Chapter 179: First Glimpse of a Prototype (Revised)

Under Shen Zexi's direction, they quickly had everything set up; just as a few people hid in Luo Jinyou's hastily built crude shelter, they heard a howling sound coming from afar.

Amid rolling dust and smoke, a murky yellow shadow seemed to appear on the distant horizon; the reinforcements of the Bone-Eating Hyena pack finally arrived.

Arriving at the battlefield even earlier than them were a few Aberrant Species drawn by the smell of blood; they looked somewhat like moles, but bore tail blades like bone spikes.

They were greedily tearing at the hyena corpses on the ground that Ying Duo had split open; upon sensing the hyena pack's approach, they immediately dug holes and burrowed underground.

The Bone-Eating Hyenas that had run here from afar numbered about ten or so, more than double what they had just faced.

Unfortunately, this pack of Bone-Eating Hyenas' mutation did not include burrowing; for a moment they could only watch as the Aberrant Species that had gnawed their comrades' corpses left holes on the surface, while they themselves could only fume helplessly.

"Howl——!"

The leading Bone-Eating Hyena let out an angry howl; several hyenas obeyed and began digging at the holes left by those Aberrant Species.

"Now!"

Shen Zexi seized the moment and immediately barked in a low voice.

At the same moment, Luo Jinyou's hand emitted a sudden earth-yellow light, directly launching the few Aberrant Species that had hidden underground but could not escape deeper into the air.

"Received!" Qi Hengyu had always been holding a spider silk provided by Ying Duo as a token of friendship; hearing Shen Zexi's command, he grabbed the silk and yanked it hard backward.

"Boom!!!"

A familiar explosion sound rang out, followed immediately by bullets fired from Ying Duo's dual guns.

Flames and thick smoke instantly engulfed the hyena pack, catching them off guard, but Ying Duo's 【Modification】 level was relatively low; the devices he crafted had limited power, merely blowing away most of the Blood Bars of that Bone-Eating Hyena group.

In the smoke, most hyenas were blasted open, flesh torn; only a couple three at the very center were killed outright.

Shen Zexi reacted half a beat slower than Ying Duo, who could see the Blood Bars, but as soon as he made out the situation, he also spoke up immediately.

"Attack!"

He pressed his hands forward, and the charged Lightning Chains surged forth, weaving above the hyena pack into a massive net crackling with golden lightning that enveloped every hyena.

Hyenas touched by the net instantly had their fur stand on end, and their normally agile movements became markedly sluggish.

An inconspicuous reagent tube was tossed beneath the hyenas' feet; accompanied by the sound of breaking glassware, a colorless, odorless gas mixed into the gun smoke.

This was one of the medicines Chen Mo Zhi carried on his person, capable of greatly lowering creatures' resistance across all attributes.

At this moment, Yang Yixie sincerely felt that he had not chosen the wrong teammates.

Watching the Bone-Eating Hyenas' heads piled with debuffs, Ying Duo's Energy Pistol never ceased firing except to reload.

"Bang bang bang bang——!"

Under the dual weakening of the lightning net and poison gas, the hyenas already wounded by the explosion became perfect targets.

Bullets radiating Ying Guang Lu energy effects, with a hint of aimless frenzy, burst forth in bloom after bloom of blood blossoms.

Luo Jinyou was not idle either; he caused the ground that had served as cover to recede, and the hyenas struggling to burst out of the lightning net or poison gas range were repeatedly wounded by sudden sharp stone spikes, further restricting their movements.

Qi Hengyu crouched to one side, watching the scene of flashing lightning and raging poison mist ahead, his mouth twitching.

His originally high fighting spirit also had to recede; looking at this scene, it was clear at a glance that this was not the sort of close-quarters melee lover he should be participating in.

The attacks from several people blanketed the sky and earth; even knowing there was such a thing as "teammate damage immunity," he would still instinctively dodge when facing those threats.

What's more, even if he really charged into that chaotic battlefield, he'd likely not be able to touch a few Aberrant Species and would only add to the chaos.

The battle completely showed a one-sided crushing trend; under Shen Zexi's excellent rhythm control, teammates fulfilling their roles, and Ying Duo's ruthless firepower overwhelming, the numerically superior hyena reinforcements were utterly wiped out.

In no more than five minutes, the wilderness wasteland returned to silence once again, leaving only a messier scattering of Aberrant Species corpses.

【Congratulations! Your level has risen to Lv. 20!】

【Ding! Modification level cap broken through!】

【Modification level: Lv. 3 raised to Lv. 4!】

Yang Yixie glanced at the game system's pop-up prompts, nodding satisfied.

Because the bomb that triggered that explosion contained his residual energy, the system counted most of the blast damage toward his contribution output, allowing him to gain a large share of experience.

Although the 【Modification】 skill could not be upgraded before, the accumulated modification proficiency remained; at this moment, he was only half a proficiency away from 【Modification】 Lv. 5.

It's just a pity that, although this monster‑killing efficiency is high, there's no way to loot corpses.

Ying Duo roughly scanned the chaotic battlefield, but found no investigable glint.

Shen Zexi cautiously observed from the side for a while, and only after confirming that no new Aberrant Species had been drawn in did he signal everyone to relax a bit.

Although Ying Duo had never been tense from start to finish.

Shen Zexi jumped down from the rock, looking at the hyena corpses below with various causes of death, while also making a quick assessment in his mind.

The plan was carried out exactly as he had said, and the team's cooperation had just begun to take shape.

But Ying Duo......

He glanced at Ying Duo, who had suddenly begun to act foolishly; this guy's uncontrollability remained, and pinning him to the "output" position was actually the only method he could think of.

It seems that from now on we should try to create as many opportunities as possible for Ying Duo to focus solely on output, rather than letting him go indulge in those "whimsical ideas".

"Even on our first cooperation we achieved this effect; everyone did a great job."

Shen Zexi said to the gathered teammates, his tone affirming, then shifted his gaze to lock onto Chen Mo Zhi, who had hardly spoken a word from beginning to end.

"Chen Mo Zhi, your toxin and the energy shock from explosions seem able to produce a chain reaction? I always thought your toxin would contact a lightning‑element explosion, but pairing your toxin with Ying Duo's bombs should yield remarkable results."

Chen Mo Zhi also hadn't expected Shen Zexi to suddenly call on him; facing Shen Zexi's praise, he slightly turned his face aside, his voice still flat but his speech a bit quicker.

"It's not the same toxin I used before; I think using another toxin would have been better in that situation."