Back inside the house, before Chu Tian could even go looking for the doctor, the doctor heard that Chu Tian had returned and immediately hurried out.
The moment they saw each other, the two of them impatiently asked in unison,
“How did it go?”
After asking, they both paused.
Chu Tian spoke first. Shaking his head, he said, “Not well. Cai Yuanhan doesn’t take this matter seriously. From what I can tell, he’s more interested in political maneuvering and actually doesn’t have much understanding of danger or warfare. I’m afraid we can’t count on him. What about you?”
“It didn’t go well at first. Yuan Long seemed very hostile toward us. We nearly got into a fight when I first went there, but in the end, I managed to see him.” Xiao Ziran was holding a bottle of water. He took a gulp before continuing. “Once I explained everything clearly, Yuan Long actually took it quite seriously. He immediately sent people to investigate and promised that if the information was verified, he would immediately deploy defenses.”
Chu Tian was somewhat surprised by this answer.
Because of Yuan Shaohua, he hadn’t had a very good impression of Yuan Long. He had originally thought things would go more smoothly on his side than on the doctor’s.
He hadn’t expected the exact opposite.
“I hope he really follows through,” Chu Tian said, voicing his concern.
“I thought he was quite determined. He seemed to take this matter very seriously.” Xiao Ziran gave his assessment.
“That’s good.”
Chu Tian still trusted the doctor’s judgment.
“However…” Xiao Ziran frowned and continued, “I heard something on my way back.”
“What?”
“Yuan Shaohua was taken away by Cai Yuanhan’s people and never returned. Yuan Long flew into a rage over it, then sent people outside the city to bring Lei Shi’s group inside. The situation seems a little complicated.” Xiao Ziran sighed.
Chu Tian fell silent for a while before speaking.
“Looks like Yuan Long’s concern over this news isn’t entirely about protecting J City and everyone here. There are probably other considerations involved, such as using this opportunity to take back control of J City and finding his son.”
Hearing this, Xiao Ziran sighed as well.
He had also thought Yuan Long’s decisiveness was almost excessive. After Chu Tian put it that way, it seemed there really might be another motive behind it.
“Looks like we can’t count on them. I’m afraid that even if they want to save this city, they may not necessarily want to protect the million people living here,” Xiao Ziran said.
Chu Tian nodded.
“So we may have to leave first.”
He paused, then turned to Quan Xiaoyu.
“Xiaoyu, go find Captain Ouyang and have him organize everyone and get things in order. We’re leaving tonight.”
Quan Xiaoyu looked out the window at the pitch-black sky.
That dark cloud was growing larger and larger, almost completely covering the city. The sky was obscured, and there wasn’t even a trace of light outside anymore.
Worried, he answered quietly before turning to leave.
“We finally managed to settle down, and now we have to run for our lives again.”
Those words left Chu Tian and Xiao Ziran feeling miserable.
Yes.
They were exhausted from constantly running for their lives.
Ever since leaving the villa district, they had spent almost every day in danger. There was no absolutely safe place in the apocalypse.
When would these days finally come to an end?
Thinking about it carefully, the days they had spent in the villa had actually been the most peaceful.
Chu Tian sighed softly before continuing.
“In a little while, we’ll head toward the north side of the city. In the end, we’re heading north anyway.”
“Leave the city?” The doctor frowned.
“No.” Chu Tian shook his head. “Leaving the city would be even more dangerous. At least there are still some defenses inside the city. We’ll go over there and find an exit out of the city, then wait for the right opportunity to leave.”
“That may be our only option.”
The doctor tilted his head and thought for a moment before smiling and asking Chu Tian a question.
“Suppose everyone in J City stood united today and resolutely fought back. Would you stay behind and live or die with them?”
Chu Tian froze.
He seriously considered the question.
After a while, he smiled as well.
“Maybe I would. What about you?”
“I probably would too. After all, fighting together gives us a better chance of survival than fighting on our own, doesn’t it?” Xiao Ziran said.
His gaze, however, passed through the window and settled on the sky outside.
“What the hell is this thing?”
It sounded as though he was asking Chu Tian, but also as though he were asking himself.
Chu Tian shrugged.
“Who the hell knows? But it definitely isn’t anything good.”
After saying that, Chu Tian brought the conversation back to the matter at hand, and the two began discussing various details about the journey.
Outside the North City Wall
Pei Qianxing brought his two companions to the sealed-off route into the city.
Looking at the fifteen-meter-high concrete wall that had been deliberately constructed there, the two ability users were completely at a loss.
No wonder Cai Yuanhan had so much confidence in J City’s defenses.
Just looking at this carefully constructed wall was enough to see how much effort they had put into their defensive fortifications.
“Captain, this wall is too high. My ability is only Level Two. There’s no way I can move it,” the earth-type ability user said.
He and the other fire-type ability user had only recently reached the late stage of Level Two.
The tallest earth wall he could construct was only three meters high. There was simply no way he could shake this enormous structure.
And the other man’s fire-type ability was even less useful here.
This reinforced-concrete wall was so sturdy that even fire couldn’t burn through it.
Pei Qianxing remained silent.
He merely glanced at them before extending his right hand.
Six vines shot through the air, flying straight toward the far end of the wall.
The six vines moved incredibly quickly.
They reached the top in an instant and anchored themselves there.
“I’ll go up first. Once I’m up there, I’ll pull you two up,” Pei Qianxing said calmly.
“Okay, okay.”
The two ability users had just nodded when suddenly, something in the distance shot toward them with a whoosh.
Pei Qianxing reacted the fastest.
A vine shot out and pierced the object in midair, flinging it away.
Only after taking a closer look did they realize that it was an enormous rat the size of a cat.
“A mutated beast?”
Pei Qianxing frowned.
The two ability users had only just breathed a sigh of relief when they saw a dark, surging wave approaching from the distance.
A wave?
There couldn’t be waves on land.
What was that?!
By now, the strange dark cloud had completely covered the sky, making it impossible to see anything in the distance.
But all three of them simultaneously sensed the danger.
Pei Qianxing’s right hand twitched as he grabbed one of the vines, preparing to use it to pull himself up the city wall.
But at that moment, one of his companions suddenly grabbed him.
It was the earth-type ability user.
He looked at Pei Qianxing with a hint of distrust in his eyes.
“Captain, once you get up there, you’ll pull us up too, right?”
His voice was filled with worry and uncertainty.
The fire-type ability user also looked nervously at Pei Qianxing.
Pei Qianxing forcibly suppressed the displeasure rising inside him.
His expression remained completely emotionless, but his voice turned somewhat cold.
“Of course. I was planning to get you into the city in the first place!”
Only then did the earth-type ability user release his grip.
Even so, he remained uneasy, hesitation and suspicion already visible in his eyes.
Pei Qianxing was furious inside, but he said nothing more.
He merely moved his right hand slightly, and the vine began lifting him toward the top of the city wall.
The delay had given the black wave even more time to approach.
The two men, sensing the danger, no longer cared about waiting for Pei Qianxing to pull them up.
They grabbed the other vines themselves and began climbing.
Unfortunately, neither of them knew how to climb properly.
Every time they climbed a little, they fell.
The more anxious they became, the faster they fell.
After a while, Pei Qianxing finally reached the top of the wall.
By then, the “wave” was already right in front of them.
And the true form of the “wave” was finally revealed—
A swarm of rats!
A massive swarm made up of enormous rats!
They were rushing toward them at incredible speed, their sharp squeaking already filling the air.
The two men immediately panicked.
They frantically grabbed and tugged at the vines again, crying out anxiously,
“Captain! Captain! Save us!”
“Don’t leave us behind, Captain!”
The two screamed desperately.
Pei Qianxing, already standing atop the wall, frowned slightly but still activated his ability, trying to pull the two men up onto the wall.
However—
He failed!
He tried three times, and all three attempts failed!
That battle with Xiao Ziran had not left him completely unharmed.
His ability and physical strength had been severely depleted.
Unlike Xiao Ziran, who had been taken away to rest immediately after the battle, with his teammates taking care of him and a healing-type ability user helping him recover his strength, Pei Qianxing had received none of that.
After fighting Xiao Ziran, he had immediately felt his blood and qi churning, and his body had been heavily drained.
He hadn’t gotten proper rest during the entire journey back to the area outside the city.
He had even needed to spend his energy helping the two men come up with a plan.
Only now, after using his ability again, did he truly feel the exhaustion in his body and the emptiness of his physical strength.
“I can only pull one person up at a time. Wait a little longer.”
Pei Qianxing shouted down to them.
With a casual motion, he pulled the fire-type ability user up.
The second sentence was directed at the earth-type ability user.
In truth, Pei Qianxing had already assessed the situation.
Although things looked urgent, there was still plenty of time to pull both men up before the swarm of rats arrived.