As dusk settled and the sun gradually dipped towards the west, the entire city was plunged into darkness.
Silence.
A deathly stillness.
This quiet, usually reserved for the high-walled cities, was unexpectedly present here. It caught Zhang Chen off guard.
"It seems like some powerful entity has scared away, or killed, all the survivors and infected in this city! It's eerily quiet?!" Shirley also sensed something amiss with their surroundings and immediately became vigilant.
"Indeed. High-walled cities have protection. As long as there are no monsters inside, they can maintain quiet. The tall walls also block out noise from the outside world..."
"But this city is connected to the outside and has no protective measures. How could it be devoid of all living beings?"
"Even if the surrounding monsters were wandering randomly, they could have charged into the city!" Xu Ruina analyzed.
"That's right, unless there's one possibility... that this city was just cleared out!"
"The surrounding monsters, without survivors to attract them, move without order. So they didn't have time to enter this city, or reach the city center," Zhang Chen narrowed his eyes as he analyzed.
He wouldn't be able to sleep soundly if he didn't figure out this abnormal situation. Who knew what kind of terrifying monsters existed in this apocalypse?
Previously, Zhang Chen thought that the second stage of the apocalypse was the same as the first. Once he defeated the strongest infected, he would be invincible. However, with increasing combat experience and encountering various bizarre monsters, Zhang Chen's confidence was greatly shaken.
For example, the mutated V-type Deep Sea Ripper, which could replicate and regenerate infinitely. What was more infuriating was that killing an immature individual yielded no crystal cores, making the kills utterly pointless. Without a mid-grade luck card, even encountering this monster now would be a troublesome affair for Zhang Chen.
Then there was Gromos, which didn't need further explanation. If Zhang Chen hadn't had the Meteor Core, he would have been long dead. Mutated V-type monsters were no longer decided by sheer force; their special abilities were the most terrifying aspect! Especially the one before him, capable of silently eliminating an entire city's survivors and monsters, was simply heaven-defying!
"This city was just cleared? You mean... this monster just left, and its path of action is likely consistent with ours?"
"So, the first city we entered was empty, and now we've arrived here and it's still empty. We've been chasing the monster forward?" As Shirley spoke, a chill ran down her spine. Fortunately, that monster ran fast. If it had been slower and they had encountered it, the outcome would have been uncertain!
"Precisely. And I've checked the electronic map. This city and the upcoming Lake View City are both built along the lake, with mountains behind them."
"Leaving our city, the monster will either go back or continue to Lake View City."
"We weren't attacked when we arrived, nor did we see anything unusual. So, the monster either went to Lake View City, or it's hiding in some corner of this city, watching us!" As Zhang Chen finished his last sentence, Shirley couldn't help but shiver.
Being watched by a monster of unknown strength was hardly something to boast about.
"Then... Master, what do we do next?" Shirley asked.
"Rest, regroup, eat something, and then continue our journey!" Zhang Chen said with a serious expression.
"Continue our journey? But it's already dark... Alright, I will obey Master's command!" Shirley was a bit worried. Night was the time when infected and mutated creatures were most active, their combat power boosted at night. Darkness was very disadvantageous for travel. However, since Zhang Chen had made his decision, she could only execute it!
Zhang Chen took out the fried chicken, hamburgers, and french fries he had obtained from the parallel world and distributed them to Bai, Shirley, and Mo Ran. Er Pang also had the good fortune to receive... leftover chicken bones... Even so, it ate with great joy. Bai and Mo Ran, being children, were thrilled with the high-calorie food and ate with blissful expressions.
After dinner, Zhang Chen immediately ordered them to depart. Er Pang shook its fur and, carrying Zhang Chen and the others, continued heading south. On the roof of each [Home Troop Transport Vehicle], a clone stood guard. Shirley, possessing an assassination talent, had [Glimmer Vision], allowing her to see clearly in any place with at least some light. Er Pang naturally had night vision and became more energetic at night. Zhang Chen, with Absolute Vision and rod cell modification, found the darkness no different from daytime. He could not only clearly see the energy flow fluctuations of surrounding objects and plants but also clearly discern pits and debris on the road.
Hum~ Hum~....
As the convoy just left the city, they heard a loud, drone-like buzzing sound from the sky, which was quite distinct in the silent night.
"It's flying mutated creatures, likely mutated giant mosquitoes!" Shirley took out a longbow, about as wide as a person, nocked an arrow, and shot it fiercely into the dark sky. A dazzling light instantly exploded in mid-air and slowly descended. Under the bright light, a swarm of giant mosquitoes with dark red patterns on their bodies slowly flew towards the convoy.
In fact, Shirley's skill was useful for the clones. Zhang Chen didn't need it. The moment she shot the arrow, Zhang Chen saw lines of small text appear on the mosquitoes:
Name: Bloodsucking Mosquito
Level: Mutated Type III Insect
Abilities:
[Basic Energy Absorption Aura]: Within a radius of 3 meters around the Bloodsucking Mosquito, a dark red energy absorption grid is formed, slowly drawing the target's energy into the Bloodsucking Mosquito's body.
[Paralysis Venom Cloud]: A single Bloodsucking Mosquito can release a large amount of hallucinogenic toxins, causing the target to fall into an illusion. A swarm of Bloodsucking Mosquitoes will release a widespread poisonous fog, causing hallucinogenic effects.
"Mutated Type III Insect? I don't feel very motivated..." Zhang Chen glanced at them and turned away disappointed. He no longer had much need for energy-gathering crystal cores. Killing them would be pointless and uninteresting. Moreover... the survivors in the city were definitely not killed by these things. If they had drained the survivors, the bodies would have been left behind. And mutated Type III... honestly, there were too many strong survivors who could defeat them! For example...
*Click!*
Zhang Chen raised his right hand and snapped his fingers with a light sound!