Chapter 226: Escape
"Whether it’s for ourselves or for the next generation, we must get stronger as quickly as possible."
"You see, we’ve all been too complacent."
That’s why we were powerless against the overwhelming tide of mutated creatures.
Because they were weak, when the Third-tier Enhancement Ability User, Zhang Zhennong, appeared at their home, their entire family could do nothing but be beaten and bullied.
Because they were weak, they would likely keep losing things.
So, if they didn’t want to live such a stifled, frustrating life, they had to constantly strive to become stronger. Work hard, and get stronger.
"I want to live, and live well." Song You’ai squeezed her daughter’s hand. "I want to be strong enough to protect Ningning, and even strong enough to help those who need and deserve it, without any hesitation."
"Since there’s no going back completely." Song You’ai gazed intently into the silent night, then turned to meet her daughter’s eyes and said softly, "Let’s just look forward. I hope... things will slowly get better."
Xie Ning pursed her lips, a faint smile gracing their corners.
This apocalypse was accelerating, spiraling toward a future she didn’t recognize.
The high temperatures persisted, creatures mutated, and humanity’s living space shrank, herded by monsters toward an unknown future.
October fourth. Lanshan Lake Base fell.
Xie Ning took the same path as her previous life, heading for Golden City Base.
But this time was different. She was no longer alone!
The minibus was far in the lead, speeding down the road.
"Uncle Yong, stay farther away from Ta Lake."
"Got it!" It wasn’t like there were traffic rules anymore. Zhu Yong slammed on the accelerator, driving straight down the middle of the road and away from the waters of Ta Lake.
"Which way once we’re on the bridge?"
"Toward Golden City." Xie Ning stared at the cross-lake bridge ahead and took a deep breath. "Uncle Yong, you just focus on driving. We’ll handle any emergencies."
Zhu Yong knew the situation was dire and immediately focused, pressing the accelerator to the floor.
Xie Ning slid open a window and said to everyone, "Whatever comes out of the water, just attack!"
Everyone in the bus sat bolt upright, windows open and ready for battle.
Yet, by the time Zhu Yong had floored it to the center of the cross-lake bridge, the water on both sides was still as quiet as the grave.
Li Dawei and the others following the minibus were smart. Having guessed that Xie Ning would flee ahead of schedule, they had eaten an early dinner and were now full of energy.
Li Xiang slumped in the back seat, pounding his legs. "You know... does this Xie Ning have some kind of special superpower? Why does it feel like she’s clairvoyant or something?"
Li Dawei, fanning himself with an old newspaper, said, "Now that you mention it, she really does."
’Anyway, following Xie Ning meant survival. If they had to put up with her scorn or even a beating, they’d just have to accept their fate.’
’After all, saving their own skin was what mattered most.’
Inside the Fierce Tiger Squad’s second vehicle, a seven-seater minivan, about ten people were packed so tightly the windows looked ready to burst.
Wu Qiuyun was squeezed into a corner of the back seat, clutching a large red, white, and blue woven bag. She shoved at Ge Yan, who was pressed up against her.
"What are you doing? Stop moving around. It’s already sweltering," Ge Yan said with a look of annoyance.
"Don’t forget I contributed a lot of food. By rights, I should be in the first vehicle."
Ge Yan scoffed. "The captain’s with his senior and junior wives. You want to fight for a spot in the first car? Are you trying to be his third concubine?"
"Pfft." At a time like this, Uncle Ge Liang truly wondered how he could manage to laugh.
Wu Qiuyun’s face was flushed with anger.
She hadn’t had a single easy day since leaving the Song Family Pavilion for the base.
Despite joining the Fierce Tiger Squad, she never went on missions and was basically just living off her reserves, which were quickly depleting.
She watched as her luggage and bags dwindled one by one. In just half a month, the dozens of pounds of rice, oil, and salt she had brought with her were completely consumed by the locusts in her squad.
And now they resented her for being an ordinary person who couldn’t kill zombies and were reluctant to let her escape with them.
’All her rice, flour, and oil had been spent on these people!’
The driver was Chen Juan’s husband. Li Dawei had noticed that he was a decent Power-type Superpower User during the last two missions and recruited them both.
However, ever since losing their son and grandson, the couple always wore a depressive air, usually keeping to themselves and rarely speaking.
Mr. Wang had taken the entire front passenger seat for himself, not bothering to squeeze in with the eight people behind him, but his gaze kept furtively flicking to the woman beside Chen Man’er.
The woman’s name was Jin Mingzhu, and she claimed to be Base Chief Zhang’s ex-wife.
She said she had gone out shopping, only to return and find her home ransacked and the base chief dead.
In the midst of the chaos, she had flagged down Li Dawei’s vehicle.
Li Dawei, for his part, had no other hobbies—he was a dedicated womanizer.
Coupled with a hero complex, the moment he saw the voluptuous stunner flagging down his car, he took the bait.
You had to admit, she was a genuinely clean and beautiful woman.
Compared to someone like Chen Man’er, who probably hadn’t bathed in a month and was both dirty and smelly, Jin Mingzhu was also very attractive to Mr. Wang.
And so, this group of people, each with their own ulterior motives, set out with one goal in mind: stick close to Xie Ning!
"They’re here!" Xie Ning’s eyes narrowed. She stuck her head out the window and glanced behind them.
’The things in the water have gotten smarter. They’re waiting.’
’Waiting for every vehicle to get onto the cross-lake bridge before they all attack together.’
As bus after bus and military truck after military truck drove onto the cross-lake bridge, the water below suddenly began to churn violently.
Limp, seaweed-like plants climbed onto the bridge’s railings, lying dormant.
As vehicles passed, they would suddenly unfurl a bundle of leaves, revealing sharp "teeth" like a steel saw in the center.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! Song You’ai, Song Kexin, and Song Shijun, armed with Ice Blades, Fireballs, and Wind Blades, were positioned at various windows from front to back.
They kept Xie Ning’s words firmly in mind: no matter what leaped out of the water, their job was to kill it.
The Ice Blades swiftly froze the bundled, advancing weeds, but the Fireballs were even more effective.
A single Fireball set a small patch of the weeds boiling and burning.
While controlling her Space Blades to cleanly sweep away the plants climbing onto the bus, Xie Ning simultaneously used her spiritual power to remotely collect the Crystal Cores that fell onto the bridge.
Just over ten days ago, these aquatic plants were only at the Initial Stage.
Now, however, they were showing signs of evolving to the Second Order.
This meant the world’s plants were mutating even faster than she had imagined.
"Incredible! Aunt Song, could you give me that frozen leaf blade to run some experiments on?"
"Ningning! Ningning! And those tooth-like leaves, give me one or two for samples."
Yu Tianfeng kept chiming in. With a sense of resignation, Xie Ning grabbed a few frozen samples for him while continuing to collect Crystal Cores.
’She was starting to realize that kid, Yu Tianfeng, probably had a Space ability.’
’The large plastic bag of Lanshan Medicinal Plants she had given him before had been planted in all sorts of pots and then had subsequently vanished.’
’He would definitely take those things with him; they were as precious to him as his own life.’
’Since he hadn’t asked Ji Taixian for help, it meant he was capable of carrying them on his own.’