Chapter 154 - 109: Catalyst

Chapter 154: Chapter 109: Catalyst

BOOM!

A sudden explosion erupted from the edge of the nearby ruins, and it was only the beginning.

Immediately after, a cacophony of explosions—BOOM BOOM, BANG, RUMBLE—began to sound off sporadically in every direction, with no discernible pattern.

Compared to the roar of heavy artillery from before, these sounds were much fainter, but their frequency was terrifyingly high. It was like an endless string of firecrackers, creating constant noise pollution across the dead, scorched earth.

This was the "harvest" from the landmines deployed by the drones. The newly "spawned" zombies had no idea that the seemingly peaceful ground beneath their feet was riddled with death traps. They continued to wander aimlessly, following their instincts, until the moment they triggered a hidden killer.

At first, the public comms channel was filled with sounds of schadenfreude as everyone shared stories about the aftermath of zombies triggering the mines. But that dark humor was quickly drowned out by a flood of complaints.

"Dammit, is this ever going to end? These stupid mines have gone off eight times in the last ten minutes! How is anyone supposed to get any sleep?" a weary voice, belonging to some guy in Sector B, yelled.

"Same here. One goes off in the east, then another in the west. I was just about to drift off when one startled me awake. Who can stand this?"

"Did the command center forget we need to rest? This stuff is useful against zombies, but it’s pure torture for our own people!"

"Sigh, just bear with it. It’s better than having zombies climb up the walls..."

But complaints were just complaints. Everyone understood it was a necessary evil. The landmines did effectively reduce the number of zombies approaching the fortresses, increasing their safety. It was just that the incessant explosions made it impossible to get any real rest.

At first, Xu Mo was just like everyone else, agitated by the frequent explosions and finding it difficult to focus completely on his cultivation. He tried to ignore the sounds, but they always managed to break through and shatter his concentration.

However, after one particular explosion, Xu Mo subconsciously peered through his observation slit toward the blast. His gaze suddenly froze. A critical, overlooked danger he had completely ignored struck him like a bolt of lightning.

Near the site of the explosion, Xu Mo saw several zombies, drawn by the sound and the scent of "food," lurching toward the corpse of one of their own. The body had been mangled by the landmine, but most of its torso was still intact. One of the faster zombies had already bent down and begun to tear at and devour the chunks of flesh, which were covered in dirt and cordite.

’The landmines can kill zombies, but they can’t completely obliterate them. And zombies can evolve by devouring each other.’

The thought hit him like a bucket of ice water, sending a chill straight up his spine. He had only considered the mines’ defensive benefits and the noise disturbance, completely ignoring the far more terrifying chain reaction they could trigger.

The massive cleanup in Jiang City had killed a huge number of common zombies, which was fine in itself. But the damage caused by these drone-deployed landmines was continuous and scattered. Every triggered mine created one or more relatively "fresh" zombie corpses. To the other wandering zombies, these corpses were nothing less than "evolutionary catalysts" served on a platter.

He could just imagine it: in the coming days, as more mines were triggered, the entire area would become littered with these "catalysts."

The probability of common zombies evolving into Level 1 mutants by consuming these corpses would increase dramatically. And if Level 1 mutants started devouring each other, or feasting on more common zombie corpses, wouldn’t that accelerate the creation of even more terrifying Level 2 or even Level 3 Zombies?

’This isn’t a defensive measure at all! It’s like we’re deliberately and continuously force-feeding the horde high-grade fodder to speed up their evolution!’

The thought of facing not just a few scattered mutants, but entire formations—perhaps even organized groups—of Level 1 zombies, or even higher-level entities, made the hair on the back of Xu Mo’s neck stand on end.

’I have to report this immediately. This risk is too great.’ Xu Mo didn’t hesitate for a second. He dashed to the communications console and, without even taking the time to formulate a perfectly worded message, patched directly into the command center’s encrypted reporting channel. His voice was urgent and solemn:

"Command! This is Observer Xu Mo at C-07 with an emergency report. The drone-deployed landmines are creating large numbers of partially destroyed zombie corpses, which are now being consumed by other zombies! I repeat, zombies are consuming the corpses of their own kind killed by the mines. This will drastically accelerate the evolutionary speed of the horde. Requesting Command evaluate the risk and adjust defensive strategy! Over!"

After sending the report, without even waiting for a reply from Command, he immediately grabbed the regional intercom, pressed the talk button, and issued a warning to the defenders in every fortress with unprecedented gravity:

"This is Xu Mo at C-07, urgent advisory. Watch the areas near the mine explosions. Zombies are eating the corpses of their own kind killed by the blasts. This will accelerate the creation of mutants. Everyone, heighten your alert and closely monitor any changes in the number of mutants! I repeat, the mine explosions may be accelerating zombie evolution!"

Xu Mo’s voice, broadcast from his handheld radio, reached the one hundred forty-three other fortresses with perfect clarity.

In an instant, both the Jiang City command center’s communications channel and the regional public comms fell deathly silent.

All the previous complaints, all the idle chatter, came to an abrupt halt.

The only sound left on the channels was the seemingly endless, sporadic booming from outside, one explosion after another, each one like a death knell tolling in every listener’s heart.

This time, the sound of the explosions no longer brought a sense of security, nor was it a simple annoyance. It was a deep, suffocating dread.

Everyone understood the meaning of Xu Mo’s warning.

The area seeded with countless landmines was likely breeding something far more terrifying.

Silence spread through the airwaves.