Chapter 079: Madness!

There were countless non-human lifeforms, with an astonishing variety of species, but harmony was unknown among them. Today you devour me; tomorrow I devour you. Today you seize my territory; tomorrow I claim yours. The savage, bloody, and ruthless law of the jungle was the only reason humanity managed to survive by the skin of its teeth, slowly growing stronger. Otherwise, no matter how high the walls of their domains, they could not withstand the onslaught of non-human life.

Take the dinosaurs, for example. On Tang Mubai’s original Earth, they were the unrivaled rulers of the world, wiped out only by a comet’s impact.

Crossing into this new world, Tang Mubai knew dinosaurs existed here. But this was his first time seeing them with his own eyes.

Now, hundreds of velociraptors burst from the forests flanking the road, running alongside the convoy and gradually closing in on the vehicles.

Harsh, guttural cries pierced the air, drilling clearly into everyone’s ears.

In less than half a minute, the five vehicles were completely surrounded. One raptor after another began slamming into the vehicles, some even leaping onto the roofs.

A fierce burst of gunfire erupted just in time.

A deep, commanding shout rang out in chorus: “Fire! Everyone, fire! Pedal to the metal—get us out of here, full speed!”

The engines roared like thunder.

All five vehicles surged forward at top speed. At the front, a heavy truck with a steel-spiked battering ram at its prow gleamed menacingly as it rammed into the barricading raptors.

With a deafening crash, the multi-ton truck plowed ahead, raptors in its path torn apart, massive bodies shattered and strewn in pieces, flesh and blood spraying into the air and spattering the hood.

The crunch of bones and dull thuds resonated, echoing between the two mountains.

Wherever the vehicles passed, they left behind a grisly trail of broken bones, severed limbs, and a pool of thick blood—a sight that struck terror into the heart.

[Life Force +58]
[Life Force +63]
[Life Force +71]
[Life Force +69]
[Life Force +60]
...

The system’s automatic recovery notifications flashed rapidly through Tang Mubai’s mind.

Manning two heavy machine guns, Tang Mubai’s brow was furrowed in deep concern.

There were too many of them! Far too many raptors!

Just the ones flanking the convoy numbered in the hundreds, and more than a thousand blocked the road ahead. So many raptors, charging mindlessly at the convoy as if possessed.

Those directly in their path threw themselves forward in waves, intent on stopping the heavy truck at any cost, as if the five vehicles were their mortal enemies, a matter of life and death.

“Something’s wrong. There’s definitely a problem somewhere!” Tang Mubai muttered under his breath, then shouted into the radio, “Uncle Lin, these raptors are acting strange—we’ve been targeted! There’s something wrong with our cargo!”

“I know!” Lin Huafeng roared in reply. “Zhou Tian, Li Siqing! What the hell happened when you were guarding the vehicles?”

“I... I don’t know,” came the anxious reply. “Captain, it wasn’t us, we never thought of betraying the group...”

“Who said anything about betrayal? I’m asking if anything happened while you were on watch!” Lin Huafeng bellowed. “You idiots, think carefully! Was there anything unusual? These raptors wouldn’t be this crazed without a reason!”

Indeed, it was madness. The longer they failed to break through, the more frenzied the raptors became. Those that had been running alongside the convoy now leaped onto the vehicles, slamming into them with even greater force.

Dull booms sounded again and again from the racing vehicles. Thankfully, all five had been modified with heavy armor plating on all sides. Otherwise, they would have been overturned by the raptors’ relentless assault.

But everyone knew they couldn’t hold out for long.

Zhou Tian and Li Siqing, under a barrage of shouted curses, racked their brains to recall any details. In their anxiety, sweat poured down Zhou Tian’s face—then suddenly, he remembered something and cried, “I remember now! After you delivered the centipede medicinal insects and returned to the valley, there was a faint noise from Old Li’s truck. I thought it was one of you busy in the cargo bed, so I didn’t pay attention. But now—”

“Now, what? Are you out of your mind? Is this your first mission outside the domain? How could you overlook something like that?” Lin Huafeng cursed furiously. “Wang Yi, check the cargo bed—find out what’s going on!”

“Yes, sir!” came the reply through the radio.

Gunfire roared, raptors shrieked, bullets slammed into scales.

[Life Force +63]
[Life Force +59]
[Life Force +71]
...

Tang Mubai continued to sweep the machine guns, the recovery notifications flashing incessantly.

The more frenzied the raptors, the faster his lifespan increased.

Five hundred years!
Six hundred years!
Seven hundred years!

Eight hundred years!
...

Outside, the world was filled with the din of machine guns and raptor howls. Inside the armored compartment, Tang Mubai’s lifespan soared, climbing ever higher like a rising curve.

At that moment, he didn’t know whether to hate the raptors or be grateful to them. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of raptors were furiously attacking the convoy, but only he was reaping the rewards.

Everyone else was terrified, bellowing in fear and rage. Years of hunting experience allowed them to barely hold their composure and fight back, unlike Yang Kai, whose body was rigid with fright, face flushed red, howling like a slaughtered pig to vent his terror.

Even this was only because Tang Mubai had previously “refreshed” him. Normally, with a friendship score below sixty percent, Tang Mubai wouldn’t have spared him any lifespan. But with the crisis at hand, he needed Yang Kai to drive. Left to his own devices, Yang Kai would have collapsed—so Tang Mubai made a rare exception.

After being “refreshed,” Yang Kai didn’t disappoint; though still afraid, he wasn’t paralyzed. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, following the vehicles ahead in a desperate charge.

“Found it!” Suddenly, a trembling voice crackled through the radio, “Damn it—there’s a dinosaur egg in the pile of centipede medicinal insect corpses!”

“What?”
“Shit!”
“Who the hell put it there?”
“Which bastard did this? I’ll kill him!”

A chorus of curses erupted over the radio.

Tang Mubai was speechless, but a chill ran down his spine.

A dinosaur egg in the cargo bed? An egg that could drive hundreds, even thousands, of raptors into a frenzy—how had it ended up in their truck?

There was no doubt—they’d been targeted by another group.

A dinosaur egg doesn’t just appear by chance; someone had deliberately planted it there to lure the raptors into attacking.

The hidden enemy wanted them dead.

Tang Mubai’s sixth sense gave no warning of danger—meaning only that he could escape easily. But Lin Huafeng and the others would almost certainly die.

This unknown enemy was beyond Tang Mubai’s current perception—so he’d have to expand his senses.

He glanced at the system interface.

Without hesitation, Tang Mubai spent 250 years of his lifespan to raise his “Perception” to 10.

A low hum filled his mind...

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