Dark Civilization Volume 1 Chapter 19

Book 1 Chapter 19: The Last Three Days!

Before long, Bai Long and the others managed to package up the mutant rat's corpse. They must have scrounged up a suitably large plastic bag from somewhere, helping them seal the corpse up and preventing the smell of blood from leaking out.

"Hand the corpse over to Bai Long and have him carry it!" Noticing Yue Heng's attempt at hefting the packaged corpse, Ye Chen couldn't help but interrupt him.

"What?!" Bai Long who was still busy tending to his wound, overheard their conversation and fretfully exclaimed: "Why me?"

Ye Chen walked over and inspected Bai Long's injured shoulder. It seems the blood coming out of his wound has dried for the most part. Considering Bai Long's const.i.tution, Ye Chen estimates that it wouldn't be long before a scab forms.

Ye Chen gave the wound a pat, rupturing the dried blood with his hand. Bai Long wailed in agony as blood began to seep out once more. Agitated, he yelled: "What are you doing!"

Ye Chen calmly responded: "Although the claws of mutant rats carry no toxins, they still harbor plenty of harmful bacteria, an inevitable consequence from dwelling in the sewers. If you allow the blood on your wound to dry, germs will start to seep into your skin. Within three days, your entire arm will begin to fester!" After saying so, he s.n.a.t.c.hed the packaged corpse from Yue Heng's hands and tossed it towards Bai Long.

Bai Long inquired in a doubtful tone, asking: "For real?"

"You can decide for yourself."

"Although your explanation sounded logical, I still can't help but feel like you're taking the opportunity to pick on me."

"You're free to interpret it as such."

"Fine!" Bai Long reluctantly accepted Ye Chen's words. Yet he couldn't help but stare at the packaged corpse in his hands. With a bitter smile, he asked: "But why am I the one to carry this mutant rat's corpse?"

"I'm picking on you, remember?" Ye Chen said indifferently before turning away, leaving Bai Long behind to stew in exasperation.

"This cold-blooded deviant!" Bai Long cursed inwardly as he grudgingly hefted the packaged corpse. Although Ye Chen declared that he was picking on him, an observant individual could tell that he was actually too fed up to explain further.

Standing at the side, Yue Heng and his two companions offered Bai Long a glance filled with pity. Although they felt sorry for the guy, they didn't dare to utter a word. They decided to solemnly carve into their heart, the result of questioning the 'devil'. Nothing good could possible come of it. Bai Long was bleeding proof of the terrible consequences!

"Move out!"

Ye Chen followed the indication on the map and led the group through a remote path, keeping his senses sharp as they progressed. Every few hundred feet, he would stop to listen to the vibration on the ground, bolstering his awareness of their surroundings.

Any straggling zombies that occasionally popped up, were effortlessly dispatched by him.

The group's formation had Ye Chen at the forefront, followed by his sister, Ye Zhu. Behind her was Bai Long who was carrying the packaged mutant rat's corpse. In the rear were Yue Heng and his two companions. Arranging the group in such a formation was part of Ye Chen's plan to train them.

With him acting as the vanguard, any horde the group encountered would be swiftly taken down by him. Occasionally, one or two zombies would pop up from the side, slipping out to attack from nearby buildings. The constant danger tested Yue Heng and his two companions in their ability to react accordingly to such attacks.

Fortunately, the streets they were currently traversing were located in a well-developed part of town where stray animals were spa.r.s.e. Therefore, mutant beasts were few and far between each other. The ones they spotted were mostly mutant rats.

Mutant rats had many variations, such as: plaguewind rats, bloodhunger rats, triclops rats, etc.

The mutant rat slayed by Ye Chen was a bloodhunger rat variant. They were dubbed 'bloodhunger' for their immensely sharp claws, three times sharper than regular mutant rats!

If mutant rats already had such a vast evolution tree, one can hardly begin to fathom the variants other mutant beasts possessed.

The group continued to progress, stopping briefly at regular intervals. Although they never came across any powerful mutant beasts, the zombies that cl.u.s.tered the streets weren't spa.r.s.e either. The consequences of being discovered were far from trifling.

Time pa.s.sed. Soon, it was already late afternoon.

With evening closely approaching, Ye Chen decided to approach an abandoned building. This building had quite a few floors, housing numerous zombies. Intending to settle down before night fell; Ye Chen speedily cleared the building of its pests. The zombies never got the chance to alert any of their 'compatriots' nearby.

Afterwards, the group located a suitable resting place on the second floor.

"Zombies and mutant beasts are far more active during the night. Furthermore, their strength receives a boost. A zombie may exert the strength of three men during the day, but during the night, it may get as strong as four or even five men combined!"

Ye Chen was deeply aware of the dangers which travelling by night posed.

During the night, Yue Heng and his companions took out their food. What they swiped mainly consisted of ready to eat snacks such as potato chips that could be eaten without using a cooking stove.

The group spent the night resting in silence.

The next day, Ye Chen awoke early in the morning and headed for the top floor alone. Through the windows, he observed the lay of the land within several kilometers and noted his findings on the map. After some thought, he marked out a trail that would allow them progress with the least likelihood of encountering mutant freaks.

By the time he rejoined the others, they were ready to depart.

Time flowed on and in the blink of an eye, two days pa.s.sed.

Although they were constantly hurrying for the past two days, the zombies that cl.u.s.tered the streets made it difficult to progress. They numbered in the hundreds on each road. A careless mistake was all it took to send the entire legion into a frenzied pursuit.

With an ability to run a hundred meters in ten seconds, the zombies would be able to surround them in no time. By then, even Ye Chen would be forced into a tight spot. This was even more so when he had to look out for the safety of his sister and the others.

"We're only 2 kilometers away from the research facility, yet there's only three days left till the end of the month!" Ye Chen silently calculated to himself.

It was crucial to reach the facility within three days and have the mutant ant's gene cells extracted. If he allowed the virus to progress further, it'll only lead to further mutations in the ant. By then, it'd be even more difficult to integrate himself with the strengthened gene cells!

Furthermore, if he didn't make it within three days and strayed upon these zombie infested streets, the survival rate of their group would greatly decline. That was because; zombies became much more terrifying during the second month of the apocalypse!

"Move!"

Ye Chen carefully led the group around a horde of zombies. Everyone had to hold their breath as they sneaked towards the corner of a wall.

"Rrrargh!"

Suddenly, a zombie snarled after catching the scent of warm blood. Its eyes filled with bloodl.u.s.t as it charged towards Ye Chen's group.

"Run!" Ye Chen did not hesitate and immediately circled around the group to defend them after commanding Bai Long and the others to escape in a low voice.

The rest of the group did not panic as they had experienced similar situations over the past two days. With their heads calm, they hurried into the distance.

*Sphhhlt!

The zombie that rushed over was instantly split apart by Ye Chen's axe. Afterwards, he icily glared at the rest of the alerted zombies. Their nature made them persistent in chasing down any prey they spotted. Retreating would only lead to a s...o...b..ll effect, attracting even more pests. With that, Ye Chen hurled himself into the incoming horde.

"Die!""

"Bloodwind arts: Twin-edge slaughter!"

Ye Chen weaved himself between the horde. With a fireman's axe in each hand, he cleaved into each zombie like a rampaging storm, showering the streets with a sickening rain of gore and severed limbs.

Within a few blinks of the eye, Ye Chen had reduced the entire horde into a mangled heap. There were around twenty of them, equally cut down and splattered across the street under his cleaving axe. Black blood seeped into every crevice of the road.

Ye Chen was slightly out of breath. As his chest rose and fell in rhythm of his breathing, he couldn't help but notice his sweat stained hide vest feeling a little greasy.

"I've got to catch up!"

Ye Chen did not bother to scavenge any of the corpses. His heart was filled with worry for his little sister Ye Zhu. Without another word, he turned to leave. Immediately after running a few steps, a violent roar carrying intense bloodl.u.s.t and killing intent, exploded out from somewhere behind him.

Turning around, Ye Chen's pupils contracted.