Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

Xie Ning glanced sideways, shooting her an expressionless look.

’What a pest!’

’Following me all this way, "Xie Ning, Xie Ning..." Xie Ning, my ass!’

"Xie Ning." Li Xiang rushed toward her, panting, and grabbed her arm without a word. "Come on, come on, come with me! Let me tell you, I-I-I saw a... a huge monster! It’s, it’s as tall as a two-story building! It’s massive!"

"I’m telling you, it’s unbelievable! Hitting it with an Electromagnetic Cannon does nothing."

Li Xiang’s grip was surprisingly strong. Xie Ning was pulled forward a step before Gu Chen scooped his girlfriend back to his side.

"Who are you!"

"I’m Li Xiang!" Li Xiang turned and glared at Gu Chen. "Aren’t you Xie Ning’s boyfriend? You don’t even know who I am? What kind of boyfriend... are you? We’re from the same village! I’m her neighbor and her best friend. We’ve been together since we were kids playing in the mud!"

Xie Ning stepped forward, wanting to clamp a hand over Li Xiang’s flapping mouth.

’So annoying!’

Gu Chen gave the woman a speechless look, pulled his girlfriend to his side, and stared at her expressionlessly. "What do you want."

"Weren’t you listening? I already told you, it’s as tall as a two-story building! *This* tall! And as big as a truck."

"What is two stories tall?"

"Agh, I can’t explain it properly. Just come with me!" Li Xiang’s face flushed red as she once again moved to drag Xie Ning by the arm.

Xie Ning glanced at her boyfriend. "Let’s have someone keep watch here while we go with her to take a look. She dropped out of elementary school, so her communication skills are a bit lacking. She probably can’t explain it clearly."

"What’d you say?" Li Xiang’s eyes widened as she stared at Xie Ning, shooting daggers at her.

’Xie Ning is mocking her for being uncultured again, isn’t she?’

’Being uncultured was a lifelong regret. If she’d known Xie Ning would be mocking her like this now, she would have forced herself to stay in school back then. At least if she’d graduated elementary school, she wouldn’t be on the receiving end of Xie Ning’s disdainful looks.’

Xie Ning pulled Gu Chen along, following behind the hurrying Li Xiang.

Li Xiang led the way, gesticulating wildly as she ran. "It’s as tall as a two-story building! You have to figure out a way to deal with it. What rank is your Gold Element at now? Can you handle it?"

"How far can your Visual Ability see now?"

"About three kilometers," Li Xiang said, lifting her chin smugly. "Within three kilometers, there’s nothing I can’t see."

"Then how far away is this truck-like thing you were talking about?"

"Two kilometers—no, now it’s only one kilometer away! The thing is moving incredibly fast! Hey, hurry up, you guys! I think it’s heading for the east gate."

Gu Chen couldn’t help but press his temples. "Can you describe what this two-story-tall, truck-like thing looks like?"

"It’s... just greenish, covered all over with vines. It’s a total monstrosity!"

Xie Ning and Gu Chen exchanged a look and blurted out, "A mutated plant?"

"Yes, yes, yes! That’s it, a mutated plant."

’Xie Ning wanted nothing more than to slap Li Xiang on the back of the head. ’Yes, yes, yes, my ass! Why couldn’t you have just said ’mutated plant’ from the beginning? You wasted all that breath spraying spit everywhere for ages, only for us to be the ones to figure it out in the end.’’

’Never mind anything else, just from Li Xiang’s description of something ’two stories tall,’ she’d initially thought it was some kind of animal, like a mutated python.’

"Get all the Wood Element Superpower Users and Fire Ability Users over here," Xie Ning said, her expression grave.

’Whatever that damned mutated plant was, judging by how incoherent Li Xiang was, it had to be a troublesome foe.’

Gu Chen nodded. He turned to give a few instructions, and several soldiers immediately hurried off to gather reinforcements.

"You go get treated first. I’ll go check it out. Come find me after you’re done." Xie Ning tugged on the man’s sleeve, giving him a sharp, frowning glance.

"Okay." Gu Chen nodded, looking aggrieved. "Be careful on your own, then. If anything happens, wait for me to get there before you act."

"Go now!"

At his girlfriend’s command, Gu Chen quickly turned and left.

Li Xiang glanced over with envy. "Xie Ning, what kind of luck do you have? Where did you find such a handsome, obedient, and docile boyfriend?"

Xie Ning could no longer restrain her twitching palm. She smacked Li Xiang on the back of the head. "From now on, you shut your mouth!"

’If you don’t know how to talk, then don’t talk at all.’

’What’s with ’handsome, obedient, and docile’? She made it sound like Comrade Xiao Gu was some kind of boy toy. Unbelievable!’

The two of them ran all the way, and just as they reached the eastern watchtower, they saw Cres come flying up to them. "Woman, you’re here! Let me tell you, the situation isn’t looking good."

"The size of this zombie horde hasn’t decreased in the slightest, and they’re still pouring endlessly toward our base."

"Not only that, I’ve also sensed something extremely dangerous advancing on us at high speed. Do you feel it? Try to sense it!" Cres circled her anxiously. "What should we do? What do we do, what do we do?"

Xie Ning, however, appeared calm. "I just used my Spirit Perception. A big one is coming, but it shouldn’t be a major problem."

Li Xiang’s eyes widened as she leaned in close to Xie Ning. "Xie Ning, you have Spiritual Sense, too?"

"Shut up!"

As Xie Ning’s two words fell, Li Xiang quickly clamped both hands over her own mouth.

"Isn’t there a Fire Ability User on your team? What’s... what’s his name again?"

"Bai Liang."

"Right. Have him come over at once," Xie Ning said with a grim face. "Once all the Fire and Wood Element Superpower Users are gathered, they’ll all follow me."

"Where to?" Li Xiang asked instinctively.

After being silenced by a glare from Xie Ning, she didn’t dare say another useless word and hurried off to find Xu Bailiang.

Cres clasped his hands behind his back and paced in front of Xie Ning. "No, no, that’s too dangerous. You can’t do that."

"If something happens to you, I won’t be able to face Aunt Song. And Grandpa and Grandma would be heartbroken."

Both amused and exasperated, Xie Ning flicked his little head. "Such a little adult. Does your big sister need you to answer for her?"

Three minutes later, Song Kexin and a group of Fire Ability Users came running over, forming a sweaty circle around her.

Lu Wei stepped forward quickly. "There are thirty-five Fire Ability Users here, and twenty-eight Wood Element ones. Ningning, what’s the plan?"

Xie Ning swept her gaze over the many solemn-faced Fire Ability Users. "There’s only one way. You’re all coming with me to charge out. The Wood Element Superpower Users will be responsible for restraining the mutated plant. The Fire Ability Users just need to unleash fire in all directions."

One of the Fire Ability Users glanced at the overwhelming zombie horde below and asked, trembling, "Ch-charge? Charge out?"

’Is she kidding?’

’The area below is completely swarming with zombies, and she’s telling us to charge out?’

’How are we supposed to do that? Charge out just to be completely surrounded by the horde and end up as zombie chow?’

Xie Ning’s eyes curved. She took a deep breath. "The mutated plant will be in our line of sight in three minutes."

"And to the west, there is a Sixth Rank Mutated Ice Zombie."