Shen Feng took out the satellite phone he was carrying and dialed headquarters. In a low voice, he said, "Headquarters, I've discovered the nest of the mutated birds, or rather, their habitat. There are millions of mutated birds here. I request support, and if possible, send a separate aircraft to pick me up."
Upon receiving Shen Feng's report, headquarters was greatly alarmed. No one had expected the mutated birds to be so numerous. Millions of mutated birds posed a threat even greater than zombies. Zombies, at least, couldn't fly and could only run on the ground. However, the mutated birds could attack Yan Jing at any moment, and no one wanted to be killed by a threat from the sky.
Fortunately, Shen Feng had reported this extremely important information. Otherwise, they might have suffered another attack from the mutated birds.
Headquarters immediately used satellite observation to scan the location reported by Shen Feng. They found that, as Shen Feng had stated, a gathering place for mutated birds had appeared south of Yan Jing. This gathering place definitely did not exist before the new year. At that time, satellite scans had meticulously examined the terrain around Yan Jing, confirming that there were no dangers other than zombies.
As a result, when spring arrived, a flock of migratory birds from the south occupied an area, forming a habitat. This event might also be linked to the Zombie King.
"Mr. Shen, please immediately report your location and find a safe place to hide. Headquarters will proceed to bomb the mutated birds' habitat." Headquarters made the decision to eliminate the danger in its infancy.
Shen Feng quickly reported his location and then rapidly moved away from the mutated birds' habitat.
"This is somewhat like settling a personal score. They chased me for two kilometers in the river, and I was so scared I almost peed myself. Now, I'll let you bunch of beasts enjoy an aerial bombardment," Shen Feng thought to himself. 138 Reading Network.
The shadow cast by the mutated birds was simply too great. For over a week, Yan Jing had been under constant aerial attack. Moreover, the city's anti-air defenses were not yet prepared, allowing the mutated birds to succeed in their aerial assaults. Countless people suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, cowering under their beds at the sound of air raid sirens, enduring day after day of trembling.
Now, Yan Jing was finally counterattacking the mutated birds that had been attacking them. Whether it was the swans, symbolizing purity and fidelity, or the ethereal white cranes, all of them were to die today. Blood debts must be repaid; it was only natural.
Half of the fighter jets remained in Yan Jing. These fighter jets did not pursue the fleeing zombie horde. It wasn't that the pilots were timid or exhausted, but they needed to be ready to defend against the mutated birds' aerial attacks at all times. If all the fighter jets were deployed, and the mutated birds suddenly launched a sneak attack without any warning, they would have no means of counterattack.
But now that Shen Feng had found the mutated birds' habitat, the remaining fighter jets could be fully deployed. Offense was the best defense. As long as all the mutated birds could be killed, the skies over Yan Jing would naturally be safe.
Wu Zhenyuan, along with numerous fighter jets, set out for battle. His gaze had become resolute. Ever since his squad leader had died, he hadn't known what to do. But in recent battles, he had gradually come to understand that his mission was to fight, to fight to protect others!
"Squad leader, we've found the mutated birds. We're going to avenge you!" Wu Zhenyuan thought to himself.
Wu Zhenyuan could never forget how, during an air raid, their fighter jet ran out of fuel, and the ammunition was not loaded. His squad leader sacrificed his life to delay them for enough time. It was a brilliant fireworks display, more dazzling than any fireworks he had ever seen.
And now, Wu Zhenyuan, a new recruit, was going to avenge his fallen squad leader!
Hatred was always the most direct motivation, for everyone. The existence of hatred directly ignited the desire to fight. The deeper the hatred, the stronger the desire to fight.
When the fighter jets arrived at the location marked by Shen Feng, they dropped bombs from high altitude. Whether it was fuel-air explosive bombs or incendiary bombs, anything that could explode was thrown down. In an instant, the originally moist and elegant wetland was engulfed in flames. Newborn chicks, when baked by the flames, were instantly cooked.
The mutated birds were caught off guard by the attack on their territory, something that had never happened before. Thus, the mutated birds were about to counterattack. From the wetland, three large birds instantly took flight. After letting out fierce cries, they soared towards the high altitude. The mutated birds could fly up to several kilometers in the sky.
The three giant mutated birds were all bird kings: a red-crowned crane, a swan, and a wild goose. The red-crowned crane had bloodstains on its wings.
Behind the three mutated birds, countless other mutated birds were rushing upwards. It was evident that the mutated birds were unwilling to be bombed and were preparing to counterattack.
If the casualties from the mutated birds' previous attacks on Yan Jing were not significant, it wasn't because the fighter jets' combat capabilities were inferior to a flock of birds. It was because these mutated birds mostly flew at low altitudes, and the ground was either filled with buildings or people. Fighter jets could not fire indiscriminately, as it would result in civilian casualties. Therefore, the battles in the skies over Yan Jing were frustrating.
However, now that the mutated birds' habitat had been found, and there were no buildings or moving people around, the fighter jets immediately displayed their formidable combat power. Large-caliber machine guns began to strafe the mutated birds. The three bird kings in front immediately changed direction to evade the strafing fire, while the countless mutated birds behind them were shot and killed by the fighter jets.
The fighter jets had countermeasures for the three mutated birds that escaped. They activated tracking missiles, locked onto their targets, and launched them. No matter how the mutated birds tried to evade, they could not escape the attack of the tracking missiles. Thus, all three mutated birds died under the tracking missiles, leaving behind a trail of flames in the sky and their dismembered bodies.
Before encountering fighter jets, the bird kings were absolute rulers of the sky. But with the appearance of fighter jets, these mutated birds could only face the fate of being slaughtered, with no other option but to flee.
If they encountered propeller-driven aircraft, the birds might have been able to affect the engines or the pilots. However, the aircraft appearing in the sky now were fighter jets, propelled by engines at the rear, and their power was not affected by bird collisions at all.
With the bird kings killed, the remaining mutated birds were leaderless. Many mutated birds flew about chaotically, completely losing their unified objective. The mutated birds either flapped their wings to escape or continued to fight the fighter jets. Those that remained were ultimately unable to escape being killed.
Swans are monogamous, and often, when a swan's mate dies, the other will linger in the vicinity. This has been a subject of praise by poets.
However, now, with countless bullets crisscrossing the sky and danger from all directions, and fighter jets occasionally diving down to strafe, the mutated birds suffered heavy casualties. Ultimately, they too experienced the saying, "Birds of a feather flock together, but when disaster strikes, they fly apart." Whether swans or wild geese, under the barrage of bullets and the bombing of missiles, the surviving mutated birds scattered and fled.
As the swans and wild geese fled their habitat, they let out mournful cries, as if lamenting their separation or rejoicing in their escape. In any case, today's bombing resulted in heavy casualties for the mutated birds, rendering them powerless to attack Yan Jing any further.
The habitat, once covered in a dense network of mountains and rivers, had now been reduced to scorched earth. White mist rose from the ground, which was now riddled with potholes. The birds that could fly had the ability to escape, but the young birds that could not fly could only die under the artillery fire.
The forest was burning, ignited by the artillery. It was still spring, and the weather was dry. The forest caught fire, and fortunately, this forest was small and did not spread to other areas. The mutated birds lost their habitat, and humanity was able to exact its revenge.
A helicopter found Shen Feng and enthusiastically invited him to board. As the pilot flew the helicopter, he excitedly said, "Mr. Shen, it's all thanks to your ability users' decapitation operation! The war is now won, the zombies in the west have collapsed, and the zombies in the north and south are also retreating northward. We've won!"
"Yes, we've won. We can finally go home," Shen Feng also felt a sense of relief.
Previously, Shen Feng had imagined how the war might end. Perhaps the zombies would all be killed by a heavy snowfall, or they would all die from a plague, or perhaps they would finally collapse under powerful artillery fire. He never expected that the war would end at his hands.
Thinking that he had actually controlled the course of a battle, Shen Feng felt as if he were dreaming. In one day, the zombies collapsed, the mutated birds were slaughtered, and the remaining zombies retreated. He had done this, and Shen Feng felt a sense of elation. Now that the war had ended through his actions, he had truly become the hero people spoke of!
After Shen Feng returned to Yan Jing by helicopter, as soon as he disembarked, reporters swarmed him with cameras and microphones, their eyes eager as they began to question him, "Mr. Shen, we heard that you organized the decapitation operation. Is that true?"
"Mr. Shen, do you think the war in Yan Jing is over? Are we safe from now on?"
"Mr. Shen, may I ask if you are married? What kind of girls do you like?"
... The reporters bombarded Shen Feng with question after question, all eagerly awaiting his answers.
Shen Feng was surprised. He had never encountered such a situation. In peacetime, being able to appear on television properly was considered a great achievement for a whole village. But now, dozens of reporters, big and small, had found him. With so many questions, he didn't even know which one to answer first. Didn't this feel like being a hero?
In fact, among those who participated in the decapitation operation, only Shen Feng had returned by helicopter first. Even Zhang Jue was still drying his feathers by the river. Legend had it that he was the one who organized the decapitation operation. Upon hearing the news, the reporters immediately surrounded Shen Feng, seeking the first-hand and most important information.
Shen Feng, feeling rather awkward, said to the reporters, "Well, I'm married, and I like my senior classmate. I can't reveal anything else at the moment. We can talk about it another time."
With that, Shen Feng prepared to leave. The reporters chased after him, preventing him from leaving. Shen Feng ignored them, using his "Swift Movement" to dart away like a shadow. The reporters, even in their cars, couldn't catch up, and were eventually filled with frustration, having failed to get any answers.
Of course, some keen reporters grasped the key point. Shen Feng had also said something else, hadn't he? Couldn't this be sensationalized? As long as the click-through rate was high, who cared what Shen Feng had said?
Thus, news articles quickly appeared with headlines such as: "Shocking, the Man Who Influenced Yan Jing's Defense Battle is Actually Him."
"The Heroic Shen Feng, in Such an Important Occasion, Declares His Affection for His Senior Classmate, the Reason Behind It is Heartwarming."
"How to Become a Man Like Shen Feng? Ten Tips for You..."
"Shocking, the Hero Who Saved Yan Jing Has Unique Tastes."
In addition to gossiping about Shen Feng's character and family situation, some media outlets were waiting for news from headquarters. Only when headquarters announced the end of the war would the battle in Yan Jing be considered a final victory. Although victory was now a foregone conclusion, an official statement was still missing.
As dusk fell, headquarters finally announced the news of victory: "After one hundred and thirty-five days, having endured several zombie sieges and prolonged aerial attacks by mutated birds, the zombies have now collapsed and fled, and the mutated birds are heavily wounded and no longer a threat. We have won, and the war is over!"
This simple sentence instantly caused Yan Jing to erupt in jubilation. The restless hearts of the people immediately calmed down. All the unrest stemmed from anxiety, but when stability was given to everyone, their hearts naturally settled.
Fireworks began to be set off in the streets and alleys. Yan Jing had experienced war during the Spring Festival and couldn't celebrate properly. Now that victory had been achieved, the public spontaneously began to celebrate the arrival of victory.
After headquarters celebrated for a while, they suddenly realized a problem: the standards for rewarding those involved in the decapitation operation had not yet been determined. The contributions of those who occupied positions were visible, but these contributions were made by ability users.
The millions of soldiers fought day and night, holding off the zombie hordes for months. However, such contributions paled in comparison to killing the Zombie King and directly ending the war.
Headquarters also felt regret at this moment. Why didn't the Heavenly Chosen Bureau under their command make such a contribution? Why was it the Ability Administration and Shen Feng's side that made such significant contributions? No matter how generous the rewards, it seemed to have no impact on headquarters.
"Only Shen Feng has returned for now, so it's not appropriate to rush the rewards. We should wait until everyone returns. Next, we will also need to arrange for the army to return to their respective jurisdictions." Headquarters ultimately chose to delay the matter, pushing the troublesome issue to the future.