In the early part of the city, after undergoing the rigorous cleansing of winter, it was now bathed in the warm colors of spring, showcasing the power of nature.
Lush vegetation seemed to have sprung up overnight. Various vines and plants crawled over familiar buildings, towering trees lined the streets, small bushes intertwined in the gaps, and even moss proliferated more extravagantly than before the apocalypse. Colorful flowers competed to bloom, and numerous small mutated creatures roamed among them. Occasionally, unidentified birds flew across the sky. Everything appeared so natural and harmonious.
Watching the beautiful scenery not far away, Xu Song shook his head slightly, “I never expected that, after just one winter, the city would become like this.”
Yue Zheng also felt a deep emotion, “If people can adapt to this world and simultaneously develop technology to protect human bases, this kind of life would be very good.”
“Yes, it’s beautiful, but it comes with some danger,” Xu Song smiled. He could feel that almost every direction around them was teeming with life. These creatures were always ready to hunt other animals as their prey, but at the same time, they could become targets for other plants and animals.
A mutated rabbit hopped a few steps in the grass, crouched at the edge of a patch of green, and began to feed. A vine, inconspicuous and sneaky, extended from the grass and suddenly entwined around the rabbit’s leg.
A cold light sprayed from the rabbit’s mouth, cutting the dishonest vine. The remaining part of the vine instantly retracted. However, before the rabbit could resume eating, a beautiful flower instantly enveloped the rabbit, tightly wrapping it in petals. Before long, whatever was inside the flower ceased to struggle.
In the beautiful nature, predation and being prey were happening everywhere. A new food chain was silently taking shape.
Xu Song and Yue Zheng moved with light footsteps, advancing towards their destination along a small path. Xiao Shu had already been released by them and was swaying happily, using its roots to follow behind the two.
“At this speed, we should reach the first target around four or five in the afternoon,” The roads in the urban area were now several times more challenging to traverse, with almost every place covered in weeds. They had to find a way to clear the roads, or even if they found something, even if there were intact cars inside, they might not be able to drive them out.
Not to mention the city’s original roads that were destroyed, even the roads near the base, after the snow and ice melted, were instantly covered with various weeds.
Xu Song took a sip of water and nodded, “Not bad, quite fast.”
Yesterday, the two saw recent satellite photos taken from high altitude. In a set of satellite images, the familiar north and south of the Great River were almost completely covered with green. This dense green made it almost impossible to recognize the original terrain. Xu Song thought the city had already turned into a primitive forest, but now it seemed relatively easy to traverse.
Yue Zheng looked around, “Can you sense the insect tide?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Xu Song furrowed his brows and shook his head, “There are many in the sewers, and there are a few scattered outside, but the numbers are very few… Why did they suddenly disappear?” How could the insect tide that was so terrifying during the winter and early spring suddenly hide when they entered the city?
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“It should be. The insects are still here, but their actions have become more discreet. Plus, with the proliferation of these plants, the insects don’t necessarily have to climb to the ground to find food.”
Xu Song first breathed a sigh of relief, then furrowed his brow, “What do we do next?”
They had been relying on the crystals from the insects to upgrade their abilities. Now that the number of insects had decreased, did that mean they had to go back to capturing mutated animals like before?
Yue Zheng stomped his foot, “There are still some underground. Find the entrance to the sewers, and we can still lure out quite a few.” The reproduction speed of insects… completely exterminating them was impossible.
“Not just the sewers, but subway lines, underground areas, and the like can also be found,” Xu Song smiled. With himself and Tianyou, finding these things was still relatively easy, just a bit more troublesome.
However, finding a sewer to lure out these creatures was much better than facing the swarms of insects that once covered the entire city.
After a brief rest, the two continued to venture deeper into the city. Since their targets were relatively small, although they encountered attacks from some mutated creatures and plants along the way, it didn’t pose much trouble. It wasn’t until a few swallows, coming down to rest, spotted the two that a small-scale battle ensued.
With Xu Song’s fire, Yue Zheng’s long-range spatial slashes, and Xiao Shu’s date seed attacks, they managed to control the time of this encounter within six minutes.
Extracting the crystal from the swallow’s brain, Xu Song poked the plump swallow with an enlarged tree branch, saying with emotion, “You guys, originally beneficial birds, why do you have a grudge against humans after mutating?”
Yue Zheng picked up a few clean-blooded swallows and threw them to Xiao Shu. Xiao Shu proudly hung them all on its branches… oh no, on its tree branches.
“Can you stop hanging them like that? It looks weird.,” Xu Song poked Xiao Shu again, and Xiao Shu responded with a confused tilt of its body, the dead swallows on its branches swaying with its tree crown.
Yue Zheng laughed as he rubbed Xiao Shu’s hair, “Let it be. When we rest later, I’ll handle them, let them air-dry, and then store them in its tree hole.”
That was the only option. Otherwise, throwing them all into the tree hole… who knows if they’ll start to stink when taken out next time. Xiao Shu’s tree hole didn’t have a preservation function.
After tidying up the swallows, the journey of the two became relatively easier. The blood scent of the swallows attracted aggressive creatures in the vicinity to the area where they had just fought. Surprisingly, they didn’t pay much attention to the two setting off again.
White buildings were covered with ivy and moss, and courtyards filled with various plants were silent. This was their first target, a certain biological research institute in the suburbs.
There should be relatively new equipment inside, as well as two off-road ambulances purchased just before the apocalypse, equipped with instruments.
These were all valuable items. The current problem was to determine if they were intact and if they could be carried out.
Xu Song carefully scanned the surroundings and pointed to the white building, “There are quite a few zombies inside… they are all huddled in the corners now, not moving. I can’t be sure if they are zombies or people occupied by passive creatures.”
Xu Song could sense zombies and other creatures, but without Tiancheng and Tianyou helping to supplement the information, he might not distinguish clearly between the two.
“What about other things? What about the plants in the courtyard?”
“They are all mutated plants. I can’t be sure if they will actively attack. There’s a pigeon nest on the roof, and in the eastern corner of the yard, there is a group of mutated mice. Their size isn’t the largest, but it’s very likely that they all have abilities.”
Yue Zheng memorized the locations pointed out by Xu Song where potentially aggressive creatures were located. Then he gave instructions to Xiao Shu behind them, “Throw a few dates at the plant in front.”
Xiao Shu’s crown powered up, “Plop, plop, plop,” and several green with red dates flew in that direction.
Before long, there were some commotion sounds in the courtyard—mutated rats lifted their heads, staring at the recently disturbed bushes. At the window, shadows were moving behind the dense ivy; the roots of several plants quietly extended in that direction…
With a “swish,” a black blade flashed, and the mutated rat felt that its whiskers and the plants in front of it were both missing a piece.
“Huhu,” white flames ignited. Despite appearing peaceful, the flames made nearby vegetation sense the breath of death, anxiously clearing a path. The startled mutated rats swiftly fled from the gap in the wall, and most plants retracted their bodies, unwilling to oppose the two humans with obvious superpowers. However, at the window, three figures emerged and rushed towards the two.
Zombies.
Seeing those three “human” figures, Xu Song and Yue Zheng instantly recognized them. They weren’t animal people, nor were they plant people; they were zombies shrouded in black aura.
However, these three zombies were noticeably different from the ones they encountered earlier. Pitch-black skin, white eyeballs, and skin that seemed like that of a mummy, but their movements were more agile, swift, and astonishing.
Yue Zheng swiftly stepped forward to confront them, while Xu Song condensed the white flames into a large net and pounced in another direction…
“Their movements have become faster, and their strength has increased. The power in their claws can almost tear through steel plates,” the end of the battle was slower than expected, making Yue Zheng’s expression somewhat solemn.
Just as Xu Song was about to speak, he suddenly pointed in the direction of the small building ahead, “A few more escaped from behind!”
The sound of breaking glass came from the back of the house, and several other zombies quickly escaped through that gap.
“Wait a minute, it’s daytime now! They can actually come out!” Xu Song suddenly realized something, raised his head, and looked towards the azure sky.
Zombies feared sunlight, at least initially. Later, the zombies they encountered, as well as those peculiar black mists, would sometimes hide in shadows where the sun couldn’t reach during the day. However, the three zombies that had just died in their hands charged out towards the sun. The few escaping from the back of the house were the same…
“Perhaps, while human abilities are evolving, their abilities are also evolving,” Yue Zheng’s brow furrowed even more.
“Not only has their strength increased, and their movements become more agile, but they can even move in the sunlight now.” Dealing with these things was becoming increasingly challenging.
Xu Song looked at him, “After we go back, let the base know.”
Yue Zheng nodded, looking at the small building in front covered entirely in green, “Now, let’s go in and see if the equipment is still there.”
Black mist zombies are back… Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🌳
… Those black misty one remind me of the one from series Kingdom.