Byron's Blade

The abandoned air force airfield is miraculously preserved, but it has also been crumbled into ruins.Plants can be seen struggling to grow out of the ruins of reinforced concrete buildings, creating a doomsday scene where man-made buildings and natural objects are mixed together.

It was a waste of time for the convoy to turn out of the airport, because the road ahead disappeared and the wall collapsed, blocking the way. Two armored vehicles were equipped with mechanical shovels, and it took more than 20 minutes to remove the obstacles so that the convoy could go out.

The land that no one has set foot in for a hundred years is vast and far away.Looking around, the expressway has long been covered by sand and grass seeds, growing into a dense grassland, the grass can be half the height of a person, and occasionally the remaining snow that has not completely melted can be seen.The road is uneven, and the mud is mixed with cracked cement stones. It is very difficult to drive. Those who sit in the car can feel the bumps.Teams rely on a compass to get their bearings, otherwise they wouldn't even be sure they were on the right track.

The straight-line distance from the airport to the national border is 140 kilometers, but in fact, it is impossible for the convoy to go in a straight line. There are twists and turns in the middle, and it takes time to clear obstacles that cannot be passed, at least 2-3 times the time.In five and a half hours, it is very normal to walk a straight-line distance of 140 kilometers. It is better to say that this is still fast.

Although the driving for the first four hours was very bumpy, it was smooth, and there were no accidents. At most, there were collapsed buildings blocking the way and a detour was required.

After crossing the last small town on the border, the leading car slowed down and stopped, and the following convoy also stopped.When they noticed that the car had stopped, everyone was a little confused.The soldiers resting against the fence on the roof of the bus stood up one after another, looked into the distance from the high place, and then took a breath.

I saw two snow-capped peaks soaring into the sky in the distance, and in the sunken canyon of the peaks, there grew a large piece of gray-white forest like smoke, as if wearing a long skirt on the snow-capped mountains.The gray and white forest spread out from south to north, completely blocking the way of the convoy.It is about 2000 meters away from the entrance of the forest, and I can already feel the hugeness of the trees in it.There are stretches of trees, with a strange off-white color, and each tree grows into a towering giant tree.Looking at it from such a distance, there is a feeling of looking at the city-state's [-]-meter city wall.It's just that the height of the trees in it is estimated to be more than [-] meters. Such trees must be mutated. It is really spectacular to grow so wild and densely together.

"This...what's going on in this forest?" On the roof of the car, a young soldier asked in surprise, because all the radio channels were turned on, and everyone heard his voice.

Before anyone could answer his question, Mu Xin's order came from the main frequency:

"Notify the whole army, get out of the car and change defense, change from 3 formations to 1 formation, and be more vigilant. Repeat, the whole army will change defenses, change from 3 formations to 1 formation, and be more vigilant."

The order rang through the horn on the bus, and the soldiers who were still sleeping were woken up. One by one, they cheered up, picked up their helmets and put them on. The driver opened the door of the bus, and everyone got off the bus in an orderly manner.Except for technicians such as Bailey and Joan, as long as all the fighters get out of the car, the six pilots are actually also in the car, and they are also getting out of the car at this moment. Go to meet up with the people of the Fifth Squadron.

The group of people sitting in the bus are actually the main force of Team 1. Team 1 is the most balanced and powerful team among the five formations arranged by Mu Xin.

The sudden change of defense at this time obviously means that the forest ahead is unusual.Mu Li put on his helmet and got out of the car with Lin Zhao.The two were striding forward, ready to take their positions.Mu Li was patted on the back suddenly, and then a person wearing an Assassin armband appeared beside her, and a private chat request was thrown over. It turned out that it was Mo Kexin. A gentle voice sounded in my ears:

"What's going on? This forest doesn't seem to be within the expected range."

Mu Li didn't answer her question, but asked: "Why did you come out? There is no place for you in the first round."

Mo Kexin replied: "I'll go to the bus in a while." Mo Kexin was also sitting on the bus before, but she unexpectedly ran out of the car while changing defenses and chased after her.

"You haven't answered my question yet," she pressed.

Mu Li was silent for a while before answering: "Either the satellite cloud image ignored this forest, or it was deliberately omitted in the initial battle and itinerary explanation. But I think the former is more likely, and the satellite cloud image can capture it. The picture is limited, the forest is gray and white, and it looks like it is covered with snow on the satellite cloud image, and it naturally falls within the scope of the snow mountain."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Naturally, the forest is the most dangerous, with a narrow field of vision and many types of creatures." Mu Li said honestly.

"This is for you." She handed over something in the shape of an amulet, which looked a bit old, but Mu Li didn't take it.

"Here you are!" Mo Kexin didn't care whether Mu Li wanted it or not, stuffed it into Mu Li's hand, and ran back.

"Hello!" Mu Li called her, but there was no way to call her back, she had already got into the car.

Mu Li is depressed now, this amulet is hot to hold in his hand, it is not right to throw it away, it is not right to put it away, and it is even more inappropriate to return it to Mo Kexin on the way back to the car.How to put it, Mo Kexin didn't feel sorry for her. Mu Li has always been a gentleman, so she can't do such a thing to refute others' face.

At this moment, a hand suddenly reached out and snatched the amulet from her hand.Mu Li was startled, and turned his head to see that it was Lin Zhao. The ninja girl was now nonchalantly stuffing the amulet into the heart pocket of the combat uniform in front of Mu Li.

Mu Li: "..."

"Let's go." Lin Zhao's cold voice sounded in the earphones, and she took the lead to walk to the front of the convoy after speaking.

Mu Li shook his head amusedly, and chased after him.

In formation 1, the task of the sniper team led by Robin is to cover, so they are located at the highest point, which is the roof of the big truck.However, not everyone is on the truck. Lin Zhao and Mu Li are relatively free. They temporarily follow the armored vehicle, stand on the sides of the armored vehicle, climb up, hold the handle, and generally can move at any time. fight.

After the defense change, the team set off again slowly. This time the speed was not fast. The original speed was 80 kilometers per hour, but now it dropped to 40 kilometers per hour.

The lead car retracted into the car formation, and the armored cars on both sides clamped the lead car in the center like shields.Mu Li stood on the left step of the armored vehicle, just leaning against the lead vehicle.She tried her best to look into the front car, but it was a pity that the window was closed and it was pitch black, so she couldn't see inside at all.But she knew that Lanny was sitting there, so she found Lanny's name in the communication list and sent a private message.

Lan Ni got connected quickly, and the first sentence almost caused Mu Li to get out of the car:

"Honey, you look at me so eagerly, are you hungry?"

Mu Li: "..."

After being speechless for a moment, she cleared her throat and said, "Be serious."

"Okay, I'm serious. What's the matter with Vice Captain Mu looking for me?" Lan Ni's tone was full of ridicule, but of course it also revealed a lot of joy. It was obvious that Mu Li's actions just now made her feel very happy.

"What happened to the forest in front?" Mu Li asked.

"Oh, I don't know what kind of tree it is, but I guess it should be beech. The original beech forest in the Carpathian Mountains in the west of Ukraine was originally a very famous tourist attraction. After the catastrophe, it mutated into its current appearance under the influence of radiation. ’” Lanny replied.

Hearing her relaxed tone, as if everything was normal, Mu Li secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

"Is there any danger in the forest?"

"You ask me, how would I know?" Lanny asked her back with a smile.

Mu Li's face under the mask raised a smile, and said: "If you don't know, there are not many people in our team who would know."

"Okay, seeing that Vice Captain Mu thinks highly of me, I'll tell you what I know. This forest is already diseased, and the radiation is very heavy. Most creatures can't survive, including Zerg and predators. And The roots of these diseased beech trees are intertwined, forming a whole, extending eastward, and it is estimated that they are connected to the underground nuclear test base. The roots are entangled in the nuclear reactor."

"Eh? So the so-called earthquake and geothermal phenomenon that occurred before evening, could it be these trees?"

"It's just a guess. These are my guesses after discussing with the leader. Every evening, when the sun disappears, these trees will switch from photosynthesis to respiration, and the roots will start to squirm, extending to the east bit by bit, squeezed, making The ground shakes, and the heat of the earth radiates."

"But why is there no radiation detected near the airport?"

"Regarding this issue, the leader has conducted investigations and made reasonable inferences in advance. I think it is basically correct, and it is not far from the facts. Although there is a nuclear test base nearby, there is no nuclear leak at all. The reason is that the nuclear radiation is almost destroyed. The roots of the trees are locked in the ground and cannot be detected on the ground. In order to protect themselves, these trees have evolved a gray shell that is impenetrable to radioactive substances. The roots tightly wrap the nuclear reactor, as if covering a huge cage."

"So that's how it is..." Mu Li was amazed, these beeches seemed to have wisdom, and the roots of all the beeches combined to extend downwards, wrapping the reactor.But in fact, maybe it's just a natural reaction of self-protection, and it doesn't really produce wisdom.

But in any case, nature is always protecting itself, no matter what kind of creatures dominate this planet, nature will never die.

"However..." Lanny changed the subject, "You still have to be careful. These huge beech trees are themselves radioactive sources, and they are insulated by gray and white shells. Most of the radiation transmitted through the roots will not leak out, but occasionally a branch breaks. Or the leaves and bark fall off, and the radiation will still leak, so the radiation level in the forest is still high. Our combat uniforms themselves can resist nuclear radiation, but they can’t stay in the woods for a long time. In the car, there is a layer of protection missing, so you have to be careful."

"Well, I understand." Mu Li replied seriously.

"What's more..." Lan Ni hesitated to speak, and finally said, "This forest may not be safe from danger. Apart from nuclear radiation, there may be a kind of Zerg infested."

"Huh?" Mu Li was surprised. She didn't know much about the types of Zerg predators, even after recovering her memory. This was her weakness.

"Someone once saw a kind of spider in the forest in the southwestern part of the Federation, in the densest forest with the most radioactive sources. It was covered in colorful colors, with eight eyes and ten legs. All the plants it passed were ashes and decayed, turning into scorpions. Mifen. So I gave it a random name, called "Venomous Colored Spider". At that time, the radiation detection equipment was almost out of the table, indicating that this kind of spider itself is a very strong radiation source. They probably like to stay at high altitudes. The radiation zone, so the leader and I both guessed that there might be this kind of spider infested here.

But it's just a guess, we don't want to cause panic, so the leader means not to tell everyone, just let everyone be more vigilant.And when encountering this kind of spider, there is no good way to attack, the only way is to run. "

It turns out that the purpose of changing defense for 1 battle is to guard against this kind of spider.Most of the time, the leader does not explain the purpose of doing so, and his subordinates only need to obey the order, especially as a soldier.But Mu Li doesn't want to be kept in the dark at all, especially he doesn't want to be kept in the dark by Mu Xin.She needs to know the purpose of every order she gives, how she thinks, how she makes arrangements, and subconsciously wants to do so, as if there is a deep force in her heart that is pushing her.

Probably, she no longer wants to be played and applauded by these highly intelligent and wily people, so she subconsciously wants to learn their way of thinking and work hard to get herself out of their control.

The convoy had already driven into the gray and white giant forest. Mu Li grabbed the handle of the armored vehicle and slowly raised his head upwards. The towering tree trunks were like countless spears piercing the sky. The trunks could be as thick as ten people hugging each other. The trees are huge and densely arranged together, which is very spectacular.

The radiation index on the helmet panel began to jump up little by little. Mu Li withdrew his gaze and looked forward. He felt as if he was walking at the feet of a giant. There was an inexplicable sight from the top of his head, like countless eyes. looking at myself.

She shuddered uncontrollably.