They followed Zhuo Ran, effortlessly breaking through the zombie encirclement, and quickly rushed out of the courtyard, heading outside.
Zhuo Ran, holding someone's hand, occasionally turned back to throw a fireball. These fireballs were more potent than hellfire, and once they touched something, they wouldn't extinguish until they had burned everything flammable around them.
As the number of zombies behind them gradually decreased, eventually disappearing altogether, they finally stopped.
Everyone bent over, panting continuously, including Zhuo Ran. Seeing this, Xiao Chongyan, not wanting to appear too unusual, also pretended to gasp for breath a few times.
But now he was also a zombie and couldn't actually feel tired.
Zhuo Ran squeezed his cool hand. She was the first to recover and, looking at the red-tinged city, said to the others, "At this rate, how long will it take us to get anywhere? Do you know of any car dealerships?"
The cars by the roadside had been mostly destroyed earlier, and now, after being drenched by the red rain, they looked like they had been corroded by strong acid, appearing utterly dilapidated.
"I know!" a boy shouted. "There used to be a car exhibition in the Hundred Fruit Garden area, and there was a 4S shop there. If it hasn't been looted, we might be able to find a car."
Hope immediately ignited in the others, and they headed towards the Hundred Fruit Garden.
According to their calculations, it was a journey of over ten kilometers, which would take at least two to three hours.
But now, the cars parked on the roadside were unusable, so they could only walk forward under the scorching sun.
Zhuo Ran took out a few umbrellas from her space and threw them to the others. She opened one for herself and shared it with Xiao Chongyan.
As they walked, they observed the devastated city. The advertisements that had once adorned the walls were now covered in red corrosive marks, making it look less like a red rain had fallen and more like the city had been doused in blood.
It was incredibly terrifying.
"Did it rain red again last night? Why do the marks seem deeper than before?"
"It's obvious it did. I don't know what that stuff is, but I feel like the zombies are moving even more agilely than before."
The others echoed their sentiments.
Song Qi said, "When I woke up yesterday morning, my roommate was about to bite me with his mouth open. I punched him, and he didn't even dodge, just fell down. Today, the zombies in the courtyard dodged when I attacked them, and they even cooperated. They're changing too fast."
Upon hearing this, someone laughed happily, "Brother Song, you're really quick on the uptake!"
"Is it the effect of that red rain?"
"Just like the red moon that night, the red rain is also helping them evolve. For humans, it's a disaster. The roadside trees have been dying for the past two days; the ones over there are completely gone."
Not a single green leaf could be seen anymore.
The larger roadside trees were reduced to bare trunks.
The small flowers and grasses had completely vanished.
This was the true apocalypse, not only turning more than half of humanity into their enemies but also reducing their chances of survival in every aspect.
"I wonder when things will get better."
Someone posed a soul-searching question, "Is this the consequence of humans not taking care of the environment?"
The others fell silent, unable to speak.
Xiao Chongyan and Zhuo Ran were the only two who were not overly concerned about this issue. Xiao Chongyan had already experienced this once before; he had seen even worse situations and knew that this was just the beginning, so he didn't feel much.
As for Zhuo Ran, in her opinion, what had happened had happened, and questioning or lamenting it further was of no use.
Even if they were to care for the environment, they first needed to restore things to how they were.
Their generation could at most accomplish the first half; the topic of environmental protection would need to be passed down to future generations for them to execute.
While the others sighed with emotion, the two held hands. Xiao Chongyan's current body temperature was only around twenty degrees Celsius, cool and comfortable for Zhuo Ran.
"What are you looking at?"
Xiao Chongyan, gazing at the tallest building in the small city, turned his head at her question and replied with a complex tone, "That is the collapse of civilization."
Zhuo Ran followed his gaze. The two corners of the large building had been damaged, and combined with the corrosion from the two red rainfalls, it looked like the ruins of an ancient city that had been unearthed.
His tone was filled with unspeakable emotion and complexity. Su Dan Novel Network
Zhuo Ran, having witnessed countless changes of seasons and vast transformations of land and sea, felt little fluctuation in her heart.
New things would replace old things. In the long run, everything was a process of demolition and reconstruction, and there was no need to regret the former.
However, at this moment, she could only comfort him, "Everything will be rebuilt."