Before everything goes out

After a brief discussion, the three made a quick decision to save the person.

However, before Niu San could charge down with his gun in hand, Li Fei grabbed him and stopped him.

"Let's observe first; a few more seconds won't make a difference."

That's right.

Rescuing people doesn't mean recklessly rushing down. Standing on the edge of the hillside, using the difference in elevation, Li Fei quickly scanned the valley, trying to see everything as clearly as possible.

Focus your gaze and look first at the center of the valley.

There were about four or five people surrounded, but their faces were not clearly visible.

However, unlike the villagers of Shuanghe Village, these people were dressed more fashionably...

No.

It should be said to be more "modernized".

Hiking boots, down jacket, denim jacket.

Their attire exudes a modern industrial vibe, rather than a rustic one.

They looked like a group of backpackers, except they had some unusual weapons in their hands, such as crowbars, fire axes, or machetes.

Broaden your perspective.

There were nearly a hundred tree-men surrounding this group.

While not as terrifying as that night, this scale was still enough to trap and kill these people.

It's only a matter of time before they're wiped out.

"Tree people do fear sunlight, but not to the extent of firelight..."

After observation, Li Fei drew a conclusion.

Under the sunlight, you can see faint black smoke rising from the heads of each of the nearby tree-men, probably caused by the scorching sun.

The one that Niu San just chopped down was unaffected because it was standing in the shade of a tree.

This is the end.

He also gained a general understanding of the destructive power of light on decaying organisms.

What is certain at present is that firelight > sunlight.

Firelight.

It can dissolve zombies and tree people, but has no significant effect on corrupted beings.

Sunlight.

It is somewhat damaging to the tree-men, but not fatal.

Even many decaying animals can live normally under the sun, such as the human-headed wasp and the male deer with antlers all over its face.

"What do we do?"

Li Fei's thoughts were interrupted by Niu San's voice coming from beside him.

After a brief moment of thought, he offered a solution.

"Option 1: Observe the situation and wait until the tree people are weakened as much as possible by the sunlight before we go down to rescue them."

The advantage is that this is both effortless and safe, and it also allows us to probe their background. As for the disadvantages...

These people might not be able to hold out first. After all, we've witnessed the ferocity of the tree people; encountering them usually results in death or serious injury. It's hard to say how many of them will survive by the time we get down there.

"What about Option Two?"

Niu San scratched his head.

"Option Two: Act now."

Li Fei took two Molotov cocktails out of his pack and hung them on his belt.

"In Lin Wen's words, this is an opportunity given to us by God to do good deeds. Opportunities are rare, so I suggest we seize it. It's also a good opportunity for you to test your skills with guns."

"I agree!"

Niu San immediately responded.

Needless to say, She Qingqing was already eager to rush down and save people even before Li Fei gave her the solution.

after all.

If Snake Seven is also trapped inside, every second wasted increases the danger.

...

...

"Ouch!"

Zhang Cheng felt a weight on his back, and when he reached behind him, he touched a handful of scalding blood.

Half a second later, the pain receptors responded, followed by a tearing, excruciating pain in my back.

he knows.

His jacket and back were ripped open by the damned tree-man's claw, adding another wound to his body.

"Damn it! This thing's fingers are like knives, brothers, be careful!"

Surrounded, Zhang Cheng shouted as he continued to swing his knife.

but.

Several minutes earlier, the machete in his hand had already stopped working.

With his arm sore and weak, the slash he was about to deliver, which should have severed the tree-man in two, was stuck on its shoulder and wouldn't go any further.

"Fuck you!"

Zhang Cheng cursed and kicked out.

The force was so great that it sent the tree-man flying, landing on the other tree-man, causing both of them to fall to the ground, losing their balance.

"How are you all? Can you still hold on?"

Having escaped danger briefly, he, as the leader, immediately looked around.

As expected, the teammates all looked pale and were covered in bruises, indicating that the situation was far from optimistic.

No.

He knew that if this continued, in five minutes...

Within ten minutes at most, they will all fall down and become another handful of biological fertilizer for this tree-man.

"Brother Cheng, why don't you find a chance to run away with Qianmei? We're probably doomed this time."

The young voice behind him made Zhang Cheng turn around and start cursing.

"What the hell are you thinking? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

"What do we do? We can't get out of here..."

"Instead of wasting time talking nonsense, you might as well chop down a couple more!"

As he spoke, Zhang Cheng tilted his head to dodge the attack.

The sharp wind whistled past his ears, causing a few more drops of cold sweat to drip down his back.

This tree-man.

It wasn't as hard as I'd imagined, but its fingers were incredibly sharp.

It swings like a knife, thrusts like a spear; once it hits a vital spot, even he won't fare well.

"Brother Cheng! Qianmei'er has been infected!"

His teammates' calls forced Zhang Cheng to turn back again.

in view.

At the edge of the group, a young woman with a face covered in blood was being quickly dragged into the crowd of trees.

"Qianmei..."

Before Zhang Cheng could even utter a cry of surprise, a dark shadow swept towards him.

Distracted, he couldn't dodge in time and was hit squarely on the bridge of his nose by the dark shadow, making him see stars and roll on the ground.

Fortunately, it wasn't a finger that was scraped, but an arm.

A broken nasal bone, though not fatal, was enough to keep him unable to get up for a short time, leaving him kneeling on one knee, wildly slashing with his knife amidst the dizzying sensation.

"Brother Cheng!"

"I can't take it anymore!"

"Damn it! I never thought we'd end up getting killed by these bastards!"

Various sounds came from his ears, which intensified Zhang Cheng's dizziness.

Just as he looked up in despair, everything went black again...

All the chaotic noise was silenced by a gunshot.

Bang!

The gunshots came from higher up.

He couldn't tell whether it was on the mountain or in the tree.

Fortunately, after the first gunshot, he could sense everything around him...

Both his teammates, who were on the verge of collapse, and the treants that were gathering around him, were brought to a brief standstill.

Then came more gunfire, as dense as raindrops.

soon.

The tree people were drawn by the gunshots and dispersed.

In shock, the teammates shakily got to their feet, relieved.

"We're saved..."

Knowing he was out of danger, Zhang Cheng's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

After a short rest, I struggled to get up.

What came into view was a group of people approaching with guns pointed at them...

Sir?

...

...

Bang!

Bang bang bang!

The three men walked forward side by side, each carrying a different gun.

Li Fei had a short rifle resting on his shoulder.

These can be considered Fan Yaodong's relics.

At that moment, awakening his shooting instincts, he adopted a standard posture and aimed steadily. With machine-like precision, wood chips continuously burst from the heads of the tree-men before they fell heavily to the ground.

Niu San had a shotgun strapped to his waist.

Unlike Li Fei's burst fire, he only roughly aimed at a few tree-men, then pulled the trigger, dragged the handguard to chamber a round, pulled it again, and chambered another round...

Back and forth.

This shooting method is simple and brutal. Although the accuracy is low, it works well because there are many trees in the ground.

Finally, there's She Qingqing.

She carried a sniper rifle, her shooting style somewhere between Li Fei's and Niu San's.

A rough aim, then pull the trigger.

While each bullet couldn't hit the head like Li Fei, at least none missed the target.

This is enough.

Perhaps due to the weakening of sunlight, each large-caliber sniper bullet that hit the Treant created a large hole, with a killing effect even stronger than a headshot.

that's it.

Amidst the intense gunfire, the number of Treants was rapidly reduced until they posed no threat.

"Things are different now than before."

As the last tree-man fell, Li Fei slowly lowered his gun.

The gun barrel was scorching hot, emitting gunpowder smoke.

The strong smell of gunpowder stirred his emotions.

It truly lives up to its reputation as a weapon of the Ring, a testament to the brilliance of humankind.

Facing the monster, some have guns, some don't.

It's like night and day.

Two weeks ago, the treants could easily kill them, but now they pose no threat.

even.

They didn't even need to use the Molotov cocktails they had prepared in advance.

Imagine if they had this equipment on the night they encountered Grandpa Tree...

It might kill Grandpa Tree on the spot.

Even if we can't kill him, at least we can escape unscathed.

"Father isn't here."

She Qingqing's gaze as she looked towards the valley was somewhat somber.

Following her gaze, Li Fei turned his head to look.

In the middle of a valley a little further away, separated by a dense mass of tree-man corpses, the group of backpackers were struggling to walk towards them.

It was only then that he had time to take a closer look. The group consisted of five men and one woman, each with injuries, but thankfully none were serious. Even the woman with the blood-covered face only looked frightening; her life was not in danger...

That's not important. What's important is...

Just as She Qingqing said, Snake Seven is not inside.

"hero!"

"Several heroes!"

A man limped out from the crowd.

He had a stubble beard and was not yet thirty.

He was wearing a worn-out denim jacket and holding a machete with the blade so worn it was almost broken.

He appears to be the leader of this group.

If these people are really backpackers, then this guy is the tour guide...

This is what Li Fei thought.