Half an hour later, the team of four and the five refugees completed their preparations.
Chen Jian noticed that the refugees were quite adept at infrared camouflage.
Not only did they wrap themselves completely in aluminum foil, but they also wore waterproof cloaks over it, and added an additional layer of damp fabric on top of the cloak.
In this early winter when temperatures had dropped below 10 degrees, even with the thermal fusion night vision sensitivity turned to the highest, it was almost impossible to spot a significant infrared signal.
This level was nearly on par with the four team members wearing full infrared combat suits.
These people had extraordinary survival experience.
So, is it with this experience that they survived in such a world?
Maybe it wasn't just this.
Chen Jian put on his tactical goggles again, calibrated the anti-sniper radar sensitivity, and then followed Du Hu, leading the team down the stairs and out of the building.
Only then did he truly see the real appearance of the Dead City.
Most of the high-rise buildings were tilted or had collapsed, and the cars parked by the roadside were buried in dust, revealing rusty skeletons.
Judging by the rust marks, those cars hadn't been moved for decades, or even more than a hundred years.
But bizarrely, there were no green plants in the entire city, you could occasionally find moss struggling to grow in the cracks of the ground.
This was very abnormal.
You should know that less than a kilometer away in the suburbs, countless giant trees were still growing.
The four-person team had struggled arduously to cross through the jungle to reach here.
The two areas were like two different worlds.
Why on earth is it like this?
Is this difference caused by the so-called "Mother Entity"?
Chen Jian wanted to ask, but it was obviously not the right time.
So he suppressed his doubts, planning to find a way to ask after returning to the shelter.
Meanwhile, Du Hu had already led the entire team through two small alleys and into a wider street.
Soon, Du Hu headed towards a collapsed hole on the ground.
Chen Jian glanced over and asked:
"Does it look familiar?"
"More than familiar. It's the subway station."
Shen Yue nodded slightly, then leaned close to Chen Jian and asked:
"Collecting food at the subway station? Are we going to catch rats?"
"I don't know."
Chen Jian switched the safety on the 191 and then switched to English, lowering his voice:
"But I feel something's not right."
"The streets are so quiet and they're moving fast, as if they have no sense of caution."
"Plus, considering those creatures' biological features—infrared vision and such, it's clear they likely only operate at night or in the dark."
"Given that, why take the risk of going underground?"
"Can it be they can't find any food on the surface?"
"Whatever the case, get ready for combat, and immediately start establishing a withdrawal route map once we're underground, constantly updating it onto the PDA."
"I didn't say they were setting us up, but the probability of unexpected events... is high."
"Understood."
"Roger that."
Others replied one by one, their goggles and PDAs all turned on, as the whole team once again entered a state of combat readiness.
Heading down the subway entrance, the air in the tunnel gradually grew damp, and the light became dimmer.
Du Hu, leading in the front, lit a small torch for illumination, occasionally using hand gestures to indicate the way forward.
As their exploration deepened, the terrain became increasingly complex.
The metro station, ravaged by time, was completely different from the modern ones in Chen Jian's memory. Without any signage, no matter how well-trained you were, you'd be utterly lost in the chaotic tunnels.
After walking for a full half-hour, Du Hu's pace hadn't slowed.
The unease in Chen Jian's heart grew stronger, increasingly aware that this mission wasn't so simple.
This sense of danger, honed from extensive training and numerous real combats, had never been wrong.
Thus, he decisively signaled, and the entire team's formation silently shifted.
The two-by-two column transformed into a four-member single column, with Chen Jian still following behind Du Hu, while the others fell behind, completely cutting off the group of five refugees.
This was initially just a precautionary adjustment.
But after the team's formation changed, Chen Jian noticeably felt the entire group's pace slow down.
The alertness in his heart peaked, prompting an instinct to halt and observe.
Yet at that very moment, Du Hu suddenly stopped.
Then, he turned around and pulled something out from his chest.
The next second.
"Boom!"
A massive noise erupted within the tunnel, followed closely by his hoarse shouts.
"Run!"
Chen Jian felt as though he had been hit squarely by a shock grenade; a powerful dizziness surged instantly, and the view in his night vision goggles turned into a blinding white.
He immediately realized that Du Hu's "Run" was absolutely not meant for the four strangers!
They had long prepared to kill him here!
"Open fire!"
Without hesitation, Chen Jian gave the command, and almost simultaneously, the thermal fusion night vision automatically switched from low-light mode to white-light fusion mode.
The view instantly cleared, and Chen Jian saw Du Hu's silhouette flash by, pulling the trigger on his 191 immediately.
"Bang bang bang!"
The gunfire echoed in the tunnel, the three behind him also opened fire simultaneously.
In the flickering gunfire, Du Hu tumbled to the ground, followed by the other four who tried to run to hide in the side tunnels but were precisely taken down by Lei Jie wielding a highly agile QCQ171.
"Check on them! Ceasefire!"
The battle flared up and ended just as swiftly.
"He Shuo, release the drone, establish a map, find advantageous positions!"
"Lei Jie, set up traps ahead and behind to block enemy routes."
"Shen Yue, set up the gun, prepare for engagement!"
"Understood!"
The three quickly took action, while Chen Jian held his 191, vigilantly watching the tunnel ahead in a standard combat stance.
He knew that what truly endangered his team was definitely not these five refugees.
They went to great lengths to lure him in, surely hiding a trump card.
While detonating the "stun grenade," they intended to escape.
So, just what were they escaping from??
Chen Jian's heart pounded fiercely, but an oppressive silence enveloped the tunnel.
Only Du Hu's groaning, not yet fully dead, echoed within.
"How... were you able to see..."
"Impossible... impossible..."
"Tell me what's coming, and you can live!"
Chen Jian spoke calmly, and Du Hu coughed a couple of times, answering with difficulty:
"... Too late... too late..."
"None of us... can escape..."
As his voice faded, an intense scraping sound emanated from the depths of the tunnel.
Chen Jian was not foolish enough to wait in place and immediately ordered a retreat in the opposite direction.
The four of them fled frantically, following the map on their goggles at an incredible speed.
The scraping noise grew louder, accompanied by Du Hu's sharp scream from behind.
He turned to look, and a terrifying scene unfolded before his eyes.
The "Mother Entity" he encountered yesterday was squeezing strangely within the subway tunnel.
Its entire body was crushed and deformed, like an octopus forcefully stuffed into a glass cup.
And the mouth of that octopus held the remaining half of Du Hu's body...