The footsteps were heavy, lingering around the rubble pile for a long time, followed by a strange sound: “Hiss~~ hiss~~ cough~~ cough~~”
Xu San San didn’t know that this was actually the sound of an Infected eagerly slurping saliva in preparation to bite someone.
After a while, the “hiss~~ hiss~~” sounds gradually faded, replaced by:
“Crunch… crunch…”
The sound of concrete blocks being crushed.
Her hands gripping the Wheels tightened even more. As the heavy, powerful footsteps grew increasingly clear, she knew with certainty that the Infected was getting closer and closer.
Her heart raced wildly, sweat soaking the spaces between her fingers. Xu San San blinked hard and clenched her teeth.
“Thump, thump, thump, thump~”
In the narrow crevice, only the sound of her heartbeat reminded her:
You’re still alive, you’re still alive…
The footsteps lingered around her hiding spot for a while, then unexpectedly gradually faded away and disappeared.
After waiting in the crevice a while longer, she still didn’t hear any sounds.
Could it be that the Infected didn’t find me and just left like that?
Xu San San couldn’t believe it. She checked her Optical Brain: 16:37. There was still over an hour until the assembly time. Running back at full speed from here would take at most half an hour. Better to be cautious and hide for another 10 minutes to assess the situation.
10 minutes later, the surroundings were still quiet. She moved her numb legs, which had gone stiff from crouching, and slowly shifted the Handcart. Peering through the small gap, she confirmed it was indeed just a scene of ruins.
Feeling relieved, she slowly moved the Handcart aside, then tentatively stretched out one foot. She stamped on the concrete blocks outside the crevice, deliberately making some noise. Seeing that the surroundings remained quiet, she finally emerged, preparing to climb down from the rubble pile.
But just as she leaned out, suddenly, a huge, ugly monster sprang out from behind the concrete blocks on the left! It stretched out its extremely sharp claws, opened its massive mouth full of secretions, and lunged at her!
“Ah!”
Xu San San screamed, instinctively raising the small flatbed cart in front of her to barely block the pair of sharp claws.
However, the Handcart was so small, and she was so weak—how could she possibly withstand the monstrous strength of the Infected?
The sharp claws slammed hard onto the cart with a “Bang!” Before she could even stand up, she was sent tumbling back into the crevice, cart and all, landing squarely on her bottom.
“Ugh…”
She grunted, ignoring the pain in her back, and still tightly gripped the Wheels with both hands, trying to shrink herself behind the Handcart as much as possible.
At that moment, the Infected, which had just launched its attack, suddenly tilted to one side. The rubble pile couldn’t withstand the force it had just exerted. With a “Crash!” its left foot stepped into empty air and sank directly into a hole.
The other foot was lucky, avoiding disaster, and struggled frantically outside the hole. However, the more it struggled, the more the hole it had stepped into expanded, until most of its body was trapped inside.
The Infected immediately spread its arms, pressing its palms firmly against the surface of the rubble pile, and pushed hard, preparing to leap up and deliver a fatal blow to Xu San San.
Another “Crash!” followed, and two new holes appeared accordingly. The Infected had pushed too hard with its palms, and its arms plunged directly into the rubble pile.
The sudden loss of strength caused the massive Infected to completely lose its balance. With a loud “Duang,” its head slammed downward and got stuck in the gap.
In reality, only 2–3 seconds had passed since Xu San San fell to the ground.
Still gripped by the fear of death, she struggled desperately despite her injuries when she heard several “crashing” sounds followed by a “Duang,” as if something heavy had hit the ground.
Then, the pressure from the handcart suddenly vanished.
Without time to think, she instinctively retreated, pressing herself as deep into the gap as possible, and frantically raised the handcart to hide behind it.
But after a few more seconds, aside from the continuous “hiss~~ hiss~~” sound nearby, the expected attack never came.
Xu San San began to wonder, “Does this thing need a halftime break or some kind of ritual before eating?”
Puzzled, she cautiously moved the handcart aside and peeked out:
“Shit!”
She couldn’t help but curse in shock!
The Infected’s grotesque head was right in front of her, less than half a meter away, drooling directly at her!
What the hell is going on?!
Trembling, Xu San San shrank back as far as she could, terrified that the Infected would bite her.
But after scrambling backward for a while, she noticed it remained in place, mouth agape, its pitch-black eyeballs staring blankly.
Completely baffled,
“Did I run into an idiot or something…?”
Not daring to overthink it, Xu San San immediately pulled out her surgical knife, mustered her courage, and stabbed it directly into the Infected’s eyeball. Just stabbing wasn’t enough—she kicked the hilt to drive it deeper, then, remembering Xie Yuan’s advice, twisted it several times to ensure the brain tissue was thoroughly destroyed.
Watching as the Infected went from shaking its head in struggle to sticking out its tongue and dying, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Not daring to linger any longer, she shakily climbed out of the gap, glanced at the large hole in the rubble pile, and had a moment of realization. Then, clutching the handcart, she ran toward the assembly point without looking back.
Surviving the ordeal brought little relief, only waves of lingering fear.
Xu San San arrived once more at the crossroads and glanced down the left fork.
Well, the small hoe was already gone.
What a pity.
Just as she turned to continue running back, suddenly, another Infected burst out from a half-collapsed building beside her.
“Ah!!!!”
Xu San San screamed, stumbling backward and landing hard on her rear. Instinctively, she raised the handcart to shield herself.
Then, several gunshots rang out, and three Guard members in purple combat uniforms appeared.
One stood guard with a firearm, another swiftly used a long knife to slice open the Infected’s skull and extract a yellow nucleus crystal, while the third approached and pulled her up, warning:
“This path isn’t safe. Take that way back to the spaceship!”
Which way?
But I just came from there…
Though exasperated, she obediently turned back.
Passing the rubble pile, she saw the first Infected still hanging in place, unmoving and unyielding.
Staring at the Infected’s head that had silently borne the brunt of everything, Xu San San steeled herself and climbed up again.
Since she’d nearly lost her life, she might as well claim some compensation for the trauma!
With a few “squelch! squelch!” sounds, Xu San San worked her way upward along the oral cavity, beginning her “dissection.” Soon, another identical Yellow Nucleus Crystal was extracted.
She wiped it disdainfully on some debris before tucking it into the cloth pouch at her chest. Then, skirting the edge of the protective shield, she hurried toward the rendezvous point.
On the way back, she finally remembered the young girl she’d partnered with and the contents of the girl’s backpack.
Sigh. No way to know if she’s still alive.
The real question is whether the backpack is still intact—
That was the hard-won loot from a whole day’s work…
Along the path, she spotted many Guard members carrying or dragging Scavenger corpses toward the Spaceship. By then, she held little hope.
Ah, well—at least she’d managed to keep her own skin intact. And it wasn’t as if the day had been a total loss…
When she finally reached the Spaceship docking area, she caught sight of a familiar figure sitting on a stone slab not far away, glancing around now and then.
Xu San San’s spirits lifted, and she quickened her pace.
“Looking around for someone?”
The girl turned her head and, upon seeing her, couldn’t hide her disappointment.
“I thought you weren’t coming back.”
Xu San San pouted, displeased. “Hmph! As if I’d give you the chance to take it all for yourself!”
The girl curled her lip, pulling the backpack closer. “Everything’s here. After we split up, I ran into some Black Tortoise Guard members… What about you?”
Xu San San cleared her throat. “Same here!”
So the two found a secluded spot and began dividing the spoils.
In the end, Xu San San ended up with six toothbrushes, two plastic cups, two small basins, and a mirror.
“I sold that tip to a Private Soldier Squad. They have Excavation Robots and could afford a good price.”
“How much?”
“20 Contribution Points. Ten for each of us.”
Xu San San nodded, not bothering to question the truth of the statement—there was no way to verify it anyway.
After adding each other as contacts and receiving the transferred 10 Contribution Points, Xu San San deleted the photos as the girl watched. She packed up her belongings, secured the Handcart, and the two went their separate ways.
In the post-apocalyptic world, all partnerships worked this way—once the spoils were divided, everyone went their own way without further questions.
By the time she was about to board the Spaceship, Scavengers had gradually trickled back to the gathering point.
None of those still alive returned empty-handed.
Some, better equipped, were even hauling back supplies truckload by truckload. These trucks had no Wheels—instead, they ran on Tank Treads, clearly designed and built for navigating ruins. Their cargo bays were massive, and each cab was topped with a crane. Yeah, seriously hardcore.
The Spaceship had a dedicated hatch for these large machines to pass through.
Those trucks looked incredibly safe—operators didn’t even need to get out, just controlled the robotic arms to dig.
As always, it pays to be rich, no matter where you are!
Xu San San felt a twinge of envy.
Just then, a bald man emerged from the crowd and strode directly toward her…