Chapter 650 - 620: The Might of the Gauss Rifle (Part 1)

The members of the Xinghai Squad hadn’t been on this cleanup mission for long, but their wealth of experience meant they quickly found their rhythm. As they cleared out the Abyssal Creatures, the task became more and more like second nature.

After all, they were professionals at clearing out Zombies. And while these Abyssal Creatures were quite a bit stronger, the fundamental approach was the same.

Take Lin Xinghai, for example. He only needed to control the speed at which he killed the Abyssal Creatures, giving them a glimmer of hope. This way, he could pick them off one by one without scaring them away.

Of course, this strategy had one prerequisite: all the squad members had to go down and act as bait.

Furthermore, Lin Xinghai needed to let the Abyssal Creatures actually land attacks on the "bait" to firmly hold their attention.

Of course, Lin Xinghai later modified the battle plan slightly. He discovered he didn’t need to prioritize shooting the Abyssal Creatures that got close.

If he first took out the Petrifying Spiders hiding in the distance and then slowly dealt with the Abyssal Corpse Ghosts, the whole squad would have a much easier time.

Although these Abyssal Corpse Ghosts often charged right up to them and launched direct attacks on the squad members, the members of the Xinghai Squad much preferred to face the Abyssal Corpse Ghosts over the distant Petrifying Spiders, even in greater numbers.

After all, these were enemies they could actually hit—the kind they could even kill instantly if they unleashed their full power.

The distant Petrifying Spiders, however, were a different story. To be honest, without Lin Xinghai, killing just one would likely take an immense amount of effort.

After all, these Abyssal Creatures would flee without hesitation upon sensing a threat, and the Petrifying Spiders would even spit silk as they ran, obstructing any pursuit.

Fortunately, they had Lin Xinghai, so they didn’t have to deal with such frustrating problems.

Right now, everyone was more focused on the Mutated Zombies, eagerly anticipating their next battle with them.

The squad had traveled less than two kilometers when they ran into over five Mutated Zombies, one of which was even a Second Level Mutated Zombie.

Just as Lin Xinghai had predicted, a 10-man squad was perfectly capable of killing First Level Mutated Zombies.

Perhaps the only real moment of turbulence was during the fight with the Second Level Mutated Zombie.

A Second Level Mutated Zombie was currently equivalent to the Marrow Tempering Realm. Since the power gap between the Marrow Tempering Realm and the Blood Qi Realm wasn’t that large, theoretically, 20 Blood and Qi Realm Martial Artists should have been perfectly capable of dealing with one Second Level Mutated Zombie.

But as luck would have it, this particular Second Level Mutated Zombie happened to be a Death Claw.

At first, the squad was indeed able to keep it suppressed. However, after taking multiple hits, the Death Claw flew into a rage. It ignored everyone else’s attacks, zeroed in on the nearest squad member, and launched a ferocious assault.

This particular member was only at the Blood Qi Realm Middle Stage and specialized in offense. He managed to block a single attack before his protective layer of Blood Qi Power instantly collapsed.

Just as the Death Claw was about to tear him in two, Lin Xinghai, in the nick of time, fired his Gauss Rifle. A single Depleted Uranium Armor-Piercing Round instantly took the Death Claw’s life.

After witnessing Lin Xinghai’s rescue capabilities, the squad members were no longer so cautious when fighting Mutated Zombies. They could finally let loose and put their skills to full use.

After just a few battles, the mindset of every member in the Xinghai Squad had undergone a significant change.

Especially when facing Mutated Zombies, they now possessed a newfound confidence they’d never had before.

Just as Lin Xinghai’s group finished clearing out another wave of Abyssal Creatures, Little Fatty suddenly spoke up, "Boss, the military’s cleanup crew is catching up to us. Should we go over and say hello?"

Lin Xinghai’s Perception Range had already reached a full 3,000 meters, so he had been aware of the approaching team long before anyone else.

He immediately shook his head. "No need. Our missions are different. Just remind them to be careful."

As he spoke, Lin Xinghai set down his Heavy Machine Gun and picked up the Gauss Rifle resting nearby.

Seeing this, the others all looked surprised and confused.

Then, they heard the piercing alarm of the Zombie Detector.

Little Fatty glanced at the Zombie Detector, his expression shifting slightly. "It’s a Tier Three Death Claw."

The others couldn’t help but feel a chill. A Tier Three Mutated Zombie was equivalent to the Body Shaping Realm. They hadn’t even been able to withstand the Body Shaping Realm Mutated Zombies from before.

To say nothing of the fact that the newly emerged Body Shaping Realm Zombies were a whole league stronger than the previous ones.

At that moment, Lin Xinghai’s gaze seemed to pierce through the thick fog, allowing him to see the scene far down the street.

Within the scope of his Perception Power, he could "see" every single move the Death Claw made with perfect clarity.

He realized that compared to the Body Shaping Realm Death Claw he had encountered on his first mission this morning, this new one was in another league entirely. Judging by both its movement Speed and its aura, it was drastically stronger.

’If I had faced a Death Claw of this caliber this morning, I wouldn’t have dared to charge in and fight it head-on.’

’With my physical constitution, a single blow wouldn’t have been as simple as a fractured arm. My entire arm could have been sliced clean off.’

’Moreover, from the metallic sheen on its carapace, I can tell that both its Defense Power and its regenerative ability have at least doubled.’

’I estimate that if I want to kill this charging Death Claw, I’ll need to use Thunderstorm at least three times to finish it.’

Of course, he had only chosen to fight head-on before to test his own strength.

There was no need for that now.

With thundering steps, the Death Claw charged forward, preceded by hundreds of Abyssal Creatures serving as cannon fodder.

Soon, the two sides were within a hundred meters of each other.

For a Tier Three Death Claw, such a distance was practically point-blank range.

Without a moment’s hesitation, it exploded forward at its top Speed, pouncing toward Lin Xinghai and his squad.

The Death Claw had sensed it—this group of humans before it exuded a faint sense of threat.

As it closed the distance at top speed, a twisting sheen appeared on its Sharp Claws—a cutting power so immense it seemed as if it could slice through space itself.

Upon seeing this, a look of surprise flashed in Lin Xinghai’s eyes.