140 A Convenient Rescue!

Someone is coming?

Xue Feng did not expect such a coincidence. He had barely begun his search, and already someone was approaching. Could it be that there were still valuable supplies in these warehouses, drawing people here to scavenge?

He quickly ducked into a nearby storage unit, hiding in the gaps between a stack of polyethylene sheets. Surely, no one would be interested in that. To his surprise, the vehicle pulled up right at the entrance of the warehouse he was hiding in. The engine was loud—it sounded like a truck.

"Damn it! The fertilizer is all gone!"
"That’s impossible! There were over two hundred tons just a couple of days ago. How could it all disappear so suddenly?"
"What the hell is going on here?"

Several men began shouting, their voices laced with anxiety. They conducted a brief, frantic search, but came up empty-handed. They failed to notice Xue Feng hiding nearby.

"What do we do now? Who could have taken it? How are we going to report back?"
"There’s another warehouse in the west of the city with about a dozen tons. It’s not much, but we’ll have to take that instead. We’ll tell the boss someone else raided the supply; he won't blame us."

The group left in their truck, feeling helpless. Once the vehicle was out of sight, Xue Feng emerged. He saw it was a blue truck. He didn't know whose supplies he had intercepted—perhaps that base of five hundred people—but in the apocalypse, it was every man for himself. He felt no guilt.

With the coast clear, he continued his search. In the next warehouse, he found a collection of pianos. They were useless in the apocalypse—only good for attracting zombies. Not knowing if any of the women at his base played, he tossed two of them into his spatial storage bag just in case. There was nothing else of value, mostly just industrial raw materials. Still, the haul of fertilizer was more than enough to be satisfied.

As he prepared to leave, he spotted a motorcycle in the corner of the warehouse, its keys still in the ignition. He walked toward it immediately; he had been worrying about transportation, as his armored vehicle was too conspicuous. He didn't know the situation in White City and didn't want to attract too much attention.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a mutant dropped from above, lunging at Xue Feng. It had long limbs and had been clinging to the ceiling of the warehouse all along. The motorcycle had been nothing more than bait to lure in survivors.

"Divine Firmament!"

Without hesitation, Xue Feng flicked a bolt of lightning from his fingertips. The mutant erupted in a burst of sparks and fell to the ground, motionless.

"Using a motorcycle as bait... looks like you weren't far from becoming a Tier 2 mutant," Xue Feng remarked, stepping forward to crush the zombie’s skull. As expected, he found a crystal core inside. He had seen a Tier 3 mutant do the same, devouring the cores of other mutants. It seemed that cannibalism among zombies was a method of evolution, though not all of them practiced it. Just as he had seen several Tier 3 mutants who could command ordinary zombies, while others could not—it appeared to be a specific talent, much like how not all Tier 4 mutants were capable of triggering a massive horde.

He started the motorcycle and was delighted to find it had plenty of fuel—enough to circle White City. Dressed in a tracksuit with a rifle slung over his shoulder, he just needed a pair of sunglasses to complete the look.

He pulled out his phone to check the map. Without cellular signal, the device served only as an offline navigation tool, a clock, and a flashlight. White City had three parks but only one zoo. After a moment of thought, he decided to head to the zoo first. Since the system had indicated a powerful ability user was located there, he could attempt to form an alliance. He would contact that person first, then verify the second piece of intelligence about the survivor group entrenched in the park. Perhaps he could even trade information with the people at the zoo.

As he rode down the road, Xue Feng felt a sense of ease—the pure, unadulterated pleasure of a joyride. It was easy to see why so many people loved motorcycles. Of course, the experience would be even better if not for the zombies surrounding him.

White City was similar in size to Jiang City, and like the latter, its shops had long been picked clean. There were no supplies to be found. Just then, he spotted a familiar vehicle ahead: the blue truck. It had stopped on the side of the road—or rather, it had crashed into a building.

"What kind of driving is that?" Xue Feng shook his head. Their skills were abysmal.

But soon, he realized it wasn't just a simple accident. He heard the roar of zombies and human voices ahead.

"A Tier 2 mutant! We’re finished!"
"I didn't think there would be a Tier 2 here. It must have been tracking us!"
"We just have to hold out! The boss will send someone to find us once he realizes we haven't returned!"

The men were shouting, their voices filled with despair. They had barricaded themselves inside a nearby house, while a jet-black zombie clawed at the security door, trying to break in. If the door hadn't been made of reinforced steel, it would have been shredded long ago.

Upon hearing the motorcycle, the Tier 2 mutant turned its head toward Xue Feng. Its eyes were filled with greed; it clearly sensed that the human on the motorcycle was a more delicious meal. Abandoning the house, it turned and sprinted toward him.

"Death wish," Xue Feng scoffed, pulling his rifle from his back.

*Rat-tat-tat!*

A series of precise shots rang out. The first bullet shattered the mutant’s left eye; the second blew away its mouth. The third, a fatal shot, shattered its neck. The creature lost its balance and slammed into the ground with such force that its head was completely severed.

"Brother, thank you for saving us!"

The survivors emerged from the house, visibly ecstatic to see the Tier 2 mutant dead.