Chapter 601

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

The face was gently peeled back, revealing the true intention hidden beneath the words, yet He Jie didn't have the slightest bit of embarrassment.

Anyway, if a person doesn't look out for themselves, heaven and earth will destroy them.

He Jie stiffened his body, craned his neck, and indicated that if it were him, he would be even more high-profile, but absolutely wouldn't be this annoying.

Shen Yao: ……

Fifty steps laughing at a hundred steps, feeling proud?

The car fleet continued forward heading for Sa City, passing through a stretch of road that reached no village ahead and no store behind; a sudden braking threw the entire team into panic.

Shen Yao immediately jumped down from the carriage, quickly ran to the front, and gathered with the responsible staff.

"Young Lady Shen, there are mutants blocking the road."

The staff's information channels were extensive; as soon as Shen Yao arrived, she knew the concrete situation.

"If the quantity is large, just take a detour directly." A head-on confrontation wasn't impossible, but they hadn't rested for several days after passing the mutant willow tree.

Everyone's bodies weren't in optimal condition; at a time like this, clashing hard with mutants — whether they could win was secondary; the loss of manpower alone was something the official side couldn't bear.

"Young Lady Shen, we still hope you can help. Of course, this isn't for nothing; we will……"

The responsible staff promised in a low voice; Shen Yao considered whether this deal was cost-effective, but before she could formally nod, another message came: the mutants ahead had abnormally taken the initiative to attack.

Right, this just got busier.

Shen Yao waved at the responsible staff, then urgently instructed He Jie and Xu Hai a couple of sentences, and afterward rushed alone toward the front of the team.

The ones responsible for clearing the way were the First Squad; they had suffered heavier losses in the operation to clear mutant thorns, and afterward allied with the Third Squad, serving as the vanguard.

This time their luck was also bad; they just happened to collide head-on with the mutants.

They thought it would be like most situations and slowly disperse; unexpectedly, a riot broke out inside the mutants, and after the range expanded, they were directly dragged into it.

When Shen Yao arrived, she happened to run into mutant after mutant, their whole bodies glossy green, stretching their limbs and attacking the crowd.

The mutants looked very much like human-form plants; a pair of eyes emitted an eerie green glow.

In reality, once infected and having lost consciousness, mutants could no longer be called human.

Whether it was limbs that could lengthen and shorten, growing back normally after being severed, or thinking that only knew instinctive action with no emotional reaction whatsoever — they had all deviated from the human category and become a kind of pure monster.

"Dodge!"

Shen Yao shouted, then drew the iron rod and struck it directly onto the mutant's head.

Bang— a sound like a heavy object falling to the ground.

The mutant retreated two steps in succession, shook its head, then switched targets; it locked onto the person who had just hit it.

"Roar!"

Raising its head to the sky and howling, the mutant bared teeth full of green tendrils, spread its four limbs like a gecko, and lunged at Shen Yao in a flying pounce to pin her down.

Shen Yao nimbly turned, swinging the iron rod to strike the mutant's two hands and the neck and back positions in succession.

Bang bang bang bang

Dull thuds rang out continuously; the mutant's movements grew slower and slower.

Raising her hand to twirl a beautiful rod flourish, Shen Yao flung the iron rod in her hand. Like a thrown flying knife, it hit the mutant's neck position.

The mutant's head was cleanly sliced off, revealing the grass-green tendrils wrapped beneath the skin.

Shen Yao's expression didn't change; she picked up the thrown iron rod and went on striking and beating until the mutant's four limbs separated, leaving only the torso.

The number of mutants encountered by the car fleet wasn't large; after a bout of hard labor, the mutants slowly retreated, leaving a mess.

The losses were still very obvious; the injured all lay on the ground crying out in pain.

Fortunately, this time going out, the official side had brought no small quantity of potions; unless death was immediate with no chance of rescue, there was a very high probability of survival.

"These few won't make it; carry them away."

"The mutants' infectivity is no less than mutant plants; remember to inject more inhibitor."

"……"

The accompanying doctors were busy treating and saving people; the official side was responsible for soothing the agitated personnel; Shen Yao had neither external nor internal injuries — the only loss was that the iron rod she threw had gotten somewhat damaged, its carried durability decreased.

"Sister Shen"

He Jie and Xu Hai found an opportunity and sneakily sidled up to Shen Yao.

Shen Yao: ……?

"You two" — she raised her hand and pointed, then glanced at Xu Ningchen's position — "go back."

Things are fine on my end, but the upcoming road-clearing work will probably fall on the Second Squad.

"If nothing's wrong, stay back; don't join the excitement." If something happens on the road, Shen Yao has no energy to mind them.

He Jie and Xu Hai listened and nodded repeatedly, indicating they were sharp; every time something happened they could preserve themselves, absolutely never placing themselves in any danger.

"Sister Shen, just now the Third Squad's person in charge and the First Squad's person in charge were discussing something; we two only heard the words 'danger on the road,' and it felt like they were brewing some conspiracy."

Anyway, those two weren't nearby, so He Jie didn't care whether badmouthing others would be immoral or flawed; he and Sister Shen were a team.

Shen Yao heard this and let out an "oh," indicating that since she already knew, the following matters didn't need them to worry about; they should just go back and rest.

He Jie and Xu Hai came sneakily and left sneakily, the whole process careful and cautious; one wouldn't know they weren't discussing some big matter.

Shen Yao withdrew her gaze toward the distance, pondered for a long while, and decided to go find their squad's person in charge.

"Young Lady Shen"

When Shen Yao arrived, the responsible staff was soothing the injured's emotions, a forced smile on his face.

"Captain, I just saw the other two captains whispering as we passed the fleet up ahead."

Shen Yao gently reminded the person in charge to hurry over and meddle, lest those two reach some private deal that left their own squad out in the cold.

The responsible staff member:...

"Many thanks for the reminder, Miss Shen. I was busy just now and forgot to mention something to them; I'll go find them and discuss it right away."

The responsible staff member also reacted rapidly, not even maintaining their sadness for long before throwing themselves hurriedly into the new matter.

The relationship among the three squads is rather delicate; the slightest feeble change affects squad personnel.

First came actively dealing with mutated plants, then passively dealing with mutated humans.

Will there next be other things such as mutated animals or large wild beasts?

After the disaster, humanity clung to a corner, leaving vast unmanned lands to be occupied by plants and animals.

At present, this place has already become a paradise for plants and animals; we who were once the masters have now been reduced to guests.

Shen Yao sat in the front passenger seat, with He Jie and Xu Hai following behind her, while Xu Ningchen stayed in the rear vehicle; the two of them had to act separately because their capabilities were too strong.

Screech—

The originally steady speed suddenly halted; the violent impact made Shen Yao subconsciously brace backhand against the window to maintain balance, her gaze sharp as she looked ahead at the culprit behind this accident.

The culprit was a swarm of rats as high as an adult's calf.

Just house mice, originally not large, but after various mutations they now look murderous.

They are migrating; because they ran into the fleet and the crowd halfway, their bloodthirsty nature was triggered, and they are eager to attack the fleet.

Tsk

Shen Yao feels her teeth ache; she dislikes this type of creature, including some mollusks — not fear, just a discomfort in her heart.

Bang bang bang

The weapons placed on the vehicle came in handy; digging out a few activatable bombs, Shen Yao threw them at the densest part of the rat swarm.

Instantly, the system blood smell filled Shen Yao's nostrils; rats already smell bad, and now they carry a stench that cannot be dispersed.

She did not get out of the vehicle or engage directly, but chose ranged attacks to wear them down.

"Attention, drive out in a moment!"

The rats carry plague; there is no specific medicine, and infection leads to death.

Now the entire instance is rife with pestilence; their first priority upon coming out is to preserve their lives.

This rat swarm emerged fast and fled fast; animals all have the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm — they are only mutated, not brainless.

Moreover, mutated creatures and mutated humans are not the same species; one has consciousness, the other only a husk remains — no wonder humans speak of mutated humans only in terms of disposal, while facing mutated creatures they must still weigh the gap and look for the right moment to act.

The vehicles blocked halfway began moving; with the obstructive rat swarm gone, they drove very smoothly this time, encountering no problems until they reached the temporary foothold.

Shen Yao pushed open the car door and jumped down; He Jie and Xu Hai followed close behind, looking very much like bag-carrying lackeys beside a big shot.

Xu Ningchen jumped down; the two met up, briefly explained last night's events, then went to find the second squad's person in charge.

This person in charge has not been sleeping well lately, because the third squad and first squad are restless.

Now the second squad has been split in two; half placed at the very front, entrusted to Shen Yao and Xu Ningchen who have the highest combat power, and promised all sorts of benefits, terrified these two might quit halfway.

As for the remaining half, they are at the very rear, with the person in charge personally holding the line, also to guard against the first squad and third squad causing trouble.

The three met face to face; the conversation did not stray from last night's events.

Shen Yao looked up at the surroundings and thought their temporary settlement point was poor; "Let's just leave as soon as possible."

The dust is heavy; once the wind rises sandstorms form easily, and this place is too open, with no plants around to serve as cover.

The person in charge gave an "mm" and nodded, indicating they would depart after eating, best to find an abandoned town; although this area is sparsely populated, villages and towns still existed before.

It's just that the map remains, but the villages' positions have changed.

The first squad and third squad people don't want to leave, but helplessly the decision-makers now are the second squad; the bigger fist is the hard truth.

The fleet had just left on its front foot when their temporary settlement point developed problems on its back foot.

The system howled in Shen Yao's mind, making her head buzz; she wished the system would just shut up and play mute.

System:...

"Host, this is relief, this is joy!"

How hard it was; if something went wrong by accident, many of their few people would be lost.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao told the system to put its heart in its belly; if something happens, the two of them are still there to backstop.

If even the two of them cannot backstop, then it only means this matter is too difficult; the system worrying won't help either.

The fleet moved in stops and starts; what they encountered basically all counted as minor skirmishes.

Shen Yao and Xu Ningchen are the anchor existences; on the road they hardly had to act.

It was the second squad's people who acted frequently, suffering considerable numerical losses.

Among them were even the handiwork of the first squad and third squad hidden inside.

Of course, those two squads didn't fare well either; though they are colleagues, when self-interest is involved they will surely side with themselves.

The person in charge is not the hesitant, indecisive type.

Influenced by this, the second squad's style is domineering, pressing the first squad and third squad so they cannot lift their heads.

Soon, the fleet smoothly arrived at Sa City.

The prosperous city has already been abandoned; the reception area here lies near the suburbs, surrounded by small valleys, easy to defend and hard to attack.

Upon entering Sa City, the team members on the vehicle gradually relaxed, completely unlike the emotionally tense state before.

Because someone was there to receive them, this mission was completed very smoothly.

Many of Shen Yao and Xu Ningchen's rewards must wait until returning to the reception area to collect, but here they still received treatment beyond the standard.

He Jie and Xu Hai watched with exclamations of wonder; why hadn't they received such treatment?

As expected, a Big Shot is a Big Shot!

After staying in Sa City for about five days, the Wedding Guests, now organized, set off to return.

The Official Team was supplemented to a certain extent, even Temporary Workers joined.

"Good grief, I thought searching for Survivors meant going into the city; turns out they're recruiting openly at the Reception Area."

Simple/Unpretentious!

He Jie gave a thumbs-up, admiring it to no end.

Xu Hai complained, "It'll take several days to get back; aren't you afraid something will happen on the road?"

In his opinion, staying behind wasn't bad either; the Officials controlled the big picture and there wouldn't be chaos, and as long as Ordinary People were willing to work hard, they wouldn't have to worry about going hungry.

"If a person wants to leave, they'll have all sorts of reasons, but fundamentally they feel it's more cost-effective to leave; otherwise who would abandon their home and business?"

He Jie pouted, indicating he knew this little scheme better than anyone, because he had done the same thing back then.

People only understand this clearly after doing it themselves.

Xu Hai:...

The Team, fully prepared to depart, left Sa City and returned along the road they had previously taken.

Normally, since they already had experience, they wouldn't encounter anything.

But accidents often come very suddenly, catching people off guard; the car stopped halfway and wouldn't move no matter what, so they were forced to rest.

Shen Yao pointed at the pairs of eyes hidden in the night, telling them not to sleep too soundly, and to be careful that when danger came they wouldn't have reaction time.

"You two, hide in the car and don't make a sound."

The mission in Sa City was completed with Perfection, and they were one step closer to opening the Instance.

Shen Yao didn't want to fail at the last moment after walking halfway.

He Jie and Xu Hai weren't truly useless; the two could occasionally handle some things, saving Shen Yao and Xu Ningchen a lot of time.

Clang!

The iron rod in hand flashed with white light, accompanied by wolf howls and dog barks, and the whole Camp fell into chaos.

Shen Yao focused on the battle before her, occasionally diverting her attention to others.

She lifted her foot and kicked, kicking away the wolf that rushed over; Shen Yao turned sideways and bent down, dodging the wild dog's claws, and smashed the iron rod onto the dog's head.