Chapter Nine: Love at the Turning Corner

Thirty minutes had passed since our departure.

Aside from the earlier trouble at the corner, our group’s progress had been relatively smooth. Tong Jia gently tugged at my sleeve, pointing ahead. I followed her gaze—indeed, the shape ahead resembled a vehicle.

It was only twenty or thirty meters away—hardly enough distance for a clear look; all I could make out was a vague, shadowy mass. The proximity made me wary. It would be disastrous to fail at the final hurdle.

Tong Jia pulled at the sleeve of a teammate behind us, signaling for him to scout ahead. If all was well, we would board the vehicle directly. This was standard procedure for scavengers or, truthfully, for anyone—if we all rushed forward together and something unpredictable happened, we’d be doomed.

I watched the front with a grave expression. So far, there were no signs of danger—no sounds of predators in the vicinity.

One minute…

Two minutes…

Three minutes…

Still no movement.

Several minutes ticked by. The teammate who’d crept forward had vanished into thin air, as if evaporated—no sound, no signal. The engine didn’t start, nor did we hear any screams.

A silent terror crept over the three of us, hidden behind the bus stop thirty meters away. Beads of sweat gathered on my forehead; unease gnawed at me. Something was definitely wrong.

At this point, we had only two choices: move forward together, or turn back. Gritting my teeth, I tightened the Tang sword strapped to my hand and moved forward alone. Regardless of whether what lay ahead was a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair, I had to investigate.

That vehicle was our only chance to leave ZM City. There were other abandoned cars scattered about, but none were sound-dampened; starting one would draw a horde of predators in an instant.

Tong Jia, too, tugged at her teammate’s sleeve, urging him to follow. Thus, I led, the two of them behind me, forming a cautious triangle as we edged forward.

Damn it, brother, you’ve really landed me in a predicament—how did you just disappear without a trace?

Ten meters… eight meters… five meters…

We were getting closer.

What the hell—!

As the distance shrank, I finally saw what the 'vehicle' ahead truly was. This was no sound-dampened truck.

It was a gigantic toad!

A mutant toad!

Thank goodness my vision had been enhanced again, or I might have blundered into it as I did with the mutant slug before.

Compared to this creature, slugs were positively docile! No wonder there’d been no sound—the poor guy who went ahead didn’t have my eyesight; he must have crept right up and been swallowed whole!

No wonder—of course! Not a single corpse in the area. That thing’s belly was bulging; it must have gobbled them all up.

Mutants attack indiscriminately, devouring both the living and the dead. Though they too are infected, they’re nothing like the reanimated corpses; the virus in these monsters simply causes mutations, not mindless resurrection. Still, mutants are violently aggressive, impossible to approach or tame, eating and killing anything in their path. The infection drives them into a frenzy.

The toad’s closed eyes snapped open. Its crimson pupils fixed on me for a moment, but instead of attacking, it bounded away in a series of heavy leaps.

I stood speechless.

What was that look? Contempt? Was I actually being scorned by a toad?

Was my body so insubstantial, not even worth eating?

I had braced myself for a fight to the death, only for it to end like this. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I shook my head with a rueful smile—too absurd for words.

I couldn’t help but wonder how much gene value a mutant would yield if slain. But I couldn’t afford to provoke one now; that would have to wait.

As the toad hopped away, the sound-dampened truck it had concealed finally came into view. On closer inspection, it resembled a medium-sized cargo truck, armored with iron plating and wound about with hooked steel mesh—a decent level of protection.

It would certainly suffice against lesser corpses.

As long as it hadn’t been overturned by those things.

Tong Jia and the other teammate were still stunned. They had no idea what that enormous creature was, but for something that size to be right in front of them, and for them not to notice—it was terrifying.

Spotting the truck, Tong Jia hurriedly felt for the door, unlocked it with the key, and jumped inside.

The other teammate and I wasted no time, following close behind.

A chorus of heavy breaths filled the cabin as we exchanged glances, exhilarated by the sense of survival. At last, we were inside.

The oppressive atmosphere outside had been stifling, almost suffocating.

But we had lost a teammate in the process.

A low, guttural rumble sounded—then a furious roar.

The ground began to tremble.

Something massive was charging toward us, shaking the earth as it approached.

“Whatever it is, drive! I’ll take the wheel!”

I slid into the driver’s seat. Given the circumstances, I was the only one with the eyesight for the job.

The sound-dampened truck truly was a cut above the rest. It started and moved almost silently; only those inside could hear the faint rumble.

Every component, from tires to engine, had been upgraded to meet the demands of the times.

I slammed on the accelerator, pushing the speed to its limit as we hurtled toward the convenience store.

Thud… thud…

The tremors persisted, growing more intense, closer with each passing moment.

A shadow crept over my heart—I knew what this meant.

A fiend!

Damn it! This time I have a vehicle—let’s see if you can catch me now!

The memory of my ordeal two days prior burned in my mind. If only this thing could be killed, I’d have torn it apart—assuming I even stood a chance in a fight.

Thud-thud… thud-thud…

The tremors grew fiercer, the darkness outside concealing everything, but the pounding footsteps behind us told us all we needed to know.

Death was at our heels.

My heart leapt into my throat. We couldn’t go back to the convenience store—absolutely not!

We had to shake this thing off. If it trapped us at the store, we’d be finished.

A regular iron door wouldn’t withstand even a single swipe from a fiend—it would tear straight through!