Chapter 68: Acting Alone

Xing City was roughly three hundred miles away from Shen Lie and his group's current location. The route required passing through several small towns, and with no way to determine which areas remained safe, they had no choice but to take it one step at a time.

Using the faint glow of a lighter to examine their map, the group set off, moving silently through the farmland. Shen Lie remained deeply silent throughout the journey, and the atmosphere within the team grew increasingly oppressive.

Just as dawn began to break, they finally encountered a larger group of survivors—about a hundred people. Their condition, however, was dire. They appeared to have just survived a brutal skirmish; everyone was splattered with blood, and several were suffering from severe injuries. In these times, a serious injury was effectively a death sentence. Unless they were immediate family, no one would risk dragging along a casualty, as it would only pull the rescuers into the same abyss of death.

The group of one hundred was currently embroiled in an argument over what to do with the wounded. The arrival of Shen Lie’s party brought the bickering to an abrupt halt, and the strangers watched them with wary, defensive eyes.

"We are survivors from the 925th Infantry Division. Where are you all from?" Shen Lie remained silent, leaving Duan Yu to initiate the conversation.

"We’re from the 925th as well. Are you people from the Awakened Alliance?" These survivors were part of the same original division, but with nearly twenty thousand people in the initial force, they were strangers to one another. Shen Lie’s group, not wearing military uniforms and possessing the clearly recognizable traits of Awakened ones in Duan Yu and Du Lili, were naturally mistaken for members of the Alliance.

"No, we’re just civilian survivors. Where are you headed?" Upon learning they were part of the infantry division, Duan Yu lost interest in further communication. They were primarily looking for news about Yang City and had hoped to encounter survivors fleeing from that direction.

Realizing they were just civilians, the strangers lowered their guard and approached. A brief exchange followed. These people were factory workers who had formed a small clique within the larger division. They had two Awakened individuals among them—a woman with two small horns on her head and a middle-aged man with unusually long arms. They had just barely escaped an encounter with three spider-monsters, losing over a dozen people in the process.

Seeing how battered they were by just three spider-monsters, Shen Lie lost all interest in inquiring about their abilities; they were clearly low-level, common Awakened.

"If you were heading toward Yang City, why are you here?" Shen Lie asked, puzzled. If this group had been on the same path, they shouldn't have been ahead of them.

"What? Go to Yang City? Isn't it already fallen?" The woman with the horns looked startled, her gaze toward Shen Lie and the others turning suspicious once more.

"Fallen? Where did you get that news? We broke out early. Did the division headquarters issue that report?" Shen Lie’s expression shifted, and he asked in a low, grim voice.

"It wasn't from headquarters, but it’s true. They say the intel 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—all of them died."

"So, it’s true?" The fragile hope he had clung to shattered. Shen Lie’s face turned deathly pale, and he staggered.

"Where are you headed? Why don't we join forces? We could look out for each other," the long-armed man suggested, eyeing Shen Lie’s group. Seeing they were uninjured, energetic, and clearly well-supplied with food, he was eager to attach himself to them.

"No need. We have other business to attend to. You're on your own," Duan Yu refused bluntly. In his eyes, these people were nothing more than the sick and the dying. This was no time for excessive sympathy; they hadn't even cleared the danger zone yet.

"Could you at least share some food? We have people with severe injuries—do you have any medicine? We’re all survivors; we should help each other!" The man persisted.

Duan Yu didn't even bother to answer. These people still hadn't grasped the reality of the apocalypse. "Help each other"? Did they think they were still in the military? Even the military couldn't protect them anymore; these people were clearly suffering from the dependency instilled by the division leadership under Zhang Kaitai.

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

"Pah! What a waste of space!" The man spat, then turned to his group and shouted, "We cannot keep carrying the wounded! They're slowing us down. It’s not that I, Yang Gang, am heartless, but we have no choice. We can't all die here just because of them!"

"Yang Gang, that's enough. No one is stopping you from leaving, but I am not abandoning Sister Lan and the others."

After learning that Yang City had indeed fallen, Shen Lie’s heart grew even heavier. The urge to go and see for himself intensified. His cousin, Wen Wan, was his only remaining kin. Perhaps she was shivering in her home right now, and if he arrived even a moment too late, she would be lost.

*No, I have to go see.* Unable to settle his turbulent emotions, Shen Lie made his decision after walking a bit further.

"Take the others toward Xing City. I have to go there and see; I won't be able to rest otherwise. If the situation in Xing City is also bad, don't wait for me—we’ll meet in the capital!" Shen Lie said, handing a short-range military communicator to Du Lili. It was a gift from Yang Weiguo, a cutting-edge device capable of ignoring interference from the gray mist.

Du Lili said nothing, quietly accepting the device. The others looked as if they wanted to object, but they knew that with Shen Lie in this state, he must have someone incredibly dear to him in Yang City. He couldn't be persuaded.

"No one else needs to come. A larger group will only slow me down. I can do this alone. Du Lili, please look after Taotao and the others. I hope we meet in the capital!" Shen Lie stopped anyone from speaking, set Taotao on the ground, and turned back, vanishing into the darkness with a few swift movements.

"Uncle!" Little Taotao sobbed, though she forced herself to remain silent. Zhang Jing and Li Xue turned pale, but they remained quiet as well. Duan Yu exchanged a look with his wife, whispering, "What do we do now?"

Duan Yu had joined Shen Lie’s group because he recognized his strength. He hadn't expected Shen Lie to strike out on his own. Although Du Lili remained—a woman of formidable power—the group’s overall strength had been halved, and his mood was complex.

"We head to Xing City. But moving like this is too slow. Monsters, especially those giant insects, might retreat toward this direction at any time. If we encounter them, we won't be able to handle it. Once it's fully light, we’ll find some transport and try to get out of this area as quickly as possible."

Du Lili’s cold, composed voice steadied the group. They had all witnessed her strength—which was, if anything, even greater than Shen Lie’s. Their spirits lifted, and they continued their journey.