The man behind him let out a bitter laugh. “It’s me… Chen Shi…”
Chen Xu’s expression shifted from confusion to shock, then to joy. Leaning on his crutch, he quickly stepped forward and punched the man lightly on the shoulder. “You’re still alive! We’ve been looking for you this whole time!”
“Yes… I was saved by a girl. Since I couldn’t move, I’ve been recovering here,” Chen Shi said slowly, his damaged vocal cords making his speech hoarse.
“A girl? That should be our mayor… What happened to you? Where’s Taozi?” A sense of foreboding rose in Chen Xu’s chest.
Chen Shi lowered his head, his fingers curling into fists. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? How could you not know? Wasn’t she with you? You’re this badly injured, did she…” Chen Xu could not continue, afraid of hearing the worst.
“I was captured by Niu Ge. According to him, Qinglong has been searching for you everywhere. Since he knew I was close to you, he took me to force information out of me. I already sensed something was wrong at the time, so I told Taozi to hide. After that, I was beaten unconscious. I woke up a few times in a daze. From what they said, they didn’t know Taozi was with me. When I fully woke up again, I was already here,” Chen Shi explained slowly.
Chen Xu frowned deeply as he listened. When Niu Ge’s group had been captured by the mayor, he had even gone to watch the scene. He never expected that the bloodied man carried away by the robots back then had been Chen Shi.
He sighed. “You’re not to blame. I remember where Taozi hid. I’ll go look for her tomorrow. Let’s not tell Liu Dong for now. He’s already in a bad state. I’m worried he might do something extreme.”
Chen Shi’s gaze fell on Chen Xu’s injured leg and crutch.
Chen Xu quickly explained, “It looks serious, but it’s actually not that bad. The stitches will be removed in a few days. Right now, finding Taozi is more important. She’s just a young girl out there. No one would feel at ease.”
Chen Shi understood. He was anxious too, but his injuries were far worse. When Niu Ge’s group beat people, they targeted areas meant to cripple. His tendons had been severed, and most of his bones shattered. Though they had been set again, he still could not stand.
“I’m counting on you,” Chen Shi said hoarsely.
…
The next morning, as soon as Miao Suisui stepped out of her house, she saw the team returning, covered in dust and bloodstains, their exhaustion obvious.
Xia Tao waved at her. “Mayor, we’re back!”
Seeing her bright smile, Miao Suisui could not help but smile as well. “Did you succeed?”
Xia Tao nodded vigorously. “We can finally rest for a while. I’ll tell you everything after I wash up and get some sleep. I haven’t closed my eyes all night.”
Miao Suisui nodded quickly. Her gaze met Meng Ye’s briefly in the air, and they exchanged a small nod.
The group returned to their rooms, and the town fell quiet again.
After a while, Miao Suisui noticed Chen Xu, carrying a backpack and limping toward the exit. She was startled. “Where are you going?”
“Just heading out for something,” Chen Xu replied with a smile.
“You’re going out like this? That’s dangerous,” Miao Suisui said, frowning. “If you run into mutated beasts or zombies, you won’t even be able to escape.”
Chen Xu briefly explained the situation.
Miao Suisui was stunned, her mouth hanging open for a moment. She could not help but feel how small the world was. “So the person in the clinic is Chen Shi, the one you’ve been looking for?”
Chen Xu nodded. “We know him well. As long as he had any strength left, he wouldn’t abandon Taozi. The situation back then was urgent. He already did everything he could.”
Miao Suisui understood. Being captured by Niu Ge must have been terrifying, and Taozi was just a little girl.
“You definitely need to go look… but it’s too dangerous for you to go alone.” She frowned, thinking hard for a solution.
“System, can I borrow the express train?” she asked mentally.
“No,” the system replied immediately. “Unless it is for a special mission, the host cannot use the express train.”
Just as Miao Suisui felt disappointed, the system added, “However, the host can pay three thousand Level 1 crystal cores to unlock security services. Once unlocked, security robots become rentable. Each robot costs five hundred Level 1 crystal cores per use.”
Miao Suisui quickly calculated her resources and agreed without hesitation.
“So, the town now offers a new security service. You can hire one robot for five Level 2 crystal cores per trip. Do you want to bring one along?” she asked Chen Xu.
“The kind that can turn its hands into blades, guns, and even rocket launchers?” Chen Xu asked, clearly interested.
Miao Suisui nodded.
Chen Xu immediately took out ten Level 2 crystal cores and hired two robots.
Soon, two round but sharp eyed robots came around from behind the town. After scanning Chen Xu’s face, they stood beside him like guardians.
With such powerful escorts, Chen Xu felt completely reassured.
As he reached the town entrance, a mutated vine suddenly shot out from nowhere, its thick tendrils whipping toward him. If it struck, it would be fatal.
Chen Xu instinctively released his ability to defend, but a robot pulled him aside.
The robot’s small round hand instantly transformed into a rocket launcher. With a single shot, the once menacing vine turned into ashes.
Both Chen Xu and Miao Suisui were stunned.
Mutated vines were known in the apocalypse for their durability and high damage, extremely difficult to deal with. Very few people could eliminate one in a single move.
With the danger gone, Chen Xu waved to Miao Suisui and left with the robots.
After seeing him off, Miao Suisui went to have breakfast and ran into Cui Yingying, who had faint dark circles under her eyes.
“…The bed was too hard. I didn’t sleep well,” Cui Yingying said. After bathing and changing into a dress, she had returned to her usual spoiled demeanor. She ordered a large spread of food, filling the table, but only took a bite of each dish.
Miao Suisui slurped her noodles. “Our town has plenty of resources, but wasting food is not allowed.”
The remark made Cui Yingying freeze. She stared at Miao Suisui for a long moment, then reluctantly ate a few more bites of her porridge.
The rest was packed up, especially the untouched dishes, which she planned to bring to her companions.
Before leaving, she gave a soft snort. Miao Suisui stuck out her tongue in response.
Just after finishing her noodles, the system emitted a sharp beep.
The sound immediately gave Miao Suisui a bad feeling. The last time she heard it, she had been sent to rescue Chen Xu and the others.
“Emergency mission issued. Host must proceed to D City to rescue the remaining survivors of D City Base and bring them back to the town. Failure carries no penalty. Success, defined as rescuing at least thirty survivors, will grant a special reward.”
As expected, the system announcement followed.
“Can I ask… what’s the current situation at the base? How many people were there originally? How many are left?” Miao Suisui asked with difficulty.
“The D City Base has been overrun by a group of Level 6 zombies and Level 7 mutated beasts. Originally 2,663 people. Currently 56 remain. All survivors are gathered at the final defensive line. Estimated time remaining, thirty minutes.”
“Over two thousand people… just gone like that?” Miao Suisui was shocked, her heart heavy with an indescribable feeling.
“Yes,” the system replied, its tone completely flat.