After Raising Monsters, I Was Loved by Everyone in the Wasteland – CH97

Chapter 97

When people mentioned City G, their first thought was always the massive zombie outbreak at the start of the apocalypse.

Over 100,000 zombies had surged through the city, leaving no chance for the residents to resist. Even the local armed forces didn’t hold out for more than two weeks.

Those who didn’t escape either joined the zombie horde or fell victim to looters and bandits. Survivors fled, leaving their fates uncertain and their futures grim.

For an entire month, City G became a playground for the undead.

Yet, unexpectedly, things took a turn. At some point—no one could say exactly when or how—the number of zombies roaming the streets began to plummet.

Officials monitoring the situation were ecstatic, barely able to contain their excitement.

Their original plan had been to use nuclear weapons to eliminate the zombie threat. After all, over 100,000 infected bodies posed an imminent risk to all living humans. Zombies naturally moved toward areas with human presence, and if they broke through containment, the devastation they would unleash on nearby cities, and possibly the entire world, would be catastrophic.

But deploying nuclear weapons wasn’t so simple.

The explosion’s energy would release an intense blast of heat and pressure, reducing everything within several kilometers to dust—buildings, plants, animals, and humans alike. The destruction wouldn’t end there. A nuclear blast would create long-term hazards: radiation and radioactive materials that could take centuries to decompose naturally.

Though the cause of the zombies’ decline remained a mystery, the discovery brought immense relief, sparking hope in what had seemed a doomed situation.

In the aftermath, officials repeatedly dispatched drones and special forces to investigate, but all efforts ended in failure.

With the zombie population dwindling daily, people felt a mix of happiness, curiosity, and a creeping fear of the unknown.

Despite City G’s apparent safety, few dared to return.

Mercenaries roamed the outskirts, scavenging for usable supplies.

It was during this period that the strange black fissures appeared on the city’s surface.

To be precise, there were two fissures—one in the western part of the city and one in the east—spanning the entire area.

Initially, they were as narrow as a baby’s arm. From above, they looked like simple cracks in the pavement.

Drones captured footage of the fissures, but people dismissed them, assuming they were caused by zombies or survivors breaking through the ground.

That changed when the fissures began to grow as if they were alive.

At first, the expansion was infrequent, occurring every few weeks or even days. However, when it happened, it was instantaneous.

Caught off guard, survivors were swallowed whole, along with nearby buildings.

The fissures consumed anything, even broken, limping zombies.

As the two fissures steadily and synchronously grew, or perhaps “matured,” they expanded from arm-length cracks to the size of storefronts, then basketball courts, residential blocks, and entire commercial streets.

In just six months, they had engulfed nearly all of City G’s central district, swallowing countless buildings and living creatures.

The phenomenon left people horrified.

When Wen Xin learned of the eerie fissures in City G, he felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding. He was certain these black cracks were the “Dragon Remains Rift” that the blue whale had mentioned.

He decided to head to City G.

Before departing, he made thorough preparations.

Base One was already organizing a team to investigate the fissures. Since San San, being only an A-rank, couldn’t completely hide its aura, Wen Xin decided it wasn’t suitable to bring it along.

He returned to City Rose and entrusted San San to Ah Jiu.

Ah Jiu was delighted to see Wen Xin again, but his smile faltered when he heard about the plan to go to City G. A faint frown crossed his face.

Wen Xin quickly silenced any objections with a single sentence:

“Xiao Hei might be in City G.”

Finding all the little ones had always been Wen Xin’s unwavering goal.

Back when Wen Xin had resolved to head south to find Ah Zi and Lan Tuan, Ah Jiu couldn’t stop him. Now, his resolve to go to City G was equally unshakable.

Taking San San into his care, Ah Jiu considered the situation seriously. “You could use your identity as a tamer for cover and take Ah Lü with you. But I recommend only bringing Ah Lü.”

Wen Xin understood Ah Jiu’s concerns. Bringing too many mutants would draw attention and risk Base One targeting him.

Lan Tuan and Ah Zi hesitated at first. They trusted Ah Lü’s combat capabilities but were wary of Base One’s potential tricks.

Ah Zi volunteered. “I’ll come too. I can stay hidden in Wen Xin’s backpack and avoid detection.”

Lan Tuan, being mild-tempered and still a cub, was also a suitable travel companion.

After some discussion, the bundles decided that this plan was the safest.

Though traveling around was exhausting, Wen Xin only rested for half a day in City Rose.

After waking, he packed up and departed with Ah Lü and Ah Zi for City G.

City G held a special place in Wen Xin’s heart—a shared home with the little ones and a reservoir of cherished memories.

Even if Xiao Hei wasn’t there, Wen Xin was determined to return with his babies one day. It was a promise he had made to them and to himself.

The journey from City Rose to City G wasn’t straightforward. Many routes were blocked by abandoned vehicles.

Frequent detours, vehicle swaps, and stretches of walking ate up precious time.

After over six months of apocalypse, survivors had adapted. Any intact car left on the road was seen as a treasure. Even without lock-picking skills, people would smash open hoods to remove engines, tires, and seats.

To them, these were invaluable resources.

Wen Xin and his group had to travel on foot for most of the journey since functional vehicles were rare now. Unlike the first half of the apocalypse, where switching cars was relatively easy, this time, their progress was slow and arduous.

By the time they reached City G, over twenty days had passed.

In those twenty days, Base One had already arrived, joining forces with the military units stationed around City G to observe the situation. They then used a combination of manpower and bounties to select a relatively safe location in the city’s outskirts, where they established a base camp.

The camp housed an observation station staffed by Base One personnel, while other spaces were allocated to mercenaries and explorers drawn by the news.

Every day, transport trucks delivered precision instruments to the observation station. Heavily armed personnel guarded the perimeter, ensuring no prying eyes could see inside.

The luxurious setup left nearby survivors marveling at Base One’s resources.

People discussed it with a mix of admiration and envy.

“Why is Base One so interested in these anomalies? Aren’t they focused on zombie vaccines and mutants?”

“Who knows? Maybe these strange phenomena are caused by mutants. Look at all the pollution zones recently—it always ends up being linked to those creatures!”

“Monsters, zombies, pollution zones—I just want to survive. Why does it have to be so hard?”

“What caused the zombies and monsters to appear in the first place? Was it man-made or a natural disaster? Doesn’t anyone have an answer?”

No one noticed the young man with a military backpack trudging toward the outskirts of the camp.

The sky was overcast, a gray veil draped across the heavens.

While the camp buzzed with activity, the surrounding woods and abandoned buildings were eerily quiet, save for the occasional armed soldier sweeping the area for hidden zombies.

Wen Xin had arrived late, but he wasn’t the only one. Given the state of transportation, many were delayed.

Latecomers were stopped by guards for routine checks.

Even though the fourth generation of the zombie vaccine had been developed, access was limited to the wealthy and powerful. Most people couldn’t afford even the risky first-generation vaccine. While they cheered for Base One’s advancements, they knew these breakthroughs would never benefit them.

For safety, thorough inspections were mandatory.

Wen Xin, along with his babies, had to avoid drawing attention. As a “notable figure,” he didn’t want to risk exposure to Base One. Surveying the area, he spotted a cluster of solitary tents on the camp’s outskirts. There were quite a few of them, mostly belonging to loners hoping to take advantage of the chaos rather than work for Base One.

Whether out of diplomacy or for appearances, Base One hadn’t expelled them.

This made the area a perfect place to blend in.

Wen Xin adjusted his face mask and moved in that direction.

But before he had taken more than a few steps, a commotion erupted behind him.

He turned to see several people in lab coats emerging from the camp gates, accompanied by assistants carrying briefcases and instruments. They were followed by a group of bewildered mercenaries.

The noise was loud, but Wen Xin’s enhanced hearing allowed him to catch every word even from a distance.

“What’s going on? Why are Base One’s people so worked up?”

“Did you see what they’re holding? It’s flashing non-stop!”

Following the murmur, Wen Xin focused on one of the people in lab coats.

The man was holding a compass-like device, its warning light at the top flashing red in the overcast atmosphere, glaring like a frantic heartbeat.

Ah Lü’s voice came from Wen Xin’s backpack: “Wen Xin, be careful. Ah Zi and I both have a bad feeling. Something big is about to happen.”

As if in response to the bundles’ warning, the area around the camp suddenly grew restless. Flocks of birds burst from the nearby forest, and several swift black shapes darted out from the abandoned buildings.

“Damn it, we’ve swept this area multiple times. How are there still zombies hiding here?”

“That’s a mutant corpse wolf—those things are vicious and deadly. Get ready!”

One of the shadows bolted straight toward Wen Xin. His hand instinctively went to his gun, but his sharper senses made him pause. Noticing something unusual, he quickly sidestepped.

The mutant corpse wolf missed its target.

Yet, instead of turning to attack again, it continued to flee, tail tucked between its legs, as if something terrifying was chasing it.

It wasn’t long before others noticed this strange behavior.

“They’re running? Is it because we have more people?”

“Are you stupid? Something nearby is scaring them off!”

Before anyone could say more, the ground began to tremble.

It was as if an enormous hand was shaking the earth like a frying pan. People stumbled, their vision blurred by the violent movement, and many crashed into walls or the ground.

Wen Xin crouched, bracing himself with one hand on the ground to stay steady. He was faring better than most—many around him had slammed their heads against hard surfaces due to their delayed reactions.

The shaking stopped after a moment, but the silence that followed was even more unnerving.

In this suffocating stillness, armed personnel from the front lines rushed back, their faces pale as they delivered a chilling report.

“The fissures—they’ve expanded again. This time, they’ve taken over most of City G. The rock layers caught between them… they’re starting to show outlines that look like skeletal remains!”