"My suggestion is to not suggest!"
Lin Yuan ignored the niceties and, brandishing a coffin lid, was about to swing it at her.
However, the woman before him did not dodge the flying debris like others.
Her expression remained unchanged. With a casual extension of her hand, she blocked the approaching coffin lid.
She said softly, "Hitting a woman's face right off the bat, that's not very gentlemanly."
"This woman is so strong," the coffin lid was pushed towards the woman at an extremely slow pace.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan decided not to engage in a strength contest. He pulled out his M500 and fired five shots in rapid succession.
With a gun, why would he resort to close combat?
"Who the hell is this damn bug!"
The moment she saw Lin Yuan draw his gun, the "nun" had already moved to the side.
But she was still hit by Lin Yuan's bullets, clutching her stomach as she retreated to the wall.
This blow had shattered her spine into bone fragments. If not for the higher-level black thread worms on her body, this attack would have been enough to severely injure her.
Lin Yuan seized the opportunity, dashed out the door, counted to three, and threw a grenade backward.
However, this time it yielded no results. Having learned her lesson, the nun dodged the instant-detonating grenade in advance.
Creating distance between them was Lin Yuan's true objective. Whether or not he could inflict damage was secondary; the main goal was to buy himself time to escape.
How could the "nun" allow Lin Yuan to have his way? Wrapped entirely in "black threads," she charged out.
On the snow, her speed far surpassed Lin Yuan's.
"Holy crap!" Lin Yuan looked back and saw the nun was already right behind him, and the "black threads" on her were almost reaching his feet.
Her speed was astonishing.
If this continued, he was finished. Lin Yuan took out another M500 and fired a shot at her head.
A large mass of black threads exploded outward, but it only slowed her down; it couldn't inflict effective damage.
What was the origin of this bug? How could it be even more monstrous than the previous mutated creature?
Even at such close range, the M500 couldn't penetrate?
In reality, Lin Yuan had pierced through. It was just that these strange worms quickly repaired the wound.
Members of the Cult of Eternal Life were not necessarily dead just because their heads were blown off, especially for high-ranking members like the "nun." Such injuries were even less significant.
The M500 had 4 bullets left.
Each shot was fired just as she was about to catch up, maximizing the delay.
But once the bullets ran out, it would be useless. He was still holding a coffin lid, and he hadn't practiced reloading a revolver with one hand.
He switched to his FN57. However, even the FN57, known for its penetration, proved ineffective against the nun completely enveloped in "black threads."
A hole was punched through, only to be quickly patched up. He couldn't find her weakness anywhere.
The nun's speed was increasing, and she was about to pounce on Lin Yuan. He could even see her eyes, shrouded by the black threads, filled with hunger and ferocity.
Damn it, was he going to die here?
"SONG~ BOOM!"
"Aargh!"
His vision was engulfed in flames, and the nun was blasted aside by a massive impact.
"Hahaha, Zhu Mingjun, I'm here to save you!"
Simultaneously, the roar of an engine came from the left. Lin Yuan turned his head and saw Cui Steer and a burly man carrying a flamethrower charging over on snowmobiles.
The flamethrower was continuously spewing flames, suppressing the nun.
"Get on quickly, friend." The burly man stowed the flamethrower and pulled Lin Yuan onto the snowmobile.
Then, with a skillful drift, he threw off the pursuing black worms.
He then tossed a Molotov cocktail, which landed on a tree where the nun was sheltering. The ensuing explosion of flames blocked her path.
The flames were causing her immense damage. She could only watch as her target was whisked away by snowmobiles and disappeared from her sight.
However, her expression remained impassive.
She sniffed the air, confirmed that the black worms on her had marked the snowmobile, and was about to pursue.
Suddenly, three attendants delivered a message: the ritual of the Holy Mother had been interrupted. Reluctantly, she had to retreat to the town of Ivomona.
There was a mess waiting for her in the church.
"You will be my dinner, stray dog of HSAC."
...
Lin Yuan, sitting on the snowmobile, looked at Cui Steer with surprise.
"Not bad, upgrading your gear to save me?"
"We'll talk when we reach our destination. We might have been marked, and we need to shake them off." Cui Steer's expression was grave. Having dealt with the Cult of Eternal Life in Ivomona for so long, he recognized at a glance that the woman fighting Lin Yuan was no ordinary member.
In gaming terms, she was at least a mini-boss level monster.
Her methods were naturally extensive.
After driving for about 20 kilometers, Lin Yuan and the others finally stopped.
The large man who had pulled him into the vehicle was not very talkative. He simply tossed over a bottle of alcohol, gesturing for him to use it to wash off any pheromones.
After staying away from the snowmobiles for a while, they proceeded on foot to their destination.
They walked for about an hour and arrived in the deep mountains. There stood a small courtyard with three houses, all covered in snow.
"Come in and sit. I'm alone here," the burly man invited Lin Yuan and the others inside.
Neither of them stood on ceremony and followed him in.
The fireplace inside the house was still burning, and the temperature was much higher than outside.
"Tell me, Cui Steer, what's going on? How did you know I was in danger?" Lin Yuan, still in his combat suit, sat on a chair waiting for Cui Steer's answer.
"I knew you would be in danger if you went to Ivomona alone, so I paid the Travelers' Self-Help Organization with gold and that box of Claymore anti-personnel mines to help.
Fortunately, they arrived in time. Otherwise, my gold and mines would have been wasted."
Cui Steer was now also feeling fortunate about his decision, as it had indeed played a crucial role at the critical moment.
"Travelers' Organization?"
Just as Cui Steer was about to answer, the burly man beside him interrupted, "Let me tell him."
"Allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Monkey, and you can also call me the Snow Walker. This is my codename within the Travelers." Monkey's tone was relaxed, and he even took the time to brew a pot of tea.
"Learned from China, would you like to try some?"
Cui Steer and Lin Yuan quickly waved their hands; they weren't in the mood for tea.
"Uninteresting," Monkey muttered and continued explaining the Travelers' Organization. "We Travelers are an organization spontaneously established by survivors. Normally, everyone goes their own way. Only when facing danger or receiving a plea for help do we use the radio to call for reinforcements from the Travelers' Headquarters.
As for how we operate internally, you probably aren't interested, so I won't elaborate. In short, you can think of us as a chat group composed of various doomsday self-help small groups. The headquarters is the group owner, occasionally posting rescue or exploration missions in the group.
As for Cui Steer, he and I were friends before. The moment he sent out a telegram, I rushed over."
Cui Steer beside him gave him a "shit" look. Friends still charged so much.
Perhaps sensing the resentment in the air, Monkey chuckled heartily.
"Cui Steer, I only charged you so much out of friendship, and I even took the risk of offending a large organization. Otherwise, you might have had to give me your underwear."
"Forget it, it's the rule, no need to explain." Cui Steer was merely making a quip and didn't intend to delve deeper.
"Monkey, you just said you have a radio?" Lin Yuan seized the key point.