Chapter 23

"Suitable shoes?" The two women were still in shock, their expressions blank.

Yin Yiping said, "Think about those zombie-like creatures. If you don't want to die, you should follow us."

As he spoke, he followed Chu Nan and Tang Sanli, bypassing the main road and heading in another direction.

Qi Ling gritted her teeth and followed, while the other three, though their faces were grim, had no choice but to follow, thinking of the terrifying zombie-like creatures.

Soon, they could see a cluster of buildings in the distance, and from within, they could faintly hear可怕的 screams.

Hearing these eerie, half-crying, half-laughing screams, everyone's face paled, especially Qi Ling and Jin Qianqian, who were visibly terrified.

Jin Qianqian clung to her boyfriend Wei Zhan'an's arm, her face as white as snow without any makeup.

Wei Zhan'an was equally frightened, but he couldn't show it in front of his girlfriend. He mustered up some courage and said, "Don't be afraid, we have so many people... everything will be fine."

"Let's go." Chu Nan remained relatively calm. The seven of them continued walking silently under his lead, trying to cover more ground during the day. However, he had no confidence they would make it back to the city before nightfall.

Many roads were blocked by un-crossable cracks, making the detour to the city extremely troublesome.

"Chu Nan, look—" Tang Sanli suddenly pointed in the distance.

Chu Nan also noticed a plume of green smoke rising from the horizon, indicating that someone was starting a fire in the distance.

Yin Yiping said, "Is there a fire over there?"

Tang Sanli shook his head. "No, such a large plume of smoke suggests a significant fire, but we can't see any flames. It's likely intentional, to attract attention."

Chu Nan said, "That makes sense. If it's intentional, there must be people there. We're heading in that direction anyway, let's go check it out."

Qi Ling and the others perked up at the thought of other people starting a fire and sending smoke signals.

Jin Qianqian said, "Could it be a rescue team, intentionally sending smoke signals to gather people?"

Chu Nan saw the hope in her eyes and didn't want to shatter her innocent thoughts. He replied calmly, "It's very likely. We'll know once we get there."

As they approached, the distant green smoke became more visible, and they encountered some bodies in front of them.

There were at least a dozen bodies, scattered haphazardly.

The two women, seeing so many bodies from a distance, let out a collective gasp and dared not get closer.

Chu Nan, Tang Sanli, and the others approached and found that the heads of these bodies were intact, clearly not killed by the zombie-like creatures.

There were men and women, young and old, and their heads were mostly undamaged.

Chu Nan turned over one of the bodies and noticed that its back had split open, revealing a bloody spine. He frowned.

Looking at the other bodies, their fatal wounds were also split backs. The injuries didn't look like they were caused by knives or sharp objects; the skin and flesh were torn outward, as if the damage came from inside the body.

The most bizarre thing was that despite the large wounds on their backs, there was almost no blood, as if all the blood had been drained.

Chu Nan smashed open one of the heads and found the pineal gland inside, which was withered and drained of energy.

"How is it?"

Chu Nan pondered and said, "They are not zombie-like creatures. They came here and encountered some terrible event, which led to their deaths."

There were thirteen bodies in total, and Chu Nan didn't hesitate to take the withered pineal glands from their heads. These were useless to others but valuable to him. The number of withered pineal glands he carried increased to 22.

"Should we continue forward?" Tang Sanli looked at the thirteen bodies, which had died in a mysterious way, and hesitated.

Chu Nan, seeing that the source of the green smoke was not far, said, "The smoke is intermittent, clearly intentional. It indicates that there are living people there, which means it's relatively safe for now."

Tang Sanli nodded, agreeing with Chu Nan.

Chu Nan looked at the thirteen bodies and said, "As for these thirteen bodies, I suspect they encountered some strange creature, like the one with the severed ear. This is why they were killed and their blood drained. However, the creature that did this has likely left or been killed by others, otherwise, there wouldn't be anyone alive there starting a fire and sending smoke signals."

"Right, that makes sense. Let's go." Tang Sanli was relieved. The seven of them left the area and continued forward. Soon, they saw a cluster of building ruins and an open space where a group of people were starting a fire. Some were pouring water on green branches and placing them on the fire to create thick smoke.

Someone was coughing loudly from the smoke.

Although the buildings had collapsed, they had found a working faucet and could get water.

There were a few headless bodies on the ground, which looked like zombie-like creatures but had been killed.

"Welcome." The group heard the commotion and saw Chu Nan and the others. Someone immediately ran over.

There were about seventeen or eighteen people, mostly young and strong men, with bloodstains on their clothes, making them look formidable.

The one who came to greet Chu Nan and the others was a sturdy man with a square face, nearly 1.9 meters tall, with bulging muscles on his exposed arms, exuding strength.

"My name is Yuan Tengfei. I'm temporarily their leader. Welcome to our group." The tall, sturdy man smiled and extended his hand to Tang Sanli.

Tang Sanli was the oldest in Chu Nan's group, so Yuan Tengfei considered him the leader.

Tang Sanli shook his hand and felt the thickness and strength of Yuan Tengfei's palm, which was not typical of an ordinary person, suggesting he had trained.

"Now we have a total of twenty-five people, a significant boost in strength." Behind Yuan Tengfei, someone else walked over, laughing lightly. Her voice was pleasant and captivating. When she appeared in front of Chu Nan and the others, everyone felt a sudden brightness.

She was a beautiful woman.

Standing about 1.68 meters tall, her slender figure was hard to hide even in casual clothes. Her long black hair was tied into a braid, and she wore a casual hat. Her face, without any makeup, was flawless, with delicate features.

She had fine eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, a small cherry mouth, and a straight nose that gave her a touch of bravery. Despite the casual hat, she exuded a lazy charm, blending different qualities perfectly, making a strong first impression.

Qi Ling and Jin Qianqian, who were also quite attractive, suddenly seemed ordinary in comparison.

Qi Ling and Jin Qianqian looked at the casually dressed beauty with envy, trying to find some flaws.

"This is Su Yao, my little junior. By the way, what are your names?" Yuan Tengfei was very outgoing.

The casually dressed beauty, Su Yao, rolled her eyes at him, her clear eyes and every movement exuding an indescribable cuteness.

Wei Zhan'an was almost mesmerized, his mouth hanging open, drooling.

Jin Qianqian, seeing this, was both angry and jealous, and pinched him hard.

Wei Zhan'an yelped in pain and glared at her. "What are you doing?"

Jin Qianqian said, "What are you looking at? Don't pop your eyes out."

Wei Zhan'an's face turned red with anger. "What are you talking about?"

Yuan Tengfei laughed heartily. Tang Sanli introduced himself and then asked, "Why are we all gathered here? Why do you say 'welcome to join us'?"

Seeing the group starting a fire and creating thick smoke, it was clear they were trying to attract others. However, why were they gathered here instead of continuing their journey?

Tang Sanli was confused, and so was Chu Nan.

Yuan Tengfei looked at them and smiled. "To have a better chance of returning to the city, we need more people. The more, the better."

Seeing the puzzled expressions, Yuan Tengfei explained, "Due to the earthquake, there is a very wide and deep crack between this area and Jiangtian City, averaging over ten meters in width and bottomless."

Su Yao, wearing the casual hat, added, "We spent a lot of time and effort to find the only place where the crack is only two to three meters wide. We built a temporary wooden bridge there, which is the only way to Jiangtian City for now. Of course, if you have the patience and time, you could try to find another way, but it might take a month or two."

"Right, you're heading to Jiangtian City, right?" Yuan Tengfei asked.

Su Yao glanced at him. "Since they're coming this way, they're likely heading to Jiangtian City."

Tang Sanli nodded and smiled. "Su Yao is right. We are heading to Jiangtian City, but we didn't expect it to be so complicated."

Chu Nan suddenly asked, "Since you found the only way back to Jiangtian City, why are you still here? Is that path very dangerous?"

The fire and smoke signals, combined with Yuan Tengfei and Su Yao's explanation, suggested that the path was extremely dangerous, and they were gathering people for safety.

Yuan Tengfei said, "Yes, it's very dangerous. The only path we found is extremely perilous. Yesterday, eight of us crossed the wooden bridge, but only Su Yao and I managed to survive and escape."