Volume One Mutation Chapter Fourteen Confrontation

Although monsters were terrifying, sometimes what was even more frightening was the human heart. At this moment, the young armed policeman had already lost the fighting spirit that once burned within him. He no longer understood the meaning of risking his life to protect this kind of crowd, but the word “duty” had become a heavy shackle, binding all soldiers like him.

Ten minutes later, all preparations outside the camp were complete. Several lines of defense had been set up in the direction from which the wolves were expected to attack. Behind a frontline constructed from stacked ammunition crates, a heavy machine gun now stood ready, aimed at the emptiness ahead.

Despite the thorough preparations, all those who had set up the defenses wore expressions of grave solemnity. From beginning to end, not a single trace of relaxation could be found on their faces. Beneath their stern demeanor, there was an unmistakable fear of the battle to come.

Soon, what looked like a sandstorm rolled across the distant wheat fields, surging towards them. The earth began to tremble, and in the midst of the commotion, several dark shapes could be seen darting swiftly at the front of the dust cloud. If one had not witnessed it with their own eyes, it would have been difficult to believe that such thunderous rumbling, as if an army of thousands was charging, could be caused by only a handful of giant wolves.

“Captain, they’re coming. How should we engage?” A trembling whisper broke the deathly silence of the position.

The young police officer replied with a bitter smile, “Focus our fire when they get close. Aim for their heads or legs. If possible, force them to change direction with our firepower. If they charge straight through, they might just flatten our entire camp.”

As the conversation ended, the tremors in the ground grew more intense. The dark dots in the distance became clearer, and only now did the group of mutant wolves fully reveal their monstrous forms. The charging giant wolves no longer resembled their former selves—their bodies were stripped of fur, exposing bare, gray-black skin. No trace of fat remained; it seemed as if every ounce had been converted into dense muscle, the bulging sinews making them appear unbreakable.

Only around their necks did tufts of long fur remain. Like all mutant creatures, the wolves’ eyes glowed an unnatural crimson, demonic pupils set above gaping jaws filled with long, densely packed fangs, resembling beasts from the underworld of myth.

As the mutant pack surged forward, they drew near the man-made traps. Suddenly, as the lead wolf was running at full speed, a burst of sparks exploded beneath its feet. In an instant, hundreds of steel pellets shot out, striking the surrounding wolves. Yet, terrifyingly, these powerful projectiles merely embedded in the thick hide of the mutant beasts. Soon, the muscles flexed, squeezing the pellets out to drop harmlessly to the ground.

“Boom! Boom!—”

More explosions erupted among the wolves, the blasts throwing them off balance. Their massive inertia sent them tumbling to the earth, raising clouds of dust.

“Now! Fire!” the young officer roared, squeezing his trigger. The firing pin struck the cartridge with a heavy thud, igniting the gunpowder. The violent explosion sent the bullet flying at blinding speed toward the mutant wolf. The special armor-piercing round spun rapidly, piercing into a wolf’s blood-red eye. The beast let out a howl of agony.

Their massive size granted the wolves great strength, but also brought one fatal weakness—their enormous eyes.

A dozen guns opened fire at once, the tracers weaving beautiful arcs through the air. The wolves’ charge was brought to a halt. The hail of armor-piercing rounds was not fatal, but brought immense pain, and the impact kept them from advancing.

“Awwooo!”

A roar echoed from the smoke behind the pack, and at the sound, the rampaging mutant wolves seemed to receive a command. They scattered, vanishing into the swirling dust behind them.

With their targets lost, the police squad fired a few more bursts into the haze before the young officer called out, “Cease fire, conserve ammunition! Throw grenades instead!”

Having broken the wolves’ charge, the defenders felt a surge of confidence. They hurled primed grenades into the drifting smoke, each explosion raising more dust and making the wolves’ movements even harder to trace.

“Stop!” The young officer sensed something and halted the group. “Listen to the wolves’ footsteps.” The once chaotic noise grew organized, the footsteps slowly drawing closer.

“They’re using our smoke to approach us!” Zhang Chi, one of the officers, suddenly recalled something and cried out in alarm. Seeing the others’ confusion, he explained quickly, “Like all predators, wolves use terrain and cover to stalk their prey. Once they’re within striking distance, they attack!”

Realization dawned, and everyone swallowed nervously, turning to their captain. “Captain, what now? Do we keep firing?”

The young officer considered and replied, “Keep firing. One group shoots, one reloads, one throws grenades. If they want to hide, let them—we’ll keep them pinned down. Once reinforcements arrive, our job will be done.”

The group sprang into action, spraying bullets without hesitation. As one group reloaded, another unleashed covering fire, while explosions boomed around them. Both sides had the same thought: use the smoke as cover. The wolves crept forward, bellies low, sweeping the ground with their massive tails to raise dust and crawl closer to their enemies. The police squad, in turn, used this tactic to slow the wolves, buying precious time.

No one knew how long the gunfire raged. The heavy machine gun’s barrel began to glow red with heat. The wolves, growing impatient, suddenly rose with a chorus of roars and charged out of the smoke. The squad spotted the monstrous beasts emerging and opened fire once more.

Yet, against the crazed assault of the wolves, the few hundred meters between them suddenly seemed desperately short. The beasts leapt forward, dodging most of the buried traps, rapidly closing the gap between themselves and their tantalizing human prey.

One giant wolf at the front finally fell under the overwhelming fire, its head struck by countless bullets in mere seconds. But more wolves were already upon them. The defenders could see saliva dripping from their open jaws.

At last, a mutant giant wolf broke through the cordon, charging into the formation. It seized a man in its jaws as he fired at it, lifted its head, and swallowed him whole.

The squad looked on in horror, eyes wide with grief, but there was no time to mourn. The wolves were almost upon them now, and all they could do was mechanically aim and fire. The wolves that broke into the formation tore through the defenders like wolves among sheep, devouring four people in just a few seconds.

The young officer watched helplessly as his comrades were swallowed alive by these beasts. Consumed with rage and pain, he let out a furious, agonized scream—“Ah!—” His contorted face and throbbing veins testified to his fury, but all he could do was keep squeezing the trigger.

...

In the sky above, Liu Congfei frowned as he studied the tracks below. Dozens of colossal pawprints marked the ground, and Liu Cong was swiftly following them.

After flying for some time, he finally caught sight of the giant wolves ahead, along with the sporadic sounds of gunfire. Black fire flickered around his hands as Liu Cong swept over the earth, coming to a halt above the wolves. He saw one mutant wolf about to bite down on a human below, so he dropped to the ground and struck the wolf’s head with his fist, knocking it aside.

His vision had long been enhanced, and he was startled to find that even his fist, wreathed in black fire, only left a slight scorch on the wolf’s head. The skin where the fire struck was merely singed and yellowed, otherwise unharmed.

There was no time for surprise. Liu Cong knew he had to save as many people as possible. He dashed to the next wolf, landing another blow to its head, then moved on while the beast was stunned.

Quickly, Liu Cong managed to separate the two battle lines and conjured a long black line of fire in the air, encircling the remaining police squad and the entire camp. Though the skirmish had been brief, Liu Cong realized these giant wolves were not foes he could easily defeat. If he fought them head-on, he could not guarantee the others’ safety. All he could do for now was protect those in the camp.