The plants around them were lush and vibrant, a sight that could only be seen in certain rare locations since the apocalypse descended. Though mutated, the plants carried the same fresh scent of greenery and earthy fragrance as before, almost unchanged from the old world.
Breathing in that familiar smell, one of the team members murmured, "It smells just like it used to, before the apocalypse… but there's no way I'm letting my guard down."
After all, danger lurked everywhere here. One moment they could be speaking like this, and the next second—
…
Not far ahead, the crows had barely been driven away when a swarm of mantises leapt out from the grass. These mantises weren't abnormally large, but there were hundreds of them. They burst from the foliage in waves, their sheer numbers enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
Lan Jin wasn't particularly afraid of mantises. But the creatures were small, quick, and countless. Even she wasn't sure how to deal with them all at once.
In the end, she summoned the Violetbane Ring, a whip crackling with lightning flashing in her hand. She lashed it across the ground. Sparks lit the grass, and mantises leapt high, narrowly dodging the crackling arcs. She barely hit any at all.
Lan Jin retracted her whip, frustrated. These creatures were too agile for her weapon to be effective. In contrast, Lao Gao's fire ability proved devastating. With a sweep of flame, mantises in the air and on the ground alike were charred black. After several bursts, the swarm was reduced to ashes.
Though Lao Gao was exhausted and drenched in sweat, the path was clear.
The group stepped over the mantis corpses and pressed on.
Along the way, they encountered rabbits, then several monkeys. None came in swarms like the mantises, but every creature had one eerie feature in common: human faces.
Some beasts bore both an animal face and a human one. Others simply had a single, grotesque human face staring back at them.
If Lan Jin had been traveling alone, she might have believed she'd wandered into a fantasy realm by mistake.
It was both terrifying and dreamlike.
…
They walked for a long time, yet the path never seemed to end. Wave after wave of strange creatures attacked, leaving everyone panting and trembling.
Partly from exhaustion.
Partly from fear.
It was only natural. Anyone who'd seen so many bizarre and grotesque things would be shaken.
Just as they were about to move on, Xi Yu spoke hoarsely. "Can we… find somewhere to rest? Professor Pei can't hold out much longer."
Professor Pei was over eighty years old. Climbing several mountains just to reach this dense forest had already pushed him to his limits. Since entering it, they'd faced danger after danger, and the sweltering heat made it worse. The fact that he'd made it this far was already impressive.
Lan Jin couldn't help but feel puzzled. Whatever they were searching for, why did it require the professors to find it? Couldn't they locate it themselves?
Looking at the exhausted professors, they hardly seemed capable of helping much.
…
Hearing that Professor Pei was struggling, Pei Xin's expression changed. "Grandpa, what's wrong?"
Professor Pei waved his hand weakly, too tired to speak. "I'm fine."
"How could you be fine? Even if you're normally healthy, this is too much strain for you…"
Before Pei Xin could finish, Captain Zhang stepped forward. "Let me carry you. We don't know how long this road is, and it'll only get harder from here."
Professor Pei considered it. He truly couldn't walk any farther.
But instead of letting Captain Zhang carry him, Professor Pei turned to Huang Jinghe. "Why don't Xiao Huang carry me?"
Everyone knew of the bond between Professor Pei and Huang Jinghe's family, so no one thought much of it.
But Lan Jin's instincts flared. In novels, requests like this usually led to some kind of twist. Her eyes immediately sharpened, watching Professor Pei closely.
Huang Jinghe, having read enough apocalypse novels thanks to Lan Jin's influence, understood her reaction instantly. Of course, because of his family's ties to Professor Pei, he wanted to trust the elderly man. But experience had taught him to trust Lan Jin's intuition more. She was rarely wrong.
Huang Jinghe hesitated.
The insulated suits they wore made it hard to see expressions clearly, so Professor Pei didn't notice his hesitation. After a moment, Huang Jinghe agreed. After all, carrying Professor Pei didn't mean they'd separate from the group. As long as the four of them stayed together, he wasn't afraid.
As they moved out, Captain Zhang noticed the tension. He slowed, pulling Lan Jin aside once they had some distance.
"What's going on? You weren't this cautious earlier. Did something happen that I don't know about?"
Lan Jin blinked, shaking her head. "No."
"Don't lie to me."
Lan Jin sighed. "We just thought it was strange that when you offered to carry Professor Pei, he refused and asked Xiao Huang instead. In stories, that usually means something is about to happen. Since the four of us won't separate, we decided to stay close."
Captain Zhang was speechless. He'd expected her to reveal some hidden danger, but she was citing novel tropes. He rubbed his temples. "Miss… this is real life, not a book."
"I know it's real," Lan Jin said calmly, "but you should trust a woman's intuition."
With that, she quickened her pace, rejoining the group.
Captain Zhang almost cursed. Woman's intuition? How were they supposed to survive the apocalypse with that?
…
Still, Lan Jin's instincts had a way of being right. Or maybe this place was just so deadly that danger was inevitable. She had barely rejoined the group when trouble struck ahead.
In the blink of an eye, a massive snake lunged out, its jaws snapping shut around a soldier and one of the professors. Both vanished down its gullet.
The serpent reared up, towering as high as a three- or four-story building. It was as big as the one they'd encountered in the forest of H City.
But how could a creature this massive have been so close without anyone noticing?
Even if the others lacked sensory abilities, surely Captain Zhang would have sensed it.