manynovel Chapter 80 Kill
Chapter 80 Kill
After observing the surroundings, Xu Mo picked up the radio again and began tuning it. At this moment, he desperately needed information support from Jiangcheng. He strained his ears, trying his best to distinguish any possible orderly signal, but all he heard was that annoying "buzzing" static.
The radio channel of Jiangcheng Shelter has fallen silent, like a stone sinking to the bottom of a pond.
At first, a slight worry inevitably arose in Xu Mo's mind. With such a large-scale flood, could the Jiangcheng shelter, despite its strong resources, be completely spared?
However, Xu Mo quickly suppressed this negative emotion. He recalled the calm and powerful voice from the earlier broadcast, and the various measures it revealed regarding dealing with the Eternal Night and the mutated creatures. A force capable of organizing effective power, even dispatching bombers to eliminate the threat, must be far more prepared than the average survivor could imagine.
"There's probably a problem with the broadcasting equipment, or the signal is being severely interfered with," Xu Mo concluded.
Having figured this out, Xu Mo calmed down considerably and refocused his attention on monitoring his surroundings.
Fortunately, the anticipated third flood peak did not materialize. After a brief dip following the second flood peak, the water level outside the window remained at a relatively stable height—roughly submerging the top edge of the second-floor window—and stopped rising, but also showed no significant receding.
The murky water surface became much calmer, losing its previous destructive momentum. At this moment, the water surface was like a raging beast that had fallen into slumber, with only steady breathing remaining.
This calm only made Xu Mo more cautious. He reorganized his equipment, which he had already prepared long ago, but he was just using this method to alleviate his anxiety.
Night fell again, and the pale moonlight occasionally peeked through the clouds. Just as Xu Mo was about to lie down and rest fully clothed, the radio that had been lying silent beside him all day suddenly emitted a series of intermittent voice messages, distinct from the static!
"Buzz... This is... Jiangcheng... Buzz... Shelter... Please... Survivors... listen carefully..."
Xu Mo jolted awake, all sleepiness gone. He sat up abruptly, grabbed the radio, and carefully adjusted the antenna angle and the finer details of the knob.
"Repeating, this is the Jiangcheng Shelter... The main flood peak has passed... Sizzle... The water level will gradually recede... Survivors, please remain vigilant and pay attention to what comes next..."
The signal was still unstable and mixed with noise, but the familiar voice and the key information revealed in the words finally made Xu Mo's tense heartstrings relax.
The broadcast first confirmed that the flood peak had passed and predicted that the floodwaters would gradually recede, which largely matched his observations during the day. Then, the broadcast emphasized the potential public health problems that might arise after the floodwaters recede.
"Floods carry large amounts of pollutants and pathogens, making water sources highly susceptible to contamination. Be sure to boil water for at least ten minutes before drinking. Pay attention to personal hygiene, take precautions when handling animal carcasses, and prevent secondary disasters such as dysentery, cholera, and other intestinal infectious diseases..."
Xu Mo nodded inwardly; these reminders were very timely and necessary. However, he had been using purified water that he had scavenged, so the impact on him was minimal.
Then, the broadcast moved on to the next part, which made Xu Mo's expression turn serious.
"Furthermore, an urgent notice: A large number of adaptively mutated aquatic organisms have been confirmed in the waters, and they are extremely aggressive. All survivors are strongly advised to stay away from unknown waters. If you must approach a water source, please remain vigilant and ensure your personal safety..."
"A mutated aquatic creature, extremely aggressive..." Xu Mo muttered to himself, his sharp eyes sweeping across the dark water outside the window.
Officials confirmed his suspicions: the flood brought not only water damage, but also a more dangerous ecological threat. Those dark figures swimming in the water were indeed no benevolent creatures.
The broadcast repeated the main points several times, but the signal was eventually drowned out by static again. However, Xu Mo had already obtained enough information. The flood peak had passed, but the danger was not over; a new danger was lurking in the water.
After carefully putting the radio away, Xu Mo felt reassured.
As the sky began to lighten again, the dawn dispelled the darkness, and Xu Mo immediately woke up and rushed to the window to observe.
The water level has dropped!
Moreover, the drop was quite significant. Xu Mo had previously made marks on the second-floor exterior wall at different heights with gravel to observe this. At this moment, the water level had receded to slightly below the middle of the second-floor window.
The floodwaters receded faster than expected. This may be because Qingsongling Town is located downstream and has a certain drop in elevation, making it unable to retain water.
However, as the water level receded, the town revealed a more shocking scene than when it was completely submerged.
The murky water receded, revealing the houses that had been submerged. Everything around them was covered with a thick, sticky, yellowish-brown silt that reflected an oily sheen in the morning light.
The entire town was deathly still, as if it had just experienced another apocalyptic baptism, leaving only broken skeletons soaking in the mud.
Just as Xu Mo was observing, the surface of a relatively wide body of water behind the shelter suddenly began to churn violently.
Hearing the sound, Xu Mo turned his head and saw a huge, bluish-black dorsal fin cutting through the water at an extremely fast speed. Sunlight shone on its body, which was covered with fine, hard scales, reflecting a cold, metallic light.
Xu Mo estimated that it was over 1.5 meters long, with a streamlined body that exuded power. Its head was somewhat oddly proportioned, and its mouth was split open, revealing fine, gleaming teeth.
This is definitely not any known freshwater fish species from before the apocalypse; it may be a ferocious predator that has been distorted and amplified by an unknown force.
After swimming for a while, the big fish first dived, then suddenly leaped out of the water, perhaps showing off its dominant position in this newly formed body of water.
opportunity!
The moment the giant fish took to the air and its body was fully exposed, Xu Mo's eyes sharpened like a hawk's. He raised his AK47 and instantly locked onto the giant fish's relatively vulnerable side belly, which was not covered by thick scales.
boom!
A sharp gunshot shattered the deathly silence of the small town in the early morning.
The bullet, carrying a scorching stream of air, precisely pierced the giant fish's belly, exploding in the air with a cloud of dark red blood mist and shattered internal organs!
"Splash—!"
The giant fish, shot, crashed heavily back into the water, creating a huge splash. It didn't die immediately; instead, it struggled and thrashed violently in the water, its blood staining a large area of the water red.
The intense smell of blood instantly ignited a latent frenzy.
Almost the instant the giant fish fell into the water and struggled, the waters seemed to boil. Countless aquatic mutants of varying sizes and shapes swarmed in from all directions. There were strange fish covered in bony plates with mouths that had evolved into drill-like shapes; there were smaller, but large groups of strange fish that darted underwater.
They frantically pounced on the still-writhing giant fish, tearing, pulling, and fighting over it. Centered on the strange fish, water splashed everywhere, the murky surface was stirred up like a boiling pot, and dark red blood spread rapidly, staining the area a strange brownish color.
The sounds of sharp teeth gnawing on flesh and bone, and the brief struggles between mutated creatures for food, could be faintly heard through the air.
In just a minute or two, the nearly two-meter-long giant fish was devoured by its swarming brethren and competitors, leaving only some inedible scraps that slowly sank to the bottom. Then the water gradually returned to its previous murky state, but the strong smell of blood still lingered in the air for a long time.
Xu Mo slowly lowered the muzzle of his gun, gazing at the waters that had returned to "calm".
The waters have become a more dangerous hunting ground than the land. These mutated aquatic creatures are far more aggressive than their terrestrial counterparts, with an even greater sensitivity and frenzy to the smell of blood. They have adapted to the flood environment and have rapidly formed new, more brutal food chains.