Chapter 539: Mirage
Ma Lu chatted casually with the old guard and learned that they had two shifts of people taking turns on watch at the edge of the disaster zone, mainly to prevent ordinary people from inadvertently entering it.
That being said, the disaster zones had appeared nearly a hundred years ago, and the governments of this world had already formed a fairly complete response mechanism that generally didn't affect the lives of ordinary people too much.
Ma Lu then found a spot to close his eyes and rest for a while, and at 3:55 a.m., he led the group of Hou De Virtue Teachers and Students into the disaster zone.
Considering that Ma Lu was transported in halfway last time, this was actually his first time truly seeing the entrance to the disaster zone.
It looked very much like a mirage one might see in the desert, except that for the people of this plane, those strange images might be somewhat difficult to comprehend.
Take the entrance of disaster zone number 3-7-9, for example, where the mirage depicted a giant iron sphere falling from the sky and smashing into the ground, creating a massive meteor crater, while a mushroom cloud rose above it.
Ma Lu recognized at a glance that it should resemble the scene of a nuclear weapon like an atomic bomb exploding.
But there were no atomic bombs on this plane, and naturally, the people here did not understand why such a small iron ball could cause such devastating destruction.
However, that was not important. Ma Lu guessed this might be an event that had occurred in some plane the drifting fruit had been to, and for some reason, it had recorded it down and turned it into a mirage.
Ma Lu didn't dwell on it and was the first to step into the disaster zone.
Qiutong followed closely behind, then the other students, with one instructor in the middle of the team and the other bringing up the rear.
In less than two minutes, all 44 people had entered the disaster zone.
On the other side of the disaster zone, it was still outside Jiyang City, just as quiet as the disaster zone Ma Lu had visited before, not a single passerby to be seen.
The guard who was responsible for the watch was gone, and the temperature around them was noticeably higher than outside the disaster zone, and there was something floating in the air.
Ma Lu stretched out a hand, reached for something above his head, and then spread his palm open to find a pinch of burnt-out ash in the center of his hand.
Soon a chorus of coughing came from behind him.
"Cough cough, Principal Ma, which direction should we head in?" Teacher Jing coughed as she spoke.
However, before she could finish speaking, something rushed out of the distant woods, apparently wolves or dogs judging by their silhouettes.
The sudden encounter with monsters made many people's nerves instantly tense, but there were also some who were bold and rubbed their hands eagerly, just waiting for Ma Lu's command to rush forward and beat those monsters down.
There were about a dozen of those dark figures, fewer in number than the people from Hou De, and since this was a Level 1 Disaster Zone, they should not be too difficult to handle.
But when Ma Lu activated the Light Illumination Technique to shine light on those dark figures, all the teachers and students could not help but gasp in shock.
It was not that the monsters were too strong, but rather that they were horrifyingly gruesome, with pale eyeballs full of blood vessels, and not a single piece of skin on their bodies was intact.
In some areas, the flesh had rotted away, and in others, even the bones were visible.
Some of the female students were immediately terrified, retreating continuously, and Ma Lu, who had also caught sight of the creatures' appearance, uttered a soft sound of surprise.
Are these... zombies?
Ma Lu was of course no stranger to zombies, the highest recurring monster in various post-apocalyptic novels, and bordering on being the most laborious workers in the monster world.
Ma Lu didn't expect to encounter them here making a guest appearance. Connecting this with the information provided by the Jiulong Instrument earlier, Ma Lu opened his mouth and said, "Try using Gold Element Charm against them."
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He paused and then added, "You can aim primarily at their necks and heads."
However, before he could finish giving instructions, some had already pulled out talismans and started casting spells, and those talismans were of all sorts—not only of the Gold Element but also Fire, Water, and Earth Elements, and even included mental attacks.
Ma Lu shook his head. Without real combat experience, this was the result: in the face of crisis, they simply didn't listen to commands and instinctively unleashed all their skills.
Yet, the mess of talismanic magic that rained down on the pack of Zombie Wolves was effective only on a few.
The Zombie Wolves, even when ignited by fireballs, still ran toward them without feeling any pain, and the Earth and Water Element sorceries caused even less damage to them.
As for the mental attacks, they had no effect whatsoever.
Seeing that the wolf pack was about to reach the Hou De Virtue Teachers and Students, Ma Lu finally made his move.
He didn't use any talismanic magic; he simply charged into the wolf pack holding the Chef's Knife. With every swing of the blade, he beheaded a Zombie Wolf.
He had observed clearly just moments ago that these Zombie Wolves' weaknesses indeed lay in their heads.
After entering the catastrophe belt, the effects of "Weight Training" were activated. The Physical Strength and spiritual power of the Hou De students were halved on the spot, with the lost Physical Strength and spiritual power adding to Ma Lu's empowerment.
Ma Lu felt his body incredibly light, effortlessly beheading four wolves in one breath and not feeling tired at all, as if he had endless strength.
Indeed, these forty-plus external aids weren't brought along in vain!
While reveling in this strength that surpassed human limits, Ma Lu quickly took down two more Zombie Wolves, with only five left.
But at that moment, one of the wolves leaped past him, lunging toward the Hou De Virtue Teachers and Students behind him.
Ma Lu had intended to go back and rescue them when he saw a figure leap out from the crowd, holding a dagger over thirty centimeters long, rushing towards the Zombie Wolf.
—It was actually Qiutong.
To be honest, Ma Lu was also somewhat surprised. While many of the senior students retreated, Qiutong, the freshman, took the initiative to charge out first.
However, her athletic nerve was indeed well-suited to deal with the current situation.
It was just that now she had only less than half of her usual strength, which caused Ma Lu to worry for her.
Ma Lu sped up his actions and took out two more Zombie Wolves, while Instructor Zhong and Teacher Jing, who had recovered from the shock, joined forces to take down the last one.
When Ma Lu turned back, he saw that Qiutong's battle was also nearing its end. She didn't rashly go for the head, obviously realizing that her current strength was insufficient.
She chose to engage with the Zombie Wolf, first chopping off its two legs.
Once the Zombie Wolf's speed had decreased, she finally attacked its head. After hacking several times, she finally decapitated it.
On one side, the students and instructors had cooperated to take down fewer than four Zombie Wolves, while Ma Lu alone had single-handedly slain eight.
This made the teachers and students even more respectful towards the new Principal.