Zhang Xiaoqiang was in a dilemma. Huang Quan was right. Once they made the wrong choice, they would be done for. Suddenly, Zhang Xiaoqiang remembered that the mutated shrimps at the dock came from the river, but the direction of the camp was from the river. In other words, the mutated shrimps at the camp came from the river. If they wanted to reach the river, they would have to pass through an unknown number of mutated shrimps. After all, they would have to pass through two-thirds of the island.
"Third Squad … Fourth Squad, listen to my order … Set all the surrounding vegetation on fire …"
Zhang Xiaoqiang knew that this was not the time to hesitate. There was not enough time. Remembering that the group of shrimps had bypassed the burning tree, he knew that the mutated shrimps were also afraid of fire. He ordered the members on both sides to light the fire to see if they could make the fire spread. Zhang Xiaoqiang did not know which side to light the fire to prevent himself from being burned, so he decided to light both sides at the same time.
"Sizzle …" The withered grass on both sides of the field was ignited at the same time. During the burning, the air was filled with a strange fragrance. It was the fragrance of plants. At this time, Zhang Xiaoqiang and his men ran towards the open space that was not on fire. The only advantage was that they could see the ground clearly under the light of the fire, so they did not need to be afraid of falling.
The small island was a place where the river swirled. This fire was also a bit strange, a bit swirling. The scorching flames slowly spread out, bypassing everyone, forming a line in the fields behind them, slowly moving towards the path they came from. Everyone was shocked, the evil nature of this fire cut off their path of retreat.
Zhang Xiaoqiang and Huang Quan looked behind them, bypassed the dense crowd, and stared at the fire in a daze. Zhang Xiaoqiang did not know whether to laugh or cry. He wanted to burn the mutated shrimps on both sides, but he had overreached himself.
"Look …"
Zhang Xiaoqiang said to Huang Quan. Just after he said one word, a shrill scream came from the fire behind them. This scream was the scream of the mutated crayfish when they were being roasted. The scream was very strong and dense, so they did not know how many mutated shrimps had been burned.
Zhang Xiaoqiang and Huang Quan wiped their cold sweat at the same time. They did not know when the group of mutated shrimps had sneaked up behind them. If Zhang Xiaoqiang had ordered them to retreat, they would have bumped into the group of shrimps. The distance between them was too close.
"Huang Quan … Call back all the search team members and organize a hundred militia. All of them are lightly armed, remove their magazines, and follow me to break out of the encirclement while holding their rifles. Order the members to get ready, shoot any Mutated Shrimp that topples over. This time, we will break out from the encirclement along the river …"
Extreme timing, extreme preparation. The 100 militias were in position within 3 minutes. All the equipment and supplies they carried were transferred to the other militias. Everyone was holding onto their rifles and placed the butt of their rifles on the ground. Zhang Xiaoqiang stood in front of them and stared at them.
"All of you will follow me to break through the encirclement. No matter what is in front of you, the only thing you have to do is to raise your guns and smash them. If someone falls, you are not allowed to save him. If I fall, I do not need you to save me. Our goal is to move forward … Forward … Keep moving forward … Either we make it out alive, or we die and get eaten by those things … Understood!"
Zhang Xiaoqiang first spoke in a low voice, and the more he spoke, the louder his voice became. Towards the end, he was roaring out from his chest. Following his roar, the hundreds of militias roared in unison. Their roars shook the night sky and soared into the sky.
"Charge …"
Zhang Xiaoqiang shouted and raised his Beast Horn Spear and charged towards the left. That was the direction closest to the river and also the direction closest to the ship graveyard.
Zhang Xiaoqiang did not charge out alone. Yang Ke-er and Yuan Yi followed beside him. Yang Ke-er carried her shield on her back and carried an anti-aircraft machine gun rack. Yuan Yi used a piece of hardwood to form a machete.
Zhang Xiaoqiang, who was leading the charge, ran for about 200m. Under the guidance of the tactical flashlight on his shoulder, he saw countless Mutant Prawns swarming towards him. Within the range of the flashlight, all he could see were Mutant Prawns. He did not know how many there were, and most of them were shrouded in darkness. There were no other sounds, only the rustling of the Mutant Prawns as they crawled on the ground.
Stopping, he turned his head to look behind him. Yang Ke-er and the other two girls were following closely behind him. There were over a hundred of them following behind Yang Ke-er, and behind them were over 10 official soldiers with rifles. Behind them were other militias carrying supplies and supplies. The entire group was stretched out in a long snake-like formation, with Zhang Xiaoqiang as the head of the snake-like formation.
Seeing that the preparations behind him were complete, Zhang Xiaoqiang did not think anymore. He raised the Beast Horn Spear and charged straight into the Mutant Prawns, pointing the spear towards the sky. "Peng … …" With a roar, the Beast Horn Spear drew an arc in the air, ruthlessly sweeping towards the Mutant Prawns that were baring their fangs and claws.
"Peng … …" The Beast Horn Spear had used too much force, and smashed into the ground, creating a shallow crater. The Mutant Prawns around the crater all flew out. Swinging the spear up, Zhang Xiaoqiang took a step forward with his right leg, while his left leg shifted half a step to the side. He twisted his waist, and his entire body spun 360 degrees, causing the Beast Horn Spear to accumulate more force than before. Following Zhang Xiaoqiang's stance, he lowered his body and swept out viciously.
This time, it was different from before. A huge layer of soil exploded out from the ground and flew towards the sky above the countless Mutated Shrimps. In the middle of the soil that flew out, the Mutated Shrimps split apart in midair and fell to the ground.
After keeping the spear, Zhang Xiaoqiang took another 2 steps forward, and raised the spear horizontally, preparing to sweep again. However, Yang Ke-er and Yuan Yi flashed past him. Yang Ke-er let out a clear shout, and carried the 50kg Type 54 Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun rack, charging towards the area that Zhang Xiaoqiang had cleared. She raised the machine gun rack, and smashed it into the shell of a Mutant Prawn.
"Ba Ji … …" The Mutant Prawn's shell was fine, but it was deeply embedded in the ground. An unknown liquid spurted out from the edge of the shell. The Mutant Prawn's internal organs were all smashed by Yang Ke-er's monstrous strength.
The liquid spurted out by the Mutant Prawn splashed onto Yang Ke-er's pants. Yang Ke-er glanced at it in disgust, raised the machine gun rack high, and rushed towards the next Mutant Prawn.
Yuan Yi and Yang Ke-er were different. The long blade in her hand was abnormally dexterous, and the blade lightly cut the thick shell of the Mutant Prawn. With a flick, the Mutant Prawn that weighed more than 10 kilograms flew up, exposing its abdomen under the thick shell. More than 10 thin legs wrapped in shells danced in the air, and the Prawn's forearm long tail twitched, as if it wanted to quickly land on the ground.
Under the flashlight, the shining blade flashed. From the Mutant Prawn's chest all the way to its bamboo-like lower abdomen, and finally, its tail was evenly cut in two. When the Mutant Prawn landed on the ground, it no longer had the strength to wave its huge pincers.
Seeing this, Zhang Xiaoqiang's heart slightly relaxed. Yang Ke-er and Yuan Yi could easily deal with the Mutant Prawn. At least it didn't pose too much of a threat to the two of them. In contrast, Zhang Xiaoqiang would rather have the militia die than his team members die. He would rather have his team members die than the people around him die. Sometimes, people were just so selfish.
Behind Zhang Xiaoqiang, two dazzling flames flashed a hundred meters in front of him, followed by the sound of an explosion. It was the sound of Huang Quan directing the 82mm mortar to cover them. After three continuous shelling, there were no more explosions. The flames in the distance ignited many weeds and shrubs, and the raging flames illuminated the road ahead for them.
From behind Zhang Xiaoqiang, more than 10 team members holding Molotov cocktails rushed over. They raised their hands together beside Zhang Xiaoqiang, and the burning Molotov cocktails drew a dazzling light in the air, and fell into the dense group of Mutant Prawns, setting them ablaze.