Chapter 173: Departure (2/2)

No one appreciated her friendly reminder as they were all famished. The kids quickly munched on the jerkies once they got their hands on them then swallowed the meat whole when they realized they could not chew them. They almost choked themselves.

“Okay, let’s go!” Luo Yuan said and looked at the time. He then whistled.

The giant lizard appeared in front of everyone in an instant, scaring the children for a moment. The tallest, Deng Wei, almost lost his footing while the smallest girl was almost in tears again but kept it in, gripping onto Chong Chuqiang who was next to her.

Huang Jiahui noticed their reaction and went over to comfort them, “Don’t be scared. This lizard is our pet.”

“It…it won’t eat people?” Deng Wei asked in stutters.

“Hmph, the giant lizard is very friendly. It never eats people. We’ll be riding on its back later.” Wang Shishi boasted when she saw them scared.

“Its…its back?” Deng Wei asked, while noticeably about to cry. He continued, “Can I not ride on it?”

“Of course not. Unless you can run faster than the lizard.” Wang Shishi pouted. These children were timid. They had been living in the dark supermarket all along and probably had never seen even the lowest level of mutated beasts, so it only made sense that they felt as if they were in hell when they faced such a situation. However, this was not the end. They went through the terror again when Chen Xianfeng came back. After some time, the children finally recovered a little from the trauma when they were dragged onto the lizard’s back by Huo Dong. This scene would probably be etched in their minds until the day they die.

The team finally departed. It was a little crowded on the lizard’s back with more than 20 people on it. One could easily slip off if not careful. Because Lao Huang was still rather weak, Luo Yuan made the lizard walk at a slow pace.

Not an hour later, rain started trickling down on them. The group had been prepared for it, so they moved forward without stopping. The further they got from Jiaping City, the harder the roads were to walk on as most of the roads already became part of the forest.

The trek only got better when they got to the highway near noon. Amidst the journey, another wave of escaping flying creatures flew by, stirring fear in their hearts but also instilled a sense of urgency in everyone. They could no longer think about lunch with the hurry they were in, but they were forced to stop less than an hour later.

The in front of them was broken. The highway had crumbled and the damage was several hundred meters long. Nothing could be seen beyond that due to the limited vision they had from the effects of the rain. However, everyone expected that it would probably be worse if not the same.

Luo Yuan analyzed the situation and then instructed his team, “Let’s rest at the fortification in front. We leave after eating.”

The rain did not stop and by the looks of it, it would only get heavier. Water had already seeped into the fortification and the wooden beds were all damp. After some searching, Huo Dong found a decayed wooden mop handle to start a fire.

Luo Yuan went out and came back with two low-level beasts. The women prepared them for cooking and threw them into the pot. The fire danced from the strong wind as the three children leaned as closely as possible to the fire but that could not stop them quivering from the cold. Being polite, they made no noise.

Huang Jiahui stroked their heads and realized they were feverish. Their bodies were weaker than ordinary people due to malnutrition and it would be a surprise if they did not fall ill from being under the rain.

Huang Jiahui signaled something to Luo Yuan and he nodded.

She then took a food cube out from her bag and cut one-fifth of it into the pot after some thought. Not a moment later, the strong aroma permeated the air again as the soldiers were once again attracted to the cooking pot. Zhou Yicheng and his battalion knew something was weird about the food cube but they did not bring it up.

Luo Yuan checked the map and sighed again. There was no better route than the one they were on. Other routes like the state highway was probably a forest covered with mutated plants by now. After lunch, the three children looked much better with their fever subsiding. In fact, they looked rather high-spirited, probably from the food cube.

Luo Yuan decided that they should depart at once seeing that everyone had recovered.

Soon, the collapsed area was 6 – 7 meters away from them with dense bushes under it. From above, pieces of cement and rusty steel fixtures could still be seen. These were signs that the collapse happened recently and it certainly wasn’t good news.

It meant that if the fall were not of natural causes, the real cause would not be far from them. He looked downwards and jumped after a short hesitation. He had been prepared for danger when they departed and there was no choice now anyway. It was simple; if they did not advance, they die.