Chapter 26

In a short time, more than forty people gathered here, which was beyond Yuan Tefei's expectations. He was very confident about the battle tomorrow.

"By the way, among us, who are the Level 1 Awakened Ones?" After Yuan Tefei finished speaking, seeing that most people looked stunned, he explained the names and differences between Awakened Ones, Zombie Mutants, Immortals, and Mutants. Only then did everyone show a look of understanding.

These names were all given by Su Yao, and they were quite fitting. Su Yao sat to one side, and seeing that everyone understood and accepted these names, her lips curled slightly, giving her a small sense of satisfaction.

"So, this is what a Level 1 Awakened One is? Then I count as one."

A voice came from the crowd, and everyone turned to look. It was a somewhat thin man with a scar on his cheek, which must have been from a Zombie Mutant's bite, leaving the flesh somewhat mangled but already scabbed over. He was sitting cross-legged with a steel pipe about a meter long on his knees.

Seeing everyone looking at him, the thin man smiled and said, "My name is Zhao Han, nice to meet you all."

Yuan Tefei laughed and said, "Great, Zhao Han, one person. Anyone else?"

Soon, a few more people in the crowd raised their hands.

Chu Nan looked over and saw a very fat, muscular man with arms thicker than most people's thighs, a hunched old man who looked honest and simple, like a farmer who had tilled the land all his life.

There were also two young men in their twenties or thirties, and another person was Professor Chen Mo. Although he wore thick glasses, Chu Nan indeed did not expect that he had killed at least ten Zombie Mutants, otherwise he wouldn't have reached the level of a Level 1 Awakened One.

These people all reported their names. The very fat man, who sat like a wall of flesh, was named Tao Zhi. The honest-looking old man was named Li Guogang. The two young men in their twenties or thirties were named Wu Tianjun and Wu Tiande, who were brothers.

Including Chen Mo and Zhao Han, that made six people.

Chu Nan was originally going to raise his hand, but he hesitated and didn't speak. He thought that as an Awakened One, he would likely have to charge forward first tomorrow, rushing to wherever it was most dangerous.

Previously, he had suffered several setbacks for being a good person, and his beliefs had been shaken. He believed that there were probably others in the crowd who, like him, had awakened their powers but were unwilling to reveal themselves.

"Being a bit selfish isn't bad; the important thing is to survive." Chu Nan clenched his fist and thought to himself.

Yuan Tefei waited a bit longer, but seeing no one else speak, he looked slightly disappointed and then said, "Alright, six people. Including me and Su Yao, that makes eight Awakened Ones."

"Tomorrow, my plan is this..." Yuan Tefei explained his plan, selecting the strongest-looking people from the remaining thirty or forty non-Awakened individuals to lead the charge. The eight Awakened Ones would only act at critical moments.

"Because once we Awakened Ones activate our powers, we suffer severe aftereffects, so these Awakened Ones must be used at the most critical times, such as when the other side has Immortals, or... to protect everyone's safe retreat, etc."

Yuan Tefei explained, considering all possibilities.

Chu Nan nodded in agreement, finding it reasonable. After all, the Awakened Ones were their last trump card, with time limits and severe aftereffects, so they could only be used at critical moments.

After some discussion, it was already deep into the night. Some of the elderly, women, and children were chosen to take turns keeping watch, while the others needed to get enough sleep and rest for the battle tomorrow.

They brought hay from a nearby stack and spread it on the ground as makeshift beds. About forty people, except for those on watch, found places to sleep, trying to rest as much as possible. In the past two days, almost no one had had a good night's sleep.

Chu Nan and Tang Sanli slept together, with Yin Yiping also sleeping nearby. The others didn't know, but Tang Sanli and Yin Yiping were well aware of Chu Nan's strength.

Chu Nan held a sickle in his right hand, maintaining this position. Just as he lay down, a sudden groan came from not far away.

Most people had not yet fallen asleep, and this groan woke everyone up.

Chu Nan looked up in surprise and saw a woman who had been assigned to keep watch, spinning and falling heavily to the ground. Her back split open, and blood splattered. A black shadow shot out from her back, pouncing on a man lying on the ground who was about to sleep.

This man suddenly let out a wild scream, desperately trying to beat it off with his hands.

Then, two more groans came, and two other men on watch fell to the ground, their backs splitting open, and black shadows shot out from them as well.

In an instant, the sleeping people scrambled to their feet, cries of alarm rising, and the scene became chaotic.

Chu Nan immediately thought of the thirteen bodies they had found earlier in the day, with their backs split open.

At the time, they had speculated that the culprit was some kind of mutated animal. They hadn't expected the culprit to appear so soon, and not just one.

"Everyone, don't panic!" Yuan Tefei leaped up, shouting, and was the first to charge out. A steel bar appeared in his right hand, and he swung it at a black shadow that had shot out.

With the help of the blazing bonfire, Chu Nan, who had just gotten up, finally saw what the sudden intruder was.

It was a soft-bodied creature like an octopus, with many tentacles, but very small. When fully extended, its tentacles were no larger than a basketball. It looked extremely ugly, like an alien, something Chu Nan had never seen before.

Though small, its speed was astonishing. With a single flick of its tentacles, it shot out like an arrow. Chu Nan watched helplessly as this unknown, ugly, alien-like creature pounced on a man's face, its tentacles spreading to cover the entire face.

The man screamed wildly, trying to pull the creature off with his hands. However, the creature secreted a slippery liquid, and when the man grabbed it, his hands slipped off. The creature's tentacles then began to enter the man's nose, mouth, and ears.

This was a boneless, soft-bodied creature. Its tentacles tore open the man's mouth, preventing him from closing it, and then its entire soft body entered the man's body through his mouth.

The man's face was full of terror as he desperately tried to dig his fingers into his throat, as if trying to spit the creature out. Suddenly, he let out a sharp, terrified scream, his eyes bulging, and blood splattered from his back. The creature inside him used its tentacles to tear apart his internal organs, and finally, it tore open his back and crawled out.

The creature that crawled out was now larger, and the man, with his eyes wide open, fell heavily to the ground. In a short time, all his vital fluids had been drained.

This was undoubtedly a terrifying, unknown creature.

In a short time, more than ten people had fallen and died.

In the darkness, no one knew how many of these alien-like creatures had attacked.

Chu Nan saw everything, his hair standing on end. He gripped the sickle tightly. Suddenly, a black shadow shot at his face like an arrow.

With a fierce shout, he swung the sickle heavily.

A "swoosh" sound, and blood splattered. The tentacles of the alien-like creature were cut off, and it fell heavily to the ground.

Chu Nan followed up with a kick, but missed. The creature, with two tentacles cut off, moved very quickly, instantly evading, and then two more creatures aimed at Chu Nan and shot at him.

The speed was too fast, and Chu Nan immediately retreated, retreating into the chaotic crowd.

Yuan Tefei shouted repeatedly, trying to stabilize the chaotic crowd. Suddenly, he noticed black shadows flashing in the distance, and he was shocked. He could only shout, "Retreat, retreat quickly!"

These unknown creatures surged in a fan shape, forcing the chaotic crowd to flee in the other direction.

"Quick, go!" Chu Nan shouted, and Tang Sanli followed closely behind, drenched in cold sweat, his face full of panic.

"Ah—"

Another scream, and a woman fell to the ground, writhing and struggling, her hands digging into her mouth as if trying to pull something out. Suddenly, another dry howl, and her voice cut off. A creature broke through her body and jumped out.

"Qianqian—" A man in the fleeing crowd screamed.

Chu Nan recognized the woman on the ground as Jin Qianqian, whom they had met on the road. The man calling her name was her boyfriend, Wei Zhenan. However, in this terrifying situation, he didn't dare to save her and could only flee with the crowd.

As he retreated, Chu Nan watched the bloody scenes unfold, seeing one after another person fall and scream, and the ugly, octopus-like creatures. He realized that the world had gone completely mad, no longer the world he knew.

"What are these creatures?" Tang Sanli shouted hoarsely, swinging his electric baton, which discharged hundreds of thousands of volts, hitting a creature that had shot through the air. The creature let out a "squeak" and fell heavily.

In the darkness, these black shadows flashed, and at a glance, there were at least dozens of them.

Even someone as strong as Yuan Tefei had to retreat.

Chu Nan saw Su Yao, wearing a casual cap, holding a dagger about a foot long, and with a swift swing, she split a creature that had pounced at her face, blood splattering everywhere.

"Retreat, to the wooden bridge!" Su Yao shouted, turning sharply and leaping out.

The chaotic crowd was fleeing, including the leaders Yuan Tefei and Su Yao. The fastest to flee were undoubtedly the Awakened Ones, followed by the physically strong young people, and the slowest were the elderly, women, and children, who were caught and killed by the creatures chasing from behind.