Mutant Snake Man

The journey was far from smooth.

Once they drove beyond the base's safe zone, they could see scattered zombies wandering along the roadside.

Qin Luo mostly drove straight into them. They weren't stopping to clear out these scattered zombies now; they had more important work to do.

Bai Shu briefed them on their mission. "It's a shopping district. They estimate there are about five hundred survivors inside the mall, all hiding on the fourth floor."

He sent everyone the location.

Chen Xiaofei added, "The survivors around the outskirts are the real headache. They're too scattered."

Curled up in the back row, Xu Duoduo checked the location on her tablet too, tapping away with her little paws and occasionally zooming in on the map.

The whole shopping district was surrounded by pedestrian streets, lined with countless rows of shops.

The apocalypse had struck in the early evening, when plenty of people were out walking and shopping. There were an absolutely staggering number of zombies there-basically an entire zombie nest.

Wang Weihu felt a headache coming on too. "Ugh, places like this are the worst. There are loads of zombies packed close together, and rescuing people is a pain. We can't use heavy firepower either, just guns and small bombs. Clearing them out will probably take ages."

Their last mission to K City had taken ten days. Only after considerable effort had they cleared out the zombies near Qingyuan Residential Complex and rescued over ninety survivors.

After that mission, each member of their squad had received three thousand points, along with some weapons. Even the vehicle refurbishment had been a mission perk.

They had no idea how long they would spend in this shopping district, and the survivors were scattered all over, making the rescue even harder for their squad.

The only upside was that, being a shopping district, it would have no shortage of stores.

With luck, they could scavenge some remaining supplies. It would just take a little time.

Bai Shu said, "Everything's scarce these days. Even an undamaged piece of clothing is worth something. Later on, once all kinds of equipment break down, there won't even be enough ordinary clothes to meet demand."

At least the early days of the apocalypse were the most awkward and difficult period.

That was what the Doomsday Survival Manual said.

Hearing this, Xu Duoduo glanced at her multifaceted Rubik's Cube Space. She still hadn't filled many of its little compartments.

But at least she had plenty of clothes. She wouldn't end up with nothing to wear.

Qin Luo stayed focused on driving, fast and aggressive, sending zombies and mutant dogs flying. Those creatures had blood-red eyes and drool streaming from their mouths. One look was enough to tell they had no awareness whatsoever.

All they had left was the instinct to bite people, so he felt no guilt about running them down.

The difference between them and a dazed little zombie like Xu Duoduo was obvious at a glance.

Qin Luo wasn't worried about making the wrong call.

Bai Shu and the other two discussed how to rescue the survivors while using as little firepower as possible. In the apocalypse, they had to make every resource count, or they wouldn't survive.

As they drove on, they went straight onto the expressway. Taking the national highway would be too slow.

They had checked the route in advance, and it was still fairly clear. Whenever they encountered zombies or small mutant animals, they simply rammed them. Whatever the vehicle's body was made of, it actually repelled water. Any filthy liquid that splashed onto it slid right off, keeping it clean.

The modified wheels were enormous and could roll over anything. Driving felt much better than before.

This stretch of expressway was new and had seen little traffic, so they wouldn't run into the awkward problem of abandoned cars blocking the road. There was no need to get out and clear a path. The weather, however, was terrible, and the farther they went, the darker the sky grew.

Xu Duoduo glanced at her wristband. They had been traveling for several hours, and it was now noon, but the sky looked as though evening had already fallen.

Dark clouds massed ahead.

Qin Luo checked his wristband and said, "No thunderstorm. Probably just a heavy downpour."

His teammates all acknowledged him.

They still pulled over, each getting out to answer nature's call.

A bathroom break.

Just in case the rain ahead made getting out inconvenient.

That was one advantage of being a little zombie like Xu Duoduo. Apart from the tiny amount of blood in her body, she had no tears or bodily needs. She didn't need to drink water or use the bathroom.

She chewed a green mutant core, savoring its fragrant taste of fresh grass and fruit.

Delicious.

Once Bai Shu and the others got back in, Wang Weihu took the driver's seat.

Chen Xiaofei moved to the front passenger seat.

Qin Luo climbed into the middle row, instantly making his presence feel overwhelming.

Xu Duoduo quietly shrank farther back.

Although ability users had far better stamina than ordinary people, driving demanded concentration, especially in the apocalypse, when anything might suddenly appear. Maintaining that level of focus for a long time was difficult.

Taking turns was the best option.

Chen Xiaofei started complaining that he was hungry and asked Bai Shu for the steamed buns left over from last night.

Xu Duoduo took out eight large rice balls, filled with tuna sauce and cucumber and wrapped in seaweed. They really were big, each one the size of her fist.

One would have stuffed her at a meal, but two would probably only just fill these men up.

So she also took out some cans she had collected from the cannery: four of meat and four of fruit.

Chen Xiaofei ate one rice ball while holding out another to Wang Weihu, with cans piled on his lap. He couldn't have been happier. "Having Little Class Monitor around is the best. We used to have nothing but dry rations, and now we get something tasty every meal. Life's so good, waaah!"

Wang Weihu could finish a rice ball in just a few bites, and he was thoroughly satisfied too.

Bai Shu kept chewing as he browsed the forum. It was their only remaining source of updates from around the world. Whoever had time was supposed to check it as much as possible. They never knew when the latest information might come in handy.

Qin Luo ate his rice ball, but still turned to look at Xu Duoduo. She had been holding her tablet in her little paws and browsing all morning, and all she had eaten was a single mutant core.

"Can you not eat any human food now? You can't swallow it or digest it?"

He really was curious.

Xu Duoduo quietly brought out her tablet and typed, [It has no flavor when I eat it. It's a waste of food.]

She had tried before. Once delicious food entered her mouth, it turned bland, like drinking plain water or chewing dry tissues.

No fun.

Being unable to enjoy good food was a sore spot for her, yet a certain someone kept asking about it.

Xu Duoduo turned away and ignored him, hugging her tablet as she kept scrolling. She had just seen a Mutated Person who had actually turned into a snake man, except it wasn't his lower half that had become a snake, but his upper half.

The sight made her feel both sick and unsettled.

More importantly, he had betrayed humanity. Not only did he devour his own kind, he ate zombies too. He ate every filthy thing imaginable and had now become a huge, bloated snake with two human legs trailing behind him. It was utterly revolting.

It was a wanted notice, too. Apparently, killing him would earn a hundred thousand points!

And he was fleeing straight toward City C.

Xu Duoduo: ...

Did it have to be such a coincidence?! She really, really didn't want to run into anything like that!!

Naturally, Bai Shu had also seen the urgent, red-highlighted pinned post. He turned and held it out for Qin Luo to see. "A Mutated Person wants to set himself up as the boss. Apparently, he attacks anyone he sees and even tortures people to death. Headquarters is putting up serious money to eliminate him."