Chapter 13

The garage was filled with a deathly silence, the only sound being the heavy, uneasy breathing of Zhao Jun. He looked at Chen Mengzhou, who had just recovered from the terrifying energy fluctuations. His eyes were even darker than before, as if they held a celestial storm capable of swallowing people whole.

"Go... go?" Zhao Jun's voice was dry and trembling. He repeated subconsciously, "Where... go?"

Chen Mengzhou didn't answer immediately. She closed her eyes, carefully experiencing her newfound ability—the "Spatial Mark," like an invisible coordinate, clearly imprinted on the heavy alloy rolling door. She could sense that, if she was willing to make a tremendous mental effort, she could instantly cross the mere dozen meters and appear at the door.

It's an indescribable sense of control, although the scope is extremely small, it is of great significance.

Then, she once again actively attempted to connect to that bizarre "future dream." This time, instead of passively receiving, she had a clear purpose—she needed to confirm the current state of the western suburbs after the destruction of the "Gathering Institute" and whether the path to the future "Seventh Safe Zone" was still feasible.

The scene before him distorted again, but it was easier to cut through than before.

[Future dream fragments loading... Related real-world coordinates: The area surrounding the Western Suburbs Logistics Center...]

Instead of seeing the entire scene, what met my eyes was a shattered mess of ruins and countless crisscrossing, yet-to-be-healed, tiny spatial cracks! Most of the familiar logistics center buildings had vanished, and the remaining structures were covered in strange crystals, as if instantly vaporized and reshaped by some force. The air was filled with violent energy particles, occasionally causing small-scale electrical discharges.

["Collection" confirmed to have been annihilated in the medium-sized space-time turbulence. The residual energy field is extremely unstable, and the danger level is high. Approach is not recommended.]

The view zoomed out, following the path indicated by the memorized map, leading to the future safe zone. The road ahead was blocked by massive chasms and collapsed buildings, making conventional means impossible to navigate. However, along the edges of some of the chasms, faint, human-made markings could be seen—perhaps from the previous exploration team, or perhaps other survivors? These markings pointed to a circuitous path that hugged the edge of a dangerous chasm.

[Traces of survivor activity detected. The path is dangerous, but possible.] The system analyzed calmly.

The scene vanished again. Chen Mengzhou opened his eyes, a decision already made in his mind. With the destruction of the village, the road to the western suburbs was dangerous, but not dead. Those markings were important clues.

"Go to the western suburbs." She finally spoke, her voice unquestionable.

"Western Suburbs?!" Zhao Jun cried out in shock, the color draining from his face. "Over there... I heard it's even more chaotic! The gang from the Ji Suo were operating there before, and I don't know what's going on now! And on the road..."

"The institute is gone." Chen Mengzhou interrupted him and dropped a bombshell in a calm tone, "It was swallowed by the turbulent flow of time and space."

Zhao Jun stood there, his mouth gaping, speechless for a long moment. Ji Suo... gone? That dominant force, the one he hated and feared, had simply vanished like that? He looked at Chen Mengzhou with even greater fear. She even knew this?! What else did she not know?!

"Then we..."

"Take the old freight railway line and avoid the main road." Chen Mengzhou made a plan based on the markings he saw in his future dream and his memory of the real map. "You lead the way."

This was both an exploit and a further test: a test of his familiarity with the terrain, and also a test of his value in leading the way despite his extreme fear.

Zhao Jun's expression shifted, but he finally gritted his teeth. He knew he had no right to refuse. While the news of the Ji Suo's demise was terrifying, it also meant a potential power vacuum and new opportunities in the western suburbs... Following this unfathomable woman, perhaps... perhaps he could actually survive, or even reap the benefits?

"Okay... okay..." He swallowed hard, got up from the ground, and dusted himself off. "I know that old railway line. There was a landslide there before, and you have to go through the drainage culvert next to it. No one usually goes there, so there shouldn't be many monsters there..."

He played the role of guide again, but this time, beneath the flattery and calculation, there was a deeper awe and a suppressed fear of unknown risks.

The two men packed up their equipment. Chen Mengzhou tossed the pistol and the poisoned dagger back to Zhao Jun—tools need to be armed to function better. Zhao Jun silently took them, inspected the firearms, and carefully placed the dagger back at his waist, a complex look in his eyes.

I opened the iron gate of the inspection hatch and returned to the surface. The sky outside was still dark, and the blood-red skylight pressed down on the ruins, making it suffocating.

Led by Zhao Jun, they once again infiltrated the maze of alleyways. This time, Chen Mengzhou's perception range was greater, allowing him to spot wandering corroded corpses or terrain traps earlier, allowing him to avoid them or issue warnings. Zhao Jun's "enhanced stealth" ability was also forced to be used more frequently in this high-pressure environment, his footsteps as light as a civet cat.

After safely passing through several blocks, an abandoned, rusty railway line appeared before our eyes, with withered and yellow grass growing on both sides of the roadbed.

"It's here. Walk west along the railway for about two kilometers and you will reach the landslide site." Zhao Jun said in a low voice, vigilantly observing the abandoned sheds and carriages along the railway.

The railway line was relatively open, offering a much better view, but this also meant they were more exposed. The two men moved quickly, following the shadows along the roadbed.

Suddenly, Chen Mengzhou stopped abruptly and grabbed Zhao Jun in front of him.

"etc."

"What's wrong?" Zhao Jun immediately crouched down nervously, raised his gun and looked around.

Chen Mengzhou didn't answer. Her brows furrowed slightly, and her gaze turned to the industrial ruins in the distance to the right of the railway line. Her time perception had just caught a fleeting and strange image—

It was not the roar and pounce of the Erosion Corpse, but a few extremely slight "puff" sounds similar to the firing of silenced weapons, and the muffled sound of human bodies falling to the ground!

Immediately afterwards, the fragments of the future dream were passively triggered, and instantly overlapped with the real scene before her eyes!

She "saw" a figure in a dark combat uniform, moving with extreme agility and professionalism, through a window of the industrial ruins. In his hand, he seemed to be holding a modified crossbow or rifle. The figure disappeared in a flash.

At the same time, a system notification sounded: [Traces of highly coordinated survivor group activity detected (non-group forces). Danger level: Medium. Behavior pattern: Covert, efficient, and aggressive.]

Survivors from the future dream? The ones who left their mark? They've already moved so close to the area? And they don't look like good people.

"There are people over there..." Chen Mengzhou said in a low voice, his tone solemn, "They are not ordinary survivors. They are very dangerous. Avoid them."

Zhao Jun followed her gaze and saw only a dead, silent ruin. However, he no longer had any doubts about Shen Mengzhou's judgment and nodded immediately. "Okay, I know there's a more roundabout path on the other side. It requires passing through an underground pipe, and the smell might not be very pleasant..."

Just as they were about to change course—

“Swish—bang!”

A sharp whistling sound came from the direction of the industrial ruins! Immediately afterwards, a red flare, trailing flames, shot up into the sky and suddenly exploded about a hundred meters above their heads, emitting a dazzling red light!

Although there was no sound, the flare was as eye-catching as a lighthouse under the dark sky!

"Fuck!" Zhao Jun's face changed drastically. "We've been discovered! It's the Hounds! Those lunatics!"

Hounds? A new faction?

There is no time to think about it!

Almost at the same time as the flare exploded, slight "puff" sounds of silenced weapons firing were heard simultaneously from three different directions!

Several bullets landed precisely near the bunker where the two men had been, sending up a cloud of gravel and dust! The other team's marksmanship was incredibly accurate, and their coordination was seamless, instantly creating a crossfire suppression!

"Find cover!" Chen Mengzhou shouted softly, and rolled to the side like a ghost, hiding behind a broken concrete pillar.

Zhao Jun rolled and crawled under the chassis of an abandoned tanker truck. Bullets followed his footsteps, sending sparks flying on the ground.

The attack didn't stop. Bullets continued to shoot from the hiding places like venomous snakes, suppressing them so much that they couldn't even raise their heads! The enemy's purpose was obvious. Either they used up their ammunition or waited for an outflanking attack!

Chen Mengzhou leaned against the concrete pillar, his eyes icy. His mental energy was rapidly depleting, and his time perception was heightened to its limit, constantly predicting the trajectory of the incoming bullets and the enemy's possible movement locations.

This won't work! Passively accepting the beating will only lead to death!

She suddenly looked at another more solid shelter about ten meters away - a concrete pipe opening half buried underground.

Space Mark! A newly acquired ability!

With a thought, a huge amount of mental power was instantly drained away! She felt a slight dizziness!

The next second, her figure blurred in place, like a TV image with poor signal!

Almost at the same moment, her figure appeared out of thin air behind the concrete pipe opening!

Puff, puff, puff! The concrete pillar where she had been hiding was smashed into pieces!

Chen Mengzhou had already relied on the new cover, and an invisible space blade instantly condensed in his hand, and his eyes were coldly locked on one of the directions where the bullet came from!

The roles of hunter and prey switch instantly!

The sniper in the distance seemed to be stunned for a moment, and there was a momentary hesitation in shooting.

Zhao Jun hid under the tanker, staring at this teleportation-like scene in amazement, his mind going blank.

Chen Mengzhou took a deep breath, suppressing the huge amount of mental energy he had just consumed.

"Zhao Jun!" she called out coldly, "At one o'clock, suppress fire from the second-floor window of that red brick building!"

She needed his attention, even for just a second!

Zhao Jun shuddered, his will to survive overpowering everything else. He suddenly leaned out from under the car, pointed his gun at the direction Chen Mengzhou pointed, and frantically pulled the trigger!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The loud gunshots broke the oppressive silence and successfully attracted an instant return fire from that direction!

Now is the time!

Chen Mengzhou's eyes flashed with cold light! He leaped out from behind cover like a cheetah! At the same time, he swung his right hand forward!

The invisible spatial blade tore through the air and shot accurately at another dark figure that was moving and trying to find a better shooting angle at a speed faster than a bullet!

Swish!

A slight sound, like cloth tearing!

A suppressed groan of pain echoed from the distance! A streak of blood splattered through the air! The figure stumbled, dropping his weapon before retreating abruptly into cover.

The crossfire network was instantly torn open!

"Walk!"

Chen Mengzhou let out a low roar, and without any hesitation, he turned around and rushed towards the complex ruins on the other side of the railway line!

Zhao Jun woke up as if from a dream, and crawled to catch up, almost throwing away the pistol with an empty magazine.

The gunfire behind me stopped, as if the enemy hadn't anticipated such a difficult prey. They instantly killed one and then retreated without hesitation. I felt a piercing sensation of the cold gaze of a venomous snake, but it didn't immediately pursue me.

The two men rushed into the shadows of the ruins in a panic, temporarily escaping from each other's direct shooting range.

Chen Mengzhou leaned against a broken wall, his face pale and breathing lightly. Continuous use of supernatural powers, especially the short-distance space jump and space blade attack just now, had consumed a huge amount of energy.

Zhao Jun slumped beside her, his entire body drenched in cold sweat. The way he looked at Chen Mengzhou had completely changed into the way he looked at a god or demon, filled with incomprehensible fear and a hint of absurd relief.

"Hunting...hounds..." He gasped, his voice trembling. "They're another group of people who are even crazier than the police station... They say they specialize in catching lone survivors and weak teams... They steal supplies and capture people... Why did they come here..."

Chen Mengzhou did not answer, she slowly clenched her palms.

The road to the western suburbs is more dangerous than imagined.

Not only are there time and space turbulence and erosion, but there are also these well-trained and ruthless "hounds" hiding in the dark.

And her spatial jumping and abilities seemed to have attracted the attention of these "hounds".

The number of players in this apocalyptic survival game is constantly increasing.

And she has been forced to go on stage.