The government had declared a state of emergency. People in many places were struggling to support themselves, waiting for rescue. Only that group of people had rushed out to the shelter on their own without suffering significant casualties. Moreover, only a handful of soldiers were escorting them. That's the reason they asked them how they accomplished that feat.
"The Shi Ying Squad helped us," explained the leading officer.
"Shi Ying Squad?" The other officer was stunned, but then he suddenly revealed an excited expression. "Where are they?"
The leading officer pointed at Jiang Liushi's minibus.
"Oh, that minibus!" The officer was suddenly enlightened as the minibus could be considered the Shi Ying Squad's trademark. They were the only ones who were driving one.
Currently, the minibus was covered in the mutant birds' blood, which made it eye-catching. The windows were drenched in blood, and thick plasma was dripping down slowly.
At that moment, Jiang Liushi got down from the gunner room. Then, he looked out through a clean spot on the window, observing the shelter. It was covered with a layer of steel, thickened with cement, and there were many fire points at the gate.
Wounded people could be seen everywhere in the shelter, and most of them were crying in pain. At the same time, many soldiers were preparing for battle urgently. After getting prepared, many teams rushed outside to rescue civilians.
Jiang Liushi felt sad with that sight. Although the Black Hole had yet to close in on them, it had already started wreaking havoc in the Safety Zone.
The mutant beasts were numerous, and they were not afraid of death. They could easily cause irreversible damage to the Safety Zone. Before doomsday, a mouse could give birth to more than a dozen babies at once. And they didn't lose that ability after their evolution so one could imagine the terror of such an army attacking non-stop.
Jiang Liushi estimated that the battle between humans and those mutant beasts could last for an extremely long time. However, while those mutant beasts continued drawing the fires on them, the Black Hole would gradually approach them without a problem. In the end, it would devour the Safety Zone whole! How terrible was that!? The Black Hole was so intelligent that it was using its outside forces to draw the humans' firepower, while its forces inside were wrecking havoc at densely-populated areas.
Suddenly, Starseed sensed something and transmitted, 'Detected unique energy…Absorb or not?'
"Eh?" Jiang Liushi was stunned.
'What's that? What kind of energy could be absorbed?'
At that moment, he turned his gaze to the blood on the window. What Starseed wanted to absorb was the energy within the blood!
'What's this unique energy? Is it related to the Black Hole?' asked Jiang Liushi quickly.
'The unique energy is homologous to the source of the threat,' Starseed transmitted.
Jiang Liushi heaved a sigh of relief after hearing the answer.
It was no wonder the Black Hole could control those huge monsters. However, Jiang Liushi always thought that the Black Hole was a threat to Starseed's existence. Naturally, it had never crossed his mind that Starseed could absorb its energy.
' Absorb it!'
'A small amount of unique energy has been absorbed. Identifying the unique energy…It's called Black Light. When the absorbed amount of Black Light reaches a certain level, it can be used to open and access the main control panel…'
As soon as the cold mechanical voice stopped, Jiang Liushi almost jumped from the shock.
'What's happening? What kind of main control panel is there?'
Jiang Liushi was under the impression that he knew everything about Starseed's abilities. He didn't expect that he was actually aware of only a part of it. But he was able to accept such a development, as in reality, he knew nothing about Starseed's origins. After absorbing the Black Light, some of Starseed's dormant functions would get stimulated.
'So, this Black Light is the energy Starseed needs to operate properly?' thought Jiang Liushi.
In this terrible post-apocalyptic world, new sources of energy had already started emerging. For instance, mutant meat and evolution crystals, which were the extracted essence of mutant nuclei, were sources of energy for paranormals. Of course, mutant blood nuclei could be used as a one-time energy source for Jiang Liushi's minibus, boosting one of its functions, or they could be used to upgrade it.
From ancient times to the present, the history of the development of human civilization was the history of the development of energy. For example, the birth of fire had an epoch-making significance in the history of human beings. After humans had learned to make fire, they had set a boundary with animals. When humans had invented the steam engine, they had entered the steam era. After that, they found more sources of energy, such as solar, wind, nuclear and so on.
Gasoline and diesel were actually some relatively backward energy sources compared to the new energy that emerged after doomsday. There was no doubt that the Black Light that Starseed needed was another new source of energy.
Whether it was a creature or a machine, energy was a necessity for them. As a source of energy which could enable the Black Hole to move, the Black Light's power must be extremely strong. If Jiang Liushi's minibus could use Black Light as its power source, it would undergo a qualitative change, transforming it into something else.
It was a pity that the blood contained only a small amount of Black Light. Although Jiang Liushi hoped to activate Starseed's dormant function, his wings were cut after receiving the notification that there was not much energy.
'I have to find and absorb more Black Light!' Jiang Liushi decided. The minibus was Jiang Liushi's protective umbrella, but Starseed was the fundamental core. All of Jiang Liushi's achievements relied on the fact that he had obtained Starseed before doomsday. If not for Starseed, he would have been like all the other ordinary survivors who were struggling to live. It was likely that he would have died without any chance to fight. In other words, Jiang Liushi owed his life to Starseed. Naturally, he would do his utmost best to help Starseed absorb more and more energy!
'There are thousands of mutant birds around the Safety Zone. I want to absorb all of them!' thought Jiang Liushi excitedly.
Suddenly, a knocking sound came outside the minibus.
"Can I speak with Captain Jiang? I'm one of General Zhang's subordinates!" shouted the officer outside of the minibus' door.
Jiang Liushi opened the door and said, "I am Jiang Liushi."
"Captain Jiang, I am Feng Jiang, a Commander under General Zhang," Feng Jiang gave a military salute excitedly.
Back in the Shenhai Island, Feng Jiang had already heard lots of stories about Jiang Liushi and his team. Moreover, General Zhang held them in high regard. As a soldier, Feng Jiang admired the Shi Ying Squad from his heart.
"Nice to meet you. Commander Feng. Could you tell me about the current situation in detail?" asked Jiang Liushi.
"It's terrible. The monsters appeared so suddenly that we started fighting against them without any time to prepare," explained Feng Jiang. "Fortunately, many teams have been dispatched to rescue the residents. I believe that we will soon control the situation. Our top priority is to transfer the residents to reduce the losses."
"Which areas are the most affected?" asked Jiang Liushi.
Feng Jiang answered at one, almost without thinking. "The accommodation areas from No. 1 to No. 7, as well as the 4th military camp. These places are densely populated, and the 4th military camp is also the biggest one in the district. However, its situation is relatively better because most of the soldiers had already been sent to defend or prepare. The factories' situation is grave as many residents work during the day, so there were fewer people in the accommodation buildings…The coal and auto repair factories have the most people. It's a critical situation. We are already preparing to set out."
All the soldiers under his command were gathered in the emergency area, waiting for him. Feng Jiang used his remaining time to meet Jiang Liushi and express his gratitude. Actually, Jiang Liushi's appearance had left him somewhat surprised as in his mind he was a fierce-looking man. He didn't expect to see a kind-looking young man instead.
As Feng Jiang finished talking, Jiang Liushi wanted to say something, but he stopped as another group of vehicles rushed inside. Three people jumped down from the leading vehicle. Jiang Liushi glanced at them and found that he knew two of them. The first one was Lu Tianyu, who he had met back in Hejiang Town, while the second one was Ji Xiangming, whom he had seen when they had just arrived at the Safety Zone. The last one was a spectacled woman
"Ji Xiangming also joined the War Squad?" exclaimed Feng Jiang in surprise. "To have come here so urgently must mean that they want to come with us."
When Lu Tianyu saw Commander Feng, he walked toward him. Feng Jiang also walked toward him.
Although the War Squad had a few members, they were all under the highest authority's command. In the future, it was possible for all the squad members to be promoted to generals. All the members were paranormals and the cream of the crop.
When Jiang Liushi first encountered Lu Tianyu, they didn't have any chance to get to know each other. But this time, after seeing Lu Tianyu, Jiang Liushi felt he was totally different.
"Commander Feng, all the members of the War Squad, have been gathered. We'd better set off immediately. Time is of the essence," said Lu Tianyu. After that, he noticed Jiang Liushi. Lu Tainyu's expression changed a little, and he wondered why Jiang Liushi was also there.
"Commander Feng, I'd like to go with you," said Jiang Liushi suddenly.
Everyone looked at him when they heard that. Ji Xiangming was stunned as he couldn't understand why a survivors' team would want to join in such a dangerous task.
Feng Jiang was delighted with Jiang Liushi's unexpected request. "That's excellent!"
Although he didn't know why Jiang Liushi wanted to go with them, he thought it was their good fortune to have him. After all, the Shi Ying Squad's strength was exceptional. Moreover, Feng Jiang was aware that General Zhang wanted to rope the Shi Ying Squad in the army.
Ji Xiangming felt annoyed. As far as he knew, many soldiers didn't like cooperating with survivors' teams as their members were always arrogant. He wondered why Feng Jiang was so happy and if Lu Tianyu would allow it.
"Then, let's go," said Jiang Liushi.
Ji Xiangming felt it was quite strange for a survivor to be more anxious than the military to set out. Lu Tianyu was also confused.
"Forget it. Let's go," said Lu Tianyu.