They didn't need to spend any more time assembling a rescue team.
The twenty people in the dormitory—seven teachers and thirteen students—formed what was currently their strongest possible rescue team.
Time was of the essence, so no one hesitated. They quickly returned to their dorms to prepare. After equipping themselves with Protective Suits, at least three-layered gaiters to prevent leeches, first-aid kits, high-calorie food, fresh water, firearms, and other supplies, the twenty of them gathered on time at Building F near the East Gate of the dormitory area.
Teacher Lü Xiuning of the Mechanical Engineering Department was appointed the overall commander for this rescue mission, with Han Ning, being the strongest fighter, as his deputy.
The reason Teacher Xiuning, whose Soul Beast was relatively weak, was appointed commander was that the students were too young and prone to acting rashly. They needed an older, more experienced person who could make sound judgments during a crisis.
In front of Building F, the white beams from dozens of flashlights illuminated the area.
Lü Xiuning stood at the very front, his gaze sweeping over the nineteen teachers and students before him. In a deep voice, he said, "Night isn't like the day. The fog alone is over one and a half times thicker, so visibility is limited. Everyone, stay alert. If any suspicious creature approaches, don't hesitate. Shoot to kill. Understood?"
"Understood!"
"Alright, let's move out."
Han Ning tightened the straps of his backpack, signaled to Yin Yi beside him, and moved to the front of the formation.
Now that he had a fully automatic rifle and a pistol, he had temporarily set aside his Compound Bow, carrying the rifle instead.
The automatic rifle had a much larger capacity than the Compound Bow. It held thirty 5.56mm rounds and could unleash them all in a single second. In terms of short-term suppressive fire, it was in a completely different league.
Just as the group was about to leave the dormitory building, heads poked out from the windows of several adjacent buildings. They waved and shouted down to them:
"You all have to come back safe!"
"Be careful out there!"
"…"
The members of the rescue team raised their hands and waved in response to the well-wishes. Then, their white-clad figures gradually vanished into the deep darkness.
...
Han Ning rarely went to the area east of the dormitories.
It led toward the Mechanical Engineering academic building. Usually, the number of Soul Beasts there was relatively low, making it a fairly safe area.
However, to everyone's surprise, the students had gone missing in this supposedly safe area.
The group followed the wide asphalt road for two hundred meters, sweeping their flashlights around in search of the missing students. Eventually, they came to a three-way fork in the road.
The beams of their flashlights cut through the white fog, illuminating only about five meters ahead.
Beyond that was an ink-black darkness, like a great, ravenous maw lying in wait.
"Yang Xing, do you remember which path those three took this morning?" Lü Xiuning halted, looking down at the three diverging roads. He turned to the student who had reported the disappearance that afternoon.
Yang Xing replied, "I was too far away to see which path they took. But when I was chatting with them this morning, I heard they were going to hunt in the Botanical Garden to the east. They said there were more Soul Beasts there, so their Silver Lotus Wood could grow faster."
"The Botanical Garden? You mean that small grove near the East Gate?" Han Ning pulled out a simple map of the campus layout and glanced at it.
"That's right. The grove is right up against the East Gate's perimeter wall. An unknown number of Iron-toothed Snakes live there. Their average power level isn't too high, so people sometimes go there to hunt them."
"Let's go," Lü Xiuning said, waving them forward.
The Botanical Garden was about 700 meters away from the dorms as the crow flies.
The asphalt road was flanked by flat, grassy areas and shrubs planted every few meters. It offered little cover, and a quick sweep of a flashlight was enough to illuminate the entire lawn.
The group proceeded, scanning their surroundings and calling out periodically, but they found no trace of the three missing students.
After fending off a few sporadic Soul Beast attacks, they arrived with relative ease before a small, lush grove.
As soon as they arrived, a chorus of hissing suddenly filled the air.
A few of them raised their flashlights, pointing the beams in the direction of the sound.
There, in the undergrowth four meters away, a dense mass of black Iron-toothed Snakes writhed together. They stared at the unexpected visitors with cold, merciless eyes, their mouths emitting a constant, steam-whistle-like hiss.
Before anyone could speak, the Iron-toothed Snakes tensed their bodies and shot upward, launching themselves toward Han Ning's group like a volley of arrows.
"Take them out! Silver Lotus Wood, hold the front! Don't let the Iron-toothed Snakes get close!" Lü Xiuning's expression hardened as he flicked off the safety on his rifle and took aim.
"Yin Yi, you're up."
Hearing this, Han Ning raised his rifle and gave Yin Yi a pat.
"BOBO!"
Yin Yi's form blurred, transforming into a green Flowing Light that shot directly into the swarm of snakes. It continuously swung its Vine Whips, reaping the Life of one Iron-toothed Snake after another.
Meanwhile…
RAT-A-TAT-TAT! TAT-TAT!
Gunshots rang out one after another, muzzle flashes erupting in the dark.
A dense hail of bullets formed a terrifying web of firepower, blanketing the swarming Iron-toothed Snakes, whether they were slithering on the ground or launching through the air.
In front of the humans, twenty Silver Lotus Wood plants formed a solid defensive line. Some swung thick Vine Whips, while others fired shimmering green Silver Thorns, preventing the Iron-toothed Snakes from getting any closer.
"Hell yeah! This is awesome! Take that, you little snake bastards! Get a taste of Blue Star's firearms!"
One of the students laughed as he repeatedly pulled the trigger on the charging swarm, the powerful recoil making his chest shudder.
The power of firearms was not to be underestimated.
A single standard rifle round was enough to grievously wound an Iron-toothed Snake.
No matter how tough their bodies were, the Iron-toothed Snakes couldn't withstand the force of a bullet.
Han Ning switched his rifle to semi-automatic mode, taking careful aim at each Iron-toothed Snake before pulling the trigger.
'To be honest, the students had only just gotten their hands on these guns, so their aim was poor. Their hit rate was low; for every five shots fired, only one would find its mark, and that was with a dense swarm of Iron-toothed Snakes right in front of them.'
RAT-A-TAT-TAT...
Iron-toothed Snakes struck by bullets were thrown backward, their scales shattering as foul-smelling blood gushed out.
HISSSS~
The deaths of their comrades didn't frighten them. Instead, it triggered their ferocious and bloodthirsty nature, and they charged at the group with renewed frenzy.
In just three minutes, the snake swarm had been drastically thinned. A thin layer of snake corpses now covered the ground before them. Scarlet blood soaked into the earth, staining it a grotesque brownish-black.
Lü Xiuning shouted, "Cease fire! Conserve your ammo! Let the Silver Lotus Wood finish off the rest!"
At his command, everyone stopped firing.
Just then, a loud roar echoed from deeper within the woods.
The heavy thud of something massive crashing through branches reached the ears of everyone present.