Chapter 302

Drones! Drones everywhere! They were searching!

Xu Xiaochuan's heart stopped, and he scrambled to put Xuanyuan Qing down to find a place to hide. But the weakness of his body far exceeded his expectations; he staggered and almost fell headfirst.

"Not the end..." Xuanyuan Qing's voice was against his ear, as thin as a thread, yet carrying a kind of exhaustion as if she saw through everything, "Just... beginning..."

Beginning? Beginning of what? Xu Xiaochuan's brain buzzed, and the cold coordinates and the words "Ark project" jumped out again uncontrollably. He gritted his teeth, his gaze locked onto the abandoned factory building complex that looked relatively intact in the distance. Screw what it was beginning; survive today first!

"Hold on tight!" he roared, not knowing if he was saying it to the person on his back or to himself. He readjusted his carrying posture, dragged that almost useless right leg, and charged toward the factory building in a posture that was almost self-mutilating.

The humming of the drones grew closer, like vultures circling overhead. The red scanning beams flashing beneath the drone bellies were like the gaze of the god of death, sweeping back and forth between the ruins on the ground. Xu Xiaochuan limped, every step like stepping on broken glass, pulling at the wound on his leg, making his vision go dark, cold sweat instantly soaking his back. He could only desperately use the shadows cast by collapsed walls and abandoned machinery to move forward in a twisted, zigzagging manner, dodging the tracking from above.

Just as a blinding red light beam was about to lock onto him, the black chip in the pocket of his combat uniform suddenly heated up slightly, and the layer of blue light on its surface that had almost extinguished flashed imperceptibly. Almost simultaneously, the drone closest to him in the sky seemed to have its signal interfered with, its movements clearly stalling, the airframe shaking unnaturally, and the scanning beam also appearing briefly disordered, narrowly missing his shadow.

It worked! Xu Xiaochuan's heart pounded wildly, the brief excitement brought by the adrenaline surge suppressing the pain. He didn't have time to think about the working principle of this thing, nor did he have time to celebrate, immediately seizing this fleeting gap, lowering his body, and lunging into the shadow cast by a large, rusted pipe nearby. The blue light of the chip flashed a few more times weakly, becoming even dimmer, and the burning sensation also subsided. This thing seemed to be able to save his life, but its energy was extremely limited, one use less each time.

He leaned his back against the cold, rough inner wall of the pipe, his chest heaving violently, gasping for air, his throat full of the taste of rust. Xuanyuan Qing on his back was frighteningly hot; he could feel that heat that could burn people even through several layers of fabric. He struggled to free a hand, touched her forehead, scorching! Wound infection plus blood loss, if he couldn't find medicine and clean water, she probably really wouldn't last long.

The mark on his back also sent a sharp tingling sensation following the chip's anomaly, followed by a weak but clear heat flow injecting into his limbs, temporarily suppressing the bone-piercing pain in his right leg, but also bringing a deeper dizziness and fatigue. This power was simply drinking poison to quench thirst, every use frantically overdrawing his already meager vitality. Xu Xiaochuan smiled bitterly; his old man's arrangement was truly step-by-step heart-stopping.

Must find a relatively safe place to treat the wound, replenish supplies, even if it was just dirty water and expired food. He steeled his heart again, carried Xuanyuan Qing, who was almost unconscious, and followed the faint blue light induction occasionally emitted by the chip—the light seemed to have a vague attraction to a certain target—and struggled through the ruins like a maze.

Finally, he stumbled into an abandoned factory building with peeling walls and several broken holes in the roof. It was relatively intact, at least temporarily shielding them from those endless "flies" overhead. Xu Xiaochuan carefully placed Xuanyuan Qing against a relatively clean wall, and she slid to the ground softly.

A pile of metal boxes rusted beyond recognition was stacked in the corner of the factory. Xu Xiaochuan dragged his injured leg, limping over, not holding much hope, but still rummaging through them one by one, hoping to hit the jackpot and find something useful. Most of the boxes had long been emptied, or only contained rusted screws and broken parts he couldn't name. The dust made him cough.

"Damn it, a place even rats wouldn't stay..." Xu Xiaochuan cursed in a low voice, but his movements didn't stop. Finally, in a wooden box that was almost falling apart and emitting a rotten, sour smell, his eyes lit up. A few cans with blurred labels and severely deformed bodies, and half a bottle of turbid water floating with impurities.

He picked up a can, weighed it, and looked at the production date—it was long since blurred beyond recognition. He pried open a can, and a smell that was indescribable, mixed with rancid grease and metal rust, rushed toward him; inside was some kind of sticky, suspicious-colored meat paste. How long had it been expired? Heaven knows. His stomach churned, and he almost vomited. But looking at Xuanyuan Qing in the corner, unconscious and with dry, peeling lips, he held it back.

He unscrewed the half bottle of water, sniffed it, and it had a heavy earthy smell and fishy algae smell. He hesitated for a moment, dipped his finger in a little water, and carefully sent it to Xuanyuan Qing's lips. Her lips instinctively moved a few times, swallowing a little bit with difficulty.

Xu Xiaochuan couldn't care about anything else either; now was not the time to be picky. He picked up the can, scooped the meat paste, which was extremely challenging to human limits in appearance and smell, with his fingers, closed his eyes, and stuffed it into his mouth, swallowing it whole, then picked up the water bottle and gulped down a few mouthfuls of dirty water. The cold liquid, carrying rust and strange tastes, slid down his dry, burning throat, slightly relieving the burning sensation, but his stomach felt like it had been stuffed with a cold stone, sinking heavily.

This meager "replenishment" didn't bring much sense of security. Overhead, the humming of the drones never disappeared, instead becoming denser, like a pack of hounds that never knew fatigue, seemingly having completely locked onto this area, conducting a carpet search. What were they waiting for?

The answer was soon revealed.

A low and rhythmic engine roar, mixed with the creaking sound of metal tracks crushing gravel, came from far away outside the factory, getting closer and closer, clearer and clearer. The sound was heavy, carrying an unquestionable sense of power.

Ground vehicles!

Xu Xiaochuan stood up suddenly, moving too fast and pulling at his wound, making him gasp in pain. His heart felt like it had been gripped by a cold hand, shrinking instantly. Pursuers, not just those "flies" in the sky, the big guys on the ground had come too! Who were they? With such complete equipment, they were definitely not ordinary local armed forces. Military? Or the "Ouroboros" people who wouldn't let go?

He subconsciously grabbed the half bottle of dirty water and looked at Xuanyuan Qing, who was curled up in the corner, dead or alive. Run? Where to run? The net was spread everywhere outside. Hide? This broken factory could block the drones in the sky, but it couldn't block the search of the ground troops.

The engine sound was closer, and he could even feel the slight vibration coming from the ground.