The Return of Cambrian Period

 60 Cambrian Consciousness Part 2

The driver immediately turned off the tanker engine, plunging the surroundings into darkness. The already sparse moonlight was blocked by the dense tree canopies, and people could barely see each other's faces when they were face to face. It was only slightly better than being blindfolded.

Abu turned its head back and forth, still able to see clearly in the dark.

Tang Yanqiu, as a bird mutant, had enhanced vision due to his avian heritage, but his temporary enhanced vision was similar to Cong Xia's, only slightly better than that of an ordinary person. He still couldn't see anything beyond seven or eight meters.

Zhang Gong led many people to retreat into the forest, hiding among the trees where it would be difficult for others to find them.

Xiao Yan exclaimed, "They're coming, from behind the group!"

Abu also saw the approaching people and turned his body, running towards the back of the group.

A sudden sound of artillery fire came from not far away. Zhuang Yao shouted, "Abu, stop!"

Abu abruptly stopped, and a rocket hit the gasoline canisters at the back of the group, causing several nearby canisters to explode. Those who hadn't managed to escape were engulfed in the sea of flames. The fire illuminated the sky, and chaos ensued.

Tang Yanqiu swiftly flew towards the back, following the fire, and an arrow pierced through the chest of the man holding the rocket launcher.

Cong Xia, with sharp eyes, saw a Tibetan Mastiff charging toward them, with a person sitting on its back holding a machine gun, aiming at Tang Yanqiu.

Cong Xia shouted, "Be careful, Xiao Tang!"

Tang Yanqiu swiftly dodged into the forest, but he couldn't outrun the bullets. He was grazed by several shots on his wings, blood splattering in the night sky. He let out a muffled groan and forced himself to fly to the treetop of the nearest tree.

The bald man shouted, "You little brats! I bought these guns all the way from Chongqing just to deal with you, bird people. Let me show you how powerful I am!"

"Abu!" Zhuang Yao shouted.

Abu swiftly charged towards the bald man. The bald man, riding the Tibetan Mastiff, also charged towards Abu.

When Abu was about ten meters away from the Tibetan Mastiff, it suddenly leaped up, attempting to jump over the dog, but the bald man unexpectedly bounced off the back of the Tibetan Mastiff, transforming in mid-air into a massive Tibetan Mastiff over two meters long. It appeared even stronger and more formidable than the two real dogs. The giant mastiff opened its mouth wide and pounced on Abu!

Cheng Tianbi leaped into the air from above Abu's head, wielding invisible wind blades, and fiercely slashed down towards the bald man. The bald man's instincts were sharp, and he twisted his body in mid-air, evading the attack and moving to the side.

The wind blades came crashing down, leaving a half-meter-long bloodstain on the bald man's chest. He rolled on the ground and roared fiercely at Cheng Tianbi.

Liu Fengyu also jumped down from Abu's body and landed directly in front of the Tibetan mastiff. The Tibetan mastiff pounced at him, but Liu Fengyu extended his arms, transforming them into huge red petals. The Tibetan mastiff, with its sensitive nose, immediately retreated upon smelling the foul odor.

Liu Fengyu's control over the stench was starting to take effect. Although he couldn't target a specific individual, he could control the direction of its release. As long as there was no wind, he could largely avoid extensive diffusion.

The intense stench dispersed towards the two Tibetan mastiffs. Their sense of smell was thousands of times more acute than that of humans, and naturally, they couldn't withstand the pain caused by such a strong odor. The two Tibetan mastiffs repeatedly backed off, their limbs weakening, clearly running out of energy.

A man wielding a large knife rushed towards them with incredible speed, his thigh muscles seemingly about to burst out of his pants. Liu Fengyu knew he couldn't match his speed, so he quickly ran to the side and threw digestive fluid backward. The man dodged, but the fluid splashed onto his arm, causing a burning pain that instantly invaded his nerves. He let out a roar, swinging the large knife crazily towards Liu Fengyu. 

In a state of distress, Liu Fengyu fled through the forest, not using his digestive fluid for an attack. The man was getting closer and closer, and it seemed like he was about to strike Liu Fengyu with his blade. Gritting his teeth, Liu Fengyu made the decision to sacrifice one of his arms. He reached out his hand, and the enormous petals flew towards the man.

Suddenly, an arrow whizzed through the man's heart!

Liu Fengyu took a deep breath, looked up, and faintly saw Tang Yanqiu's white wings among the trees.

Meanwhile, Cheng Tianbi had pushed the bald man into continuous retreat. The bald man had incredibly keen instincts; no matter the angle from which Cheng Tianbi formed his wind cones, he could sense them. However, sensing them was one thing, avoiding them was another. Although he managed to dodge several fatal blows, his body was covered in wounds.

The bald man darted through the forest, but Cheng Tianbi, with the assistance of the wind, wasn't much slower. Countless wind cones chased after the bald man, relentlessly launching surprise attacks and leaving him in a sorry state. Cheng Tianbi didn't pursue him with his full strength but maintained a wind control range of about forty to fifty meters, gradually wearing him out.

Finally, the bald man injured his leg and stumbled forward, losing his balance.

Seizing the opportunity, Cheng Tianbi rushed forward at full speed and thrust his blade through the furry spine of the bald man. The bald man struggled for a few moments, reverting to his human form, and ceased breathing.

Cheng Tianbi took a deep breath, feeling that a considerable amount of his energy had been depleted. However, he couldn't afford to rest and hurriedly ran towards the group.

From a distance, he heard Liu Fengyu shouting, "Get down here, Tang Daxia!"

Tang Yanqiu whispered, "I injured my wings. I can't come down."

"Idiot! Then why did you fly so high?" Liu Fengyu exclaimed.

Gunshots rang out, and Liu Fengyu cried out in pain, taking cover behind the road bully. The thick petals had been pierced, and digestive fluid flowed out, eroding the grass on the ground.

Cheng Tianbi rushed out of the forest, swiftly beheading the person holding the gun and running towards Abu, who was further away. Abu had scattered the group of people, but occasional shots were still fired. Seven or eight powerful evolved individuals planned to surround Abu from three sides. Abu had already sustained several gunshot wounds to his legs, making his movements slower.

Zhuang Yao's marksmanship was terrible; he emptied a magazine but only managed to hit one of the powerful evolved individuals in the shoulder. Those individuals were all wielding large machetes, and Abu was too conspicuous, making him an easy target.

The encirclement was gradually shrinking. Zhuang Yao used his telepathy to calm Abu's anxiety and said in a deep voice, "Abu, don't panic, don't be afraid."

Abu let out a loud roar, and his fur stood on end. The several individuals were also somewhat frightened, involuntarily taking a step back. Cong Xia continuously repaired the injuries on Abu's body, but Abu's size made his energy drain rapidly, just like an ocean absorbing a yak. It wouldn't be long before he ran out of energy.

No... running out of energy soon...

Cong Xia thought of the injured Liu Fengyu and Tang Yanqiu, as well as Abu who had been shot several times. He was overwhelmed with anxiety, sweating profusely. With bloodshot eyes, he looked at several corpses lying not far away.

Not far off, Cheng Tianbi was running towards them.

Cong Xia clenched his teeth, slid down from Abu's body, and shouted, "Tianbi!"

Cheng Tianbi waved an invisible wind blade from a distance, severing the waists of two approaching evolved individuals.

Cong Xia instantly absorbed the energy of those two individuals into his body. His lips trembled, and his heart beat violently.

This is human... human energy... It made him feel nauseous, but he couldn't stop.

After absorbing the energy from those two individuals, he ran towards Liu Fengyu while absorbing the energy of every dead mutant he passed along the way. The neutral energy in his body quickly became abundant. Cong Xia reached Liu Fengyu's side, injecting the energy into his body, and instantly, all the gunshot wounds on Liu Fengyu disappeared without a trace.

Liu Fengyu pushed Cong Xia under the road bully and said, "Don't come out, someone is shooting." After that, he ran towards the tree where Tang Yanqiu was hiding, shouting loudly, "Jump down quickly!"

With a slight hesitation, Tang Yanqiu leaped down. His injured wing couldn't bear the weight, and the other wing could only flap twice, providing some cushioning for his descent. He plunged into the massive petals of Liu Fengyu. The sensation was remarkably elastic, providing a good buffer, but at the same time, a strong, foul odor entered his nostrils.

Tang Yanqiu almost passed out from the stench. "Ugh, it stinks," he exclaimed, hastily covering his nose.

The thick petals transformed into two strong arms. Liu Fengyu dragged him toward Cong Xia, forcing him into the bottom of the car. Meanwhile, he yelled angrily, "If you dare say that word again, I'll beat you to death."

Liu Fengyu threw Tang Yanqiu under the road bully as bullets grazed their heads. The bulletproof casing on the road bully’s body bore a row of indentations.

Liu Fengyu crawled out from the other side of the car and sprayed a pool of digestive fluid toward the direction of the gunfire. A cry of agony came from that direction. Liu Fengyu pounced fiercely, his spiky hand grabbing the person's neck. The rapidly secreted digestive fluid instantly dissolved the person's neck down to the bone.

After throwing him aside, Liu Fengyu turned and ran toward Abu to assist Cheng Tianbi.

Cong Xia held Tang Yanqiu's wing, and a warm and solid force flowed into Tang Yanqiu's body, merging with the wooden energy within him, accelerating cell regeneration. The blood-stained wing gradually repaired itself.

Tang Yanqiu widened his eyes and looked at Cong Xia. "What kind of mutant are you? Why don't I sense any energy fluctuations from you?"

Cong Xia didn't have time to explain. "We'll talk about it later."

Tang Yanqiu also realized that now wasn't the time for conversation. After recovering from his injuries, he took flight again and drew his bow toward the remaining mutants on the battlefield.

This group of people was eventually completely defeated, with the dead dead and the fleeing fleeing, in disarray.

Due to being a larger target, Abu suffered the most injuries. Cong Xia absorbed the energy of all the mutants on the battlefield and focused on repairing Abu's wounds.

Tang Yanqiu gathered the people from the industrial park. Over ten people were killed in the gasoline explosion, leaving everyone feeling low and pained. They silently packed their belongings and oil drums, preparing to hit the road again.

Cheng Tianbi was the only fighter who remained unscathed. As a well-trained special forces soldier, his evolved wind natural power made him excel on the battlefield, like a fish in water.

Zhuang Yao sat next to Abu's head, gently caressing its face. Abu lay quietly, seemingly accustomed to Cong Xia's healing.

Half an hour later, Cong Xia finally healed the few wounds on Abu's body. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he said to Zhuang Yao, "It's fine now."

Zhuang Yao hugged his knees, leaning against Abu's head, and whispered softly, "Just because the wounds can heal doesn't mean they won't hurt."

Cong Xia felt a tinge of sadness and sighed softly. "If it were an ordinary house cat..."

If it had been a few months ago, Abu would have been a pampered house cat, never subjected to such hardships. But in reality, weren't they all the same? A few months ago, he was just an ordinary office worker, never imagining he would experience brutal battlefields and rely on absorbing energy from the dead to strengthen himself.

Cong Xia felt his arm trembling slightly, still remembering the strange and uncomfortable sensation when warm energy entered his body. A warm and solid hand pressed onto his shoulder.

Turning his head, Cong Xia saw Cheng Tianbi standing behind him with his steadfast and courageous eyes, giving him a reassuring strength.

Cong Xia held Cheng Tianbi's hand, managing a faint smile. "Tianbi, I'm fine."

Cheng Tianbi nodded, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't pull his hand away.

Cong Xia patted the back of his hand playfully and joked, "Let me take advantage of you for a bit, let me touch you properly." He yearned to touch Cheng Tianbi, even if it was just a finger or a strand of hair. This desire grew stronger and stronger.

Cheng Tianbi's profound eyes resembled a tranquil pool as he silently gazed at him.

Cong Xia squeezed his palm before reluctantly letting go.