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Chapter 142: 142

Dark shadows flickered amid the mist that surrounded them . When the team removed the night vision goggles, the shadows materialized into view, but when they put the goggles back on, they could not see anything any longer .

“They are just illusions…” Gu Jun announced loudly . “Do not panic!”

The reports all said that the Phoenix unit was not physically attacked by these dark shadows, but their minds were broken down . It was the start of the tragedy .

“In any case, shouldn’t we be more worried about those corpses before us?” Wu Siyu demanded as she pointed ahead . The five bloated corpses had stood up from the cabinets . They shuffled slowly, and their heads turned creakily to look at the team . The dark green faces were too swollen to allow any recognition . Their supposedly lifeless eyes appeared to have taken on shades of darkness . They were sunken like cursed jewels inside the head that was stretched bursting to the seams . The light from the guns casted shadows on them . It was not the shadow of any human being . They were large, strange, and indescribable . They were twisted and contorted . The image of the stone statue flashed before Gu Jun’s eyes . The strange creature had similarly twisted appendages…

“Can you guys see the shadows that they cast?” Wu Siyu asked . “Or is it just me? Please, someone tell me I have lost my mind…”

“I can see them as well . ” Lou Xiaoning croaked out . Her left eye was pulsing with pain . The images she had seen through the keyhole appeared to swim before her vision .

Xue Ba still remembered the details from the files on the zombies . “But they don’t look like zombies . Aren’t zombies supposed to have canine faces and human bodies? They do not look like that at all . ”

“Are they another part of the illusion?” Uncle Dan was in shock . This was too much for him . “These corpses’ soft tissues should have liquified already, so how did they still manage to stand up . What is supporting their body weight? Bacteria activity? Has the bacteria formed some kind of new organ?”

“F*ck! Uncle Dan, do you think any of us here can answer that? Stop asking pointless questions!” Lou Xiaoning growled . “It’s easier to shoot one and find out!”

While they were hissing among themselves, the black shadows around them had not moved, nor did the five standing corpses . But something sinister glinted inside the narrow cave . It appeared like eyes of some kind of creature of darkness .

“Everyone, stop and wait . ” Gu Jun stopped Lou Xiaoning . His brain was churning as he sensed his surroundings…

The corpses indeed bore no resemblance to the zombies, but he was sure the zombies were around . It then hit Gu Jun . “They are averse to the sentence that I chanted . That is probably not something used to summon zombies but has other uses, probably to summon something else…”

And it certainly had something to do with that stone statue .

“But since it’s something that discourages our enemy, all the more reason to do it . ”

As he finished, Wu Siyu could feel the malice directed at them . “You might be right . ”

“I will chant it again . Be on your guard . ” Gu Jun scanned the mist around them . Since the zombies were averse to this, chanting it might force them out as they attempted to silence Gu Jun . He took out the Carlot scalpel from his medical kit around his waist . He gripped it like a ritualistic instrument . Instantly, he could feel a serenity blanketing him . He trained his focus and started to chant again . “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu…”

Suddenly, the appendages cast by the five bloated corpses became more hectic and chaotic . It was unclear whether the corpses themselves had moved or the shadows had moved…

Right at the same moment, a shrill howl echoed from the mountains around them . It sounded at times like a wolf or dog, but at others, it was like a banshee’s wail . The howl carried a strong mental assault . It caused headaches of varying degrees among the team and interrupted Gu Jun’s chanting .

“Well, we have that verified . They definitely want you to stop chanting that,” Xue Ba said in a hurry, but that did not seem to have helped clear anything up .

Before they could come to a decision, a strange shadow burst out from the narrow cave . It was followed by many of its kin . The air around them was disrupted as the monsters lashed through the air . The team could see through their night vision goggles clearly . They were… not zombies either . Rather, they were some kind of winged creature, looking more like giant bats . Each of them was about half the size of a normal human . With their wings fully extended, they could easily envelope even the largest among them, Xue Ba . The creatures had a hook-like tail, and they were covered in slick, furless skin . They flapped their wings and charged at the team!

Their feet extended into sharp claws, and they were sticky with old blood . It was certain that they were sharp enough to sever skin and bone .

“Open fire!” Gu Jun ordered as he pulled the trigger . Bullets flew, and cartridges emptied . He had no idea what kind of creature this was, but he could sense their intention to kill . His order was immediately picked up by Xue Ba and Uncle Dan . Their accuracy was low because even though there were many abnormal bats, they moved so fast, and they were too close for firearms . Thankfully, they could be wounded by actual bullets .

Soon, their shrill and angered screeches filled the forest . They appeared to be not much more intelligent than animals . They flew right into the bullets . This reminded the team of the abnormal wolves that they had encountered at the shrine .

Some of the bullets strayed and hit the five corpses . Like a hissing balloon, the bloated corpses exploded from the pressure . Dirty gut fluids and flesh splashed open like a human grenade!

An intense haze of decay suffocated every living creature in the area that depended on oxygen for survival .

“Back away, leave this to me!” Lou Xiaoning shouted through gritted teeth . Her hands pressed against the eighty-nine heavy machine gun . It was already aimed at the cave . Once the others retreated to a safe distance, she pulled on the trigger . The machine gun unloaded rapidly, and empty shells soon formed a small pile on the ground .

The winged creatures were torn open, split through and gut . Even their screams were drowned out by the rattling of the machine gun . Next to Lou Xiaoning, Wu Siyu busied herself to help with the reloading . It appeared like she was not going to leave her guardian angel any time soon .

Soon, the land before the cave was a slate of ugliness and gore . Broken guts and blood seeped through the ground . It was impossible to discern between the human corpse and the giant bats . But the howling from the mountains had not ceased . If anything, it had picked up . The black shadows in the mist became more corporeal, taking on the human shapes . Underneath the howls, another buzzing strange buzzing echoed, like it was trying to tell them something .

“Do not listen to that!” Gu Jun warned loudly . He had too much experience dealing with this . “Do not listen to the demon’s words no matter what!”

Lou Xiaoning continued to make quick work of the giant bats . Suddenly, a loud crash interrupted everything . A large part of the cliff face around the cave collapsed . Then, a large swath of darkness rushed out . Countless winged creatures zoomed about madly . It took them seconds to fill up the sky . Even the machine gun could make no holes in the seemingly physical blanket that they had formed .

Not only Lou Xiaoning, even Xue Ba and Uncle Dan cursed at this sight .

The giant bats did not charge at them but instead circled in the air above them, forming and dissolving into ritualistic symbols . When one was shot down, another would sweep in to take its place . They were twisting, twirling, and contorting . The surrounding mist and black shadows swam like they were looking through a veil of water .

Gu Jun frowned as he sensed abnormal energy working around them . A chaotic energy was slowly gathering .

“The space, the space is changing…” Wu Siyu could sense it as well . She shouted in shock, “They are trying to drag us into another dimension…!”

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