Chapter 41

In the midst of cherry blossom petals dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

The zombie that had been kicked several meters away by the young man with glasses did not die. After getting up, it saw the four people led by Chunan who had already approached, and suddenly extended its arms, reaching out to grab Chunan.

Chunan, holding the spider claw, remained silent, not even glancing at the zombie. He swung his right hand, as if holding a knife to chop down.

With a "swoosh," the peculiar original force inside the special spider claw erupted, and a faint light flashed on the spider claw. It split the zombie in half, starting from the head, down to the abdomen, and then to the groin, slicing the zombie's body open.

Seeing the zombie's body fall apart in an inverted V shape, everyone sucked in a breath.

The wolfhound that had been threatening Chunan and his group also seemed to be startled, barking wildly.

The young man with glasses, his eyes flickering, stared at the spider claw in Chunan's hand without a word.

In a short time, nearly two undead and about twenty zombies had already fallen to the ground, ceasing their struggles.

A second-level Awakened, three first-level Awakened, and a wolfhound with strength not inferior to a second-level Awakened—this small group was certainly not weak.

Both sides sized each other up. Chunan put away the spider claw and said, "We need to head to Jiangtian City under the cover of darkness. What about you? Join us?"

The woman with curly hair glanced at the spider claw in Chunan's hand with some surprise and then smiled lightly, "Sure, more companions mean more strength and safety."

Seeing Chunan so astonishingly split the zombie in half, these people naturally had a high opinion of Chunan and his group.

"Great, we also want to reach Daxiu District under the cover of darkness. You can come with us," the young man with glasses said with a faint smile. "I'm Xia Qiuhe." His tone carried a hint of arrogance, perhaps because as a second-level Awakened, he was stronger than his companions, giving him a sense of superiority.

In his view, no matter how strong Chunan and his group were, they were probably at most first-level Awakened. After all, the higher the level, the more zombies one needed to kill to awaken.

As they approached the city, Chunan and his group's moods became heavy, and they didn't pay much attention to Xia Qiuhe's sense of superiority. They all introduced themselves: the woman with curly hair was Zhou Yun, the middle-aged man around forty was Zhao Yiming, and the thin young man around seventeen or eighteen was Zhou Hua, Zhou Yun's younger brother.

As for the wolfhound, it was raised by Zhou Yun. After the earthquake, the wolfhound had mutated, gaining great strength, but it remained loyal to its owner, protecting Zhou Yun and Zhou Hua. Several times, it had risked its life to save the siblings.

After confirming that Chunan and his group were not enemies, the other four people, Zhou Yun, Zhou Hua, Zhao Yiming, and Xia Qiuhe, relaxed, but the aftereffects of the earthquake soon hit them, and they all collapsed, convulsing.

The wolfhound loyally guarded its owner, moving restlessly, but its eyes remained fixed on Chunan and his group, especially the spider claw in Chunan's hand, which made it particularly uneasy.

Clearly, it still harbored suspicion towards Chunan and his group.

Chunan ignored them and began collecting the withered pineal glands from the fallen zombies and the two undead. These pineal glands in the heads of the corpses had a time limit; if left too long, they would be corroded and lose their function.

So, Chunan didn't bother with the corpses buried under buildings, as the pineal glands inside would have lost their function due to the long time.

While Chunan collected the pineal glands, Su Yao, Tao Zhi, and Tang Sanli took the opportunity to rest and recover some strength.

They had seen Chunan collect pineal glands many times and were numb to it. Each of them speculated on what he might use them for, but no one could be sure.

This time, Chunan collected twenty-one pineal glands, adding them to the seven he already had, bringing his total to twenty-eight withered pineal glands.

However, just twenty-eight pineal glands were far from enough for him to evolve again.

After the fourth-level awakening, Chunan felt that his fourth-level gene nucleus required more than twice the amount of gene force compared to before. To awaken again, he would need to kill hundreds of zombies or mutants.

After collecting the pineal glands, Chunan looked up at the sky.

The sky was slightly darkening, and it was not far from complete darkness.

Xia Qiuhe, Zhou Yun, Zhou Hua, and Zhao Yiming finally overcame the aftereffects and slowly struggled to sit up.

"What were you looking for just now?" Xia Qiuhe, despite his recent agony, still noticed Chunan collecting the pineal glands.

Chunan smiled and said, "Wilted pineal glands can be used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat some diseases."

"Really?" Xia Qiuhe was skeptical but, seeing Chunan unwilling to explain further, did not press the issue. After all, these withered pineal glands were not hard to find, and he could dig up a few himself if he had the chance.

After resting for a while, everyone had recovered some strength. The eight people and the dog continued on their journey.

Xia Qiuhe and his group, like Chunan and his group, wanted to return to Jiangtian City as soon as possible. Their homes were in the city, and they had left for various reasons during the earthquake. Now, with the earthquake, their first thought was to return home, mainly to see what had happened and how their families were, and secondly, to find out what had happened to Jiangtian City.

However, after these few days without rescue teams and no news from Jiangtian City, and with the city still showing signs of widespread cracks, everyone had a vague feeling that Jiangtian City had not escaped the earthquake unscathed.

Perhaps the number of casualties in the city was staggering, but the more so, the more they wanted to return to confirm the safety and whereabouts of their families.

"Perhaps what awaits us ahead is even more terrifying danger," Xia Qiuhe suddenly said as they walked.

Everyone's hearts sank, understanding his meaning.

If Jiangtian City had indeed suffered such a massive earthquake, the casualties would be countless. One could imagine that the city might already be a world of zombies and undead.

Going there would be like walking to their deaths.

"I can't rest until I see it with my own eyes. Jiangtian City will be fine," Zhou Yun suddenly said, her voice low and resolute, but her eyes wavering. Her parents were in Jiangtian City, and if the city had become a wasteland of zombies, what would have happened to her parents?

She didn't dare to imagine.

Everyone fell silent, and Xia Qiuhe sneered, saying nothing more.

As the sky grew darker, they soon came to a small river, known as the Baize River in the city. After crossing the Baize River, it was about one or two kilometers to the Daxiu District of Jiangtian City.

There was a stone bridge over the Baize River, but it had collapsed due to the earthquake, and large pieces of stone had sunk into the river. The group had no choice but to detour around the river.

This made the journey longer. By the time night fell, they were still on the detour, but in the darkness, they could see a faint light in the direction of Jiangtian City.

"Look, there's light in Jiangtian City. This means the city is fine," Zhou Yun, seeing it from a distance, suddenly called out excitedly.

Before, they couldn't see it, but now, as they got closer and with the night, everyone could see clearly. The city was indeed shrouded in a faint glow.

"If Jiangtian City had suffered such a massive earthquake, the power supply would definitely be destroyed, and there would be no such lights. The fact that we can see them here means the city is fine," Zhou Yun cheered, and the others also became excited and spirited.

This was indeed a huge piece of good news. Chunan was also excited. If the city was fine, his family would be safe. Thank goodness, the earthquake hadn't affected Jiangtian City.

In his excitement, Chunan quietly used adrenaline to stimulate his eyes, enhancing his vision several times over. He wanted to see clearly what the faint glow enveloping Jiangtian City was.

As his vision improved, he slowly saw the glow and his face darkened.

The faint glow was somewhat eerie.

It was like a canopy covering a part of Jiangtian City, the light being so faint that it was barely visible from a distance, but in the darkness, it could still be discerned. It might be even harder to see up close.

This canopy-like, faint glow was not normal, not like a normal city at night.

Chunan's brows furrowed, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. However, no matter how good his vision was, he couldn't see clearly what the faint, canopy-like glow was.

"Whatever happens, we must reach Jiangtian City first. Dad, Mom, you must be safe," Chunan thought to himself, also thinking of Li Feng and the child in her womb, feeling a mix of longing, regret, and sadness.

Although it was completely dark, the group continued to move forward silently. Tang Sanli took out the electric baton, intending to turn on the light, but found the light was weak, indicating the battery was almost drained.

The group's pace slowed, and everyone became more cautious.

Suddenly, the wolfhound following Zhou Yun turned around and barked wildly.

Everyone's hearts sank, and they all stopped. Chunan turned around, instantly enhancing his vision several times over, and in the darkness, he saw a figure far behind, faintly glowing with a pale green light, similar in size to a regular tiger.

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