Volume One: Planet of Beasts Chapter 60: Wave Shock Cannon

Bang!

At the nick of time, Li Juxu fired a shot that blew the giant water buffalo's head to pieces, and the submachine gun fire abruptly ceased.

"I can't go on with you brothers, I'll take the lead!" Runtian spewed large mouthfuls of blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs. His gaze swept past Black Ant and Handsome Hu, finally landing on the corpse of the giant water buffalo. No one wanted such a thing to happen, yet it was unavoidable. Perhaps he felt regret, but more than that, he felt helpless. He held no grudge against the water buffalo; his eyes held only unresignation and a deep, lingering nostalgia for this world.

With a tilt of his neck, Runtian breathed his last. Losing two comrades in one go was a deeply sorrowful matter, but Black Ant and Handsome Hu soon had no time to grieve. Volcanic scorpions were scaling the roof one after another, and the pressure was unprecedentedly immense. When there were six of them, they had barely managed to hold the line; now with only four, the defense could shatter at any second.

"What do we do?" Redhead retreated step by step, his bloodshot eyes long devoid of sleep, leaving only panic and unease. He looked at Li Juxu. Li Juxu's expression remained calm, yet he offered no response, for he did not know how to respond. The contingency plan devised during the day was no longer viable—the base of every utility pole was swarming with volcanic scorpions, leaving nowhere to step.

"Think of something quickly! Aren't you full of ideas?" Redhead suddenly flew into a rage, his face contorted as he stared fixedly at Li Juxu. The threat of death bred a venomous resentment deep within him. If not for Li Juxu's arbitrary decision to save Handsome Hu and the others, their situation might not have deteriorated to this extent.

In truth, he knew well that the current predicament could not be blamed on Li Juxu, but when faced with disastrous outcomes, people always sought a scapegoat to vent their frustrations.

"You are a grown adult, not a child." Li Juxu gave him a cold, piercing glare. Redhead shivered all over and instantly calmed down. Li Juxu's gaze was as sharp as a blade, seeming to pierce directly into his heart. His expression shifted a few times, and he spoke no more, silently resuming his frantic shooting at the volcanic scorpions.

Illumination flares, flashbangs, grenades, fragmentation bombs... weapons of considerable destructive power were hurled down one after another. Yet it was all a drop in the bucket, barely easing the pressure while the overall situation worsened steadily. Li Juxu's gaze swept into the distance; gunfire and explosions echoed across the entire settlement. This night, no one was destined to sleep.

The four men retreated step by step from the four corners of the roof. More and more volcanic scorpions swarmed up—there was no end to them, simply no end. Even a hundred percent accuracy was useless when there were simply too many. When their backs collided, the four men suddenly realized with a jolt that there was no way left to retreat.

"I'll shoot down the utility pole. Redhead, throw an illumination flare to draw the scorpions away, and Handsome Hu and Black Ant, clear a path for us." Li Juxu's tone allowed no room for doubt. He swung his gun around, aiming at the base of the utility pole. He had to calculate the angle precisely; otherwise, if the pole failed to land flat on the roof, everything would be in vain.

Leaving the rooftop, they had no idea where to run, but things had reached a pass where retreat was impossible—they would just have to take it one step at a time. Just as his finger was about to squeeze the trigger, a strange fluctuation erupted from about two hundred meters away. The sound was low, buzzing like the beating wings of a giant bee, yet its destructive force felt like a volcanic eruption and a mountain-splitting cataclysm.

In an instant, the volcanic scorpions within a half-kilometer radius shuddered violently as if struck by lightning, went rigid, and died! Every single one of them died. Dense swarms of scorpions perished en masse within a single second. It felt like a dream. The four men on the rooftop stared at each other in blank dismay, taking several long seconds to snap out of their daze.

"It's a shock-wave cannon!" Handsome Hu recognized it immediately.

"Young Master Li's Golden Chariot," Black Ant said pleasantly. True to someone who had survived under the wing of Young Master Shao Yun, his knowledge was broad, whereas Li Juxu realized how ignorant he himself was.

"Get down the building quickly! The shock-wave cannon disrupts architectural structures. Although its frequency was calibrated specifically for the volcanic scorpions, the nearby buildings have undoubtedly sustained structural damage." Handsome Hu was well-informed regarding the shock-wave cannon.

The four of them rushed down the building in a panicked flurry. The stairwell was packed densely with the corpses of volcanic scorpions; although no longer dangerous, their carcasses littered the steps, severely impeding movement.

Just as the four of them stepped out onto the main street, a four-story building in the distance collapsed with a deafening roar, sending dust billowing dozens of meters into the air, accompanied by a single, shrill scream.

Someone had failed to escape from the building, whether through ignorance of the shock-wave cannon's properties or simply failing to run fast enough. With the volcanic scorpions dead across a half-kilometer radius, the area suddenly plunged into an abrupt silence—a quiet so profound that it felt intensely unnatural. Handsome Hu, Black Ant, and Redhead instinctively turned to move toward the direction of the Golden Chariot, but Li Juxu halted his steps. The three of them looked back at him in puzzlement.

"What is it?" They were safe now; why stop again? Was there still danger?

"The thoughts of everyone else will be identical to ours," Li Juxu said calmly.

"What do you mean?" Redhead failed to process this immediately.

"Every survivor will converge on Young Master Li's Golden Chariot. But the Golden Chariot will not take everyone in; Young Master Li has extremely stringent requirements for his members. He probably won't wait around at all. By the time we get there, the Golden Chariot will have already left, and gathering so many people together in one place will spell disaster." Handsome Hu, however, grasped Li Juxu's meaning.

"Then what do we do?" Redhead suddenly envisioned a scene of a massive crowd jostling together and shuddered violently. In the eyes of the volcanic scorpions, humans were like individual lightbulbs—the more people there were, the brighter the glow.

There were preconditions to the strength of numbers: organization, discipline, and unified leadership; otherwise, they were nothing more than a mob. A mob facing a formidable enemy spelled absolute catastrophe. The water buffalo had been an experienced veteran hunter, yet he was suddenly blinded by a spray of scorpion venom and accidentally killed Runtian. If they were a disorganized rabble, such incidents would be completely unavoidable. By then, rather than dying at the hands of the scorpions, they would perish at the hands of their own allies, with nowhere to even voice their grievances. Moreover, a large crowd meant a babble of conflicting voices, which would inevitably attract an immense horde of volcanic scorpions.

The shock-wave cannon had only cleared the scorpions from this immediate zone, not the entire settlement. At a scorpion's speed, this area would be reoccupied within an hour at most.

"Find a safe place and rest for a bit first." Seeing that both Handsome Hu and Black Ant were looking at him, Li Juxu voiced his plan. The two immediately agreed. Redhead hesitated for a moment before nodding as well; he sensed that Li Juxu's decision was correct, yet he still harbored a shred of hope for the Golden Chariot. If he could be recruited as a member by Young Master Li, his future prospects would be limitless, and he remained fiercely confident in his dual-wielding marksmanship. Still, surviving near-death experiences multiple times had conditioned his subconscious to trust Li Juxu—following Li Juxu was bound to be the right choice.