Chapter 28
Chapter 28: Insectoid
Long Ming gave the bones on the floor a quick look. Seeing nothing worth taking, he stepped into the first open room.
It was a records room. The file cabinets were toppled and leaning everywhere.
A uniformed skeleton lay on the floor. Pinned to its chest was a steel pen etched with a Gold Tier pattern.
He scanned it with his Wristband.
Blossom Brand Fountain Pen
Grade: Blue
Function: writing.
Long Ming was a little surprised. He had not expected the things made here to be such high quality.
He walked over, bent down, unpinned the pen, and slipped it into his pack.
He stood and searched the other corners, but sadly found nothing else of value.
He left the room, moved forward, and entered the second room.
This room was wide, lined with desks, and many skeletons lay scattered on the floor.
Long Ming went from body to body, checking each one.
When he reached the third corpse, he found a folding pocket knife in its pocket.
He opened the knife and tested it in his hand. It would be bad for a fight, but its small size would be great for cutting rope and other things, so he pocketed it and kept searching.
A moment later, he stepped back into the hallway. He had not found anything else worth taking.
Then he noticed a door ahead that was only half closed, with a skeleton slumped in the doorway.
He walked over. One glance at the bones told him there was nothing good on it, so he pushed the door wider.
The sight inside made him grin with joy.
Weapon racks filled the room. On them sat riot shields, telescopic batons, stab?resistant vests, and more.
Long Ming hurried in, excited.
He grabbed a telescopic baton and swished it a few times, then nodded. It felt pretty good.
Without hesitating, he stuffed it into his pack, then tested a riot shield. It was too big and too heavy.
With a sigh, he set the shield back.
His eyes fell on the stab?resistant vests. As he reached for one, he noticed a bulletproof vest at the back of the rack.
He took the bulletproof vest and put it on.
Turning to keep searching, he saw a body on the floor.
In its hand was a Geco Automatic Pistol, and a tactical belt was strapped around its waist.
He lifted his Wristband and scanned.
Geco Automatic Pistol: Durability 41. Rounds left: 12.
Tactical Belt: Durability 95/100.
…
Long Ming hurried over, removed the pistol’s magazine, unbuckled the tactical belt from the bones, and strapped it around his own waist.
Then he slid the pistol and the magazine into the belt.
When he finished, he kept searching the room.
Soon he found a cabinet stacked with training shoes.
He looked through them, picked a pair that fit and had high durability, and changed into them.
He walked a few steps and smiled. They fit well and felt comfortable.
He looked around at the rest of the gear with a regretful face. The things here were valuable, but the weight was too much. He could not carry them all.
He sighed, turned, and left the room to keep searching forward.
He quickly reached the end of the second floor and came to a tightly shut door.
He tried the doorknob, and it turned easily.
The room inside was fairly spacious. Near the windows stood a desk and a file cabinet.
A body wearing a black, high?grade uniform lay face?down on the desk. This corpse still had its skin.
Long Ming’s eyes lit up.
This had to be the Garrison Chief’s office, and that body was likely the Garrison Chief. If nothing went wrong, there should be good stuff here.
He spotted a lighter on the desk. It was made of black metal, engraved with the image of a reaper, and set with a dark Red Tier gemstone. It looked very expensive.
He scanned it with his Wristband.
Reaper Series DK?01 Lighter
Durability: 98/100
Grade: Purple.
Long Ming froze. [A lighter that’s Purple Tier?]
He stepped forward and reached for it.
At the instant his fingers closed in, the body on the desk snapped up its ugly head.
A black, shrunken face stared at him, the eyes glowing like red bulbs.
Long Ming flinched and stumbled back in shock.
He screamed: “Ah!”
The Insectoid roared. Its clothes tore apart, showing insect?like skin. It shoved the desk at Long Ming, then charged in a frenzy.
Long Ming dodged the desk and snapped up his suppressed M24 to fire.
Whoosh.
The round hit the Insectoid’s shoulder, and thick fluid sprayed out.
The Insectoid did not fall. It lunged at Long Ming, slashing with sharp claws.
He raised the M24 to block.
Clack.
Terrible force blasted through the rifle and into Long Ming.
Before he could react, he was driven backward and slammed into the file cabinet.
Bang.
The aluminum cabinet dented, and the glass shattered.
Pfft.
He almost spat blood.
The Insectoid kept him pinned, pressing forward in a rage.
Back to the wall, Long Ming held on with all his strength. Veins stood out on his forehead. This thing was too strong.
The Insectoid’s left claw clamped down on his shoulder.
Thankfully, he was wearing a bulletproof vest, so the claws did not pierce his body.
Before he could feel relief, the Insectoid seized him and whipped him aside.
Long Ming flew, slammed into the wall, and crashed to the floor. He nearly blacked out.
He forced himself up. As he lifted his rifle, the monster rushed him and swiped.
Thump.
The M24 flew out of his hands.
[I’m done for!]
The monster’s right claw clamped his throat and lifted him into the air.
He could not breathe. His face flushed red.
Just before his neck could snap, he yanked the Geco Automatic Pistol from his tactical belt, jammed it under the Insectoid’s jaw, and pulled the trigger again and again.
Bang, bang.
Bullets punched up into its head.
The monster shrieked: “Ah!”
It let go and staggered back.
Bang, bang.
Not trusting it, Long Ming fired a few more shots until it collapsed and lay still.
Coughing hard, he clutched his neck and sucked in big gulps of air.
At the same time, the sound of gunfire lit up countless Red Tier eyes in the buildings outside the garrison.
When his breath steadied a little, Long Ming hurried over and picked up the fallen M24.
He heard a rustling sound in the hallway.
His heart jumped. A wave of danger hit him. His gut said he had to get out now.
He swept the room with his eyes, snatched the lighter, sprinted to the window, vaulted up, planted one hand on the sill, and hurled himself out.
Thud.
He hit the ground, rolled several times, and scrambled up, looking rough and dusty.
He saw swarms of Red Moths pour out from the nearby buildings, and a dark cloud of flying bugs in the sky farther off turn and curve toward him.
[Not good.]
His face sank. The gunshots were too loud. He had stirred up the bugs.