Chapter 142 - Bamboo Spear
TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney
ED: NoriPixel
The liquid black substance was shot out in an arc with the intent to kill. This creature attacked by spraying the substance over fifty meters in distance, scattering it over a large area. It covered nearly ten meters in the surrounding area of the spray. The velocity at which the spray was launched wasn’t very fast, but the angle was quite high. From the moment it was sprayed to the moment it landed in front of Liu Gan, it had seven or eight seconds of airtime.
With such a long period of time, it was more than enough for Liu Gan to quickly escape from the area where the black substance had would land. The liquid black substance landed not too far from Liu Gan onto the bridge deck. At the same time, noises and a pungent smell came soon after as a hole burned through the concrete. Small potholes were formed, but there weren't enough to completely burn through the bridge deck.
Regardless of whether it was a strong acid or base, or a different variation of liquid with corrosive properties, it seemed that it would be weaker against concrete than it was for flesh. The player had suffered considerable damage from burns, and even Yin He with her strong defensive skin wasn’t able to avoid injuries.
The most terrifying thing was that this Variant Zombie could launch the substance at a distance. It reached fifty to sixty meters away, and there were multiple spray pores as well. If all of the spraying pores were open, it would be enough for a wide-area attack. The players and the survivors were trapped on the bridge with only one possible solution. It was to block the black substance from coming into contact with their body so that it wouldn't do any harmful damage.
Another troublesome aspect of this Variant Zombie was its bony outer shell. Liu Gan assume the shell must be extremely durable, since it had to contain the black substance’s corrosion from within. Another giveaway of the shell’s density was the mobility of the zombie. The only time the shell opened up was to attack, so it was easy to assume that it was very susceptible to injuries from the inside.
It seems that whenever the shell opened up to reveal those ugly looking spray pores was its weakest moment. If a hand grenade was thrown in, then it should be enough to blow it apart. The problem was that Liu Gan couldn’t get close enough. On the other hand, there was the question of whether or not the hand grenade will blow up midair, since it had to be thrown over fifty meters away. The angle had to be just right too. There were simply too many unknown factors to account for.
Liu Gan wasn't entirely sure that [Mist Armor] could withstand the corrosive property of the black substance. He wasn't about to risk experimenting with himself against the dangerous substance, since even a minute amount was lethal.
Turning his head back, he saw a local survivor with many bamboo spears, which got Liu Gan to think. To verify his idea, Liu Gan rushed over to the region covered in potholes of the black substance. He pulled out the ropes developed by San Xing Corporation and held his breath. He plunged a small part of the rope into the pothole.
The rope also eroded away under the corrosive property. Even though the biological material of the rope was considerably strong, after a good few seconds,a third of it was dissolved. Liu Gan was surprised. It seemed like his idea might work.
No matter what he decided to do, he must hurry and take action. This side of the bridge could collapse any moment. Even if he had the best strategy, it would be useless if it collapsed.
The local survivor carrying the bamboo spears was called Zhang Hua. This was the store owner who had been located near the hospital. Liu Gan asked for his bamboo spear. Then, he got some cloths and tied a rock down at the front. He turned around and tried to throw it at a car fifty meters away.
Disappointingly, his accuracy was too low. Liu Gan had a strong arm, and he was able to throw the modified spear fifty meters out. Even a hundred meters would've been fine, but the problem was that he had no experience with this type of technique. After trying three times, his spear landed too far from his target, and one of the spears even fell into the river.
Yin He went to retrieve the spears under Liu Gan's order and quickly returned with two spears.
“Elder Liu, what do you have in mind?” Zhang Hua asked as he walked over.
“I want to see if I could use this modified spear to shatter the front glass window of that car. The red-colored sedan car.” Liu Gan replied to Zhang Hua.
“Elder Liu, let me try.” Zhang Hua picked the modified spear which had a rock tied down. For the first two attempts, he wasn’t too used to it. After he had gotten the feeling down, he retreated ten meters back, then charged forward and launched the modified spear from his hand. It soared through the air in a perfect alignment and crashed into the front window of the red car that was fifty meters away.
“Oh d*mn! Now we have a plan!” Liu Gan got so excited when he saw it. He really wanted to kill the Carapace Variant Zombie himself, but he had no accuracy. Who would've thought that the local survivor called Zhang Hua would've been so skillful with the bamboo spear.
“Elder Liu what do you want to do?” Zhang Hua still as confused as ever. Everyone looked at Liu Gan, still unsure of what the master plan was.
“Can you guaranteed that every time you throw, it will strike the target with accuracy? If we want to leave this bridge alive, our lives are in your hands.” Liu Gan said to Zhang Hua.
“Before I retired from provincial athletics team, I was a Javelin athlete. Even though my results weren't that great at that time, I’ve spent more than ten years polishing this unique specialty. So if my target is within a dozen meters, I have ninety percent accuracy on the target. If the target was over a hundred meters, I have seventy percent accuracy for a bullseye. After the catastrophe, my body physique and vision became stronger, so around fifty meters or so, I think I can manage up to ninety-five percent accuracy on the bullseye!” Zhang Hua confidently assured Liu Gan.
“Okay good, follow me. We don’t have much time, let’s walk and talk.” Liu Gan said leading Zhang Hua toward the monster.
“Everyone else stay at least twenty meters behind us. Once you hear my command, then proceed forward.” Liu Gan continued to order the rest of the people.
“Elder Liu, he won’t make it.” said one player pointing at the nineteen-year-old player that got hurt from earlier. The bones on his body had been dissolved into patches of black mush and his body was lifeless.
“There is nothing I can do. Who told him to run so frantically? Next time, if I don’t order you to do something, then don’t get caught up in the disorder. I can’t protect you even if I wanted to.” Liu Gan said to all the players, but at the same time, he glanced specifically at the players who ran in the confusion.
[TL: Carapace Variant Zombie, oh great.]