Chapter 173 — Surrounded
Before Luo Xun had even finished speaking, he suddenly felt the vehicle jolt violently. A loud crash followed as the snow all around them collapsed. From beneath the snow, long, thin black tendrils—strange and sinister-looking—burst upward, writhing and clawing their way into the air.
“T-This… Devil Vines!!”
At the sight, Luo Xun felt as though his blood had frozen solid.
The night was too dark, and the surroundings too indistinct. They had spent the entire day fleeing desperately, changing direction several times along the way in their panic. Yet somehow, against all odds, they had ended up in the territory of the Devil Vines!
Luo Xun didn’t know whether they were near the experimental field they had visited a few days ago, or whether their luck was simply so terrible that they had stumbled into another area infested with Devil Vines.
Had he been calm enough to calculate, he would have realized the reason. The last time they left this place and reached the convoy wreckage, it had taken nearly two days. But during those two days they had stopped repeatedly to rest. They couldn’t travel at night, frequently halted during the day to eat, change the baby’s diapers, and reorient themselves whenever they lost their bearings. This time, however, zombies had been pursuing them relentlessly. They had driven at full speed almost the entire way. Naturally, it had taken only a single day to return here.
But whether it made sense or not no longer mattered.
They had entered a Devil Vine field.
Devil Vines—the horrifying mutant plants that, once they wrapped around something, would never let go.
Remembering the enormous mutated beast that had been reduced to an unrecognizable corpse that day, Luo Xun and the others no longer harbored any hope of escaping unharmed. They could only gamble everything on one desperate attempt.
“Xu Mei! Use your strongest fire! Song Lingling, drain as much fluid from the nearby Devil Vines as you can!”
Then, pressing himself against Yan Fei’s back, he said in a trembling voice,
“Cover us with the metal spheres…”
Yan Fei reacted with incredible speed. The moment he sensed something was wrong, he erected a ring of metal around them to block the Devil Vines lunging from all directions.
But the vines seemed alive.
They twisted and coiled from every side, desperately trying to wrench the metal barriers apart.
Xu Mei’s flames could only slow them down. The fire created a temporary obstacle, but it couldn’t drive the vines back.
Song Lingling could drain the moisture from the attacking vines, causing them to wither instantly, but she could only handle one or two at a time.
Even beneath the sled vehicle, Devil Vines were everywhere. Countless tendrils rose from the ground, seizing the moving vehicle and trying to drag it to a halt.
Luo Xun’s heart sank.
Compared to these terrifying tentacle-like plants, the zombies behind them suddenly seemed adorable—and easy to deal with.
Were they really going to die here today?
They had left the base seeking another path, trying to escape the dangers and threats within it, only to encounter an even greater danger outside.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
After being reborn, he had gained everything he had never dared dream of in his previous life: a lover, family, friends, happiness, and a comfortable life.
And yet he was going to die several years earlier than before.
Had he been too greedy?
If he’d simply stayed inside the base and endured whatever happened there, would he have lived longer?
A tiny voice in his heart rejected the thought.
No.
Even if I could do it all over again, faced with the atmosphere in the base now, I would still choose to seek another way out rather than stay there waiting for death.
“Khrrk… khrrk…”
A faint, weak sound was mixed among the screams, the little mutant creature’s roars, the sled engine’s rumble, the creaking of snow and mutant plants, and the harsh screech of straining metal. It was nearly impossible to hear.
“Khrrk… khrrk…”
Every member of the Otaku Team was still struggling desperately to escape the terrifying vine trap.
But almost all of them had already fallen into despair.
“Khrrk… waaah—waaah!”
The baby’s cries were weak.
Especially since he was a premature infant, not yet even a month old.
Luo Xun and Yan Fei had always known what an easy child he was. Whenever he was hungry or needed changing, he would only make a few soft noises. Even when he cried, it was usually no more than a faint whimper.
This was the first time he had ever cried at the top of his lungs.
But the crying didn’t just stun Luo Xun and Yan Fei.
It didn’t just stun the little creature riding with them.
It also stunned the bizarre Devil Vines surrounding their vehicle.
Yes—stunned.
Otherwise, Luo Xun had no explanation for why the Devil Vines had suddenly gone completely still.
Motionless. Frozen in place.
Looking around in confusion, he discovered that it wasn’t only the vines around his vehicle that had stopped moving. The vines surrounding Li Tie’s vehicle had frozen as well.
“Move! Stay right behind our vehicle!”
The Devil Vines had stopped.
The zombies behind them, however, had not.
Luo Xun’s mind immediately cleared.
He had no idea what was happening, but he knew one thing: this was absolutely not the time to stand around in shock.
Otherwise, once the Devil Vines recovered, they would chase after them again—and the zombies would catch up and tear them apart.
The vehicles accelerated.
The four sleds shot forward at full speed.
All around them, more Devil Vines continued to emerge endlessly from beneath the snow. Yet whenever they came close to Luo Xun’s group, they too froze in place just like the earlier vines.
Faster. Faster! Forward!
Suddenly the vehicles jolted. It felt as though they had slid down a slope onto level ground.
Only then did Luo Xun realize, somewhat dazed, that no more Devil Vines were reaching toward them.
They seemed to have entered a relatively flat open area.
Scattered buildings stood in the middle of the clearing.
At its center was a structure approximately three stories tall.
Turning around in confusion, they discovered that beyond the clearing, Devil Vines were everywhere, their branches whipping through the air. The zombie horde had already reached the area. Following the scent trail left by Luo Xun’s group, the zombies had charged straight into the Devil Vines’ territory—only to be enthusiastically seized and entangled by the welcoming vines.
Panting heavily, Luo Xun and the others stared blankly at the Devil Vines all around them as they waved their “arms” and eagerly greeted the incoming zombie army. This was really…
“I… we should find a place to get inside first. Otherwise, if there are any flying zombies around, they could still get in here.”
Luo Xun felt as though his mind had gone completely blank, but instinct still drove him to make the most rational decision. It was nighttime. If there happened to be flying zombies capable of dropping zombie rats into the area, they would still be in serious trouble.
“Right, right!”
“Good idea.”
“Exactly…”
Almost everyone had lost the ability to think properly. After getting out of the vehicles, nearly everyone’s legs were trembling and weak. The events of the day had pushed their nerves to the limit.
Carefully surveying the surroundings, Luo Xun and the others didn’t dare enter the tallest building directly. It was three stories high, after all. And with the darkness surrounding them, who knew what might be lurking inside? Just look at the Devil Vines outside. If there were any inside the building as well…
They might have to fight for their lives all over again.
Instead, they chose a smaller, lower building. After thoroughly checking it, they finally dared to go inside. Yan Fei used metal brought in from outside to completely seal the room, and only then did everyone feel safe enough to light a fire and turn on some lamps.
The room was small, only about twenty square meters. With more than a dozen people crammed inside, it felt extremely crowded. But no matter how cramped it was, it was still far better than remaining outside.
They set up the heater and chairs, lit the fire, prepared ventilation openings, and kept watch on the situation outside. Pots and bowls were brought in, and soup was heated over the stove to keep everyone warm. Luo Xun sat on a large chair covered with soft blankets, feeding the baby and changing his diaper. Only then did the entire group finally let out a collective sigh of relief.
“My sleeve got ripped wide open just now.”
“That’s nothing. Look at my pants.”
“At least nobody got hurt. Thank goodness it’s winter and we’re all wearing thick clothes…”
Now that they had calmed down somewhat, everyone finally had the energy to think about other things. They gathered together and inspected the damage to their clothing.
He Qiankun looked gratefully at Yan Fei.
“Good thing Brother Yan’s soft armor is so reliable. Look at this! Both my sleeves got wrapped up by those things, and they still couldn’t break through to my skin!”
He rolled up his sleeves and proudly showed off the metal armor covering his arms. There were a few scratches on the surface, but it remained intact.
Only then did Luo Xun remember to check himself and Yan Fei. He vaguely recalled that while trapped among the Devil Vines, something had scraped against his waist and legs.
“The little guy’s hurt!”
Xinran suddenly cried out. Her face scrunched up as she pointed at the little creature lying beside her, busily licking itself.
A wound had been cut along the side of the little creature’s back. Bright red blood was seeping out, though fortunately the injury wasn’t deep.
“Oh no! Disinfect it, quick!”
Although Luo Xun had mentioned before that the little guy, after mutating, couldn’t be infected and turned into a zombie dog, it was still bleeding. What if it got infected by something else?
Fortunately, the little creature seemed to be in good spirits. It obediently allowed Song Lingling to clean the wound, apply medicine, and bandage it without any resistance.
“Brother Luo, back there among the Devil Vines… how exactly did we get out?” Li Tie asked after seeing that Luo Xun had finished changing the baby’s diaper.
Luo Xun paused and looked at the peacefully sleeping baby in his arms.
“I think I heard the baby crying.”
“So did I…”
“Me too.”
Zhang Su suddenly pointed at the baby.
“Could it have been his ability?”
Luo Xun looked down at the child, then over at Yan Fei beside him. With a helpless shrug, he replied,
“I’m not sure. But those vines did stop moving right after he started crying…”
The baby was far too young. There was simply no way to communicate with him.
It was just like when they first suspected the little creature had awakened an ability. They knew there was a good chance it possessed one, but there was no way to ask and confirm it.
It was an incredibly frustrating situation.
“Yeah…” Xu Mei sighed. “But what if his ability only works sometimes and not others? How are we supposed to get out of here then?”
She had raised the most pressing issue.
They were trapped in a place completely surrounded by zombies and mutant plants. Once the zombies eventually retreated, they still had no means of dealing with the Devil Vines.
When that time came…
How were they supposed to leave?
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