In the dead of night, the wilderness was vast and silent. Occasionally, mutated rats scurried across the highway. In this doomsday, mutated rats were utterly weak. Even with their mutations, they were no larger than rabbits, and even a rat king was only four to five meters long, no match for other mutated beasts. Thus, to survive, mutated rats maintained their nocturnal habits.
At this moment, a roaring sound came from the distant highway. The mutated rats immediately hid in the culverts, too terrified to move. Lights appeared to the north of the highway, and then a motorcycle sped away.
"Roar..." The motorcycle flashed past, and only then did the rats emerge from the culverts, thinking they were safe.
However, immediately after, two dark figures appeared in the distance on the highway, tailing the motorcycle and rushing into the distance. Their speed was no slower than the motorcycle's, but they lacked the roar of an engine.
Yue Hengyi could keep up with the speeding motorcycle, and Shen Feng had no problem at all. If he wanted to catch this informant, it would only take him a second. After all, his speed could instantly break the sound barrier, and catching a motorcycle dozens of meters away was not a difficult task.
"As expected, it's in the urban area south of the Yangtze River. There are very few residents here, and mutated beasts often appear in the mountains. Without walls for protection, hiding here is truly safe!" Shen Feng said to Yue Hengyi.
Although Shen Feng was stationed in Yuzhou City, the urban area of Yuzhou was too vast. He could only cordon off the core area as the city, near the river and the bridge. As for the southern urban area, it was largely unmanaged. There was no safety to speak of here. In Jiangbei, there were at least mercenaries, but in the southern urban area, it was fraught with danger. Decent people would never live in the southern urban area. Most of the people living here were heinous criminals hiding from pursuit.
The woman on the motorcycle quickly dismounted and entered a pitch-black urban area. Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi followed closely. The southern urban area had no electricity, so it was dim and dark. Moreover, due to the long-term lack of city management, the streets were filled with garbage. It could be said that this place was where humans and rats lived together.
Looking at the woman walking ahead, Shen Feng suddenly felt her back was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall who she was!
"Who is this guy? He seems to know Yuzhou like the back of his hand!" Shen Feng thought to himself.
Yue Hengyi looked at the dilapidated urban area around them. It was pitch black, and some rats were peeking at them from the shadows. He couldn't help but sigh at how the once prosperous urban area had become this way.
As the two of them silently followed the spy into the dilapidated urban area, after many twists and turns, they finally saw a window emitting a dim yellow light in the distance. In the darkness, the light from the window was like a guiding beacon.
"Knock, knock..." A knock sounded, and the woman said, "Open the door!"
"A golden flower faces the morning sun!" The door did not open. Instead, a secret code was heard. If one did not know the code, it would definitely attract the other party's attention.
"The Kyushu skylark crosses the Yan Mountains!" the woman replied.
The passwords matched perfectly, and the door was quickly opened. A young man appeared. He looked outside for a moment, and seeing no one else, he let the woman into the house. It was a detached five-story building, but only the first floor had lights on.
"Brother Feng, should we go in?" Yue Hengyi asked directly.
Yue Hengyi silently took out his Dragon Subduing Mace, ready to fight at any moment. Shen Feng hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's observe first. We'll go around to the back!"
Before he could ascertain the enemy's situation, Shen Feng would not act rashly. Moreover, if these people killed the hostages in their panic, his mission would be considered a failure.
Next, Shen Feng led Yue Hengyi around to the back of the small building. The windows here were directly boarded up, with only faint light seeping through the gaps in the wooden boards. On the surrounding small buildings, there were people on watch.
However, recently, these lookouts had not discovered anything. At night, besides sleeping, they had nothing else to do, so they all started to sleep.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi kept watching inside from the back window. They saw a rope hanging from the roof, with a young man suspended from it. The young man was covered in injuries and kept cursing, "If you have the guts, kill me! Stop playing these insidious tricks! I tell you, even if I die, I won't let you have your way!"
Hearing this familiar voice, Shen Feng immediately understood. It turned out his younger brother-in-law had been captured and brought here. He was covered in blood and clearly had been tortured, but he was very spirited. Even in this situation, he had not succumbed to the enemy.
At this moment, two people walked into the room. The man was the one who had opened the door earlier, and the woman was the one who had rushed here to deliver the message.
The man said to Chang Haojie, who was hanging in mid-air, "Kid, you're still being stubborn? I told you before, after this is over, we'll be family. Our Heavenly Dragon Bureau's deputy captain will become the lord of Yuzhou City. We're all friends. Why are you cursing so much now? It's bad for our relationship!"
The young man spoke to Chang Haojie with a smile, his eyes full of smugness.
Chang Haojie did not appreciate it and continued to curse, "You despicable and shameless fellows! You impersonated me, kidnapped my nephew, and dare to force my sister! You just wait! As soon as I regain my freedom, I will not spare you!"
"Hmph! With your ability, what else can you do besides ride the clouds? And you threaten us? Be careful, we'll cripple you! We promised your sister we wouldn't kill you, but we didn't say we wouldn't cripple you!" the man said arrogantly.
Chang Haojie gritted his teeth in hatred. He didn't expect to become a tool to threaten his sister. In the end, it was because he was too weak. If he were strong enough, he wouldn't have encountered such a situation!
"It's all my fault for being too weak. If I were strong enough, I wouldn't be easily captured, and I would definitely make them pay. But now that I'm alive, I can only cause trouble for my sister!" Chang Haojie thought helplessly.
At this moment, the woman also spoke, directly saying, "I have brought the order from my superiors. We must transfer the location immediately and hide elsewhere. The intelligence team of Yuzhou has already started their operation, led by Qi Lingshan. We must be wary, as they are likely prepared!"
"Transfer the location? We haven't used any communication devices these past few days, so we shouldn't have been discovered. Are you being too nervous?" the man asked doubtfully.
The woman replied, "It's always better to be careful. Your deputy captain's wedding day is only tomorrow. We must be careful now. If we are found, it will be a big problem!"
Yue Hengyi gestured to Shen Feng twice, his meaning clear: they should rush in and rescue Chang Haojie, who was hanging there.
However, Shen Feng gently shook his head, rejecting the suggestion. Shen Feng naturally wanted to rescue Chang Haojie now, but he had not yet found Xiao Long and Xiao Hu. Therefore, Shen Feng did not intend to act rashly, lest it backfire.
After the woman delivered the order, she said, "I still have to rush to the next location. You quickly take your people and transfer. I'm leaving now. Remember, you must complete this task as soon as possible!"
Although the man at this stronghold believed he had not been exposed to the enemy's sight, his superiors had issued an order, so he could only comply. He shouted loudly, "Gather! Gather quickly!"
The people on the nearby rooftops heard the order to gather and immediately woke up from their sleep, swatted away mosquitoes, and rushed towards the small building.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi had already hidden in the shadows and began to discuss countermeasures.
"Xiao Yue, I'll leave this place to you. I'll continue to track this woman. You go and rescue Xiao Jie. Remember, eliminate all traces! Leave no survivors!" Shen Feng instructed Yue Hengyi. He had not seen any sign of the infants, nor any baby supplies in the room. It was likely that the children were hidden in other strongholds. Shen Feng wanted to follow the trail to the next stronghold, and Chang Haojie here could only be left to Yue Hengyi.
Yue Hengyi nodded and swung his Dragon Subduing Mace, saying, "Don't worry, leave it to me. Except for your brother-in-law, no one will survive!"
Soon, the woman left the dark street again. Shen Feng silently followed behind her, his movements agile and undetected. The group in the small building also began to transfer. They didn't need to bring many things, and the surrounding area was all deserted. Transferring was extremely simple.
Chang Haojie was untied from the rope and thrown onto a small cart. This kind of small cart was a flat cart used on construction sites for moving bricks. With a few pieces of cardboard placed on it, Chang Haojie was thrown onto it. Chang Haojie's limbs were bent into a strange posture, clearly broken. After all, he was a second-tier ability user, and no one could guarantee that he wouldn't suddenly attack. Therefore, for safety's sake, his limbs had to be broken!
When he was thrown onto the cart, Chang Haojie was in excruciating pain. The broken bones felt like they were piercing his flesh, but he didn't make a sound, showing great spirit. Lying in the cart, he still shouted loudly, "You shameless bastards, kill me if you dare! Stop torturing me! I will never cooperate with you! When I recover, it will be your death!"
However, to Chang Haojie's hoarse shouts, these people were completely unresponsive. After hearing his curses for so many days, these people had long become accustomed to them. They were just words, with no killing power.
The man in charge stood with his arms crossed, watching as his subordinates continued to move supplies. Transferring locations was simple, but they couldn't afford to be without food. They had to take the rice and flour, and the cooking utensils. It was summer, and the temperature in Yuzhou was close to forty degrees Celsius. They could sleep without blankets at night, although there were more mosquitoes. Therefore, they didn't need to carry luggage; taking the food and cooking utensils was enough.
"Are you done? Really, so slow. I shouldn't have hired you!" the man in charge said unhappily.
"I say, Mr. Mutong, we mercenaries have never met such a difficult client like you. Not only do you not sleep late at night, but you also want to transfer! Transferring is one thing, but you want it to be fast. You've made every request possible! Clients these days are too hard to please!" the person moving the grain couldn't help but mock.
The man called Mutong sneered, "I think it's you, the乙方 (party B), who has become too temperamental. It's only natural to hire you with money, but now you're complaining so much. It's good enough to have generous rewards, and you still dare to be picky. Before the apocalypse, no one dared to speak to me like this!"
Mutong had his reasons for saying this. Think about who he was before the apocalypse. He was in the human resources department. When young people came to his company for interviews, weren't they all nervous, afraid they wouldn't pass the interview? If anyone dared to offend him, he would just say, "If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will!"
At that time, he was truly in his prime. Unlike now, when he hired mercenaries to help, they even dared to talk back. What bold people!
"Consider the mission itself. Kidnapping the eldest son of Yuzhou. If this gets out, we're dead. The risk is so high, it's only natural for us to demand such a high reward!" the mercenary was still somewhat unconvinced and continued to complain in a low voice.
Yue Hengyi saw that Shen Feng had already left the block with the woman, and he knew it was time for him to show himself. Chang Haojie was about to be transferred and was being tortured beyond recognition. If this continued, he would still suffer. It would be better to act now and rescue him!