Chapter 40

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Yuan Tengfei was completely wrapped in white spider silk, with strands of silk sticking to his body from all directions, standing above the ancient ruins' passage.

Therefore, even though he was already dead, his body still did not fall.

His face and body were torn and ragged, the result of being bitten by spiders. His one remaining eye was wide open, as if he could not rest in peace.

He had trained from a young age, with a strong body and expertise in various combat techniques, making him a top student of Su Yao's father. With the awakening of his power, if not for being in this passage with steep cliffs on both sides, leaving no room for movement, and being blocked by Su Yao, Chu Nan, and others from behind, he would not have met such a fate.

If it had been a different place, even if he could not win, he could have escaped.

In a sense, his death could only be attributed to bad luck.

Seeing Yuan Tengfei's tragic end, Su Yao remembered his past care and affection for her, like a big brother, and could not help but collapse, sobbing uncontrollably.

The other three were silent for a moment, then Chu Nan said, "Rest in peace. It's not safe here; anything could happen. Let's go."

This passage was only twenty to thirty meters long, very narrow, with bottomless abysses on both sides. If both ends were blocked, it would be extremely dangerous.

Yuan Tengfei's death was partly due to the dangerous terrain.

Su Yao wiped her tears, stood up, and gently bit her lip before speaking softly, "Brother, when I return and see my father, and confirm it's safe, I will come back to properly bury you. For now... for now, you stay here."

After saying this, she could not bear to look anymore, bit her lip, and tried hard not to cry as she walked forward.

The four of them finally crossed the dangerous twenty to thirty meters of the ruins' passage and climbed to the ground on the other side of the crack.

Feeling solid ground under their feet, all four of them sighed with relief. Except for Chu Nan, the other three felt almost exhausted.

Their adrenaline had been continuously stimulated, and they were covered in injuries, hungry, and thirsty. Their physical strength was almost at the breaking point.

The willpower that kept them going through the maze-like underground cave and to this point was what sustained them.

"Jiangtian City is not far away," Chu Nan said, looking into the distance.

After crossing the large crack, Jiangtian City was already in sight.

Even Chu Nan was starting to recognize the area.

"A little further ahead is a small river. After crossing the river, we will almost be in Daxiu District."

Chu Nan carefully identified the surroundings and remembered that he had been to this area before. However, due to the earthquake, some things had changed. He finally recalled that there was a river nearby, which the people of Jiangtian City usually called the Baize River.

"Let's go, everyone, just a little more," Chu Nan said again. Tang Sanli, swaying, managed to stand up.

Chu Nan walked to Su Yao, who was sitting on the ground, and extended his hand, saying, "If you can't hold on, I'll help you."

Su Yao, breathing heavily with dry, cracked lips, grabbed Chu Nan's hand, feeling the strength in his palm.

With a gentle pull, Chu Nan lifted her up.

Then Su Yao let go, indicating that she could manage on her own.

Chu Nan did not insist and helped Tao Zhi, who was sitting on the ground, to stand up, encouraging, "Everyone, just a little more, we're almost there."

The sky was slightly darkening, and the day was almost over. Chu Nan wanted to reach the Daxiu District of Jiangtian City before it got dark.

Jiangtian City was divided into Baiyun District, Puxian District, Qianjiang District, and Daxiu District.

Daxiu District, which used to be a suburb, had been well-developed in recent years by the Jiangtian City government. The people of Jiangtian City usually referred to Daxiu District as the Development Zone.

The other three were too exhausted to speak, just nodding silently and following Chu Nan forward.

Chu Nan felt a mix of excitement and unease.

He was afraid that Jiangtian City would also be in ruins.

Each of the four had their own thoughts. Tang Sanli gently touched his bloodied and mangled face, wondering if his wife and children would be frightened by his appearance and if they would still recognize him.

Soon, they saw a large area of building ruins ahead.

On the way, Chu Nan accidentally saw a new backpack in the ruins. He had a sudden idea, tore the bottom of his original backpack, secretly kept the few pine cones inside, and then pretended to have just noticed, exclaiming, "Damn, when did this backpack break?"

Tang Sanli came over and saw that the bottom of the backpack was torn, and the pine cones inside were gone, saying, "It looks like they all leaked out. We collected them for nothing."

Chu Nan smiled bitterly, threw the broken backpack away, and picked up the new one.

He did this to avoid arousing suspicion among the group about the sudden disappearance of the pine cones he had collected.

For now, he did not plan to tell anyone about the secrets of the magnifying glass and the pine cones.

As they approached the city, the buildings gradually became more numerous.

The stench of decaying bodies wafted through the air, and incomplete corpses could be seen emerging from the ruins. The sight of so many dead bodies made Chu Nan and the others feel a growing sense of dread.

They were almost at Daxiu District, but the scene ahead was even more devastated. It seemed that Jiangtian City had also suffered greatly.

A sense of anxiety grew in Chu Nan's heart. If Jiangtian City had indeed experienced such a severe earthquake, what would have happened to his parents?

If they had also...

He dared not even imagine.

"It's impossible..."

Chu Nan almost screamed to himself, afraid to face the reality.

"Let's go," Chu Nan said, clenching his teeth. Unless he saw it with his own eyes, he refused to think about the worst possible scenario.

Soon, they arrived at a large area of building ruins. Chu Nan, with his keen hearing, could hear the sounds of a fight from a distance.

His brow furrowed, and Su Yao and Tao Zhi also became alert.

In the collapsed ruins, they could see bodies buried completely, and the stench of decay was overwhelming. Not far away, they even saw several vultures picking at the flesh in the ruins.

The vultures were not afraid of Chu Nan and the others; they just looked up at them and continued eating. Chu Nan could clearly see one vulture lift its head, a human eye in its beak.

"Who would have thought vultures would come out," Chu Nan took a deep breath. The vultures did not attack them, and they did not disturb the vultures, so they took a detour. Soon, they saw a group of people fighting around a collapsed wall about fifty meters ahead.

On one side were nearly twenty zombies, including two with some intelligence, using rebar as weapons.

On the other side were four people and a dog.

The four people, three men and one woman, were all very agile, clearly in an adrenaline state, indicating they were awakened.

The dog was larger than a typical rural dog, with a wolf-like appearance, erect ears, and a drooping tail. Its fur was bluish-white. Chu Nan immediately recognized it as a Langqing, a breed of wolf dog widely distributed in China, said to have originated from the vicious military dogs left behind by the Japanese invaders and the German shepherds left by the Nationalist Party.

This breed of wolf dog is fierce, has a keen sense of smell, is highly sensitive, and has strong aggression and alertness. It is very resilient and will not back down from a challenge. It is considered one of the better breeds of dogs.

The Langqing in front of them was even more terrifying than a typical wolf dog. Its ferocious appearance reminded Chu Nan of Can Er.

The Langqing pounced on a zombie, bit it fiercely, and with a sudden pull, tore off its head. Then it leaped to attack another zombie.

"Mutated, definitely evolved. Otherwise, a dog couldn't be so powerful," Chu Nan concluded instantly. This Langqing, like Can Er, had evolved.

On the ground, several zombies were already lying dead.

Among the four people, the one who caught Chu Nan's attention was a young man about 1.74 meters tall, wearing black-rimmed glasses, who looked gentle and refined.

This young man was very fast and strong. When Chu Nan saw him from a distance, he was grabbing a zombie, lifting it with both hands, and slamming its head into a broken concrete block.

The force was so strong that the zombie's head exploded, with blood and brain matter splattering.

This zombie had strength comparable to a first-level awakened, but in the young man's hands, it seemed so fragile.

Chu Nan was sure this young man was a second-level awakened; otherwise, he could not have killed a zombie so easily.

The other two men and one woman were a middle-aged man in his forties, a thin young man in his late teens, and a woman in her early twenties with curly yellow hair, exuding a youthful aura. She was holding two rocks and smashing them into the head of a zombie that had pounced at her.

The zombie fell backward, its brain matter oozing out.

This showed the power of her strike was immense, far beyond that of an ordinary weak girl.

From their speed and strength, Chu Nan could tell that the young man with glasses was a second-level awakened, and the other two men and one woman were first-level awakened.

Chu Nan and the others slowly approached. Soon, there were seven or eight more zombie corpses on the ground. The young man with glasses noticed Chu Nan and the others, glanced at them, and then turned to the side of another zombie with a weapon, grabbing its neck with both hands.

The zombie struggled to counterattack, but the young man used his strength to snap its neck with a crisp sound.

The zombie's body stiffened, and the young man, with a low growl, turned and threw it, smashing its head into a large concrete slab.

With a "splat," the zombie's head shattered, and its body collapsed.

The young man jumped to the other side and kicked another zombie, sending it flying several meters away.

By this time, Chu Nan and the others were about ten meters away.

The Langqing suddenly bared its sharp teeth and barked fiercely at Chu Nan and the others, taking a fighting stance, looking unfriendly.

"Wolfqing, they are people, don't be rude!" the woman with curly yellow hair shouted. The Langqing, hearing her, turned and pounced on a zombie the woman was attacking, tearing off its head in a few bites, then turned back to look at Chu Nan and the others, as if showing off.

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