Chapter 39

The men plundered the few remaining supplies in the small shop, not even sparing the women and children who had given up resisting. After forcing the people onto their vehicle, they didn’t leave immediately. Several more burly men poured out of the armored vehicle behind them, patrolled the surrounding area, then stood guard with rifles on both sides of the road. The man in the black tank top with the large floral tattoo suddenly ducked into the vehicle like he was having a seizure, pulling out a metal box. The group squatted beside the vehicle on the spot, rummaged through the syringes inside, and urgently jabbed them into the veins of their arms.

A pack of vicious bandits, and junkies even more unrestrained in this chaotic world.

Still harboring some fear of the Variants that could appear at any moment, this process didn’t last too long. The group quickly packed up their things and evacuated. A few of them, already high, drove the vehicles recklessly down the road, sweeping both sides of the street with wild, spasmodic gunfire before finally disappearing at the end of the street.

The Park happened to be located at the intersection of two wide main roads. The Bunker’s accessible surveillance covered every corner of The Park, and the edge cameras could observe the situation on the different roads outside. This gang of bandits disguised as military personnel hadn’t discovered the survivors stationed inside the Mall yet, but they were already within the surveillance range, separated from the Mall by only a single street.

Clearly, this was a group of desperadoes surviving the End Times by murder, arson, and pillaging. Having seized a large amount of military weaponry during the chaos made them even more dangerous. It was only a matter of time before their sweep reached The Park.

Su Xing felt a bit relieved that this place was built underground, where it wouldn’t be discovered by humans, rather than inside a conspicuous structure. It saved them quite a bit of trouble.

But hiding indefinitely in the underground Bunker, where day and night were indistinguishable, wasn’t a long-term solution either, especially since Wen Ruyao, another person who posed a similar level of threat to her, was also here.

In the blink of an eye, they had been in the Bunker for a week. For the days that followed, Su Xing’s plan to proactively farm Bootlick Value… had stalled completely.

The atmosphere between them had become somewhat delicate after that night. Although, it was perhaps more Su Xing’s own one-sided awkwardness. In any case, she no longer dared to share a bed with Wen Ruyao at night. She’d rather endure the cold, hard, and painfully lumpy floor, taking her blanket to make a floor bed in another room. Wen Ruyao, after hearing her proposal, merely fell silent for a few seconds, stating she could do as she pleased, her face showing no other superfluous expression.

Finally, on the eighth day, a turning point arrived.

The 24-hour cold white light source overhead was still somewhat harsh on the eyes, and the digital clock on the wall showed it was currently three in the afternoon. But Su Xing, having not seen daylight for so long, had grown numb to the digits on these clocks. They now ate two meals a day, and three in the afternoon happened to be dinner time.

On the giant display screen in the front hall, the image suddenly flickered. A second later, a human face eerily appeared.

No one had touched the equipment; this was a signal being forcibly received and played. Su Xing’s mouth parted slightly in a moment of surprise, then the figure on the screen was matched to a face in her memory.

It was actually Qin Mo, the little childhood friend of Wen Ruyao whom she’d only met a few times.

Behind her was a pure white wall of indiscernible material. She had changed her uniform. It was now ink green, and the dazzling yellow shoulder insignia seemed to represent a certain rank.

“The fourth evacuation notice is being relayed now. Regrettably, due to force majeure, this will be the last large-scale, organized nationwide evacuation. Attention all scientific research personnel stranded in the danger zone: we no longer require sample collection. All survivors receiving this message, do not miss this last chance for a collective relocation. The following are the cities and temporary airport locations still capable of undertaking transportation missions. S City…”

Qin Mo’s emotionless voice emanated from the video, echoing within the sealed Bunker.

Yet this mechanical and official-sounding voice, to the ears of the two people in the front hall, was undoubtedly a tremendous blessing.

Wen Ruyao immediately took out that specialized phone. On the map, a very conspicuous green marker had appeared at some point, a small airplane icon with a continuously flickering stream of light upon it.

“The number of transport aircraft currently available for deployment is extremely limited. Once the planes depart, they will not return. Therefore, please arrive at the temporary airports as quickly as possible. This notice is valid for a maximum of 5 days. The possibility of shortening this time limit under unforeseen circumstances cannot be ruled out. End of message.”

As her voice fell, the screen went black. The video ended there.

The bright front hall fell silent once more. Su Xing instinctively turned her head, her gaze meeting Wen Ruyao’s. The joy on her face was soon overshadowed by a layer of worry upon seeing the location of S City’s temporary airport.

The target location was quite a distance from their current Bunker. Even under normal conditions, it would take half a day’s drive, not to mention how difficult it would be to find a functional vehicle outside now. Even if luck was on their side and they found one quickly, safely traveling such a long distance would be extremely challenging.

And they only had 5 days, perhaps even less.

“How has your recent practice been going?” Wen Ruyao pondered for a long moment, then looked at her and asked.

Su Xing was startled for a moment before realizing she was asking about shooting practice. Recalling that she could now score near-perfect marks on those simulation training games, she replied, “It’s okay.”

“That’s good. You…” Wen Ruyao’s narrow eyes flickered as she looked at her. She hesitated, then changed her phrasing, saying, “We’ll move out tomorrow.”

“Huh? Tomorrow?” Su Xing was somewhat surprised.

“But we searched for so long without finding a car before, and there are more and more Variants outside now. Shouldn’t we… plan things out first?” She had actually learned some caution by now.

“Haven’t we already seen some readily available vehicles? Time is of the essence. The quicker we act, the better.” Wen Ruyao narrowed her eyes.

“Readily available?” Su Xing was stunned for a few seconds, then said in disbelief, “You don’t mean… those two armored vehicles that group of hoodlums drive?!”

Wen Ruyao nodded calmly. “Exactly. It will be very difficult to find anything else in a short time. Armored vehicles are also safer. It’s the only suitable choice right now.”

Su Xing took a sharp breath and frowned. “But there are so many of them, and they have so many weapons. Can the two of us really seize them?”

Wen Ruyao shook the phone in her hand slightly. “We don’t necessarily have to use force. I imagine everyone still alive in S City right now will be wanting to reach that airport as soon as possible.”

“You’re saying we should negotiate with them?” Su Xing was still hesitant. After all, those hoodlums seemed too dangerous. Although her strength had increased now, they were still only two people against many variables.

“Currently, there’s no other way.” Wen Ruyao sighed.

She wasn’t wrong. There truly was no more suitable option right now. In fact, this was their only choice to reach the airport within such a short time.

That night, they organized their most crucial weapons and ammunition, preparing to move out the following morning.

Since first spotting that group of hoodlums disguised as soldiers on the surveillance the day before yesterday, they had reappeared near The Park yesterday, their activity range edging even closer than the day before. So it wasn’t hard to guess that these people’s temporary base was also nearby.

Thinking about having to deal with those crazed, vicious desperadoes tomorrow, Su Xing inevitably felt uneasy. She tossed and turned on her hard floor bed. But late into the night, she vaguely felt a wave of heat and heaviness across her body. A sensation of exhaustion and weakness washed over her, and before she knew it, she had drifted into unconsciousness.

“Beep-beep! Alert! Alert!”

A sudden, sharp sound pierced her eardrums. Su Xing abruptly opened her eyes to find her surroundings dim, flashing with a relentless red light. Alarms blared frantically throughout the entire Bunker. She hurriedly scrambled up from the floor but felt a suffocating tightness in her chest, her limbs weak and powerless. Her body lurched, nearly sending her tumbling.

The alarms continued their mad screaming. Sensing something was deeply wrong, she gritted her teeth, braced herself against the wall, and forced herself to stand. As her gaze inadvertently swept upward, passing over a ventilation duct above, she froze in shock.

The metal grate of the vent was covered in a blur of white at some unknown point. Countless white mycelial threads filled the entire opening, continuously crawling down along the wall.

Su Xing’s heart seized at the sight before her. Several thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. After freezing on the spot for a single second, she immediately turned around and scrambled toward the bedroom.

Before she could charge into the bedroom, just as she reached the main hall, she saw Wen Ruyao collapsed weakly on the floor, not moving an inch.

Su Xing rushed over in panic and helped her up. “Wen Ruyao?”

The woman was drenched in sweat, her body temperature abnormally burning hot. Calling out to her twice, the other’s eyes remained tightly shut, only emitting pained groans.

They couldn’t stay here any longer. Su Xing bit down hard on her lower lip. Summoning all her strength, she hoisted the unconscious Wen Ruyao onto her back. She grabbed the now-packed bag of firearms and ammunition and strode with all her might toward the exit elevator.

Pressing the ascent button, the machine soon began rising toward the surface. When the metal door opened again, Su Xing staggered a step, carrying Wen Ruyao as she tumbled out onto the grassy lawn.

“Hah…”

Gasping great lungfuls of fresh air, Su Xing finally recovered some strength.

Overhead was the pitch-black night sky, starless, with only an exceptionally large, perfectly round moon hanging from the horizon. Silver moonlight spilled across the vast earth. Seeing the sky for the first time in so many days, Su Xing still wasn’t quite used to it.

Before she could even catch her breath properly, Su Xing, lying on her back on the grass, suddenly frowned.

In the dead of night, the desolate, ruined city was as silent as a grave. There wasn’t even a breeze, yet she suddenly heard some subtle, rustling movements.

The sound was very faint, even fainter than her own panting. If the surroundings hadn’t been so exceptionally quiet, she might have missed it.

The sound grew closer, and incredibly fast. In what felt like the blink of an eye, it shot from the distance to right beside her feet. Su Xing’s subconscious alarms screamed. Disregarding the pack of long guns still slung over her shoulder, she scooped up the Wen Ruyao beside her and rolled sideways with lightning speed—

Churned-up dirt and turf splattered all over her face and hair. The very next instant after she rolled away, that familiar, disgusting giant palm smashed a massive crater right where she had just been lying.

Cold sweat poured from her entire body. With no time to think, she quickly hoisted Wen Ruyao onto her back again and bolted forward, sprinting away.

It was indeed that lingering nightmare, the Mycelial Monster. But its speed seemed even faster than before. Such a colossal entity yet moving without making a single sound. For its targeted prey, it could silently appear right behind you, a thought truly horrifying.

Su Xing didn’t dare look back. Clenching her jaw, she focused every ounce of energy and fled forward with everything she had.

“Go… go along this small path on the left…”

Wen Ruyao’s weak voice came from beside her ear.