Chapter Sixty-Eight: Acting Alone

Xing City was about three hundred miles away from where Shen Lie and his group were currently located. They had to pass through several small towns along the way, and with no way of knowing which areas were safe, they could only take things one step at a time.

Using the faint light of a lighter to check the map, the group turned back onto their path, silently weaving through the fields. Shen Lie remained reticent throughout the journey, and the atmosphere within the group felt stifling.

Just as the sky began to brighten, Shen Lie’s group finally encountered a relatively large band of survivors, numbering around a hundred. They were in poor condition, appearing to have just emerged from a skirmish; everyone was covered in blood, and several had sustained severe injuries. In these times, being seriously wounded was effectively a death sentence. Unless they were immediate family, no one would risk their own life to carry the injured, as doing so would only drag them into the same quagmire of death.

The group of a hundred was currently embroiled in an argument over these wounded individuals. The arrival of Shen Lie’s group put an end to the squabbling, and the strangers watched them with wary eyes.

"We are survivors from the 925th Infantry Division. Where are you from?" Shen Lie said nothing, so Duan Yu took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"We’re also from the 925th. Are you with the Awakened Alliance?" The strangers were also escapees from the same division. However, the original division had consisted of nearly twenty thousand people, making it impossible for everyone to know each other. Shen Lie and his companions did not recognize them. Since they weren't wearing uniforms, and the Awakened traits of Duan Yu and Du Lili were so prominent, it was natural for the others to mistake them for members of the Awakened Alliance.

"No, we’re just ordinary survivors. Where are you headed?" Upon learning that the others were also from the infantry division, Duan Yu lost interest in further communication. Their main goal was to gather information about Yang City, and they were most hoping to run into survivors who had fled from there.

Hearing that they were also ordinary survivors, the group relaxed their vigilance and moved closer to talk. It turned out these people were factory workers who had formed a small clique within the main division. They had two "Awakened" among them—a woman with two small horns on her head and a middle-aged man with exceptionally long arms. They had just encountered three giant spider monsters and had only managed to escape after losing over a dozen people.

The fact that three spider monsters had left them in such a wretched state made Shen Lie lose all interest in asking about their abilities; they were clearly bottom-tier Awakened.

"If you were following the same route as us, how are you already ahead?" Shen Lie asked, feeling puzzled.

"What? Go to Yang City? Isn't that place lost?" The woman with the horns looked startled, her gaze toward Shen Lie and his group turning suspicious once more.

"Lost? Where did you get that news? We broke out quite early. Was it an official report from Division Headquarters?" Shen Lie’s expression shifted, and he asked in a low, tense voice.

"It wasn't from HQ, but it’s true. They say it came from documents found in two helicopters shot down by giant insects. The word is that Yang City has fallen, and those helicopters were carrying high-ranking officials fleeing the city—but they’re all dead."

"So it’s true?" His last shred of hope shattered. Shen Lie’s face turned even paler, and he staggered slightly.

"Where are you heading? Why don't we travel together? We could look out for each other." The long-armed man noticed that Shen Lie’s group was completely uninjured and looked well-rested, clearly not lacking in supplies, and began to harbor his own plans.

"No need. We have other business to attend to; you’re on your own," Duan Yu refused bluntly. In his eyes, these people were synonymous with the old, the weak, and the disabled. This was not the time for misplaced sympathy; they hadn't even escaped the monsters' reach yet.

"Can’t you at least share some food? We have several people who are severely wounded—do you have any medicine? We’re all survivors; we should help each other!" The middle-aged man persisted.

Duan Yu didn't even bother to answer this time. These people clearly hadn't grasped the reality of the apocalypse. "Should help each other"? Did they think they were still a military unit? Even the military couldn't protect them anymore. These people had clearly been coddled into dependency by the division led by Zhang Kaitai.

"Hey, hey, don't go! What kind of attitude is that? You—" As Shen Lie’s group walked past them without a word, the man waved and shouted, but he could only watch as their figures retreated into the distance.

"Bah, pathetic!" The man spat on the ground, then turned to his group and shouted, "We cannot keep carrying the severely wounded! It slows us down too much. It’s not that I, Yang Gang, am cruel, but there’s no other choice. We can't let these few people drag us all to our deaths!"

"Yang Gang, say no more. If you want to leave, no one is stopping you, but I am not abandoning Sister Lan and the others."

After learning that Yang City had truly fallen, Shen Lie’s heart grew heavier. The urge to go and see for himself intensified. His cousin, Wen Wan, was his only remaining relative. Perhaps she was currently huddled in her home, trembling in fear, and he would die for the sake of being one step too late.

*No, I have to go see!* Shen Lie could not calm his turbulent emotions. After walking a bit further, he reached a decision.

"Take the others toward Xing City. I have to go back and check. I won't be able to rest otherwise. If things are bad in Xing City too, don't wait for me; we’ll meet up in the capital," Shen Lie said to Du Lili, pulling out a military short-range communicator. It was a gift from Yang Weiguo—the military's latest tech, capable of ignoring the interference of the gray fog.

Du Lili said nothing, quietly taking the device. The others looked like they wanted to speak but held back; they knew that Shen Lie had someone dear to him in Yang City, and he could not be dissuaded.

"No one else needs to come. More people will only slow me down. I can do this alone. Du Lili, please look after Tao Tao and the others. I hope we can meet in the capital!" Shen Lie cut off any further protests, set Tao Tao on the ground, and turned back the way they came. In a few flashes, he vanished into the darkness.

"Uncle!" Little Tao Tao’s tears flowed freely, but she stifled her sobs. Zhang Jing and Li Xue turned pale but kept their silence. Only Duan Yu and his wife exchanged a look, and he muttered, "What do we do now?"

Duan Yu had joined Shen Lie’s group because he admired Shen Lie’s strength. He hadn't expected Shen Lie to abandon the group to act alone. Although Du Lili remained—a woman of immense power—the group’s overall strength had been halved. His emotions were deeply conflicted.

"We head to Xing City. But we’re moving too slowly. Monsters might retreat from Yang City in our direction at any time, especially those giant insects. If we run into them, we won't be able to cope. Once it’s light, we’ll find some transport and try to get out of this area as fast as possible."

Du Lili’s cold, composed words steadied the group. Regardless of everything, they still had an expert among them. Everyone had seen Du Lili’s prowess—she was, if anything, even more formidable than Shen Lie. Their spirits quickly lifted, and they resumed their journey.