“Everyone get in the vehicles, everyone get in the vehicles! Follow the lead car, follow the lead car!” The place where everyone stopped was uneven, with trees fallen and collapsed around, providing no shelter whatsoever. Finding cover was out of the question now, and who knows if it’s safe inside those ‘forests’.
If they could find a relatively flat area and arrange the vehicles in a defensive formation, that would be the best option.
The uneven road surface caused several vehicles with low ground clearance to get stuck in mid-air, no matter how they maneuvered the wheels. The people in the following vehicles didn’t dare to get out and push the cars or take a detour through the roadside bushes.
For a moment, the convoy was split into sections. Many people started cursing the vehicles blocking the road through the intercoms. Most of the blocked vehicles were commercial vans, especially the extended ones, and the people inside them were even more furious.
Just as the argument was heating up, the command vehicle cut off all communication channels. Colonel Wu Zhong’s voice came through, “Attention armored vehicles, send a few people to pull those stuck vehicles over as quickly as possible!”
As he spoke, several soldiers descended from the armored vehicles, rushing towards the nearest stuck cars with ropes in their hands.
“Who saw that it was sparrows flying towards us? Which vehicle number?”
The other vehicles’ intercoms were reopened, and they heard a voice saying, “It was me, Vehicle 014.”
While requesting information about the ability user in Vehicle 014 from his deputy, Colonel Wu Zhong gave instructions, “You continue to observe their speed, distance, and estimate their approximate numbers. The distance is too far now, the binoculars are not clear enough.”
The person in Vehicle 014 hesitated for a moment and replied, “I can estimate the distance and approximate numbers, but I can’t calculate their speed.” Well, of course not. Most people, once they leave the classroom, return their knowledge of physics and such to their teachers. Who could calculate such things in such a short time?
Seeing the information of the esper in Vehicle 014 and hearing the person’s response, Colonel Wu Zhong couldn’t help but smile wryly, “It’s okay, just estimate the other two types.”
He had instinctively treated the person as a soldier from the Information Group.
“It seems to be that person was called Su… Daji? He should be a visual-type ability user, right?” Due to the distortion in the intercom, it was only now that Xu Song recognized the voice of the person speaking on the intercom.
“Probably. That makes sense, no wonder he’s such a good shot.” Yue Zheng understood as well. Seeing the vehicles being pulled over the slope in front, he stepped on the accelerator and increased the horsepower, rushing over the broken slope. Vehicle 019, driven by Wang An, followed closely behind.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Now, the binoculars can clearly see the sparrows, but are those dog-sized things really the sparrows in people’s impressions?!
“Prepare in place! Be ready to counterattack. The closer vehicles should gather together for mutual support. Those with weapons, be prepared, and those with long-range abilities, be ready as well!” The voice from the command vehicle made everyone anxious. The drivers of each vehicle hurriedly adjusted their directions to prepare for the counterattack.
“Are they really charging at us?!” a trembling voice came from one of the vehicles. Everyone hoped that these sparrows were just ‘passing by’. Looking at the flock of birds resembling a gray mist, no one wanted to provoke these densely packed avian creatures.
“Even if they don’t intend to attack us, the convoy must be prepared for the worst-case scenario. All vehicles follow the command and initiate the attack!” Colonel Wu Zhong naturally hoped that these creatures were not interested in human flesh. After all, dying in the mouths of sparrows sounded less glorious than dying under the attack of mutated vines.
Chirping and chattering.
The chubby, seemingly enlarged sparrows flew in groups. When they were about twenty or thirty meters away from the convoy, the leading sparrows suddenly dived downward! Their target was the convoy!
“Open fire!” How much force would sparrows the size of small dogs have when diving down? Colonel Wu Zhong had no intention of testing that.
Upon command, gunshots resounded from various vehicles. Not to mention the armored vehicles, each vehicle had considerable combat capabilities. And each military vehicle had at least two occupants, either soldiers or police officers.
Yue Zheng opened the window next to him, leaned out, and shot with his gun. Xu Song had already retrieved the flamethrower he used last night from the rear compartment and strapped it to his back, ready at any moment. He only needed those birds to come within range, and he would start roasting the little chickens.
“Bang bang bang bang!” First came a series of gunshots, but not everyone had the skill of a sharpshooter who could hit every target. Especially since the birds’ bodies were noticeably different from humans, most people could only rely on their instincts to hit the sparrows.
What was even more frustrating was that these sparrows had significantly increased in weight after mutation. Even if they were injured or even killed, they continued to plummet in the original parabolic trajectory…
“Thud, thud, thud!” The sound of injured sparrows unable to adjust their course and colliding with vehicles, as well as the sound of some birds crashing directly onto the ground.
The chaotic sound of chirping filled the air. The large number of sparrows following behind was obviously greater than those in the front. However, the number of shooters was relatively small. The sparrows mixed in with their injured companions, colliding with the people who were standing on the vehicles and shooting from the overhead firing ports.
Many people who had caught sparrows alive knew that sparrows had a fierce nature. Even if they were battered and bruised, they would never give up on breaking free from their cages. Now, these mutated sparrows had obviously undergone significant enhancements, especially in their heads and beaks.
One sparrow flew straight towards the car window, unexpectedly causing the tempered glass to shatter!
Xu Song was momentarily stunned. As several sparrows rushed towards his vehicle, he quickly extended his hand, holding the flamethrower, and unleashed a burst of flames. Sharp cries emitted from the charred mouths of the sparrows, and within seconds, they turned into blackened corpses on the ground.
A cry of agony came from the vehicle beside them. It turned out that several sparrows had pounced on Wang An, leaving numerous small wounds on his face and body from their sharp claws and beaks.
Some clever sparrows managed to avoid Xu Song’s attack and converged near the window of Yue Zheng’s vehicle. Without enough time to reload his gun, Yue Zheng drew his dagger and slashed at the group of sparrows.
Each vehicle was surrounded by a dozen sparrows, and more avian forces joined the battle. The sound of screams echoed from the vehicles as men and women fought back. Some soldiers noticed the flamethrowers being used and quickly grabbed their own from their vehicles.
Unlike plants filled with moisture, birds’ feathers were dry and highly flammable. In no time, the area around the vehicles with flamethrowers was filled with singed birds. Featherless and wingless, the small birds hopped and attacked the vehicles with their beaks, while others fled towards the nearby forests.
Apart from a few fierce sparrows, the remaining ones in the air realized the unfavorable situation. They spun in the air for a moment before flying away…
People stood or sat in place with a sense of relief and lingering fear. Soft sobbing could be heard. Exhausted individuals dropped their weapons and sat on the ground, feeling drained.
Yue Zheng leaned back in his seat, gazing at the azure sky outside the window. Even if it was himself or the unmutated soldiers, they could kill these sparrows. But their numbers were simply overwhelming, to the point of being unmanageable.
Xu Song took off the flamethrower from his back and placed it in the rear compartment. He had used it extensively against the flock of sparrows, and he couldn’t calculate how long it had been in use anymore.
He felt a wave of dizziness. After a sleepless night and now with the added dizziness, if another wave like this were to come… heh.
The intercom crackled a few times, and Colonel Wu Zhong’s voice came through: “Each vehicle, conduct a five-minute inspection and report the losses. Each vehicle, conduct a five-minute inspection and report the losses.”
Yue Zheng opened the car door and stepped out, seeing Xu Song also getting out from the other side. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why did you come out? Go back and rest.”
“I can’t stay inside either.” Despite feeling dizzy, Xu Song couldn’t stay calm after the recent encounter. Whenever he closed his eyes, a flock of sparrows would fill his mind, completely obscuring the blue sky.
“Then you can go back when you start to feel uncomfortable.” Seeing Xu Song’s pale face but still in good spirits, Yue Zheng didn’t insist.
“Alright.” Xu Song stretched his shoulders. The oil in his flamethrower had been unused, but it felt heavy on his back no matter when he carried it, making his shoulders ache.
“Crunch.” It seemed like he stepped on something. Xu Song lowered his head and saw a carbonized sparrow crushed into debris under his foot.
“I wonder if we can eat these mutated animals?” Kicking away the charred sparrow corpse under his feet, Xu Song walked over to Yue Zheng’s side. The way the sparrows died on his side was different from Yue Zheng’s. His side was more gruesome, with all of them slashed open. Only a few that had been hit by bullets remained intact.
“I don’t know.” Yue Zheng was momentarily surprised, picking up one relatively intact sparrow from the ground. This sparrow had only a small hole on its forehead, caused by Yue Zheng shooting it.
“It probably weighs about four or five pounds, similar to the weight of a chicken. If it’s not poisonous… maybe we can really eat them?”
The two exchanged glances, and Yue Zheng handed the sparrow to Xu Song, while he picked up two relatively intact ones.
Someone in a nearby vehicle noticed their actions and also picked up one or two less mangled sparrows.
After the vehicles were inspected, apart from the scratched windows, Xu Song and Yue Zheng’s vehicle had relatively minor damages. In many other vehicles, in addition to the damage to the vehicles themselves, several people had been injured by the flock of sparrows. Some had bruises, and two individuals had lost an eye from being pecked. Not to mention, a few people had tragically been pecked to death.
The convoy rested in place for over an hour. The accompanying military doctor treated the injured personnel, while the remaining technical staff repaired the vehicles.
Due to the lack of manpower, Xu Song examined the damaged solar panel on the roof. He had witnessed the technicians installing it, and his enhanced memory allowed him to know how to disassemble and replace it. Since there were spare solar panels in the vehicle, he called for Yue Zheng’s assistance and directly replaced the damaged panel.
Looks like convoy just added a new repair tech!
I hope Yue Zheng’s comrade didn’t end up one of the two who lost an eye.
Crispy fried giant sparrow for dinner… Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🍗
Several stories have taught me, if it’s an upsized animal fighting against you, think of it as potential food! That’s how humans have survived until now…
+1
+2 think of it as a mutual consumption…
+1 food resource 😅
+4