Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 370 - 29: Mudslide

"Honestly, I’m not too clear myself." Sun Hang shook his head.

"You mean... intuition?" Candle Dragon caught on, "Your intuition tells you that the ’Three Monkeys’ might appear in this operation and are extremely dangerous... correct?"

"Pretty much." Sun Hang sighed, pretending to hesitate, "It’s hard for me to describe that feeling..."

"Understood, I’ll be extra cautious." Candle Dragon nodded.

The group exchanged glances and then leaped out of the cabin together.

Unlike those frontline observation posts with just a few tents, the No. 7 Observation Post was reconstructed on the foundation of a semi-permanent military fortification. It not only had a waterproof concrete base but also came equipped with a fully functional air raid tunnel and a retractable anti-aircraft turret.

The number of special agents originally stationed at the No. 7 Observation Post was over thirty people. After observation posts zero to six all lost contact, the personnel here increased to nearly a hundred.

"Honestly, this terrain is quite unfavorable." Candle Dragon glanced at the nearby hillside, "If rainfall continues to increase, mudflows could bury the No. 7 Observation Post at any time. If I were the Commander, I would have ordered to abandon this place and retreat to the open area of the No. 8 Observation Post."

Just as Candle Dragon said, the most crucial task for the special agents manning the No. 7 Observation Post was reinforcing one side of the hillside, setting up barriers in front of the post, and digging trenches on either side to channel the mud and rocks sliding from the hilltop... Many figures clad in orange protective suits waded laboriously through knee-deep mud, driving steel stakes deep into the ground to secure the barriers.

Two multifunctional tracked engineering vehicles stood at the forefront, using their giant buckets to push away the constantly falling mud from higher ground — until the barrier was fully built, they were the only safety shield for the No. 7 Observation Post.

The Hunters jumped out from the helicopter onto the distinctive concrete base of the No. 7 Observation Post — this base was about three meters above the ground, and surrounded by flowing mud and rainwater, it resembled more of a lone island amid an ocean.

"Do a final check on your gear; you have five minutes... After five minutes, each group will advance towards the target area as per the planned route. Remember to keep the communication lines open at all times!" Ye Xuan’s voice, as the frontline Commander, came through the communication channel.

Compared to the heavily armed special agents, the Hunters’ outfits were more diverse. Wang Xiyi and Sun Hang had a Black Dragon meme and a Black Dragon and Taishan meme respectively, making them almost immune to the radiation from the dirty rain. Ye Jiu’s strange equipment "Slaughter" provided him with all-around protection, and as for Candle Dragon, the pouring rain couldn’t even touch him.

Among Sun Hang’s team, Zhong Ling was the only one who needed to wear full protective gear. The bulky barrel-shaped protective suit wrapped the petite girl like a dumpling... Even walking on dry flat ground in this outfit was challenging, let alone in this stormy weather, compounded by the continuously shifting, sticky, and slippery mud...

Anyone used to hiking and creek climbing outdoors knows that clear streams appearing shallow enough to barely cover your feet can exert considerable pressure on your ankles — when water reaches knee height, even master-level outdoor athletes keep their distance from such streams.

The density and weight of mud far exceed creek water, and its slipperiness exceeds that of pebbles covered in moss. These special agents wading through the mud rely on high-strength lower-body power exoskeletons to withstand the mud’s impact. Their boots are equipped with hydraulically controlled threaded anchors; every step embeds four anchors into the hard ground. These anchors are directly connected to the exoskeleton framework, enabling the field agents to somehow maintain stability amid the flowing mud.

"Zhong Ling... perhaps you should stay back?" Wang Xiyi glanced at Zhong Ling, "The route is extremely difficult to navigate, and with the possibility of combat en route, we might not be able to take care of you."

"I can take care of myself." Zhong Ling replied. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

A figure as sturdy as a gorilla walked over and placed Zhong Ling on its back — this strange text was wearing a special vest-like equipment, with an alloy basket on its back. Zhong Ling sat directly in the basket and connected the safety buckles from the basket to her protective suit.

Evidently, this strange text was Zhong Ling’s special "means of transport."

"... I don’t think I’ve seen you use this guy before," Sun Hang said.

"That’s because I didn’t need it before." Zhong Ling said, "It was stored in the ice chamber of the No. 1 research institute until you went missing in the Surrendered Area, then I had the institute send it over."

"This is also one of the Puppet Master’s significant advantages." Ye Jiu chimed in, "Though she can only control a limited number of strange texts at once, there’s no limit to the number she can establish mental links with. She can completely switch between different types of strange texts based on the mission requirements, just like soldiers change equipment according to the battlefield... though, from another perspective, ’strange equipment’ is essentially the equipment of fit individuals, no difference."