After finishing dinner, Shen Feng and Lu Kaiwen left Wangmen Mountain. They turned on their flashlights and hurried along the road under the cover of night. With Shen Feng, a fifth-tier ability user, present, Lu Kaiwen was no longer worried about his safety. The only thing he needed to be careful about was the rugged mountain path, lest he sprain his ankle.
The moonlight in the sky was hazy, with a vague glow around the moon, giving it a mysterious aura.
However, while on their way, Shen Feng's satellite phone rang. He quickly picked it up, only to hear the devastating news about Professor Chu.
"Shen Feng, my grandfather fell at home. I don't know what will happen to him. Please come back quickly," Chu Chaoyan said tearfully into the phone.
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng immediately replied, "Don't worry, I'll be back right away."
After speaking, Shen Feng opened the paraglider on his back, preparing to take off.
For the elderly, the most dangerous situation is often a fall. An elder's bones are already fragile, and a simple fall can result in broken bones. Moreover, the ground is cold, and lying on it for too long can severely affect internal organs. Shen Feng never expected such a thing to happen to Professor Chu.
Seeing Shen Feng about to take off, Lu Kaiwen quickly grabbed Shen Feng's sleeve and asked, "City Lord, if you fly away, what about me? I'm just a first-tier evolutionist. Many mutated beasts can eat me. I have no self-preservation ability."
Shen Feng heard Lu Kaiwen's question and frowned, pondering. If possible, he wanted to take Lu Kaiwen directly back to Yuzhou. However, the paraglider could only carry one person, and he couldn't take Lu Kaiwen with him.
Suddenly, Shen Feng had an idea. He immediately handed his satellite phone to Lu Kaiwen and said, "For now, go and stay with Mu Ying. After I return to Yuzhou, I'll find a way to contact Ke Yiming and ask him to pick you up on his way back after attending the celebration banquet in Jinling. When you reach the Three Gorges, I'll have someone pick you up by boat. Do you understand?"
Lu Kaiwen had no choice but to agree. The wilderness was too dangerous now. Without the protection of an ability user or a large number of soldiers around, he was in peril! In this situation, it was safer to return to Wangmen Mountain to reside. Waiting for Ke Yiming to return to the Three Gorges and then hitching a ride was the safest course of action.
"City Lord, have a safe journey," Lu Kaiwen said reluctantly.
Shen Feng nodded, leaped off a steep slope, and with a gust of wind behind him, he flew towards the west.
Professor Chu's accident was something Shen Feng had never anticipated. Professor Chu had seemed to be in good health before, but after falling, his life was uncertain. It could only be said that life was unpredictable, and the lives of ordinary people were so fragile, changing in an instant.
Shen Feng also felt a great deal of guilt. He had apprenticed himself to Professor Chu to study history and politics. For many of the problems the professor assigned, Shen Feng had asked Feng Shicheng to answer them. While the answers appeared comprehensive and the problems were considered thoroughly and clearly, they were actually ghostwritten. Shen Feng felt uneasy about deceiving his teacher in this way.
Shen Feng suddenly felt he had let Professor Chu down. The professor had been patiently teaching him, yet more than half of his answers were provided by someone else. This was simply deceiving an elder, and Shen Feng worried he might not have the chance to apologize.
"Professor, please don't let anything happen to you," Shen Feng thought silently.
Shen Feng took off in the dead of night. Fortunately, the moon was present, allowing Shen Feng to see the ground and avoid getting lost.
Although flying in the sky, Shen Feng's speed was not fast enough. He could only glide. While called flying, he had no wings, and it was difficult to even change speed.
Shen Feng estimated that although he could avoid detours in the sky, at his current speed, it would take at least a day to reach Yuzhou.
The sky gradually brightened, and the sun appeared in the east. As the sun rose, birds began to search for food. The early bird catches the worm, and this saying was true, as many birds were blind at night and could not see their surroundings. Thus, as soon as it was dawn, they all came out to forage.
Shen Feng had flown for most of the night, traveling from Dabie Mountain all the way to Wudang Mountain. As he passed through Jingxiang, he saw that the floodwaters on the ground had receded, which brought him some comfort. It seemed the floods in Jingxiang had subsided.
When the typhoon had swept across the land, it brought continuous rain for two months, and the ground was saturated with water that could not drain. Jingxiang's unique terrain accumulated too much water, forming floods. Countless people took refuge in high places, and a large number of houses were washed away. From the sky, the ground looked like a vast expanse of water.
For land animals, this was a pure disaster. However, for airborne and aquatic animals, it was like manna from heaven. The animals that fell into the water were like a buffet for them. Humans were powerless and could only be preyed upon.
The zombies in the Jingxiang region were also wiped out by the floods. Even a zombie king could not withstand the floods. Tens of millions of zombies had fattened the fish and birds in the Jingxiang region.
As Shen Feng was flying, patches of black shadows suddenly flew out from the mountains. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be sparrows. These sparrows had black spots on the sides of their heads, and their bodies were larger, as robust as chickens or ducks. Most crucially, these sparrows flew into the sky in flocks.
Seeing this, Shen Feng quickly ascended, hoping to avoid the flock of sparrows.
Shen Feng wanted to avoid the sparrows, but a large flock of sparrows was not pleased. The sky was their territory, and a human daring to ascend was a direct challenge to their authority. Moreover, he was alone; if they didn't eat him, who would they eat?
Thus, thousands of sparrows flew towards Shen Feng, chirping noisily, their wings rubbing against each other to create a rapid sound.
"Damn it, they dare to harass me at a time like this," Shen Feng said, seeing a flock of sparrows flying up from below and heading towards him. He was instantly angered. He needed to rush back to Yuzhou as quickly as possible, and now these inconsiderate creatures were causing him trouble. It was infuriating.
Shen Feng did not want to get entangled with the sparrows, but the sparrows were very fast. In just a few breaths, a large flock of sparrows took flight and swooped down towards Shen Feng.
Seeing this, Shen Feng had no choice but to fight the mutated sparrows. In an instant, he unleashed "Furious Wind," sending hundreds of wind blades rapidly descending, piercing large numbers of mutated sparrows. Blood mist instantly erupted in the air, and sparrows, their bodies pierced by the wind blades, fell to the ground, feathers flying. In just one exchange, Shen Feng used his ability to kill more than half of the mutated sparrows.
The wind blades pierced the bodies of the mutated sparrows effortlessly. Sparrows were no match for mutated crocodiles. Mutated crocodiles had thick armor, and Shen Feng had to attack them with thousands of wind blades to break through their defenses and inflict damage. However, when dealing with the mutated sparrows in the sky, the wind blades proved to be incredibly effective, with one wind blade capable of piercing five or six mutated sparrows consecutively.
The sparrows, originally in a dense formation, were easily slaughtered upon encountering Shen Feng.
The sparrows then realized that humans who could fly seemed different from those they had encountered in the water or on the ground; their combat power was too great. In just an instant, thousands of mutated sparrows were killed, and the remaining sparrows immediately descended into the forest.
Shen Feng watched the remaining hundreds of mutated sparrows descend, a look of disdain appearing on his face. He then said, "Sparrows are just sparrows. No matter how many there are, they cannot cause harm."
Shen Feng continued to fly westward, believing that the mutated sparrows, having suffered a loss, would surely not dare to harbor any further intentions towards him.
However, ten minutes later, Shen Feng heard a strange buzzing sound, which seemed to be growing louder and approaching him.
Shen Feng looked back and was greatly startled. The sun had already risen in the eastern sky, but the sky was a mass of darkness. Even the sunlight was significantly blocked, causing the ground to appear gloomy.
It was impossible to tell how many mutated sparrows had taken to the sky, but their density was like that of locusts. This scene was no less impressive than the mutated birds he had encountered in Yanjing.
"I've stumbled into a sparrow's nest! Why are there so many mutated sparrows?" Shen Feng quickly descended. He was no match for the mutated sparrows in the sky. The sparrows he had dealt with earlier numbered only a few thousand, which he could handle. But now, looking into the distance, the mutated sparrows behind him numbered at least hundreds of thousands. Being surrounded by so many sparrows, Shen Feng could not escape unscathed.
"Flap... flap..." The mutated sparrows flapped their wings vigorously, chasing after Shen Feng. The numerous sparrows were determined not to let Shen Feng descend. For sparrows, their survival depended on numbers. Now, there was only one human in the sky, while they numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Even with sheer numbers, they could overwhelm the human. They had to kill the enemy.
Shen Feng wanted to land on the ground. Once on the ground, he could use his extreme speed to quickly get away. Despite the vast number of sparrows in the sky, when it came to speed, these sparrows were still no match. However, his gliding speed in the sky was still too slow. A detachment from the sparrow army suddenly broke off and preemptively blocked Shen Feng's descent path.
Shen Feng quickly controlled his wind blades to slaughter the mutated sparrows. Thousands of mutated sparrows had their bodies pierced by the wind blades on the spot, and a gap was created in their formation by the wind blades.
However, the number of sparrows was still too great. As soon as a gap appeared in their formation, the sparrows behind them filled it, once again blocking Shen Feng's path downwards.
Gradually, Shen Feng was surrounded by a dense mass of sparrows. Shen Feng was encircled by hundreds of thousands of sparrows. Shen Feng had been flying for most of the night, and his stamina was severely depleted. Now, he had to fight hundreds of thousands of mutated birds, putting him at a complete disadvantage.
"Damn it, it never rains but it pours," Shen Feng cursed. He never expected to encounter such danger on his way home; it was truly unexpected.
The countless mutated sparrows immediately pounced on Shen Feng. Shen Feng quickly used "Hurricane Eye," creating a whirlwind around him that swept up thousands of sparrows and flung them far away.
In the sky, Shen Feng could not truly exert his speed and could only glide continuously. If any sparrows got close, Shen Feng would immediately use "Hurricane Eye" to protect himself. The hurricane could repel zombies, let alone sparrows. While the sparrows were numerous, they could not attack Shen Feng for the time being.
"Furious Wind," Shen Feng gritted his teeth and used his ability, sending thousands of wind blades flying straight ahead. More than ten thousand mutated birds had their bodies pierced by the wind blades on the spot and fell downwards. A large gap appeared in front of Shen Feng.
Shen Feng quickly controlled the wind to accelerate himself, hoping to escape the sparrow encirclement.
However, the sparrows in the sky were always faster than Shen Feng. Tens of thousands of sparrows once again blocked Shen Feng's path, and Shen Feng still could not break through the encirclement.
At this point, Shen Feng felt his stamina was running low. He had planned to use his abilities to fly in the sky, but he never expected to encounter mutated sparrows attacking him on his way back. Caught off guard, he was now surrounded.
"I can last for at most another hour. Any longer, and I won't be able to hold on," Shen Feng thought to himself. If he couldn't escape in a short time, his stamina would inevitably be further depleted in the intense battle, putting him in grave danger.
Since becoming a fifth-tier ability user, Shen Feng rarely experienced exhaustion. He had even held out for more than ten days in the underground of Yanjing. Now, after only a short period of fighting, Shen Feng felt tired.
To survive, Shen Feng became desperate. He controlled the airflow to accelerate himself, sometimes ascending, sometimes diving straight down. He hoped to suddenly disrupt the sparrows' encirclement. As long as he could reach the ground, Shen Feng could quickly get away. On the ground, Shen Feng believed no one was faster than him.