Published: February 12, 2025
CHAPTER TEXT:
Ye Zhongming left... and he didn't even know where he was going.
More than five years after the apocalypse, the landscape had changed drastically; the once bustling cities lay in ruins, mountains had been flattened, swamps had transformed into forests, and deserts might have turned into grasslands or lakes.
This was no longer a miracle of nature but rather a testament to the power of life.
A few years ago, it was still easy to discern the locations of each city through national roads or highways, but now, those former cities may have turned into vast forests or lakes, and roads were either destroyed or concealed by something else, rendering them useless as reference points.
Ye Zhongming lit a bonfire and began to roast a hind leg of a level five mutated wild boar he had hunted casually, leaving the rest untouched.
These creatures were fierce, fast, and strong, with tough skin and thick meat. Their evolved capabilities were also impressive, making them one of the few life forms that retained a notorious reputation from the peaceful times into the present.
However, like before, the smell of the roasted mutated wild boar, sprinkled with a bit of seasoning, emitted an enticing aroma, making it delicious and beneficial for evolvers' strength.
On such a night, this fragrant aroma could attract other mutated life forms, but Ye Zhongming was not concerned; he had chosen to ignite the bonfire right by the broken window of the house, allowing it to be seen from a distance.
In the current national region, there were very few things that could scare Ye Zhongming, and he no longer needed to live in such caution.
As he pondered and listened to the rain outside, Ye Zhongming felt a bit of a headache.
After leaving the avoidance information point, he thought he wouldn't get lost, but the mountain that was his reference point had disappeared, and he wasn't sure if he had missed it. He had been walking for quite some time and hadn’t found anything. With his speed, he should have seen something by now; the fact that he hadn’t indicated he had lost his way and could only wait until sunrise to recalibrate his position.
If only he had brought the Jingjue Floating Sphere with him, he wouldn't be so lost. Ye Zhongming thought to himself as he planned to take a short nap.
Half an hour ago, he had deliberately released the aura of a strong person, estimating that no foolish mutated life would disturb him on such a cold, rainy night; that would be courting death.
However, just twenty minutes later, Ye Zhongming opened his eyes and looked outside through the window that no longer had glass.
On such a night, in this wilderness, with no starlight illuminating the sky, it was truly pitch black. But what was up with these people?
Ye Zhongming had excellent vision; he could see their shadows as soon as they entered within a hundred meters. When they got within fifty meters, he could even see their faces twisted with anxiety and annoyance.
Glancing at the nearly extinguished bonfire, he sighed inwardly, regretting that he hadn’t been more discreet earlier; otherwise, he wouldn’t have attracted these people.
“Brothers inside, could you please let us in to avoid the rain?”
This was no longer the kind of story where one pushes open the door of an old temple; it was genuinely the apocalypse. Those who ventured out into the wilderness at such a late hour were all dangerous evolvers. If he acted rashly, the odds of being attacked were over fifty percent.
Ye Zhongming grunted in response, indicating that it was fine.
He wasn't afraid of being robbed; these few people behaved quite orderly, and letting them in to take shelter was no big deal. Otherwise, if they continued wandering in the wilderness on such a night, half of them might not survive until morning.
“Thank you, brother!” The leader of the group sounded genuinely pleased; there weren't many people who were so easy to talk to in the apocalypse.
A few of them pushed open the dilapidated door, which was so weak it collapsed. They paused for a moment, and light sources appeared in their hands, their expressions tense, clearly on guard against the people in the room.