Just a few meters outside the tattered cloth, there were other people’s beds, and here, there were only a few shabby straw mats.
Six people sleeping here was a bit crowded, but that was all the space they had, and for the sake of the vehicle, they could only make do for a few nights.
"Fuck, that’s disgusting," Zhao Changsheng suddenly cursed.
Su Mo turned to look at her, and following her gaze to the ground at her feet, she too was startled upon seeing the creature there.
"Since when did cockroaches grow so big?"
Under Zhao Changsheng’s foot was a cockroach as big as half a palm. She lifted her foot, and the viscous fluid stretched into threads, splattering a milky white liquid all around.
"Can people even sleep in this place?" Jianxiong crouched next to her foot, sizing up the cockroach with disgust.
The cockroach’s antennas were thick and long, its thorax crushed with three pairs of black, sharp legs, and a pair of wings glowing red.
Li Qian frowned and whispered softly, "Is it mutated?"
"It must be," Jianxiong nodded. "I’ve been in the south so long, and I’ve never seen a cockroach this big."
"Su Niang can’t sleep on the ground," Li Qian said, looking at Su Niang with a frown. "If she gets bitten..."
If she had no resistance, she would mutate rapidly.
Everyone knew this, and given Su Niang’s old age, the likelihood of success was slim.
"We’ll take turns keeping watch tonight," Lu Chen said, tightening his grip on Su Mo’s hand, his voice cold.
Su Niang lowered her head in embarrassment; her age was indeed a burden for them.
"Cockroaches are social creatures, aren’t they?" Su Mo said after staring at the large cockroach for a while.
"They mostly swarm and like humid, warm environments," Li Qian nodded, walking a small circle around the area enclosed by the tattered cloth. "But my spiritual power didn’t detect anything."
If they were in swarms, he would have definitely noticed.
"Regardless, we need to stay alert tonight," Su Mo said, frowning. If it was just one, it would be manageable, but if they were swarming, she shuddered at the thought.
The few of them couldn’t stay here anymore. While it was still light, Su Mo pulled Lu Chen out to supervise those modifying the military truck, while the others walked around inspecting the vehicle factory.
The military truck, looking dilapidated, had its front completely replaced. The factory was equipped with all the necessary tools, and the five of them took turns tinkering at the front.
"What are your plans once we get to City B?" Su Mo asked Lu Chen, looking at the truck.
The man stroked her head, a dark sparkle flashing in his eyes as he whispered, "If it’s safe, we’ll settle down. Your parents are also there, aren’t they?"
Su Mo’s expression paused, the sparks from the welding of the military truck slightly dazzling her. She said sarcastically, "I don’t know, they might be dead already."
In her heart, she had long considered them gone.
She and Lu Chen chatted intermittently, though most of the time it was the man quietly listening.
As it got darker, dim yellow lights lit up inside the vehicle factory. Some people inside were distributing food, and those repairing the truck put down their work to eat.
Su Mo and the others, who hadn’t contributed to the vehicle factory, were not included in the distribution.
The rations for the next three days for Su Mo and her group were in Jianxiong’s backpack.
Not feeling reassured, Li Qian took Su Niang for a thorough walk around the repair factory. He checked every nook and cranny, using his spiritual power to explore the small holes in some corner wall crevices, but found nothing.
He shared this conclusion with Su Mo and the others, then they sat down in a large open space outside the factory, eating the food from Jianxiong’s backpack.
A few bottles of Jasmine Tea and some sausage biscuits.
"Still, sister’s fish is more delicious," Jianxiong muttered as he reminisced about yesterday’s succulent braised Crucian Carp while chewing on the biscuits as if they were wax.
Zhao Changsheng kicked him, "Be grateful you’ve got something to eat. You always want Momo to cook for you, look how fat you’ve gotten."
"Fat? Do you even know what bodybuilding is?" Jianxiong, anger tinting his broad face, flexed his biceps for everyone to see.
Su Mo couldn’t bear to look and quietly lowered her head.
Li Qian slowly munched on a biscuit, his ears twitched, and he suddenly became serious, "There are zombies coming, quite a few of them."
Before he could finish, Su Mo already heard the howling of the crowd, interspersed with some human shouts.
"There are survivors," Su Mo frowned, the Tang Blade appearing in her hand as several people stood up.
The people in the garage noticed the commotion too, Sheng Yuan led a dozen people out.
"Small horde, about a hundred or so," Li Qian estimated as he spread his spiritual power to its limit.
"Get ready," Lu Chen said coldly.
"Su Niang, go inside the garage," Su Mo turned to address the panicked Su Niang, comforting her, "We won’t be in trouble, you hurry in."
Understanding that she shouldn’t trouble the younger generation at this moment, Su Niang broke into a trot and went inside.
The roller doors of the garage were pulled down, and everyone standing outside was a superpower user. Sheng Yuan lazily approached Lu Chen and commented, "These people really know how to stir up trouble."
The man coldly glanced at him and remained silent.
Even the incessant rain of bullets had its pauses, a group dressed in special suits constantly fired backward trying to stall the zombies’ advance.
The speed of Level 2 Evolution Species is incredibly fast; they sprint forward with astonishing jumping power, like perpetual motion machines. They never stop unless their heads are taken off.
"Damn! Li Chuan, I’m out of bullets!" yelled a man as he threw his gun to the ground and sprinted forward at full speed.
"There’s a repair garage ahead, charge there," the man paused his running as a one-meter high wall of flame erupted from his palm, temporarily blocking some of the zombie horde’s assault.
Heeding his advice, the man exerted all his energy to rush towards the repair garage.
"Looks like, we have to help," Li Qian noted in his psychic network, a small dot rapidly approaching them.
Su Mo took a sip of Longjing Tea from her System Bag, the prompt for the Skill ’Light as a Feather’ boosting her spirits as she excitedly grabbed her blade to head out, but was pulled back by Lu Chen as he cautioned, "Be careful."
She winked at him, her lips curving into a smile, "I know."
Sheng Yuan was carefully observing the interaction between the two, his slender eyes lingering on Su Mo.
"Help, please!" The man with a buzz cut clung to the iron door, his clothes unrecognizable from their original color, his expression carried a plea with several Level 2 Evolution Species swiftly approaching behind him.
Su Mo glanced at Lu Chen, the man coldly said, "Let’s go."
With Sheng Yuan’s permission, the iron door was opened. Su Mo, blade in hand, rushed out, followed closely by Zhao Changsheng with his Thunder Whip taking form, and Li Qian providing support from behind Jianxiong.
"Looks like, our people don’t need to lift a finger," Sheng Yuan crossed his arms, reassessing the group’s combat capabilities.
"Brother Sheng, are we just going to stand here and watch?" a man behind him asked curiously.
"Dual Ability users, what’s the excitement for us?" he withdrew his lazy demeanor, his gaze intently fixed on Su Mo.