Chereads / The Mana System Of The Apocalypse / Chapter 17 - Zoo or Jungle?

Chapter 17 - Zoo or Jungle?

The following day we got up pretty early to continue our trip to D'ville. With Crystal standing guard outside all night, we didn't have to worry about much through the night. During breakfast, we were planning the best route to take, but things became a little compacted. Cutting straight through will have us passing by the zoo, but going around will add two to three more days to our travel. But seeing how the animals are evolving at an accelerated rate might be dangerous to go that route.

"Bro, I think we should take the shorter route and go by the zoo. It will save us time because we don't know what is going on with your family at the moment."

"Dwayne, I think we should take the longer route to be on the safe side. With the way the animals are evolving, there could be many dangerous beasts lurking nearby."

"I hear both of your opinions, but I'm more inclined to go with Joe on this one Michelle. Granted, the zoo is more dangerous, but it's also shorter, and I'm worried about my family. Plus, with the team we have now, I don't think it will be too much trouble for us to get through."

"I knew you would see it, my way, bro."

"I'll follow you where ever you go, Dwayne. I just wanted you to be safe."

"Joe, I know you want to see if you can get a tamed beast too."

"Bro, you know me so well. Hahaha"

"Ok, let's get to of here after we take all the food and gas because we can never have too much of those."

"Ok"

"Cool"

It took us about one hr to get all the food and gas because we had to find a container for all of the gas. While Joe and Michelle were doing that, Crystal and I went back to the highway to get our hummer and killed any zombie we saw along the way. Surprisingly there were no evolved zombies on the way.

During that time, I also took the liberty to gather a few more SUVs and some buses in good condition I saw along the way. I even ran into a Corvette, so I took it along with me too. Including the cars that I took, I went ahead and took most of the batteries out of the other vehicles along the way. Knowing that we would have to go this route anyway, Crystal and I began moving all the cars out of the way. The process was pretty straightforward, seeing as our strengths were nothing like they used to be.

We all gathered back in front of the gas station, and I sent all the food and gas into the space pendent. Sakura was already prepared for all the new items so that she could organize them for me. Taking out the hummer, we all got into the car; Joe chose to drive again. While I got into the passenger seat and Michelle got into the back, although unwillingly because she wanted me to ride next to her.

Back on the highway, with the first mile cleared of all the traffic, we continued our trip towards the Atlanta Zoo. I could tell that Joe was excited that he might get a battle beast, and I couldn't deny that I was looking forward to it too. I still had two slots in my taming skill the I could fill with some strong beasts. We could find something for Michelle, too, if she dares to do it.

Crystal runs with the hummer and moves the unnecessary vehicles to make way for the hummer towards what used to be called a zoo. Looking at the zoo now jungle before for us, we were astonished.

The zoo now looks like the amazon jungle. The trees were towering into the sky with all kinds of strange plants we had never seen before growing everywhere. We could hear the animals' noises from where we were, and we knew that deep in this jungle were strong and dangerous animals.

"Dwayne, are you sure you want to go in there? It looks perilous."

"Michelle, stop crying; this is something we have to do."

"Joe, be easy on her. You know how she gets like that sometimes, and Michelle, I already expected this, so we are still going in. But we will stay on the perimeter and not go deep into the jungle because who knows what awaits us in there."

Making our way off the highway towards the new jungle, I summoned Sakura to help us. Storing our ride, we slowly moved forward.

"Crystal, stay on high alert and warn us if you sense any danger. Sakura, there are many strange plants around, and I'm sure some of them are vicious. Lets us know ahead of time if you feel that any of these plants threaten us or are worth nurturing in the independent space. If you sense any plant that might evolve and grow intelligence, let me know. Also, if they grow any fruits that might be beneficial to us too."

"Michelle, you stay in between Joe and me at all times, and everyone pays close attention to your surroundings. All the animals are developing new abilities on top of their growth, so you never know what might happen."

We were strolling into the jungle with Crystal in the lead with Sakura on its head. Followed by Joe, Michelle, and me, we stepped into the wilderness. As soon as we left the entrance, we immediately noticed that the sunlight could barely get through the top of the tree. The darkness left many hidden spots for beasts to hide and attack.

Raising our awareness even higher, we continued forward. It didn't take long for Sakura to stop us and warn us the bush ahead was carnivorous and we should go around it. Looking at the bush closely, we saw the flowers have small mouths on them and that the vines they were on were moving ever so slowly. One thing to take notice of is that it gives off a sweet scent that's very attractive to our senses and would have drawn us in if we weren't aware.

"Inspect"

Name: Trap Bush

Lvl: 5

Breed: Plant

Hp: 100

Mp: 20

"Sakura, is there any use for this bush because it's not very strong, and if need be, we can subdue it."

"No, Master, it's just a plant that feeds on blood, and its intelligence is low and not worth the effort to nurture."

Moving around the trap bush, we continued forward until we heard rustling above our heads. Crystal immediately went on high alert because whatever was above us was strong enough to threaten us.