At the sound of Ma Tianming's screams, several people rushed out of the gymnasium.
Zhao Tao, wearing a red T-shirt, led them.
When they saw Ma Tianming bound by vines, their faces changed. They turned and ran back into the gymnasium.
Without a moment's hesitation, they abandoned Ma Tianming!
In utter despair and agony, Ma Tianming died...
Watching the bloody scene through the drone's aerial camera, Shen Yi and Xu Wanting felt their stomachs churn. They nearly threw up!
"That bastard Zhao Tao!"
Shen Yi cursed, his face darkening.
He wasn't angry because Zhao Tao had left Ma Tianming to die. Whether Ma Tianming lived or died meant nothing to him. Dead was better.
He was angry because Zhao Tao had tried to set him up!
That was right. Zhao Tao had tried to set Shen Yi up!
He'd known there was such a terrifying mutant plant outside the gymnasium, yet he'd tried to lure Shen Yi over, even claiming he would protect him.
Damn it, Zhao Tao was rotten to the core!
Just wait until I get the chance. I'll make you pay!
As Shen Yi thought this, he said, "Bring the drone back. We might still need it later."
Just as he finished speaking and the drone rose out of the Black Fog, a piercing birdcall burst from the controller's speaker, so shrill it seemed capable of splitting their eardrums.
On the screen, a giant bird swooped down from the sky. Its talons snatched the drone out of the air and carried it upward.
Moments later, the video feed and signal were gone...
"Ah! Wh-what kind of bird was that?! It was huge!"
Xu Wanting swallowed hard, terror filling her eyes.
She'd caught only a vague glimpse through the drone's camera, but it had seemed to blot out the sun... Was that really a bird?
Even the largest eagle on Earth wasn't as big as one of that giant bird's wings!
It had to be a mutant monster!!
There were even more terrifying mutant monsters in the sky!!!
That dreadful bird inspired even more fear and dread than the Mutant Dog or the mutant vines...
At the thought of such a terrifying bird overhead, Xu Wanting hurried back into the dorm room, not daring to go near the balcony again.
The bird might be flying high, but if it suddenly dived at them, they'd have no time to dodge!
It was too fast. It had snatched the drone in an instant!
"Looks like even birds in the sky can mutate." Shen Yi's expression turned grave.
He'd thought only plants and animals on the ground, where the Black Fog had spread, would mutate. He hadn't expected birds to mutate too.
Suppressing his tangled emotions, Shen Yi looked again at his chat with Ma Tianming.
"Colorful fruit growing on plants that haven't mutated?"
Shen Yi opened Douyin and tried searching for information.
He didn't believe Zhao Tao was the only person in all of Xia Country who had gained a superpower. He wanted to see what others had to say.
Sure enough.
Someone had posted a video.
"Listen up, everyone! I've awakened a superpower! From now on, I do whatever I want!"
In the video, a boy of fifteen or sixteen made his cocky declaration and raised a hand. Numerous metal objects around him lifted into the air and hovered there.
With another wave of his hand, every object shot forward and embedded itself firmly in the wall!
If those had struck a person, they would have killed them or left them badly injured.
"What kind of power is that? Telekinesis? Magneto's powers? It looks a bit stronger than Zhao Tao's lightning."
Shen Yi kept scrolling through other videos.
But few people flaunted their superpowers so openly.
As for "colorful fruit," searching those keywords brought up nothing at all.
He didn't know whether the people who'd gained powers were keeping quiet or the platform had blocked the keywords...
Too bad the drone's gone. Otherwise, I could've used it to search for colorful fruit. Shen Yi couldn't help regretting its loss.
For now, though, he needed to switch dorm rooms first.
His room number hadn't been exposed, but he still planned to have other women come to him. What if one of them brought a group along? Wouldn't he be in danger?
So,
from now on, he would give women a false address first. He'd show himself only after confirming they'd come alone.
He'd been too naive before, not nearly cautious enough.
But after Ma Tianming had threatened him, Shen Yi's vigilance had multiplied several times over.
Whatever he did from now on, he had to think twice! Stay vigilant! Be careful!
He had to remember those six words!!
"Xu Wanting, pack your things. We're moving to another room."
"Huh? Why?"
Xu Wanting had just finished drinking some water. Caught off guard, she questioned him without thinking.
"Don't ask. Pack your things."
"Okay, I'll pack right now!"
Seeing Shen Yi's expression change, Xu Wanting didn't dare ask again.
Sometimes, she still slipped back into her old habits.
In the past, if a guy had spoken to her like that and ordered her around, Xu Wanting would have snapped at him!
She'd grown up well-off, had never suffered hardship, and was accomplished in her own right. In a normal society, she really could afford to be proud.
Unfortunately,
things weren't like they used to be.
And Shen Yi certainly wasn't the type to fawn over her.
If Xu Wanting hadn't helped him unlock new supplies and been fairly obedient today, he would have abandoned her without hesitation.
In an apocalypse, bringing a woman along was a burden more often than not.
Once they'd packed, Shen Yi took Xu Wanting to Room 610, three rooms away from Room 606.
It kept them clear of the two rooms that might be occupied and put them close to the stairwell. If danger appeared, they could escape the sixth floor at once.
Shen Yi was prying the door open when a voice suddenly came from behind him. He turned to look.
The door to Room 601, at the far end of the corridor, had opened.
He immediately went on guard, gripping his fruit knife as he watched the open doorway.
Room 601 was one of the rooms he suspected was occupied.
"Hey, don't do anything rash! I'm human!"
A person stepped out of Room 601: a short young man wearing glasses.
Seeing the knife in Shen Yi's hand, he spoke up at once, afraid Shen Yi might hurt him by mistake.
"What do you want?" Shen Yi asked, still gripping the knife warily.
Although they lived on the same floor, Shen Yi didn't know the young man.
He usually went out to work part-time jobs and had never had time to make friends.
"Well, do you have any water left? I can trade you food for it!" the young man said quickly.
If he hadn't been running out of water, he wouldn't have risked coming out to talk to a stranger.
In the current situation, people might be more dangerous than monsters!
He was something of a homebody who'd read plenty of apocalypse novels and watched plenty of movies. He knew the drill.
"Are you alone?" Shen Yi asked warily, studying the door to Room 601.
"Yeah, it's just me. I don't have a weapon either, so you two don't need to worry!"
The young man had read plenty of apocalypse novels and watched plenty of movies, but he clearly hadn't learned anything useful.
With one sentence, he'd revealed everything Shen Yi needed to know.
If Shen Yi had been a little more ruthless, he could have forced the young man to hand over his food right then. He could even have killed him.
Just then,
the door to Room 603 creaked open too...
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