As dusk fell, Shen Feng and his group continued their pursuit of the Crocodile King. Along the way, they encountered and eliminated numerous mutated animals, including robust pheasants and enormous wild boars. It seemed that since the advent of the doomsday, all creatures had undergone mutations overnight. Not only humans had changed, but even the common rats found everywhere displayed abnormal characteristics.
Just as the group was preparing to find a place to set up camp, Cai He, with his sharp eyes, spotted flickering firelight in the distance. He quickly exclaimed, "There seems to be someone over there!"
Shen Feng, puzzled, murmured to himself, "In such deep mountains and old forests, who could be here? Could it be that we've left the woods?"
Following this, the group emerged from the forest and finally took in their surroundings. Ahead lay a wide highway, and on one side of the road stood a small building, appearing to be a roadside shop. Nearby was a small parking lot. It was a four-story building, and on the fourth floor, a light was indeed visible.
At this point, everyone was certain they had encountered people in the wilderness.
However, Shen Feng noticed something amiss. Pointing to the large carcasses in the parking lot, he said, "Don't rush. Look closely. Aren't there many prey animals over there? There are mutated wild boars, mutated crocodiles, and even mutated wild dogs."
The group calmed down and began to speculate upon seeing this scene. "So many mutated beasts have been killed, which means the people living in the small building must be very powerful. Otherwise, they wouldn't have survived this long in the wild with so many mutated beasts around. It's unclear if the people inside are friendly towards us."
Shen Feng observed more closely than the others. He noticed many wounds on the mutated beasts, mostly from blades, indicating that these mutated beasts had fallen to cold weapons. Shen Feng frowned, "If that's the case, the people residing in the building are either Evolvers or ability users, otherwise they wouldn't possess such strength!"
Chu Chaoyan's eyes darted, and she volunteered, "How about this, I'll go scout for information while you watch from here and provide support if needed. Waiting here isn't a solution. I'm a third-tier ability user after all, so I can protect myself."
Shen Feng hesitated, saying, "Perhaps I should go. I'm faster, and I can escape quickly even if there's danger."
Chu Chaoyan quickly replied, "That won't do. You still have to carry me back to Yuzhou tonight, so you must conserve your energy. I'll go take a look. Besides, I'm the acting head of the City Defense Army now, so I can't just do nothing!"
With that, Chu Chaoyan set off. Shen Feng thought about it. After all, Chu Chaoyan had experienced prolonged combat and wouldn't be easily captured or killed. Thus, Shen Feng remained in place to observe, though he still used his binoculars to cautiously survey the small building.
Cai He and the others also held their rifles, observing cautiously, ready to fight at any moment.
Through the binoculars, Chu Chaoyan approached the small building like an agile leopard, holding two daggers, ready to deal with any unexpected situations.
Chu Chaoyan reached the base of the small building. The front had a roller shutter door, which was now closed, obscuring the view inside. On the side of the building was a small door. Chu Chaoyan thought for a moment, realizing she didn't know how to pick locks, so she kicked the small door open. With a loud "bang," the small door was kicked open with a resounding noise.
Immediately after, Chu Chaoyan rushed into the building. Shen Feng watched the scene from afar with tension, frowning inwardly and wondering, "Why did she just rush in like that? Can't she be less reckless?"
Perhaps Shen Feng's bad luck had jinxed it. As soon as he spoke, the sound of breaking glass came from the third floor: "Shatter." Shen Feng saw the glass in the window instantly shatter, and then a slender figure slowly fell down. Chu Chaoyan had been attacked.
Chu Chaoyan's sudden collapse caught everyone by surprise. No one saw how she was hit. It seemed that in an instant, Chu Chaoyan fell beneath the window. The enemy's attack was too fast.
Shen Feng couldn't help but curse, "Bastard!" Then, he immediately activated "Wind Walker" and charged towards the small building.
Shen Feng hadn't expected Chu Chaoyan to be in danger. She had rushed into the building and immediately collapsed. Could she have encountered a formidable enemy?
Thus, Shen Feng was now disregarding everything else. He had thought Chu Chaoyan was merely scouting for information, but he hadn't expected her to be in mortal danger! If something happened to her, he wouldn't be able to face Old Man Chu Yangtian. If she had no one to see her off, wouldn't that be too tragic?
Shen Feng took ten seconds to charge into the building. The others quickly followed, all startled by the sudden danger. Could there be ferocious and terrifying beings inside the building?
Shen Feng rushed straight to the third floor. When he saw the scene before him, his anger surged, and his pupils contracted. He saw Chu Chaoyan lying on the ground, covered in blood, and opposite her stood a young man holding a cleaver. The cleaver was stained with blood, and the young man's face was cold.
"You bastard, how dare you attack my person!" Shen Feng immediately drew the two long swords from his body and charged at the young man opposite him. At this moment, he only wanted revenge, regardless of who the person in front of him was; he would cut him down first.
Seeing Shen Feng charging, the young man quickly explained, "Listen to me, I didn't do anything..."
Shen Feng ignored the explanation. He only believed his own eyes. Since he had personally seen Chu Chaoyan fall in a pool of blood, there was no need to listen to the other party's sophistry. He would kill him first!
Shen Feng lunged forward and thrust a sword, which was blocked by the young man's cleaver. But Shen Feng immediately pressed forward, attacking with increasing speed, like a flurry of falling snow. However, Shen Feng's rapid attacks were still blocked by the opponent. The young man barely managed to block Shen Feng's two long swords, but his footsteps were constantly retreating.
"Calm down, I really didn't do anything, I didn't kill anyone. If you continue to be unreasonable, don't blame me for striking back!" Seeing Shen Feng pressing closer and closer, even a clay figurine would have lost its temper. He had initially wanted to explain things clearly, but now, being constantly pressured by Shen Feng, he was ready to fight back.
Shen Feng snorted and said, "Since you deny doing it, then immediately put your hands on your head and squat down. I'll release you after I investigate!"
Despite his words, Shen Feng did not hold back when he attacked. His two long swords never left the opponent's vital points. At this moment, he only wanted to avenge Chu Chaoyan; otherwise, he would never be able to give Professor Chu an explanation.
Seeing that Shen Feng was not listening to his explanation, the young man said coldly, "Then don't blame me for being ruthless. You started this!"
Thus, the young man changed his defensive stance. When he retreated to a doorway, he suddenly sidestepped and crashed into the room, luring Shen Feng to pursue. Shen Feng, without hesitation, charged in, ready to continue his attack.
However, at this moment, a woodcutter's axe attacked from an unexpected direction. It turned out that when Shen Feng rushed into the room, the enemy had been hiding in a nearby cabinet, choosing to attack from Shen Feng's back.
The woodcutter's axe swung down towards Shen Feng's back. Hearing the whistling sound, Shen Feng dared not underestimate the attack and instantly activated "Eye of the Hurricane." A transparent barrier instantly enveloped Shen Feng. The woodcutter's axe struck the barrier with a crisp "clang," and only a crack appeared on the transparent barrier. This sneak attack was blocked by Shen Feng.
The crack on the barrier quickly healed, and Shen Feng, regaining his senses, swung his sword. As the sword struck, the barrier disappeared. The young man quickly raised his woodcutter's axe to block Shen Feng's attack. Seeing that his previous attack had failed to stop the opponent, he was shocked and said, "You're an ability user!"
Shen Feng ignored the man and continued to attack him. However, no matter how Shen Feng attacked, it was difficult to injure the opponent. His long swords were either blocked by the woodcutter's axe or dodged. Even though Shen Feng's speed far surpassed the opponent's, he could not inflict substantial damage.
"What's going on? Why are my attacks useless? Have my movements been seen through?" Shen Feng was filled with doubts. Since entering the fourth-tier ability user realm, he had rarely encountered opponents. Normally, no one was worth his effort. However, the current situation was too abnormal. No matter how he attacked, the opponent could block it, or even dodge it in advance!
As Shen Feng engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy, Cai He and his men had surrounded the building. Forty people with guns guarded the outside of the building, while ten others entered to support Shen Feng. Everyone held automatic rifles, ready to engage at any moment.
Cai He led his men into the building. Upon reaching the third floor, they heard the clanging sounds from one of the rooms. It was likely Shen Feng fighting the enemy, while Chu Chaoyan lay on the ground, covered in blood, her eyes tightly shut, showing no signs of life!
Seeing this, Cai He's heart tightened, and he said solemnly, "Miss Chu is injured, we need to treat her quickly. How about this, I've learned first aid, so I'll immediately perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and artificial respiration on her. You all watch and learn!"
Saying this, Cai He reached out towards Chu Chaoyan, seemingly preparing to apply pressure.
However, just then, Chu Chaoyan's eyes suddenly snapped open. She slapped away the groping hand and said in a low voice, "Get lost! You want to take advantage of me? Believe it or not, I'll poison you all while you sleep! Don't be ungrateful!"
Cai He awkwardly withdrew his hand, saying sheepishly, "Wasn't I trying to provide emergency treatment? Speaking of which, Miss Chu, how badly are you injured?"
Chu Chaoyan slowly stood up from the ground, a bottle of red ink dangling in her hand. She sneered, "When did I say I was injured? I just accidentally knocked over some ink. As for Shen Feng, it's good for him to suffer a little."
At this moment, Cai He realized what had happened and pointed at Chu Chaoyan, saying, "So, you deliberately created a misunderstanding to make the City Lord fight the enemy? This is too much!"
Chu Chaoyan retorted unhappily, "This is too much? When Shen Feng deliberately scared me during the day, why didn't you say it was too much? I'm just returning the favor. Shen Feng did it first, and I'm doing it next. If monks can touch it, why can't I? What kind of logic is that?"
Cai He thought about it and realized she had a point. He couldn't refute it, so he could only lead his brothers closer to the room where the battle was taking place.
Chu Chaoyan said calmly, "Don't worry, Shen Feng is definitely stronger than the enemy. I saw their fight just now. Shen Feng's speed is much faster than the opponent's, but the opponent is good at dodging."
Cai He did not dare to relax. Although they believed Shen Feng was exceptionally strong, they had also seen him in desperate situations, on the verge of death several times. At this moment, caution was paramount, so they cautiously approached the room with their rifles.
Just then, Shen Feng shouted, "Eye of the Hurricane." The people outside the building quickly ducked and knelt on one knee. They knew this was a signal from the City Lord using his ability, and if they didn't want to be swept away by the strong winds, they had to lie down.
A fierce wind began to howl within the building. In an instant, a whirlwind appeared in the room at the center of the battle, sweeping in all directions. Only the howling of the wind could be heard in the corridors, making it difficult to even open one's eyes. Dust and plastic bags in the corridors were blown away, and everyone had to crouch down cautiously to avoid the blowing wind.
Amidst the gale, a figure was thrown out, crashing heavily against the corridor wall, causing the cement plaster on the wall to peel off, revealing the bricks underneath.
As the wind gradually subsided, everyone managed to open their eyes and saw a young man lying on the ground, still clutching the woodcutter's axe in his hand.
"I surrender, I surrender! Let's talk, don't gang up on me!" the young man said in a disheveled manner.
At this moment, Shen Feng retracted his "Eye of the Hurricane" and slowly walked out of the room. Seeing Chu Chaoyan standing unharmed in the corridor, he frowned and asked, "Were you lying to me just now?"
Chu Chaoyan shrugged, threw away the ink bottle in her hand, and said, "I didn't say anything at the time. You just misunderstood. According to your logic, you didn't ask me!"
Shen Feng looked at Chu Chaoyan with a darkened face, unable to speak for a long time. He had worried for so long, only to be deceived like this. In the matter of fighting the enemy, he had been completely tricked!
The young man also slowly sat on the ground, his face covered in dust, and said, "I told you I wasn't lying. Was it necessary for you to fight so desperately? Speaking of which, your ability is quite strong!"
"Cai He, have everyone put down their weapons. There are no enemies here," Shen Feng said in a deep voice.
Cai He nodded and quickly went out to inform the brothers who were guarding and surrounding the building.
"Chu Chaoyan! If you dare to lie to me again next time, I won't be polite. I thought you could distinguish between what's important and what's not, but I didn't expect you to trick me even when scouting for enemy information. If this creates a bigger misunderstanding, it won't be something that can be easily resolved now!" Shen Feng said coldly.
"Hmph!" Chu Chaoyan turned her head away, looking as if she didn't want to bother with Shen Feng.
Then, Shen Feng extended his hand to the young man sitting on the ground and said calmly, "Let me introduce myself, my name is Shen Feng, the future City Lord of Yuzhou!"
Hearing Shen Feng's introduction, the young man raised an eyebrow and replied, "My name is Lu Xian, the future minstrel!"
Shen Feng said apologetically, "I'm sorry. The mistakes of my subordinates caused this misunderstanding. I will find a way to compensate you. How about I give you a high-powered telescope?"
Telescopes were quite valuable. They might not be useful in normal times, but in this doomsday, the earlier one discovered enemy activity, the sooner one could react.