Chapter 014.1 — Tasks [1]
Author: He Feng Yan
Translator: HeXie
Editor: tattaro
Ji Yun had once followed Wang He and his team to the target destination. With him leading the way, everyone successfully avoided the impassable sections and took less detours along the way. He didn’t know why, but there seemed to be more zombies now than the last time. However, he had no time to think about it anymore as they drove at full speed; the loud sound of the car engines attracting many zombies to after them. Fortunately, their current car’s speed is still faster than the zombies’s running speed.
‘BANG——’ a zombie standing in the middle of the road was ruthlessly hit by Ji Yun. The zombie’s body onto the the modified windshield, leaving a zigzag trace.
In the truck, except for Wu Ye, everyone looked indifferent, already used to such a sight.
Unable to express his feelings, Wu Ye silently turned his head towards the window. The car continued its journey to the edge of the safe radiation zone in Lan Cheng, where vast barren fields and scattered factories could be seen. Numerous zombies, whether it be humanoid or animal-like, frantically shuttled across the barren fields. People who earn their living by hunting zombies were either standing on top of a car shooting with machine guns, attacking zombies using their abilities, or attacking them with crude weapons.
The sounds of gunshots, roar of engines, howls of human beings, and roars of zombies intertwined together, playing the music of death.
Isn’t this thrilling?
No. This was just the lowest level hunt since the scattered zombies did not even form a medium-sized zombie tide. In a sense, this massacre was just an independent hunt. However, once a zombie tide is formed, the balance would be reversed, and that’s when all hell breaks loose.
It has been 20 days since Wu Ye landed in this apocalyptic world. Today was his first time to encounter the desolate nature of the apocalypse. At the same time, it was also a first for him to experience “lamenting the many hardships of people’s lives,” as described by Quyuan.
As they drove ten kilometers ahead, the number of zombies sharply increased.
“Sit tight!” Ji Yun shouted as he accelerated the truck’s speed, constantly drifting to avoid the obstacles on the road and the zombies that had become more and more dense.
It’s obviously not the first time Yang Li Na had experienced such a scene. Thus, she rolled down the window a little and threw out a screaming toy whistle with a thin slice of bloody meat tied to it. The smell of fresh flesh and blood along with sharp sounds were the greatest lure for zombies. And Yang Lin Na having thrown several whistles in succession, Ji Yun immediately felt the pressure ease up. Without hesitation, he took this opportunity to rush out of the ‘zombies wall’ that spread two to three kilometers with the fastest speed the truck could muster.
After rushing out from this area, the number of zombies dropped significantly. However, it was still better in the safe radiation zone in Lan Cheng. Wu Yu couldn’t help but be scared after seeing the zombies coming at them one after another. Fortunately, the unreliable system did not throw him into the periphery. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known how he would die.
After traveling for more than thirty kilometers, the truck finally stopped at the foot of a mountain.
With a tacit understanding among them, everyone took their guns and cleared the surrounding zombies. Zhang Ling, who was charming, came down to look after their vehicles while the others ran for the medicine field on the hill.
Their task was to collect a variant herb, formerly named as honeysuckle. After it mutated, the honeysuckle’s brilliant golden color faded and turned transparent like a crystal. Some zombie hunters had picked it randomly and brought it back to base because they thought the flowers were beautiful. But later, they found out that the mutated honeysuckle not only detoxifies, it could also clear away the heat and worked wonderfully as a remedy for simple headaches, fever, and cold. Its effect was comparable to some special medicines before the apocalypse happened.
In this current situation where medicine was scarce, the mutated honeysuckle was undoubtedly a valuable resource. However, Lan Cheng was not a place where honeysuckle was cultivated. Most honeysuckles grew in the wild or came from people who casually planted them for fun. Few of it were planted in patches, so it’s difficult to find mutated variants.
Wang He was originally from this place, so he knew that there was a small piece of honeysuckle field here. He had long prepared to select this task to make a fortune. Unexpectedly, he wasn’t even able to touch a petal before he was driven away.
Wang He’s team failed because of a group of mutant wolves. Although the group had a variety of small and large ones, over 20 mutated wolves still attacked them. Several people died before they escaped the wolves’ enclosure. The loss on the wolves’ side wasn’t small either. More than a dozen unmutated wolves and pups died in the hands of Wang He and his team. It’s no wonder the hatred between both sides runs deep.
Before taking this task, Qin Wuhua had already inquired with Ji Yun about these details. Right after he had secured an employment contract between him and Yang Li Na’s group, he informed his newly formed team about the situation and made everyone aware of what they were about to face.
“Be careful, they’re coming!” Qin Wuhua warned, stopping everyone in their tracks immediately.
Yang Qi lifted his arms. As he did so, mud gradually formed a two-meter high solid earth wall around them. Before the wall formed completely, Ji Yun released several rat-like robots from inside his backpack. These robot rats rapidly moved on the ground, rushed out of the earthen wall enclosure, and disappeared into the overgrown honeysuckle fields. Two wolves chased after the mechanical rats into the field. Unfortunately for these wolves, Ji Yun had already controlled the rats to burrow into the ground.
The battle started with a series of wind blades that the wolves spat out and left terrible cracks on the earth wall. Then, three gray wolves soared up to heaven. Their bodies swelled up like balloons, growing into twice their original size. With bloodshot eyes, they rushed up and rammed their bodies onto the earthen wall like mad dogs. However, the moment the earthen wall collapsed, the three wolves were hit by three bolts of thick purple lighting that fell accurately onto their heads. The hit caused these three wolves to howl and fall on the ground, convulsing weakly before they died in their blackened fur.
“Ao Wu——” The wolf howled in anger and rushed up with the rest of its companion.
Zhao Jianguo kept throwing fireballs with both hands, while Luo Yang supported him by directing the fireballs with his wind power, forcing the wolves to keep back. Yang Qi mobilized his power and pierced a female wolf’s body silently. Seeing another one from his pack fell down, a newfound insight overwhelmed the beast. A black shadow swiftly moved to where Yang Li Na stood. Before she noticed, sharp teeth were already buried on her neck.