Apocalyptic Island - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Inside the city, the crowds had reached a complete boiling point. The towering city walls were like a bronze cooking pot, and the struggling masses were like ingredients being tossed and turned inside. They surged in despair, one person trampling another; those at the very bottom were destined to suffocate first.

Countless birds appeared in the sky, like arrows diving at maximum speed, their sharp beaks stabbing into the throng of people. They tore large chunks of flesh from human bodies, forming a pincer attack with the rats on the ground. People scrambled frantically into buildings, their screams louder than ever before.

Everyone remembered the emergency message from the Federation telling them to stay indoors, but no one had taken it seriously. Human conformity is powerful—they swarm together to live, and they swarm together to die. The city had turned into a chaotic mess, everyone overwhelmed by the sudden assault of the variants. Amidst such dense crowds, weapons were essentially useless.

The world outside the city was a different scene altogether. Bai Mi had been riding since last night. Her vehicle was a mountain bike with a rear rack—equipment for off-road enthusiasts. The house Qu Su had given her was near the Long Port. Yesterday, some merchants who weren’t afraid to die were still out doing business; she used her limited Federation credits to secure this pitch-black mountain bike that shimmered with a faint silver luster. Its disadvantage was the lack of a primitive power unit—she couldn’t just twist a handle and go; she had to use her legs. Fortunately, the frame and tires were extremely sturdy—likely a high-quality item discarded by a wealthy person. The shopkeeper had even thoughtfully packed spare tires for her; she kept two on the bike and left the rest at home.

From birth until now, she had never used such a primitive, old-fashioned object that only existed for hobbyists. It took her half a day to learn how to weave steadily through the woodlands. Carrying a small bag and prepared with enough food, water, and tools, she was hung with items front and back, looking much like a merchant from the old era trekking into town to sell wares. Bai Mi’s legs moved tirelessly in a repetitive forward motion, pedaling the bike so fast that the two wheels blurred into solid discs. Data constantly flashed across her windproof goggles, analyzing every location within her sight. She only needed to follow the direction indicated by the goggles, ensuring her landing point didn’t deviate much.

Crossing through the forest, the roads were not entirely destroyed, allowing her to make rapid progress. When she finally reached the giant banyan tree, the paths here were wider and smoother than those outside, with no traces of damage at all. Inside her earpiece, Aix’s voice flickered in and out; the closer she got to the banyan, the worse her signal became. This place was a natural jammer where all electronic devices were prone to failure. Without external help, a human could easily lose their way in this dense jungle.

Wen Yishu spent the entire afternoon clearing out the aggressive squirrels around her. With a light kick, the pile of corpses on the branch fell away like iron-clad cotton, plummeting rapidly. Wen Yishu poked her head out to observe the surroundings; finding no issues, she flipped out of the window. Holding her extended short blade, she felt like a primitive human in the jungle. She tucked the blade back into her waist and carefully scaled the tree down to the ground. Countless black eyes watched her from the canopy, but not a single squirrel dared to come down; they knew this “snack” wasn’t to be trifled with. Of course, she also benefited from the banyan’s protection; otherwise, these creatures would have gnawed through the trunk and stormed in long ago.

Standing on the ground, Wen Yishu noticed the moisture in the sunlit areas had evaporated slightly. The ground had become firm. The large squirrel she had killed was still lying there, its corpse not yet vanished. With some effort, Wen Yishu cut through its hide, severed the head, and endured the nausea to search carefully inside for a crystal nucleus. She dug out a small white crystal from the mangled flesh with her blade. It was roughly the same size as the ones from the mermen, but the color was more transparent, without any cotton-like impurities. She pocketed the crystal and began hooking the corpses of the other mutated squirrels. However, those squirrels had merely grown larger; Wen Yishu checked several and found nothing.

After gagging a few times, she decided not to check the rest. It seemed crystals weren’t that easy to obtain, perhaps correlating with the size of the mutated animal. According to the data previously saved from Federation investigators, larger mutated animals had the highest probability of possessing crystals. These squirrels seemed like incomplete forms on the evolutionary path; who knew how long it would take for them to become like the first one.

Wen Yishu brushed the dust off her clothes and replenished her water at the faucet below. The sky was gradually darkening. The sky above was blue; it likely wouldn’t rain again today. she planned to eat, drink, and sleep on the tree for the night without coming down, then set out to return early tomorrow morning. Carrying a backpack full of water, she was just about to climb up when a beam of light suddenly shot from the distance. She squinted instinctively, stopped to clap her hands quickly, and hid behind the other side of the trunk. She crouched down, peeking her head out slightly to look.

As it got closer, she saw the light was coming from a bicycle. When she was a child, she had seen adults in the neighborhood go out seeking a challenge on similar bikes. She had tried such non-powered transport before, but for someone who disliked exercise, it was far too uncomfortable. Although one could glide quite a distance with a single push, she found it exhausting; she had given up after just two pedals. Thus, such vehicles were only bought by collectors nowadays. The light blurred the rider’s face, but she could see the bike was indeed old-fashioned. At a time like this, she didn’t know who would be reckless enough to run into the banyan forest; after all, if the trees woke up before they reached shelter, they could be flung away by the banyan. She didn’t want any contact with this person and moved further away, eyeing the crevices in the trunk, planning to climb up in one go; otherwise, climbing wouldn’t be as easy once it got dark.

Just as Wen Yishu’s hand gripped the trunk, she heard a faint shout from the distance: “Wen Yishu…”

Wen Yishu’s climbing paused as she froze, listening intently. She didn’t hear it clearly, but it seemed the voice was calling her name. The latter half was swallowed by the wind. She hesitated, looking up at the trunk, unsure if she should go up. In that moment of hesitation, the voice rang out again, closer this time and much clearer: “Wen Yishu, where are you?”

Wen Yishu snapped her head toward the source of the sound, stepping forward and responding excitedly: “I’m here!”

The bicycle sped toward her. Now close enough, the light seemed dim—bright from a distance, but only illuminating a small patch nearby. At the same time, she recognized the person. Wen Yishu felt a surge of excitement as Bai Mi, with leaves stuck in her hair and looking quite disheveled, stopped her bike in front of her.

“How did you get here? And you rode a bike?!”

Wen Yishu nearly lunged forward to give her a hug. She circled her, inspecting her; the rear rack carried two large bundles, and Bai Mi was so exhausted her legs looked weak. She was almost unable to support herself, so Wen Yishu immediately stepped forward to hold the wobbling bicycle. She took a bottle of water from her bag and handed it over.

“Drink some. Your lips are so dry!”

Bai Mi’s lips were terribly chapped. Taking the water, her voice was raspy, and her face was flushed from the exertion. There was no telling how long she had been riding to find her. But she didn’t drink yet; instead, she spoke: “It’s fine, just windblown. I finally found you. The communication was cut—do you know how worried I was?”

Those usually calm eyes were filled with worry. Her clothes had been torn in several places by who-knows-what; she looked a mess. Wen Yishu was thrilled beyond measure. She took the bicycle from her hands and pointed up the tree: “It’s okay. When I fell, the banyan caught me. No big issues. I’ve been up there the whole time. I’m fine.”

The person beside her stepped lightly, her voice exceptionally gentle and tinged with relief: “I’m glad you’re okay. You really scared me.”

Wen Yishu could no longer suppress the corners of her mouth from turning up. She tossed the bicycle aside: “So the last one is right here. Of course I’m fine—you’re the one in trouble.”

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