Chapter 104: You're Fucking Dead
The time was five o'clock in the morning, and the sky was glowing with the white lights. Zhang Jue had already gotten up and was organizing his equipment. According to the information provided by the Foundation, the zombies infected by SCP-016-A seemed to be more afraid of sunlight.
The exploration team had to leave early in the morning so that they could search more places. There was a knock on the door, and Zhang Jue didn't look back because he knew who was coming to him.
"Have you prepared everything?" Yang Xue said softly.
"It's all here." Zhang Jue smiled, "What, you want to go too? Should I bring some popcorn then?"
Seeing that he still had the time to joke, Yang Xue shook her head, "I'm here to remind you that this town is dangerous in every corner. Things might not be as simple as Lei Shui said. Besides those infected people, there are probably other unpredictable dangers lurking. You should be careful." She is concerned about him. Zhang Jue smiled and nodded.
Looking at Zhang Jue's natural expression, Yang Xue knew that he had a good idea. He thought, "With Zhang Jue's mind, how could he not think of this?"
Yang Xue sighed, and Zhang Jue laughed.
"Dr. Yang, don't worry about me. Didn't you say that gods and demons are afraid of smart people? Who am I? Those demons, devils, spirits, and monsters better pray they don't meet me, or I'll make them regret it."
...
The day gradually dawned. During that time, Tang Mao also came to Zhang Jue's room, saying that he was afraid he would forget the time, but Zhang Jue knew that they were more afraid that he would run away from the expedition.
Lei Shui acted cautiously, but it could also be shown from the side that he did not know Zhang Jue well. What he promised to others, he would do it as long as there was no special reason or force majeure.
Zhang Jue ate something quickly and went outside the town to rendezvous with the third exploration squad of 'Birds of Prey' that had been waiting here for a long time. The MTF Birds of Prey squad consisted of 24 agents, and the first two explorations had left 16 agents missing in this bizarre town. The remaining 8 people were led by Captain Jeffrey himself and Zhang Jue for this operation.
"Hello, Advisor Zhang." When he saw Zhang Jue, Jeffrey greeted him.
He was a black man with a long scar on the left side of his jaw, and his body exuded the kind of steely aura characteristic of a soldier. Jeffrey's expression was serious, and when he faced Zhang Jue, he neither curried favor nor deliberately looked him in the eye. His gaze was focused on the town not far away.
Zhang Jue knew that the disappearance of two consecutive teams had angered this captain. Although he didn't show any difference, the slightly narrowed eyes gave Zhang Jue a clue.
Likewise, Zhang Jue looked toward the town as he said softly, "Captain Jeffrey, please rest assured that if your team members are still alive. I will help you find them."
This time, Jeffrey finally put his eyes on Zhang Jue. He found that this young man seemed different from what he had imagined. Confident, but not conceited, with deep eyes, even when compared to Lei Shui.
He pondered for a moment, but in the end, he couldn't say anything in gratitude and only nodded slightly. "Many thanks."
At half-past six, it was already dawn. Lei Shui came, he and Jeffrey said a few words, and then exchanged greetings with Zhang Jue. Everything that needed to be said had been said yesterday, and he had come here just to boost morale.
At exactly seven o'clock, the third exploration team sent by the Foundation once again headed for the town with the name of Chlamydia. After entering the town, led by Geoffrey, the group made their way along the main road.
Zhang Jue had already printed the town map in his mind, so he knew exactly where the group was located. The hospital, the church, the supermarket, they didn't make any stops. Jeffrey had a very clear destination. This time, Jeffrey was the leader of the expedition. While Zhang Jue, like his position in the Foundation, existed only as an advisor to the team.
As for the exact location of the mission and what the Foundation was looking for, he knew nothing about it. He had only one special power, the right to have a veto on decisions made by the captain at critical moments.
To facilitate the differentiation of locations, the Foundation has divided the plane of the entire town into nine grids. The town of Chlamydia is built on a mountain, and the nine areas from outside to inside are A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, and the two exploration teams missing location, are in the innermost C3 area.
Jeffrey did not hesitate. The team entered the town and marched all the way to the C3 area. The exploration team was heavily armed. Although Jeffrey was concerned about the team members, he still didn't take any chances, and the whole team kept alert and moved slowly under his orders.
Zhang Jue himself has the ability to self-heal and is immune to most SCPabilities, so he did not wear any protective clothing. Jeffrey was a little worried, but Zhang Jue was a Foundation advisor, two levels above him, and since Lei Shui hadn't even said anything. He wasn't going to complain about it.
The town was quiet and silent. Explosions and signs of struggle could be seen all over the streets, but there were almost no dead bodies for some reason. The weather was overcast, with various unknown particles floating in the air and poverty everywhere, making the crumbling town feel even eerier.
Faced with an unknown fear, even the well-trained MTF team members are a little nervous. Many of them have started to sweat on their palms.
Under heavy pressure, the atmosphere of the exploration team is becoming more and more gloomy. Thanks to Jeffrey personally coming into the town. Otherwise, the team members' minds would be crushed by the pressure.
Zhang Jue held the Dragon Crystal in his hand and sensed the situation around him. He could feel that some creatures were watching their every move in those unseen places, ready to attack at any moment.
Whirr….
There was a strong wind.
A javelin flew over from afar, its sharp tip glinting with a man-eating light, targeting none other than Zhang Jue, who was not wearing a protective suit. But Zhang Jue's position was at the very end of the entire group, and Jeffrey had no time to save him.
"Look out!" Seeing this scene, Jeffrey's heart was startled. They had not yet reached the designated location. If Zhang Jue died like this, he would not only have no way to rescue the missing team members. Leaving the mission could get him into a disciplinary by the Foundation.
However, what happened next was something he would not forget for a long time. Zhang Jue casually side-step the javelin and dodged it. Jeffrey clearly saw that the javelin almost grazed Zhang Jue's face and flew past it.
If Zhang Jue had moved a fraction of a second later, his eye socket would have been directly penetrated by the javelin. It was good that Zhang Jue dodged this insidious blow, coincidentally or not.
Seeing that Zhang Jue was okay, Jeffrey breathed a long sigh of relief. He told his team to be more aware. The town was in danger, and the infected hiding in the shadows was very powerful, so they had to be very vigilant.
Confirming that there were no further attacks, Jeffrey gave the order to move on. However, Zhang Jue stopped.
"What's wrong?" Jeffrey asked.
Zhang Jue looked at him, "Captain Jeffrey, I have a question to ask you."
"Please speak."
"Under normal circumstances, if your team members were attacked by the enemy, what would you do?"
Jeffrey said, "Organize a counterattack, of course."
Zhang Jue smiled, "So, why didn't you do it now?"
"..." Geoffrey was momentarily speechless.
"Of course, it's not because we just met today. You just think that finding the missing team members and completing the exploration mission is the first priority, right?"
"Right." Jeffrey nodded. He did think so.
"Captain Jeffrey, if I'm not wrong. You were once a soldier, so obeying orders and completing the mission is always your first goal. I can understand that. But to me, I'm not quite the same as you." Zhang Jue said, "To put it nicely, I'm an advisor for the Foundation. But to put it bluntly, I'm just a hooligan. When it comes to facing the enemy, my way of thinking is to be careful while also finding a chance to counterattack." Speaking of this, he suddenly laughed, and there was a hint of madness in his eyes.
"Those who dare to not avenge me towards what my enemies do, I will do the same as my enemies do to any of my allies a thousand times. Regardless of whether it is a human being or a ghost, I will fuck them up to death!"