The villa community where Quan Xiaoyu and the others were staying was located in the southern suburbs of S City. To head north, they would have to cross through the city center of S City.
Before the apocalypse, traveling from the southern suburbs to the city exit in the northern district took approximately two and a half hours.
But things were different now. The roads were in terrible condition. Although the survivors had recently begun consciously clearing the roads in an attempt to restore transportation, the results were minimal.
The closer they got to the city center, the more zombies there were. The zombies now were no longer the slow-moving, stupid creatures they had once been. Even a Level One zombie could easily catch up to a person running at full speed, while Level Two zombies were even more agile and ferocious.
Fortunately, their weakness was still their heads. As long as their heads were blown apart, they could be eliminated.
Xiao Ziran and Chu Tian had planned their driving route long ago, but everyone knew that the road conditions were unpredictable. No one could foresee how many accidents they would encounter along the way, so there was no such thing as a foolproof plan.
At present, Chu Tian was driving the lead vehicle, with Quan Xiaoyu, Bai Mingxi, and Li Nan seated inside. They were responsible for clearing the way ahead.
Following closely behind was a vehicle driven by the twenty-one-year-old water-type ability user Zhao Bufan. The girl’s family of three sat inside.
Behind them was Lin Ziqiang’s vehicle. Ma Jingjing sat beside him, while the beautiful woman Lu Jie and Xiao Minghan occupied the back seat.
Lao Wu was driving the final vehicle with Xiao Ziran, bringing up the rear.
To avoid accidents, they were not driving very fast. They did not need to leave the city today. All they needed was to find a place to stay before dark, preferably somewhere as close to the city exit as possible.
They tried to maintain a distance of five meters between each vehicle. This was because after all communication equipment had completely failed, Bai Mingxi—who had always been regarded as useless—had modified mobile phones and created an entirely new type of communicator.
Bai Mingxi believed that the failure of communication equipment was caused by the original signal source being blocked by something or interfered with by some substance, resulting in disrupted signals and the subsequent failure of communication devices.
Therefore, he used another method to alter the signal source of the communication equipment and the way the original signals were transmitted and received. Amazingly, the modified mobile phones were then able to communicate.
However, this crude device had several major drawbacks. First, this theory was something Bai Mingxi had come up with himself and was still immature, making the signal unstable. Second, because conditions were primitive, the devices had been modified from mobile phones and had no supporting equipment such as satellites. Their communication range was extremely short. After repeated testing, communication between the devices would fail once they were more than eight meters apart.
To maintain contact, all four vehicles were equipped with one of these communicators.
Fiddling with the somewhat strange-looking modified phone in his hand, even Quan Xiaoyu let out a quiet laugh and said, “I really didn’t see this coming.”
Even now, he still remembered the arrogant expression on Bai Mingxi’s face when he had tossed the communicators at them.
Hearing this, Chu Tian chuckled and chimed in, “Yeah. Who would have thought that the useless one would actually come in handy?”
Bai Mingxi immediately grew indignant. “Chu Xiaotian, who are you calling useless? Let me tell you, all the good stuff is with me! Be careful, or I won’t give you a single bottle of water later! Then we’ll see how you cry and beg me!”
He lifted his head, his nostrils practically pointing toward the sky, looking unbearably proud.
Naturally, what he was referring to was everything stored in the spatial ability. The secret of the space was known only to the four people in the vehicle; Xiao Ziran and the others had no idea.
Chu Tian snorted twice and curled his lips. “These past few days have really gone to your head, Young Master Bai! Without even realizing it, you’ve gotten hold of everyone’s lifeline.”
Bai Mingxi did not care about the sarcasm in his tone and simply took it as praise. “Of course! Chu Xiaotian, if you have what it takes, you should make yourself a space too. And try making a communicator while you’re at it.”
Li Nan, who was listening nearby, sincerely praised him. “Brother Xiao Bai is amazing.”
Chu Tian could not be bothered to argue with him anymore. He shook his head, chuckled, and continued driving.
Quan Xiaoyu added at this moment, “Xiao Bai really is amazing.”
This praise was completely sincere. No one had expected Bai Mingxi to come up with something like this under such primitive conditions.
No wonder when Bai Mingxi had proposed finding several mobile phone shops and repair shops, Chu Tian had immediately dragged Quan Xiaoyu along without a second thought.
At the time, Quan Xiaoyu had wondered what use there could possibly be in recovering those electronic devices when they were practically useless already, especially after taking such a huge risk to retrieve them.
As if he had seen through Quan Xiaoyu’s thoughts, Chu Tian smiled and explained, “Xiao Bai has been fooling around with strange things since he was little. If he hadn’t insisted on following me to S City for graduate school, he might have been building airplanes for the country by now.”
The last part was partly a joke, but in reality, given Bai Mingxi’s background and his talent for mechanics, it was not entirely impossible if he had wanted to.
“Exactly! I could have built airplanes already. What’s a communicator compared to that? If the world hadn’t changed, I could even build a spaceship, I’m telling you.”
Bai Mingxi bragged shamelessly, automatically ignoring the first half of Chu Tian’s words. After all, when it came to anything Chu Tian said, it was enough to listen only to the parts that sounded good.
“Xiao Nan, don’t you agree?”
At the same time, he did not forget to drag Li Nan into it.
“Yes! Brother Xiao Bai is amazing.”
Li Nan gave him a thumbs-up. To him, anyone more capable than himself was amazing.
The two people in the front seats chuckled without saying anything. Bai Mingxi grinned from ear to ear, and sitting in the back, he finally quieted down.
At that moment, the vehicle behind the four of them suddenly began accelerating, and the distance between the four vehicles rapidly shortened.
Only then did the communicator crackle with the urgent voice of the water-type ability user Zhao Bufan. “Young Master Tian, Brother Xiao says there are monsters catching up from behind. He wants us to speed up.”
Because of the distance limitations, Xiao Ziran’s words had to be relayed through the communicator in the vehicle ahead before being passed farther forward, resulting in a delay in the message.
Lao Wu had previously suggested honking to warn the others whenever they encountered danger, but Chu Tian had rejected the idea. Car horns would attract zombies, and if they truly encountered danger, that would only make matters worse.
Chu Tian reacted extremely quickly. The moment he saw the vehicles behind them accelerating in the rearview mirror, he immediately pressed down harder on the accelerator.
As he sped up, he did not forget to say, “Xiao Bai, the communicator’s delay is far too serious. You need to improve it.”
Quan Xiaoyu flipped his hand, and a pistol appeared in his palm. A long gun would not be convenient to use inside the vehicle. Before setting out, the Doctor had issued guns and ammunition to everyone, including Li Nan.
Under Quan Xiaoyu’s training, Li Nan had long since learned how to use firearms. He was simply too small to handle the larger weapons. Over the past two months, he had also taken part in quite a few battles alongside the three adults. At this moment, he smoothly pulled out his own gun as well and watched the rear through the window, fully alert.
Chu Tian and Bai Mingxi had received training since childhood, so neither had any difficulty using firearms. Although Chu Tian had once been puzzled by how an ordinary person like Quan Xiaoyu could use a gun so accurately and skillfully, there were simply too many mysteries surrounding Quan Xiaoyu. When one had too many unanswered questions, there was no point in scratching at every itch. He could not find the answers right away, and he was too lazy to investigate further.
One day, he would figure out everything about this person. Chu Tian had once thought this to himself.
“No good. There are obstacles five hundred meters ahead. It will be difficult for us to get through quickly, and forcing our way through might leave us trapped there. I suggest getting out of the vehicles and fighting.”
As Chu Tian spoke, he signaled Quan Xiaoyu to relay the message. Then, after choosing a position that would be convenient for defense, the vehicles began slowing down.
By the time Xiao Ziran’s vehicle at the very back began to slow down, half a minute had already passed.
“Thirty-two seconds.”
Bai Mingxi muttered to himself. He was calculating the delay time of the communicators.
“Forget about the communicator for now. Everyone out of the vehicles. Xiao Bai and Xiao Nan, stay behind us. Xiao Bai, pay attention to protecting Xiao Nan.”
Chu Tian brought the vehicle to a steady stop and calmly issued his orders.
After two months of working together and fighting side by side, the four of them had developed excellent coordination. They quickly got out of the vehicle. Chu Tian and Quan Xiaoyu moved to the front and formed a combat formation. Bai Mingxi and Li Nan held their guns behind them and began searching for cover.
Soon, the others also got out one after another. Everyone had a weapon in hand, including the elderly couple.
Xiao Ziran followed the principle of not keeping people who had no use. Earlier, back in the villa community, everyone had been assigned suitable work and given appropriate training.
Their accuracy was another matter, but at least everyone now knew how to use a gun.
“What is it?”
As soon as Xiao Ziran and Lao Wu got out of the vehicle, Chu Tian impatiently asked.
Xiao Ziran looked solemn. He shook his head. “I don’t know. It looks like… a leopard?”
He glanced at Lao Wu, trying to confirm his guess.
Lao Wu responded with a bitter smile and shook his head. “I don’t know. Where would a leopard come from in the center of S City? The zoo is to the west!”
Chu Tian was extremely surprised. He had originally assumed they had encountered a large number of Level Two zombies. He had even considered the possibility of Level Three zombies, but he had never imagined that it would be some kind of strange creature.
He exchanged a glance with Quan Xiaoyu, and they both saw the astonishment in each other’s eyes.
Quan Xiaoyu’s expression turned unpleasant. In a low voice, he said, “Everyone, stay alert. That might be a mutated beast.”
Mutated beasts and zombie beasts were different. The distinction was much like the difference between an ability user and a zombie.
Mutated beasts generally possessed a certain degree of intelligence. Their purpose in attacking humans was likely to hunt.
Although they could also survive by eating zombies, humans were undoubtedly much tastier than zombies. When a steaming plate of beef was placed in front of you, you would not choose to gnaw on a steamed bun instead.
However, the conditions required for animals to mutate seemed to be relatively stringent. Mutated beasts were still fairly rare. More often, zombie beasts were the ones that appeared.
“Under normal circumstances, mutated beasts in cities are animals raised by humans that have undergone mutation. It could be a cat, or it could be a dog.”
As Quan Xiaoyu spoke, the dark shadow in the distance had already become clearly visible, and he quickened his pace of speech.
“They are not zombies. They are living creatures, and the way to kill them is the same as killing any other living thing. But after mutation, their fur usually becomes extremely tough, and their claws and teeth become extraordinarily sharp. They are creatures with a certain degree of intelligence. Some of them may even possess abilities. In short, everyone, be careful!”
As Quan Xiaoyu spoke, he put the pistol back into his pocket and drew his samurai sword, standing ready for battle.
Encountering a mutated beast was one of the situations he least wanted to see. Still, he had originally thought that even if they encountered one, it would be on the journey north. He had not expected such bad luck: just as they approached the urban area of S City, they had already run into this thing.