Out at Last

"16:21"

Chu Che checked his wristwatch, then raised his eyes toward the village entrance, his expression as composed as ever.

Even as he watched the entrance, he looked utterly unruffled, showing no sign of impatience.

When he met the other survivors' eyes, his gaze was exceptionally calm.

Seeing Chu Che's composure reassured the other survivors considerably.

But deep in his eyes, a faint trace of anxiety lay hidden.

So far, neither Chen Ye, Nana, Iron Lion, nor any of the other survivors had escaped Longevity Village.

So many survivors had entered the village earlier.

Yet now, there was no sign of activity at all.

Not even the slightest sound came from inside.

They were already twenty-one minutes past the agreed time.

According to the plan, the convoy should have been on its way by now.

Ever since becoming a Guide Sequence supernatural, Chu Che had sensed danger every waking moment.

The ordinary survivors in the convoy might have wondered why their time with the convoy had been so safe and peaceful when even a metropolis like Shanghu had fallen.

Sometimes, they even felt the apocalypse was nothing but a made-up rumor.

Except that the convoy occasionally seemed to go haywire, choosing routes at random.

For instance, it would suddenly travel seven or eight kilometers forward in the morning, only to backtrack the same distance that afternoon and return to where it started.

They would agree to head east in the morning, then switch to south just before departure.

Though they couldn't quite understand their convoy leader's erratic behavior.

Life in the convoy had brought shortages of supplies, but no danger.

After so many peaceful days in the convoy, they sometimes wondered whether the supernatural apocalypse even existed.

But in Chu Che's eyes, life in the convoy was nowhere near that safe.

They were on the brink of danger every moment.

From the day he became a member of the Guide Sequence, Chu Che had been acutely sensitive to supernatural presences.

In his perception, the convoy was in danger at all times.

The road ahead might look safe.

But Chu Che could sense something utterly terrifying up ahead.

The road behind might look peaceful.

But Chu Che could sense several supernatural presences tracking the traces the convoy had left behind.

Supernatural entities followed the traces humans left wherever they lingered, hunting them down and killing them.

That was why the convoy had to stay on the road, constantly changing its position as supernatural entities tried to pinpoint its location.

A Guide's role was to find a safe route for the convoy through an apocalypse teeming with supernatural entities, ensuring the safety of everyone in it.

The reason Chu Che had set the rendezvous for four o'clock.

Was that his senses told him it was safe to remain at Longevity Village until then.

Once four o'clock passed, an unknown supernatural entity might catch up with the convoy at any moment.

Within Chu Che's perception.

A supernatural entity with a terrifying presence was approaching from roughly ten kilometers to the southwest.

It seemed to have detected the convoy's traces and was picking up speed as it headed their way.

The same thing had happened at Apricot Blossom Town.

Back then, Chu Che had sensed several terrifying supernatural presences closing in, prompting him to lead the convoy in a desperate flight.

This situation was all too similar to what had happened at Apricot Blossom Town.

Chu Che glanced at his wristwatch again.

"16:22"

I'll give you another eight minutes.

Four thirty!

If you're still not out by four thirty!

I won't be able to wait for you anymore!

Otherwise, the entire convoy will die!

The trace of worry buried deep in Chu Che's eyes grew a little stronger.

"Che!"

Uncle Abao's voice sounded beside him.

Chu Che glanced at Uncle Abao and saw the anxiety and worry in his eyes.

Chu Che gave a composed smile. "No rush, Uncle Abao. We'll wait a few more minutes and leave at four thirty!"

Uncle Abao said nothing and turned to prepare for departure.

Hearing that they were about to leave, the people in the convoy erupted into an uproar.

"They're not out yet! Where are we supposed to go?"

"No! My husband's not back yet! I'm not leaving!"

"Grandma... waaah..."

"My brother! My brother's still in there! How can we leave?"

They were now less than a hundred meters from the village entrance. At Iron Lion's current speed, they could probably get out in just a few seconds.

Chen Ye clung tightly to the straps of his backpack, his gaze anxious yet steady.

Ghostly figures surrounded them on every side.

Chen Ye couldn't tell whether these figures were Corpse Puppets or other supernatural entities.

Whispers like flickering snake tongues hissed in his ears.

"Don't leave me! Don't!"

"Heehee... won't you stay and play with me?"

"Boohoo... are you really leaving?"

"I'm so cold. The village is so cold. Won't you stay?"

"..."

Countless voices rang in Chen Ye's ears.

Among them were the voices of elderly people, women, young children, and young adults.

Some even sounded very familiar.

Like members of the convoy.

Others sounded completely unfamiliar.

Chen Ye's mind wavered.

A young man who had been about to rush out of the village stopped, turned with a dazed look, and walked into the darkness nearby, disappearing from sight.

Whoosh!

Chen Ye raised his hand and fired a bolt at a shadow in the darkness.

"Aaaah!"

A piercing scream rang out, briefly silencing the voices in his ears and restoring a little of his clarity.

The Long-Legged Girl's eyes turned cold, and she slashed her sword toward the darkness.

A streak of Sword Qi tore through the air toward it.

"Aaaaah!"

Another scream rang out!

After unleashing that streak of Sword Qi, the Long-Legged Girl swayed, nearly falling off the big lug.

Her small face was now as white as paper, as pale as a corpse that had been dead for three days.

Even her rosy lips had turned an ashen gray.

"Big lug, don't stop! Keep going!"

Chen Ye hurriedly warned him.

"Fuck!"

"Hold on tight!"

Red mist billowed from Iron Lion's towering, three-meter-plus body, and his entire aura changed dramatically.

To Chen Ye's senses, Iron Lion now felt like an ancient mammoth.

Chen Ye wound his arm through his backpack straps and used his other hand and his foot to cock the crossbow.

He had practiced cocking it one-handed plenty of times, and now that practice came in handy.

A bolt soaked in black dog blood was ready to fire.

The instant Chen Ye finished cocking the crossbow, he dimly registered a figure appearing beside him.

The figure moved incredibly fast, like an old ape in the mountains.

The Hunchbacked Old Puppet?

Chen Ye's heart jolted!

Why had the Hunchbacked Old Puppet suddenly appeared now?!

Chen Ye looked at the Hunchbacked Old Puppet and found the puppet looking back, mouth stretched into an exaggerated curve, as though smiling at him.

But the human head on the Hunchbacked Old Puppet's back stared at him with utter venom, and a faint voice reached his ears:

"Why didn't you save me? Why didn't you save me?"

"Dead. You're... all going to die! All going to die!"

"I'm the next you! I am you..."

Chen Ye raised his hand and fired!

The Hunchbacked Old Puppet neither dodged nor ducked, letting the bolt sink into an eye socket.

Before, the Hunchbacked Old Puppet had shown wariness after being struck by Chen Ye's bolts.

But now, it was as though Chen Ye's bolt had hit something else entirely.

The Hunchbacked Old Puppet kept running with the bolt lodged in an eye socket, showing no reaction whatsoever and remaining as swift as an ape.

A chill gripped Chen Ye's heart!

A sense of impending catastrophe washed over him!

But just then, warmth spread over his entire body.

The gloom before his eyes brightened in an instant.

A wash of faint, dusky yellow light spilled before him!

Warm and bright.

He... had made it out!

Chen Ye looked toward the Hunchbacked Old Puppet again.

The Hunchbacked Old Puppet was now standing in the shadows inside the village, still smiling eerily at him, the bolt still lodged in an eye socket.