Chapter 161 - 112: Flock of Birds

Chapter 161: Chapter 112: Flock of Birds

’It’s probably not a bad thing...’ Xu Mo could only reassure himself, resolving to stick with his daily Qi Collection.

"CAW—CAW—CAW—"

Just as Xu Mo was lost in thought about his cultivation, the hoarse, grating caws of a crow suddenly echoed through the gap in his observation port, shattering his contemplation.

"A bad omen," Xu Mo muttered instinctively under his breath.

In the post-apocalyptic world, crows, being carrion birds, were inextricably linked to death and decay. Hearing one first thing in the morning was certainly unsettling. He looked up, scanning through the observation ports, but he could only hear it, not see it, leaving him unable to get rid of his ominous "neighbor."

Just then, another Observer’s complaint crackled over the walkie-talkie:

"Damn it, what a jinx! Where the hell did this crow come from, cawing on top of my fortress first thing in the morning? It’s giving me the creeps!"

"Hey, you’ve got one too? I’m having better luck over here. Saw a flock of some kind of white bird fly by this morning. They were pretty."

"Same here. I saw a few little birds with brightly colored feathers, foraging in the ruins."

"It’s quiet on my end. Haven’t seen a thing."

The topic immediately shifted to birds. Confined to a limited space for so long with precious little to do, any sign of life from the outside world—even just the appearance of a few birds—was enough to become a major topic of conversation.

However, just as everyone was enthusiastically sharing their respective "bird reports," a calmer, more level-headed voice cut in, its tone laced with gravity:

"Everyone, hold off on the anecdotes for a second. If it’s just one person hearing a crow or seeing a few birds, that’s normal. But... if a lot of us are simultaneously observing abnormally active birds around our separate fortresses, and some are even hearing ominous calls, then I’m afraid something isn’t right."

The voice was familiar. Xu Mo recalled it belonged to one of the older Observers from Zone D.

Hearing this, Xu Mo nodded to himself. ’Great minds think alike.’

The same doubt had crossed Xu Mo’s mind the moment everyone started sharing.

An anomaly was a harbinger of trouble, especially in these ruins shrouded in death and the bizarre. Any widespread, unusual phenomenon demanded the utmost vigilance.

"He’s right!" someone immediately chimed in. "I recommend we report this to Command right away."

"A-02 here." A-02’s voice came over the line, calm as ever. "I already compiled a report and sent it to Command when the discussion about the birds started. I haven’t received any specific orders yet. Please remain vigilant, continue observing, and report any new anomalies immediately."

He paused, then added, perhaps as an explanation for the others, or maybe just to himself, "As you all know, the satellite network has been completely down since the apocalypse, so we can’t use satellite imagery for large-scale environmental monitoring. Command will probably have to deploy high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft or other probes to verify this, and that will take time."

Xu Mo nodded to himself as he listened to A-02. ’I thought I was quick on the uptake, but there are plenty of other smart, responsible people out here.’ This network of 144 Observers was truly proving its worth.

The conversation on the channel soon devolved back into idle chatter. Xu Mo left his walkie-talkie on and began his daily morning exercises, which he performed like clockwork.

The peace, however, didn’t last long.

Xu Mo had just finished a set of his fist forms, his breathing not yet fully settled, when a voice suddenly burst from the walkie-talkie. It was filled with a mix of disbelief and excitement, and even a slight tremor:

"Everyone, quick! Look at the sky! Look up at the sky! Oh my god! Are you guys seeing this?!"

The startled cry instantly silenced the entire channel.

Confusion surged in Xu Mo. He bolted to the top observation port, the one with the widest field of view, and looked up at the sky—

In the next instant, Xu Mo’s pupils contracted, and his breath caught in his throat.

There, against the lead-gray sky of the Red Star Industrial Zone, a "cloud" so vast it was suffocating was slowly rolling in from the distance. No, that wasn’t a cloud! It was a torrent formed from innumerable birds!

Xu Mo immediately snatched the high-powered binoculars beside him and trained them on the moving "cloud."

The sight made his scalp prickle. Through the lenses, the "cloud" was revealed to be a dense, seething mass of countless birds of every kind. It was as if they had lost all inter-species barriers and hostility, mingling together as they flew south as one.

Through the binoculars, Xu Mo could see swarms of small birds like sparrows and swallows, forming the foundation of the flock like a layer of agitated sand.

Mingled among them were larger birds like crows, magpies, and doves, their hoarse caws and coos merging into a chaotic din.

Xu Mo could even see birds of prey that should have been hunting—peregrine falcons and goshawks—flying peacefully within the flock, their talons sheathed.

But what truly made Xu Mo’s heart pound was the sight of several mutated individuals clearly visible within the flock.

There was a giant crow with a wingspan of over three meters, its feathers gleaming with an ominous metallic sheen; a bizarre sparrow the size of a hen, with ghostly blue flames burning in its eye sockets; and several deformed birds that had lost most of their feathers, revealing ghastly white bone wings underneath, yet were still flying with grim tenacity.