The Abused Heroine Stops Pretending [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 78.2

The closer they got to City A, the more tense they became.

It was too quiet. Even in broad daylight, the streets shouldn’t have been this silent. There wasn’t a single corpse or zombie in sight something was terribly wrong.

If not for the wrecked cars, shattered storefront windows, and broken security shutters lining the streets, they might have thought they’d returned to the pre-apocalyptic world.

“Slow down,” Su Zhen said over the walkie-talkie.

This eerie silence made them feel as if danger lurked in the shadows.

Xu Yushu, sitting in the passenger seat, seemed to sense something and let out a low, uneasy growl.

“Senior, did you notice something?” Tang Jing asked while driving, carefully observing her.

Normally, when Xu Yushu detected danger, she would growl in warning toward a specific direction. But now, her expression was one of confusion, she could sense the threat but couldn’t pinpoint its source.

Tang Jing immediately ordered, “Stop the cars.”

The two vehicles halted in the middle of the empty road. The sun blazed overhead, baking the pavement, yet an inexplicable chill ran down their spines despite the apparent emptiness around them.

Zhou Tiantian, terrified, clung to the back of the driver’s seat, wishing she could squeeze into the front. Sitting alone in the back felt far too dangerous. “Ajing, did you guys find something?” she asked nervously.

Tang Jing shook her head, not because the question was difficult to answer, but because they hadn’t actually discovered anything. However, perhaps due to absorbing that crystal core, her perception had sharpened slightly, and her ability to sense danger had also heightened.

In the car, the little zombie baby with Su Zhen and the others was wailing uncontrollably, and no amount of soothing from Su Zhen could calm it down.

He took out a tablet, opened the satellite map, and scanned the surrounding area.

Spotting a particular location, he picked up the walkie-talkie and said to Tang Jing, “Let’s head straight ahead, then turn right. There’s a large supermarket there.”

“Got it.”

Their purpose in coming to City A was to gather supplies. Turning back now would be a huge loss.

They still didn’t know what was lurking in the shadows, but at worst, it might be something similar to the ape-like zombie they encountered yesterday.

They had already dealt with it once. If they faced it again, they could handle it even better than before.

The car drove smoothly along the road, the only sound being the hum of the engine, making the entire city feel eerily empty. That hollow sensation was deeply unsettling.

When they reached the supermarket, everything still seemed safe. They sat quietly for a few minutes, confirming there was no immediate danger before stepping out.

Guns in hand, they entered the supermarket without making a sound.

The supermarket was in complete disarray, clearly looted when the apocalypse struck.

It was uncertain whether any of the supplies they needed were still left.

Moving floor by floor, they arrived at the food section, only to find the shelves completely empty.

Without lingering, they continued searching the surrounding areas.

If they couldn’t find any supplies here, this trip would have been for nothing.

As they searched, Xu Yushu and the little zombie baby remained unusually agitated far more so than when they encountered the ape-like zombie yesterday.

“Something’s wrong!” Su Zhen immediately reacted, adjusting his glasses as he said, “We need to leave. Now.”

“But shouldn’t we keep looking for supplies?” Zhou Tiantian asked reluctantly, unwilling to leave empty-handed.

Tang Jing quickly realized the severity of the situation. Yesterday, when they faced that zombie, both her senior and the little zombie were at the low-to-mid level. But now, one was mid-level, and the other was mid-to-high level. If their reaction was even stronger than before, whatever was hiding in this city had to be far more terrifying than that zombie.

“Let’s go. No more searching,” Tang Jing said decisively.

But it was already too late. A dark shadow flashed past the window, and before they could react, it shattered through the glass with terrifying speed, lunging straight at Zhou Tiantian, who had her back to the window.

[System: Warning! Warning! Protect the female lead, Zhou Tiantian, at all costs. If the female lead dies, this world will collapse.]

The system’s message lasted only an instant. Tang Jing rushed forward, shoving Zhou Tiantian out of the way but she couldn’t avoid the attack herself. The black shadow pierced straight through her shoulder.

“Ah-Jing!” Zhou Tiantian screamed in horror.

Even Su Zhen hadn’t expected her to act so selflessly.

Seeing Tang Jing injured, Xu Yushu flew into a rage. Despite knowing the enemy was far stronger, she charged forward without hesitation.

The little zombie baby followed suit.

Su Zhen quickly pulled Tang Jing behind a row of shelves, urgently asking, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Tang Jing replied, pressing a hand to her bleeding shoulder. She winced in pain, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

Su Zhen was a bit puzzled, but now wasn’t the time to ask questions. The most important thing was to deal with the monster outside first.

Ye Yuanhua took out a sniper rifle, examined it carefully, and said, “It looks like some kind of vine.”

“A vine?” Su Zhen and Tang Jing exchanged glances.

Yesterday it was animals, and today they were encountering plants?

If the virus had already begun infecting both animals and plants, then what about the land next.

Such thoughts were almost too terrifying to entertain.

“Hah!” Xu Yushu was flung backward by the vine, crashing through several rows of shelves.

Tang Jing, worried, immediately moved to rush over.

Su Zhen stopped her. “You can’t go over now. That wound of yours will easily attract zombies.”

Blood was seeping from her shoulder, the faint metallic scent lingering in the air, enough to draw the undead.

“Let’s go, find a place to hide first.”

“No.” Tang Jing refused to leave, unwilling to abandon her senior. Spotting Zhou Tiantian, who was clearly shaken nearby, she said to Su Zhen, “Protect Zhou Tiantian.”

Su Zhen hadn’t expected her to still prioritize protecting that girl at a time like this. For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether she truly liked her senior or her junior more.

But some things weren’t appropriate to ask, so he simply nodded.

Tang Jing quickly retrieved antiseptic and bandages from the medical kit she carried, swiftly treating her wound. But when it came to wrapping it, she hesitated.

“Ajing, let me help you.” Zhou Tiantian finally snapped out of her daze. Seeing the injury Tang Jing had sustained saving her, tears began rolling down her cheeks.

“Thanks.” Tang Jing handed her the bandage, it was hard to wrap with just one hand.

Not wanting to waste time, Tang Jing urged Zhou Tiantian to hurry. The latter’s hands trembled as she clumsily tied the bandage, leaving it loose and uneven.

Tang Jing wasn’t expecting perfection. Once she confirmed the bleeding had stopped, she stuffed the bloodstained clothes into a sealed bag, tossed it into a corner, then grabbed her gun and headed to the window.

Xu Yushu and the little zombie baby had already drawn the monster out to the open space outside the supermarket, the parking lot.

From here, they could see the vine-like appendage had emerged from underground.

Su Zhen walked over as well, watching intently.

Ye Yuanhua said, “This doesn’t seem like a vine. More like tree roots.”

The three of them turned to him.

“I’ve seen something like this in the Amazon rainforest. Some trees have extensive root systems that sprawl underground, stretching for miles.”

The news sank like a stone in their hearts. If that were the case, then the root they were seeing now was just one of many beneath their feet, countless others lay hidden.

Even now, just this single root was enough to keep Xu Yushu and the little zombie baby occupied. If two more appeared.

No sooner had the thought crossed their minds than the ground split open, and two more roots burst forth.

“Let’s go. We need to help.”

Leaving it to their senior and the little zombie baby to handle alone was impossible. They had to think of another way.

“Use fire,” Zhou Tiantian suddenly suggested.

The idea struck like lightning. Tang Jing and the others quickly searched for gasoline and flammable materials.

As the flames drew near, the previously aggressive roots recoiled slightly. They knew then that this method would work.

With the fire’s help, the roots swiftly retreated underground with a ‘whoosh.’

But this was only temporary. These roots would surely return. The eerie silence of this city? It had likely already been claimed by this monstrous tree.

“If we want to leave this place, we’ll have to destroy this tree first.”

The moment they entered this city, they had already become prey for the tree monster. Escaping wouldn’t be easy especially with countless roots lurking underground as its eyes and ears, monitoring their every move.

But at least now that they knew what danger lurked in the shadows, everyone could breathe a little easier.

A visible crisis is always better than an unknown one.

At the very least, once they knew the source of the danger, they could devise a strategy to deal with it.

Support