Doctor will never die in a hellish situation.

"And the good news?" Vika then asked.

"They don't know I'm in the team; they naively think I'm a reconnaissance squad sent by Ursus," Qin Duanyu said with a smile.

Given that perverted brat's personality, if he knew Qin Duanyu was here, the entire herds would probably come charging over. Right now, he's probably playing a cat-and-mouse game, which gives him plenty of room to scheme.

……

Every patrol team in the vicinity received the distress signal.

The nearest search team immediately tensed up and rushed toward the location mentioned in the communication.

Corpses lay scattered on the ground, and the few remaining members of the Reunion Movement sat slumped nearby, unaware of the terrible attack they had endured.

The search team's deputy felt a chill and quickly stepped forward to inquire.

"Brother, what happened..." Before he could finish his question, a red blade emerged from his back, and the Reunion Movement, which had been slumped over, launched an attack on the "comrade" who had just arrived.

"Stop! We're the Lyman Squad here to provide support. Our password is White Orange! Stop fighting! We're friendly forces!" the captain shouted, only to be stabbed in the arm.

"Shut up, I'm fucking attacking our own people!" A Reunion member pointed a knife at him and said in a smirk, "Last time we attacked that town, you actually dared to steal the woman our captain Harold had his eye on, you've got some nerve!"

"Who the hell remembers such a thing? You dare to attack friendly forces! Lord Mephistopheles will not let you get away with this!" Lyman shouted angrily. He was a little confused, but he had attacked several towns recently, so it seemed that he might have unintentionally offended someone.

"You don't remember? Captain Harold remembers it perfectly well. Anyway, you were killed by the enemy. What does it have to do with our Harold Squad?" The man sneered, and several more members of the Lyman Squad were cut down.

"Retreat! Let's retreat into the woods first!" Seeing that he was no match for them, Lyman led his men to retreat while fighting. Hardman's squad did not rush to pursue them, but instead smeared blood on themselves to make themselves look miserable.

A moment later, another team from the Reunion Movement, having received the news, arrived.

"This is Buster's Squad. Who are you? Password!" Seeing his comrades' miserable state, the squad leader became wary and asked in a deep voice.

“White Orange!” Covered in blood, the Reunion member struggled to his feet and cried, “Mr. Buster, that bastard Lyman has gone mad! He insists that our captain Harold stole his woman last time and then killed our captain with the enemy!”

"What? Defection?" Buster frowned. Could it be that he was afraid of being chosen by Mephisto as a lucky subordinate for modification, so he defected under the persuasion of the Ursus people?

Although I found it hard to believe, the corpses scattered all over the ground were the best evidence.

"Mr. Buster, I have a secret to tell you!" said a Reunion member on the ground, his voice weak. The poor, tall man was covered in blood and breathing rapidly; he looked like he wouldn't live much longer.

"What!?" Buster, whose mind was in turmoil, didn't notice anything amiss and leaned closer to listen.

What awaited him was a sharp pain in his chest.

"Actually, we've betrayed them too!" The burly man suddenly stood up and, together with the previously "severely injured" members of Hardman's squad, launched an attack on Buster's squad.

Left with no other option, the newly arrived squad had to retreat.

"Let them into the woods, Lyman knows what to do!" The surviving members of Buster's squad vaguely heard the traitors' loud discussion.

Chapter 17, Section 195: A Loving Family

Several hours later, the commotion showed no signs of abating. All the pent-up resentment erupted at once. Not only were different squads attacking each other, but even within squads, there were instances of backstabbing due to past disputes over the distribution of spoils.

The ordinary squads that arrived later were unable to separate them. Instead, they were drawn into the chaos for all sorts of strange reasons, until the herd appeared and the situation was finally brought under control.

"Everyone's calmed down? Then can someone explain to me what's going on? Is this some kind of free-for-all?" Mephisto looked at his injured subordinates with a bright smile on his face.

Those who know him well know that this is a prelude to anger.

A total of eight squads participated in the melee. Even though the casualty rate reached nearly 50%, they still fought each other fiercely, their faces flushed. They were not even this brave when fighting the military and police in Chernobog.

They're really good for nothing, but they're number one at internal strife.

If it weren't for his limited abilities, which prevented him from effectively controlling such a large herd, and the need for intelligent people to run errands, he would have already converted all these useless and incompetent people.

"Sir, it was that brat Lyman who struck first. He lured us here with a distress signal to ambush us. I suspect he's a spy for Ursus!"

"You're talking nonsense! It was clearly Buster's squad that attacked the most viciously, yet he claims they were attacking friendly forces!"

"Hmph, your squad's dirty tricks weren't exactly light either. I saw you kill Hardman's men with my own eyes!"

The surviving captains shifted blame to each other, trying to pin the problem on others. As for what caused the fight, they didn't care about the corpses of the Reunion Movement members scattered all over the ground.

Anyway, everyone usually disliked each other, but it was only out of fear of Mephisto's methods that they kept their minor conflicts going, but they never escalated to the point of bloodshed.

Especially after he personally transformed several troublemakers and witnessed the entire process of living people turning into monsters, these unruly individuals became as docile and obedient as lambs in his presence.

After the attack, they were all convinced that they were not the first to strike, and that they could not be blamed. Furthermore, they were hot-headed at the sight of blood and used this as an excuse to deal with people they usually did not get along with.

"Quiet down." Mephisto rubbed his temples, and the room fell silent.

He had a feeling that things were more than just infighting, which was why he patiently listened to their rambling. But this only made things more confusing. He had finally managed to get a clue, but then he slipped away amidst the arguing.

Mephistopheles' mind was filled with images of Hadman coming from the east and attacking Lyman with his men, Lyman preventing Hadman from attacking Lyman, and Buster coming from the south... In fact, he couldn't even remember the names of these men, let alone sort out their grudges.

Since that's the case, let's stop thinking about it and focus on finding the enemy.

"This won't do. We've all come together in response to Sister Talulah's call for the future of the Infected. We can't keep fighting amongst ourselves." With that thought, his gaze swept over the captains again, sending chills down their spines.

“Lord Mephisto, we promise to be united from now on…” a slightly more quick-witted captain quickly said. As for Mephisto’s call to action and talk about the future, that was completely unfounded.

He was originally a homeless man who just wanted to eat and wait to die, but seeing that the Reunion Movement was making a big fuss, he tore off a piece of rag, drew a symbol on it, and then took the opportunity to drag his companion into a house to rob it.

Afterwards, the Reunion Movement captured Chernobog, and he joined them legitimately as a "respondent to the uprising." The group of people present had similar experiences.

Ideal? Goal? Appeal?

These things are edible...

"Ugh, I'm hungry, ah!" His mental capacity gradually disappeared, and he felt that his body was undergoing some kind of irreversible change. The Originium crystals that were originally just growing on the surface of his body were growing wildly like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, protruding from his back, shoulders, and chest.

In just a few breaths, they turned into mindless monsters, roaring to the sky before crawling prostrate before Mephistopheles.

“Now, we are all a loving family, you…” Mephisto manipulated them into the herd, turning his gaze to the remaining Reunion soldiers.

"Today is also a day of peace, we are all good friends and brothers!"

"Yes, yes, we're all good brothers in the Reunion Movement. There's no grudge that can't be resolved. I'm sorry, brother. I was out of my mind and stabbed you in the back. I'm really sorry."

"It's nothing serious. I've been having too much energy lately, so I just had a little bloodletting and it made me feel much better. I should thank you."

The survivors, who had just fought to the death and wished they could kill each other, were now standing together with their arms around each other's shoulders. Two of them, who had stabbed each other in the back, looked so close that they could burn paper money for each other.

"That's good, everyone. Continue with the mission. If your injuries are too serious, you can come to me for treatment," Mephisto said with a smile, watching his subordinates flee as if they were running away.

"My lord, the communications were chaotic at the time, and the survivors couldn't give a clear account. The exact cause is now impossible to determine," a sorcerer following behind him asked in a low voice. "In that case, those rats might have escaped in the chaos. Should we have Lord Patriot send some men..."

Judging from the voice, it was the same person who had spoken to Qin Duanyu earlier. He sensed that something was off about the previous communication, but he was afraid that if he really investigated, he would be accused of leaking intelligence to the enemy. So he chose to conceal the truth and try to give Mephisto a hint in a roundabout way.

"Are you teaching me how to do things?" Mephistopheles turned his head and asked with a smile.

"I dare not, Your Excellency is only qualified to make a judgment; I spoke presumptuously." Upon hearing this, the sorcerer trembled immediately and quickly lowered his head, bowing deeply.

He had no desire to join the herd and become one of the loving members.

"Don't worry, we'll still need you for the battle in Lungmen later, so you're not qualified to join for now," Mephisto said calmly.

"Thank you for your mercy, sir." The sorcerer breathed a sigh of relief, praying that he would never be qualified in his lifetime.

Forget it, it's probably nothing serious. I shouldn't have said anything! The warlock shook his head, putting the events of a few hours ago out of his mind. I know nothing and did nothing.

……

On the main road, a group of people who had discarded their integrated sportswear were swaggering out.

"Doctor, you're amazing! You've completely disrupted their search progress. We're now out of their search area. We just need to get around a few more checkpoints and we'll be safe." Vika turned off the Reunion Movement's communicator, looked at the layout on the map, and said excitedly.

With just a few words and a few corpses, plus the Shield Guards deliberately letting them win, the entire Reunion Movement was thrown into chaos. If it were her, she would probably have used her superior strength to carry out a stealthy assassination. She never imagined such a bizarre method of combat.

"It has nothing to do with me. This is their own problem. I just gave them a little push." ​​Qin Duanyu shrugged. Things had turned out better than he expected.

Initially, those two groups were indeed instigated by him, with the intention of only creating some minor disturbances to distract Mephisto and his group. However, the fact that the Reunion Movement later joined the melee was purely due to their personal grudges.

Even if we assume that they are truly united, no matter how much Qin Duanyu tries, it won't make a difference; ultimately, it is indeed his own problem.

But Vika clearly didn't think so.

Is this the evil spirit of the Tower of Babel? How terrifying it is to manipulate people's hearts so wantonly and then sever ties so easily... She suddenly realized that if she hadn't genuinely wanted the Doctor to serve her, she might have been secretly plotted against and killed without even knowing it.

Thankfully, he's on our side now.

Chapter 18, Section 196: Old ginger is spicier.

As evening approached, the heavy rain, though not stopping, began to subside slightly. After checking the surrounding area, Qin Duanyu led the team to a cave to rest for the time being.

The Shield Guards skillfully dug a smoke-dispersing stove in the ground, covered it with leaves and branches for cover, then set up a small pot, poured in various marching rations, and made an Ursus stew.

Even though it was still the kind of food that was nutritious and filling, completely ignoring taste and appearance, this bowl of hot porridge still made Qin Duanyu feel like she had been reborn.

Although she ate something along the way, the hard compressed biscuits almost broke Qin Duanyu's teeth. She could only manage to swallow a few bites after they were softened by soaking in water.

Moreover, the group hadn't rested since the attack the previous night, trekking through the mountains in torrential rain. Even though the military raincoats from Ursus were quite effective in preventing their inner clothes from getting completely soaked, the cold, icy rain slapping against their faces and bodies and drawing away their body heat was still not a pleasant experience.

The prolonged mental strain had even caused the shield guards to show signs of fatigue, let alone Qin Duanyu, who was just lucky not to catch a cold or fever from being caught in the rain.

"Doctor, which location do you think we should leave from next?" After resting for a while and feeling that his energy had recovered somewhat, Oleg spread out the map he had captured and asked respectfully.

After the previous incident of feigning instigation and causing internal strife, Qin Duanyu could clearly sense that the attitude of those Ursus men towards him had changed, and their eyes were filled with respect mixed with some fear.

“Even if the root cause of the infighting hasn’t been found, the riots are enough to alert Mephisto. He’ll likely replan the patrol routes, so this map can only be used as a reference now.” The culprit looked at the markings on the map, his tone devoid of any remorse. “Fortunately, we’ve escaped the most heavily searched area. Next, we just need to break through this checkpoint and return to Lungmen.”

Judging from the information heard through the communicator, it seems that the two leaders of the Reunion Movement had a disagreement, so the two forces did not merge. Before Patriot could react, they only needed to deal with Mephisto, which was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

"Since we were heading to Lungmen, why did we head towards Ursus yesterday?" Oleg asked, somewhat puzzled. Although he knew Qin Duanyu must have had a deeper purpose, he couldn't quite understand this elaborate approach.

“Because the Doctor was just misleading us. That Patriot will definitely deploy heavy troops on the road to Ursus, while the guards on the road to Lungmen will be lax, giving us a chance to escape,” Vika explained, her tone full of admiration.

When Qin Duanyu withdrew last night, he deliberately had them leave behind some items that were clearly characteristic of Ursus, such as military water bottles and entrenching tools, so that Patriot and Mephisto would assume from the outset that the enemy was sent by the Ursus government.

Furthermore, the road guarded by the attacked outpost leads to the Ursus mobile city closest to Chernobog. Under the influence of habitual thinking, it is easy to conclude that the enemy is preparing to flee in that direction.

Who knew that after Qin Duanyu abandoned the vehicle, he led everyone in the opposite direction, even going so far as to pass through the heavily guarded and patrolled altar area again, choosing to take a detour back to Longmen.

What a brilliant counterattack!

This morning, she figured this out and voluntarily relinquished command, instructing Oleg and the others to completely obey Qin Duanyu's orders.

The slight miscalculation was that two cadres from the Reunification Movement arrived, and the enemy had more manpower than expected, which increased the difficulty of passing through undetected, but this was successfully resolved.

"As expected of you, Doctor!" Oleg exclaimed sincerely after figuring things out.