Chapter 1553: The Human-Wolf Mission Squad Returns Fully Loaded

On the morning of December 31, Year 11 of the Calamity, the sun failed to pierce the fog over Hui-1 Mountain Region 33; it only shifted the region's hue from pitch black to grey-white.

Captain of Blaze Squad's First Squad, the modified human, top-tier hearing and Level-6 elasticity evolver Huo Zhen, stood within the dense forest in fog with visibility under ten meters; he could not see the sky when he looked up, and all around and beneath him was grey-white.

Even the branches, trunks, and Huo Zhen himself were covered in a layer of ice and snow; Huo Zhen was weighed down, unable to catch his breath.

How similar…

This fog is so similar to the fog from six years ago, when he was gravely wounded and lying in the Evolution Forest, calling out to heaven with no answer, calling out to earth with no response…

If not for the captain discovering him and bringing him back to Blaze for surgery to make him a modified human, he would have frozen to death that day. He should continue executing the captain's orders to patrol the Evolution Forest, and contact the captain to report on the patrol.

But… his legs were so heavy he could not lift them.

Standing once more in such fog, a question he had buried in his heart, unwilling or afraid to face directly, surged uncontrollably into his mind: the one who gravely wounded him back then—was it the Frost Squad, or people sent by the captain?

The latter was more likely, because Deng Yufeng would absolutely do such a thing; after Huo Zhen became a modified human, he had carried out this kind of mission several times.

How many people had he killed in exchange for uncontaminated spring water and the recovery factors in Deng Yufeng's blood?

Is he doing well now? Over these years as a modified human, can he still be considered human? How long has it been since he breathed real air, ate normal food?

After he killed everyone who looked at him with strange eyes, no one dared look at him anymore; how long has it been since he saw a normal human expression…

What's the point of living like this?

After standing with his head lowered in the thick fog for nearly an hour, Huo Zhen did not continue the patrol; instead, he slowly turned around and returned to the cave where his squad was hiding.

Seeing the captain return, the squad members showed no reaction at all, numbly leaning against the stone wall or lying motionless in their sleeping bags.

This won't do! Huo Zhen pulled himself together and ordered in a low voice, "Everyone get up and eat breakfast. Little Ghost, Xinmei, the two of you will carry out the patrol in half an hour—monitor the wolves' movements."

The nine numb people began to move slowly. The youngest, the modified human codenamed Little Ghost, Huo Li, slowly crawled out of his sleeping bag, opened his pack to take out a modified-human-exclusive nutrient tube, froze for over ten seconds, then took a black sealed bag from a compartment in the pack, and from inside it took out another sealed bag—which contained a sheet of human skin.

This was the seventeenth sheet of human skin he had flayed; the previous sixteen had already been thrown away, because this one better matched his mother's build.

Huo Li took off his gloves and felt the sealed bag, wanting to draw a little warmth from it. But he could feel no warmth or peace at all; it was so cold here, this world was so cold… his mother's entire body had been burned, the skin destroyed, and she had died in agony…

Huo Li raised his hand to wipe his tears, but what he touched was the modified-human-exclusive helmet; there was no sealed modified-human dormitory here—if he took off his mask, he would not be able to breathe normally, and he would die…

Dying would be fine too; if he died, he could see his mother… he had done so many bad things—would his mother forgive him?

Huo Li raised his hand and slowly undid the clasp at his neck, removed the protective mask, and slowly pressed his pale face against the sealed bag; the cold touch made him feel even more despair.

Mother will not forgive him…

He is not called Huo Li, nor is he Little Ghost. His name is An Qing—he is his mother's Qingqing, his father's An'an; he is NOT called Huo Li!!!

"Bang!"

The twenty-two-year-old modified human Huo Li picked up a handgun and ended his own life.

The gunshot did not startle the rest of Blaze First Squad; even such a loud sound failing to draw the howl of an Evolution Wolf—this obvious abnormality—went unnoticed by anyone. Instead, the gunshot was like pressing some kind of switch.

Blaze First Squad's medic Xinmei stared at the compressed rations in her hand and broke down, muttering, "It's all bacteria, worms, so filthy… can't wash it off…"

After throwing away the rations, she continued to break down: "My hands are so filthy…"

Xinmei picked up the surgical knife that had killed countless people, and slowly, precisely, sliced into her filthy left hand; when fresh blood welled from the cut and fell to the ground, her face was full of a sick sense of relief—at last… not dirty anymore.

……

Thirty minutes later, Blaze First Squad captain Huo Zhen used a single bullet to shoot through his own brain.

Azure Dragon Second Squad's Level-9 hearing evolver Lou Xiaosheng signaled the battalion commander; Yang Jin nodded, raised his hand to gesture for Lou Xiaosheng and Chang Li to follow.

The three slowly approached Blaze First Squad's cave; after confirming through hearing and smell that everyone inside was dead, Yang Jin used his protective suit to shield his body and opened the cover at the cave entrance. The smell of blood inside was so strong that Level-9 smell evolver Chang Li involuntarily held her breath.

Yang Jin quickly assessed the situation, pressed the walkie-talkie button, and said, "Blaze First Squad has all committed suicide. Second Squad, come over and clean up the battlefield. We withdraw in one hour."

They really killed themselves?!

The Azure Dragon Second Squad members could not believe their ears—Blaze First Squad, the strongest combat squad in the Hui-1 Base battle teams—how could those lunatics possibly have committed suicide!

Luo Pei walked over and exchanged a look with Yang Jin; both saw shock in the other's eyes. Zhang San's agent… its effects are too heaven-defying…

"Aoo—woo—"

Two hours later, from the peak of Hui-1 Mountain 34 came the long howl of the Wolf King; members of the Western Wolf Pack, patrolling and hunting throughout the territory, raised their heads and answered one after another, reporting their positions to the Wolf King on the highest peak of the core territory. A tilted-headed young wolf in the human-wolf squad, which had reached the edge of the Western Wolf Pack's territory, also raised its head and howled back at the Wolf King.

The Blaze intelligence-team member responsible for monitoring the Western Wolf Pack's movements reported upward: no abnormal activity in the Western Wolf Pack's territory of Hui-1; the pack is entirely normal.

Elsewhere, the human-wolf squad advanced rapidly; half an hour later they passed from the Western Wolf Pack's territory of Hui-1 into the Northern Wolf Pack's territory of Hui-1. Lord Cui Yan Wolf King, laden with over two hundred jin of supplies, shook off the supplies, swiftly climbed to the peak of Hui-1 Mountain 29, raised his head, and let out a long howl; the pack members answered in turn.

Xie Yu, guarding a large pile of supplies, gave a small cough, suppressed the urge to howl a couple of times, and asked in a low voice, "Captain, should we now…"

Before he could finish, the old wolf sternly let out a low growl at him; deputy captain Yang Jin immediately followed up with a warning: "Keep quiet."

"Yes!"

After reprimanding the talkative squad member, Yang Jin discussed with the old wolf: "Captain, shouldn't we call Sister Qing to report the mission now?"

Reporting the mission by phone was secondary; the main issues were where to store the supplies seized on this mission, and how to handle the corpses of the Fire Phoenix and Blaze First Squad personnel—Yang Jin had to consult with Xia Qing before any of it could be decided.