Under the blazing sun, Xia Leng pressed onward, covering another 0 kilometers or so. He was still halfway from his first destination.
The sky remained cloudless, and the enormous sun poured all its magnificent radiance down upon the earth.
It couldn't help reminding Xia Leng of a popular children's song from the old era:
I have a beautiful wish
When I grow up, I'll plant the sun
I'll plant one that bears many, many suns
One to give to Antarctica
One to give to the Arctic Ocean
One to hang in winter
Hang in winter
One to hang at night
Hang at night
He was starting to wonder if some brat had actually succeeded in planting the sun...
Fortunately, after leaving the highway, Xia Leng entered a dilapidated town.
The empty town was silent. The streets were just as littered with rust-covered wrecks, while creeping vines grew and spread unchecked, wrapping tightly around every protruding object and dressing the city in a layer of green.
These seemingly gentle plants were anything but. The moment you got close, their wrist-thick vines would whip around you like pythons, binding and hoisting you tight until every bone in your body was crushed. Then the sharp spines on their surfaces would pierce your skin and suck you dry, leaving only a withered husk.
The doors of the various shops lining the streets stood open, but inside, everything was in disarray. Anything of value had long since been scavenged by other drifters or mercenary groups.
Deeper inside the buildings, he might still find something like expired food. But going in blindly was no different from walking straight into a den of mutated monsters.
Xia Leng walked along the street, using the shop signs to shield himself from the scorching sunlight.
As long as he didn't venture inside the buildings, the light-averse mutated beasts wouldn't attack him.
But there were still others who could adapt to any environment—and quietly strike a far deadlier blow!
Xia Leng walked beneath the shadows, then suddenly stopped and stood motionless, like a wooden puppet.
He used his keen hearing to detect what was happening behind him. He knew the three bikers had been following him ever since he left the bar.
They still hadn't made a move. Perhaps they were unsure whether Xia Leng was a Baptized One.
Could they be planning to avenge the two companions who had probably already become the feces of some other mutated creature?
In truth, it was more likely that the three had their eyes on the valuable Light Blue Crystal that might be inside Xia Leng's skull—enough to keep them going for a long time.
An ordinary person wasn't entirely without a chance against a first-tier Baptized One, but they needed a gun—and good aim.
Each of the three had a modified homemade shotgun, and those were their greatest source of confidence.
No matter how strong your regenerative abilities were, it would be hard to grow back a brain after a shotgun blast at close range blew your head apart. At best, you'd end up like Tai Sui, a vegetable that grew new flesh as fast as it was cut away.
Xia Leng didn't want to waste any more time with them, so he decided to deal with them right there in town.
The buildings in town offered places to hide, which was better than becoming a sitting duck for enemy bullets in the open wilderness.
After a brief moment of thought, Xia Leng turned and entered an abandoned general store beside the street.
Meanwhile, five hundred meters away, on a hill at the edge of town,
the three bikers in black leather jackets and sunglasses sat astride their motorcycles, watching the area where Xia Leng had gone with their binoculars.
"That bastard's been in there for nearly ten minutes and still hasn't come out. Think he found something valuable?"
They had watched Xia Leng enter through their binoculars, but he hadn't come back out.
Buildings were relatively dangerous places during the day. Ordinary people usually wouldn't stay inside for long—unless they weren't ordinary.
"Big Brother, I think that guy might have realized we're following him. Maybe he's setting a trap and waiting for us to take the bait. Should we wait a little longer?"
"Yeah, let's wait a bit. I refuse to believe he'd dare sleep in a monster's den."
So they stayed at their advantageous vantage point on the hillside and waited some more.
But this time they waited nearly another ten minutes. Xia Leng was in the shade, while they were out under the sun, roasting until sweat poured off them like a waterfall. Even the parasol they'd picked up somewhere barely helped.
At last, the bikers couldn't take it anymore. The scorching sun had made them furious.
"Fuck!! I refuse to believe three guns can't take down a first-tier strength-type Baptized One!"
The biker leader dropped the parasol, twisted the throttle, and rode his motorcycle straight down the hill. His two underlings hurried after him.
They were so sure Xia Leng was a first-tier Baptized One because his thin frame didn't look particularly strong. But he had crushed someone's wrist bone with just his fingers—a feat beyond the strength of an ordinary person.
So they guessed Xia Leng was a newly transformed Baptized One. He hadn't had his abilities for long, and probably wasn't very good at controlling his strength yet.
These bikers had hunted Baptized Ones who were still struggling to accept their transformation before, digging out valuable blue crystals from their bodies. That was why they were so interested in Xia Leng.
They had never once considered avenging their companions.
Elsewhere, Xia Leng had remained inside the general store without showing himself. Sitting against the wall, he regulated his breathing evenly, conserving as much energy as possible for the three men who were about to arrive.
He pulled the loaded Peace Gun from his backpack and gripped it, hoping it would still fire properly after the leader had spent so long maintaining it.
If he had to fight the three bikers hand to hand, Xia Leng was absolutely confident he could defeat them.
His concern was the three homemade shotguns they carried. Xia Leng had gained a self-healing ability with remarkable regenerative power, but healing also consumed a great deal of his energy and stamina.
Once his stamina ran out—or he took a bullet to the head—he might never recover again.
"You finally decided to show up."
Xia Leng's expressionless face turned toward the approaching rumble of motorcycles. He could guess that the men had grown impatient after roasting in the sun. They didn't even want to sneak up on him anymore; they were heading straight for his position.
His fingertip rested lightly on the pistol's trigger. Pressed against the wall, he held the gun with perfect form. The moment an enemy appeared in his line of sight, he would raise the pistol and pull the trigger without hesitation.
Although Xia Leng had never fired a gun before, knowledge of how to shoot seemed to have already existed in his mind—and he could put it into practice.
Screech—
The shrill squeal of three motorcycles braking rang out as they stopped around the general store.
Xia Leng heard the faint crunch of their boots on the gravel as they slowly approached his position.
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