It was almost evening, and the sun was about to set. Xiang Yang excitedly opened the iron gate and entered the place of refuge.
After seeing who it was, Lu Ren let go of the hilt of his sword and continued to train.
Seeing that Lu Ren was silent, Xiang Yang could not help but say excitedly, "Do you know what I saw when I went out?"
"What?" Lu Ren's expression was quite casual.
"A human, a living human. A human who had not been affected by the energy and became a contaminated creature!!"
She said in surprise, "I didn't expect there to be traces of human survival in Haizhou City."
Lu Ren said calmly, "Aren't you curious why, after three years of exploration, you have not discovered any traces of human survival, and in the past two days, humans have actually appeared all of a sudden?"
Xiang Yang was shocked. "Are you saying that those people are likely to have mutated from contaminated creatures?"
"Not really. I'm just reminding you to be alert if you want to get in contact with these people."
Xiang Yang was puzzled. "Why should we be wary? There are only so few of us. The human race is about to perish, yet we're still scheming?"
Lu Ren: "Never underestimate the human heart. Sometimes, the human heart is even more terrifying than contaminated creatures."
Lu Ren gave Xiang Yang a meaningful look.
Xiang Yang was puzzled. "I don't understand."
"You will only understand after you have experienced it. This process might give you some bad memories."
Seeing that Xiang Yang still did not seem to care, Lu Ren did not say anything. He had already said what he needed to say. As for whether the other party would listen, it was none of his business.
Lu Ren's goal was clear.
He would not be curious or cause trouble. He would stay here obediently for seven days and then return to the real world.
As for Xiang Yang's mentality, Lu Ren could also understand. As a young lady who had not seen her kind for three years, the excitement in her heart was indescribable.
The two of them rested for a while. Xiang Yang finally recovered from her excitement and took out a strong flashlight from her backpack. "Let's not talk about this for now. Let's go to my base!"
"In the night?"
"Don't worry, the sewer is very safe! The black fog can't reach my place, and there are abundant supplies. It's safer than here."
That would be great!
Lu Ren nodded slightly. "Just lead the way."
Regarding the black fog, he had no choice but to cooperate with Xiang Yang. This young lady, who had survived here for a long time, would definitely be able to find a better living environment than him.
After confirming that they had not missed anything, Lu Ren and Xiang Yang left the refuge and headed deeper into the sewer.
Along the way, apart from the faint sound of footsteps, there was also the light from the flashlight in Xiang Yang's hand.
The two sides of the sewer could allow people to walk together. In the middle was a drainage canal which had dried up. As there was no sewage water all year round, only condensed black lumps were stuck to the walls.
There was no unpleasant smell in the air, which eased Lu Ren's frown.
"You look nervous?"
"Ha… Haha, is that so? This is just maintaining sufficient vigilance in the course of action!"
Lu Ren looked at the nervous Xiang Yang and only placed his hand slowly on the hilt of his sword to ensure that he could react instantly in the face of an unexpected situation.
If only he had a gun.
At least if he were to encounter those contaminated creatures, it would definitely be much easier if he had guns.
At least, Lu Ren believed that if he had been given the chance to train, he might become proficient in such a similar skill in gun weapons.
Speaking of which, all these years he had been cooking instant noodles, why had this not formed a life skill on the interface…
After walking for about five kilometers and turning left and right several times, Lu Ren suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Seeing this, Xiang Yang could not help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Lu Ren narrowed his eyes and looked at the dark passageway in front of him. Under the light of the flashlight in Xiang Yang's hand, he could only see a rough outline.
"There's movement."
"There's movement?!"
Xiang Yang was stunned for a moment before she adjusted the flashlight to strong light mode and shone it forward.
Apart from some miscellaneous items that could not be seen clearly, there was nothing else.
Xiang Yang pricked up her ears and listened for a while. She said doubtfully, "There is nothing. Are you even more nervous than me?"
Lu Ren: "Previously, you had mentioned that the special energy pouring out from the mystic realm had contaminated 90% of the creatures in the world, right?"
"That's right."
"What about the rats? Were the rats contaminated?"
Before Xiang Yang could answer, Lu Ren's pupils constricted. Rats much larger than cats suddenly swarmed out from the sewage pipes in front of him. The largest of them was even the size of a medium-sized dog.
The moment they swarmed out from the various pipes, it was like rows of black waves surging toward the two of them. The pairs of eyes, which were glowing red under the flashlight, made one shudder.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak…"
The dense sounds of the rats squeaking could even make one's head swell.
Xiang Yang was stunned. "How could this be? The rats clearly could not be contaminated by the black fog… Someone had verified this in the past."
"Let's go!"
Lu Ren did not hesitate at all. He pulled Xiang Yang a meter away and ran as if he was really terrified.
If it had been a few more seconds, they might have been gnawed clean by the group of hungry rats with bloodshot eyes.
Lu Ren had no doubt that the other party's sharp front teeth could easily bite through flesh.
At this moment, Xiang Yang also reacted. She quickened her pace and said in panic, "Oh my god, I've actually slept beside these disgusting things for nearly three years."
As the two of them fled crazily, Lu Ren looked at the passageway ahead that led in all directions. He took a deep breath and said slowly, "We can't outrun these rats. We have to go to the ground immediately."
"Got it! Go in the direction I tell you."
Xiang Yang, who had forced herself to calm down, replied and was the first to get into action.
"To the left."
"To the right!"
"…"
After turning more than ten times, Lu Ren saw from the corner of his eyes that the rats behind him were less than ten meters away from them. If they made any mistakes, they would die in the sea of rats.
Looking at Xiang Yang, whose breathing was rapid and stamina was weak, Lu Ren said, "Do you want to watch helplessly as the rats chew your body up, leaving not even bones?"
Xiang Yang shuddered, and a burst of strength suddenly surged from her body. Instantly, she ran so fast that her shoes almost flew off. At the same time, she shouted, "There's a ladder about 20 meters ahead. Open the manhole cover and climb up!"
In a few seconds, Lu Ren had dashed to the bottom of the ladder. He did not stop moving at all. He held the ladder with one hand and grabbed Xiang Yang's arm with the other and threw her up.
"Force open the manhole cover!"
It had to be said that the digitized attributes had been extremely powerful in the development of one's physical fitness. If one could carry something weighing more than 50 kilograms with all his might, all this could not be fake.
The ladder to the ground was five meters tall.
Xiang Yang did not even have the chance to speak. She had no choice but to grab the ladder in passing. With one hand, she exerted strength, keeping her head low, climbed the ladder with her feet and used her shoulder to forcefully lift the manhole cover, which weighed 40 kilograms.