Chapter 96: Made Me Nervous for a Second

"I of course... don't mean that," Xing Tianyang had originally wanted to say that was exactly what he meant, but his current position was no longer that of a simple Laboratory head, but the manager of an experimental Base.

"If you continue to disregard human life..." that old man Yang Shuo had said he would demote him directly, making him start from a menial Research Assistant, "I guarantee your job will consist only of serving tea and pouring water for the other Researchers every day!"

In truth, even if he lowered his own vision and IQ by seventy percent, he could still understand the purpose behind Yang Shuo saying that.

"Fine, but we are currently lacking equipment, and our experimental data and records are lost. Do you have any idea that this means our research from the past few months has to start all over again? And developing a safe and feasible path for human Mutation will be delayed by at least two years!"

Xing Tianyang sat on a large rock, with soldiers and civilians in the distance busy setting up tents and other shelters.

The heavy rain suppressed their voices to a small range, so there was no fear of causing panic among others.

Tan Ziyan also softened his temper; the culvert on the road they had passed through had suddenly flooded, and he had indeed tried his absolute best.

"Can't we just apply for another batch from General Command? Transporting them by plane wouldn't take too long." Tan Ziyan did not want to get involved in matters related to Mutation experiments at all, but the old chief had insisted this matter was the most important, and that he, the head of the Special Operations Team, must be the one to guard it, as he couldn't trust it to anyone else.

Sigh, what a sin; he hadn't seen his dear wife in almost a month, and he didn't know if those flies around her were bothering her. Just thinking about it made him uneasy; his adorable wife—before the apocalypse, they could only be together for two months a year due to missions, and now that it was the apocalypse, they were still separated. As a man two meters and one centimeter tall, he simply didn't want to face this.

"The current weather doesn't allow for transport; we can only wait for the rain to stop. I will report to them first," Xing Tianyang looked at the heavy rain and felt troubled, but in the blink of an eye, he encountered Tan Ziyan's chilling gaze and felt very uncomfortable, "What is it? Is there a Mutated Animal invasion?"

"Nothing! Just worrying for you guys," Tan Ziyan withdrew his resentful gaze and turned around fiercely to help set up tents.

Xing Tianyang looked at that wall-like back with confusion, realizing it only after the fact, "Made me nervous for a second."

Of course, he didn't know that this kind of nervousness had another name called 'scary as hell.'

The news of the Sky Viper snake appearing should have been delivered two days ago, but the messenger, Lv Ping, didn't know that the Captain had decisively moved to the mountains when the floodwaters rose, and he had nearly had accidents several times while wading through the water in the city area.

As a result, after finally arriving at the location, he found the place deserted. In the end, it was the training of the Special Operations Team that allowed him to find some tire tracks and track them all the way to the mountains.

When he saw the people, Lv Ping only said one sentence, "The Sky Viper snake appeared near Boss Liu's place," before fainting.

Having not closed his eyes for three days and three nights, both his physical strength and willpower had reached their limits.

Tan Ziyan settled the man down, then turned around to pull together a ten-man squad, only to be intercepted by Xing Tianyang, who had rushed over before they could head down the mountain.

"Where are you taking them?"

Xing Tianyang's thin, tall body spread his arms to block them, looking very much like he would never let anyone leave.

"Don't stop me!" Seeing that no one was coming out of the tents to watch, and not wanting the commotion to attract people, Tan Ziyan lowered his voice and said angrily, "The patrols here are already arranged. I'm taking my men on a trip; this is also one of our team's missions."

"What mission? As the person in charge here, why don't I know about it?"

Xing Tianyang might not have high emotional intelligence, but his IQ was high, and he wasn't so easily fooled, "If you want to take people away, you must first request permission from the chief; otherwise, it is dereliction of duty, disregarding the safety of everyone and all the equipment here. You have no authority to leave without permission!"

"No authority? How the hell do I have no authority?"

Tan Ziyan was furious; he stepped forward, his fan-like large hand gripping Xing Tianyang's collar and lifting him up to face him, "Do you have any idea? Those bastards from the Sky Viper snake killed the entire Border Anti-Drug Brigade, strung their heads up like coconuts at the gate of the village, and made those farmers afraid not to help them. Do you know anything?"

"My team has been fighting them for eight years, and only a third of my team members are left. If we don't wipe them out now, are we just going to let them occupy this land in Haicheng?"

Xing Tianyang was choked until his face was red, but he remained unconvinced, "Then you should know even better now which place is the right one to protect... *cough cough cough*, if they intentionally lured you away to attack this place, then all the research would be stolen. Wouldn't it be even worse if they were the first to develop a path for human Mutation?"

"This is a temporarily changed station; people outside couldn't possibly know!" A strange look flashed in Tan Ziyan's eyes, but he still didn't want to give up such a good opportunity, "They have barely appeared in the country for the last two years; if we miss this chance, where will we find them later?"

Xing Tianyang immediately retorted, "Didn't you say they want to occupy Haicheng? There's no need to look for them, is there?"

"I... damn it," being attacked by his own logic, Tan Ziyan almost couldn't keep up, "I was talking about the future. They are attacking Boss Liu now for energy; if we give them time, it's like raising a tiger that will eventually devour us!"

Saying this, he threw the man to the side, "Alright, don't block the way. If you ruin my mission, I'll execute you right now!"

Xing Tianyang was helped up from the ground by his assistant, but he didn't continue to pursue, only asking, "Do you think Liu Mu needs your help? Captain Tan, you are too self-righteous. I have already completed the genetic analysis of Liu Mu and that dog; the current her could easily wipe out your entire team by herself!"

Tan Ziyan didn't stop his pace, and Xing Tianyang shouted:

"You'll only be a hindrance if you go!"

These words finally made the team marching through the rain pause. Tan Ziyan wanted to say that he wasn't just going to help Liu Mu, but more importantly, to settle the feud between the Special Operations Team and the Sky Viper snake.

But could Liu Mu really have such terrifying strength now? She was clearly just a little girl not long ago.

"Little Xing, I must go personally," Tan Ziyan let out a breath, but still insisted, "They might not be able to handle the Sky Viper snake's methods. Besides, if Liu Mu really has evolved to such a terrifying degree, I'll even kneel to her to ask how she evolved!"

This was the third day after Li Gang went to the Barrier to seek reinforcements; Tan Ziyan's group of ten traveled light in off-road vehicles, their speed actually a bit faster than the convoy that had set out from the Barrier.

Added to the fact that, geographically, the city area was actually closer to Long City than the Barrier side, they were actually a few hours ahead of the convoy when they arrived at Yang Family Town.

And because there were few of them and they were highly mobile, they had quietly discovered the tracks of the Sky Viper snake.

After his team members reported the situation, Tan Ziyan personally kept watch for a night. Seeing that the opponent's weapons and ammunition had basically arrived, though supplies were not yet abundant—presumably also on the way—he estimated that the latest time for their attack would be before the supplies arrived.

Why before?

The logic was actually very simple: if the attack succeeded, the supplies would count as a reward, a reward for them to have a full meal.

But if they were exposed or failed, the supplies could return the way they came without attracting too much attention.

Moreover, among the people going in and out, Tan Ziyan had recognized a 'big shot' of the Sky Viper snake.