Chapter 129: Separate Urban Explorations

Countless conjectures filled Zhuang Xiaoyuan with doubts, but these were questions she had no way of answering at present. All she could do was carry her unease with her and continue on this journey of survival.

Regardless of what state she herself had appeared in within the dream, the most urgent matter before her now was to survive in this perilous world and reach Central City safely. Only then would it be time to properly investigate the changes taking place within her. For now, she had to focus on what lay before her.

She shook her head, casting all her speculations about the dream from her mind, and returned with Wen Hui to the small clinic they had visited earlier. Zhuang Xiaoyuan had originally intended to use a blank card once more to create a new character, but unfortunately, she no longer had any blank cards left. They had all been occupied by that black card, so she would have to wait until next time. That opportunity should not be too far away, however, because the divine power within her had already reached its limit and could break through into the Divine Descent level at any moment.

“Well, this should be enough to sustain us for a while.” Back at the little clinic where they had rested earlier, Wen Hui set down the backpack filled with food and let out a long sigh of relief. That huge swarm of bone demon rats had certainly kept her on edge.

“Mm. For the two of us, it should last a week without any problem. If we ration it more carefully, perhaps we can make it last a week and a half. If we don’t find any more food, we’ll have to reach a city with human activity within that time.” After roughly examining the food they had brought back, Zhuang Xiaoyuan estimated how long it would last.

“A week and a half? That’s cutting it rather close. What else do we need to prepare? Or should we leave right away?” With food in hand, even though there was not a great deal of it, Wen Hui had regained quite a bit of confidence.

“Leave right away? Do you intend to walk there? Use your head, Hui. You were an outstanding graduate of the Military Bureau Academy, yet you keep leaving everything for me to decide. Do you plan to walk until the Year of the Monkey?”

Hearing Wen Hui blurt out those words without thinking, Zhuang Xiaoyuan wore an utterly speechless expression. For some reason, whenever Wen Hui was with her, the girl seemed to stop using her brain.

“Hmph. I was deliberately giving you a chance to show off. You really don’t appreciate it.” Wen Hui pouted slightly and glared at Zhuang Xiaoyuan in displeasure.

“Yes, yes, let me show off. And who exactly am I showing off for? Forget it. We should search the city and see whether there’s anything else we can use. We absolutely need some form of transportation. Of course, if we find any edible food, we should bring that back too. Most importantly, we need to determine where this city is located. We don’t even know what direction we’re in. I have no intention of picking a random path and charging straight into a nest of fiends.”

Zhuang Xiaoyuan shrugged helplessly, a serious expression showing on her face. Although she and Wen Hui were still joking and trading barbs as usual, this unknown city might well conceal any number of dangers. When the time came to be serious, they had to be serious.

“All right. Let’s set out quickly, then. We only have a week and a half. The sooner we find transportation and establish our location, the sooner we can leave. The captain and the others must be worried about us.”

Hearing Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s plan, Wen Hui became filled with enthusiasm. She was even beginning to feel a little excited about exploring this unknown city.

“Wait. Take this with you.”

Zhuang Xiaoyuan caught Wen Hui as she rose and rummaged through her backpack, pulling out a miniature communications earpiece and handing it to her.

“Be careful on the way. We’ll meet back here before sunset. All right?”

“Huh? Wh-what? We’re not going together?”

Wen Hui accepted the earpiece and stared at Zhuang Xiaoyuan in astonishment. This ruined city was clearly not as peaceful as it appeared. Bone demon rats had already emerged once, which meant that similar creatures almost certainly lurked elsewhere as well. Wen Hui was not at all comfortable with Zhuang Xiaoyuan—who had only just recovered from her fever—splitting up to search on her own.

“Wouldn’t separating be more efficient?”

Noticing the worry in Wen Hui’s eyes, Zhuang Xiaoyuan smiled faintly and continued, “Don’t worry. I’m fine now. Look, I can still use my abilities, and you know how strong they are.”

As she spoke, Zhuang Xiaoyuan took out the cards for Huang Xiaoyan and Yoshino, which had recovered their ability to function, and waved them before Wen Hui.

“Then… all right. Keep in contact at all times. Call me immediately if anything happens.”

Wen Hui raised the communications earpiece in her hand. After a moment’s hesitation, she agreed to Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s plan.

The city was not very large, and the point-to-point communications earpiece also had a dedicated positioning system. With her wind power, Wen Hui could reach Zhuang Xiaoyuan quickly if support was needed. Besides, Zhuang Xiaoyuan was not a reckless person. She should be fine.

“I think you’re the one who needs to be careful. Watch yourself on the way and don’t let your guard down.”

Zhuang Xiaoyuan smiled faintly. She was pleased by Wen Hui’s concern, but she was also a little worried about Wen Hui, who occasionally acted on impulse. Still, Wen Hui’s guardian spirit possessed first-rate mobility, and an ordinary person would have a hard time stopping her.

Their fists met once in farewell, and then Zhuang Xiaoyuan and Wen Hui departed in completely opposite directions. There was still plenty of time before sunset—enough for them to conduct a rough search of the entire ruined city. After all, it was not very large.

Following the road they had taken earlier, Zhuang Xiaoyuan gradually approached the area where the bone demon rats had appeared. At the entrance to an alley, she cautiously leaned out and peered inside. Although she knew the bone demons had detected them through their life force and that such cautious behavior was entirely unnecessary, she still made the gesture out of habit.

She had a clear view of the alley. Her beloved car had already been badly damaged, but now it looked even more miserable, as though a herd of wild beasts had trampled it. It was almost flattened against the ground. Beyond the car lay deep darkness, and at the far end of the alley, a tall wall seemed to rise into view.

When Zhuang Xiaoyuan and Wen Hui had entered earlier, they had not noticed it. They had assumed it was merely a brick wall at the end of an ordinary alley. But now, looking carefully, Zhuang Xiaoyuan realized that the wall was actually made entirely of bone demon rats.

The wall had been formed from countless densely packed rodent skeletons, and it possessed a distinctly sinister air. With no signs of life detected, the bone demon rats remained remarkably quiet, as though their eyes were closed. Even their hollow sockets lacked the dangerous red points they had displayed earlier. They looked utterly lifeless.

To be continued…

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