Shen Zhongyan was entangled with the monster, his long sword clashing. A group of small aliens were attacking the others, shattering the side window of Jin Wenye's car and forcefully dragging the people inside out.
Lin Wan was stuck in the car window, her hands tightly gripping the front seat. Two monsters were pulling her body, and the glass on the other side was precarious. No one else could help her.
Jin Wenye, who was also entangled with aliens, finally managed to glance at them. Seeing Lin Wan about to be dragged out by the monsters, he let out a shout, threw off the alien on him, and ran towards her.
"Host, the female lead is going to die."
"She won't die."
She wanted the male and female leads to work for her. Lin Wan was smart and quick to understand, but Jin Wenye had yet to awaken.
The gene for awakening superpowers was something she brought from other worlds. Generally, as long as the genes fused, one could awaken. Many people she didn't care about had awakened, but Jin Wenye, the male lead, still hadn't.
She refused to believe that he still wouldn't awaken even after this.
She wouldn't stand by and watch Lin Wan die, but if Jin Wenye still didn't awaken, she would have to consider finding a replacement.
Fortunately, Jin Wenye didn't disappoint. At the last moment, he roared, and a purple light flashed in his hand, instantly electrocuting the monster pulling his thigh into charcoal.
He repeated the trick, electrocuting the two monsters pulling Lin Wan. He also stunned Lin Wan. Before she could fall to the ground, he caught her and put her back in the car, then dealt with the alien that had already smashed the window on the other side.
More and more small aliens were rushing in from all directions. They were struggling to cope. The most powerful Shen Zhongyan had to deal with the largest one. They were outnumbered, and people were getting injured continuously. The situation grew increasingly critical.
"Get in the car, quickly!"
Zhu Ran started the vehicle and drove straight towards the dozen or so small aliens in front of them, knocking them aside. She quickly reversed, shaking off the aliens on the car, and ran them over, giving the few ability users a moment to breathe before they climbed into the car.
The driver imitated her actions, throwing things off the car and stepping on the accelerator to flee the city.
"Xiao Yan!" Shen's mother cried out anxiously, "Xiao Yan hasn't come yet."
"He'll be fine!"
Shen Zhongyan couldn't defeat that monster yet. She was mainly letting him train. After they had driven several hundred meters, she had her long sword bring him back.
Zhu Ran slammed on the brakes, stopping the car by the roadside. The long sword brought Shen Zhongyan down. He was stunned for a moment, then retracted his long sword and quickly got into the passenger seat.
Zhu Ran stomped on the accelerator and sped away. Behind them, the small dark green monsters were galloping, chasing them for nearly a kilometer before finally stopping and returning to the city.
Shen's mother anxiously asked, "Xiao Yan, are you alright? Are you injured?"
Shen Zhongyan drank some water, "Mom, I'm fine, not hurt at all."
He hadn't felt any pressure just now; instead, he was getting more accustomed to the sword and wanted to fight for longer. He didn't know why the sword suddenly became uncontrollable and flew him back.
He felt a bit regretful.
Shen's mother, who had initially been displeased with Zhu Ran for leaving him behind, breathed a long sigh of relief when she saw he was unharmed.
"It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright."
They drove for more than twenty kilometers and stopped, as going further would be too close to the river. They began to rest by the roadside.
Not only had they lost a car just now, but several people had also died. Fortunately, none of them were from their group.
They were at the back. As they stopped, they heard people outside arguing.
"Killing him with one shot at least spared him suffering. Wouldn't being torn apart by those monsters be more cruel?"
"That was a human life!"
"Who could have saved him then? If we had delayed any longer, we would all have died!"
Old Mo understood this logic, but he had been a soldier, and his principle was to serve the people. He could die, but he shouldn't watch ordinary people die before his eyes.
"This world can no longer accommodate humanity. We are no different from them. Today it's them, but tomorrow it might be us whose bodies are left in the wilderness or torn to pieces by monsters. We're all the same."
"What are you arguing about?" Old Jin walked over, chugged several mouthfuls of water from a bucket, and handed it to the next person. "We should be grateful just to be alive. We can't manage so many people. Didn't you hear the broadcast? Tens of millions are dying every day worldwide, likely over a hundred million today. We can't manage it all, and we don't even know if we can survive the night. Stop worrying."
Old Mo lowered his head and remained silent.
The people behind them gradually got out of the cars. Many people had died just now, some sitting on the ground weeping, others silently shedding tears with their faces covered.
Some cried because their loved ones or friends had died tragically before their eyes, but most were terrified of this post-apocalyptic world.
Zhu Ran had brought genes for superpowers from many doomsday worlds, but the number of ordinary people would never surpass that of ability users. Now, there were few ability users. They were struggling to survive together, with some dying and others suffering. Once the situation stabilized a little, ability users would enjoy better resources in the apocalypse, but they would bear the responsibility of protecting the base and searching for resources. They would get injured, die, and resentment would arise due to inequality. Meanwhile, ordinary people, toiling tirelessly at the bottom, would still be dissatisfied and suffer.
Once the order of civilization collapsed, unfair and unequal things would only multiply. It was too early to think about these things now.
A few people with more influence gathered to discuss the upcoming route. They proposed several routes, but none were entirely satisfactory, always with some reservations. Finally, Shen Zhongyan looked at Zhu Ran for her opinion.
Zhu Ran marked the most suitable route evaluated by the system on the map, and the others took it to look.
One of the men frowned. "This route is the shortest, but it passes by a lake. Won't it be too dangerous?"
Zhu Ran said dismissively, "It's more than ten kilometers away. If something really happens, it will happen no matter which way we go. Moreover, there will always be sacrifices and deaths along the way, some due to external factors, some because people court death. Didn't you just say yourselves? We can't manage it all."
"We can't manage it all, but there's no need to court death ourselves."
Zhu Ran said nothing, just watched them calmly, a slight smile on her face.
No one understood her inexplicable expression. This was the apocalypse, and anyone who felt the slightest bit worried about their situation or was afraid would not be able to smile.
Shen Zhongyan carefully examined the map and felt that what she said made sense. "No matter which route we take, casualties are inevitable. There are two rivers here, and we have to cross bridges here too. At least this route doesn't directly pass through the water source. It's almost twenty kilometers away. If it's still not safe even then, we can only say we're unlucky."
The others were unable to refute. They wanted to refute Zhu Ran, not Shen Zhongyan, but Shen Zhongyan was on Zhu Ran's side, so they had no choice.
"Then we'll take this route. But it's already late. Everyone pack up and rest here for the night. Don't block the road. If someone comes at night, it will be dangerous. We'll set off tomorrow morning."