Life as a mercenary turned into a girl is a bit difficult

Although she said so, the irritability in Hieragi Jing's heart was difficult to resolve. The responsibility lay not with Ren Xi but with her.

If such a result is caused by Lin Qin's own choice, then there is nothing he can do about it. After all, since he has made a decision, he needs to be responsible for the consequences of the decision, even if he has to pay the price of death in exchange for teaching Hiiragi Jing, an outsider. I can only express regret in my heart. There are always many deaths in this world.

But the problem is that Hiiragi interfered with Lin Qin on her own initiative. Perhaps Lin Qin should have been placed in another search team. Even if her intervention was out of good intentions to protect this fledgling young mercenary, it could lead to Lin Qin's failure. She still has an unshirkable responsibility when she is in danger.

Ren Xi once told her about the situation of the eighth search team: there are 30 people in the team, including 20 soldiers from the reclamation camp and [-] mercenaries. It is the largest search team in terms of number and proportion of mercenaries. In view of the mercenaries Due to the uneven combat quality, the eighth search team's combat capability evaluation is also the lowest, so the search route planned for them is also the most peripheral route.

If we only look at the last missing location of the Confederate team as the source of danger, the Eighth Search Team is indeed on the safest route. However, the development of fate always runs counter to people's assumptions. The idea of ​​using the point as the source of danger may not be realistic. In fact, it seems that nowhere in the entire dense forest can be called a 'safe area'.

For Li Qing, the situation in front of him was extremely difficult.

Choose to retreat?Although they were fully prepared, it had only been more than an hour since the mission started, and no clues had been obtained from the Southern Federation team, not to mention that a team of 30 people had lost contact.The Newborn City provided an engineering team and a large amount of weapons and equipment for support, but got such a result. It was unknown whether the reclamation camp could still be maintained, let alone being dismissed.

The more serious consequence is how to respond to the internal accountability of the New City in the Southern Federation. There are many forces that covet the activation agent technology of the New City Research Institute.

Continue exploring?But what kind of dangers exist in this unknown dense forest? After the 30 people, the search team is likely to suffer more serious losses. Can the reclamation camp be able to bear such losses?

After weighing for a long time, Li Qing finally made up his mind to continue the search.

However, it is obviously not possible to disperse into multiple teams. In order to prevent accidents, we must concentrate our efforts more.

"The fourth search team is gathering towards us. The remaining teams will immediately rush to the camp where the eighth search team last searched and follow the command of Researcher Ren. Researcher Ren will be solely responsible for your next actions..."

"Colonel Li?"

Ren Xi was quite surprised to be suddenly entrusted with an important task, but when he thought about the situation Li Qing was facing, he seemed to be able to figure out his decision.

"I will continue to lead the team to search for traces of the Southern Federation team. The Eighth Search Team is troublesome for researcher Ren."

Li Qing took a deep breath, as if to strengthen his determination: "Search according to the patrol route of the 5th Search Team, contact every ten...every five minutes, and report their detailed positions. Even if the contact is cut off, we will try our best to complete it." For the follow-up route, if no trace of the Eighth Search Team is found after completing the route, then we must withdraw to the previous contact point and wait for communication.”

How to choose between continuing to search and protect one's own side is the best plan Li Qing can think of. The existence of interference in this dense forest has been confirmed, and the tall and thick canopy blocks all communication methods such as flares and powered paragliders.

Dispersing actions means risks, but risks always need to be borne.

"I understand... Hiiragi Jing." Li Qing's arrangement just suited the two of them. Ren Xi simply accepted Li Qing's commission and immediately rushed to his destination.

……

The camp numbered 'H4' was exactly where they needed to go. Compared to the places they had traveled before, the journey this time was relatively smooth. Soon they met the team member responsible for picking them up and arrived here safely.

A total of more than ninety search teams from the third, fifth, sixth and seventh search teams have all assembled here according to Li Qing's order. So many people have been admitted at once. This small place is located among the rocks. The small camp seemed a bit crowded.

"Sir Ren."

As the general person in charge specified by Li Qing, as a subordinate, naturally he could no longer use his job title at the institute. After waiting for Ren Xi, the four captains of the search team immediately stepped forward to wait for Ren Xi's instructions. From the moment the second search team was attacked From the beginning, the vigilance of other teams rose rapidly. While deploying a large number of investigators, they were also anxiously waiting for Li Qing's further actions.

The loss of contact with the Eighth Search Team has obviously had an impact on all members. Even the rangers who often walk in dense forests now have an uncontrollable sense of fear for this familiar dense forest.

Ren Xi glanced around. The atmosphere among the team members seemed a bit dull. From the mental state of these people, we could see why Li Qing assigned her as the leader of a team instead of appointing another one. The leader of the search team bluntly said that most of the members of the reclamation camp were soldiers from the standing army who were afraid of facing danger.

On the contrary, the mercenaries seemed much calmer...

The [-]th Forest Patrol Team was attacked, the Southern Federation and others lost contact, the [-]nd Search Team encountered headhunting wild dogs, and then the [-]th Search Team lost contact... More and more incidents have raised the dense forest to a high-risk level.

Fear of danger is human instinct as biological creatures, and it is understandable.But they are also members of the reclamation camp, enjoy higher treatment than ordinary residents, and use the materials and equipment allocated by the government. Since they have chosen this path, they must shoulder their own responsibilities.

"Let's go!" Ren Xi gave a concise and concise instruction as soon as he opened his mouth. The more times like this, the more personal determination must be shown. The performance ability as a commander is far more effective than verbal encouragement.

With Ren Xi's clear instructions, the entire team finally resumed their mission. The number of people in the team also provided everyone with a certain courage bonus, prompting them to continue advancing deeper into the dense forest.

The road to the next camp seemed to be in a depression, where the accumulated moisture made the road muddy, allowing previous travelers to leave their traces here.

"These footprints are very fresh. Some of the shoe prints are indeed the marks left by the uniform military boots worn by members of the reclamation camp, interspersed with various unused footprints. Those should be left by mercenaries. It seems that the eighth search team has also arrived here. .”

Continuing forward along the tracks, not far ahead was the last temporary camp code-named 'H5' of the Eighth Search Team that needed to be inspected. At this moment, a piece of news that was both expected and unexpected came in. In Ren Xi's ears...their communication equipment failed.

"Our communication signals have been severely interfered with..."

It seemed that they had entered the interference range, and after several experiments, they were convinced that the conventional communication methods they used were basically ineffective.

Just as Ren Xi was discussing the topic of communication equipment with the communication staff, Hiei Jing suddenly smelled a familiar smell. The air was filled with the unique smell of rotting leaves and roots of dense forests, and the rich moisture deepened the relationship. Although the sense of smell was disturbed, Hiiragi, who has keen senses, still confirmed the truth of the smell.

It was the smell of blood.

Chapter 35 Jungle Hell

Finally, it's time to come.

If the previous news that the ranger team was wiped out and the Confederate team lost contact only added more uneasy fuel to everyone's psychology, then the corpses that died in the dense forest that they witnessed with their own eyes were what ignited this. Tinder.

Hiiragi could feel that the team's emotions had been shrouded in a cloud the moment they saw the corpse, and the excitement of blood was always so direct.

The body leaning against the tree trunk had lost its temperature for a long time, and the confusion of the second before death was still frozen in his wide-open eyes, as if he still didn't understand what happened until he died.

Judging from the clothing and equipment, he was a mercenary member of the [-]th Search Team. The culprit that took his life was the crude spear that penetrated his left chest.

The huge force caused the long hair, which was not very sharp, to penetrate the front and back of the team member's body and nail the body deeply to the tree trunk. At this moment, there was still a small amount of blood that had not yet solidified from the wound. The water gushed out, and fell drop by drop on the earth that was dyed dark red under the team member.

There are traces of grinding all over the spear, and the fiber barbs that stand up on the shaft due to the rough craftsmanship make it impossible for your hands to grasp it. Fortunately, I wear protective equipment such as tactical gloves.

Hiiragi stretched out his hand and tried to pull out the spear, but found that no matter how hard he tried, the spear remained motionless, as if it was a part of the tree trunk.

The rough texture of the spear itself and its thickness and length made Hiiragi immediately associate it with Lin Pingfeng. Although he did not directly witness the weapon that seriously injured Lin Pingfeng, the image of the spear in front of him was very consistent with what Lin Qin had told him. description, the extremely simple production process took away a life in this way.

"Is this... a handmade spear?"

The handmade traces were rough but not difficult to identify. Ren Xi immediately saw that the long stick belonged to the category of tools. After confirming this, her face became extremely ugly: "Hidden in this jungle What is... in it?"

It is difficult for humans to nail the corpse deeply into the tree trunk. Even if it is injected with a powerful activation agent, it cannot be done. But what can it be if it is not a human being...a monster?

A monster that can make and use tools?

Just thinking about this kind of thing makes people shudder. If you want to do this, you must have evolved a monster with enough intelligence to a certain extent, but are they able to deal with such a monster?

This world no longer belongs to humans. The areas that humans have explored and the monsters they have recorded are only a small part. Perhaps there is a monster hidden in this dense forest that may subvert their imagination.

"His weapons were not found, including firearms and daggers, and the ammunition in his tactical vest was also taken away..." Hiei Jing groped around the body and took away the military tags from his pocket as usual. Putting it in his pocket, the observation object also turned from the corpse to the surrounding environment, "There are many bullet casings left on the ground around, and there are craters on the tree trunks. The Eighth Search Team should have fought with some kind of existence here, and maybe there are other things around it." There are other clues..."

In fact, there was no need to wait for Hiiragi Jing to suggest that these experienced team members started their own orderly search work around the body as soon as the body was discovered. As expected, it didn't take long before they were about 50 meters away from here. The team found a second body at Mi's location.

Like the previous corpse, this corpse was also a mercenary, but in comparison, this one's fate was much more miserable.

The spear was aimed not at the chest but at the head. After the long hair as thick as an arm was pierced, less than a third of it was left. The head above the lower jaw and tongue was completely destroyed, and the surrounding ground was spattered with grass. Covered in a mixture of red and white mucus, a few relatively complete teeth were perhaps the largest fragments that could be found.

The first time he saw such a bloody scene, Ren Xi's stomach boiled uncontrollably. The bitterness that surged into his throat was suppressed by clenching his teeth. He managed to maintain his composure on the surface and not lose his composure, but his face turned pale. But there is no way to suppress it by subjective will.

This performance actually made Hiei Jing feel relieved in his heart - it seems that not all researchers have the combat ability and psychological quality of Han Nianling. Let's just say, if all the researchers are comparable to members of the security team, Then what kind of guards and external personnel does the institute need?

Two mercenary corpses, this is all the search team has found so far. Even if they take the risk and repeatedly expand the search area, there is no extra gain.

Judging from the results, at least two people from the eighth search team died and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were consumed. However, they did not find any corpse of the monster. What was the target of their battle? In the end, what was hidden in this dense forest still remains is a mystery.

However, search leads were also given to them. Although the footprints on the ground were messy, they all pointed in the same direction. It was probably the retreat route chosen by the Eighth Search Team after the attack.

that direction...

Just as Ren Xi was about to look in the direction pointed by the footprints on the ground, a series of short gunshots came from a distance without warning, which was exactly the direction the eighth search team was evacuating.

There are people!

"alert!"

The silence around them was broken by the burst of gunshots, and the depression caused by the arrival of two consecutive corpses with miserable looks was immediately ignited. They raised their guns and took aim while staring blankly in that direction, knowing that it was futile but desperately trying to open their eyes wide. Something could be seen in the darkness among the trees.

Appreciating Li Qing's entangled appearance when facing various difficulties in the reclamation camp and pressure from above is one of the few joys of Ren Xi's boring life in the reclamation camp, but it is not so interesting when such troubles fall on him.

That direction obviously deviated from the planned patrol route. According to Li Qing's instructions, if any unexpected situation occurs, you must retreat to the area where the signal is restored and try to contact him.But at this time, I don’t know if Li Qing’s side has also entered the signal interference area like them. Whether they can make contact even if they evacuate is still a mystery.What's more, the sound of gunshots over there has already shown that the survivors of the eighth search team are still fighting. Immediate rescue is likely to confirm the truth about the attackers, but no one can predict the danger involved.

"The team dispersed in combat formation and immediately moved in the direction of the gunfire."

As a researcher, there is no need to worry about facing accountability even if the search operation fails. Rushing to issue unplanned orders will only bring unnecessary trouble to herself. It is also difficult to find out the relationship between the attack itself and her. Not big.

But Ren Xi couldn't ignore the signs of the survivors there, and she couldn't mentally go to the point of refusing to save him. What's more, she felt the same guilt as Hiiragi Jing about the young mercenary named Lin Qin.

The team worked hard to move forward in the dense forest following the sound of gunfire. After the initial burst of gunfire they heard, several more shots were heard one after another, but then they were silenced and there was no sound at all.

After marching for nearly 10 minutes, the guidance of footsteps and gunshots seemed to have no end. Finally, before Ren Xi began to think about whether to give up the action and turn back, the original uniform trees ahead were replaced by a different scene.

"This is... um..."

This time Ren Xi couldn't hold it back after all. The irritating scene made her endure. She held on to the tree trunk next to her and vomited all over the floor. She returned the undigested 'luxury breakfast' to nature. She was not the only one in the group. Some of the young people among them couldn't hold on and vomited.

The two corpses just now were still within the acceptable range, but the death state in front was really a hell made of blood and blood. The ground seemed to have been specially cleared to create an open space, and both the ground and the tree trunks were stained. It was mottled dark red, and all kinds of broken limbs were scattered all over the floor, forming an approximately circular pattern. Judging from the fracture, it seemed that it had been torn apart by force.

And right in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by the pair of wreckage, there was a sharp wood standing on the ground, and on the sharp wood were strung all kinds of heads, including two headhunting wild dogs and two human heads. .

The identity of the corpse could still be identified if it was broken into pieces like this. From the fragments of surrounding clothing, it could only be inferred that the human head on it also belonged to the eighth search team.

Groups of cruel predators also strung the heads of the dead like this and placed them in their respective territories as a deterrent, but they rarely did the laborious and ineffective task of dismembering corpses.

Without Lin Qin...

Although it was selfish, Hiiragi did feel a little lucky that he didn't find any familiar faces on those heads.

But soon she suddenly noticed a problem: it would take a long time to deal with these corpses and consider the placement. At least, they would not have time to finish processing them during the time they arrived. But in this way, what they just heard How did the gunshots come from?

Just as Hiei Jing stretched out her hand and was about to slap Ren Xi on the back to make him feel better, the familiar sense of crisis made her suddenly change the action she was about to slap, and instead pushed Ren Xi aside, still bending over to empty her stomach. Ren Xi didn't expect Hiiragi Jing to come so suddenly, and almost fell down in the vomit he had just made.

"you……"

As soon as the first word of the question came out of her mouth, a flying spear caught her sight, piercing deeply into the place where she had been standing.

Another mercenary not far away who was also vomiting did not have such good luck: a spear pierced the back of his neck and passed through his wide-open mouth and sunk deep into the ground. He should have died instantly. His body kept twitching, and the vomit mixed with blood in his stomach continued to pour out of his mouth along the spear that penetrated his mouth.

"Enemy attack! Concealment!"

Hiiragi Jing, who was the first to react, shouted loudly and pulled Ren Xi, who was still stunned, to hide behind the tree next to him.

The violent beating of her heart was not due to the nervousness of being suddenly attacked, but due to the scene she saw when she turned her head just now. The person standing in the direction of throwing the spear seemed to be... a figure?

Chapter 36 Humanoid Monster

There was no warning before this sudden attack. Even if the fighting courage of these reclamation camp soldiers cannot be compared with ordinary soldiers, they should at least have a certain degree of professionalism. No matter how eye-catching the scene ahead is, arranging personnel to be responsible for vigilance should be the basis. in the foundation.

In other words, the enemy is very likely to have prioritized the surrounding security personnel before launching the attack, and quietly found the effective killing range of the throwing spears. From so many spear throwing attacks one after another, it can be seen that The number of people who have come out of each other's side is not small.

What on earth is this thing that has the ability to organize and plan, while also being able to use simple grinding tools.These points are enough to distinguish the enemy from ordinary monsters.

Just when Hiiragi was about to probe the enemy's situation, suddenly a spear penetrated deeply into the trunk of a tree not far from Hiiragi. This fierce spear did not cause any casualties, but it did. Hiiragi's expression suddenly changed when he noticed that the spear came from another direction.

They seem to be surrounded!

The team members who thought they would be temporarily safe by hiding in the bunker had not yet recovered from the chaos. Spears came from the other side alternately. The dense trees actually blocked most of the spears. Two attacks. The actual casualties caused to the team are very small, but the impact is much greater than the actual casualties.

The sense of security provided by the bunker was destroyed by being attacked from both sides. In addition, the tragic state of the corpses of teammates found before, as well as the dying cries of those team members who were penetrated by spears, brought them great mental pressure. The organized team finally wavered at this point.

"Stop! Why are you running? Don't you want to live?!"

The two mercenaries from the team fled quickly in the direction where there was no spear thrown. This reckless behavior immediately attracted the attention of others, and the team leader of the team immediately yelled and warned at the top of his voice.

Whether they are mercenaries or members of the reclamation camp, anyone with a little experience should know how risky it is to leave the team without permission in such a severe situation. No matter how scared they are, they know how to suppress their impulses. Those two people obviously belong to That group of young mercenaries who focus on huge rewards but ignore high-risk risks and overestimate their own personal abilities. When the development of the situation exceeds the limit of what they can handle, escape becomes their only choice.

Soon, this reckless behavior made them taste the price. Before the two mercenaries ran far, they were shot into hedgehogs by dozens of arrows that suddenly flew towards them.

In addition to throwing spears, are there arrows?The attack methods of these enemies are far more abundant than imagined.

Just as Hiiragi gritted his teeth and was constantly on guard against possible spears and arrows to protect Ren Xi, Ren Xi, who had been sluggish since the attack began, finally reacted.

"west……"

First, he muttered in a low voice as if talking to himself. Even Hiiragi Jing, who was standing alone, could not understand what the two syllables that suddenly appeared by Ren Xi meant. Just before Hiiragi Jing was about to ask a question, Ren Xi suddenly took a deep breath. Raising the decibel level of his voice with all his strength, he issued the first order since the battle began to the surrounding team members.

"To the west, everyone gathers the team and evacuates to the west!"

"Everyone evacuate westward!"

The retreat order with a clear direction was not a decision made by Ren Xi in a panic. The confusion was only short-lived. After being rescued by Kai Kai, she had been paying attention to the attack direction of the spears around her from the beginning. In addition, the two mercenaries who were seeking death just now Judging from the attack situation, the west side is the only direction that has not been attacked so far.

She could only give it a try and bet that the enemy's encirclement network was only formed into a preliminary pocket shape. The limitations of time and manpower meant that the enemy had no time to complete a complete encirclement. If that was the case, the west would be their only hope, even if It leads deeper into the jungle.

Ren Xi's voice ended the chaos that was gradually spreading within the team, and they were able to find the backbone. The execution of clear goals shared the psychological fear of the team members. When the team was gathered and moved west, the attacks they encountered were indeed gradually weakening, even though Attacks from the left and right were also thrown behind them.

Ren Xi made the right bet.

"Hoohoho!!!"

The spear attacks had subsided, perhaps because they were far away from the effective attack range, or because the enemies did not prepare many spears, but the enemies were obviously not willing to let them evacuate safely like this.

Without allowing anyone to relax for a moment, a high-pitched roar suddenly came from somewhere in the dense forest. It was a roar that Hiiragi had never heard before. It was neither like the roar of a mutated beast nor the roar of a mutated beast. The zombies howled as they tore apart their damaged vocal cords.