My Monster Fuses Everything

Zhu Xiong and his group approached quickly, but at that moment, numerous metal spikes suddenly appeared on the road, covered with monster corpses, scattered haphazardly yet with great regularity, blocking the entire road.

"Stop."

Zhu Xiong immediately gestured, halting the team; his eyes narrowed, and his expression became subtly complex.

"There are people, what should we do?"

Gan Xinglei, of course, knew what this meant, and looking towards Zhu Xiong, he asked aloud.

"Force through, this is the Northern District after all."

Zhu Xiong hummed in response, and then said, "First, let's check out what we're dealing with, feel out the situation around, and then decide how to handle it."

The Northern District is the Tree Domain's territory. Not to mention other survivors' camps, even South City can't stick its hands in without getting slapped. It's a strategic issue that can't be compromised.

Only by taking over the entire Northern District can they expand to the other three districts without any concerns.

"Split into teams and scout the surroundings to determine their camp's location."

"Understood." Stay updated via empire

Zhu Xiong's subordinates were obviously experienced in dealing with such matters. They first found a relatively secluded building to leave the Vine Giant Rats inside, then Summoned Apostles to form teams to begin exploration.

The Vine Giant Rats weren't their Apostles; while controlling them wasn't a problem, they couldn't be commanded as precisely as one's own limbs.

To avoid making more noise during exploration, they would generally choose not to use them temporarily.

However, according to the brigade commander Old Zhu, if big trouble arose, these Vine Giant Rats could be reinforcements capable of making a scene, hence the exploration strategy.

And all the seasoned explorers could basically tell if there were survivors' activities in the environment; the difference between areas with and without human activity was significant.

And like the current situation, it was likely a large camp.

Zhu Xiong and Gan Xinglei quickly led the teams, divided into five groups, to explore the surroundings.

Soon more signs of activity were discovered. Resources had been scavenged extensively nearby, and there were even signs of clothing and other items being rummaged through.

The dust was fresh, recent developments, and after searching a distance along the road, the direction was largely confirmed.

It aligned with the direction of the Steel Transit Center and there were vehicle tracks; the road had been cleared, debris piled on both sides of the street.

"Tat tat tat"

Amidst the search, the urgent sound of footsteps came, and Zhu Xiong's expression sharpened, spotting a team that had gone exploring to the east.

"What's going on?"

"Captain, there's something on the east side; we found a pickup truck."

Zhu Xiong's expression solidified, "How many people?"

"Not sure yet, but we're keeping an eye on it."

"Let's go have a look."

Zhu Xiong and his group quickly walked over. They did not head directly towards the location of the pickup but circled around to the opposite abandoned building.

Entering directly, several corpses of flesh monster beings lay on the floor, pierced with Crossbow Arrows.

In each abandoned building, monsters were lurking, but this time experienced members came out with sharp reactions, killing them without making much noise.

In this post-apocalyptic world, the roaring of monsters was not particularly unusual.

Zhu Xiong and Gan Xinglei quickly arrived at the window, where a team was already in charge of monitoring and guarding the surroundings.

"Inform the other teams to hide and observe the street; don't come close here, and watch the direction of the Transit Center."

"Understood"

The team members immediately took people out, quietly moving to other groups, then passed the message on.

They were all well-versed in the routine; such practices were not uncommon during their exploratory days.

They might have discovered a small group of survivors or were hunting a lone Second-grade Monster.

"There's more than one pickup, they've got quite a few people."

Through the window, Gan Xinglei could vaguely see the vehicles among the hazy white fog of the convoy.

A pickup truck that hadn't been turned off was in front, with other vehicles ahead.

The vehicles were loaded with scavenged materials, a jumble of various items with some boxed medicines being particularly noticeable.

"The more people there are, the better to identify what kind of team it is."

Zhu Xiong was experienced, his eyes gleaming, his expression extremely serious.

Small teams with a few individuals often had ulterior motives making them hard to judge; they were usually captured and questioned separately.

But if there was a large team moving together, careful observation could reveal inconsistencies.

With more people comes a group, and with a group, there are conflicts. The size of the conflicts and how they are dealt with are key to judging the team.

In the building across, the light from Lamp Tree Crystals occasionally flashed through the windows, obviously signaling that someone was inside searching for supplies.

Zhu Xiong and his team waited patiently, and finally, the light moved from top to bottom, flickering slightly before disappearing for a long while.

It's almost time.

Zhu Xiong knew that the entire search team was preparing to come out.

"Damn it, hurry up, dawdling over finding stuff. You'll see what's coming to you when we get back."

The sound of crude swearing came before the people were seen.

About to the entrance, several individuals were shoved out, their expressions terrified, their faces marred with wounds.

"You... what are you trying to do?"

"Slap"

A pale-faced man with eyes full of bloodshot veins slapped the speaking man to the ground.

"I said, this territory belongs to us from now on. Since you're still alive, you've got no choice but to join our camp. What's there to ask?"

The man was rough, surrounded by eleven or twelve smaller figures, men and women alike with equally pale faces, all armed with weapons like rebar spears, but they did not speak.

They looked at the man with fear as well.