RIACMET chapter 46

 

When you’re happy, time seems to go by quickly.

By the end of February, the temperature, which had stayed the same for a long time, finally started to rise. It went up a few degrees each day and warmed faster as time went on.

At the start of March, when the temperature dropped to minus 50 degrees Celsius, the radio announced that rescue teams from the base were getting ready to head out across the country to save survivors.

Cheng Jing also talked with Zhou Li about leaving early.

They could leave at any time, but they still had to check in. They would probably need to work together again in the future, so it was important to stay friendly.

When Zhou Li found out they were going to Nancheng Base, he immediately let them in, allowed them to sign up as Qingyun City’s official rescue team, and even gave them a letter of recommendation.

He said he was thankful and hoped that if they met again, they would help each other.

Cheng Jing accepted the help and reminded him that if the rescue teams couldn’t arrive in time, they had to be careful of the zombies and make preparations to prevent any outbreak of disease.

As the weather got warmer, many people died, which could easily lead to an epidemic.

After months of using it, they had almost run out.

Also, sometimes the things inside the spatial ring would be used up, creating empty space. So, when getting ready to leave, Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian would refill it with supplies from outside.

The rest could be loaded into the trucks and brought along, and some would be left behind to distribute until they reached the base.

Some of the teammates were worried that their quality of life would get worse after they arrived at the base. Only Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing remained calm. They had already made plans for all of this:

Without revealing too much of their stockpile, they could quietly enter the base. Once they were settled in, it wouldn’t be too late to find a chance to tell everyone the truth.

Jiang Nian had made up his mind. When they got to the base, he would try to get a piece of land to grow crops.

But uncontaminated land was rare, expensive, and maybe even hard to find, so he decided to use his supernatural power to purify it bit by bit.

This was also why he had prepared such a large stock of seeds before the apocalypse began.

They needed finished goods to survive. If people wanted to rebuild their homes, they had to first solve the problems of food and clothing.

…

The temperature kept going up, and the team started getting ready to leave Qingyun City.

They checked their vehicles, packed their belongings, adjusted their route, and roughly planned places to stay along the way.

They did all of this quietly, without showing off, and still maintained their normal routines.

On March 10th, the weather was clear, and the temperature dropped to minus 25 degrees Celsius.

Cheng Jing and the others said their goodbyes to Zhou Li and quietly left the West District resettlement area before dawn. They headed toward the Southern City Base with two snowplows and their two other vehicles.

Zombies started to come out of the snow. The Qingyun City rescue team and the other ability users were getting ready to start a new protection campaign, but that no longer had anything to do with them.

The snow was still very deep, and even with snowplows and other equipment, they were moving very slowly.

Ten days later, the temperature dropped to zero degrees, and the snow began to melt faster. However, they had to be more cautious of active zombies.

After surviving such extreme cold, the zombies had evolved quickly and started to form crystal cores.

Mutant zombies with special powers started showing up more often, and one of their snowplows got damaged.

In his previous life, the authorities had issued a rule: if there was no serum antidote yet, and a mutant became infected, his teammates and others around him must not show mercy. It was best if the infected could end things themselves rationally.

Mutants who turned into zombies were much more dangerous than ordinary people.

Zhao Lei, Liao Yu, and Jian Cheng were driving the snowplow to clear the road ahead. Jian Cheng, who could see better now, was driving, while Zhao Lei and Liao Yu were killing zombies and getting ready for any problems.

Cheng Jing was driving the Hummer. Jiang Nian and Xiaoya sat in the middle, and Huang Qian and the others sat in the back.

“Everyone, get ready. Something’s wrong up ahead.”

Jian Cheng warned as he looked into the distance, and Zhao Lei picked up the walkie-talkie to alert those behind them.

As the snowplow drove more slowly, everyone’s mood became more somber.

They only saw the strange scene in front of them when the vehicle got closer.

A group of people were facing a wave of zombies blocking the road. Some of them had already died, and two modified cars had been smashed into scrap metal.

The three survivors were two men and one woman. One of the men was a bit older and sturdily built. He wore camouflage work clothes and looked to be in his forties.

The other man and the woman looked like college students:

The man was slightly older, with an ordinary face and somewhat long hair. The woman was younger, with a delicate appearance, and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. They both wore national brand sportswear.

All three were ability users, but right now, they looked extremely tired and hurt.

The older man’s power was a physical enhancement. When he fought, his muscles swelled up fast, he moved quickly, and he was very strong. He was holding a bloodied steel pipe.

The young man was a wind-type mutant, while the girl’s main defensive attribute was rebound.

In general, their combined combat strength wasn’t that high, especially when you consider their current level. They won’t become strong until their wind abilities improve.

They would have been fine dealing with normal zombies, but their opponents included not just normal zombies, but also a mutant zombie with powerful attack abilities that could control stones.

Suddenly, a wall of sand and rocks fell down, and in an instant, people and vehicles were scattered across the ground.

Humans were affected by mental strain when using supernatural powers. Zombies with powers, however, were not affected. They had no consciousness or mental barriers.

Instead, they had another kind of brainwave that could tell the difference between what was the same and what was different.

These brainwaves let them use their powers without getting tired until they used up all their energy and the crystal core broke—a phenomenon commonly called “core self-destruction.”

The more evolved the zombie, the stronger its brainwave energy. If they started to eat each other, humans wouldn’t be able to survive.

The three who were fighting the zombies felt their powers fading. At that moment, they saw Jiang Nian and the group of vehicles, which had been avoiding the mutant zombie’s attacks, suddenly turn around and head towards them.

They ran and shouted for help.

“Help…”

“Save us…”

…

A strong wind blew in from behind, and the powered zombies roared as they used debris to smash their heads.

The older man suddenly pushed the two young people forward and used the last of his strength to stand behind them.

The two men turned around, but he yelled at them:

“Run!”

Jian Cheng stopped suddenly when he saw the rocks coming at him. Zhao Lei jumped out of the vehicle and raised his hand to create an iron wall, stopping the debris from getting very close to the man’s face.

At the same time, a vine shot out, wrapped around the man, and dragged him back.

Except for Jiang Nian and Xiaoya, everyone got out of the vehicles.

The three who narrowly escaped death hid behind them, while the two young men helped the older man, who was coughing blood from overusing his power, to the side to rest.

They watched as the ground cracked open and iron walls rose one after another. Dense ice spikes flew at the zombies.

Barbed vines came out of hidden tunnels and hit the zombies, cutting them into pieces. Then, they flew up and cut off the mutant zombie’s head.

The game wasn’t over yet. When the zombies touched the iron walls, lightning struck and burned them to a crisp.

The horde that was charging from behind was instantly swallowed by a sea of fire.