Taking advantage of the moment when Widow Li was entangled by the mutated creature, Ning Yu seized the opportunity and shoved her away. Widow Li stumbled and fell to the ground. Ignoring his own injuries, Ning Yu quickly got up, grabbed his backpack, and ran.
"Don't run! Leave the things behind!" Widow Li panicked when she saw Ning Yu trying to escape. She struggled to chase after him, but the mutated rats clung to her tightly, giving her no chance.
Ning Yu ran with all his might. He knew this was his only chance; he had to reach the water source before Widow Li could escape the mutated creatures…
"Stop! You can't escape!" Widow Li's desperate screams echoed through the empty ruins, while Ning Yu had already disappeared into the rubble of the nearby buildings, leaving only a resolute silhouette... Ning Yu's heart pounded violently, his lungs pounded like bellows, but he dared not stop. Widow Li's curses and the hissing of the mutated rats faded into the distance behind him, but he knew he was not safe yet.
He glanced back, and only after confirming that Widow Li was temporarily unable to escape her predicament did he dare to slow his pace slightly, bend over, and gasp for breath. Sweat dripped from his forehead, soaking his collar. He touched the wound on his face where Widow Li had scratched him, and a burning pain shot through him.
"Damn crazy woman!" Ning Yu cursed under his breath, took out the last bottle of water from his backpack, and carefully poured some onto the wound to wash away the blood. This was his last supply of fresh water, and he would never use it unless absolutely necessary.
After quickly treating his wounds, Ning Yu didn't dare delay and continued running in the direction he remembered. The map marked that not far from here, there was an underground water pipe that had leaked due to years of disrepair, forming a small puddle, which was one of the few sources of water in this ruin.
After passing two dilapidated buildings and navigating piles of collapsed rubble, Ning Yu finally saw the puddle marked on the map. It was just a small pool of water, less than ten square meters in size, with murky water and a faint stench of decay, clearly indicating that no one had been there for a long time.
Even so, for Ning Yu, who was struggling to survive in the apocalypse, it was as precious as a gift from heaven. He greedily breathed in the damp air, not caring whether the water was clean or not, and lay down by the pool to drink it in large gulps.
"Glug, glug..." The cool water flowed down his parched throat, nourishing Ning Yu's body and rekindling his hope for life.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from afar, accompanied by Widow Li's vicious curses: "You little brat! You dare to steal my things, I'll take your life!"
Ning Yu was startled, realizing something was wrong. Had this crazy woman caught up so quickly? He stood up abruptly and looked warily in the direction from which the sound came.
Widow Li appeared at a street corner not far away. Her clothes were tattered, and there were bite marks on her arms from the mutated rats, indicating that she had suffered greatly in the fight with the mutated creatures. But her eyes were filled with resentment and greed as she looked at Ning Yu, like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey.
Ning Yu knew that a fierce battle was inevitable... He gripped the iron rod in his hand, his eyes scanning the surroundings, looking for terrain that could be used.
"Don't come any closer!" Ning Yu shouted, "The water's right here. If you want it, come and get it yourself!"
"Hmph! You think I'm afraid of you?" Widow Li sneered, drawing a rusty machete from her waist. "If I don't chop you up and feed you to the rats today, I'm not a Li!"
After saying that, she brandished her machete and charged towards Ning Yu... Just as Ning Yu was preparing to fight, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of something next to the pool: a rusty iron gate, half-hidden behind a collapsed wall, which would be impossible to spot without careful observation.
Ning Yu's heart stirred, and a bold idea surged into his mind... He pretended to panic and took a few steps back, dodging Widow Li's attacks while slowly approaching the iron gate.
"Don't even think about escaping!" Widow Li saw Ning Yu's actions and assumed he was scared, so she waved her machete even more arrogantly and pressed closer step by step.
Just as Widow Li was about to catch up with Ning Yu, he suddenly turned around and flung open the iron gate...
"Where is this place?"
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