Little Crook and Keke extended their vines to restrain the Mutant Ant. Although they could barely hurt it, they successfully bound all six of its legs.
Xiaomi and A-Dai seized the chance to attack the ant's lower abdomen. Bai Yaoyao had Chenxuan amplify her ability, then used Mental Piercing on the Mutant Ant.
Bai Yaoyao found that the move worked. The Mutant Ant grew noticeably more frenzied, not only breaking free of Keke and Little Crook's restraints, but becoming even more enraged.
Everyone hurled their skills at the Mutant Ant as if energy cost nothing. But they weren't attacking blindly; following the plan they had discussed in their spare time, each of them dealt as much damage as possible.
Bai Yaoyao noticed more and more zombies gathering around them. If they didn't leave soon, another horde would form.
She was just about to bring out a bomb when she heard movement inside her storage space. Doggie had woken up.
"Woof, woof, woof, awooo! Awoo, awoo, woof, woof! Awoo, woof, woof, woof!"
(Damn it, you dare bully my master? Let your lord Doggie out!)
Bai Yaoyao sensed that Doggie's aura had grown much stronger. He had probably reached level two as well, so she didn't hesitate and flung him straight at the Mutant Ant.
The moment Doggie emerged, he opened his jaws wide and bit down hard on one of the ant's legs. With the momentum of his charge, he tore it clean off, sending dark green blood gushing out.
Everyone immediately targeted the wound with their abilities. Doggie ran as soon as he finished biting, without lingering for a moment.
The Mutant Ant wanted to go after Doggie, but everyone kept it occupied, leaving it no chance.
Bai Yaoyao realized Dog Brother had definitely gotten smarter!
As Doggie prepared to strike again, Bai Yaoyao readied herself too. The instant he darted forward, she used Mental Piercing once more.
The Mutant Ant was already on guard against Doggie's trick. It was about to raise its electrified antennae and charge at him when another searing pain struck its mind, leaving it unable to move!
It could only watch as that sneaky, ugly dog bit off another of its legs!
The Mutant Ant finally realized it couldn't win, but by the time it tried to flee, it was too late.
This was a level-two mutant beast. After fighting it for so long, Bai Yaoyao certainly wasn't willing to give up. Trading it in at the official base later would earn them plenty of points.
Even though the base hadn't been built yet.
The Mutant Ant had lost all desire to fight and retreated as it struggled. Bai Yaoyao and the others began chasing it instead.
Doggie was downright shameless. He bit and ran, never making an extra attack.
Before long, all six of the Mutant Ant's legs had been torn off, and Doggie began sinking his teeth into its wings.
Bai Yaoyao used Mental Piercing again. Combined with everyone's elemental abilities, it finally wore the Mutant Ant down to death. She quickly stored its corpse and the six legs Doggie had bitten off, then called everyone to leave together.
"Is anyone hurt?" Bai Yaoyao asked.
"No, but I'm out of energy," Fat Brother said, and Stone echoed him. They had been shielding everyone from the Mutant Ant's attacks, and both looked a little pale now.
Bai Yaoyao spotted a hotel beside them and said, "Come on, let's rest for a while and head out once we've recovered. We'll be in trouble if we run into another mutant beast."
"Okay."
Bai Yaoyao scanned the hotel and found no zombies inside, but there were signs of life, probably ordinary humans. The other buildings nearby were all shopping malls and residential blocks, so she chose the hotel.
Bai Yaoyao walked ahead with Doggie. The moment they entered the hotel, they heard, "Hello! Welcome!"
She turned to look and saw a little monkey doll hanging inside the doorway. The voice had come from it.
Hearing the sound, the people inside the hotel came to the lobby. When they saw more than a dozen people entering with a mutant beast, all radiating a fierce aura and looking anything but ordinary, they tightened their grips on their weapons.
"Do you need something?" the man in charge asked warily.
Bai Yaoyao looked them over. There were quite a few people here. Besides those in the lobby, there were probably more upstairs, making twenty or thirty in total. Only a small number seemed to have abilities, though.
"Friend, mind letting us stop here and rest for a while?" Bai Yaoyao replied. They had cleared the place, so it was only right to ask.
The man leading the other group visibly relaxed. Avoiding a conflict would be best. Although these dozen or so people looked as if they had just been through a major battle, that didn't mean his group could beat them.
Keeping his tone as calm as possible, he said, "Sure. There are six rooms on the ground floor. We're all upstairs, so we haven't used them. It's just... how long are you planning to rest?"
Clearing a place where they could rest hadn't been easy. He was worried these people would come and never leave.
"Two hours," Bai Yaoyao said directly.
"Then that's no problem! The rooms are on your right," the man said, pointing.
Bai Yaoyao nodded. "Thank you."
With that, they went to the rooms in pairs to rest and recover.
She also left Doggie by the door to stand guard. All he had done was launch sneak attacks, so he had barely expended any energy. Still, out of humanitarian concern, Bai Yaoyao tossed him a basin of big bones.
Doggie happily accepted guard duty.
"Boss, look!"
The man followed his subordinate's gaze and discovered that the group's dog was actually eating meaty bones! Seeing the blissful look on his face, he couldn't help swallowing.
It had been so long since the apocalypse began that people barely had anything to eat, yet a dog still got meat! Was this some kind of joke?
Noticing a group of people staring at him with wide, envious eyes, Doggie ate with even greater enthusiasm. He smacked his lips and gnawed away with growing relish, then finished with a remarkably human burp.
Once everyone had recovered their ability energy, Bai Yaoyao prepared to set off again. Their outing had gotten off to a bad start today. They hadn't even begun killing zombies before spending so long being chased by a Mutant Ant. At least they had a level-two mutant beast's corpse, so it wasn't too much of a loss.
"Um... are you leaving?" the man in charge asked, rising from the sofa.
Seeing that the group had stayed in the hotel lobby the whole time, Bai Yaoyao guessed they had been guarding against her team and hadn't dared go rest.
So she left a case of instant noodles and said, "Here. For the rooms."
"No, no, that's not what I meant!" the man in charge hurriedly explained.
Bai Yaoyao waved a hand. "See you again if our paths cross."
Then she left with everyone.
"Holy shit! Boss, I just saw from the window that the girl who was talking to you killed a level-one zombie with a wave of her hand!"
"She's that strong?!"
"Good thing we didn't clash with them. They're so powerful, but they didn't attack us and even paid for the rooms. That's... that's..."
"What matters is getting stronger as fast as we can. We won't always be this lucky. Come on, let's go kill some zombies!"
"Yes, boss! How about we have a good meal first?"
"Yeah, we're starving! We haven't eaten anything today..."
"All right, let's share this case of instant noodles, then get out there and work!"
When Bai Yaoyao had set down that case of instant noodles, the man had refused aloud, but inwardly, he had already swallowed his saliva more times than he could count.
There was less and less food to be found. If they came back empty-handed again today, they would have no choice but to go to the North City Safe Zone. They wouldn't have this much freedom there, but at least they wouldn't go hungry.
Fortunately, they could still have a good meal today...
Before you continue