Tiger Zone, Bear Zone, Leopard Zone...
Chen Chao crossed one animal zone after another. The mutated creatures in these areas would first show their teeth and charge at him, but as soon as they saw the massive mutant crocodile behind him, they immediately fled in panic.
After minutes of frenzied running, Chen Chao felt his cell energy depleting rapidly. He could barely keep going for another minute before his cells would be completely drained. Once the energy in his cells was exhausted, the recovery rate would slow down dramatically.
Lion Zone
Zhao Bingbing and her group carefully circled around a pack of lion mutants. There were eight of them, more than their team could handle.
Among the five of them, only Zhao Bingbing could kill a lion mutant on her own.
Although this woman was weak in close combat, her ability to detect weaknesses with the Divine Eye and her x-ray vision allowed her to precisely shoot and kill the lion mutants with a single shot.
As for the young man in the red jacket and his three companions, they had been ordinary citizens before. Although they came from affluent families, they had never used firearms. Even though they had been practicing with the weapons for a few days after acquiring them, they were far from proficient. Their shooting skills could only be considered rudimentary.
Even if the lion mutants stood still, they would struggle to hit them. And since the lion mutants could move at high speeds, most of their shots missed, with the occasional lucky hit.
Their firearms hadn't proven as effective as expected, and in close combat, only the young man in the red jacket and the burly man could hold their ground. The young man's ability was the control of flame through a mysterious ability.
However, he was still an F-grade evolved human, and the amount of fire energy his body could produce was very limited. He could only produce small flames to light a cigarette, create small fireballs for illumination, or heat weapons slightly to increase their lethality. His ability wasn't as useful as the burly man's.
The burly man's Defense ability was part of the martial arts system.
Martial arts abilities showed the fastest effects in the early stages. For example, Chen Chao's speed enhancement doubled his speed early on, which was far more useful than his weak light control ability at the same stage.
As for the twin brothers in the group, they could still aim reasonably well at normal zombies with pistols, but against the lion mutants, whose physical abilities were eight times that of humans, even spotting them with their retinas was difficult. Trying to shoot them was nearly impossible.
Together, the five of them could barely handle three lion mutants. Any more would result in total annihilation.
"I think we should retreat," the burly man said cautiously in a low voice. "These lion mutants are too strong. Even if I use the machine gun to spray bullets, it's hard to kill many of them, and it'll waste too much ammunition. It's not worth it."
"We're almost there. We'll catch that walking plant soon," the young man in the red jacket said, clearly unwilling to back down.
Zhao Bingbing adjusted her glasses and said calmly, "I think it's best to retreat. We've already searched two-thirds of this lion zone, and there's no sign of that little thing. If I'm not mistaken, it must have left this area."
"Right, we need to avoid the lion mutants. Our search speed is too slow. Given the little creature's speed, it's possible it's already left," the more cold-hearted twin brother said flatly.
The young man in the red jacket looked frustrated and asked Zhao Bingbing, "Is there really no other way?"
Zhao Bingbing was silent for a moment before speaking, "There is one method."
"What method?" The young man's eyes brightened.
Zhao Bingbing tilted her head slightly and looked up at the blue sky. "We could use light to lure it out. Though this plant is mutated, it hasn't completely lost its original habits. If we use photosynthesis, we might be able to lure it out. But the chances are slim."
"Slim?" The young man in the red jacket was taken aback.
"First, we don't have the necessary tools. Making them would take time. Second, I have a bad feeling that a disaster is about to occur here. I suggest we give up on this plan," Zhao Bingbing said coolly.
"A disaster?" The young man in the red jacket's heart skipped a beat, and he laughed nervously. "W-Well, your premonitions were right last time, but they might not always..."
Boom!
A huge tremor suddenly interrupted his words.
Everyone was startled and quickly turned toward the source of the sound. When they saw it, their jaws dropped in disbelief.
From behind the distant trees, a terrifying creature from the Jurassic era suddenly emerged, rushing toward them. It was a two-story-high super mutant crocodile!
Zhao Bingbing's face changed. The moment she looked at the creature, blue light flickered in her eyes. In her vision, the world transformed into a colorful painting. The rapidly moving mutant crocodile's body radiated intense red heat, like burning flames, giving off an overwhelming aura.
Moreover, there were small black dots on its head, chest, and the joints of its forelimbs, indicating its weak points.
Bone strength...
Muscle strength...
She tried to use her vision to analyze the basic physical attributes of this massive creature. But her vision turned blurry, with only the incredible red heat occupying her entire field of view.
This was the first time she had encountered such a situation, which meant the creature's physical condition far exceeded the limits of her Divine Eye.
Just as she was about to withdraw her gaze, she noticed a tiny red dot in front of the mutant crocodile. The dot was about the size of a human, but the heat it emitted was incredibly intense, like burning fresh blood, sending a chill down her spine.
She immediately activated her eye power and focused on the red dot. A flood of information quickly surged from her pupils to her brain, forming a series of data points.
Bone structure, muscles... Physical capacity... Human eight times!
Through her analysis and synthesis, Zhao Bingbing obtained the final data. Her heart skipped a beat, and the blue light in her eyes contracted slightly.
Eight times!
This was the strongest human she had ever seen!
Her own physical capacity was about three times that of a regular human, while the young man in the red jacket and the burly man were both five times as strong. But this mysterious individual had eight times the strength, almost surpassing them by a full level!
Zhao Bingbing couldn't help but think back to the dead creature in the sewer. It was him!
The four men in the red jacket were already pale with fear, their legs trembling and nearly unable to stand. The prehistoric mutant crocodile made them lose all desire to fight.
The burly man trembled, "W-What kind of monster is this? It's too exaggerated. Even a tank would probably be knocked over by it. How can we kill something like this..."
The young man in the red jacket's teeth chattered. "We have to run! Run now!"
Zhao Bingbing withdrew her gaze, frowning. "We're not far from the sewer. Quickly drop any heavy equipment. If we get to the sewer, we should be able to make it."
The burly man decisively dropped his machine gun and several metal ammo clips, immediately heading toward the sewer. The others also discarded their heavy firearms and ammo, running as fast as they could.
While running, Zhao Bingbing glanced back at the red dot on the mutant crocodile. Thanks to her Divine Eye, she could clearly see the person's appearance, even his pores, despite being several kilometers away. When she realized how young the person was, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.
Run!
Chen Chao felt his body on the verge of collapse. His vision was blurry and unstable, a physiological reaction from running at such high speeds in low oxygen. Although his evolved lungs could store air for ten minutes, running at top speed drained his oxygen reserves quickly, and he couldn't breathe.
Dizzy, his vision spinning, Chen Chao felt his steps grow heavier, as if his legs were made of lead.
He was running purely on sheer survival instinct, moving mechanically.
The super mutant crocodile was quickly closing in from behind. Chen Chao could almost smell the foul odor from its mouth and feel the hot breath on his back.
Was he going to die like this?
Chen Chao refused to accept it. He let out a furious roar and pushed himself to accelerate, launching himself forward for a brief distance.
Just then...
Roar!
A deafening roar echoed from the distance, easily drowning out his own cry. Compared to this roar, his shout sounded like raindrops beneath a thunderstorm, barely audible.
Boom!
The earth trembled violently, and with a heavy shake, a massive golden figure leaped out from the front.