Chapter 006: Concentric Circles

Yes. Chen Gang spoke concisely and hung up the phone

Chen Gang watched the soldiers leave, glanced into the distance, and silently returned to the command vehicle

Once again, there exists a creature resembling a hybrid of a worm and an earthworm, extending several dozen meters in length. This monster can burrow underground and suddenly emerge to swallow its prey alive with its mouth. Its most formidable ability lies in its long-range attack; it can expel a highly volatile, strong acid liquid. Upon contact with humans, this liquid rapidly vaporizes into gas, and inhaling this gas can lead to poisoning, resulting in symptoms ranging from dizziness to death. It can spray this substance up to a distance of 300 meters. Soldiers refer to it as the Giant Worm Beast, yet under the bombardment of the army's artillery, it ultimately becomes mere cannon fodder. This creature can expel a highly volatile, strong acid liquid, which, upon contact with humans, quickly vaporizes into gas, leading to poisoning upon inhalation, with symptoms ranging from dizziness to death, and it can spray this substance up to a distance of 300 meters. Soldiers call it the Giant Worm Beast, but under the artillery fire of the army, it only becomes cannon fodder.

Chen Ge means that the rescue team has been completely wiped out Liu Tao opened his mouth in disbelief Fighting near the concentric circle area against high-level monsters is akin to seeking death Even luring the armored troops is not an option

What is even more striking is that within this unit, there are soldiers capable of engaging these monsters in close combat with cold weapons. These soldiers can leap distances exceeding 4 to 5 meters, and some can even conjure flames in their hands and accurately shoot them at the approaching monsters, instantly reducing one of the charging monsters to ashes

"Brother Chen, the task is completed, yet you seem quite unhappy." As Chen Gang sat down, the deputy company commander Liu Tao, who was curious, asked. Although Liu Tao was of a similar age to Chen Gang and both belonged to the privileged class, Chen Gang stood out with his exceptional abilities and his kindness towards others, which is why Liu Tao has always referred to him as 'big brother'.

Yes. After saluting, the soldier quickly left

Chen Gang quickly stepped out of the command vehicle and said to the messenger beside him, "Convey the order to proceed with the planned cross-cover retreat."

Perhaps, it is also possible that the research institute was breached before the rescue team arrived. Chen Gang's eyes revealed a look of sorrow, as one of his closest friends was among those participating in this rescue operation. In truth, Chen Gang understood that the latter possibility was extremely low; he was essentially comforting himself with this statement

"Report, Company Commander, the military headquarters is calling." A resonant voice sounded in the young man's ear

From a satellite's perspective, it resembles a "concentric circle". The small circle has a radius of 1.5 kilometers, appearing so dark that it seems to be a tangible object. The larger circle surrounding the small one is grayish, with the color becoming darker as it approaches the center, while it becomes increasingly lighter as one moves away.

Moreover, the sky was densely filled with creatures resembling bats, possessing fleshy wings. These creatures were nearly the size of an adult, with wings that could span up to 15 meters in width. Their limbs were covered with sharp claws capable of tearing apart an adult. This is the aerial power of the monsters known as bat beasts.

Liu Tao noticed that Chen Gang was unwilling to speak, so she wisely closed her mouth and quietly lay on the command vehicle, feeling the bumps as the vehicle traveled along the road. Slowly, she closed her eyes. The convoy sped away in the direction of Spring City.

"Xiao Chen, you may retreat now, following the original plan to retreat to Quancheng, and then proceed to Anshi." An elderly voice came through the microphone

From satellite maps, dozens of concentric circles of varying sizes are distributed across the entire Earth. Among them, the concentric circles in five prominent locations are in western China, the Tunguska region of Siberia in Russia, Mexico, the Strait of Gibraltar, and New Zealand, with the Tunguska concentric circle being the largest.

According to the timeline, if all goes well, the team from the support research institute should be arriving at the institute now. Chen Gang opened his eyes, sighed, and continued, "In this battle, we did not encounter any formidable monsters. If I am not mistaken, those ferocious creatures should have been attracted to the vicinity of the research institute."

I am Chen Gang, the commander of the Fourth Reconnaissance Company of the Eastern Divine Sword Special Forces Brigade of the Beijing Military Region. Please provide instructions.

The soldiers remained completely unflustered in the face of the fierce assault from the group of monsters. The machine gunners in the unit fired steadily and calmly, while the heavy machine guns emitted a rhythmic "da-da-da" sound. The snipers, positioned in advantageous spots, calmly picked off potential threats among the monsters, ensuring that the ferocious creatures were eliminated before they could approach the defensive line

At the command vehicle not far from the front line, a young man, approximately 25 years old, was carefully observing the monsters charging forward with a pair of binoculars. This young man had a complexion as smooth as jade, and his demeanor was as steady as a mountain, giving an impression of being unshakeable

Numerous strands as dark as ink emanate from the surface of the rotating sphere, gradually merging into the air, causing the areas closer to the sphere to appear increasingly darker. These dark regions continuously transfer their blackness to the gray areas, which in turn slowly transform the colorless regions into a light black. Thus, the areas of black mist and gray mist steadily expand.

This enormous concentric circle in western China has a small circle with a diameter of 10 kilometers, while the large circle measures nearly 100 kilometers. This concentric circle is gradually expanding

Secondly, there is a creature that measures three meters in length, crawls, and resembles a lizard. This creature is extremely fast, highly agile, and possesses strong climbing abilities. Its tongue can extend up to one meter in length, easily penetrating the heads of its targets. Soldiers refer to this creature as the long-tongued reptile; however, in the face of military combat units, it only meets a fate of being torn to pieces, thus it is not particularly fearsome.

The most troublesome for the military is a monster resembling a hybrid of the Predator and Alien, standing over 3 meters tall with a tail nearly 2 meters long. This creature is extraordinarily fast, capable of short bursts of flight. Every part of its body essentially serves as a weapon, and if one were to charge into a military unit, it could slaughter hundreds of people within minutes. The most terrifying aspect is that when bullets are about to hit it, a faint protective shield forms around its body, capable of deflecting most bullet attacks. Even if some bullets penetrate the shield and strike its body, they are withstood by its formidable physique. Moreover, this monster possesses an extremely strong self-healing ability. It is a nightmare for soldiers; once it gets close, it can lead to a massacre in an instant. This monster is known as the Alien Beast.

In a sparsely populated grassland within the Earth's desert, a hemispherical object with a diameter of approximately 3,000 meters, composed of black mist, is slowly rotating. This sphere appears black and rotates gently, intermittently emitting black filamentous substances of varying sizes from its surface into the surrounding environment. These filamentous substances, upon leaving the surface of the sphere and entering the air, gradually diffuse, resembling a drop of ink falling into water, slowly fading while the surrounding area transitions from colorless to a light black, ultimately reaching a balance point—gray. Intermittently, the sphere emits black filamentous substances of varying sizes into the external environment, which, upon leaving the surface and entering the air, gradually diffuse, resembling a drop of ink falling into water, slowly fading while the surrounding area transitions from colorless to a light black, ultimately reaching a balance point—gray.

As the black sphere rotates, invisible waves of energy ripple outward like water waves, while the area shrouded in black mist occasionally emits a series of roars. These roars vary in length, sometimes prolonged and sometimes brief, and do not resemble the sounds produced by any animal on Earth.

At the eastern edge of this concentric circle, a group of soldiers is engaged in battle against a horde of monsters that do not exist on Earth, among which the most numerous are black in color, protected by a layer of glossy black exoskeleton. Standing over 3 meters tall, these creatures have four limbs and walk upright. Their heads resemble that of a mantis, and their limbs and massive jaws can easily tear apart a cow. These monsters can be shot and killed as long as they are kept at a distance. The soldiers refer to these creatures as Black Armored Beasts, which are among the most common monsters and also the weakest in terms of attack power, though this weakness is relative to their kind, not to Earth’s creatures.

Our mission has been accomplished, but the overall strategy of this operation has failed, Chen Gang said slowly, lying back in his seat with his eyes closed

The young man slowly lowered the telescope and quickly entered the command vehicle

From the combat quality of this group of soldiers, it is evident that they are a team of elite soldiers who have engaged in multiple encounters with these monsters. Moreover, these soldiers' uniforms bear a distinctive emblem: a map of a Chinese rooster with a sword placed vertically through the center of the rooster. Above the rooster map, there are four large letters: DFSJ.

Within a radius of 3 kilometers from this sphere, there is no distinction between day and night; everywhere is shrouded in ink-black mist, enveloped in complete darkness. Beyond this radius, extending to 30 kilometers, the area is in a state of grayness. Even when the sun is shining brightly at noon, it feels akin to dusk approaching nightfall within this zone, where visibility is already quite low. The closer one gets to the spherical object, the lower the visibility becomes, until a certain proximity is reached, resulting in a complete loss of visibility, plunging into utter darkness. Even when the sun is shining brightly at noon, it feels akin to dusk approaching nightfall within this zone, where visibility is already quite low. The closer one gets to the spherical object, the lower the visibility becomes, until a certain proximity is reached, resulting in a complete loss of visibility, plunging into utter darkness.

"Is it possible that the research institute did not withdraw smoothly?" Liu Tao looked at Chen Gang with confusion, as the research institute is an extremely important facility, and there is also a very significant scientist inside.