Chapter 20 – Rescue

Chapter 20 – Rescue

As the group rushed into Luofeng Village, they all breathed a sigh of relief. They were extremely grateful that they had left some people behind in the village when they departed. If two or three mutated beasts had been blocking the gate now, casualties would have been inevitable.

The village gate slammed shut instantly. The charging bristle boars couldn’t stop in time and crashed into the gate one after another. The tremendous impact made the entire wall tremble, emitting creaking sounds that made Liu Hao and the others extremely anxious. They feared the wall might collapse under the assault of these giant boars.

However, Cheng Yang knew that no matter how many bristle boars there were, they couldn’t breach the wall. With its defense rating of five points, these early first-tier bristle boars simply didn’t have the capability to break through.

The ensuing battle held no suspense. As Cheng Yang attacked, he explained, “These bristle boars are among the more troublesome early first-tier monsters. Especially when encountered in the wild, if you can’t kill them before they close in, it will be a disaster. A warrior’s shield can’t stop a bristle boar’s charge. That’s why I told you to run immediately earlier. In that situation, no matter how many warriors we had, casualties would have been inevitable. In the coming days, if you encounter a group of bristle boars in the wild, your first priority should be to escape.”

Everyone carefully noted Cheng Yang’s words – this knowledge could save their lives.

After all the bristle boars were killed, Cheng Yang and his group set out again for Huimin Town. Before leaving, Cheng Yang checked his magic energy points, which had reached nearly 600. Over a hundred of these points had been obtained from the Bloody Church dungeon earlier.

He was eagerly anticipating his spiritual energy points breaking through 1000. Once that happened, he would gain four times the cultivation speed. Of course, the hourly consumption of spiritual energy would also double.

This journey went relatively smoothly. Although they encountered some mutated creatures along the way, and even a group of 11 green-skinned monkeys near Huimin Town, their coordinated teamwork ensured these creatures didn’t pose much of a threat.

When Liu Hao and the others stepped into Huimin Town, their faces turned pale. Although they had imagined what the apocalypse might look like, and Cheng Yang had described its cruelty, those were just mental constructs. Now, facing the reality, they realized how hollow and naive their previous imaginations had been.

Huimin Town, which once covered two to three square kilometers, now didn’t have a single standing building. Among the ruins, apart from some wandering mutated beasts, not a single human figure could be seen.

Or rather, no living humans could be seen. At their feet lay several blood-stained skeletons, their flesh completely gnawed away, the bones no longer intact.

Having lived through peaceful times, none of them had experienced such scenes before. Their stomachs churned, and they all bent over, vomiting uncontrollably. Pang Shan, being a girl, was particularly affected. She froze in shock at the sight, and when she came to her senses, opened her mouth to scream.

Fortunately, Cheng Yang reacted quickly, rushing over to cover her mouth. Otherwise, they might have faced a horde of mutated beasts.

“If you want to live, don’t scream,” Cheng Yang said calmly before releasing Pang Shan.

Understanding their precarious situation, Pang Shan, though filled with terror, didn’t scream. However, she couldn’t stop her stomach from churning and joined Niu Bing and the others in vomiting on the ground.

Cheng Yang didn’t mock their fragility. In his previous life, when he had witnessed similar scenes in Xiang City, his reaction hadn’t been much better.

*They’ll probably have nightmares for the next few nights,* Cheng Yang thought with a sigh.

After a while, Li Wanshan was the first to recover. Though still pale, his eyes now held a glimmer of determination. He looked at Cheng Yang and asked, “Young man, do you think all towns in the world look like this now?”

Cheng Yang nodded, “Indeed. But currently, the death toll isn’t that high – only about one-fifth of the total population. With a bit of luck, most can survive this initial disaster. But whether they can survive in the long run depends on their abilities.”

Li Wanshan surveyed the desolate surroundings and said, “I understand. To survive, to rescue my family as soon as possible, I’ll adapt to this world quickly.”

By now, the others had also started to adjust, except for Pang Shan, who was still unsteady on her feet.

Cheng Yang continued, “Our main objective here isn’t to kill mutated creatures, but to rescue people. So we’ll try to move through areas with fewer beasts, and everyone should remain as quiet as possible. Once we’ve rescued about twenty people, we’ll return immediately. Any more than that, and we won’t be able to protect everyone on the way back.”

The others nodded in agreement, and they began carefully exploring the ruins.

To avoid detection by the wandering mutated beasts, everyone crouched low, moving slowly through the rubble. The warriors positioned themselves around the group, vigilantly watching for any movement in the distance. At the same time, they called out softly, hoping for responses from any survivors.

When they encountered unavoidable mutated beasts, they didn’t hesitate. One person would lure the creature over, and the group would quickly dispatch it. Even when two beasts were lured over, they managed to kill them without much trouble.

This was largely due to the fact that the scattered mutated beasts weren’t very dense. Many had already gathered into groups, which Cheng Yang and his team avoided at all costs.

After a few minutes, Liu Hao suddenly stopped and said excitedly to Cheng Yang, “Yangzi, look over there!”

He pointed to a spot about thirty meters to their left, where a high-rise building had collapsed into rubble. Among the broken walls were numerous holes, and in one of them, a head had appeared, its eyes glowing as it watched Cheng Yang’s group.

Liu Hao was certain it was a human, not a monster. So far, they hadn’t encountered any monsters that looked exactly like humans.

Cheng Yang gestured to the person, signaling them to stay calm. The person in the hole nodded excitedly, relieved that Cheng Yang’s group had noticed them.

Cheng Yang surveyed the area and noticed a small imp wandering about twenty meters behind the hiding spot. If the person came out, they would surely attract the imp’s attention. To rescue them, they needed to kill the imp first.

The group slowly advanced about ten meters until the imp was within range. Without hesitation, Cheng Yang stood up and fired a magic missile, instantly reducing the imp’s health by 10 points.

The other six ranged attackers followed suit almost simultaneously. In the blink of an eye, the imp fell to the ground, dead.

“Come out quickly!” Cheng Yang urged the hidden person.

But the person hesitated, frightened by Cheng Yang’s group’s attack, especially the mages. Stuttering, they asked, “Are… are you even human?”

Liu Hao immediately took offense, scowling, “You’re the one who’s not human! Your whole family’s not human!”

Instead of being offended, the person became even more excited. They scrambled out of the hole and stumbled over to Cheng Yang’s group, exclaiming, “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Cheng Yang said, “Don’t speak too loudly, or you’ll attract a horde of monsters, and we’ll all be doomed.”

The person’s face paled as they realized they weren’t completely out of danger yet. They whispered, “What… what was that with the arrows and the glowing projectiles?”

Cheng Yang didn’t want to explain too much, saying, “You can think of it as a power humans gain after evolving. But let’s not talk about that now – you’ll understand later. Do you know where other people might be hiding nearby?”

The person immediately replied, “I know… I know! There are many people hiding nearby, but they’re too scared to come out. I can go find them.”

After taking a few steps, the person turned back and said, “Brothers, can you come with me? There are monsters everywhere…”

Cheng Yang agreed, leading Liu Hao and the others forward. During this time, they learned the person’s name was Zhao Chuan, a teacher at a middle school in Huimin Town before the apocalypse.

Under Zhao Chuan’s guidance, about a dozen people were soon called out from surrounding hiding spots. Many had heard Cheng Yang’s group calling earlier but hadn’t dared to believe it was a rescue. Now that Zhao Chuan came to find them, they couldn’t stay hidden any longer.

After witnessing Cheng Yang’s group’s ability to kill monsters, they were more than willing to follow. With these new additions, the group’s pace slowed considerably, and they had to move even more cautiously. Fortunately, apart from the clustered groups of monsters, the rest of Huimin Town wasn’t too densely populated with them. They occasionally encountered one or two people who couldn’t bear their hunger and came out searching for food, all of whom joined Cheng Yang’s group without exception.

Some initially hesitated to join, perhaps thinking a larger group would be more dangerous. But after Zhao Chuan and others explained Cheng Yang’s group’s strength, they quickly changed their minds.

PS: Brothers, you were amazing yesterday! We gained 100 new followers, so as promised, I’ll add an extra chapter today. Can you keep up the momentum? If we reach 150 new followers tomorrow, I’ll add two more chapters… hehe.