Chapter 98: The Ability to Seize Control

Intense fighting erupted inside the underground bunker, with tentacles from a mechanical vehicle of countless forms and unknown origins on one side, and Du Yun, Lao Da, and his team members on the other.

Dust swirled through the underground shelter as the mechanical tentacles lashed out rapidly in an attempt to strike from the shadows, only to be knocked wildly sideways by the colossal energy blasts. The team members formed a tight line, bracing against the immense strain being dragged by the tentacles while gripping energy rifles and fighting desperately.

For a moment, the beams of their energy guns shattered against the structure, scattering debris and dense smoke that enveloped everyone. The humans, including Dong Tiechui, were terrified by this monstrous mechanical beast. Recalling how it had effortlessly hurled the ferocious zombies into its own compartment earlier, they found themselves unable to muster any fighting spirit.

The situation dragged on in stalemate. Although the team’s energy weapons and ammunition could damage the eerie vehicle’s tentacles, they could not effectively strike back. The tentacles, in turn, lacked the power to crush them like they had the zombies. While the humans’ gunfire could wound the appendages, they soon realized with despair that these tentacles could change shape. They had nearly severed one when it suddenly reshaped from the inside out, as if nothing had happened, leaving them biting their teeth in frustration.

“No good—if we keep this up, we’ll run out of weapons and be finished!” Du Yun felt a surge of anxiety at the sight.

“Master, this little car has no one controlling it. Shall I try to link up with its signal and take over?” Dou Zhi suddenly spoke in Du Yun’s mind.

“You can control this vehicle?” Du Yun was astonished. The car that had taken them so much effort to deal with was something Dou Zhi could handle?

“I’ll try!” After answering, Dou Zhi fell silent.

At that moment, Du Yun’s vision seemed to shift. The small map that had been displayed in the upper left suddenly transformed into a scene, with a pale green orb slowly drifting toward the location of the tentacles.

No matter how the energy guns or the tentacles tried to touch or block it, they could not. Du Yun watched in wide-eyed amazement.

Watching the orb drift farther and farther, when it reached the entrance it seemed to encounter resistance and tangled with a grayish orb.

“Dou Zhi, are you in danger? If you are, come back quickly!” Without realizing it, Du Yun had come to treat Dou Zhi’s core as a family member.

As the orbs struggled, Du Yun suddenly thought that although Dou Zhi was a core, it had suffered severe damage. If taking control of the vehicle caused Dou Zhi any injury, she would never allow it.

“It’s fine.” In the blink of an eye, the green orb devoured the stubborn gray one, and Dou Zhi’s lazy voice rang out, as if it had eaten its fill and even let out a satisfied burp.

“You took control of that car?” Du Yun felt as if Dou Zhi had consumed something, yet she couldn’t understand what it could have been that allowed Dou Zhi to devour it.

“Mm, controlled!” Dou Zhi’s triumphant voice sounded, and Du Yun saw the tentacles that had been brandishing aggressively, ready to charge over and tear them apart, slowly retract. They looked as soft and supple as neatly combed hair.

“Try this. I’ve connected the car to your master’s brain waves,” Dou Zhi said proudly, like a student who had aced an exam, eagerly showing off to Du Yun.

“I’ll try,” Du Yun felt as if she had acquired a new set of control methods for the vehicle in her mind. She wanted it to gather all its tentacles together, and she saw the four or five tentacles recombine with a clicking sound.

“What’s going on?” The team members, seeing this, immediately accelerated their attacks, thinking the car was about to launch a stronger assault and wanting to remove one of its arms before the next strike came.

“No need to attack. This car is under my control,” Du Yun thought, and the car’s single fused tentacle formed a pose that made everyone’s eyes nearly pop out.

“Truly under control?” Lao Da was also astonished. Du Yun’s ability was mysterious, and he had some understanding of it. He wondered what Du Yun had done to this unknown car to directly control it.

“Mm, I’m making it retreat.” With a thought, the car dragged its posed tentacle and slowly backed away. As it retreated, the tentacle rearranged itself like falling building blocks, then reformed into armor plating on the car’s surface.

“This is truly magical!” One of Lao Da’s team members gazed at Du Yun with worship in his eyes and immediately rushed over. “Sister-in-law, are you an S-rank mental power user? I’ve heard that people with exceptionally high mental powers can control other things!”

“Behave yourself and come back right now, don’t make a fool of yourself!” Da Zhuang quickly pulled back the child nicknamed Lao Shi, one of his team members.

“So magical! Sister-in-law is truly magical! She’s worthy of being with Lao Da! She’s powerful, not even human!” Lao Shi couldn’t help muttering on, words that made Da Zhuang quickly cover his mouth.

“What do you mean not human!” Da Zhuang tightly covered Lao Shi’s mouth and sternly scolded him. Even if it was the truth, it couldn’t be said in front of so many people, right?

Because of Lao Shi’s interruption, the originally life-or-death tense moment suddenly took on a special comedic feel.

“I can’t explain it clearly. You can think of it as the effect of mental power,” Du Yun stuck out her tongue in embarrassment. This effect was mainly due to Dou Zhi. As for how exactly it worked, Du Yun herself truly didn’t know.

While the team was deeply shocked by Du Yun’s ability, the ordinary humans thought far more simply. Having survived a disaster, Aunt Fatty couldn’t hold back her tears. “Oh no, we’re saved!”

“Yes, we’re saved, and we can launch a surprise attack!” Lao Da’s idea was swift. He looked at the car quietly parked at the entrance of the shelter, and a plan quickly formed in his mind.

“What?” “How do we launch the surprise attack?” Upon hearing Lao Da’s words, everyone knew he had figured out how to do it. They gathered around, and low murmurs rose from the underground shelter.