On the desolate streets, dilapidated vehicles were strewn haphazardly, blocking the way, and human corpses were scattered everywhere, most of them reduced to mere skeletons after being gnawed upon.
Rotten corpses with ulcerated bodies wandered aimlessly.
Suddenly—
Hoof! Hoof! Hoof!
Several figures sped towards them from the far end of the street. Leading the way was a youth in a black tracksuit, his expression indifferent. Even though he was running swiftly, he showed no signs of exhaustion.
Behind him were two girls. One looked to be about seven or eight years old, with a childlike and innocent face, wearing black gummy glasses without lenses, occasionally pushing up the frames with her hand.
The other girl was around sixteen or seventeen, dressed in exceptionally elegant attire—a black European-style dress, with a veil of dark lace covering the upper half of her face, revealing only her beautifully curved, snow-white chin. A loose black tutu dress covered her feet, and occasionally, when the wind blew, it revealed a glimpse of her snow-white ankles, adding an astonishing beauty.
Behind the trio were seven or eight rotten corpses, giving the impression from afar that they were being chased by these corpses.
Chen Chao glanced at the sky. Dusk had fallen, and the smell of decay in the air seemed even stronger. He whispered, "Let's find a place to rest and continue our journey tomorrow."
"Mm-hmm." Chen Shiyu followed his instructions without hesitation.
Fan Xiangyu asked with curiosity, "You're so powerful, so what's the problem with traveling at night?"
Chen Chao said, "Although there aren't many things in this city that can threaten me, there are plenty that can kill you."
Fan Xiangyu pursed her lips and thought to herself, If you hadn't stopped me from evolving, I would have ruled this place already. Humph!
Chen Chao casually chose an office building as a temporary shelter. Just as he was about to approach it, he suddenly heard a faint breathing sound coming from behind the building.
"Are there survivors?" Chen Chao furrowed his brow slightly.
At that moment, the faint breathing sound moved towards them. Soon after, Chen Chao saw a woman's face peeking out from the alley behind the office building, waving at them and whispering, "Come here, quickly!"
The expressions on Chen Chao and his companions' faces became strange.
Chen Shiyu suddenly clapped her hands and exclaimed, "I got it! She must think that the rotten corpses controlled by Little Xiangxiang are chasing us, so she wants to save us."
"Save people? Are there such foolish humans?" Fan Xiangyu asked in surprise.
Chen Chao stopped and glanced at the woman. He didn't go over directly as he didn't want to have too many interactions with these survivors.
Ye Fei was hiding at the alley entrance. When she saw that these three people had actually stopped in their tracks, and the rotten corpses chasing them were almost upon them, she panicked and, without thinking too much, rushed out of the alley, ran up to them, and urgently said, "Come with me quickly! I have a shelter. They're almost here, hurry!"
She spoke rapidly, squatted down to pick up the little girl among the three, turned around swiftly, and ran back towards the alley.
"This..." Fan Xiangyu was stunned, obviously not expecting someone so fearless to dare to take his sister away in front of this demon. She turned to look at Chen Chao and said, "What should we do? She took your sister away."
Chen Chao gave her an annoyed look and said, "Keep your monsters away and follow me."
Fan Xiangyu said "Oh" and issued an instruction for the pursuing rotten corpses to stay put before immediately following Chen Chao.
After Ye Fei took Chen Shiyu into the alley, she glanced back at Chen Chao and Fan Xiangyu. Seeing that they had followed, she felt relieved and quickly said, "Hurry up, these monsters are fast!"
Fan Xiangyu chuckled, thinking that this woman was somewhat cute for being so clumsy. If the three of them were ordinary survivors, they would have been killed by these rotten corpses long ago with their speed, and they wouldn't have been chased for so long.
Chen Chao gave her an annoyed look, containing a hint of warning.
Seeing his cold gaze, Fan Xiangyu managed to suppress her laughter, but a smile still lingered on her face. She covered her mouth with her snow-white hand and her shoulders shook uncontrollably.
Chen Chao rolled his eyes in exasperation and gave Chen Shiyu, who was being carried on this woman's shoulder, a look, signaling her not to reveal their strength.
Chen Shiyu nodded and then lowered her head to play with the woman's hair.
Ye Fei ran breathlessly. When she was close to the shelter and glanced back, not seeing any shadows of the monsters, she sighed in relief and immediately put the little girl down. She was panting heavily, exhausted but comforted to have saved three more lives.
Looking at the innocent face of the little girl, she felt a hint of pity and stroked her hair, saying, "Don't be afraid, sister is here."
Chuckle!
Fan Xiangyu couldn't hold it in anymore and almost sprayed out her mucus. When Ye Fei looked up at her, she quickly covered her mouth with her hand but couldn't suppress her laughter any longer, and her shoulders shook incessantly.
Chen Chao was somewhat speechless. Is it really so funny? Will you die if you don't laugh?
"What's wrong with you?" Ye Fei looked at her actions and, thinking of something, sighed immediately, "Don't be sad. At least we're still alive. As long as we're alive, there's hope!"
Fan Xiangyu turned her head away, and her shoulders shook even more violently.
Seeing that this woman was about to say something else, Chen Chao quickly interrupted her to prevent her from saying anything more and suffocating this easily amused rotten corpse woman to death. He said, "It's getting late. Do you have a place to stay?"
Ye Fei looked at him and thought of how this young man, even when being chased by rotten corpses, still carried a little girl and a girl with no combat capabilities. She felt some admiration and said, "Yes, follow me."
Under her guidance, Chen Chao and his companions followed her to a garage-like basement. To Chen Chao's surprise, there were seven or eight survivors here, each dressed in ragged clothes and looking weary, sitting in a circle around a fire to keep warm.
It was just the beginning of January, after December, and it was a cold season. Evolved beings like Chen Chao were naturally not afraid of the cold and could wear light clothing, but these were just ordinary survivors, each wrapped in thick cotton-padded jackets, hunched up like insects.
With the arrival of Chen Chao and his companions, these survivors looked up. Chen Chao could clearly see that their initial expressions were full of anticipation, but when they saw Chen Chao and his companions, they immediately turned to astonishment, followed by disappointment, and even a hint of subtle anger.
"Officer Ye, you're back," said a middle-aged man whose attire was slightly neatter and cleaner, forcing a smile as he greeted Ye Fei.
An officer? Chen Chao instinctively glanced at the woman's waist, where a gun was tucked.
Upon hearing his words, Ye Fei suddenly remembered something and turned to Chen Chao and his companions, saying, "I'm a police officer, Ye Fei. Don't worry, there are no rotten corpses nearby. It's safe here. I go out on patrol every day."
...