After the rain stopped, puddles formed one after another on the ground of the contaminated area, reflecting the gradually clearing sky.
They did not go back to rendezvous with the main troop.
Because flying was too dangerous, and following the main troop could risk leaking information. After all, ten years had passed, Chen Sheng was no longer the chief’s secretary, his resources were very limited, and with a research institute of uncertain allegiance also involved, leaks were an unfortunate possibility.
If Zhu Yan had made the arrangements, everything would have gone more smoothly; but now, Zhu Yan was ill. Moreover, escorting them was also very dangerous.
Shu Tang thought: In fact, over the past ten years, they had already done enough.
From now on, the two of them would walk the path together.
Shu Tang knew that the mermaid did not really want to go to Yan City, so she told the mermaid, “Little Rose, what do you think about us two going to Yan City without following the main troop?”
“It has always been just the two of us anyway.”
The tall mermaid had been carrying Shu Tang in silence all along. Just when she thought he was going to keep playing mute, he uttered a hoarse “Hmm.”
If it were just the two of them, the journey seemed like another date.
The main troop nearby was very lively.
Chen Sheng was confirming Shu Tang’s location with Old Wu, his walkie-talkie ringing incessantly, all urging him to rescue the experts in Yan City. But clearly, Chen Sheng didn’t care much about the lives of those experts; he was more worried about whether Shu Tang was in danger.
The attack came suddenly, and most of the ambushers were taken care of by the Founder. However, the pollutants still caused them significant losses.
Half of the people brought by Professor Tang lost contact due to the attack, and Professor Tang himself was severely injured.
But Chen Sheng felt no sympathy for them. The research institute was taking advantage of the Founder’s recovery to reap the benefits; they wanted the rewards but were unwilling to bear the risks.
Yet, the walkie-talkie kept ringing, continuously urging Chen Sheng to save these people. Chen Sheng didn’t want his subordinates to risk their lives in the contaminated area for them, so he simply turned off the walkie-talkie.
However, at this moment, a letter appeared in front of them.
The senders were Shu Tang and Zhu Yan.
After Old Wu read the letter, he became anxious, “What should we do now?”
Chen Sheng was stunned for a moment, but after a while, he smiled.
“Even now, we can’t find the Founder and Shu Tang, how can others possibly find them?”
“The Founder’s spiritual presence is immense, but precisely because of this, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which vehicle he chose.”
“Even if someone wanted to lay an ambush, no one would be insane enough to blow up an entire city.”
However, Chen Sheng still wanted to send some supplies to them.
But when they tried to follow the direction of the message, they could no longer find any trace of the two.
At the place where Zhu Yan and Shu Tang disappeared, all they saw was the evening glow filling the sky.
For a long time after that, no one heard any news of Zhu Yan and Shu Tang.
*
This trip to Yan City took nearly seven slow days.
On the first day, Shu Tang and the mermaid boarded an abandoned armored vehicle. Shu Tang’s first year of vacation had been rushed by her family to take a driving test.
So, the cat driver took over, carrying the mermaid toward the end of the polluted area.
Shu Tang planned to drive the vehicle out with the mermaid and then switch to a train in the neighboring city.
Trains are considered a dangerous mode of transportation in the federation, and those who can afford it usually choose to fly. However, this mode of transportation is actually easier to exploit and safer than airplanes.
Shu Tang planned to keep the communicator off to avoid being located.
But then there was a problem—
Train tickets were very expensive, and the cash they had was only enough for the tickets, not enough to cover food and lodging on the train for two days and three nights.
Coincidentally, they met people on their first day.
In the polluted area, besides pollutants, there was a very small group of people. Some were alpha soldiers who had lost contact with their main forces, others were ordinary people who had fallen into the polluted area for various reasons, living very miserable lives, and crossing the polluted area to return home had become their most extravagant dream.
This small team of survivors was the only one left in this polluted area, and because of two scouts providing escort, these nine people had survived to this day.
However, today, they met a very terrifying man.
He had pitch-black eyes and a tall stature, with strange fish fins, and when he looked down on them from the ruins on a rainy night, he seemed like a demonic god of the rainy night.
They thought he was a mutated pollutant, and this pollutant looked very powerful and sinister.
The nine-man squad showed a look of fear.
It was at this moment.
Behind the towering monster, a car quickly emerged, blaring a song with “la la la.”
A girl poked her head out of the car window.
She loudly asked, “Getting on? DiDi for rides! Safe zone delivery for 600 per person!”
The dark eyes of the towering monster slowly turned towards them.
The team of nine was frightened; they didn’t believe anyone would transport them out of the polluted area, but they felt they might die if they didn’t take the car. Fortunately, they all had enough cash on them and climbed into the back of the vehicle.
However, the expected scenario of being ambushed after getting in the car didn’t happen. The first two actually drove towards the safe zone. The nine people exchanged looks, daring not to breathe loudly as they listened to the conversation coming from the front.
The girl in the front nodded, “Six hundred is a fair price.”
The monster agreed, “Fair.”
The girl said, “It’s an honest deal.”
The monster continued nodding, “Honest.”
The girl then asked, “Are you a parrot?”
The monster immediately retorted, “No.”
“If you mimic me again, I’ll sing for you~”
The monster: “…”
The monster remained silent, but the girl’s “la la la” song soon filled the empty streets.
Thus, the two of them continued their noisy and lively drive ahead.
The team of nine came to know that the seemingly terrifying night monster was called “Little Rose,” and the seemingly cute girl, when she sang, her voice was as dangerous as nuclear weapons.
These two very different individuals were a pair.
For the monster looked at them with eyes as cold as an iceberg, but his gaze softened like melting snow in spring when he looked at the girl.
Gradually, the nine people behind relaxed.
Listening to the noisy young couple, it felt like finding a trace of human warmth in this apocalyptic world.
When it was time for dinner, the girl left all the beef and bread in the car for them.
Tears welled up in the team leader’s eyes, and the squad members felt they had met truly kind-hearted people—
Then the monster returned, started a fire, set up a stand, and began roasting chicken with the girl.
The others: “…”
It’s truly magical. On this fragmented ruin, this young couple looks as though they are on a park outing.
As they pass by scenic spots, the girl stops to appreciate them, standing shoulder to shoulder with the towering monster, letting the wind brush against them; when they encounter a claw machine, the two of them put their heads together to try and grab a toy.
No one rushes them. One reason is fear, the other is that watching their lively and joyous demeanor is like watching a film reel.
In the end, each of the nine individuals got a toy doll.
Occasionally encountering pollutants, the monster would go to deal with them.
In fact, the scouts had already noticed the anomaly in the monster’s spirit. The nine people were too terrified to speak, feeling the monster was incredibly frightening, shuddering at the thought of having encountered the leader of the pollutants.
However, every time they thought this, turning their heads would reveal Shu Tang shouting encouragingly from the top of the car to Little Rose.
—What a strange couple indeed.
But later, something even stranger happened.
During an encounter with pollutants, the girl also released her spirit, which was a cute, plump orange cat.
The orange cat climbed on top of the massive spirit and muttered something indistinct.
At that moment, Shu Tang said to the mermaid, “Little Rose, I want to do something unforgivable.”
The mermaid had no sense of good or evil; his principles were Shu Tang’s preferences. This was very dangerous because if Shu Tang were a dangerous person, it would be over.
Shu Tang whispered into the monster’s ear.
Soon after, the spirit bodies of the nine-person squad witnessed a terrifying scene.
In mid-air, atop the massive head, the orange cat stretched out a paw with a small twig and shouted:
“Avada Kedavra!”
The twig immediately emitted a blue light, and the hit pollutant instantly perished.
Where the cat’s paw pointed, the pollutants were completely annihilated.
But Big Chicken Leg was clearly not done yet.