Cannon Fodder And The Protagonist Are A Perfect Match [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 19

At this thought, Yu Yan inevitably recalled the beautiful young man he had glimpsed earlier. Humans secrete many types of bodily fluids, such as sweat and saliva, but blood makes up the largest proportion of the human body. The young man had a wound on his forehead, and that smear of blood was the source of the seductive fragrance he had smelled. Compared to saliva, blood seemed more effective at whetting his appetite.

If this inference was correct, the young man had to be an ability user. However, if he were an ability user, it made little sense for him to be bullied by three ordinary people. Furthermore, the young man’s behavior showed no signs of possessing any special abilities. His thoughts reached a stalemate, and Yu Yan stood up listlessly.

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but the faint roar of a motorcycle had been drifting from outside the carriage for some time. Now, the sound was closing in and was right against his ear.

Yu Yan pulled the car door open, his narrow Phoenix eyes widening in shock. Just inches away, a motorcycle with its front wheel reared high was being bound along with its rider by vines as thick as a thumb. The front wheel of the stopped motorcycle was still spinning violently, and the air was thick with the pungent stench of incompletely burned engine oil.

Yu Yan stared blankly. A second later, the vines contracted with intent and flung both the vehicle and the man into the air. Following the direction where the vines retracted, he saw Cen Nan gesturing in the air with one hand while Shan Ze stood beside her, his hand on his sword hilt and his expression looking like that of a malevolent deity.

Cen Nan was a plant-type ability user capable of instantly accelerating plant growth. However, once she withdrew her power, the plants she had catalyzed would wither from exhaustion due to the excessive activation energy. Looking at the blond-haired man revealed amidst the withered vines, Yu Yan’s expression turned peculiar. This was the same thug who had been throwing his weight around just moments ago. He recalled his name was something like Xiao Jun.

“Xiao Jun?”

Hearing someone call his name, the blond man scrambled up stiffly from the ground. His voice cracked in a panicked gasp as he begged for help. He told them to save him because there were zombies everywhere. He claimed the leader and the others were all dead, leaving him as the only survivor.

Yu Yan’s brow furrowed deeper. If the man was telling the truth, the roar of the motorcycle would surely draw the zombies right to their location. As if to confirm this suspicion, a heavy thud echoed as something landed heavily nearby.

Everyone looked toward the sound in unison and saw a lean, powerful zombie perched on a roadside sign. Its claws were sharp and its thick, beast-like toes gripped the sign firmly. The steel sign buckled and deformed under its weight. It was clearly a mutated zombie.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the zombie leaped into action. Cen Nan immediately reached into her pocket, pulled out a handful of seeds, and threw them. The seeds sprouted rapidly in mid-air, growing into vines that coiled around the zombie’s body. Inside the cocoon of vines, the zombie’s roars could be heard faintly.

A glimmer of hope appeared in the blond man’s eyes, only for him to turn back in sudden pain a moment later. He looked in disbelief at the zombie currently gnawing at his neck. His eyes lost focus while still frozen in the shock of his final moments.

The air went still. There was more than one mutated zombie, and even more ordinary zombies were approaching. Shan Ze had noticed this early on. He had delayed his move because he was preoccupied by a single question. H City was near the coastal base and was frequently cleared by military forces. The local survivor organizations were too weak to produce such powerful zombies. The origin of these mutated creatures seemed to point to one specific location: the Underground Research Institute.

Possessing Shen Mian’s data, Yu Yan knew exactly what the appearance of these zombies signified. It meant the containment system of the Underground Research Institute had completely failed, and the zombies imprisoned within could escape at any time.

Zombies were still swarming in from all directions. Shan Ze shouted for everyone to get in the car and evade. Hearing this, Cen Nan withdrew her power. Deprived of their energy source, the vines withered instantly, and the trapped zombie fell from the sky, hitting the hard asphalt with a dull thud.

Almost simultaneously, a hoarse cry for help came from an alley on the other side. A man requested their assistance. Yu Yan was familiar with that alley and the owner of that voice. The man running out was the beautiful young man he had been thinking about earlier. This time, he was carrying a young girl of about eight or nine who was covering her mouth with her tiny hands. The girl was neatly dressed and huddled in the young man’s arms with teary eyes. Her obedient and cute appearance was heart-wrenching. If it were not for the apocalypse, a child like this should have grown up in a happy environment rather than being hunted by zombies to the point of not even daring to sob.

Cen Nan was moved by the sight. She looked at Shan Ze, and after he nodded, she extended a vine to snatch the pair away from the zombies. Before the zombies could finish their encirclement, the off-road vehicles roared past the creatures still feasting on the blond man’s body.

Reaching the main road did not mean they were safe. Among the three vehicles, Cui Zheng led the way alone. Cen Nan and the rescued young man were in the middle car. In the final vehicle, Shan Ze focused on driving while Tao Yingying sat in the passenger seat with a crossbow in one hand. She opened the window and the wind from the speeding car whipped her black hair. She calmly rested the crossbow against the window frame.

Through the rearview mirror, Yu Yan clearly saw many zombies behind them being ensnared by vines. One of them repeatedly dodged the lashing vines and leaped toward them along the roadside signs. An arrow hit the zombie square in the forehead, but it fell away because the crossbow lacked sufficient power. The girl shooting was undeterred. She drew another feathered arrow from the quiver at her feet and repeated the motion in one fluid sequence. If one shot did not pierce it, she would fire again and again.

The impact point of the new arrow landed unerringly where the previous arrow had hit. She attacked a single point until it broke through. Yu Yan’s eyes flashed with surprise. Although the original text mentioned that Tao Yingying was a genius sniper, reading the words was far less shocking than witnessing her skill in person.

Even more impressive was the sky full of lightning, pressing down like black clouds over a city. Seeing the oppressive flashes in the sky, Cen Nan complained into the walkie-talkie that the situation would be easier if Bai Xin were there. She noted that water conducts electricity and the Captain’s ability would be twice as effective.

Cui Zheng’s voice came through the radio, telling her not to get distracted because zombies were still chasing them. Cen Nan pouted in displeasure. The young man in the backseat, still holding the little girl, seemed to find a way to repay the favor. He asked if he could help, explaining that he was a water-type ability user.

Cen Nan’s voice was dismissive as she told him to just drench the zombies in water. In a world where water was scarce, water-type users were precious, but improving their abilities usually happened in life-or-death situations. Enhancing a non-offensive water ability was incredibly difficult. Most well-known water users were highly prized by major bases. She did not believe she had stumbled upon a high-level water user just by saving a random person.

The next moment, accompanied by purple lightning, a torrential downpour fell. The sound of the splashing rain felt like a direct response to her skepticism. Cen Nan’s mouth hung slightly open as she realized she might have truly discovered a hidden treasure.