Chapter 17

Chunan spoke up, "Perhaps it's due to the wounds or the blood. If it has something to do with these grasses... I saw that Jin Xin had a wound on his foot, and he walked through the grass, making him the easiest to be invaded by external things among us."

The image of the sprouting wound on Jin Xin's body flashed through his mind, and he dared not think about it anymore.

Yin Yiping was taken aback and said, "Do you mean that Jin Xin's transformation is really related to these grasses?"

Chunan shook his head, "It's just a guess. We can't be sure of the exact reason."

"Whatever the reason, what we can do is to get as far away from this cursed place as possible. We can't cross this area, so we have to go around it." Tang Sanli spat angrily. Originally, they were just about to cross this area of weeds, and if nothing went wrong, they should have been able to return to the city before nightfall. Now, it seemed to be a problem.

Chunan said, "That's the only way."

His strength had not fully recovered, and after running for so long, he was extremely tired. He needed Tang Sanli's support to stand up. "Let's go. There's no point in studying this here. After the earthquake, too many inexplicable things have happened. This place has become a ghost zone. Our priority now is to return to the city and get away from these cursed places."

Yin Yiping said, "Right, let's leave this place first."

In the distance, the sound of Jin Xin's struggling and screaming had already faded, indicating that he was likely in grave danger. No one dared to suggest going in to save him.

"Hey, where's Cui Zhi'an?" Yu Xiaotian suddenly called out.

Everyone was taken aback and looked at each other. At this moment, they realized that, besides Jin Xin, Cui Zhi'an from their team was also missing.

There were nine people in total: Chunan, Tang Sanli, Yu Xiaohu, Yu Xiaotian, Gan Yuanyue, Yin Yiping, Gong Lin, Cui Zhi'an, and Jin Xin. In the thick fog, they discovered Jin Xin's terrifying fate and fled back, not caring about the others. When they escaped, Yu Xiaotian accidentally noticed that only seven people remained, and Cui Zhi'an from the team was missing.

"Did he get separated?" Yin Yiping raised his voice and called Cui Zhi'an's name several times, but no one responded.

Yu Xiaotian, Gan Yuanyue, and others all showed signs of unease and anxiety.

"He must have gotten separated. The fog was so thick, Cui Zhi'an!" Yu Xiaotian cupped his hands around his mouth and called out.

Immediately, Yin Yiping, Gong Lin, Gan Yuanyue, and others all called out Cui Zhi'an's name together, their voices carrying far.

"That fog was too strange. If he didn't escape in time, he's probably in grave danger too." Seeing that no one responded after many calls, Tang Sanli shook his head and sighed.

Originally, there were nine people, but now only seven remained. The two, Jin Xin, died mysteriously, and Cui Zhi'an suddenly disappeared, causing everyone to feel a deep sense of fear.

"Can... can we really survive and return to the city?" Yu Xiaotian suddenly said, her voice trembling, with a hint of crying. She had always been strong, but now she was on the verge of breaking down.

Mainly because Jin Xin's death was too bizarre, almost incomprehensible. In comparison, being killed by the zombie-like creatures was not as terrifying.

Gan Yuanyue's lips trembled, and suddenly she became angry: "What are you talking nonsense about? We will definitely return to the city before nightfall. Let's go, everyone, move quickly. Don't worry about Cui Zhi'an. Maybe he has already left through another route. Let's hurry, hurry to get back to the city."

Now, the only thought in everyone's mind was to return to the city.

In the city, there were police, armed police, the government, and all kinds of people. As long as they returned to the city, they would be safe.

No one dared to imagine what would happen if Jiangtian City also experienced an earthquake, because returning to Jiangtian City was the only belief that kept them going.

Not just Yu Xiaotian and Gan Yuanyue, but even the other men, including Chunan, felt a growing sense of frustration or despair.

Originally, the threat to them was just the zombie-like creatures that had risen from the dead in the earthquake. They just needed to stay away from the collapsed buildings. But now, with Jin Xin's mysterious death and Cui Zhi'an's disappearance, their fear increased. They realized that even if they stayed away from the buildings and the zombie-like creatures, they could still die mysteriously.

Everyone's unease and fear deepened.

"Let's go. Staying here and overthinking won't help. Tang, give me a cigarette." Chunan suddenly spoke coldly, his voice showing a hint of determination. "If heaven wants us to live, we won't die. If we're meant to die, no amount of thinking will save us. What's the point of thinking so much?"

Tang Sanli didn't say anything, just took out a pack of cigarettes and gave it to Chunan, then distributed one to each person. This time, even Yu Xiaotian and Gan Yuanyue took one.

Although she didn't smoke, Yu Xiaotian still lit the cigarette, took a puff, and choked, coughing.

Chunan lit his cigarette, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, watching the smoke curl up. "Let's go."

The others didn't say anything, just followed him silently and left the place.

This route was blocked, so they had to go around.

Half an hour later, they stopped. In front of them was a deep, wide crack, several meters wide, making it impossible to pass.

"Let's go around again." Chunan gritted his teeth and followed the crack to the other side.

The seven of them walked in silence, their hearts sinking.

The sky was gradually darkening. They not only failed to reach the city but also kept going around, possibly moving further away from the city.

Chunan took out his phone to check the time, but it had already run out of power and shut down.

Yin Yiping, seeing Chunan's intention, quickly took out his phone and said, "It's five in the afternoon."

Several people in the group had phones, but like Chunan's, they all had no signal and couldn't make calls.

"Okay." Chunan didn't say anything more, his expression heavy.

It was already October, and the days were getting shorter. After six o'clock, it would be completely dark. The sky was already quite dark.

After going around for a while, they were all disoriented. It was impossible to return to the city today.

"Let's walk until six, then find a relatively safe place to rest. Traveling at night is too dangerous." After a while, Tang Sanli spoke, looking at Chunan for his opinion.

Chunan nodded, "Okay."

For the next hour, they walked through a large field. Later, they reached a rural dirt road. As they walked along the road, the sky grew darker. Yu Xiaohu suddenly said, "I recognize this place. Not far ahead, there's an old temple called Zangmei Temple."

"Zangmei Temple?" Yu Xiaotian asked, her curiosity piqued.

Chunan looked at the trees lining the dirt road, and in the dim light, the distant mountains looked ominous.

"Chunan, why did you stop?" Tang Sanli asked.

Chunan said, "Where does this road lead?"

Yu Xiaohu said, "I'm not sure, but I know there's an old temple not far from here. I've been there before. The temple is very dilapidated. When I was a child, there were still monks, but in recent years, even the monks have left. It's just an empty temple now. My home isn't too far from here. I didn't expect to come back after going around in circles."

As he spoke, a pained look appeared in his eyes.

He thought of his home. His father had passed away early, and his mother raised him. In the earthquake, his mother was crushed to death, her lower body severed. Yu Xiaohu narrowly escaped. When he tried to save his mother, he found that her abdomen was torn open, her internal organs and intestines scattered on the ground, and her head had a large hole. Despite the fatal injuries, she was still alive.

However, she had lost her mind. When she saw Yu Xiaohu trying to save her, she grabbed his throat and tried to bite him.

Yu Xiaohu fought back, and in the chaos, he realized his mother was no longer moving. He didn't know when he had picked up a brick and smashed her head.

In a state of shock, Yu Xiaohu fled. Later, he encountered the zombie-like creatures and gradually understood what was happening.

However, the face of his mother, who had raised him, became his nightmare. He couldn't bear to think about it. Whenever he did, his stomach churned, and his throat felt blocked, as if he wanted to vomit or cry, but he couldn't.

Seeing a familiar place now, Yu Xiaohu's eyes reddened, and he turned his head, not daring to think more.

Tang Sanli, listening to Yu Xiaohu's story, said, "Although we've taken a long detour, we've finally come back. I estimate that we can cross through a small road on the other side, but traveling at night is too dangerous. I'm just making a rough guess. Why don't we find a place to hide for the night and rest, and then continue tomorrow morning?"

The sky was almost completely dark, and traveling at night was too dangerous. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Why don't we go to the Zangmei Temple? It's just an old, empty temple, so there shouldn't be any zombie-like creatures." Yu Xiaohu suggested.

Chunan nodded, and the others had no objections. The sky grew darker, and everyone instinctively moved closer to Chunan, as if monsters could jump out from the darkness at any moment.

Yu Xiaohu led the way, and the seven of them followed a narrow dirt road, quickly reaching the Zangmei Temple that Yu Xiaohu had mentioned.

The Zangmei Temple was old and dilapidated, and the earthquake had completely destroyed it. A diagonal crack ran through the middle, and what they saw was just a pile of rubble in the distance. On the other side, there were a few large trees, but everyone's attention was immediately drawn to one of the trees.