The dozen or so people in the convoy clearly looked down on the two young women, who both appeared slight and not yet fully grown. Not one of them stepped forward to greet them.
Feng Moxi, however, didn’t care in the slightest.
He Ping studied the gate to the small courtyard and said quietly, “Scout it carefully.”
A young man in his twenties cautiously approached the entrance. With a flick of his hand, a golden blade shot forward and sliced through the padlock, sending it clattering to the ground. Wan Yong gripped his broadsword tightly and slowly pushed the gate open.
Just as expected, the female monster that had been growling inside immediately lunged at them. Half of her face had been chewed away, exposing rows of blackened, bloodstained teeth.
The young man instantly threw out a golden shield, while Wan Yong brought his broadsword crashing down. The monster’s head split cleanly in two.
A spray of filthy black blood burst into the air.
The middle-aged woman pulled the teenage boy even closer into her arms, hardly daring to breathe. Fortunately, neither of them cried out.
Feng Moxi nodded to herself.
This team probably hadn’t been thrown together at the last minute. There was very little conversation between them, but their coordination was solid.
It was obvious they had gained plenty of experience during their journey.
Only three monsters remained inside the entire residence, and they were dispatched in no time.
The young man quickly opened the courtyard gate wide enough for the three vehicles to drive inside one after another. Unfortunately, the courtyard wasn’t large enough for Feng Moxi’s vehicle to fit as well.
He Ping looked at her apologetically.
“There are a lot of us, and we can’t afford to lose any of our vehicles. How about this, we’ll clear out the house next door, and you can park your car there. Would that be alright?”
Feng Moxi nodded.
“No need to trouble yourselves. Just give me a moment.”
She walked over to a two-story house about ten meters away. With a casual sweep of her fingers, the tightly shut iron gate clicked open.
Luo Yunxi grabbed an iron rod and followed her inside.
Fortunately, the elegant little house contained no monsters at all. It was also surprisingly clean.
Its owners had most likely left long ago.
The vehicle they had recovered from Baiyang Village was still in good condition, and Feng Moxi had no intention of abandoning it yet.
By the time she finished parking, He Ping and the others had already regrouped. He walked over with six people.
Every one of them was a strong, able-bodied man.
“We’ve split into two teams. Ready to move?”
“Yes.”
Feng Moxi answered calmly.
Luo Yunxi remained silent from beginning to end, simply carrying her iron rod as she followed behind.
The group quickly circled behind the houses and carefully crossed the small bridge.
Beyond it stretched a long street that seemed endless.
Buildings stood tightly packed on both sides, while the road itself was littered with debris. Aside from the countless bloodstains covering the pavement, numerous monsters wandered aimlessly through the area.
If they wanted to pass through the town, they would have to clear them out first.
The monsters nearby immediately noticed the newcomers and began staggering toward them.
He Ping raised a finger to his lips.
“Stay close to the buildings while we clear them. Don’t move into the middle of the street.”
The group immediately split into two, moving left and right. Using fences and walls as cover, they slowly began eliminating the monsters one by one.
Feng Moxi shot Luo Yunxi a meaningful glance.
The two of them quietly slipped around to the back of the street.
She had already spotted their destination earlier, the third storefront was a small convenience store.
Since there was no need to fight the monsters head-on, hit-and-run tactics suited her just fine.
Watching the two women disappear, the bearded Wan Yong quietly called out to He Ping.
“Fifth Brother?”
“Let them go. They’re just two young girls.”
Although He Ping felt Feng Moxi wasn’t someone easy to deal with, he also thought that with only two people, there wasn’t much they could accomplish. Besides, when they had parked earlier, he had already quietly instructed his men to secure the best position for themselves.
The young man with the metal-element ability chuckled softly.
As soon as Feng Moxi reached the back street, she carefully surveyed the terrain.
The alleyways behind the main road were narrow and cluttered with countless obstacles. Driving through them was simply impossible.
If they abandoned the vehicles and continued on foot, perhaps it would still be manageable.
A maze of crisscrossing alleys stretched ahead, with scattered monsters wandering through each one.
Whenever one charged toward her, she smashed it down with a single swing of her iron rod. Then golden light gathered in her other hand as she stirred around inside the monster’s skull.
After checking four or five monsters in a row, she still hadn’t found a single crystal core.
Luo Yunxi watched curiously.
“Xiaoxi, what are you looking for?”
“Crystal cores. Keep an eye out as we go. See if you can find any.”
“What do they look like?”
“Check around the temples of the monster’s head. They’re about the size of a peanut, hard, and white. Just be careful.”
At this stage, only first-tier monsters produced white crystal cores.
Once monsters evolved into the second tier, the crystal cores would begin changing colors according to their elemental attributes.
“Got it.”
The two women continued along the wall until they reached the third shop.
It had an automatic sliding door.
Feng Moxi lightly struck it with a golden blade, and the door immediately slid open.
Six or seven monsters rushed out at once, baring their claws. Thick black blood dripped from their fingers.
Perhaps it was only her imagination, but the monsters charging out of the store seemed noticeably faster than the ones roaming outside.
It made sense.
When the apocalypse had first begun, the convenience store had likely been full of customers. After transforming into monsters, they had probably devoured plenty of human flesh.
Luo Yunxi intercepted one monster as usual.
Feng Moxi handled the rest with ease.
As Feng Moxi stepped inside to gather supplies, she suddenly heard Luo Yunxi shout excitedly.
“Xiaoxi, look!”
She hurried over.
Stretching one arm as far away from herself as possible, Luo Yunxi kept her head turned aside with her brows tightly knitted together. Between her fingers she held a tiny object coated in sticky fluid.
Judging by its appearance, it was exactly the crystal core from inside a monster’s brain.
Feng Moxi gave a dry cough.
“Wash it first.”
This girl had truly taken her words to heart.
Despite feeling thoroughly disgusted, Luo Yunxi had searched through every single one of the seven or eight monster skulls.
“Ah… I forgot.”
A thin stream of water flowed from her palm, washing away the grime.
Soon, a crystal-clear bead about the size of a peanut rested neatly in her hand.
It really was a crystal core.
Feng Moxi picked it up and smiled faintly.
“Well done. This is exactly what I was looking for.”
The appearance of the first crystal core meant that monsters had begun producing crystal cores in earnest.
It also marked the beginning of their evolution.
Luo Yunxi let out a relieved sigh before happily running off to close the back door.
Meanwhile, Feng Moxi began collecting supplies.
She entered the small storeroom first and stored away every bit of inventory from the convenience store.
After that, she turned her attention to the rows of shelves.
She took cookware, bowls, plates, utensils, and various daily necessities.
She especially made sure to collect every feminine hygiene product and every roll of toilet paper, leaving nothing behind.
Only after that did she select some of her favorite snacks and foods.
Since the others were nearby and she didn’t want to expose the existence of her storage space, she deliberately left most of the merchandise on the shelves untouched.
The convenience store still held a surprising amount of stock.
When the monsters first appeared, everyone had been too busy fleeing for their lives to think about gathering food.
Combined with the heavy concentration of monsters in this area, the store had escaped being looted.
But in another week or two, once people realized how precious food had become, no place, no matter how dangerous, would be spared.
Every supermarket and convenience store would be stripped clean.
At the same time, humanity would pay for those supplies with countless more lives.