Chapter 65: Gunshots
Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Gunshots
Small communities like this, housing a few dozen families, were a dime a dozen in the wasteland.
After a period of frenzied urbanization, the cities could no longer support their massive populations.
Communities of all sizes, and even small towns, began to form around these cities.
However, it was precisely these small communities, far from the major cities, that ended up being the best preserved.
Those decadent, dazzling cities often became primary targets, reduced to metallic ruins.
These small communities were also a favorite among scavengers. Most had been picked clean, and not just once.
Bena had already surveyed the small community from a slightly elevated position.
The community wasn’t large, consisting of only about twenty-odd small villas. It was clearly a very small settlement.
Each house was about 100 square meters, and there were no signs of any creatures or living people occupying the community.
After confirming there were no anomalies, Bena immediately split the team into two groups.
He and No. 2 formed one group, while No. 1 and No. 3 were with Zhou Mei.
The two groups set off in different directions. However, to ensure they could support each other, they didn’t separate too far, searching adjacent villas.
This small community had clearly been looted before, many times.
Anything easy to carry had been taken. All that remained inside the rooms were large, hard-to-move items of little value.
After several hours of searching, neither group had found anything of significant value.
Just as everyone was preparing to move on to the next potential search location, Zhou Mei caught something unusual out of the corner of her eye.
She stopped and carefully observed her surroundings.
Zhou Mei pointed to a patch of weeds not far away, her tone grave:
"Did you guys just come from over there?"
She was pointing at some faint footprints on the trampled weeds and dirt.
Bena followed her finger, glanced over, and then shook his head decisively.
"No. Why?"
Zhou Mei’s expression immediately turned serious, her hand already reaching for the [Damaged 0.32 Handgun (Green)] at her waist.
"These tracks are fresh. It means someone, or something, was here recently."
Bena immediately walked over and carefully examined the spot Zhou Mei had indicated.
"You’re right. These are fresh, maybe only a few days old. There isn’t even any dust on them yet."
Bena nodded, his expression turning grim.
"Everyone, on high alert. We’re leaving, now."
Since there was nothing useful to be found and they might encounter unknown dangers, there was no reason to linger.
The exploration team immediately began to retreat from the community along the path they had come.
However, when they were only halfway out, a sudden burst of gunfire erupted from ahead.
They were already on alert after finding the tracks. At the first sound of gunfire, everyone instantly dove for the nearest cover.
Bena quickly scanned their surroundings and asked in a low voice:
"Anyone hit?"
The three bionoids answered in unison:
"No."
Zhou Mei quickly checked herself and also shook her head.
"I’m fine."
Bena breathed a sigh of relief, confirming no one on his side was injured.
But he quickly realized something. ’The gunfire seems a bit too far away...?’
In their tension, they had overlooked this crucial point.
Zhou Mei said in a low voice:
"That gunfire was at least 800 meters away. It definitely wasn’t aimed at us. Only a sniper rifle could hit anything at that range."
"It must be other people fighting."
If it were an emergency, Bena would have made the call himself.
But since the situation didn’t seem urgent, Bena thought for a moment before having No. 1 send a message to Ye Yun.
...
Inside the shelter, Ye Yun hadn’t expected Zhou Mei’s very first mission to run into something like this.
He immediately entered the relevant commands on his wristband.
[Assessment Type: Combat]
[Assessing Combat Risk...]
[This is an Ambush Battle]
[Assessment: White Item Drop Rate 9.1%, Green Item Drop Rate 23.7%, Blue Item Drop Rate: 55.205%, Purple Item Drop Rate: 1.005%, Risk Factor: 1.92%]
Looking at the nearly 2% risk factor, Ye Yun hesitated.
The last battle against the mutated gray wolf only had a risk factor of 1.2%. This was a 0.7% increase, meaning the risk was higher this time.
In the last fight, No. 1’s entire body was smashed in two. If No. 3 hadn’t activated Body Repair, the others would have had to carry his two halves back to the Tin Can.
The risk was high, but so were the potential rewards.
Remembering the rich rewards from killing the mutated gray wolf, Ye Yun felt a stir of temptation.
If the rewards from this battle were similar to the last one, he could accept the loss of a bionoid.
After all, bionoids were just robots. As long as he had enough resources, the construction robot could repair them.
After a brief moment of thought, Ye Yun issued the order through his wristband.
...
The moment No. 1 received the directive, he relayed the order to Bena.
Bena turned his head and said to Zhou Mei and the other three bionoids, "We’ll sneak over and check out the situation, but don’t make any rash moves.
If we find the battle is too large-scale, we retreat immediately. Understood?"
"No. 2, activate your skill now. Enhance your observation abilities as much as possible. Report immediately if you see anything."
"Understood." No. 2 nodded.
Then Bena looked at Zhou Mei.
"This is an emergency. We might need you to beast-shift at any moment, so be ready."
Zhou Mei nodded.
"No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, if it comes down to it, I need you to do whatever it takes to delay the enemy."
The three bionoids nodded and replied in unison:
"No problem."
Hearing Bena’s order, Zhou Mei, standing nearby, looked stunned.
She had heard Ye Yun say the same thing yesterday, but at the time, she thought it was just the Administrator being polite.
Now, however, she realized it wasn’t politeness at all.
The shock in her heart was indescribable.
’Would someone really be willing to sacrifice what looked like an expensive, advanced robot to cover a regular person’s retreat?’
Bena led the team, and they began to move stealthily toward the sound of gunfire. They did their best to use the terrain for cover, avoiding detection by the two warring parties.
As they drew closer, more sounds of battle reached their ears. Besides the gunfire, they could also hear human shouts and the roars of mutated creatures.
P.S. Some readers have been asking about the premium release date. The current estimate is next Friday, but my editor hasn’t given me the specific time yet.