Inspection at the Safe Zone

Due to the sudden attack of the flying insect swarm, even the military was struggling to cope, so the clearance process was extremely fast.

They immediately drove away. Jiang Chu turned back with a complex expression; Xue Yingying was already nowhere to be found.

Several corpses lay on the ground, including a faceless body that could only be identified as Xue Kai by his clothes. Within just ten seconds, the corpse began to twist and mutate, slowly standing up.

The rescue point not only had to deploy personnel to fend off the zombies but also had to divert manpower to drive away the mutated flying insects and protect the survivors. Now, survivors dying at the hands of zombies and mutating only made their rescue mission even more difficult.

Jiang Chu withdrew her gaze and accelerated, driving out.

On the road leading to the safe zone, the military had temporarily cleared some of the zombies, so the danger level wasn't high.

She drove all the way near the safe zone.

Even though they had left the rescue point, a few flying insects still occasionally flew across the sky.

They didn't attack the zombies; they only attacked... living things.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

A skinny black dog was walking along the second-floor corridor of a commercial street. Suddenly, a black insect flew out of nowhere, and in less than ten seconds, it sucked the dog dry, leaving it to collapse to the ground like a limp sheet of skin.

Seeing this scene, the pupils of the three people in the car contracted.

Jiang Chu licked her lips and swallowed hard.

In comparison, low-level zombies that couldn't fly seemed much easier to deal with.

Seeing that she was distracted, Ji Chen wanted to switch seats with her to drive.

Jiang Chu thought about it for a moment and let him take the driver's seat while she moved to the passenger seat. This way, she could also observe and respond to sudden situations.

Those insects were still hovering in the air, searching for targets.

"With so many monsters, is the safe zone really safe?" Chen Qingqing's legs went weak, her eyes welling with tears of fear as she choked out the question.

Over the past few days, the belief that had kept her going was the government's rescue. Ever since they heard about the safe zone, her faith had shifted to it.

Subconsciously, she believed that as long as they reached the safe zone, they would be protected, she could reunite with her family, and the government would eventually develop a vaccine.

But now, seeing one mutated creature after another, humanity seemed to have almost no resistance against these insects.

And with the bizarre, abnormal weather, she was truly terrified.

"It might not be safe, but we don't have any other choice right now," Ji Chen said after a moment of silence, seemingly accepting reality.

Jiang Chu was still thinking about those pitch-black flying insects, silently wiping away her cold sweat.

This was only one type of flying insect. The terrifying part was that they would also evolve. A few years into the apocalypse, they would mutate into human-faced insects, zombie insects...

"Ji Chen is right. Aside from going to the safe zone, we have no other choice. For now, we must escape this cold wave." Jiang Chu's heart was heavy. Her ice ability wasn't very effective against flying insects.

Fire abilities could counter flying insects, but she didn't have one.

In the apocalypse, where was truly safe?

Hiding in a high-rise building was even more unreliable. If she remembered correctly, in her past life, the extreme weather was followed by earthquakes.

Without any connection or pattern, those earthquakes seemed randomly scheduled, shattering the hopes of countless survivors.

Humanity could never fight against natural disasters; they could only find ways to... survive.

Following the crowd for the first step was definitely not wrong. Jiang Chu had looked at the terrain of the safe zone. Because it was in the suburbs, the elevation was quite high, and it was surrounded by mountains, making it a good temporary stronghold.

Ji Chen drove steadily and fast. "According to the map, we're three kilometers away. Try to pack the food away first."

Jiang Chu gave him an appreciative look. She had placed several backpacks in the car yesterday, and now they came in handy.

She and Chen Qingqing quickly packed the compact food items into the backpacks, and the five backpacks were soon stuffed full. The remaining large bottles of mineral water and boxes of instant noodles were in the trunk, making them inconvenient to move.

"Just leave them there for now."

The barricades in front of the safe zone were already visible. As they entered this area, countless gun barrels were aimed straight at their off-road vehicle.

The safe zone was currently the largest rescue point in City A. The entrance had numerous surveillance cameras and a military patrol team. In addition, there were snipers on the high walls on both sides, and they were the ones aiming at the car.

"Cooperate with me," Jiang Chu whispered to Ji Chen, not forgetting to instruct Chen Qingqing, "Cry if you need to, don't hold back."

She immediately judged that this was a perfectly equipped and elite squad.

In times like this, being too calm would instead make them stand out and easily arouse suspicion.

An intelligent person must know when to show weakness and when to play innocent, creating a harmless and pure image. This not only made things more convenient but also made it hurt more when they bit back.

Chen Qingqing couldn't hold it in any longer. Hearing this, she couldn't help but sniffle with red eyes, incoherently crying about wanting to go home.

From the armored vehicle blocking the road, two men with sharp gazes jumped down. One of them tapped on the car window a few times, his tone serious and cold: "Routine check, roll down the window!"

Ji Chen carefully rolled down the window by a third and reported his name.

The young, tall military officer with sharp, deep eyes sized up the three people in the car.

The man in the driver's seat was about twenty-five or twenty-six, gentle and refined, wearing a black down jacket, looking very ordinary.

His gaze stopped on the young girl in the passenger seat.

Her small face was pale, without a drop of blood. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes were covered in a layer of mist, flushed red, and her gaze was stubborn yet carried a trace of helplessness and panic.

She pursed her lips tightly, and after a moment, she spoke weakly, "Officer, we are good people."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Jingyao laughed.

He looked at them with a half-smile. "I didn't say you were bad people. Get out of the car for a routine check. If there are no issues, we'll let you through."

The two in the front seats got out of the car, and another officer verified their identities.

Zhao Jingyao frowned at the last person who got out of the car, who was crying hysterically. "Register them."

Then, he asked Jiang Chu and Ji Chen to open the trunk so he could inspect it himself. Inside was only a small amount of fast food and water, along with a baseball bat and a knife.

Jiang Chu had never been to the safe zone in her past life; she hadn't expected there to be so many procedures.

Fearing their weapons would be confiscated, she put on a distressed, weak expression and said softly, "Officer, we use this knife for self-defense. Do we have to hand it over now too?"

Zhao Jingyao and the other officer exchanged a look before giving an answer: "No need for that, but it must be recorded."

"Fighting is not allowed in the safe zone. Once such a situation occurs, it will be severely punished. In serious cases, you will be expelled."

Zhao Jingyao warned in a deep voice. Seeing her shrink back in fear, he coldly averted his gaze.

So weak. Once she encountered a special situation, it would be very hard for her to survive.

"Ji Chen, medical master's student." The other officer, who looked friendlier, smiled at them. "With the recent riots, medical personnel in City A are in short supply. We'll have to trouble you to help treat simple wounds for the soldiers and injured citizens soon. Correspondingly, we will provide you with appropriate resource support."

"Please cooperate with the arrangements, thank you."