupied the entire road, like a resting eagle, its wings relaxed and comfortable, casting a long shadow on the ground.

Once bustling and connecting north and south, Highway 109 now only had scattered wrecks of crashed cars.

At the endless highway guardrail, there were many gaps.

One could barely see several out-of-control trucks that had broken through the guardrail, plunging into the fields on either side.

The asphalt road was cracked, weeds stubbornly punched through the thick asphalt layer, and mildew grew on the surface.

On the nearest car, a corpse stuck in the windshield, the zombie let out a dull roar at the people below.

Wind-baked and sun-exposed, stuck in the glass, it even had a patch of grass growing on its head.

It must be said, the tenacity of zombie life can rival that of weeds.

They seem able to survive at any time.

As long as their brains remain intact and not turned to mush, these tireless monsters will always roar and lunge at living beings to express their love for flesh and blood.

"Brother Lin, should we just park the fighter here?"

Just after disengaging from the fighter's combined state, Yun Tian wearily rubbed his forehead.

After flying at lower altitude, although they encountered no danger along the way, focusing all attention on gathering map information really wore him out.

They were lucky, they didn't encounter any flying mutants or third-rank mutants.

Apart from a few survivors in city high-rises who spotted them and frantically waved and shouted, trying to get them to stop, there wasn't much worth mentioning.

Just, it must be said, humanity's survival ability is truly tenacious.

During the flight, they actually ran into a pair of survivors hiding on a sightseeing airship.

"Hmm."

"Activate the self-hovering alert, just leave it here."

Lin An nodded slightly.

Standing in front of the fighter, a silver-blue light flashed in his pupils; the newly exchanged A-rank True Eye activated directly, like a telescope, quickly observing the scenery at the horizon.

The target gathering place is still about 600 kilometers away.

The target gathering place lies within the Ring Mountain Range; the outer perimeter is a newly built safe zone by human survivors, while the middle layer is a special zone.

Logically, one could just fly straight there and rescue the people.

However, according to the information provided by Chu An, the location is similarly surrounded by a ring-shaped black domain, suggesting a special event.

There are also traces of third-rank mutants entrenched on the ground.

Trying to fly in would undoubtedly be too risky; one might even lose the base's sole spiritual energy fighter jet.

After much consideration, Lin An still decided to lead the team in on foot from the ground, while also taking out mutants in two directions.

Compared to the monsters that many Awakened Ones fear and desperately want to flee from.

As for genuine combat between the third ranks, he actually had considerable anticipation.

"Captain Lin, should we just park the big treasure here?!"

"What if some damn thing starts running off?!"

Jumping down from the fighter in one step, the fuselage shook slightly.

Xiong Hanzi belched, wrapped in a towel, reluctantly gazing at the spiritual energy fighter jet.

His heart is too big.

Since takeoff, he hasn't stopped feasting inside the fighter, even taking a leisurely bath.

When he got into the mood, he even turned on the sound equipment, preparing to sing a song, almost prompting the sleepy Mo Ling to stab him with a knife.

He felt somewhat wronged, as he said.

"Old Zhang, we've followed Captain Lin through thick and thin for so long; back now, can't we even enjoy ourselves?!"

Seeing Xiong Hanzi's reluctant gaze, Lin An really couldn't be bothered to deal with him.

This spiritual energy fighter jet comes with a weak AI; ordinary Awakened Ones can't even damage its surface defenses, let alone bring it down with rocket artillery.

During ultra-high-speed flight, as long as it doesn't encounter a third-rank mutant ambush, the fighter will automatically ascend to evade.

Without his identity command, at this stage, almost no survivors can operate it.

"The ring won't fit; if you're reluctant, just leave it here to keep watch."

After casually replying, a white light flashed from Lin An's fingertip.

A modified mountain off-road vehicle clanged onto the highway.

Although his speed makes it unnecessary, neither Mo Ling nor Yun Tian have the stamina for long-distance rushes.

Zhang Tie shuddered all over; upon hearing Lin An's words, his face twisted into an ugly grin as he piled into the off-road vehicle, fearing Lin An would really abandon him here.

What a joke.

Not following Captain Lin, he returned to the fighter.

Maybe Chu the Pervert would secretly command the fighter to fly him back while he slept, continuing that inhumane weapon test.

After barely escaping, he was truly afraid of that pervert.

The engine roared as the off-road vehicle's wheels crushed the exploded-head corpses on the ground, speeding along the highway.

Yun Tian drove, Lin An sat in the back with Mo Ling.

Sporadic gunfire sounded.

Xiong Hanzi grabbed a heavy machine gun, casually mounting it on the car window and aiming left and right; any zombie he ran into along the way was considered bloody unlucky.

Through the rearview mirror, Zhang Tie sighed as he looked at the disguised Lin An:

"Lin Dui, your face is much more low-key now..."

Plain and unadorned, after using a mechanical compass together with Mi Lai's scalpel, Lin An now looks like a somewhat handsome young man.

Although that unhideable temperament adds to him, he still draws people's gazes.

But compared to before, whether he wears a mask or not, the outfit that could once shock people at a glance now seems quite ordinary.

Curled up in Lin An's arms, the little Mo Ling gave Xiong Hanzi a weak, annoyed glance, while the blood corpse stored in the trunk stirred slightly.

That guy Zhang Tie chattered nonstop all the way, like a motormouth.

Even Yun Tian, who always thought Lin An's squad members were incredibly mysterious, was now a bit speechless.

In the minds of these base personnel, Zhang Tie looks fierce and ruthless, seeming like a man of few words, much like Lin An.

But after interacting with him, they discovered he was actually just a simpleton.

Disguising himself, there was actually no special reason for it.

It was purely to prevent the outside world from realizing Lin An had left Long'an Base, or rather, given Lin An's current reputation, they'd likely be stared at wherever they went.

That would be really troublesome.

Sitting in the back seat, Lin An habitually rubbed Mo Ling's little head, his mind immersed in the map being constructed in real time.

After driving a bit further, they would reach the nearest Safe Zone.

There, they should be able to obtain clues about the Heiyu Area.

He always maintained sufficient vigilance toward special events.

He didn't know what kind of event it would be...

The scenery outside the window retreated quickly; with Yun Tian driving, this modified off-road vehicle naturally ran smoothly.

Just as he was simulating and estimating, an unexpected system prompt suddenly sounded.

"Beep, a new rescuer mission has been added; please check it promptly!"