The transformation of buildings followed certain rules.
It began with structures at the highest elevation, converting all creations at that height before moving on to the next level.
This was a pattern Qin Zhiyu had learned from technical posts on forums during her First Playthrough.
The experience shared by various experts and technical enthusiasts provided endless theoretical support for survivors under the Heavenly Disaster.
Just one more kilometer to the bridge. Fortunately, many people hadn’t yet realized the need to head to open spaces, so the bridge wasn’t congested. Otherwise, crossing the river would have been a major issue.
After crossing the bridge, Qin Zhiyu saw many other vehicles swarming onto the national highways leading to various towns and counties.
It seemed that with the arrival of the apocalyptic Heavenly Disaster, many clever individuals had grasped the key points.
“Hey! Stop and wait for me! Taxi, stop! Take me with you!”
A young man wearing glasses shouted desperately, but the taxi sped toward the outskirts without the slightest hesitation.
Qin Zhiyu paid little attention to this minor incident—such occurrences were far too common.
Whether rushing home or seeking refuge in sparsely populated areas, every second counted. No one knew the consequences of being even a moment too late. It was rare for vehicles to stop and pick up passengers on the road.
“Oh no, I’m running out of time!”
Qin Zhiyu noticed the second floor of a roadside building being swept by laser-like rays, twisting, melting, and vanishing.
She slammed on the accelerator, pushing the speed to its limit. After darting forward a hundred meters, she swiftly leaped out of the vehicle.
The car’s roof had already begun to fade. Now, Qin Zhiyu carried only a phone and a compass. The villa was within sight, the mountaintop faintly visible in the distance.
The mountain seemed close, but the journey was still long—at least two kilometers remained on foot.
Abandoning the car, Qin Zhiyu sprinted toward the mountain, only to encounter a “tiger” blocking her path.
“Hey, finally! I’ve run into someone! Where are you heading, miss? There’s nothing but wasteland ahead.”
A tall figure in a sapphire-blue jacket and black cargo pants emerged from the grass, chasing after Qin Zhiyu and waving frantically, afraid she might not notice him.
Hearing his shouts and seeing him closing in, Qin Zhiyu didn’t stop. Instead, she sped up, charging forward even faster.
The asphalt road beneath her feet cracked. She tried to stick to dirt paths whenever possible.
Although the ground wouldn’t be violently transformed like buildings, stepping on solid pavement risked stumbling if it suddenly split open—with no one to blame for the fall.
“Hey, I’m talking to you! Why are you ignoring me and running even faster?” Yang Muyi panted as he caught up to her.
“Don’t follow me,” Qin Zhiyu replied curtly.
“Judging by your direction, are you heading out of the city? There are no buildings left there, just wasteland and no people. Why go that way?”
Yang Muyi was genuinely curious. Driving back from his hometown, he hadn’t encountered anyone aside from a few vehicles.
Watching the car’s roof vanish had left him flustered and terrified as he scrambled out.
Now that he’d finally met someone, he naturally wanted answers.
“The city center is crowded. You saw what happened when the Heavenly Disaster struck just now. Fewer people mean a better chance of survival.”
Qin Zhiyu said helplessly, “It seems if I don’t make things clear, this person will keep haunting me like a ghost.”
“Ah, damn it, what is this?!” Yang Muyi let out an extremely shrill scream.
Anyone who had watched The Walking Dead would know how rotten and disgusting zombies looked, but the vaguely humanoid monster before them was different from those.
Its movement speed wasn’t particularly fast, but its entire body was covered in a strange, glowing white mucus, as if its facial features had already melted away. It lunged at Yang Muyi in a twisted, contorted posture.
Seeing this scene, Qin Zhiyu was also greatly shocked. She had never encountered such a situation before, and her Sanctuary had never been attacked by such humanoid yet inhuman monsters.
Looking at this person who seemed almost melted yet could still walk, could it be that they had been heavily exposed to laser radiation, hadn’t died completely, and were now in this state?
Crack. A sapling as thick as a wrist was the most handy weapon she could find at the moment.
Only this wouldn’t harm her hands when used—she wouldn’t suddenly find her own hands twisted or disappearing from radiation while fighting.
Yang Muyi abruptly bent over to dodge the monster’s attack. He definitely didn’t want to be touched by this eerie creature. No matter how he looked at it, that strange liquid sticking to his body would likely cause some adverse chemical reaction.
“Dodge!” As she spoke, Qin Zhiyu gripped the tree trunk tightly, gathered her strength, and swung it at the monster’s head.
Yang Muyi scrambled away, swallowing hard as he watched this brutal scene.
The strike was vicious and precise, landing squarely on the depressed area of the temple, crushing half the skull.
What kind of fierce person was this? No! Fierce woman!
After collapsing to the ground, the monster twitched twice and then stopped moving.
“Sis, you’re amazing!” Yang Muyi looked at Qin Zhiyu, who was still holding the tree trunk, with a mix of admiration and fear, stunned by the bloody scene.
“I’m heading out of the city. Judging by your earlier direction, you must be going into the city. We’re not going the same way, so stop following me.”
Qin Zhiyu shook the mucus off the tree trunk and spoke with a hint of impatience.
“Alright, thank you for stepping in to help when you saw trouble. It’s just a shame I have nothing to repay you with right now.”
“I have family in the city, otherwise I wouldn’t be going in…”
Seeing that Qin Zhiyu had finally spoken, Yang Muyi opened up and began chattering nonstop. But when he looked up, he found that Qin Zhiyu had already run off again.
“Hey! My name is Yang Muyi, what’s yours?”
Having shaken off Yang Muyi, Qin Zhiyu continued running toward her destination.
As time passed, the vegetation along the road might evolve more rapidly, giving rise to even stranger creatures. She needed to hurry to her destination—the longer she delayed, the greater the danger.
After dealing with a few more humanoid yet inhuman monsters along the way, she finally arrived at the abandoned villa area.
By now, the villa area was almost unrecognizable, with only faint traces of asphalt roads visible on the ground.
Her phone and compass had long since broken down and been discarded along the way. Her clothes had turned grayish-white and faded, as if she had worn them for over a decade or two.
One humane aspect of this system was that it didn’t leave everyone running around naked.
Qin Zhiyu took a few steps forward. This area, near the main gate, was relatively open, with dense woods on both sides ahead.
A main road led to the abandoned villa area halfway up the mountainside. After the abandoned villas disappeared, only a flat expanse of land remained.
Qin Zhiyu did not recklessly proceed forward. She still had one Reconnaissance use left for today, and she intended to use it here. If there were any Mutated Flora and Fauna, she could take the opportunity to deal with them, avoiding future troubles.