Chapter 147: Inspection Checkpoint

Endless Paradise

Bai Mu summoned the Hand of Walrider and carefully removed the severed arm hanging from the car door.

The arm's strength was truly immense. Even though it had been blasted off by a shotgun, the Hand of Walrider, with its ten points of strength, could not pry its fingers open.

Severed from its main body, it continued to exert force, exactly like the phenomenon Bai Mu had witnessed when he dismembered that infected gray rat.

Combat-oriented Doppelgangers possessed a tenacious vitality that neither humans nor any animals in the natural world could ever hope to match.

Bai Mu had no choice but to have the Hand of Walrider grip a small knife, slice at the severed arm outside the car window, and tear it away piece by piece.

The whole process took about ten seconds, dropping his Stamina to 74 percent. However, the special effect of the Murkoff military boots was still active. Even though he was driving, his Stamina was not depleting; instead, it was slowly recovering.

He tore open a pack of compressed biscuits, popped one into his mouth, and then took out a bottle of mineral water, drinking half of it to rehydrate.

"You all should eat and drink something too," Bai Mu said to the children in the passenger seat.

The three kids exchanged glances, but they only drank a little water and ate nothing.

Even drinking water seemed to be a struggle for them, their expressions looking as if they were fighting the urge to gag.

Only then did Bai Mu remember that they were just three underage children. The sheer horror of what they had witnessed along the way was too massive of a shock. The fact that they had not thrown up was already a miracle, especially with a massive pool of blood smeared across the car window and the heavy stench of sweat and gore lingering in the cabin.

Ten years ago, when the apocalypse first began, Bai Mu had gone through this exact phase.

Fear at the sight of corpses and blood was an instinctual reaction hardwired into human genetics—a primal warning that such things must be avoided. Bai Mu grabbed a handful of coffee beans and a cigarette, offering them to the children. "If you feel nauseous, smell the tobacco and coffee." The children followed his advice, taking a few deep sniffs, and slowly began to recover.

"Mister... are you not scared at all?" Leon asked.

"Of course I have been scared," Bai Mu replied. "But fear does not solve anything. If we could not overcome the terror in our hearts, we would have been killed by that thing just now."

Leon stared at the pocket knife in his hands, seemingly pondering his words.

Bai Mu continued driving. The closer they got to the outskirts of the city, the quieter and darker it became.

Buildings grew increasingly sparse, replaced by desolate and ruined landscapes.

However, at the intersection ahead, Bai Mu spotted a barricaded checkpoint in the distance.

He had no choice but to bring the car to a halt. On the road leading out of the city, the military had set up a defensive line. Tanks, military vehicles, and mortars formed a solid wall, completely blocking the path forward.

Searchlights flared to life there, illuminating the surroundings.

Bai Mu had been driving with his headlights off, so the army should not have noticed him yet.

But trying to drive straight through them would be nothing short of a pipe dream.

That was a fully armed military force. The artillery and bullets were not just for show.