Chapter 120 (1/2)

They all got a hangover.

The next morning, Chang sat up from the bed with his head throbbing. As usual, Zhizhi stayed in his room. He took the clothes hooked behind the door and changed into them.

”Are you heading out?”

”Yeah.”

”Is it dangerous?”

”I'm not sure, we'll see.”

He took his crossbow as well as his handguns, zipped up his jacket, and secured his dagger in its sheath. He was all set to go.

”I think we should close the bar for two days, and don't forget to lock the door,” he said to Zhizhi. ”He's going to make his decision public today, so be ready for the riot that goes around. Don't forget to take care of yourselves.

”I won't be back for at least three days. Mr. Li will send soldiers to be stationed beside the bar to ensure your safety. As long as you stay indoors, you guys will be safe,” Chang said while checking bullets for his two handguns.

The Shark was an upgraded Pfeifer Zeliska with larger bullet capacity. Compared to the old one that he had used, the power of this was shockingly destructive.

The handgun sacrificed its accuracy to improve its capacity and destructive power. Even if it was used to fight against the gene-altered soldiers, the power would be great enough to punch holes in them at close distance. However, beyond the fifty meters range, the aim became unpredictable; more precisely speaking, the Shark wasn't design for shooting over thirty meters —this was due to its pursuit for destructive power.

Though, long range shooting wasn't essential to Chang. Because the furthest he could see was thirty meters—past that distance, the sniping crossbow always performed better.

Chang doubled-checked his equipment in the room, then left the bar, waving to Zhizhi before he turned his head.

His mission today was to investigate the habitat of those unknown super lifes. Before Qing Shui got too drunk yesterday, he left a piece of cloth with a special scent to Chang. Needless to say, Qing Shui's intention was clear.

Of course, Chang still had a choice of not executing the mission. Though as Qing Shui had said, the threats were coming closer, and all of these seemed to be interrelated with them in innumerable ways. He couldn't run away from or pretend to not know them. Chang thought, as long as he could help, he would try to make things better in his own way.

Chang sniffed the cloth diligently, then gradually paced towards the source of it.

The pedestrians on the street were still innocent of the incoming disaster. They thought that they could thrive through the days in the red fog, but the striking fact of the end of their peaceful lives was ahead of them in the most cruel way.

In comparison to the first apocalypse, the second appeared to be more brutal. None of the citizens were prepared for the sudden change of the air, but the second time would be the coming of the super lives' attack. Humanity seemed to be so fragile in front of threats that exceeded them in power.

Humanity had grown to be more prosperous, but all these treasure of knowledge and wisdom were taken by the Willow in the blink of an eye compared to the human history.

At the edge of the jungle, Chang glanced towards the south, where Wuhan was. A Willow with millions of brains grew there; he couldn't imagine what the city had become.

He sighed and then entered the whimsical jungle.

Under the daylight, the jungle was dumped into profusion.

The sun shredded its beams through the branches, the shadow mottled on the ground. The jungle changed its colors through evolution and mutation, and trees grew into shapes that endeavored for more warmth and light. Plants were no longer dressed in the plain looking greens. Fungi reached out their volva in damp shadings. Some plants s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably when Chang screened the sunlight on them.

The fern on the ground shook their arms around, constantly seeking for a more suitable living environment.

The vibrant jungle was splendid yet beset with crisis. Here was just the bottom of the ocean, the difference of a coral reef could hardly be told from a red octopus.

Trotting through the jungle consumed a lot of energy for Chang as he needed to pay full attention to every detail around him. Even though his olfactory ability surpa.s.sed Zhizhi's to a point that his was comparable to a rat's. He was able to tell apart the dangers lurking within the jungle, but mutation often brought out new species that he had never met before, so Chang could never be sure even of his own safety.

Chang took off the sniping crossbow from his shoulder. In this jungle, the loud noise of a gunshot would be a tempting lure to hunters, so he decided to investigate with the crossbow.

His goal today was to locate the habitat of the super life, so that he could lessen Qing Shui's burden. If Qing Shui needed to search for the super life, at least he would have a rough estimation of their hiding spot. Yet the jungle played naughtily by messing with Chang's nose. The trace of that special scent lingered in the air yet was almost impossible to find.

He explored the area, heedfully and without hurry, as he walked through this flirtatious jungle.

Under the guidance of the scent, Chang entered from the north entrance of the jungle. It was the same route that they had taken in the Yessie battle. The scene was familiar but much had changed here. The journey deepened the hard frown on Chang's face.

A warning sign was waiting ahead of him, yet he had to trespa.s.s into the forbidden zone.