As for protective gear, he didn't have the time to get something for the girls yet, so he decided to have her wear several layers of clothing. They would end up going near and into the hive, and he didn't want to think about the kind of infection they could get through a scratch. He told her as much when she tried to complain about the idea. She wore jeans under her cargo pants, and a jean vest over long sleeve polo. Lius.h.i.+ did have safety masks to protect from dust and gases. He had gathered a few of them while preparing for the outbreak, but forgot about them until then.

Xiaotian drove the truck until they reached a distance of around 300m from the hive. From there, they could see the frenetic activity of the mutant bees. Lius.h.i.+ decided that he and Lu would get down there. He instructed Xiaotian to circle around and come from downwind. He also told her to come in reverse, so that the turret at the back of the trailer had a clear line of sight, and so the that driving c.o.c.kpit would be furthest from the incoming beasts.

When Lius.h.i.+ and Lu left the truck, they took the electric pallet mover with them to carry the packs Lius.h.i.+ wanted to make. The sisters gave each other telling looks through the window before turning away, and seeing this, Lius.h.i.+ swore to himself that he would do his best to bring Lu back safe and sound.

The exploration of the block wasn't as silent as Lius.h.i.+ and Lu would have liked due to the humming sound made by the pallet mover, but it wasn't a problem. There really wasn't much chance to come across zombies unless they entered closed rooms. At those times, a soft knock on the door would attract any zombie within the room, and they could hear them move through the door. Thus they didn't suffer from jump-scares.

They worked in silence, with the not so distant sound of bees and burning buildings in the background, and the unpleasant smell of half-toxic smoke in the air. They aquired a few more supplies at the same time. The sun was getting uncomfortably low when they finished packing the pallet mover. Then they advanced toward the hive.

"Looks like everything is working fine for now" said Lius.h.i.+ as he was leading the way.

"Can you tell if Xiaotian is okay?"

She had accuratly guessed that Lius.h.i.+ had opened his connexion to the truck. But he could also tell because the activity of the mutant bees around the hive was reduced despite the fires still going strong. In fact, 2 of them had spread to the adjoined buildings.

"She is perfectly fine, and the truck and the trailer weren't really damaged. We still have to remain careful. Even with Xiaotian attracting most of them on the other side, we could still be swarmed by the ones nearby..."

He shook his head and turned to Lu. She looked to be fine, not at all alarmed to be so close to the hive. She looked as resolute as when they were still in the Doomsday Ride.

"We will probably be forced to attract some of them into one of the nearby buildings before being able to get closer. How do you feel about having to fight them close?"

"... Brother Lius.h.i.+. Xiaotian didn't think about it, but I did. I think that our parents became part of the hive. Our father wasn't in a condition to properly evade the beasts, and our mother was most likely turned into a zombie considering she worked in the market place, a crowded place with little possible shelter. And that area had seen a lot of mutant bees activity. I know for a fact that some of my friends were unfortunate enough..."

Her gaze was still resolute, but she was crying. Lius.h.i.+ winced in the privacy of his mind, seeing her tears run freely on her attractive face. Despite the situation, he couldn't help but find her very charming, but those thoughs thankfully stayed in the background of his mind.

"I'm eager to slaughter them, brother Lius.h.i.+" she said in a hard tone, her eyes narrowing.

"Then let's do it!"

They entered one of the intact buildings facing the hive through a door in the back alley. Lius.h.i.+ put a pack near both entrances of the alley and lit them up, so no mutant beasts would come there. They secured the groundfloor and slowly displaced the furnitures to funel the beasts in a narrow area and kill them one by one instead of being attacked on all side. Then, they loudly broke the windows and attacked the closest beasts with their needlers.

"Hey! Over here you stupid beasts!" he shouted.

That definitly attracted the attention of the nearby ones, and they rushed toward what they identified not as prey like they usually did, but as threats due to the nearby fires. The 2 humans retreated further into the building. When the first beasts entered, they were sprayed with a few needles before falling to the ground. Some were killed when the needles entered their eyes and damaged their brains, the others were just wounded. The wounded ones would get up and crawl toward their targets, where they would receive a machete strike to their limbs or an axe strike in the head. They would sometimes be kicked, especially the crawling ones.

For several minutes, the pair worked side by side to kill the beasts. The ones that didn't notice their presence at first were attracted by the commotion the other beasts made. With the truck dealing with larger numbers on the other side, the outside of the hive got mostly cleared. The sky was red and quickly turning darker. Half of the fires were slowly dying while the rest was still going strong.

Lius.h.i.+ and Lu cautiously got out of the building and in front of the hive. On the other side, Xiaotian was backing the truck in the place as well, dealing with the last beasts. While there was still a lot of smoke, there was no longer any mutant bees in the air. For the first time, the girls got a good view of the hive and its surrounding. Xiaotian was lucky because she was in the truck. Lu had to not only bear the sight, but also the smell. But they managed to hold it in, they were getting used to the ghastly sights that people would always come across since the outbreak.

"Let's go and get the pallet mover. We have a hive to smoke."

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Lu nodded and followed him to the back alley where they left their stuff. They came back a few minutes later, and got in view of the truck, to the relief of the elder sister. They decided to place the packs in places so as to force any remaining beasts toward the area of the hive that was still under construction. When they lit all the packs and threw them in the various entrances of the hives, they retreated to the Doomsday Ride. By that time, the night had fallen.

"How long do you think it's going to take?" Lu asked Lius.h.i.+, her eyes still on the hive.

"Depends on the internal structure, how well the smoke spread inside."

After nearly 15 minutes, the remaining beasts started to leave through the unfinished part one by one. They were swiftly killed by the truck's turrets. Some of the fires started to spread on the ground around the hive, slowly burning the slim cover of organic material that dripped from the hive wall, while others were lazily licking the walls of the hive. The flames were calm but persistent, and growing. Lius.h.i.+ noticed this and frowned, and the girls saw him frown.

"What's wrong?" Xiaotian asked.

"I think that the hive is more flammable than I though. It just won't burn as fast or as violently as ordinary flammable materials. I think it will take a bit of time to catch fire, but once it does..."

"It will continue to burn until it's completly consummed" the elder sister finished.

"Are you worried about losing the beast core to the fire?" asked Lu.

"Yes. I want to get in and get it while I still can."

"Don't you want to wait for the hive queen to get out?"

"I don't think the queen will want to leave the eggs or larvaes. I also don't think she is small enough to use the same path as the other mutant bees. It's quite possible that she is trapped inside. And because of my ability, I can feel mutant beasts core when they are close enough. I can tell right now that it's bellow the ground. I'd rather deal with the queen before she get the chance to flee through an underground pa.s.sage we don't know about."

"Then let's go" Lu said as she moved toward her equipment.

Lius.h.i.+ followed her. Xiaotian gaped at them for a second before shaking her head and released a frustrated sight. She new there was no point in trying to change their minds.