In the apocalypse, I hoarded goods and handed over my storage space to the government.

Before Old Li could finish speaking, the view through the periscope suddenly changed.

The scorched, lifeless ground instantly cracked open.

Beneath the surface of scorched earth lies a living carpet several meters thick, woven from countless grayish-white mycelia!

"Crunch!"

A teeth-grinding grinding sound came from the chassis.

Old Li was horrified to discover that the tracks were spinning wildly without any resistance.

The 55-ton Type 99A main battle tank is now like a piece of pig iron that has fallen into a swamp, sinking irreversibly.

Those seemingly delicate mycelia are terrifyingly tough. They grow and entwine wildly along the gaps in the conveyor belt, locking the drive wheel in no time.

The diesel engine, with its several thousand horsepower, was running wildly, spewing out thick black smoke from its exhaust pipe, but the steel behemoth could only tremble violently in place, unable to move an inch.

In fact, the more they struggle, the faster they sink.

"Damn it! What the hell is this thing?!"

Inside the command vehicle at the rear, Zhang Guomeng's eyes were bloodshot. He ripped off his military cap and yelled, "Counterattack! Open fire across the entire front! Forget about targets, just rip this place up!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Dozens of tank guns adjusted their angles simultaneously, and even coaxial machine guns were spitting fire wildly.

However, the tungsten-core armor-piercing projectile, powerful enough to penetrate a half-meter-thick steel plate, struck those flexible mycelial networks like a fist hitting a pile of cotton.

The enormous kinetic energy was dissipated, enveloped, and swallowed up layer by layer.

The shockwave from the explosion only blew away a few harmless clumps of white fungus, which were instantly replaced by newly grown mycelium.

Then, something even more terrifying happened.

The explosion seemed to have stimulated the dormant fungal forest, and countless mycelia began to writhe violently, secreting a viscous, yellowish-green liquid.

"Sizzle sizzle..."

The sound was exactly like boiling oil being poured on raw meat.

A series of shrill screams erupted on the radio channel.

"Commander! Our armor is melting! The outer reactive armor is failing!"

"This slime is a strong acid! Damn it, all the external sensors are black!"

In the footage, those once indestructible composite armors are now emitting pungent white smoke from being enveloped in a yellowish-green slime.

The steel surface became pitted and uneven at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Poison gas! Poison gas!"

I don't know who shouted.

The fungal carpet undulated like breathing, and countless pink spore mists surged out, instantly enveloping the entire vanguard.

Several tanks that had opened their hatches to observe the situation were instantly overrun.

"Heh heh, hahahaha!"

The communication channels no longer broadcast battle reports, but instead emitted maniacal roars, eerie laughter, and sporadic gunshots.

"Zombies! There are zombies in the car! Die! All of you die!"

A gunner, hallucinating, pulled out his self-defense pistol in the cramped compartment and frantically pulled the trigger at the air and his comrades beside him.

Some soldiers crawled out of the hatch with scratches all over their faces and foaming at the mouth, only to be covered in mycelial tentacles the moment they came into contact with the air.

a few seconds.

In just a few seconds, the vibrant body was sucked into a dried corpse, its skin and bones sinking into the fungal carpet.

The chill seemed to freeze the blood in Zhang Guomeng's entire body.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he almost ground his back teeth to powder.

"Close the hatch! Activate NBC protection! Retreat! Rear formation, forward formation! Retreat!!"

He roared until his vocal cords were torn.

At this moment, nothing is more important than saving face or maintaining the dignity of an elite brigade.

If we don't run now, the entire 3rd Heavy Armored Brigade will be wiped out here!

The vehicles behind were reversing frantically, and everyone was desperately trying to escape this death zone.

Ultimately, although half of the troops escaped the mycelium, the most elite first echelon, consisting of fifty-four main battle tanks and nearly two hundred outstanding tank crew members, was completely trapped in that deadly mycelium.

The torrent of steel was abruptly cut in half by a forest of mushrooms.

……

Five hundred meters away from the collapse zone.

Zhang Guomeng slumped in the conductor's chair, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

500 meters.

What would normally be a mere tap of a tank's accelerator has now become an insurmountable chasm.

We've tried all conventional rescue methods.

As soon as the armored repair vehicle approached, its tires were corroded and burst, and fungal hyphae spread up the wheel rims and onto the vehicle body.

Even if sappers in hazmat suits rush forward, they will be entangled in the ubiquitous mycelium around their ankles and dragged down with all their might.

And the brothers trapped...

"Buzz... Brigade Commander, we're still safe, but we can't move right now."

"Brigade Commander, we are still safe."

Through the weak shortwave communication, one could still hear heavy breathing and the sounds of armor being corroded.

Although the tank is currently in NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) protection mode, it's only a matter of time before it becomes a sieve riddled with holes under the continuous corrosion of strong acid.

Once the outer shell breaks, the spores, which are incredibly pervasive, can penetrate inside.

At that point, it will be more than two hundred madmen killing each other in a sealed iron can.

Zhang Guomeng's hands trembled violently, his once arrogant and domineering attitude completely shattered, leaving only endless regret and fear.

"Connect me to headquarters."

The call was connected.

Zhang Guomeng's voice was hoarse, tinged with a sob, "This is Zhang Guomeng. This is the 3rd Heavy Armored Brigade. We have suffered a devastating blow and are requesting support! Requesting tactical guidance! Save my soldiers!"

……

Kunlun Base, Supreme Command Center.

Li Guodong watched the battle footage transmitted back on the screen.

Those distorted faces, those tanks covered in mycelium, melting and smoking, made him tremble with rage.

"Snapped!"

He slammed the enamel mug he was holding onto the table.

"Zhang Guomeng! Are you brain-dead?!"

He grabbed the communicator and roared into the microphone, "The General Staff's warning was issued a long time ago! Detour around mutated plants! Detour!"

You're ignoring this? This is the apocalypse! This isn't your training ground! Those are human lives lost! Soldiers you trained!"

The command center was deathly silent.

On the other side of the screen, Zhang Guomeng lowered his head, letting the insults rain down on him without daring to utter a sound.

"Your arrogance will ruin everyone sooner or later!"

Li Guodong took a few deep breaths, suppressing the urge to kill him.

Despite the criticism, the person must be saved.

He turned to the liaison officer from the Academy of Sciences beside him, his eyes urgent: "What did the Academy say? Are there any rescue plans?"

The liaison officer was sweating profusely, looking at the data report he had just printed out, and reported loudly.

"Reporting to Director Li, the professor from the Academy of Sciences has just analyzed the transmitted data. At the current rate of corrosion, the 99A's composite armor can only last for a maximum of three hours. The composition of this biological enzyme..."

"I'm asking for a solution!"

No, no.

The liaison officer's voice trailed off, "Without physical samples and without understanding the biological characteristics of the mycelium, the Academy of Sciences cannot come up with a targeted disinfectant within three hours."

Physical removal is also not feasible; according to the analysis of the transmitted videos, flames will only stimulate them to secrete more acid…

Li Guodong swayed and slumped into a chair.

Even the Academy of Sciences couldn't solve it?

Are we just going to stand by and watch those two hundred elite warriors get melted and poisoned?

An atmosphere of despair, like a fungal carpet, spread rapidly through the command room.

Suddenly, Li Guodong looked up sharply, a final glimmer of light flashing in his eyes.

"Quickly! Contact Consultant Su!"