Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 131 Tracking
The Apocalypse Church has been developing a series of "biological weapons".

Several believers worked together to lift something, which turned out to be a giant ant with its purple abdomen swollen disproportionately.

They then attached the giant ants to the projectile and launched them directly like bombs.

"Damn it, what kind of trick are they pulling now?!"

"It's a poison ant!"

Within the Blue Blade Gang, a well-informed bandit recognized the object and turned pale with fright.

Before anyone could get away, the poison ant landed and its swollen abdomen suddenly burst open.

"puff--!"

The foul-smelling, highly toxic substance splattered in all directions.

"Ahhhh——!"

"my face!"

Several bandits rolled on the ground, covering their faces. The moment their skin and armor came into contact with the venom, they hissed and emitted wisps of white smoke.

More poison ants were launched, exploding upon landing and splashing corrosive acid everywhere.

Aside from the armored troops who could hold them off, many more bandits were terrified and retreated in panic.

Apocalyptic believers, however, are quite enthusiastic about it.

The fear inflicted by this biological torture greatly excited them.

Before the white smoke from the acid had dissipated, they introduced a new weapon: throwing nests of "beehives" made of grass and mud into the enemy camp.

After the nest broke apart, a loud buzzing sound arose, and fist-sized blood mosquitoes flew out.

With a buzzing sound filling his ears, a bandit instinctively raised his hand to block, and a blood mosquito landed on his arm, its proboscis piercing his skin.

He didn't feel any pain at the bite site, but soon half of his body began to feel numb.

Oops!

He watched helplessly as the mosquito's abdomen rapidly swelled and turned red, while he himself was losing blood quickly. Then everything went black, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Those out-of-control blood mosquitoes and locusts were also attacking Apocalyptic believers.

But the fanatics didn't care.

Even with its back crawling with locusts, it still let out a sinister laugh, brandishing its machete, fighting with the mindset of sacrificing a thousand of its own to inflict eight hundred on the enemy.

"These methods... are indeed chilling."

High up in the tree, Zhuang Fan looked at the hellish scene, his expression becoming solemn.

He had underestimated the Apocalypse Cult; these madmen had mastered the art of using mutated creatures.

To deal with these lunatics in the future, all personnel must be equipped with powered armor. Only a fully enclosed life support system can withstand such biological attacks.

On the battlefield, the Blue Blade Gang finally couldn't hold on any longer.

Apart from the soldiers sealed inside the power armor who remained unharmed, the other bandits were utterly terrified.

"Fuel! Quick! Change the fuel tank!"

The flamethrower went through canister after can of fuel, even setting the surrounding trees on fire, but it just couldn't kill them all.

The insects appeared endlessly.

"Second Brother! Second Brother! Answer me!"

The third brother grabbed the communicator and frantically called, but all he heard was a buzzing electrical signal.

He grabbed his night-vision goggles and frantically searched the battlefield, which was filled with fire and thick smoke.

Finally, he found it.

At the edge of the battlefield, the second brother dodged a saber-toothed tiger's attack in a sorry state, but before he could even stand firm, a heavily wounded iron-horned rhinoceros with red eyes charged at him from the side.

"Damn it, why are they always coming after me!"

After being knocked to the ground, the second child was dizzy and unable to get up immediately.

"Get up!" the third brother shouted instinctively.

But it was too late; the swarms of locusts and blood mosquitoes overwhelmed him.

The third brother watched helplessly as his second brother collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing violently, and then he stopped moving.

When the insects dispersed, only a rapidly shriveling human skeleton remained on the spot.

The third brother's hands and feet were ice cold.

The fourth and fifth brothers are dead, and now the second brother is dead too.

This immense pressure finally broke him.

"retreat!!"

He grabbed the communicator and shouted with all his might, "Everyone retreat! Retreat to the church camp! Quickly!"

The Blue Blade Gang members felt as if they had been granted a pardon and fled desperately toward the church.

However, the armored soldiers ran even faster.

"Are you all crazy?!"

The third brother was so angry at the sight that his chest tightened: "The armored soldiers are all covering my retreat!"

His roar exploded through the communicator, causing the fleeing armored soldiers to pause, clearly unwilling, but they eventually turned their aircraft around.

Thus, those twenty-odd powered armor units became the last line of defense against death, barely slowing down the swarm of insects and fanatics with machine gun fire.

The followers of the Apocalypse Church pursued relentlessly, howling as they crossed the burning forest, chasing them all the way to the open area outside the church.

When they rushed out of the woods and into the empty ruins, their original advantage was greatly diminished.

The Blue Blade Gang, having retreated to their camp, finally had a chance to catch their breath, thanks to their cover, fortifications, and the supply of materials from the rear.

"beat!"

They quickly regained their footing and began a fierce counterattack.

"Drone! Take off and launch!"

"Throw all the landmines out!"

"Flameblasters, guard the gate!"

Several small drones, laden with bombs, buzzed into the air and swooped down toward the densest part of the Apocalypse Cult.

The flamethrower spewed out a five- or six-meter-long fire dragon, forming a deadly wall of fire at the church entrance.

The Blue Blade Gang deployed all available heavy firepower, forcefully pushing back the Apocalypse Cult's pursuers.

A field of charred corpses lay outside the defensive line, and the wails of the fanatics seemed to still linger.

The fierce chase has finally come to an end.

The area outside the church was in a mess. The third brother stood alone under the bell tower, covered in blood, his eyes filled with grief and confusion.

He suddenly remembered that throughout this hellish battle, it seemed that his good brother... was still fast asleep.

The third brother kicked open the door to the inner room, and a strong smell of alcohol hit him.

Lan Ge was still lying sprawled on the bed, snoring loudly.

"Worthy!"

The third brother grabbed him by the collar and slapped him repeatedly, but Brother Lan continued to groan drunkenly.

"Clap clap-!"

He was slapped more than a dozen times, his face was red and swollen, but he still hadn't woken up.

"Alright, alright, still not awake, huh!"

Enraged, the third brother grabbed a half-empty bottle of strong liquor, pried open Lan Ge's mouth, and forced it down his nose and throat.

"Ugh! Cough cough cough!!"

Lan Ge sprang up as if drowning, arching his back and coughing violently.

"Cough...you...what the hell are you doing..." Brother Lan was drunk and dazed, and hadn't realized anything yet.

"What?"

The third brother's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse: "Big brother! Two-thirds of our men are gone!"

He grabbed Lan Ge by the collar and roared, "Second Brother is dead! Fourth Brother is dead too! They were all killed by those bastards from the Apocalypse Cult!"

These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Blue Brother's head.

He sobered up considerably, grabbed the third brother's arm, and said incredulously, "Say it again! The second and fourth brothers..."

The third brother nodded sadly and briefly recounted the entire battle.

Upon hearing this, Blue felt even more dizzy and began pounding the ground and wailing, "It's the Apocalypse Cult again! This is never going to end!"

He jumped to his feet: "Let's go! Get our weapons! Kill them and avenge our brothers!"

"My dear brother, what else do you want to do? The man is almost gone!" The third brother slumped to the ground, looking utterly dejected.

"Why are you chickening out? The other side must have suffered heavy losses too!"

The third brother rubbed his temples wearily: "The Apocalypse Cult claims to have a million members. Wherever there are mutants, they are there. You destroyed one of their strongholds, and then what?"

Seeing that Brother Lan didn't say anything, the third brother continued, "They outnumber us and are particularly vengeful. They will never let us go. We are now locked in a life-or-death struggle."

Blue Brother fell silent.

The alcohol and the traumatic experience left him with a splitting headache.

He slumped back onto the bed, the only sound in the room his heavy breathing. After a long while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Then...what should we do? Tell me!"

"Let's go to the south of the city."

The third brother hung his head and sighed, "Leave this godforsaken place, the farther the better. Change your name and identity, even if it means becoming a highway robber."

"Where are those officials in the city?"

"them?"

The third brother sneered: "Officials are too hard to please. We do so much dirty work, and they just throw us a few bones to get rid of us. It's no fun. It's much more enjoyable to be a mountain bandit."

"I'm not reconciled! We were the local bullies in the north of the city, how did things turn out like this? Why?!"

In a fit of impotent rage, Brother Lan smashed things around before clutching his swollen and painful face.

"Ouch! What the hell happened to my face?! Who attacked me?!"

"You bumped into it yourself," the third brother vehemently denied.

Lan Ge was taken aback, seemingly trying to recall when he had bumped into something.

After thinking it over, his emotions finally calmed down. He stared coldly at the third brother, regaining a trace of his pig-headed authority:
"Okay, let's hurry up and pack up and run away."

At this time, the area outside the church camp was in a mess.

The surviving Blue Blade gang members were all weak and listless, packing up the supplies that were still usable.

"If only we had known sooner, we wouldn't have given up our territory in the north of the city..."

"Exactly, now they're like stray dogs."

The bandits were complaining to each other, and their morale was extremely low.

A strange bandit also infiltrated the group; his face was covered in blood and grime, making it impossible to discern his features.

"Hey, you're right."

He chimed in with his own complaints: "Those guys in white robes are like ground rats, even crazier than the ones up north."

Despite his complaints, this person didn't stop working; in fact, he was even more proactive than others, always taking on the heaviest tasks.

"Hey, load those boxes onto the truck!"

The old bandits were satisfied with his hard work and naturally assigned him many heavy tasks, such as moving boxes.

The unfamiliar bandit nodded and began lifting heavy boxes of power armor parts.

As he passed a pile of trash, he cried out "Ouch!" and almost tripped.

"Damn it, what a piece of junk."

He cursed and kicked out a dark, indistinct object.

The old bandit next to him immediately recognized the one who had been kicked out as "Wasteland Traveler".

He moved over discreetly, poked at the trash with his toe, and only when no one was paying attention did he suddenly squat down and stuff the communicator into his pocket.

"The civilian version, without the outer shell... but it still works." The old bandit was overjoyed, as if he had found a treasure.

By the time they had finally finished packing, the sky was beginning to lighten.

The old bandit wiped his sweat, then remembered something and muttered in puzzlement, "Hey, where's that kid who worked the hardest?"

Those around shook their heads; no one paid any attention. This unfamiliar bandit was, of course, Zhuang Fan in disguise.

He had already quietly left the camp and was now meeting up with Hua Xin on a high ground a few hundred meters away from the church.

Hua Xin had just returned, still carrying the chill of the early morning, and reported in a low voice.

"Brother Ya, the number of people on the other side of the Rift Valley is less than a quarter, and it looks like they are packing their things and preparing to leave."

"It's normal."

Zhuang Fan nodded: "The terrain there is too easy to target. Although the Apocalypse Cult is crazy, it is not stupid. It will not suffer a second time."

"Brother Ya, what about the Revelation Cult?"

Zhuang Fan spoke slowly: "Here's what you'll do, find someone clever..."

He paused, then changed his mind, "Forget it, you should keep watch yourself. Your tracking and stealth are the most reliable. I need to know where this group has moved to."

Hua Xin was very pleased with himself after being praised by him.
"Well, leave it to me!"

She suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, Brother Ya, there are still a lot of good stuff on the battlefield, but they packed it up too hastily."

"They're probably all afraid of being ambushed."

Zhuang Fan smiled and shook his head: "When we get back, have Cole bring some people to clean up the mess and see if there's anything valuable."

"Yes, and there's also a complete saber-toothed tiger carcass!"

Hua Xin's tone carried a hint of longing, "That's tiger meat... I've never eaten it before."

Zhuang Fan glanced at her upon hearing this, a strange look on his face: "That was your ancestor. Don't forget you're both felines."

Hua Xin's expression froze, and she didn't dare to speak.

"You may not eat it, but we can."

Zhuang Fan added, "But it definitely won't taste good."

"..."

Hua Xin was even more upset and didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Brother Ya, how did you manage to sneak into the Blue Blade Gang's camp? Were you there to plant a bomb?"

"They were going to retreat after this battle, so I infiltrated their ranks. Sure enough, they were heading to the south of the city."

Hua Xin narrowed her cat-like eyes, her claws gleaming coldly: "Then we must nip this in the bud, or there will be endless trouble!"

"Well, of course I can't let them go. This show is still missing a perfect ending."

"So you planted a bomb?"

"Even better than a bomb."

Hua Xin's curiosity was piqued, but Zhuang Fan yawned and stretched.

"Ugh, what kind of bomb is that?!"

"Let's go back to base. I'm so sleepy tonight, I need to get some sleep."

"Ah, you can still sleep at this hour?"

"Why can't you sleep?"

Zhuang Fan countered, "Everything will be fine after you've had a good night's sleep."

Hua Xin seemed to understand but not quite, and seeing that her boss was being mysterious again, she could only sullenly hurry up and follow.

Only a little over 150 people remained in the Blue Blade Gang's camp.

Ten large trucks were loaded with all their belongings and goods.

Ahead and behind the convoy were rows of spiked vehicles clearing the way. Each vehicle was equipped with a machine gun, creating a formidable and imposing spectacle.

After leaving the camp, the convoy sped south without looking back.

The sky gradually cleared, dispelling the eerie fog in the wilderness, and visibility became clear.

The journey was peaceful and uneventful.

The old bandit who had picked up the "Wasteland Traveler" was sitting in one of the hedgehog cars, playing with the control panel with great interest.

He even projected a light screen, making a blurry image of a beautiful woman dance on it.

"Old Sen, this thing isn't cheap."

"Just bought it? Where did you find this secondhand item?"

"What do you mean, secondhand goods!"

Old Sen was a little dissatisfied, "I just removed the outer shell to let it air out..."

The other people in the car still cast envious glances, after all, not everyone can afford such a wasteland panel.

Just as Old Sen was feeling smug, the woman on the screen suddenly flashed, and the screen went completely black.

"Hey? What's going on?"

Before he could react, white smoke began to rise from the edge of the panel, the outer casing became scorching hot, and a burnt smell wafted from it.

"Damn it, no wonder nobody wants him!"

Old Sen was so frightened that he ripped it off from his wrist and threw it out the window while cursing.

The "Wasteland Traveler" bounced twice on the ground before being run over by the wheels of the large truck behind it.

With a loud "boom," it burst into even larger flames until it turned into an unrecognizable patch of scorched earth.

At the same time, in the middle of the convoy.

Inside the converted truck, Brother Lan was half-lying down, holding a bottle of liquor in his hand, gulping it down, his face full of depression and dejection.

The third brother, standing beside him, kept his brows furrowed as he carefully reviewed what had happened the previous night.

He always felt that the Apocalypse Church's attack was too sudden.

"Big brother."

He suddenly spoke, his voice low, "I clearly remember that the Patriarchs of the Apocalypse Church in the north and south of the city are not the same person at all."

"and then?"

“These pastors all have their own territories, and they compete fiercely with each other, often vying for believers and resources, and rarely cooperate with each other.”

Lan Ge glanced at him with blurry, drunken eyes, but didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue.

The third brother became increasingly suspicious: "We were driven from the north of the city... a strategic relocation. Logically, the patriarch in the south should either win us over or leave us alone. Why did he immediately turn on us? This doesn't make sense."

"Heh, what's so illogical about it? You always like to overthink things, Third Brother."

Brother Lan chuckled self-deprecatingly, took another large gulp of wine, and then slowly said:

“We’ve all come to the south of the city, carving up territory, seizing trade routes, and even kidnapping someone’s catwoman. Isn’t that provocation? Conflict is bound to happen. What’s so strange about that?”

"but……"

He raised the bottle: "Alright, let's drink!"

The third brother didn't answer.

Seeing that he didn't move, Brother Lan tilted his head back and took a big gulp, then realized that the bottle was empty.

He licked the bottle opening, shook it vigorously, and then threw it out the window.

"It's all gone..."

Brother Lan searched under the tables and chairs, and even lay down on the floor, but still couldn't find any new wine.

"Big brother, what are you doing?" the third brother frowned.

The bandit leader, who was in his forties, lay motionless on the ground. Suddenly, he burst into tears like a child.

"Damn it, this shouldn't have happened! I only had a hangover one night, how did it turn out like this..."

Hundreds of kilometers away, in a desolate valley.

Nuclear Group headquarters.

Minister Edward looked serious as he examined the incriminating evidence in his hand.

On the encrypted data board, there was again detailed criminal evidence of more than a dozen senior executives of the group, and the signal transmission point was still the southern suburbs.

Edward also discovered that the other party had only sent the message to him, which was like putting him in a very difficult position.

Without the slightest hesitation, he decisively reported to the board of directors and the administrative officer, sending a copy to everyone simultaneously to ensure his exoneration.

Subsequently, the chief affairs officer of the nuclear company personally intervened and went directly into Edward's office.

Upon seeing this, Edward immediately stood up and bowed slightly.

Good morning, Officer.

“I understand the situation. All those executives will be detained for further investigation.”

The administrator's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"Ok."

Edward nodded: "By the way, the South City troops have identified the source of the message as a convoy, and we can capture them alive at any time."

"No, kill them all."

Edward was somewhat taken aback: "Killed? Your Excellency, shouldn't you have arrested him and interrogated him?"

"They are disrupting company order."

The officer smiled slightly and said, "I don't care who they are, and I don't want to be led by the nose and bring more instability to the group, so I just killed them."

Edward immediately understood what the clerk meant.

If these people are caught and more information is revealed, it will only have a negative impact on the company.

"Edward, if you receive similar anonymous tips in the future, let me know first, understand?"

Clearly, the administrative officer was somewhat displeased with his decision to leak the information to the board of directors without authorization.

“I understand.” Edward nodded respectfully.

"very good."

After the clerk left, Edward sat back down in his chair but remained motionless for a long time.

The officer seemed to be taking this matter too seriously, even coming over personally to give instructions.

Silencing them directly instead of forcing them to reveal the real culprit would not align with the principle of maximizing the group's interests.

The only explanation is that he was implicated by one of the high-ranking officials involved in the crime.

Edward fell into deep thought.

Who exactly has access to so much information? And which company is the mole? How much evidence do they have?
And most importantly, why send the information to him separately? Who wants to frame him?
Edward's thoughts didn't linger for long; his command had already been issued.

The command traversed the distance between the desolate valley and the southern city, reaching directly to the nuclear division's command center.

The atmosphere here was solemn, with holographic screens everywhere, and more than a dozen intelligence specialists engrossed in analyzing data.

A commander in a crisp uniform stood solemnly in front of the communications station.

The holographic projection in front of him showed Minister Edward's serious face.

"Hello, Commander."

"Hello, Your Excellency Minister."

Although their ranks were different, making them essentially equals, the commander still reported politely:

"The unmanned sentries we deployed have completed triangulation and trajectory tracking."

He brought up several screens and unfolded them one by one:

"At that signal transmission point, only one group of people passed through within half an hour of the signal being sent. We have identified them by comparing data with the database."

The commander pulled up an image showing the Blue Blade Gang's convoy logo.

"It's the Blue Blade Gang, a second-rate bandit gang operating in Linhai City, but they've lost most of their members, now numbering about 150, and they're heading towards the southern outskirts of the city."

Edward asked in a deep voice, "Where are they going?"

"Based on our trajectory analysis, the Blue Blade Gang is heading to the northwestern mountains and shouldn't stay in the southern city."

After hearing the report, Edward's gaze turned somber. He recalled the officer's words, "Kill them all."

"Commander, please immediately dispatch a rapid deployment force to intercept this group. If they dare to resist, eliminate them on the spot."

Edward paused for a moment, then added a crucial sentence:
"But as long as they are willing to surrender and disarm, that's fine. Don't kill indiscriminately. I need prisoners on my side."

"no problem!"

Without hesitation, the commander immediately accepted the order and turned to mobilize the troops.

(End of this chapter)