"Blood slaves? Ha~ relying on them, we would have been doomed long ago!"
Nicole looked at the clueless Amy, shaking her head in disbelief, feeling quite dejected as she leaned back on the sofa and sighed. "Amy, it seems that having you come out to assist me with some matters was a very wise decision by the clan leader. You know too little about family affairs. You must understand that even a healthy blood slave normally wouldn't live past thirty, and due to prolonged blood extraction, they have almost lost their reproductive abilities. Even with artificial insemination, the mortality rate of the offspring born from female blood slaves is extremely high, and the mothers also face significant risks of death. Moreover, their bodies are deteriorating with each generation. Relying on them, in less than a hundred years, our blood clan will be completely extinct. So, Amy, I hope you can take seriously everything that is happening here. We are here to seek hope for our family's future, not to indulge like a young lady!"
"Alright, alright, I'm starting to pay attention to that Gad now, okay? Please stop lecturing me about family matters. I'm not a child anymore; I've lived over forty years in this world, and even among the blood clan, I'm already an adult. I will make my own judgments!"
Amy, looking impatient, casually picked up a bottle of Hennessy brandy from the table, tossed aside the diamond-shaped cap, and boldly took a big gulp, letting the spilled liquid slide down her ample bosom. Finally, she wiped her mouth and frowned, saying, "Alright, I think you can talk about that damn Gad now!"
Nicole looked at Amy with a hint of helplessness. She pinched her brow in annoyance and said wearily, "The Dexter tribe has sent a silver Dexter leader to cooperate with our actions this time. Jader is not out hunting; I sent him to assist them!"
"Those stinky Dexter people? Oh my, when did our noble blood clan start collaborating with those inferior beings?" Amy exclaimed, jumping up from the sofa.
"Why not? Even if we used to despise them, everyone will cooperate when it comes to interests. Besides, we have to work with them; after all, it's the apocalypse, and no one's life is easy. The Dexter people reproduce much faster than we do, and in some matters, we simply can't afford the cost, while they don't care at all!" Nicole said seriously, looking at Amy.
"Well, the whole world is about to perish, so it seems there's nothing impossible about collaborating with the rude Dexter people. However, my dear sister, that little Jader you sent out hasn't been taken out by those Dexter people, has she? If that's the case, we really need to be careful; this is America, and black-on-black crime has happened countless times in this magical country!" Amy shrugged, her expression now seeming less ignorant.
"Let's hope not!" Nicole's elegantly arched eyebrows furrowed deeply, and she didn't even notice the ash from her cigarette falling onto her beautiful dress. There was something she had never told Amy: as Jader's loyal subject, she could not only sense Jader's presence but also see the last image lingering in his eyes before his tragic death, which was of an animal resembling a Dexter biting through his neck. She wasn't sure if that was the appearance of a Dexter after transformation, as in most cases, it was hard to distinguish between a Dexter and a dog in the dark.
...
In the morning, everyone appeared with tired faces. The deaths of Thomas Red and Little Flower brought them considerable grief, so almost everyone walked out with dark circles under their eyes. Looking at the makeshift tombstone erected in front of the small building, everyone felt a wave of sadness, their mouths bitter and almost unable to speak!
"Sister Hong, I'm sorry, we have to go. We will definitely come back to see you!" Bai Ru squatted in front of Thomas Red's grave, gently touching the newly erected tombstone. Thinking about how Thomas Red would now rest alone underground, Bai Ru painfully closed her eyes, and after a struggle to control herself, tears finally slipped down her cheeks again.
"Alright, let's go. I will make sure you can come back to see her again!" Jack bent down and patted Bai Ru's shoulder. After a while, she finally stood up, wiped her tears, picked up her backpack, and slowly walked towards the road as if in a daze.
With a heavy atmosphere of sadness, the group set off again. Fortunately, the girls were relatively strong, comforting each other as they walked together. Bai Ru and Cao Mei held guns, walking on either side of the line. Both had expressionless faces, but Bai Ru's showed a hint of sorrow, while Cao Mei, though not deeply pained, had a faint trace of sadness in her brows.
Cao Mei had hardly slept the previous night, repeatedly pondering a question: was it really worth it to scheme against each other with these women all day? What would it matter if they gained something? In the end, would it just be a fleeting illusion like Thomas Red's?
...
A group of twelve people and one dog slowly walked along the road piled with Marcus sand. Now everyone wore sunglasses and scarves to protect themselves from the sand and gravel constantly hitting their faces. Not only Jack, but even the girls in the group noticed that the further they went, the stranger the weather seemed to become. The temperature around them rose significantly, and the wind varied greatly—sometimes so strong that it was hard to stand, and at other times so weak that one could hardly feel a breath of air even when standing still.
Most of the houses in the open area were half-buried by Marcus sand, and the vehicles in the middle of the road were not in much better condition. The most severely affected ones were almost completely covered by Marcus sand, and even if they put in a lot of effort to dig them out, it was uncertain whether they could still be driven. Jack and the others walked from morning until afternoon without finding a single vehicle that could successfully start.
Fortunately, although the environment was becoming increasingly bizarre, the number of living corpses around seemed to be decreasing. Since they left in the morning, they had hardly seen any living corpses, leading everyone to speculate that perhaps the living corpses were also unsuitable for living in such harsh conditions. After being exposed to such a toxic sun for over a year, any living corpse would likely have turned into a dried corpse.
"Master, have you noticed?" The usually cheerful Michaël rarely showed a serious expression. He walked from beside Axue to the front of the group, facing the howling Marcus sand. For a moment, Michaël's figure seemed somewhat desolate. He gazed into the distance for a long time before turning to look at Jack, who was frowning deeply, and said, "The smell of sulfur is getting stronger, reminiscent of the scent in hell, and it seems there is a powerful force lurking ahead that makes me feel very uneasy!"
"Yes, I feel it too, but we can only take it one step at a time. No matter how bad the situation gets, can it be worse than it is now?" Jack bent down and patted Michaël's head, his eyes filled with helplessness. But soon he adjusted his mood and called everyone to continue moving forward. Hasn't Jack encountered such increasingly desperate situations before? As long as they were still alive, they would keep moving forward, step by step!
...
With Marcus sand filling the sky, the blazing sun overhead made it unbearably hot. Almost everyone felt as if they were walking in the Sahara Desert, needing great willpower to take each step!
Hot! Extremely hot! This was the only thought in their minds now. The surroundings felt like a giant steamer, with large amounts of sweat being expelled from various parts of their bodies, quickly evaporating in the air and forming white salt stains on their clothes and skin, making them feel very uncomfortable. To cool off, the girls had long discarded their modesty, pulling off their bras from around their necks to lighten their burden as much as possible!
"Thud..."
After walking for about three hours, the first person finally collapsed—it was one of the flight attendants. The girl had a tall, devilish figure, but her body was somewhat thin, likely due to malnutrition. When Jack approached and took a look, he immediately realized she had suffered from heatstroke.
"Old Hu, come help me carry her bag. Let's rest in that building up ahead!" Jack stepped forward to carry the heatstroke victim, while the other girls hurriedly helped lift her onto Jack's back. The group jogged into a courtyard that was half-buried by Marcus sand, quickly finding a shady spot to cool the girl down and provide treatment. When Jack revived the girl, everyone was surprised to discover that they were actually in the local county government office building.