The battle n was simple, set up defensive fortifications and lure the rat monsters over, to exterminate them on arge scale.


    ording to Yan Tiejun''s thinking, if only there was air support, they could simply provide firepower coverage. It wouldn''t matter if there were three thousand or five thousand, even ten thousand would turn into "roasted duck necks".


    Of course, the military''s armament department couldn''t possibly have air power, and even if they did, it wouldn''t be possible to use it in such foggy conditions, not to mention that the fog not only obstructed visibility but also interfered with signals to some extent.


    But none of these were problems, as long as they had enough personnel. A simple umtion of fortifications waspletely sufficient to deal with these monsters.


    Although they had lost heavy firepower, the physical condition of the Contractors had also be much stronger.


    After finalizing the n, all of South City''s military personnel were quickly assembling, picking up weapons and supplies, and promptly returning to the designated transport vehicles. The assembly waspleted in less than 10 minutes.


    Su Han''s group, already resting near the vehicle, immediately enteredbat mode.


    Guo Wutao did not interfere with Su Han''smand, so he simply had to cooperate in sniping the rat monsters. Once they reached the grain warehouse''s underground cave battlefield, that''s where Su Han would truly take action.


    One by one the vehicles left South City No.2 Middle School and then headed towards the northern suburbs.


    South City''s camp dispatched over five hundred people, using military vehicles and trucks as transport vehicles, totaling nearly thirty. On them were not only people but also weapons and ammunition.


    It was evident that they were indeed making a significant investment in this mission. Without any supplementary ammunition, this battle would undoubtedly consume most of their bullets.


    The convoy advanced swiftly through the fog, with any monsters that approached being sniped from afar by the sharpshooters positioned at the windows.


    Soon the entire convoy had moved from South City into the suburbs, where fog enveloped both sides of the highway, eerily silent except for the muffled noise of the cars.


    The number of humanoid monsters decreased in the suburbs, contributing to an unusual quietness, but no one let their guard down.


    Although there weren''t many people in the suburbs, there were significantly more animals there than in the city.


    Not every animal turned into a monster, but once they mutated, they usually possessed considerablebat power.


    Along the way, they encountered several attacks from mutated monsters, mostly serpentine creatures, as well as Giant Macrophage Dogs and double-headed dogs.


    Bai Qiuwen was not in the same vehicle as Guo Wutao but was with Su Han, seemingly for the purpose ofmunicating with Bai Qn.


    "Corrupt Head Snake, Double-headed Split-Mouth Snake, Giant Macrophage Dog, double-headed dog, and the Human-Faced Toad Monster... these are all animals that mutated after the fog descended. ording to your theory, they should all be considered mutated kinds.


    After returning, Old Tian and I pondered over it and realized that this kind of mutation probably originates from the disorderly evolution caused by the distortion of Spiritual Energy."


    Bai Qiuwen pointed to the outside at the in monsters and spoke slowly to Bai Qn. His voice was calm and gentle, as if he was guiding his own student.


    Bai Qn listened intently and showed the same respect to the schr, asking, "Disorderly evolution? Unstable structure, unstable Spiritual Energy, does that also count as evolution?"


    "How do you define evolution?"


    "The change in the frequency of a species'' genes, when traits that adapt to the environment bemon within a species, it implies that the species has adapted to the environment,pleting evolution."


    "Right, that''s one biological perspective."


    Bai Qiuwen spoke meaningfully, "However, that''s just the normal scenario. Even though these mutated kinds have unstable structures and might not even be able to reproduce when inherited, I think the definition should be revised, for example, to the ascent of life ranks."


    "Are you suggesting that both Evolved Kinds and Mutated Kinds can be considered evolution?"


    "There''s nothing wrong with that from the perspective of life ranks."


    Bai Qiuwen continued, "Spiritual Energy is closely rted to the Mind, Soul, and other forces. It''s different from physical rules, and although it has specific manifestations in our world—present in the environment, in the bodies of monsters, and our bodies—regardless of its form, this type of energy inherently possesses a degree of disorderliness, just like...


    like the thinking of living beings, the chaos and leaps of the Mind... uh.. chaotically and abruptly. Those that adapt to this energy and control it well will lead the evolution of that life form."


    "An Evolved Kind?"


    "Correct," Bai Qiuwen nodded, "This evolution is simr to natural evolution, a selection of self-advantage, although the progression is faster than natural selection. Moreover, if Spiritual Energy dominates, distorting mental energy, erroneous guidance will ur, resulting in disorderly, chaotic evolution.


    The life rank will still evolve, but it might lead to anomalies like two mouths, extra arms... and so on, also bing more bloodthirsty and aggressive, even insane."


    Although research on phenomena like the Soul or the power of the Mind was virtually non-existent, as an authority in the field, Bai Qiuwen indeed had encountered too many things and records that defy modern scientific exnation.


    Although they might not seem as miraculouspared to the apocalypse, recordings about the soul that exceed ordinary perception have always been kept in the shadows.


    This was also why, when Spiritual Energy descended on the world, he and Tian Jiaxuan could quickly make the connection and verify that this power was rted to the Soul and the Mind.


    "Of course, the process isn''t important. But rtive to us humans, the will is the true self. For us, the former kind of evolution is essentially a monster."


    The instinct to survive, to be stronger, isn''t much different for mindless animals.


    But humans are different. Can one still be considered human without reason?


    Bai Qn suddenly had a moment of rity. Bai Qiuwen was giving her pointers, and as she looked at him, the kindly old man smiled warmly, his eyes shining as he nodded slightly, "Your research approach is more flexible than mine, you could definitelye up with something like human body enhancers, so be sure to take care."


    "We''ve arrived."


    At that moment, the vehicles at the front of the convoy stopped near a depression in the hills.


    "Set up the Lamp Tree Crystals, dispel the fog."


    Yan Tiejun''s orders had already been issued, and the Southern City Guards began to move, one after the other getting out of their vehicles, taking out the umted Lamp Tree Crystals, and setting them in metal rods before nting the rods into the ground.


    The light dispelled the fog, and Yan Tiejun and Guo Wutao immediately directed the Southern City Guards to start constructing defensive fortifications.


    Without any fancy fortresses, all that was needed was to roughly encircle the mountain pass and repel the monstrous rats—this would fulfill their assigned task.


    Su Han didn''t lift a finger, but Zhu Xiongmanded his men to help; all of them were Contractors, and it was not at all difficult for them to chop down withered trees and dig up soil to pile up the fortifications on-site.


    By noontime, the basic fortifications had been constructed. There were two ridges built on the slope, one taller than the other, and in front of the ridges were trenches dug from the earth.


    The first ridge served as the initial shooting point. Before the monstrous rats approached, that was where they would be shot and ughtered. Once the rats neared the first ridge on the slope, the defenders would withdraw to the second shooting point, while the Angel Envoy would join the battle, relying on the first ridge to obstruct the rats in coordination with the shooting.


    With everything ready, Guo Wutao and Yan Tiejunmanded the reconnaissance squad to drive towards the location of Bei Qing Grain Warehouse.


    Everyone watched as the vehicles gradually moved away; expressions turned serious, and they gripped their weapons tightly.


    Time ticked by—roughly twenty minutes passed—and finally, the roar of engines sounded; everyone heard it.


    "Report, the rat monsters have arrived!"


    The speeding vehicle burst through the fog, kicking up dust, and behind them, the roaring gradually got drowned out by a wave of shrieking that resembled an iing tide.


    From within the fog surged a terrifying ck tide, each pitch-ck and vicious rat the size of a leopard pursuing wildly, their ws, asrge as human hands, rapidly scraping the ground to increase their speed as much as possible.


    Their eyes were blood red, and their sharp teeth ovepped outside their mouths, emitting piercing screams; each was the very image of brutality—frenzied, violent, with an intense desire to devour everything at all times.


    "Boom!"


    A scout leaned out of a car window, then tossed out a chemical bomb. The click of the ss was heard as it fell among the rat horde, and instantly, mes erupted, sending more than a dozen rats flying with a powerful st.


    This caused a brief pause in the tide of rats, creating a small gap.


    At that moment, the vehicle''s driver mmed on the elerator and surged to the side of the mountain hollow, reaching the designated point of egress.


    They swiftly disembarked, without any hesitation, and hurriedly escaped up the side of the hollow.


    The swarm of rat monsters soon arrived at the bottom of the slope, a mere three to four hundred meters away from the people. Looking down from above, there seemed to be thousands of rats.


    "Fire!"


    Yan Tiejun issued the coldmand, and then gunshots rang out. Rifles spat out mes as the bullets rapidly swept downward towards the mountain base.


    Blood sttered from the rat monsters as they toppled to the ground, and the ones behind them surged forward even more viciously.


    The sound of gunfire was incessant. Rows of rat monsters fell to the bullets, and crossbow arrows joined the battle with their powerful prative force, killing the creatures.


    One hundred, two hundred, three hundred... hundreds of rat monstersy dead, and before long, there were already over a thousand corpses.


    However, the short distance of a little more than three hundred meters had already been breached by them, with only a few dozen meters separating the two sides.


    "Light the fire, the second line of defense, Summon Apostle."


    Yan Tiejun issued orders withposure, but his face didn''t look good. He cursed under his breath, "Damn it, what are the scouts doing? Is this 4,000?"


    The swarm of rats was still a dense ck mass, pouring in through the fog. The more than a thousand rats they had previously killed seemed to be less than a tenth of their number.


    "The fog is thick, and we can''t go in there. Should I give up my life to scout for you?"


    Guo Wutao, however, spoke the blunt truth. He said solemnly, "Don''t worry, we can still deal with this."


    Exceeding their numbers was part of the n. Following Yan Tiejun''s orders, everyone pulled out chemical bombs and tossed them into the rat horde even more frantically.


    Boom...


    Explosions thundered one after another, and the firelight almost brightened the entire area. A multitude of rat monsters became minced meat amidst the bomb sts, leaving the front line momentarily cleared.


    This bombing killed at least a thousand or two thousand rat monsters.


    Taking advantage of the lull, everyone rapidly moved back to the second ridge, two hundred meters away, and the Angel Envoy was summoned, taking position behind the first ridge.


    The trench in front of the ridge, now poured with gasoline, was set aze, igniting a fierce fire, forming a barrier like a wall, cutting off the rat monsters and momentarily preventing their advance.


    Meanwhile, bullets continued to pour down on them.


    "Roar!"


    But just then, a terrifying roar sounded, and a towering figure burst out from the fog.


    The advanced monsters among the rat horde had arrived.