"Stop overthinking it, the more you think, the more afraid you’ll be, and the easier it is to die." Apart from Cheng Ming, another Hunter who had remained silent since being attached to the drone suddenly spoke up, "Trust me, this is from experience."
"I don’t want to either... but those images just keep popping into my head, and I can’t control it," said the Hunter whose family runs a meat processing plant, looking distressed.
"I’ll teach you a trick."
"What trick?"
"Once you’re dropped down later, just charge towards where the Mysterious Creatures are the densest... when your mind is filled with battle intent and anger, there’s no room for fear."
Hearing what this Hunter said, Cheng Ming couldn’t help but recall the nightmare he had on the vehicle; he looked at the Hunter with some suspicion, but the latter seemed completely unaware of his gaze.
Coincidence?
The countdown to the artillery strike sounded in the headset, so Cheng Ming stopped thinking about these things.
Once the countdown reached zero, a dense barrage of artillery fire began, with countless shells continuously landing into the sinkhole, bombarding the predetermined location.
Even though the Hunters hanging under the drones had already donned protective earmuffs before the artillery fire began, the deafening explosions still made everyone’s eardrums throb painfully... The updraft from the sinkhole violently shook the six "Giant Harrier" drones.
The spore fog was torn apart by the explosions, revealing the scene at the bottom of the pit to the Hunters’ eyes—
Only to see tens of thousands of Fungus Puppets piling up in layers, constantly wriggling, like a piece of rotten flesh crawling with maggots.
Less than a fifth of these Fungus Puppets had a complete human form, the remaining four-fifths were mainly incomplete body parts, not even qualifying as limbs. They seemed like crude creations pinched together casually by Mysterious Creatures, twisted and abstract, yet brimming with vitality.
"Ugh..." The Hunter from the meat processing plant family started to vomit again, and this time, he wasn’t dry heaving but genuinely puked up food scraps laced with stomach acid—trying to prevent spore parasitism, all the Hunters were wearing full-cover protective suits under the Power Exoskeleton, with the head being the most critical area.
This unlucky fellow vomited, and the sour and rancid vomit instantly covered his face inside the helmet, splattering the inner side of the transparent visor.
Vomiting inside a sealed helmet, the smell and visual impact weren’t the worst; the real danger was the risk of choking on the vomit. The guy instinctively wanted to remove his helmet, but Cheng Ming promptly reached over to stop him.
"Don’t take off the helmet, although the spore fog near the drones isn’t as dense as at the bottom of the pit, there’s still a significant amount of Mysterious Creature spores in the air. If you’re exposed to this environment, you’ll be parasitized for sure!" Cheng Ming advised in a low voice.
"Cough cough... I... cough cough... I choked..." the unfortunate one explained while coughing.
"Attention to all assault units, the bombardment will end in twenty seconds, with only thirty seconds left until the airdrop." Chen Jing’s voice came through the headset.
"There’s no time... flip open the armor plate on the inside of your right arm; there’s a red button inside, press it!" Cheng Ming instructed the unfortunate one.
The unfortunate Hunter, still hacking away, followed Cheng Ming’s instructions and flipped open the polymer armor plate on the inside of his right arm, finding the most conspicuous red button and slamming it down!
The next second, he felt a current surge through his body, followed immediately by a heavy blow to his chest and abdomen, making him instinctively want to curl up—but the Power Exoskeleton controlled by his muscles got "stuck," forcing his body to stay rigid and preventing any curling movement.
"I... cough cough cough cough... damn... cough cough cough cough!!!"
A series of violent coughs echoed in the team channel, as the unfortunate Hunter coughed until streams of tears and snot flowed, just as he thought he was going to die, a mild prickling sensation like an insect bite occurred on his right shoulder, followed by a warm stream spreading through his body, gradually calming his rapid breathing.
"Huff... huff..." The unfortunate Hunter gasped for air, "Lived... I lived... Captain, what is this button for? I feel like I didn’t choke to death, but this thing nearly killed me."
"It’s a composite battlefield emergency revival device, used to awaken soldiers stunned or knocked unconscious by injuries in battle," Cheng Ming explained. "It also injects combat stimulants and powerful painkillers to ensure you quickly regain combat capability."
"How do you know? Have you used it before?"
"No," Cheng Ming shook his head slightly, "but I read the manual of this equipment in advance."
Before the operation, having nothing better to do, Cheng Ming studied the equipment issued by Bai’s Military Industry thoroughly, flipping through the manual multiple times.
"Then... what happens after the drug wears off?" The unfortunate Hunter suddenly thought of a problem, his expression turning pale.
"An ordinary person would immediately lose combat ability, possibly falling unconscious again. For those infected, it depends on individual physical condition," Cheng Ming explained.
"It’s a life-saving ultimate move that leaves you weakened afterward." Another Hunter remarked, "and who knows, you used this ultimate before the fight even started."
"Without it, he might have already choked to death on his vomit just now," the Hunter who initially mentioned the roller coaster agreed.
"I..." The unfortunate one wanted to say more, but the final countdown echoed in the headset.
"Five, four, three, two, one! Release!"
With Chen Jing’s command, the attachment points of the Power Exoskeleton and the Hunters on the Giant Harrier drones instantly unhooked, and twenty-eight Hunters plummeted freely towards the sinkhole below.
Cheng Ming held his breath, feeling his adrenaline surging... He constantly recalled the Hunter training courses regarding "parachuting and airdrop," but until he truly leaped into the air, he realized the theory and practice were entirely different matters.
Mysterious Creature Research Institutes in big cities typically let their Hunters experience real parachute jumps to prepare for missions requiring airdrops, sparing them from on-the-spot training. However, Cheng Ming’s small city didn’t even have an airport, leaving him with no training opportunity.
Cheng Ming sighed, pressing the "Autopilot" button on the Exoskeleton controller.
Not only him, the other twenty-seven Hunters also simultaneously opted for "Autopilot."
Upon pressing this button, the Power Exoskeleton took charge, using its built-in computer to guide the Hunters’ bodies into the most suitable free-fall posture—ensuring even those who hadn’t parachuted before wouldn’t lose balance midair and flip into a sequence of somersaults.
If you fall unconscious during the descent, it’s all over.
In the writhing swarm of Puppets, the artillery fire had opened a fairly small breach, and Cheng Ming watched helplessly as he drew nearer and nearer to this breach... But just as he felt he was about to pass through it, a Fungus Puppet near the breach suddenly used the charred remains of its mates as a springboard, leaping up to attack the twenty-eight descending Hunters from the sky!
[Qidian has updated its monthly rule, and now old books without 100 subscribers aren’t eligible for full attendance anymore. Many lengthy but slow-updating books won’t make it, especially those where readers wait to binge-read a Chapter, it’s basically doomed; Mysterious Creature Hunter is nearly two million words now, and it’s definitely beyond saving... So I’ve been focusing my energy on planning a new book these days, which means this one’s updates are a bit unstable.
But don’t worry about it being abandoned because its outline is finished, only needing content to be fleshed out... I am striving to reduce filler and speed up the main storyline... The new book is expected to release around year-end and I can reveal it’s Warhammer-themed, so if anyone’s interested, feel free to check it out then (and due to new attendance rules, the new book absolutely won’t have filler!!!!!).]