binnovel Chapter 117 The Fishman Appears Again
Chapter 117 The Fishman Appears Again
At 5 PM, Li Chenglong and his group arrived at a residential area 5km from Jinghai International Trade Port. This area was mainly built for those working at the port; it wasn't very large, and there weren't many zombies. Hao Dahai and Yang Liu led the Third Battalion and the Special Forces team into the area to clear out the zombies. Li Chenglong and Yun Lan rested outside. After such a long drive, Li Chenglong was indeed a bit tired, mainly because his body had been in one position for so long and he needed to relax. Yun Lan asked, "We're not going in; it's just them. What if we encounter some powerful enemies? Will we be in danger?" Li Chenglong shook his head: "No, I already used the True Dragon Eye to scout. The most powerful ones are only level 5 zombies. I also told Hao Dahai and Yang Liu the location, so there shouldn't be any problems."
Li Chenglong's True Dragon Eye and Yunlan's Fire Phoenix Eye are somewhat different. Li Chenglong's eye is more observational; for example, even if an enemy is far away, Li Chenglong can clearly observe the enemy's various attributes. In addition, it can perform wide-range scanning observations. Just now, for instance, he used his True Dragon Eye to scan the entire neighborhood, learning the approximate number of zombies, how many high-level zombies, and other information. Yunlan's Fire Phoenix Eye, however, doesn't have such strong observational abilities. It can only observe a single target, and the distance isn't very far, currently only a few hundred meters at most. However, Yunlan's right eye has an active attack capability; after gathering power, it can release black demon-slaying flames that, once they hit a target, can incinerate it in a very short time. Besides using their eyes, many ability users or awakened individuals with sensory abilities can also sense the presence and approximate strength of an enemy. Without these skills, one can only judge strength based on the aura and released abilities during combat.
Over an hour later, the zombies in the neighborhood were cleared out. Li Chenglong ordered his troops to move in first, rest briefly, and then start cooking. They were to get a good night's rest and resume combat operations the next day. After settling in, Li Chenglong had Hao Dahai communicate with Dawn City via the vehicle's crystal computer. This crystal computer was different from those used in Dawn City's offices; it was smaller and lighter, but consumed more energy. A 20-minute long-distance communication required one level 3 orange crystal, while a typical crystal computer in Dawn City would only consume one orange crystal per month. Their communication was conducted through a dedicated crystal network, with each communication having a random frequency to ensure security. Currently, the maximum coverage range of crystal communication was 500km. It allowed for video calls, voice communication, image and text message transmission, which was sufficient for Li Chenglong.
After dinner, it was already 5 PM. Li Chenglong called Hao Dahai over: "I'm planning to send a small reconnaissance team to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance of the port. Since we don't know what the port looks like now, this small team needs to be composed of highly skilled people." Hao Dahai said, "Don't worry, Commander. Every soldier in our Third Battalion's reconnaissance platoon is top-notch. I'll call them over now." A short while later, about thirty soldiers from the reconnaissance platoon arrived at Li Chenglong's location. Among them were speed-type ability users, as well as wind and earth-type ability users. Li Chenglong nodded: "Very good. I presume your battalion commander has already informed you of the mission. These two are Yang Liu and Dong Meng from our special forces. Yang Liu is a former reconnaissance soldier and is now a level five wood-type ability user. Dong Meng used to work at this port and is very familiar with it. I'll select five men from your reconnaissance company to form a port reconnaissance squad with these two. We'll depart in five minutes. Be careful."
The group of seven set off under the cover of night. Before they left, Li Chenglong gave each of them a bottle of crystal recovery potion, the same one they had used in the trial grounds. Later, thanks to the efforts of An Qingyuan, Li Qinghe, Liu Mingchang, and Li Xue from the research department, the potion had been improved, making it much better at restoring supernatural abilities and treating external injuries. However, the potion was very complicated to prepare, and each batch required a level 3 crystal plus a number of mutated plants that appeared after the apocalypse, so it was quite rare. Li Chenglong only had about 30 bottles in total, and he gave away 7 bottles this time.
Two hours later, Hao Dahai knocked on the door and came in. As soon as he entered, he said, "The reconnaissance team is back." Li Chenglong noticed his pale face and quickly asked, "What happened?" Hao Dahai nodded, "Two brothers didn't return, and the rest are injured. Yang Liu is quite seriously injured." Li Chenglong and Yun Lan immediately went outside to the small square in the residential area, where they saw two water-based ability users with healing skills treating five people. Yang Liu was still lying on a stretcher. Li Chenglong quickly went over and took out more than a dozen bottles of crystal recovery potion, handing them to the two people in charge of treatment to feed to the injured. Yun Lan checked Yang Liu and found that her strength was almost completely depleted. Li Chenglong had her help Yang Liu up, and he opened a bottle of recovery potion and slowly fed it to Yang Liu. After finishing one bottle, he had Yun Lan and Zhao Liying take Yang Liu to the resting place arranged for the female special forces members and use another bottle for external application.
The crystal recovery potion was very effective; the four injured men each drank two bottles and quickly recovered. Li Chenglong then asked, "What exactly happened? How did you get so badly injured?" Dong Meng said with lingering fear, "There were monsters in the port, the same fish-like monsters you fought before, Captain Li. After we entered the port, we explored it a bit, and then we were discovered by three fishmen. We were being very careful, but we don't know how we were discovered. They didn't waste any words and attacked us directly. Two brothers from the Third Battalion were the first to be hit and died on the spot. Captain Yang Liu used her skill to block a fatal attack for us, but she was also seriously injured. Later, we fought desperately and took a few hits from the fishmen, retreating quickly while fighting. The fishmen didn't chase us when they saw us running away. If it weren't for the recovery potion you gave us, Captain, we really wouldn't have made it back."
"Fishmen?" Everyone present was startled, recalling the fishmen who had seriously injured Li Chenglong a month ago. They hadn't expected to find them at the port, let alone three at once. Li Chenglong's expression was somewhat grim. He then addressed the four wounded soldiers who had almost fully recovered: "You've worked hard. Get some rest tonight." Hao Dahai walked up to Li Chenglong: "Commander, I want to volunteer for battle to avenge our two fallen brothers!" The soldiers who had spontaneously assembled behind him also stood in formation, many holding rifles enhanced by Li Chenglong's psionic factory. They shouted, "Commander, please give the order! We swear to fight to the death!"
Li Chenglong nodded: "I understand what you brothers mean. I didn't sense any energy fluctuations during the merfolk's attack, which means they ended the battle extremely quickly. Their combat power is unimaginable." Hao Dahai said, "Commander, we are not afraid to sacrifice ourselves." The other soldiers echoed him. Li Chenglong continued, "I know you are all very brave warriors, but the enemy is far too powerful for you. There's no need to waste your precious lives here. I will personally seek justice for the soldiers who died or were wounded in this operation!"