The Scale Armor Corpse had just crawled around the collapsed subway exit, causing a secondary collapse, and Li Lu was unable to expand the entrance enough for two people to pass through at once.
Hearing the gunshots behind her, Li Lu asked, "What's going on? Is there danger?"
Feng Jun threw a few grenades that exploded among the swarm of insects, killing a group of them, but more immediately surged forward from behind.
"There are quite a lot of these insects, and they seem pretty hungry; they're not even sparing the corpses of their own kind. You'd better hurry," Feng Jun said, raising his Bolter and firing another burst of bullets. These white insects were very fragile; the residual blast from the Bolter could kill a large number of them, but they seemed endless, with one group being killed only for another to appear.
Although Feng Jun kept shooting and even used grenades, the insect swarm was getting closer and closer. They were only two platforms away from swarming at his feet.
In a moment of crisis, Feng Jun suddenly thought of using fire. Feng Jun always liked to collect Doomsday weapons and store them in his storage space, including two flamethrowers and their corresponding fuel cartridges.
He took out a flamethrower from his storage space, and with just a quick look, he understood how to use it. Future flamethrowers used solid compressed fuel, allowing them to be miniaturized. This flamethrower could also be module-linked and equipped on the shoulder or arm of a mechanical exoskeleton or Power Armor.
He fixed the flamethrower to the arm of his mechanical exoskeleton and connected it to the system. Immediately, a weapon module mounted notification sounded from the system. Without much hesitation, he raised his right arm, and yellow flames jetted out towards the insect swarm.
The flamethrower's effective range was between 100-200 meters, and the tongue of flame instantly filled the entire tunnel. Future warfare had not eliminated flamethrowers as weapons; on the contrary, technological advancements had made the flames more powerful and hotter.
The tongue of fire spread along the tunnel, incinerating everything in its path. Feng Jun was somewhat worried that it wouldn't be completely clean, so he waited until the mechanical exoskeleton's system gave a temperature alarm before shutting off the flamethrower.
The moment Feng Jun stopped the flamethrower, Li Lu detonated a grenade directly at the exit. The grenade's explosion finally blew open the concrete slab pressing down on the exit.
Upon hearing the explosion, Feng Jun immediately ran over. As the smoke cleared, a hole just large enough for two people to pass through was revealed.
Li Lu stood at the opening and, seeing Feng Jun running from inside the tunnel, quickly asked, "The insect swarm didn't follow?"
Feng Jun proudly raised the flamethrower mounted on his right arm. "They're all scorched. Not a single one left."
Li Lu saw the flamethrower mounted on Feng Jun's right arm and felt a sudden doubt. She remembered that Feng Jun hadn't carried any flamethrower weapons when he set off.
Before the two could say much more, the two Mutants fighting in the street had nearly determined a victor.
Although the mutated Roadblock was stronger and had a more robust physique, the agile Scale Armor Corpse gave it no chance to use its strength. The Scale Armor Corpse, relying on its flexibility, could easily dodge every one of the Roadblock's attacks and always found opportunities to attack the Roadblock's head from behind.
The moment Feng Jun and Li Lu emerged from underground, the battle between the two Mutants also concluded. The Scale Armor Corpse broke the two arthropod-like claws growing from the Roadblock's back and bit off the Roadblock's head from its back. This battle between Mutants ended with the Scale Armor Corpse's victory.
The Scale Armor Corpse extended its claws into the Roadblock's mouth, stirred a few times, and then, with a pull, ripped open the Roadblock's skull, digging out yellow and white brain matter and pouring it into its mouth to eat. The Roadblock twitched a few times before falling completely still.
Feng Jun hadn't expected the battle between the two major Mutants to end so easily. He had originally thought these two monsters would fight for half a day, but instead, the Scale Armor Corpse, which had a relatively lower helium crystal energy value, easily won.
The entrance to the next subway station was directly in the opposite direction. Seeing the Scale Armor Corpse enjoying its meal, Feng Jun and Li Lu immediately ran towards the target entrance.
Wearing their mechanical exoskeletons, the two ran at a rapid pace. Although the road was cluttered with abandoned cars and scattered zombies, it didn't pose much resistance to them.
As the two gradually moved away, the Scale Armor Corpse, sitting on the Roadblock's corpse and enjoying its meal, raised its head. Feng Jun and Li Lu's figures were reflected in its vertical pupils.
It stuck out its tongue and licked the blood and flesh from the corners of its mouth. The Roadblock's flattened head had very little brain matter, and even its heart had been ripped out and eaten by the Scale Armor Corpse. The Scale Armor Corpse immediately recognized the two fleeing humans. It turned out its earlier scent was not wrong; two cunning humans had evaded its sense of smell. Compared to the corpse of its own kind beneath it, human flesh was much more tender and delicious.
Sawtooth hunched down and ran quickly on the ground like a lizard, scattering obstacles in its path.
Feng Jun heard the crashing sound behind him and looked back to see the Scale Armor Corpse rushing towards them on all fours.
Feng Jun's hair stood on end. How did this guy find them so quickly? And at this running speed, it would definitely catch them before they reached the next subway entrance.
Li Lu also spotted the Scale Armor Corpse chasing them, and both of them instinctively quickened their pace.
Just as the Scale Armor Corpse was chasing Feng Jun and Li Lu, the Roadblock, which he had defeated and whose head and heart he had eaten, swayed and stood up. Dark red foul blood continuously flowed from its hollowed-out head and heart. It looked as dead as could be, yet it stood up eerily.
A mass of flesh wriggled on the Roadblock's shoulder, and the skull-like cerebellum, which had grown at the back of its head, squeezed into the place where its original head had been. A pair of bright red eyes opened in its eye sockets.
This head moved its neck, immediately taking control of the body. Looking at the Scale Armor Corpse with its back to it, the skull-like mouth even had a slight upturn.
Although the Roadblock looked round, short, and stout, its usual attack methods relied on its brute strength to smash with its arms or pick up heavy objects from the ground and throw them. Besides these two moves, its most skilled tactic was to jump in place and then smash down on its opponent. Although the Roadblock's legs were short and thick, it possessed astonishing explosive power and jumping ability.
After running two steps on the ground, the Roadblock accelerated and leaped, raising its thick arms in mid-air and smashing down on the Scale Armor Corpse. The Scale Armor Corpse was currently distracted by Feng Jun and Li Lu. Although its intelligence was greater than the Roadblock's, it was only slightly so. Not noticing the movement behind it, the Scale Armor Corpse was directly struck by the Roadblock's blow.
Two massive arms instantly slammed into the Scale Armor Corpse's back. Although the Scale Armor Corpse's skin and scales were incredibly tough and could withstand sustained attacks from ordinary energy weapons, it did not have the sturdy muscles and thick bones like the Roadblock. This blow directly fractured several of its ribs and injured its internal organs.
Blood seeped from the gaps in its scales and from its mouth. Although this blow severely wounded the Scale Armor Corpse, as a Mutant evolved from a zombie, even though its internal organs had begun to evolve, as long as its brain wasn't damaged, these were merely superficial injuries to it.
The Scale Armor Corpse angrily struck back with a claw, its sharp nails aiming for the Roadblock's second head. However, this head seemed much smarter and blocked the claw with its arm.
The skull-like small head emitted a chilling cackling sound. The Scale Armor Corpse's tail wrapped around one of the Roadblock's legs. With a powerful tug of its tail, it pulled the Roadblock to the ground.
The Scale Armor Corpse spat out another large mouthful of blood. Its left arm had been fractured in the previous collision, and losing an arm greatly reduced its strength. Now, facing the remaining Roadblock, it could only flee. However, the Roadblock had no intention of giving it that chance, extending its hands and directly embracing the Scale Armor Corpse.
The Roadblock's chest muscles and bones began to writhe. A gaping maw filled with sharp teeth split open in the center of its chest, and its ribs transformed into fangs, thrusting out from both sides, directly clamping the Scale Armor Corpse's body and feeding it towards the giant mouth in the center of its chest.
The Scale Armor Corpse roared in fury. At this moment, it felt the threat of death and began to frantically attack the Roadblock's body with its right hand and bite the Roadblock with its mouth. That eerie skull-like head, after controlling the Scale Armor Corpse, began to wriggle backward, allowing it to evade the Scale Armor Corpse's desperate attacks before death.
However, the Scale Armor Corpse had no intention of being eaten by the Roadblock. It began to frantically stomp its feet and twist its body. The Roadblock's body fell down with its struggle, landing precisely on the subway station entrance from which Feng Jun had escaped. The subway entrance tunnel was already unstable, and when the two Mutants pressed down on it, it directly collapsed.
The Scale Armor Corpse was still struggling, but its movements grew weaker and weaker. The ribs continuously growing from the Roadblock's chest were pushing it into the giant mouth in the Roadblock's chest; once inside, no matter how tough its skin was, it could not escape death.
The Roadblock's body rolled over, and the head hidden behind began to wriggle forward again. It kept emitting a cackling sound. This head was not the Roadblock's original head; to be precise, it was a parasitic Mutant zombie called Centipede Head. Its own body consisted only of a skeletal skull, a spine, and continuously regenerating ribs.
This Roadblock was successfully parasitized by it. After parasitism, it would not directly kill the host but would control the host to fight other Mutants, constantly strengthening itself by having the host kill and devour other creatures.
The Scale Armor Corpse sank deeper and deeper into the Roadblock's body, losing the strength to resist. The Centipede Head did not intend to completely kill the Scale Armor Corpse; it planned to transfer itself to the Scale Armor Corpse's body and continue parasitizing. Just as its head turned to the Roadblock's chest, a small white insect appeared on its chest.
The Centipede Head didn't pay attention to this small insect. It prepared to tighten its grip further, ensuring the Scale Armor Corpse was completely incapacitated before it began parasitism.
But white insects never acted alone. Soon, one white insect after another poured out from the cracks in the collapsed subway tunnel, crawling all over the Roadblock and the Scale Armor Corpse.
The insect swarm was like entering a buffet. In the underground tunnel, such large food items were not to be found, and there were two of them. The white grotesque insects all opened their mouths and began to tear and bite. Although the Roadblock had thick skin, its head and chest already had large holes, and countless white grotesque insects directly entered through these wounds to devour its internal organs. Although the Scale Armor Corpse's skin was tough, it was now half-dead and couldn't even close its mouth. White grotesque insects directly entered through the Scale Armor Corpse's facial orifices, frantically tearing and biting at its internal organs.
The original ultimate winner, the Centipede Head, was even worse off. It had little ability to move and was unable to escape from the Roadblock's body before grotesque insects burrowed into its eyes, its brain being the first to be completely devoured.