With only three days' worth of food, Ning Yu had to embark on another journey to find supplies. The underground parking lot was temporarily safe, but the scarcity of resources prevented him from staying any longer. He carefully placed the last bit of compressed biscuits deep into his backpack—his final safeguard.
He walked along the dilapidated street, sunlight filtering through the cracks in the ruins, casting dappled shadows on the ground. The street was deserted, save for the howling wind that whipped up dust, emphasizing the desolation. Occasionally, a few mutated rats scurried past his feet, emitting chilling squeaks.
Ning Yu gripped the steel pipe in his hand tightly; it was his only weapon. He carefully observed his surroundings, avoiding narrow alleyways, which were often the lairs of mutated creatures.
After walking for about two hours, he arrived at a ruined area he had never set foot in before. It once appeared to be a large supermarket, but now only crumbling walls remained. Collapsed concrete blocks were scattered everywhere, and twisted steel bars, like the skeleton of a giant beast, gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
Ning Yu carefully climbed over the obstacles, and suddenly, he discovered some wooden crates buried under the rubble. The crates were rotten, but the word "food" could still be vaguely made out on them.
Overjoyed, he quickly moved aside the rubble and planks pressing down on it. The wooden box was finally revealed in its entirety. However, when Ning Yu opened the box with great anticipation, he found it empty except for a stained old newspaper lying quietly at the bottom.
A wave of despair washed over Ning Yu, and she sat helplessly on the ground, staring at the scene before her, her heart filled with despair.
Just then, he vaguely heard a series of soft rustling sounds coming from not far away… “Damn it, did I run into that kid again?” A rough, hoarse voice came from the other side of the rubble, filled with undisguised malice. “Damn it, did I run into that kid again?”
The rough, hoarse voice, like a sharp pebble, shattered the silence of the ruins. Ning Yu's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition surged within him. He recognized the voice; it was A-Qiang, the scavenger who always wandered the neighborhood.
He slowly stood up, gripping the steel pipe tightly. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the building's ruins, illuminating a young yet menacing face. Ah Qiang was thin and bony, dressed in rags, his cloudy eyes gleaming with greed.
"Hey, isn't this Boss Ning? What good stuff have you found this time?" A-Qiang said sarcastically, but his eyes were fixed on Ning Yu's backpack, as if he could see through the canvas to see what was inside.
Ning Yu took a step back without making a sound, looking at him warily. "There's nothing there. I was just trying my luck."
"Stop playing dumb with me!" Ah Qiang said fiercely. "Hand over the water in your bag, and I might consider letting you go!"
Ning Yu's heart sank. He knew that A-Qiang had his eye on his last bit of water. In the post-nuclear wasteland, water was more precious than gold, and the bottle of water in his backpack was his last hope.
“No,” Ning Yu said coldly, her tone firm. “I advise you to mind your own business.”
"You'll regret it if you don't listen to reason!" A-Qiang's eyes flashed with malice. He pulled out a rusty iron rod from his waist and pointed it at Ning Yu. "If you don't hand over the stuff today, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Ning Yu gripped the steel pipe, ready for battle. However, just then, A-Qiang suddenly let out a strange laugh, "Come out, my darlings!"
Suddenly, a dark mass emerged from the shadows behind him, accompanied by a chilling hissing sound, and rapidly surged toward Ning Yu.
Upon closer inspection, Ning Yu felt a chill run down his spine. It was a group of mutated insects! They were enormous, about the size of a fist, covered in hard carapaces, and their mouthparts were like sharp blades, gleaming with a cold light.
These mutated insects are monsters born from radiation contamination. They are bloodthirsty and extremely powerful, and even experienced scavengers dare not provoke them easily.
"Go! Bite him to death!" Ah Qiang shouted triumphantly from behind the swarm of insects.
The mutated insects swarmed towards Ning Yu like a tide, surrounding him completely. Ning Yu wielded his steel pipe, desperately trying to fend off the swarm's attacks. He knocked away one mutated insect after another, but more and more insects kept attacking, seemingly endless.
Ning Yu's stamina was rapidly depleting, and he was forced into a corner by the swarm of insects, with nowhere left to retreat.
Seeing this, Ah Qiang grinned maliciously. He slowly walked towards Ning Yu, his eyes gleaming with cruelty. "Kid, weren't you supposed to be a good fighter? What happened to you now?"
Before he could finish speaking, Ah Qiang pounced on him...
Ah Qiang's ferocious face loomed large before Ning Yu's eyes. A sharp pain shot through his abdomen as Ah Qiang kicked him to the ground. The mutated insect's attack weakened slightly, and Ah Qiang seized the opportunity to punch and kick Ning Yu, shouting, "You little brat, ruining my plans! Trying to steal my territory! I'll beat you to death!"
Ning Yu's body was already extremely weak, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered, wielding the steel pipe to try his best to defend against A-Qiang's attacks. His consciousness began to blur, and the world before his eyes became indistinct, but he had only one thought in his mind: he must not hand over the water! This was his last hope!
"Give me the water!" A-Qiang grabbed Ning Yu's backpack and yanked it hard, only to find that the backpack strap was stuck in Ning Yu's arm. He became even more furious, raised his fist, and slammed it hard into Ning Yu's arm.
With a sharp crack, accompanied by intense pain, Ning Yu felt as if his bones had broken. He helplessly released his grip, watching as A-Qiang snatched his backpack and pulled out the bottle of water.
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