Not long after, Bai Long and the others finished cleaning up the corpse of the mutant rat. They somehow found several plastic bags and wrapped the mutant rat in them to prevent the smell of blood from leaking out as much as possible.
"Let Bai Long carry the mutant rat's corpse!" Ye Chen instructed when he saw Yue Heng volunteering to carry the corpse.
"Huh?" Bai Long, who was in the middle of dressing his wound, looked up in surprise and asked, "Why?"
Ye Chen walked over to Bai Long, glancing at his injured shoulder, where the blood was starting to dry. Given Bai Long's physique, this wound would likely scab over in no time.
Ye Chen patted the wound, causing it to crack open and bleed profusely. The pain was so intense that Bai Long almost teared up. He cried out, "What are you doing?"
Ye Chen calmly explained, "The claws of the mutant rat don't carry the virus, but they are full of bacteria from living in the sewers. Once the blood dries up, the bacteria will penetrate your skin, and in less than three days, your entire arm will rot!" With that, he took the mutant rat's corpse from Yue Heng and tossed it to Bai Long.
Bai Long was skeptical but asked, "Is that really true?"
"Believe it or not, it's up to you."
"Even though what you said makes sense, I feel like you're just picking on me."
"You could see it that way."
"Fine!" Bai Long resigned himself to the situation, looking at the mutant rat's corpse in his hands with a bitter smile. "But why do I have to carry it?"
"I'm messing with you," Ye Chen replied coldly before turning away, leaving Bai Long in a state of confusion.
"That cold-blooded maniac!" Bai Long muttered to himself as he reluctantly hoisted the mutant rat's corpse. Though Ye Chen said he was messing with him, it was clear to anyone that Ye Chen was simply too lazy to explain further.
Yue Heng and the other two glanced sympathetically at Bai Long but didn't dare say anything. They all silently resolved to never question this devilish man, knowing the consequences could be severe! Bai Long was a living example of this.
"Let's go!"
Following the directions on the map, Ye Chen led the group down a secluded path, staying alert the whole way. Every few hundred meters, he would stop and listen to the surroundings, checking for any signs of movement.
Any zombies that emerged were swiftly dealt with by Ye Chen.
The group followed his lead, with his sister Ye Zhu next in line. Bai Long, carrying the mutant rat's corpse, was behind her, and Yue Heng and the other two brought up the rear. This was Ye Chen's way of training them.
Whenever his reconnaissance indicated about a dozen zombies, Ye Chen would eliminate them immediately. Occasionally, a stray zombie or two would emerge from nearby buildings, testing the reflexes of Yue Heng and the others.
Luckily, this street was in a bustling part of the city center, so there weren't many animals, and mutant creatures on the street were rare. The most common creatures were mutant rats.
There were several types of mutant rats, including Wind Rats, Bloodthirsty Rats, and Three-Eyed Rats.
The one Ye Chen had killed was a Bloodthirsty Rat, extremely bloodthirsty, and with claws three times sharper than regular mutant rats.
Even within the rat species, there were numerous branches, and the other mutant creatures were even more diverse.
The group moved cautiously, as the streets, although devoid of powerful creatures, still had scattered zombies that could cause trouble if provoked.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was afternoon.
Seeing the setting sun, Ye Chen found an abandoned building for the group to take shelter in. Inside the building were many zombies, but Ye Chen quickly dealt with them, ensuring they couldn't call for reinforcements.
The group settled on the second floor.
"At night, the activities of zombies and creatures become more frequent, and their strength increases significantly. During the day, a zombie might have the strength of three people, but at night, it could reach the strength of four or even five people!"
Ye Chen knew well how dangerous it was to be out at night.
As night fell, Yue Heng and the others brought out their food. They had brought snacks like chips, which required no cooking and could be eaten right away.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, Ye Chen got up early and left the room alone, heading to the top floor of the building. From a window, he surveyed the surrounding streets, taking in everything within a kilometer radius. Then, following the map, he found a route with the fewest monsters.
The group packed up and continued their journey.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
Over the past two days, the group had kept moving, but the streets were full of zombies. Each street had hundreds, and if one was alerted, the rest would follow.
Given the zombies' speed of 100 meters in 10 seconds, being surrounded by them would be too much even for Ye Chen, especially since he had to protect his sister Ye Zhu and the others.
"We're two kilometers from the research institute, and there are only three days left in this month!" Ye Chen calculated in his mind.
They had to reach the research institute within these three days and extract the gene from the mutant ant. If they didn't, and the mutant ant evolved further under the virus, its gene would become more powerful, making fusion even harder!
Moreover, if they failed to reach the institute within these three days, their chances of survival on the zombie-infested streets would plummet. The zombies in the second month of the apocalypse were far more terrifying than those in the first month!
"Let's go!"
Ye Chen led the group, avoiding a cluster of zombies. They held their breaths and crept along the wall to a corner.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a zombie caught their scent and roared, its eyes bloodthirsty as it charged towards Ye Chen and the others.
"Run!" Ye Chen didn't hesitate for a moment. Instead of fleeing, he moved to the back of the group and whispered urgently to Bai Long and the others.
Thanks to their experiences over the past two days, Bai Long and the others didn't panic. They turned and ran without looking back.
"Thwack!"
As the zombie rushed forward, Ye Chen swung his ax, splitting it open. Then, without missing a beat, he scanned the area for other zombies that might have been alerted and charged into the horde. Zombies had a relentless drive; once they caught the scent of fresh flesh, they wouldn't stop until they were destroyed. Running would only attract more of them.
"Kill!"
"Blood Wind Technique!"
"Double-Blade Kill!"
Ye Chen danced among the zombies, his fire axes slicing through the air, bringing down a storm of blood. Each swing of his axes brought down a zombie.
In the blink of an eye, the horde was dealt with. More than twenty zombies lay on the ground, their dark blood staining the ground.
Ye Chen panted lightly, his chest rising and falling. His leather armor was drenched in sweat, feeling greasy.
"Let's go!"
Without stopping to check for valuable flesh inside the zombie corpses, Ye Chen's thoughts were on his sister Ye Zhu's safety. Without hesitation, he turned and ran. However, he hadn't gone far when a furious roar, filled with violent killing intent and bloodlust, erupted from behind him.
Ye Chen turned and his eyes narrowed.