Chapter 88: Mutated forest |
"It really changed everything." Shangguan Bing Xue couldn't help but let her eyes widen in shock.
"This is nothing. Just wait until you get more to the center and you'll see the difference." Chen He, who had sat beside her, remarked with a serious expression.
Even though he had expected it after listening to Chen He explaining the situation the day before, Bai Zemin could not help his face from changing slightly as he scanned the surroundings while the bus he was riding on slowly moved forward.
The familiar buildings, built with the best materials available and whose plans were designed by the best architects in the country, were now cracked while some suspicious-looking tangles surrounded the walls. Some areas of the road had been cracked by long roots of trees or other extremely strange plants growing everywhere, forcing the drivers of the vehicles to slow down their speed even more.
But the most striking thing was that even from a considerable distance, Bai Zemin and the rest could already see the tops of several trees that had previously been only a few meters high, now silently rising up several tens of meters as if they wanted everyone to see them, announcing their growth.
The faces of the survivors changed and their expressions varied. But for the most part, they were all surprised and scared at the same time as they huddled together and began to whisper softly.
Although they were frightened at the strange and unfamiliar sight, no survivor present dared to make too much noise. This was so not only for fear of the unknown dangers that might lurk nearby but also because Bai Zemin's exhibition of cruelty and decisiveness in the killing had been deeply engraved in the minds of all of them.
Those with malicious intentions or ulterior motives had basically been slaughtered yesterday and those who still had some kind of wild thoughts did not have the courage to do anything for fear of having their necks destroyed without warning. Therefore, although the atmosphere was oppressive, no one made too much noise apart from the inevitable and everything went quite smoothly.
Shangguan Bing Xue, being the observant woman that she was, also noticed the change inside the bus she was riding. She could not help but look out the front window at the bus in front of her with complex eyes.
The buses stopped next to the back of a six or seven-story building that was formerly used as the main library and the survivors began to deboard in an organized manner under the watchful eyes of the eight fighters of the group.
Bai Zemin along with Chen He went into the building and made a quick job eliminating the zombies from the first three floors of the building to let the survivors enter. This would only take them ten to twenty minutes as the library was not usually a crowded place; less so on days when the internet had everything that was needed.
While the two of them were in charge of the temporary shelter in which the survivors would stay when the stronger ones went deeper into the mutant forest to try to open an exit to the outside world, Shangguan Bing Xue, Liang Peng, Cai Jingyi, who were currently the three strongest of the group, stayed behind to protect approximately three hundred survivors.
As for the remaining few more than a hundred, they were currently carrying out a different task under the guidance of Fu Xuefeng and Zhong De.
In front of the group of survivors who were walking densely packed together to lessen the possibilities of death or infection in case a mutated creature or zombie appeared, Fu Xuefeng and Zhong De were advancing silently while cautiously observing the surroundings. Because they were both men of few words, regardless of their motives, and due to the danger of the environment, neither of them tried to initiate a conversation and simply walked in silence.
After walking for about five minutes, Zhong De stopped and while observing the surroundings noted, "I think this place should be fine."
Fu Xuefeng also stopped and the survivors walking a few steps behind immediately stopped as well. He carefully observed the surroundings and noticed that the green grass that was neatly clipped in the past was now so tall that it passed his knees.
"All right." Fu Xuefeng nodded, still feeling a little depressed about missing the opportunity that Bai Zemin presented to him yesterday.
Zhong De looked at him and tapped him on the shoulder as he said with a rare smile: "Why the long face? Has big brother Bai treated us unkindly? From the time we started following him, he not just gave us the best food, but also gave us the right to express our ideas, opinions, and even continues to give us the opportunity to become stronger by giving us valuable treasures. I believe that as long as we follow him honestly we can have a better future and the opportunities to become stronger will come naturally."
Fu Xuefeng was surprised as this was the first time he heard Zhong De speak so many words at the same time. However, his companion's words lightened his pessimistic mood and he nodded firmly, "You are right. We just have to follow in his footsteps and he will lead the way as he has always done so far."
Zhong De nodded silently and raised a thumbs up at him.
Neither of them was dumb or else they wouldn't have been able to get into a university as prestigious as this one. Moreover, their adaptability was also higher than that of normal survivors, allowing them to notice things that others might overlook. Therefore, both Fu Xuefeng and Zhong De knew that as long as Bai Zemin did not die suddenly, he was destined to achieve great feats in this new world.
Currently, Fu Xuefeng was level 15 and Zhong De level 13; however, even at this point, they could not even see Bai Zemin's back. They both knew that with their current stats even facing a few dozen people was no challenge at all, yet neither of them could even comprehend Bai Zemin's strength.
They both knew that the world had changed and society would never be the same again, even if humans regained control of the world things could not go back to the way they were. New powers would arise and with the possibility of evolving, the government, military forces, everything would be restructured.
The world was far, infinitely more dangerous than in the past; however, opportunities came hand in hand with danger. Zhong De and Fu Xuefeng had decided to change their destinies and, in case they were still alive, those of their families as well.
How? Betting everything on Bai Zemin.
Since he had managed to rise to such an extent so quickly and was even able to terminate First Order existences so easily, Bai Zemin's future would be resplendent and as part of the initial group of his followers, Zhong De and Fu Xuefeng, as well as their loved ones, would naturally be able to take a small part of that resplendence.
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