Drawing Great Trouble

Time passed second by second...

Mu Xiao continuously transmitted data from his Consciousness Sea into the motorcycle racer's power system. The proficiency of Mechanical Mastery kept rising, and the comprehension required kept increasing. Combined with his mechanical knowledge from before his rebirth, his speed grew faster and faster, but he was still just short of breaking through to the first realm.

"The startup mode is basically complete!"

Mu Xiao forcefully lifted the entire motorcycle racer upright, swung himself onto the seat, and issued a basic command to the Optical Brain in the power system. "Modify—unregistered driving!"

Unregistered driving meant anyone could operate it without identity verification.

Just as Mu Xiao was about to call An Rongru onto the vehicle, he sharply sensed a violent, sinister aura rapidly approaching from nearby.

"Get on!"

Mu Xiao shouted at An Rongru while activating the Thermal Motorcycle Racer's energy. A low rumble slowly rose from the thermal pipes at the rear, and the enormous power system started up, giving the vehicle the feeling that it could shoot out like a bullet at any moment.

Seeing the alarm on Mu Xiao's face, An Rongru immediately understood that something unexpected had happened. She did not dare ask questions and swiftly climbed onto the seat.

"Hold on tight!" Mu Xiao said quickly. Before An Rongru could reply, he twisted the throttle. The Thermal Motorcycle Racer let out a deep roar like a beast, fiery red energy blasting from its thermal pipes as the whole vehicle shot away like a gale.

"Ah!"

An Rongru cried out and instinctively wrapped her arms around Mu Xiao's sturdy waist.

When Mu Xiao first told her to hold tight, An Rongru had hesitated. After all, she had not taken the initiative to have intimate contact with a man for more than ten years. She was unaccustomed to such an embrace from behind, one as intimate as lovers. But the Thermal Motorcycle Racer accelerated too suddenly, and in her fright, she could no longer care about propriety.

Gusts of fierce wind howled past them.

After she calmed down, she realized she was intimately holding a man she had known for less than a day. Her cheeks grew slightly warm.

However, with several layers of thick clothing between them, An Rongru did not feel too embarrassed. Gradually, she discovered that holding him like this gave her an indescribable sense of security. This unprecedented feeling of steadiness and reliance stirred the softness and tenderness in her heart, and her body and cheeks edged slightly closer to Mu Xiao's back.

"Fuck! So that thing was nearby all along!" Mu Xiao cursed, completely ruining the mood. In the rearview mirror, he clearly saw the wild, violent storm of dust behind them intensifying as it charged closer, sometimes leaping off buildings like an ape.

Mu Xiao understood that the monster had already set its sights on them.

Although An Rongru knew he was not talking about her, she still hurriedly pulled her body and cheeks farther away as though she had been caught doing something wrong. With her cheeks burning, she asked, "What kind of monster is that behind us?"

She too saw a humanoid monster rapidly chasing them from behind. Suddenly, it let out a terrifyingly cruel howl, carried over by the roaring wind. It seemed to carry the stench of blood, making her heart tremble with fear.

"It's a guard from the Lawyer Building, but it underwent an extreme mutation. It became an advanced mutant far more brutal and terrifying than zombies—a Mutant Human for short." Mu Xiao briefly explained to An Rongru, his gaze repeatedly sweeping toward the rearview mirror to watch the Mutant Human's pursuit.

This Mutant Human was the guard Mu Xiao had personally seen evolve through a genetic mutation when he and Water Bailan were preparing to leave the secret room. He had thought the Mutant Human had already left the Lawyer Building, but he had not expected a few grenades to draw it back.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, a sharp gale rose behind them as chunks of unknown hard objects hurtled toward them at high speed. An Rongru was directly behind Mu Xiao. If he could not evade them, she would definitely be struck and severely injured. If several of those objects hit her, she would never survive and would only die faster.

The motorcycle racer darted aside like lightning. At the same time, Mu Xiao used Telekinesis to strike the hard objects, slightly altering their flight paths.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

Those hard objects turned out to be rocks and metal fragments. They had clearly been picked up by the Guard Mutant Human and used as ranged weapons. One object after another shot toward them like bullets. The most terrified was An Rongru behind Mu Xiao. She fully felt the danger coming from behind. Every whistle of an incoming object cutting through the air was like Death swinging its scythe, constantly slicing past her.

Mu Xiao drove the Thermal Motorcycle Racer like a gale, swiftly dodging the many wrecked cars and obstacles on the road, as well as some zombies that had heard the commotion and lunged at them. At the same time, he had to focus on avoiding the hard objects being thrown from behind. He immediately felt immense strain. If not for his Mental Power sensing the front and rear, allowing him to clearly perceive the obstacles ahead and the trajectories of the incoming objects behind, the motorcycle racer would barely have been able to handle the situation. Otherwise, they might have already crashed.

Without nimble reflexes, it was impossible to synchronize sensory awareness and bodily movements as Mu Xiao did and carry out such highly responsive evasions.

Dust billowed into the air, forming a winding dragon of earth. The Guard Mutant Human chased them madly, firing volleys of sand and stones, while some zombies ahead recklessly charged at them. Mu Xiao had no choice but to slow the Thermal Motorcycle Racer to evade them, but with obstacle after obstacle before him, driving became increasingly difficult. He had even less chance to free a hand to counterattack, so he could only let An Rongru strike back.

"Don't just sit there waiting to die! Shoot back! Use grenades!" Mu Xiao felt An Rongru trembling slightly. It was normal for her to be afraid under the pressure of death behind her, so he shouted a reminder. "If you counterattack, you can disrupt the Mutant Human's attacks and stop it from getting closer. That gives us a better chance of staying safe!"

"I... I understand."

Upon hearing that, An Rongru abruptly turned around and fired a shot. Unfortunately, her aim was terrible. A pale blue beam shot off into the distance, completely missing the Guard Mutant Human. Even she felt her face flush at such awful marksmanship. The Guard Mutant Human did not even dodge. Instead, it hurled another pile of tiny stones at them, spraying them out like a shotgun blast.

The scattered stones covered an area of roughly two meters. Mu Xiao's eyes narrowed. He knew they could not evade them, so he could only increase his Telekinesis output and form an invisible shield, blocking most of the stones. The rest struck the debris along the roadside outside the vehicle, producing a rapid series of sharp clatters.

"Use the High-Explosive Grenades! Watch the grenade model..." Mu Xiao knew that marksmanship was not something one could master overnight unless one had an appropriate ability enhancement. Reaching godlike shooting skill was especially difficult against a Mutant Human with high-speed mobility. Even ordinary police officers might not be able to keep up with its movements, much less An Rongru, a complete rookie.

An Rongru also knew that most of her shots were useless. Following Mu Xiao's instructions, she took out a High-Explosive Grenade, carefully gauged the speed of the motorcycle racer, and lightly tossed it into the Guard Mutant Human's path.

She focused on the grenade she had thrown and thought, At this speed, if I throw it too hard, that monster might pass it. If I use less force and make the arc higher, it should keep it from getting past and block its advance. If I miss this time, I can adjust the force of my throw...

An Rongru did not seek a direct hit. She only wanted to obstruct the Guard Mutant Human's attack and slow it down.

"As expected, desperate situations are the best training for rapid growth." Mu Xiao's Mental Power was constantly sensing the front and rear, so naturally he could perceive that An Rongru had thrown the grenade correctly.

Boom!

A massive burst of fire exploded on a building, sending large chunks of debris tumbling down in front of the Guard Mutant Human. It had no choice but to brake sharply and dodge in a disheveled scramble. This allowed the Thermal Motorcycle Racer Mu Xiao was driving to pull ahead by some distance, and the barrage of incoming hard objects temporarily ceased.

"Not bad. Keep throwing grenades." Mu Xiao felt the pressure ease greatly. Only then could he spare attention to use Telekinesis to draw out the Laser Pistol floating before him, firing beams to pick off the zombies blocking the road and charging through their interception during the opening.

Using Telekinesis to fire a gun was not difficult. As long as the muzzle was aimed forward and the trigger was pulled, it could shoot ahead. Since the zombies were charging directly at them, hitting them was even easier. If Mu Xiao repaired several Laser Pistols, a volley of fire would clear the zombies blocking the road even faster.

Of course, this type of control did not offer high accuracy and could only be used for crowd killing. It also consumed a considerable amount of Telekinesis, since every additional degree of control placed additional strain on his mind.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

An Rongru once again successfully disrupted the Guard Mutant Human's advance. Her confidence immediately surged, and she threw two High-Explosive Grenades in succession, constantly blocking its path. The attacks from behind almost vanished.

This was because the Guard Mutant Human radiated a ferocious and violent aura, and many zombies did not dare launch a frenzied pursuit. The Mutant Human was like a king. The lowest-tier zombies, being lower in the evolutionary hierarchy, were naturally suppressed by it and did not dare compete with it for food. Just like in the animal kingdom, the evolutionary ranks were even more apparent.

Following the direction An Rongru had given him earlier, Mu Xiao soon entered the villa district. Before long, a private road appeared ahead, surrounded by landscaped woods. As An Rongru had said, there were not many zombies wandering through this lush green garden. The Guard Mutant Human behind them also seemed to have been left behind and did not catch up again.

But Mu Xiao knew the Mutant Human would not so easily give up its prey. Especially after suffering setbacks from several attacks, its vicious and vengeful nature meant it would sooner or later track them down through the lingering scent.

Once one encountered a Mutant Human, it was a fight to the death. Otherwise, it would haunt them endlessly.

Mu Xiao slowed down, freed a hand to retrieve the Laser Pistol suspended before him with Telekinesis, and shot several zombies rushing toward them. Then he asked An Rongru behind him, "Do you know how to drive this motorcycle?"

"Hm?" An Rongru had been watching the situation behind them and had not noticed that the speed had slowed. Only when Mu Xiao spoke did she snap back to her senses. "I don't, but the Optical Brain system in this kind of racer should have autopilot..."

"I haven't completely repaired the Optical Brain system on this vehicle. Otherwise, we would have shaken off that Mutant Human long ago." Just as Mu Xiao said, the Thermal Motorcycle Racer's speed earlier had not even reached half of its original capability. Its hovering wind-speed mode had not been activated, and more than half of its auxiliary functions had yet to be repaired.

"The Mutant Human behind us won't give up. I'm going to hide and ambush it, then eliminate this potential threat." Mu Xiao explained the terrifying danger posed by the Mutant Human.

Thinking of a monster more terrifying than a ghost lurking in the shadows and constantly craving her flesh, An Rongru shuddered from head to toe, her face turning pale.

"Then what should we do?" An Rongru thought that she might lead that terrifying monster to her villa and perhaps endanger her daughter's life. She became even more anxious.

She had never let herself think the worst about her daughter—that she might have died in the mouths of those monsters. Because she had a feeling that her daughter was definitely still alive. Especially after becoming one of the New Humans, that feeling had grown even stronger. Imperceptibly, she had come to believe that her feeling was right.