37. Giant Forest

Shi Dong didn't care much about Wang Dajiang's disappearance, telling Fu Yunong that it was just to give him a heads-up.

Before they could even ask, Sun Hui approached them and explained that Wang Dajiang had accidentally broken his leg while going out to relieve himself. She found him almost frozen solid and gave him a quick death.

As she said this, her expression was complex, a mixture of regret and relief.

Fu Yunong expressed her understanding. After all, that person was very annoying. In the apocalypse, he was so arrogant without any strength. Chong Cui was stupid and deserved to die.

After explaining everything, Sun Hui went about her business. Shi Dong stared at her retreating figure before withdrawing his scrutinizing gaze.

As they set off, Fu Yunong released a car from her spatial storage, leaving Sun Hui and the other two wide-eyed in amazement. Shi Dong expertly filled the gas tank and said to Sun Hui, "Lead the way."

Under the gloomy sky, two vehicles drove away from the warehouse, one after the other.

The cold wind outside was biting. Sun Hui and the other two huddled in their old SUV. The heater was on but not really, and they felt chilly.

In Fu Yunong's car, the five of them were huddled together, their cheeks flushed from the heat. Even so, no one was willing to split up and go to Sun Hui's car. Hua Hua, on the other hand, jumped directly onto the roof of the car, landing steadily on all fours, looking majestic and not afraid of the cold at all.

"At the current speed, it will probably take two days to reach the river. If the road conditions are bad, it may take even longer," Sun Hui said to Fu Yunong over the walkie-talkie.

The first day of the drive went smoothly. In order to make the most of the journey, neither car stopped along the way, and everyone ate something quick in the car to tide them over. It wasn't until it got dark that the car in front finally pulled into an abandoned gas station to rest.

Since they had agreed to cooperate, the two groups gathered together to rest. Sun Hui and her two companions didn't stand on ceremony and directly used Fu Yunong and her group's charcoal fire.

For dinner, Xiao Linfang cooked a large pot of rice noodles. The pot was full of shredded meat and chives. As soon as the rich aroma wafted out, the eyes of the three of them lit up instantly.

As soon as the rice noodles were cooked, Ouyang Peng and Cai Yun immediately picked up their bowls and started shoveling food into them. Ouyang Peng, in particular, was very unreserved, using his chopsticks to stir and pick at the shredded meat in the pot. He would even lick his chopsticks after taking a few bites, and in no time, he had finished off half the pot.

Seeing his filthy eating habits, Fu Yunong and the others immediately lost their appetite and put down their bowls.

After slurping down her bowl, Sun Hui noticed that Fu Yunong and the others hadn't touched their food much, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, we haven't had such good food in so long. Let's write an IOU for this meal and pay it back when we get back."

Upon hearing this, Fu Yunong skillfully took out paper and pen and handed them over, saying, "I would like to offer you ten level-two crystal cores."

Sun Hui obediently signed the document.

After the three finished eating, they went into their tents to rest. Perhaps because they had food in their stomachs, a soft snoring sound soon came from inside the tents.

Fu Yunong and the others looked at the mess on the ground and sighed helplessly.

Xiao Linfang resignedly set up the pot again, and Lin Songsong and Huangfu Jinrang quickly stepped forward to help, cooking another pot of rice noodles.

The next day was still overcast. Before setting off, Sun Hui came to Fu Yunong again to borrow food. Fu Yunong handed her a few pounds of potatoes and a few bottles of water, and then gave her paper and a pen. Ouyang Peng watched from the side, his face clearly showing resentment, but a look from Sun Hui suppressed it, and he didn't dare to say anything.

Inside the car, Xiao Linfang asked with some concern, "Yunong, do you think they'll really pay it back? I have a feeling it's not very reliable."

Fu Yunong smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, it's all worthless stuff. If they really don't return it..." Her smile faded slightly, "we'll just go to their door to get it."

In another car, Ouyang Peng couldn't help but complain, "Sister Hui, they clearly have so many supplies, but they keep trying to fob us off with these. It's too much!"

Sun Hui frowned and scolded, "Eat if you like, or go hungry!"

But in her heart, she thought, "These young people, relying on their awakened superpowers, are so arrogant and ignorant of their place in the base. They can't see the situation clearly, just as stupid as Wang Dajiang." She glanced at the compressed biscuits beside her, a hint of emotion flashing in her eyes.

Unfortunately, they had no luck that day and couldn't find a suitable place to stay until dark. The group had no choice but to set up tents in the ruins. Fu Yunong took out a windproof tent she had won in a lottery from her spatial storage. The five women and Hua Hua squeezed inside, which at least kept them warm.

Seeing that they had no intention of cooking, Ouyang Peng and Cai Yun reluctantly turned their attention away.

Early on the third day, Sun Hui came back and bought another can of gasoline on credit, saying with a smile, "At this rate, we'll be at the riverbank in half a day at most."

Just as she said, at noon, a tall forest appeared in the distance, which was the ice forest that Sun Hui had mentioned.

As the saying goes, "looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death," and although the forest in front of them didn't seem far away, it was still quite a distance to the riverbank. Shi Dong suggested that they rest in a nearby dilapidated house that hadn't completely collapsed yet, and cross the river only after they had recovered enough energy. She had a feeling that things wouldn't be that simple.

The dilapidated house was drafty from all sides. Fu Yunong lit a charcoal fire, while Xiao Linfang simply cooked a mixed rice dish, which included cured meat from the village, as well as carrots and green beans that Fu Yunong had bought.

Perhaps because he was about to return to the north, Ouyang Peng's pent-up anger finally exploded, and he began to cause trouble everywhere: when eating, he deliberately moved his bowl closer to Fu Yunong and the others, grabbing the meat from the pot; when putting down his bowl and chopsticks, he deliberately slammed them on the ground, making a jarring stomping sound, clearly trying to use passive-aggressive tactics to disgust people.

Cai Yun remained silent. Sun Hui frowned and was about to speak to stop him when Huangfu Jinrang couldn't hold back any longer.

She was young and impetuous, and had long disliked Ouyang Peng's arrogant and domineering attitude, especially since he was targeting her group. Her eyes flashed, and her level-two mental ability instantly erupted, sending an invisible mental shock straight into Ouyang Peng's mind.

The bowl and chopsticks in Ouyang Peng's hands clattered to the ground. He suddenly clutched his head with both hands, his arrogant expression instantly replaced by pain. He screamed in agony, writhing on the ground, blood slowly seeping from his seven orifices. After a few more struggles, his body went limp and he fell completely still.

"How could you kill someone!" Cai Yun was shocked and furious. He suddenly stood up and was about to rush over to argue.

"Step back!" Shi Dong stood up first, his eyes icy cold.

Fu Yunong, holding her bowl, said in a calm tone, "Who knows if he's having a relapse of his illness?"

“Exactly! You’re just making baseless accusations that we committed murder, do you have any evidence?” Xiao Linfang stepped forward and stood on either side of Huangfu Jinrang with Lin Songsong, clearly intending to protect her.

Even Hua Hua, who was lying to the side gnawing on a big bone, stopped what she was doing, bared her sharp teeth, and growled at Cai Yun.

Seeing the group's united stance against a common enemy, and recalling Ouyang Peng's miserable state just now, Cai Yun froze in place. All the remaining accusations stuck in his throat, and his face turned pale and then red.

Sun Hui quickly reached out and grabbed her arm, lowering her voice to scold, "Sit down and eat!" She glanced at Huangfu Jinrang with a hint of fear in her eyes.

This young girl looks quite young, yet she's so ruthless. None of these people are easy to mess with.

Huangfu Jinrang lowered her eyes, her fingertips trembling slightly. In truth, she was somewhat surprised by her impulsiveness just now, but she did not regret it.

Before the apocalypse, she would still be the well-behaved rich heiress praised by everyone, and her actions would never have been so sharp. But she had witnessed the ugliness of human nature firsthand, experienced the fear of displacement, and understood that weakness would only lead to being slaughtered.

The appearance of Fu Yunong and the others gave her support. She needed to become stronger and ruthless enough to protect herself and those around her.

Fu Yunong pressed her shoulder to sit down and handed her a bowl of hot rice. "Eat. You need to be full to have the strength to travel."

Huangfu Jinrang raised his head and met Fu Yunong's gaze. Feeling a warmth in his heart, he nodded vigorously, took the rice bowl, and began to eat in small bites.

To avoid disgusting the dinosaur, Shi Dong dragged the corpse outside.

It's better to crush this stupid and wicked guy early on, otherwise he'll just cause more disgusting things in the future.

After the meal, the group checked their weapons and rested before finally reaching the edge of the forest.

Sun Hui was not exaggerating. These trees were incredibly thick. Even if ten people held hands and hugged them, they probably wouldn't be able to encircle them. Their height was also soaring into the sky, as tall as a twenty or thirty-story building. Even when they craned their necks to a ninety-degree angle, they could only see the dense foliage shrouded in mist and couldn't see the treetops at all.

The layers of huge leaves cast shadows, and the surroundings were so quiet that the only sound was the whistling of the wind through the leaves, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Shi Dong gestured for everyone to slow down, while Hua Hua jumped off the roof of the car, sniffing around close to the ground, her ears perked up alertly.

As Xiao Linfang stared at the dense forest, a sudden chill ran through her. Just then, a rustling sound came from the depths of the forest, followed by a dense mass of dark shadows emerging from the woods. These were countless zombies, including enormous zombie wolves and zombie bears. The stench of decay wafted on the wind, making one want to vomit.

"Get in the car!" Shi Dong shouted, and the group immediately turned around and rushed to the car.

Fu Yunong pulled Xiao Linfang, who was still in a daze, while Lin Songsong and Huangfu Jinrang quickly followed, their movements swift and seamless.

Sun Hui didn't care about anything else and pulled Cai Yun towards her car, but Cai Yun was so frightened by the scene in front of him that he slowed down.

Just then, a massive zombie wolf suddenly pounced, its heavy claws pinning Cai Yun to the ground. Before Cai Yun could scream, the zombie wolf's fangs had already severed her neck, and blood splattered onto the snow, instantly staining the area red.

Seeing this, Sun Hui's pupils contracted sharply. She stumbled into the car, stepped on the gas, and followed Fu Yunong and her group.

Seeing Cai Yun's miserable state in the rearview mirror, the group's expressions turned grave. These mutated zombies were more ferocious than ordinary zombies and were clearly not easy to deal with.

The two cars sped along and finally reached the riverbank.

Fu Yunong and the others immediately got out of the car and quickly got into a fighting stance: Fu Yunong and Shi Dong stood side by side at the front, with crackling lightning gathering in Shi Dong's palm; Xiao Linfang was in the middle, activating her superpower, and several thick, slanted wooden spikes emerged from the ground, ready for defense; Lin Songsong was at the rear, setting up a protective shield, his fingertips spinning a sharp metal blade.

Huangfu Jinrang stood alone beside Xiao Linfang, his face showing confusion. Her mental power was useless against the zombies!

Seeing this, Sun Hui quickly rolled down the car window and shouted urgently, "Why aren't you leaving yet? We're going to be surrounded!"

Fu Yunong smiled at her but did not answer.

Leave? With so many crystal cores delivered right to their doorstep, how could they possibly let them go so easily? But she still kindly reminded her, "You'd better hide well."

Sun Hui gritted her teeth, watching the approaching horde of zombies, and suddenly swerved the steering wheel, reversing the car behind the group. She opened the car door, a faint trace of earth-elemental power gathering in her hand, and stood beside Fu Yunong and the others.

Shi Dong glanced at her with slight surprise, but said nothing, only the lightning in her palm intensified. Hua Hua arched her body, letting out a low growl, staring intently at them.

In the blink of an eye, the first wave of zombies had already rushed close.

Fu Yunong opened the system, her fingertips moving slightly as she ruthlessly harvested the zombies.

The lightning in Shi Dong's hand had already taken shape. With a wave of her arm, a lightning whip as thick as an arm snapped and lashed out at the zombie horde.

Wherever the lightning whip passed, zombies convulsed and collapsed, filling the air with a burnt smell. Then, a flash of electricity appeared in her eyes, and with a flick of her wrist, several thick bolts of lightning struck down, instantly killing a swarm of zombies.

Metal shot out from Lin Songsong's fingertips, accurately piercing the heads of several zombie wolves.

Xiao Linfang activated her supernatural power, and thick wooden spikes burst forth from the ground. Some pierced directly through the zombies' chests, while others attacked from the side, pinning the zombies firmly to the ground. She couldn't help but smile; her daily training was proving effective.

Sun Hui's performance was quite surprising.

She activated her powers with both hands simultaneously, first pushing hard towards the zombie horde. The ground instantly cracked open, and dozens of sharp stone pillars burst forth from the earth. Some pierced the zombies directly into the air, while others intertwined to form cages, trapping a small area of ​​zombies within.

Then, she conjured a half-meter-long stone spear in her right hand, lunged forward, and the stone spear accurately pierced the eye socket of a zombie wolf; her left hand instantly turned into petrified stone, glowing with a bluish-gray light, and she slapped another zombie on the head with a "crack," shattering the zombie's skull.

Shi Dong caught a glimpse of Sun Hui's moves out of the corner of his eye, and his eyes lit up immediately. As expected of someone from a major base, her moves were diverse and systematic, unlike the others who were figuring out how to fight on their own.

On the battlefield, the protective shield rippled with water, and the crackling of thunder whips, the sound of wooden spikes breaking the ground, the impact of stone spears, and the gnawing of flowers mingled together.

Despite their large numbers, the zombie horde was unable to break through the group's defenses. Instead, their numbers dwindled under their combined attacks...