The moment her son’s blood splattered across his face, it was as if a string in Ke Bei’s mind snapped.
For an instant, her thoughts went completely blank.
Her vision was drowned in crimson; everywhere she looked, it was red.
All thoughts of rushing to the airport, staying low, not using her abilities too early to avoid attention…
Vanished like clouds, thrown far from her mind.
All she felt was a towering rage erupting from her heart, impossible to suppress.
And she didn’t want to suppress it.
“Die!”
Ke Bei suddenly shouted.
Then, from nowhere, a large iron box about half her height appeared in midair, hurtling down at the mutated dog with tremendous force!
The wind whistled as it flew.
The iron box slammed heavily onto the dog.
It didn’t even have time to make a sound before being pinned beneath the crushing weight, knocked unconscious instantly.
But the box wasn’t done.
It rose again into the air, then crashed down once more!
The dog was crushed beneath it again.
A falling object from such a height could kill even with the weight of an egg, let alone a massive iron box.
And from the roaring wind it created, it was clear the box itself was far from light.
This time, a sharp crack was heard, the dog’s spine was shattered, and the enormous mutated beast collapsed onto the ground, completely immobilized.
The screams grew weaker and weaker.
But the iron box seemed almost enchanted, though the mutated dog was already completely powerless, it kept slamming down again and again with brutal force!
With each thud, thud, the ground itself seemed to tremble.
The scene…
Made everyone nearby hold their breath, a chill crawling deep into their bones.
The mutated dog that had been fighting Cheng Qian felt danger the moment the iron box first crashed down.
It let out a whimper from its throat, tucked its tail, and turned to flee.
Cheng Qian didn’t chase it. Instead, he quickly went to his wife and son, lifting the injured Xiao Tian into his arms.
Seeing his wife’s face twisted with pure rage, streaked with blood and sweat, grotesque in expression, what more did he need to understand?
He tore a piece of cloth to wrap Xiao Tian’s wound, squatted to sit him on his knee, then bent to support Ke Bei, letting her lean against him.
Cheng Qian held her close, pressing her to his chest to give her strength and comfort.
Then, he whispered into her ear: “It’s okay now. It’s dead. It won’t hurt Xiao Tian anymore.”
Feeling the warmth from her husband, Ke Bei finally stopped trembling. The blood that had seemed frozen throughout her body slowly warmed again.
A trace of expression returned to her pale, cold face.
Silently, she withdrew the outdoor air-conditioning unit she had been repeatedly smashing onto the mutated dog.
When the iron box abruptly vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, people could finally see the dog beneath it.
—It had been reduced to a puddle of sludge.
Blood and smashed flesh had stained the surrounding ground deep red.
“Ugh!”
A student suddenly gagged, then quickly covered their mouth in panic.
With terrified eyes, they looked at the blood-soaked family of three, trembling uncontrollably in fear.
At this moment, Ke Bei, her face smeared with blood and expression fierce as a wrathful deity, had already stood up.
She shook off her husband’s hand and stepped forward, one step at a time, toward the students who were peering anxiously outside the door.
Her gaze was cold and menacing.
Seeing her like this, the students scattered in fear, two of the girls even bursting into tears.
Ke Bei didn’t spare them a glance and strode directly toward Zhao Yan, who had already taken cover deep inside the room.
“W-what are you doing?!”
Zhao Yan went pale as he met her gaze.
Panicking, he stumbled backward until he hit the wall, his words trembling as he stammered incoherently.
Ke Bei didn’t answer.
She took long strides, grabbed Zhao Yan by the hair, and yanked him hard toward her.
At the same time, her other hand pressed down on his head, and with both hands, she slammed him violently against the nearby wall!
A loud clang echoed through the room!
Zhao Yan went completely dazed.
The towering, muscular young man, nearly 1.8 meters tall, couldn’t resist at all. He slumped rigidly along the wall and collapsed onto the floor.
But Ke Bei obviously wasn’t done.
She grabbed the front of his shirt, hoisted him back up with one hand, and, just as before, slammed him hard against the wall again!
Blood immediately ran from Zhao Yan’s head, splattering the pristine white wall with red marks.
Only then did he fully realize what was happening, crying and struggling in panic.
But Ke Bei’s hands were like iron, gripping him so painfully he couldn’t break free no matter how hard he tried.
Slowly, Zhao Yan’s blood kept flowing, his struggles weakening more and more, until finally his whole body went limp, completely still.
But Ke Bei didn’t blink an eye; she continued to grip his head, mechanically smashing him again and again.
The surrounding students stared at her in horror, completely dumbfounded.
Not a single one dared to step forward to stop her. A few of the more timid ones had already curled up on the floor, covering their ears, too scared to watch or listen.
They were shaking so badly they could barely stand.
“He’s done, let go.”
Cheng Qian finally stepped forward, snatched the limp, mud-like Zhao Yan from his wife’s hands, and tossed him out the door.
Then he swept his gaze coldly across the group and said, “All of you, get out. Now!”
The students looked up in shock, their eyes full of disbelief.
Just moments ago, it had been Cheng Qian who brought them to this safe place, the one who went out first to rescue their classmates, protecting them from the mutant dogs’ attack.
By now, they had instinctively relied on him, treated him as their anchor.
Even facing Ke Bei’s rage, not one of them had thought about leaving alone.
And yet, Cheng Qian was actually telling them to leave?!
“B-big brother, where do you want us to go?” one boy finally blurted out, forcing himself to speak.
“Brother, please take us with you, please! I’m so scared,” a girl sobbed.
The others nodded in agreement, choking back tears.
Cheng Qian said nothing. He strode out, grabbed the figure of Zhao Yan, limp like a dead dog, and hurled him several meters away.
Zhao Yan’s legs bounced once, then he lay there completely still.
It looked like he wouldn’t die, but the injuries were severe.
“One minute. Leave immediately, or you’ll end up like him,” Cheng Qian repeated coldly.
After saying that, he raised his right wrist and glanced at the time.
This time, the students didn’t dare to entertain any foolish thoughts. They looked at each other, sobbing, and helped each other walk out of the house.
Even Yang Lele, who had been injured by the dog earlier, was guided out by them.
Cheng Qian closed the door and then moved a few tables together, stacking them to block the door from the inside.
By the time he finished, Ke Bei had already treated Xiao Tian’s wounds, using waterproof tape for the outermost layer of protection.
“Won’t this be too suffocating? It’s so hot today, and the wounds won’t get air, they could worsen easily,”
Cheng Qian said, looking at his son’s tightly wrapped arm, his concern evident.
“There’s no choice,” Ke Bei replied softly, keeping her head down.
Her tone was heavy with worry.
Cheng Qian knew she was afraid the scent of Xiao Tian’s blood would attract more mutant beasts, but—
With temperatures over thirty degrees and having to run outdoors under the scorching sun, how much suffering would the child endure?
Knowing that all of this was caused by his momentary recklessness made Cheng Qian’s heart tighten painfully.
“Change your clothes, and wrap your wounds too,”
Seeing his unease, Ke Bei handed over the first-aid kit and a fresh set of clothes.
Cheng Qian took them and silently began treating his own injuries.
Neither spoke, and the room fell into a quiet stillness.
Xiao Tian’s little face was sweaty from the pain, but his expression remained calm.
Obviously, he had long since grown accustomed to experiences like this.
He obediently took the water and anti-inflammatory medicine his mother handed him, gulped it down, and then reached up to touch her face.
“Mom, it’s okay. I’m not in pain. You should wash your face, yours is all covered in blood.”
Ke Bei looked at him but didn’t say a word.
It wasn’t until she saw him finish the entire cup of water that she gently laid him flat on the table to rest and went off to wash her face and change clothes.
Earlier, Xiao Tian’s blood had splattered all over her face and body, and leaving it uncleaned would leave a lingering smell, a potential hazard.
Seeing his mother leave, Xiao Tian waved to Cheng Qian.
Cheng Qian quickly came over to him.
The little one reached out with both arms and spoke softly, “Dad… hug me.”
Pain, worry, regret, and self-blame surged in Cheng Qian’s heart, bringing tears to his eyes.
Ignoring the pain in his own arms, he lifted his son, holding him tightly and burying his face in Xiao Tian’s hair.
Xiao Tian snuggled into his father’s embrace, pressing his face gently against Cheng Qian’s neck for comfort before closing his eyes.
Cheng Qian held him even tighter, shielding him against his chest.
Then, he watched as his son slowly shrank in his arms, returning to the size and appearance he had when he first met him.
Seeing the soft, tiny little child in his arms, Cheng Qian felt dazed.
“I’ll carry him. You get us ready so we can leave quickly.”
By this time, Ke Bei had already packed up. She pulled out a toddler carrier from the space and moved to take their son from Cheng Qian’s arms.
Cheng Qian stepped aside, took the carrier from her hands, and said, “I’ll carry him. You take your time.”
Ke Bei glanced at the bandage on his arm. “Let me carry him. Your wound was just wrapped, don’t risk it tearing again.”
Cheng Qian shook his head. “It’s fine. It won’t touch anything.”
He awkwardly slipped the carrier over himself while looking at Ke Bei with concern. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Ke Bei shook her head.
But how could she possibly be okay?
Ke Bei’s legs were still unhealed, and having overexerted her powers, it felt as if a hundred needles were piercing her brain at once, pain searing through her mind and body.
But this kind of pain was hers alone; saying anything aloud would serve no purpose except to worry her husband.
So Ke Bei didn’t want to mention it.
Still, she didn’t want to refuse Cheng Qian’s good intentions.
Seeing him insist on carrying Xiao Tian, she stepped forward to help secure the carrier, fastening the child safely in place.
Then she pulled out from the space a double-edged machete, identical to the one she had given Du He before, and handed it to him.
The previous watermelon knife had been badly worn in the earlier fight and could no longer serve as a weapon.
Once everything was settled, the three of them didn’t linger and quickly left the house.
With Xiao Tian’s blood having spilled outside the door earlier, this place had become extremely unsafe.
That blood could easily attract unknown mutated creatures.
When Cheng Qian had forcibly driven the students away, it wasn’t only out of anger; part of it was also to protect their safety.
“Are we still heading toward the river?” Ke Bei asked once they were outside.
“Let’s see,” Cheng Qian replied.
Ke Bei didn’t object.
There weren’t really any other routes anyway.
And besides, after the last mutated dog had fled, it likely sent a signal to its pack warning of danger here.
Since then, the surroundings had been unusually quiet; no other dogs had come to provoke them.
It seemed they had all run away.
For Ke Bei and the others, this was a good sign, it at least meant the area was relatively safe for the time being.
As expected, the rest of the journey went smoothly, and within a few minutes they reached the riverbank.
Standing by the river and staring at the surging waters, the couple finally understood why the middle-aged official had been so insistent on warning them not to come this way.
It was peak flood season, and with such deep water and such a wide river, crossing it wasn’t something just anyone could do.
Cheng Qian pulled out his phone, checked the offline map, and then led Ke Bei along the riverbank eastward for a while until they found a narrower section of the river.
He stopped, pointed to the other side, and said, “If we swim across here, we’ll more or less reach the airport.”
Then he looked at Ke Bei, hesitating slightly, and asked, “Can you swim?”
“Yes,” Ke Bei nodded.
Seeing her husband’s worried expression, she smiled and added, “Don’t forget, I grew up in Su City.”
Su City was a water town, and children there learned to swim almost as soon as they could walk. Ke Bei was no exception.
Hearing this, Cheng Qian finally relaxed a little.
His gaze then fell on the sleeping Xiao Tian’s face, and a flicker of concern passed through his eyes.
He pulled the child closer into his arms and kissed his small face.
He opened his mouth but said nothing, his expression full of worry and hesitation.
Ke Bei didn’t reply. Instead, she reached into her space and pulled out the large bathtub they had bought earlier. “Put Xiao Tian in the tub; we’ll push him across.”
Cheng Qian’s eyes lit up instantly.
“You both get in. I’ll push you across,” he said decisively.
“No need,” Ke Bei tried to refuse.
“Get in. Do as I say.”
Cheng Qian didn’t give her a choice, he took Xiao Tian, still in the carrier, from her chest, placed him into her arms, and then began pushing her and the tub into the river.
Cheng Qian’s swimming skills were indeed strong; even pushing such a large bathtub through the fast-flowing river didn’t slow him down at all.
In less than half an hour, the three of them had successfully crossed the river and reached the opposite bank.
During the entire journey, the exhausted Xiao Tian slept soundly, never waking even as the ride jostled him.
After securing the bathtub and giving Cheng Qian a fresh set of dry clothes to change into, the family resumed their journey toward the airport.
Because crossing the river had been so physically draining, Ke Bei firmly refused to let Cheng Qian carry the child again. Instead, she strapped Xiao Tian to her back in the carrier.
Fortunately, Xiao Tian was small and light at this age, and even with his injuries on his legs and body, Ke Bei could still carry him while moving.
It was now 3:20 in the afternoon, and with the agreed meeting time of 4:00 drawing closer, the couple dared not linger and quickened their pace.
The plants on this side of the river had grown wildly, thick and dense, completely obscuring the paths shown on the map.
Fortunately, Cheng Qian had jungle combat experience from his time in the military; otherwise, finding a way through these tangled trees and shrubs would have taken an enormous amount of effort.
Cheng Qian walked ahead with a machete, cutting through overhanging branches and forging a narrow path for his wife and child behind him.
Ke Bei checked Xiao Tian’s gear again to make sure he was tightly secured, then followed closely as her husband led them into the thicket.
After a grueling struggle, the three of them finally reached the location marked on the map—
Zhoujia Town Military Airport.
But standing outside the heavily closed gate, with the fence tightly wrapped in branches and vines, the couple felt a wave of uncertainty.
Ke Bei looked at her husband, exasperated: “This is the airport you were talking about? Where is everyone? Did they all evacuate?”
Glancing at the locked sentry post and the courtyard inside overrun by trees, Cheng Qian had to admit, reluctantly, they had arrived too late.
It seemed the stationed troops had already withdrawn.
He shot a frustrated glance at his watch, which read 3:42 PM, just over ten minutes short of the agreed 4:00 PM.
They weren’t late.
Cheng Qian gritted his teeth, stepped forward, grabbed the railing, and climbed up.
Then he reached out to Ke Bei and said, “No matter what, we have to go in and see for ourselves.”
Ke Bei reached out her hand to him.
Although it was called an airport, it was actually just a military camp, with only a small section inside cleared as a helipad.
But with the plants growing unchecked, that small, flat helipad had quickly been turned into a rubble-strewn field by their relentless growth.
The ground was full of pits and hollows, littered with broken chunks of cement.
Seeing the completely destroyed helipad, a flicker of worry crossed Ke Bei’s eyes.
She glanced at her husband and noticed Cheng Qian’s brows were tightly furrowed, his face tense and cold, she knew his worry ran even deeper than hers.
She silently sighed, swallowing the words she had almost spoken.
Just as Ke Bei had nearly lost all hope that any aircraft would come, a buzzing roar suddenly sounded from the sky.
The sound grew louder and closer.
Soon, a helicopter appeared in the distance, coming into view.
“It’s coming!”
Cheng Qian immediately straightened up, his eyes sparkling, a genuine smile spreading across his face.
He even raised a fist in a childlike gesture of excitement.
Watching the helicopter draw nearer, Ke Bei felt a surge of joy, even more excited than Cheng Qian.
For her, it wasn’t just a helicopter, it was hope itself—
Hope that their fate could still be changed.
She jumped up, waving frantically toward the helicopter.
Cheng Qian had never seen his wife so excited, and he couldn’t help but share in her joy.
Grinning, he grabbed Ke Bei’s hand, and together they ran swiftly to the center of the helipad, waving their arms toward the sky.
The helicopter quickly spotted them and, drawing closer, began to lower its altitude.
But—
The helipad was too badly damaged. The helicopter hovered above them for a long time, yet still couldn’t land.
Fortunately, the cabin door soon opened, and a rope ladder was dropped down.
Cheng Qian pulled Ke Bei beneath the ladder, and over the roar of the helicopter, loudly reassured her: “You go first, I’ll cover behind. Don’t worry, it’s completely safe!”
Ke Bei nodded heavily.
She double-checked the harness, making sure Xiao Tian was securely fastened and absolutely wouldn’t fall.
Then she grabbed the rope ladder and lifted her leg to step onto it.
The ladder was soft and swaying in the air, and climbing it required considerable effort just to stabilize herself.
Ke Bei used all her strength to keep steady.
Fortunately, the helicopter was flying steadily, and with Cheng Qian’s encouragement below, she finally managed to get her footing and continued climbing upward.
After Ke Bei climbed two rungs, Cheng Qian grabbed the ladder and began to follow.
But just as he was preparing to climb the second rung, Ke Bei suddenly stiffened above him, hanging motionless on the rope ladder.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his head tilting upward in surprise.
“Go down! Go down!”
Ke Bei suddenly shouted, then forcefully kicked Cheng Qian, sending him, completely unprepared, plummeting straight off the rope ladder.