Chapter 159: Collapse

Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Collapse

SHREEEE—

A sharp, furious eagle’s cry pierced through the clouds, striking the eardrums of everyone in the territory below. The flock of birds followed with a series of screeches.

The two wolves that had been dragged into the living room simultaneously widened their eyes, struggling to turn their gazes toward the source of the sound.

BAA— The Sheep Leader immediately stopped chewing its cud. It grabbed the Brain Domain Evolution Wolf by the neck, dragged it up to the attic with a CLATTER CLATTER CLATTER, and dropped it beside Xiaqing. It then ran back downstairs to drag up the broken leg wolf. After leaving both wolves, it settled down by Xiaqing’s legs and resumed chewing its cud.

The Evolved Fierce Birds circled and shrieked in the sky.

Xiaqing, however, had no choice but to put down her gun, grab the two wolves by the scruff of their necks, and drag them to the most hidden corner of the attic. She then ran back to the window and resumed aiming.

The altitude of the Evolved Fierce Birds circling high above was gradually decreasing.

Once they were within a thousand meters, Tan Junjie immediately gave the order, "Territory No. 7, lock onto the Evolutionary Ape-eating Eagle with the Laser Cannon! Everyone else, defend your territories!"

BANG!

RAT-A-TAT-TAT!

The sounds of sniper rifles and machine guns immediately erupted, mixing into a chaotic mess with the birds’ cries. Xiaqing shot the neck of an Evolved Sea Eagle that was extending its talons toward her house, then pushed the Sheep Leader away with her foot. "Get to the side. Don’t rub against me, I’m busy!"

BANG!

Xiaqing fired again, but this time she didn’t hit a vital spot. The Evolved Fierce Bird lost a few feathers and continued to brandish its talons at her house.

These birds must have fought humans many times; they knew where people would hide. If it could just rip open the roof, the human inside would become a fleshy worm it could toy with at will.

’Damn it!’

Xiaqing dropped her sniper rifle and picked up her submachine gun. After a RAT-A-TAT-TAT burst that riddled the bird in the air with holes, she immediately picked up her sniper rifle again and aimed at the raptors circling higher up.

BANG!

Baa~ The Sheep Leader obediently leaned against Xiaqing’s leg, cheering her on with a high-pitched bleat.

Hu Zifeng’s team, who were guarding the farmlands of the Third Territory, were also firing RAT-A-TAT-TAT at the Evolutionary Birds clawing at the greenhouses.

The Evolutionary Ape-eating Eagle might have issued some kind of command, as Territory No. 7 and its surrounding area had become the main target for the Evolved Fierce Birds’ attack.

"Captain Tan, the greenhouses in Territory No. 5 are under attack by Evolutionary Birds. Requesting assistance." Yuan Yan from Territory No. 5 sent out the first call for help.

"Received. Moving in now. All personnel in the territory, take cover." Tan Junjie’s calm reply was very reassuring.

"Captain Tan, Territory No. 6 is under attack."

"Received."

"Territory No. 4 is under attack." Zhao Ze’s voice was trembling. "You guys have to come quick! Xiaqing, I’m begging you, save me!"

Xiaqing, busy defending her own territory, didn’t even have the mind to press her radio and reply to such nonsense.

Territory No. 7 announced on the Lord channel, "Territory No. 7 has hit the Evolutionary Ape-eating Eagle’s left claw again. No substantial damage."

The lead Evolutionary Ape-eating Eagle was pinned down by the Laser Cannon from Territory No. 7, forced to hide high in the sky. As powerful as the remaining two hundred-plus raptors were, they couldn’t stand against bullets.

Fifteen minutes later, the humans had gained the upper hand. Some of the two hundred-plus Evolved Fierce Birds had been shot down, and some had fled, leaving only about forty circling high above, not daring to descend.

SHREEEE—

Another cry from the Evolutionary Ape-eating Eagle echoed from high in the sky. Xiaqing could clearly tell this cry was different from the previous ones, but she wasn’t a bird, so she couldn’t understand its meaning.

SHREEE— SHREEE—

Two more unusual bird cries. A wave of unease washed over Xiaqing. She asked her companion, "Boss, what’s that bird screaming about?"

The Sheep Leader, lying by her leg, seemed to hear nothing at all.

Unexpectedly, Lord No. 8, Xin Yu, reported on the Lord channel, "Captain Tan, the Evolutionary Ape-eating Eagle seems to be calling for allies. The injured Evolved Sea Eagle recuperating in my territory has become agitated and is spreading its wings to take off."

’Calling for allies?’

’There’s an injured Evolved Sea Eagle in Territory No. 8?’

The panicked Lords’ minds went blank; for a moment, they couldn’t figure out which piece of information was more important.

No. 1 Territory reported, "Captain Tan, we’ve observed at least a hundred large birds taking off from the Northern Evolution Forest, seen from the summit of Mountain No. 49."

’The firepower in this area is nowhere near enough to fight off a massive flock of Evolutionary Birds. We can’t let the Evolutionary Ape-eating Eagle call its allies!’

Xiaqing frowned, quickly attached the scope to her sniper rifle, and began searching for the Evolutionary Ape-eating Eagle hiding in the clouds. Seeing a black shadow flash through the scope, Xiaqing gritted her teeth.

’That’s a distance even the Laser Cannon can’t reach, let alone a sniper rifle with a maximum range of only 2,500 meters. This time, my territory is probably going to be torn to shreds by the Evolutionary Birds.’

’Never give up until the very last moment.’ This was the most important survival rule during the Natural Disasters. Xiaqing immediately turned to a descending Evolutionary Bird and shot it down with a BANG.

"WAAH... I’m done! I don’t want the territory anymore! I don’t want the food! I want to go back to the Safe Zone!" Zhao Ze had a complete breakdown, crying and shouting over the Lord channel.

"The situation has been reported to the Safe Zone. They have dispatched reinforcements. No one is to leave cover. In three minutes, we will begin using ultrasound above 24,000 Hertz to interfere with the bird flock. The duration of the attack will be adjusted based on the situation, with a preliminary plan of no less than ten minutes. All Auditory Evolvers, prepare personal protection immediately." No matter how the battle shifted, Tan Junjie’s voice remained as calm as ever.

’Three minutes!’

As an Auditory Evolver, Xiaqing immediately put down her gun, closed the window, and flew down the stairs. Seeing Xiaqing run, the Sheep Leader immediately bleated and followed her.

Xiaqing rushed to the room on the first floor where she kept her chickens and geese. She quickly tied ropes to the chicken and goose cages and lowered them into the newly dug cellar. Then, she sealed the cellar door tightly and piled all her straw mats on top of it, hoping this would reduce the ultrasound’s effect on her poultry.

BAA—

The Sheep Leader, having followed her down, couldn’t understand what Xiaqing was doing, but it sensed her panic and bleated a question.

"It’s okay, Boss. Keep up." Xiaqing’s movements were swift, but her tone was steady, calming the Sheep Leader’s anxiety. She led it to the second-floor storage room and took out all the Protective Masks in the house.

There were three sets of Protective Suits in the storage room: one for the Sheep Leader, and two for Xiaqing. Including the one she was wearing, she had four suits in total. But what she needed now weren’t the suits, but the Protective Masks.

Xiaqing put a Protective Mask on the Sheep Leader and ran back to the attic, carrying the remaining two. The masks could defend against physical attacks, filter air, and also reduce the intensity of sonic attacks.

After fitting the mask on the Sheep Leader, Xiaqing took off her own Protective Mask and put on the one with the best protection—the mask that went with her silver-white airtight protective suit. As the main combatant of the household, she had to have the best protection.

The Protective Mask Xiaqing had just taken off was part of the camouflage Protective Suit she had gotten in a trade with the Green Dragon Team. She put it on the Brain Domain Evolution Wolf and fastened it tightly. ’This wolf is smart, and it’s the Head Wolf’s most valued partner. It needs top-priority protection.’

The third Protective Mask had come from a trade with Zhong Tao. It was a publicly traded model from the Safe Zone, so its soundproofing was relatively poor, but it was better than nothing. After fitting this mask over the broken leg wolf’s head, Xiaqing patted its back. "Buddy, you’re the sturdiest one. You can definitely take it!"

Neither wolf had ever worn a Protective Mask before. Discovering their heads were covered, they widened their eyes in alarm. But they were both paralyzed and couldn’t resist at all. At that moment, Xiaqing was incredibly grateful that she had given them the anesthetic that morning.

From the radio nearby, Tan Junjie’s calm voice sounded, "Thirty seconds until the ultrasound attack commences."