Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

From the realization that the zombie virus did not originate from natural evolution, everyone inferred the presence of sinister enemies in this world. They decided to be more cautious in their actions, avoiding the use of easily traceable thermal weapons unless absolutely necessary.

The journey of over 1,000 kilometers, traveling at the speed of an Earth helicopter, took them only about two hours.

To save time, they landed directly at the designated location.

The national strategic grain storage facility was located on the outskirts of Pingyang City. From the outside, it appeared to be an ordinary factory, but inside, it housed well-sealed grain warehouses.

As soon as Ruo Manni’s team collected the grain from one of the warehouses, mutated animals began to surround them.

As expected, Pingyang City was truly a haven for mutated animals. While the number of mutated creatures was not as overwhelming as they had imagined—just over a thousand—their high levels made up for it.

In just over an hour, Ruo Manni and her team had killed five fourth-tier mutated animals, one of which was on the verge of advancing to the fifth tier.

The high levels of these mutated animals indicated that they must have been strong even at the beginning of their mutation. It was no wonder that survivors from Pingyang City and its surrounding counties had almost no way to escape, nor could anyone from outside easily get in.

It was said that the highest-level ability users at present were only at the third tier. Against fourth-tier mutated animals, ordinary bullets were ineffective, and Song Changlong and his group had barely escaped being devoured by a fourth-tier mutated snake.

According to the ‘Post-Apocalypse Survival Guide’, mutated animals posed the greatest threat to survivors in the early stages of the apocalypse. Many survivors fell prey to these ravenous creatures.

By the following year, zombies would begin devouring one another during the harsh winter, evolving into many fifth- and sixth-tier advanced zombies. When the ice and snow melted, humanity’s primary enemy would shift to these higher-level, more numerous advanced zombies.

To prevent the mutated animals from becoming a source that accelerated the zombies’ evolution, Ruo Manni and her team worked to eliminate the mutated animals within Pingyang City as thoroughly as possible.

However, to maintain a low profile, they avoided using thermal weapons and relied solely on knives or swords. As a result, it took them an entire day to deal with the majority of the mutated animals.

Ruo Manni suspected that, given the dire state of Pingyang City, there might still be a considerable amount of supplies left. So, while clearing out the mutated animals, they also began collecting resources.

“Why are the zombies in this city so weak? Less than one in ten has a crystal core. In other cities, at least half of the zombies have one,” Dean Atchison complained disdainfully.

This indicated that Pingyang City had been overrun by mutated animals shortly after the apocalypse began. The zombies had been unable to feed on humans or mutated animals, leaving them without sufficient “food” to evolve quickly.

In Pingyang City, whether in large supermarkets or small shops, there were still plenty of supplies. However, the doors were smashed open, shelves overturned, and everything was in disarray.

Ruo Manni’s companions didn’t know what supermarkets and stores typically carried before the apocalypse, but she did.

After visiting several supermarkets, Ruo Manni began to sense something was amiss. Grains like rice and flour were still there, but anything ready-to-eat was gone. Since mutated animals wouldn’t consume these items, humans must have taken them.

Suspicious, Ruo Manni used her telekinetic abilities to “scan” the area and quickly discovered the reason. The city still had survivors—and not just in one or two places.

These survivors were hiding in sturdy buildings with very small doors and windows. Ruo Manni speculated that while fourth-tier mutated animals were strong, they weren’t yet capable of breaking through solid concrete walls. With doors and windows too small to enter, the survivors had managed to live safely.

Ruo Manni scanned the area and confirmed that while there were survivors, only about two or three thousand people had managed to hold on.

Considering that cities in China typically had populations of over a million, it was heartbreaking that only this small number had survived.

If left alone, these survivors wouldn’t make it through the winter either. Ruo Manni decided to bring them back to the B City base.

Due to the presence of mutated animals, there was still plenty of gasoline left in Pingyang City’s gas stations. Ruo Manni instructed her team to collect all the fuel and then gathered the survivors in the city, encouraging them to find vehicles on their own.

These survivors, who had been on the brink of death from starvation and the increasing strength of the mutated animals, were suddenly given a lifeline. Rescued by a group of foreign teenagers, many of them were still in a daze.

When the nine skilled young foreigners explained that if they moved quickly, they would be escorted to the nearest survivor base in B City and supplied with enough fuel, the survivors were overcome with joy. Suddenly granted a chance at life, they cried tears of relief and scrambled to find vehicles and load everyone up. The entire operation took just two hours.

Some quick-thinking individuals also organized teams to gather supplies. As expected, people working together to seize a chance for survival showed remarkable strength. Moreover, those who had survived this long were either ability users or physically robust individuals.

Because they were now escorting over three thousand “tagalongs,” Ruo Manni’s team had to travel more slowly.

Even so, with Ruo Manni’s group clearing the way, no mutated animals or zombie hordes could slow the convoy. With ample gasoline, the convoy pushed forward day and night, though the survivors were utterly exhausted. Eventually, they arrived at the B City base just as a heavy rainstorm began.

The downpour was torrential, blanketing the area and making visibility almost nonexistent. Those inside the vehicles could barely see the taillights of the car ahead. A rain like this could easily cause flooding, so the convoy couldn’t afford to stop. Thankfully, they reached their destination before nightfall.

Ruo Manni’s group had already coordinated with Lin Ruihai and the others beforehand. Upon returning to the base, the survivors were handed over to military personnel for resettlement. Meanwhile, Ruo Manni and her team drove their RVs to the designated area assigned to them.

Due to Ruo Manni’s special status, Lin Ruihai no longer harbored the same wariness toward his sister and her companions as he had before. He even allowed them to park their vehicles on the open space behind Villa No. 3.

As Lin Ruihai observed their fully expanded high-tech RV, he couldn’t help but feel envious.

Once fully unfolded, the RV covered over 150 square meters and had two levels. The upper level featured six rooms, while the lower level included a small living room and, notably, three spacious training chambers.

“No wonder you don’t want to stay in a villa. Compared to this, a villa is nothing,” Lin Ruihai remarked in awe.

Ruo Manni glanced at him, and Lin Ruihai suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked nervously.

“Looking at how weak you are, I’ve decided to properly train you during the rainy season and winter,” Ruo Manni said casually.

Lin Ruihai had a sinking feeling that her idea of “training” wasn’t just a figure of speech. However, seeing how strong his sister and her team were, he felt a deep desire to improve himself. Resolving to endure whatever hardships came his way, he reassured himself: no matter how grueling it got, his sister wouldn’t go so far as to kill him.

With such powerful allies, the amount of resources they had managed to gather in just a few days far exceeded expectations. Thanks to their efforts, the B City base now had enough supplies to last at least ten months if used sparingly.

Both Lin Ruihai and Song Changlong could finally breathe a sigh of relief.