Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1270 - 616:

Roken jolted awake, snatching the rifle from the ground and followed Kael as they hurried into the metro station's dark entryway.

Fang Cheng remained positioned on the load-bearing pillar.

His intense gaze swept past the chaotic surge of the black tide, fixated on the rear of the beast army.

On the distant horizon, a strange darkness, seemingly capable of consuming light itself, writhed forward like a living entity.

Even from such a distance, Fang Cheng felt a primal fear grip his heart.

"What could possibly instill fear in these bloodthirsty monsters?"

Before further contemplation, a fierce gust of wind assaulted him.

It carried an intensely putrid scent of blood and decay.

The concrete foundation beneath Fang Cheng’s feet vibrated with an unsettling tremble, making his teeth ache.

Small stones cascaded down the pillar.

The vanguard of the beast tide had already infiltrated the district.

In the dim illumination, Fang Cheng clearly observed the scene unfolding below.

Countless mutated beasts appeared to have lost all reason.

They swarmed the narrow, ruined streets like an unstoppable mudslide, rampaging without restraint.

Smaller, slower creatures were crushed against broken walls by the massive beasts behind them before they could escape.

Subsequently, they were trampled into a pulpy mass of flesh and dirt by countless hooves and claws.

Whoosh——

Above, a sharp sound of air disturbance suddenly pierced the silence.

A few featherless monstrous birds, their wingspans stretching three meters wide, skimmed low in the sky.

One, breaking away from its companions, abruptly changed its flight path with a flap of its wings.

Its crimson eyes immediately locked onto Fang Cheng atop the pillar.

Opening its beak lined with sharp barbs, it dived like a ponderous glider directly towards Fang Cheng.

Fang Cheng’s gaze remained steady, unwavering.

He tapped the edge of the pillar with his toes, and a sudden surge of force emanated from his waist muscles.

His entire body executed a gravity-defying twist in mid-air, enduring the double gravity.

His right leg, akin to a snapping steel whip, struck precisely at the monstrous bird's jawbone from below.

Bang!

A cloud of shattered bone and internal fluids erupted into the air.

The monstrous bird’s head vanished in an instant.

Its headless carcass spun outwards, plummeting into the beast horde below, where it was instantly consumed.

Almost simultaneously as the spray of blood dissipated.

"Roar——"

A colossal, gray-brown lizard, exceeding five meters in length, was forced off the main thoroughfare by the frenzied crush of beasts behind it.

It crashed violently through the remains of a low wall, hurtling directly towards Fang Cheng’s pillar.

Boom——

The gigantic lizard impacted the base of the pillar with immense force.

The solid concrete column, half a meter in diameter, emitted a deep thudding sound under the tons of impact.

Large sections of debris broke loose with a clatter, and several embedded steel reinforcing bars snapped.

The entire pillar groaned, beginning to tilt precariously to one side.

Fang Cheng glanced down, observing the immense horde of beasts flooding the streets, deciding against remaining to confront them.

He slightly crouched, his thigh muscles instantly coiling with power.

Just moments before the pillar's complete collapse, he launched himself diagonally like a projectile.

Whoosh——

The wind whistled past his ears.

Mid-air, Fang Cheng extended his limbs, covering a distance of almost thirty meters.

He then landed with stability on the second floor of a commercial ruin, its framework only partially intact.

Crunch.

His feet pulverized the crumbled tiles on the ground, effectively absorbing the force of his descent.

Standing firm, Fang Cheng looked back.

Through the chaotic beast tide spread out below, his attention was drawn to an anomaly.

Near the recessed corner of the metro entrance, several dark shapes were rapidly moving along the wall, descending towards the lower levels.

These were four mutated, crocodile-like crawling beasts, covered in strange blue growths.

They had not joined the fleeing mass, appearing instead to seek refuge within the metro station, attempting to conceal themselves, or perhaps drawn by something within.

Fang Cheng’s gaze sharpened.

The four members of the Hunter Squad had apparently entered through this very entrance.

"Is this like trying to catch fish in a flooded field...?"

Fang Cheng gave a slight shake of his head, then with a flick of his toe, sent a rusty steel pipe skittering from the ground into his hand.

He then leaped from the gap in the second floor, moving like a weightless shadow, and silently merged with the encroaching darkness.

..................

Metro Station B1 Level, Ticket Hall.

Not a speck of light penetrated this area; it was completely enveloped in darkness.

From above, the concrete ceiling occasionally emitted unsettling rumbles.

These were the reverberations of the chaotic swarm of mutant beasts on the surface.

Fine sand and small debris trickled down from the cracks in the load-bearing walls, falling onto scattered pieces of scrap metal.

Any faint sound was amplified to an extreme degree within the dead, underground silence.

"Huff... huff..."

Kael leaned his back against the wreckage of a dismantled security scanner, drawing ragged breaths.

He removed the filter canister from his gas mask and fitted a spare, which attached with a distinct, crisp click.

Ira was slumped weakly on the ground, her face a sickly pale. Though the bleeding from her nose had ceased, the exertion of using her telekinesis had left her utterly depleted of strength, rendering her unable to stand.

Roken gripped his rifle tightly, his gaze fixed intently on the dark passage they had just retreated into, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Meanwhile, Pike was curled up in a corner, his small hands clutching a rusty bone-cutting knife, his body shaking uncontrollably like a sieve.

"Uncle... are we... are we safe now?"

The child's teeth chattered, his voice, muffled by the mask, carried a distinct sob.

Having endured life in the wasteland for over a decade, he had never encountered such a terrifying sight – so many ferocious beasts.

"It's alright..."

Kael tightened his grip on the double-barreled shotgun, preparing to offer words of reassurance.

Shsh... shsh...

Suddenly, a faint sound emanated from the direction of the passage entrance.

It resembled the soft padding of paws slowly dragging across the rough, tiled floor.

This was immediately followed by several chilling, low snuffling sounds.

Roken's breath hitched in his throat.

He swallowed hard, his thumb trembling as he activated the tactical flashlight mounted beneath the gun barrel.

The pale beam sliced sharply through the preceding darkness.

At the corridor's bend, less than twenty meters away, four mutant crawling beasts, their hides covered in pulsating blue tumors, were crouched on the ground.

Illuminated by the flashlight, their pale green vertical pupils reflected a glint of greedy, bloodthirsty intent.

They had detected the scent of humans and the fresh blood still dripping from Ira.

"Damn it!"

Roken's scalp prickled with alarm; he almost instinctively pulled the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In the confined underground space, the gunfire echoed with deafening intensity.

Bullets struck the crawling beasts' scales, emitting sparks and fiery trails, yet only managing to inflict shallow white marks.

The defensive capabilities of these creatures vastly surpassed those of the common land beasts.

"Spread out! Target their bellies when you get the chance – that's their vulnerable spot!"

Kael bellowed with fierce determination, raising his shotgun and charging forward.

However, the crawling beasts possessed astonishing speed.

Their powerful hind legs propelled them forward like streaks of blue lightning, covering twenty meters in mere moments.

One of them slammed directly into Roken, knocking him off his feet.

Its sharp claws instantly tore through his radiation suit, leaving deep gashes on his shoulder.

Roken cried out in pain, managing to brace himself with his rifle before being violently thrown aside.

Another beast lunged straight for Kael's shotgun muzzle.

Boom!

Kael fired, the ferocious pellets striking the beast's flank, ripping open a large section of its tumors.

Despite the injury, the beast didn't falter; instead, it used the momentum to slam into Kael's chest.

Kael's large frame was sent hurtling backward, crashing heavily against a wrecked security scanner, causing him to spit up a mouthful of blood.

His double-barreled shotgun clattered to the ground.

The crawling beast's barbed tongue flicked out, foul saliva drizzling onto Kael's gas mask.

Its gaping maw, capable of crushing solid iron, was poised directly over Kael's head.

Witnessing this, Ira attempted to forcefully channel her telekinesis once more.

But a searing pain shot through her brain, causing her vision to blur and darkness to consume her, and she collapsed completely.

"Uncle!"

From his corner, Pike cried out in despair, shutting his eyes tight.

Foul saliva dripped onto the mask.

Kael stared directly into the approaching abyss of the beast's mouth, his hands uselessly trying to ward it off.

In this desolate wasteland, without any weapons, a human body appeared as fragile as a piece of tofu when confronted by these mutant abominations.

"It's finally over..."

Facing imminent death, Kael's tense muscles inexplicably relaxed.

The fear that had gripped his mind vanished, replaced by a profound sense of release.

Then, at this most critical juncture.

Whoosh—

From the oppressive darkness, a sharp, rushing sound of displaced air suddenly erupted.

It was not the report of gunfire.

It was something slicing through the air at an incredible velocity, accompanied by a distinct sonic boom.

Kael couldn't perceive what had actually struck.

He only felt a powerful gust of wind sweep overhead, causing the mask's glass to creak ominously.

And then, the crawling beast that had been pinning him suddenly ceased to exist.