A Post-Apocalyptic Journey to Another World

The Eighth Company's reconnaissance mission was naturally assigned to the Fifth Platoon. Platoon Leader Long Wenzhang led his six soldiers, using an armored vehicle as cover, and slowly advanced in a defensive formation. They did not encounter the expected attack; the wolf pack seemed to have vanished. Only the eerie silence around them served as a constant reminder that danger lurked nearby.

As the column advanced deeper, the armored vehicle stopped in front of a narrow alley. The vehicle commander climbed out and said to Long Wenzhang, "Sergeant Long, this is a densely populated residential area. The alley is too narrow, so we can only take you this far. I'll stop here and provide you with a firing position. If anything unexpected happens, retreat here immediately!"

Long Wenzhang nodded, raised his right hand to his subordinates, and shouted, "All of you in the Fifth Squad! Put on your thermal imaging cameras!" Upon hearing the order, Zhang Xi and the others pulled down a device resembling a monocular telescope from their helmets and pointed it at their left eyes.

This individual soldier observation equipment, equipped with night vision goggles and infrared imaging capabilities, is a powerful tool for urban warfare. A soldier wearing it gains night vision through one eye and the ability to see heat sources on a human body through walls.

The other eye still has normal vision. Most people might not be able to adapt to this visual difference, but the soldiers who have undergone targeted training have no problem at all.

After putting on the thermal imaging device, Zhang Xi volunteered: "Squad leader, I want to be the first soldier!"

Xu Liang immediately followed suit: "Squad leader, I want to be the first one too!"

Long Wenzhang glared at them and said, "Have you forgotten what I just told you? You two stay in the middle and provide fire support! Do you know why you two were assigned to my squad? Because the last two recruits in my squad didn't listen to me and they died!"

Zhao Xin and Wei Ming, you two will lead the way!

The two people called upon exchanged a glance and immediately stepped forward to the front of the group to continue advancing. Along the way, they could see the mutilated corpses of townspeople from time to time. The fifth squad advanced another hundred meters or so before finally encountering a situation.

Zhao Xin first issued a warning through the helmet-mounted intercom: "Three black wolves are stealthily approaching in the alley about fifty meters to the left." Wei Ming also noticed the situation: "Two black wolves are thirty meters to the right! Unfortunately, high-explosive dumdum rounds can't penetrate walls!"

"Stop complaining! Prepare to fire, anticipate the attack, and give these five stupid wolves who think they're hiding so well a big gift!" Long Wenzhang said.

Five black wolves were gradually approaching, and the soldiers focused their attention, preparing to fire. Just as the soldiers' attention was drawn to the black wolves in front, Zhang Xi suddenly heard a strange cry from behind, a short sound that resembled both a dog's bark and a baby's cry.

"Oh no, it's the 'terrifying howl' of a dire wolf!" Zhang Xi turned around and saw a smaller, ugly black wolf. It was slightly smaller than a black wolf, and its fur had fallen off, forming patches of baldness that exposed half-rotten flesh, making it nauseating! At this moment, the dire wolf was biting the throat of a soldier who was acting as a rear guard, while another soldier was holding his head in his hands, rolling on the ground in pain!

The appearance of the dire wolves surprised Zhang Xi, as dire wolves are not usually found in ordinary black wolf packs. He knew the cunning of these monsters very well, so he didn't intend to use a gun at all. Instead, he took out an axe and silently approached from the side.

The dire wolf tossed its head, dropping the corpse in its mouth, and pounced straight at the soldier named Sun Haitao on the ground. Sun Haitao had just recovered from his 'terrifying howl'. Seeing his comrade's corpse and the wolf's jaws already biting at him, he had no time to dodge.

He raised his left arm, blocking the wolf's throat with a "crack," and his arm was bitten and deformed, blood splattering everywhere! Sun Haitao roared, "Ah!" and his right arm gripped the dire wolf's neck, and the two rolled together!

The five black wolves that had been waiting in front seized the opportunity to attack, lunging out together. However, Zhao Xin and Wei Ming were unaffected by the sudden turn of events behind them. They opened fire simultaneously, their automatic rifle bullets sweeping across two fan-shaped areas, knocking down two of the five wolves and forcing the remaining three back.

These are the best soldiers: they focus on their duties and unconditionally trust their teammates!

The dire wolves and black wolves attacked from both sides, their coordination impeccable, moving almost simultaneously. The soldiers of the Fifth Platoon would have been breached if they had made even the slightest mistake. But Zhao Xin and Wei Ming's composure, and Sun Haitao's ferocity, surprised these monsters.

The dire wolf was very cunning. Seeing that his sneak attack had failed, he used his speed and strength to forcibly drag Sun Haitao into the alley behind him, trying to escape.

Long Wenzhang and Xu Liang raised their guns, but the Dire Wolf deliberately used Sun Haitao's body to block their shots. Although the Dire Wolf was smaller, unlike monsters below the level of the Black Wolf, it possessed the strength of a Bronze Tier 1 monster. Sun Haitao's weight of over 140 kilograms was no burden to it at all. With a backward leap, it was already far away from Long Wenzhang and Xu Liang.

A mocking glint flashed in the cunning monster's eyes. Dragging its spoils, it was about to dart into an alley when it turned around and saw a flash of cold light from its side. A sharp axe cleaved down in an instant.

Just as Zhang Xi chopped off the dire wolf's head, Zhao Xin sent out another alert: "More than a dozen black wolves are charging over, less than a hundred meters away!"

Long Wenzhang rushed over, quickly carried the unconscious Sun Haitao on his back, and shouted to everyone, "Frontline soldiers become rear guards, take turns covering the retreat!"

Xu Liang carried another dead soldier on his back, while Zhang Xi lifted the corpse of the Dire Wolf in one hand, and followed Long Wenzhang.

……

The attack failed, and Xue Gang summoned the three company commanders. This time, several men from the Fifth Platoon were also in the command vehicle. Xue Gang's face was grim: "Report the situation!"

"Of the seven members of my reconnaissance team, three have returned. They discovered a new monster with superpowers."

"My entire reconnaissance team of five... was wiped out."

"My reconnaissance team of six men, one dead and one wounded." This was the voice of Li Liansheng, the Eighth Company Commander: "They brought back a strange black wolf carcass!"

“I’ve already seen it!” Xue Gang frowned as he stared at the dire wolf carcass in front of him. “Tell me about it!” He looked at Long Wenzhang.

Long Wenzhang said, "Of the three people in my class who came into contact with this monster, one died, one was injured, and Zhang Xi killed it!" He then pointed to Zhang Xi, who was standing to the side.

"Oh!" Xue Gang looked at the boy in front of him in surprise, then at the dire wolf's wound, and asked, "What weapon did you use to kill it?"

“This.” Zhang Xi pulled an axe from his backpack.

"You've been carrying this axe with you all this time?"

"Yes, I used to practice martial arts, so I brought it with me on this mission."

"Let's talk about this beast," Xue Gang said, getting back to the point. "You're the only one among us who has actually come into contact with it."

Zhang Xi thought for a moment. He wasn't recalling or organizing his words, but rather considering how to reveal the information about the Dire Wolf without arousing suspicion.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xi looked up and said, "We all wore infrared imaging devices, but the soldiers on the rear guard didn't spot these wolves hiding in the alley, so I think they probably don't have body temperature."

The company commander echoed, "Even the soldiers who retreated reported, 'It was those strange wolves that easily broke through our formation from behind.'"

Zhang Xi continued, "Furthermore, the decay on this wolf's body was already present; it was a semi-decayed body with no body temperature. Therefore, we can infer that it was a monster in a semi-dead state."

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