pertwk Chapter 325 Sharpening its fists, eager to face the strange beast
Chapter 325 Sharpening its fists, eager to face the strange beast
"Bigger than last time? How much bigger?"
Lin Fan stood up from the sofa.
Howard paused on the walkie-talkie:
"Based on footage captured by the drone... the number is at least three times that of the last time."
"three times?"
Upon hearing this number, Lin Fan couldn't help but frown.
It's worth noting that during the last beast tide, the armed personnel in Raccoon City almost couldn't hold out.
But now, with a scale three times larger, what's the point of even trying?
Do we really need him to take action?
"What specific types are there? Are there any large mutated beasts?"
"We are still observing, but based on the scale we have seen so far, most of them are small to medium-sized mutated beasts, and no giant individuals have been found yet."
"temporary?"
"Yes, we can only confirm the vanguard at the moment. The rest of the herd hasn't fully entered the reconnaissance area yet."
Lin Fan fell silent.
That's quite a lot.
"Keep an eye on it and report any new developments immediately."
"clear!"
After turning off the walkie-talkie, Lin Fan thought for a moment, then got up and went downstairs.
Upon reaching the first floor, they ran into Night Owl and Zhao Lei, who had just finished dealing with the thugs and were about to leave.
"Don't leave yet."
Lin Fan called out to the two of them.
"What's wrong?"
The two stopped, and Night Owl, noticing his strange expression, immediately asked.
Lin Fan didn't hide anything:
"A large herd of animals has been discovered migrating from the south, heading this way."
"..."
The smile on Zhao Lei's face vanished instantly.
"No way... what kind of luck is this?"
We just dealt with the thugs, and now the beasts are back?
"I also want to know what happened. Let's go to the command center first."
Lin Fan wasn't in the mood for small talk and led the two directly to the command room on the first floor.
In the command center, Howard had already projected the footage transmitted back by the drone onto the large screen on the wall.
In the footage, countless figures are moving in the wilderness south of Raccoon City.
From the drone's perspective, looking down from high above, the mutated beasts resembled a slowly flowing river, spreading from afar.
The sight immediately caused Night Owl and Zhao Lei, who were behind Lin Fan, to gasp in shock.
"There must be at least a thousand of them, right?"
"A preliminary estimate suggests there are approximately two to three thousand head within the visible area."
Howard pushed up his glasses.
"The good news is that most of the confirmed cases so far are small to medium-sized mutant beasts."
The migrating herds were mostly composed of mutated rabbits, mutated deer, and mutated wild boars, as well as some mutated birds.
Large individuals are extremely rare; only a few large mutant bison have been discovered so far.
"No giant ones?" Lin Fan pressed.
"Nothing has been found yet."
Hearing this, Lin Fan and the others breathed a slight sigh of relief.
If there are no giant mutant beasts, then there's not much of a problem.
"Judging from the path they're taking, these mutated beasts don't seem to be heading straight for us."
Just then, the owl, who was staring at the screen, seemed to have noticed something and pointed to the direction of the herd's movement on the screen, saying, "They look more like they're migrating through."
"Just passing by?"
Zhao Lei, who was standing to the side, was stunned. He subconsciously looked at it carefully, but after a long time, he still couldn't figure it out.
"Yes. These animals migrate from south to north, and unfortunately, our base happens to be on their migration route."
"Since they're just passing by, does that mean we can just ignore them and they'll walk around us on their own?"
"Do you think two or three thousand mutated beasts would politely give way if they passed by your house?" Night Owl glanced at him with an expression that said, "You're such an idiot."
Zhao Lei was speechless for a moment.
Indeed, even if these mutated beasts were just passing by, Raccoon City was blocking their path, so they were bound to run into it.
Unless they collectively become intelligent and actively avoid it.
But obviously, the mutated beasts wouldn't be that considerate.
Lin Fan stared at the screen, his mind racing.
"Ten hours...that's enough time."
"What do you mean?" Night Owl turned to look at him in confusion.
"Get everyone ready for battle."
He paused, then added, "This time we'll take the initiative."
Zhao Lei: "?"
Night Owl was also taken aback.
No, what is this? Taking the initiative?
"A proactive attack? That involves two or three thousand mutated beasts!"
"Of course I know. I said to launch an attack, not to send them to their deaths."
As he spoke, Lin Fan walked to the screen and swiped his finger across the image.
"Since there are only a few mutated bison in this herd, and the rest are mostly small to medium-sized, our evolved humans and beast-transformed troops can easily handle them."
"First, send evolved humans and beastmen to lead the charge and take out the few large, threatening mutant beasts. For the remaining medium and small ones, use armed personnel in conjunction with capture nets to hunt them down."
"A hunt?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Lei blinked, then his eyes widened as if he had just realized something. "You mean... capture them alive?"
"nonsense."
Lin Fan rolled his eyes, then said matter-of-factly,
"What else do you think? What's the point of killing those mutated beasts? To eat them?"
The base currently only has a dozen or so beast units, just enough to guard the gate.
"Two or three thousand head of cattle have come knocking on our door this time. Wouldn't it be unreasonable not to take advantage of them?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Well, Lao Da is starting to scheme again.
"You can discuss the specific arrangements; I only have one request."
At this moment, Lin Fan patted Night Owl on the shoulder, who was still in a daze.
"What?" Night Owl snapped out of his daze and asked instinctively.
"If you can capture them alive, don't kill them. Especially the mutated deer and mutated rabbits, those with docile temperaments, bring them all back."
"Bring them all back?...Do you think this is a zoo?"
"No way, going to the zoo costs money, but this is free."
"..."
Night Owl took a deep breath, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
He knew that Lin Fan was more eager than anyone else when it came to the word "freebies".
"Okay, I'll make the arrangements."
"Go."
……
The news spread faster than the mutated beasts migrated.
In less than an hour, the entire Raccoon City knew that a large herd of beasts was approaching from the south.
Initially, panic spread rapidly.
"Wait, why is this beast tide coming again? It's happening more frequently than menstruation!"
"Oh no, oh no, oh no! Last time that wave almost scared me to death... I heard this one is even bigger..."
"What? This time it's even bigger? No way? I've only been here a few days!"
"God, can't we just catch our breath...?"
At this very moment, throughout the entire Raccoon City base, in every street and alley, many residents were gathered together discussing the matter.
"What are you afraid of? Didn't the higher-ups say there are no large mutated beasts, just some mutated rabbits, mutated deer and the like?"
"A mutant rabbit? Isn't that just a giant rabbit?"
"About the same. Maybe a size or two larger, but compared to those mutated bears, it's no different from a kitten."
"Yeah, our base now has a beast-transformation unit, over a dozen mutated beasts! And bears too. That group of thugs, over sixty strong, couldn't even hold out for a minute at the city gate."
"What do you mean one minute? I heard it was less than thirty seconds."
"Yes, yes, I heard that too. Those rioters knelt on the ground, crying and shouting that they wanted to surrender."
"So what are you afraid of? With the beast-transformed troops here, those little beasts are nothing."
As people discussed it, the panic that had just spread began to gradually subside.
Taking... is incorrect.
In short, as the panic subsided, another strange emotion began to emerge in the crowd.
Some people couldn't help but speak up.
"Speaking of which... a portion of the mutated beasts in our beastman squad were domesticated, right?"
"yes."
"So, do you think... these mutated beasts that came this time... can they also be tamed?"
"It should be... right? After all, we've already tamed several of them at our base."
"So...can we...get one too?"
After those words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent.
Should we get one too?
At first, everyone thought this was a bit ridiculous.
But then I think of the combat personnel in those mutated beast teams at the base…
Everyone's eyes lit up involuntarily.
"Damn, that's a great idea!"
"Yeah, if we could really get our hands on a mutated beast, and then tame it, wouldn't I be able to join the beast-transformation unit?"
"The mutant wolf is too fierce for me, I don't dare to take it. I'll take a mutant rabbit instead, it's so cute."
"What do you need a mutant rabbit for? To use it to headbutt people in a fight?"
"I don't fight, I just want a pet. It's the end of the world, people need something to hold onto, right?"
"You make it sound so poetic, but you just want to ride that mutant rabbit around the base and show off, don't you?"
"That's not impossible..."
The group chatted amongst themselves, unaware that their initial fear had completely dissipated, replaced by...
It was a surge of enthusiasm.
Just minutes before, they were worried that the beast tide might break through the city walls, but a few minutes later they started thinking about whether they could get a mutated beast as a mount.
Indeed, the human capacity for adaptation can sometimes be truly outrageous.
……
Soon, the young and middle-aged men in the base began to get restless.
They ran up to the staff in charge of management in twos and threes, chattering and volunteering to participate in the base's security work.
The staff in charge of management were completely bewildered by the sudden arrival of so many base personnel and immediately inquired about the situation.
However, the answer he received left him somewhat speechless.
"We need to go catch the mutated beasts too!"
"Let's go out! I can fight!"
"I used to catch wild boars back in my hometown! I can definitely catch mutated rabbits too!"
"I may not be an evolved being, but I'm incredibly strong! I used to carry bags of cement on construction sites!"
no……
Have these people taken the wrong medicine?
Upon hearing these bizarre answers, the staff member did not hesitate and immediately reported the situation to their supervisor.
Then the leaders reported to the higher-ups, who then reported to Lin Fan and the others...
The message was reported up the chain of command and eventually reached Lin Fan and his team, who were in the command room formulating tactical plans.
"..."
After listening to the report and the survivors' reasons, Lin Fan and the others fell silent.
Lin Fan turned his head to look at Night Owl.
Night Owl also looked at him.
The two of them simultaneously revealed an indescribable expression.
"Did I hear that right?" Lin Fan asked.
"no."
"Ordinary residents want to voluntarily leave the city to capture mutated beasts?"
"Hmm. And they seem quite enthusiastic about it."
"No, do they even know that those mutated beasts outside can kill people?"
"How could those who survived at that time not know?"
"..."
Compared to the two, Zhao Lei, standing to the side, seemed to have figured something out, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.
Compared to Lin Fan and Night Owl, he, who came from the bottom, could very well understand the mentality of these residents.
It's likely that the residents of the base witnessed the power of the beast-like troops firsthand.
In their eyes, the mutated beasts have changed from "deadly monsters" to "pets that can fight and ride".
To be honest, these people's perceptions change really quickly.
"to be honest……"
Zhao Lei cleared his throat. "Although their ideas are a bit outrageous, I think it's a good thing, and it also proves something."
"What?" Night Owl turned to look at him in confusion.
"This shows that the people in our base are trustworthy," Zhao Lei said, expressing his opinion.
Lin Fan remained silent for a moment after hearing this.
Zhao Lei is right.
He had previously worried that the residents of Raccoon City would passively resist out of fear.
But now it seems that such worries were unnecessary.
While these ordinary people would most likely be killed on the battlefield, it at least illustrates one point...
That is, they have completely made Raccoon City their home.
Once people have a sense of belonging, they dare to do anything.
"OK."
Lin Fan, who shared the same sentiment, made a decision.
"Since they want to participate, let them get involved."
But not to the front lines.
Large mutant beasts and threatening targets on the front lines are dealt with by evolved humans and beast-like forces.
After the vanguard cleared the area, armed personnel used capture nets to encircle and hunt the prey.
He paused, then continued:
"As for the ordinary residents, they were assigned to provide support from the rear."
Moving, assisting in containment, and moving capture nets all require human intervention.
However, all of this must be done within the protection zone of armed personnel; solo actions are prohibited.
"clear."
Night Owl thought about it and thought it was a good idea.
"Also, tell them that whoever helps capture the mutated beast will be given priority for taming it."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Lei's eyes lit up.
"A prison is a prison, and if you do this, won't they be more aggressive in arresting people?"
"Otherwise what? You really want to get something for nothing? Giving them a little something extra will double their efficiency."
Night Owl shook his head, but the corner of his mouth still twitched slightly.
It has to be said that Lin Fan is truly talented at "making empty promises".
……
As it turned out, Lin Fan's decision was correct.
After detailed discussions at the highest levels, the news spread, and the entire Raccoon City was immediately abuzz with excitement.
Those who had previously been fantasizing about catching a mutated beast and rising above the rest to join the combat forces were especially excited.
Some people even started making preparations immediately after learning the news.
Although it's possible to survive as a civilian in the Raccoon Base without much danger.
But who would complain about improving their quality of life?
Although facing a beast tide might be dangerous, they would be very willing to do so if it could give them a chance to join the battle.
Especially the adventurous young Westerners within the base, at this very moment, were already rubbing their fists in anticipation, their faces showing no worry or fear whatsoever…
Yes, I'm just excited!
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