Chapter 34: The Pursuers

The heavy truck drove along the silent highway, its engine roaring.

This place was nestled among towering mountains, with a second-class road cutting through. There were patches of farmland on either side, and villages appeared occasionally. These villages all shared a common trait: they were lifeless, stripped of the bustling noise they once held. Several sections of the road were treacherous, frequently climbing steep mountain ridges.

An Xiaowei, who was not accustomed to driving heavy trucks, was exhausted and drenched in sweet sweat. She dared not distract herself for a moment while driving.

The whole journey, she had not seen a single human shadow. It was as if everyone on the heavy truck had been abandoned by the world. There were no people in sight, no human voices, and not even the sounds of Fierce Beasts. The heavy truck drove along the highway all alone. If it were not for the abandoned cars appearing from time to time, Zhou Liming would have even felt like he was in another dimension.

Unfamiliar with the area, An Xiaowei could not tell where the various roads connected to the second-class road led.

Following their previous agreement, the farther they were from the coastal areas, the better. Given the geographical location of City B, they had to keep going west, and then further west. Only in this way could they get far away from the coastal regions. The only headache was not knowing the location of the Central Defense Line, which made it difficult to find a shelter city.

Zhou Liming kept flipping through the map on the truck. After confirming for a long time, he finally pinpointed their exact current location.

“There will be a steep section ahead. This second-class road connects Yuyao City and Fenghua City.” Zhou Liming paused, then continued, “Fenghua City is under the jurisdiction of City B. If we keep going straight, it feels a bit like walking right into our own trap. Do you see here? There is a road leading west. From here to here, and then to here, you can reach the Shangsan Expressway.”

City A was too close to the sea. Zhou Liming did not plan to go there. If there were no accidents, after reaching the Shangsan Expressway, they would head south…

With the map, An Xiaowei was no longer afraid of losing her way. After leaving the second-class road, these county-level roads were not very wide. However, with only this lonely heavy truck driving, it felt almost like driving on a highway. The villages on both sides of the county-level roads became denser. In the villages in this area, a few people who refused to leave could be spotted.

Gradually, there were more vehicles on the road. These people fleeing now were all those who regretted their earlier inaction.

After passing Xiaguan Town, the traffic on the road finally picked up, but everyone drove forward in silence.

It was like a scene of human evacuation during the apocalypse, and indeed, it was.

Watching the people walking outside the car, they had likely never seen a Fierce Beast. They had only evacuated following orders from the Central Government. Many of them cursed as they walked, questioning the news of the Fierce Beasts. They were asked to abandon their homes and all their endeavors to evacuate to an unknown city. Zhou Liming also saw many people in villages and Small Towns who had not evacuated. Clearly, they did not believe a Fierce Beast would come, or they were reluctant to leave their homes and give up everything here.

Zhou Liming shook his head slightly. Those who stayed behind would pay with their lives once they confirmed that the Fierce Beasts were real.

“Xiaowei, do you feel something is wrong here?”

On the county-level road, especially when surrounded by mountains on both sides, there was some congestion. The only thing to be glad about was that vehicles and pedestrians were all moving in the same direction, preventing a massive traffic jam. It was hard to believe how terrible the traffic would be during the evacuation of cities like City A and Shanghai.

An Xiaowei, focusing on driving, did not quite understand. She looked around and said, “Everything seems normal. What’s wrong?”

Zhou Liming shook his head and said, “I just have a feeling that the Fierce Beasts are getting closer. You might not be able to understand it, but I really feel like I can sense them. It is a… a very strange feeling… How should I put it? It’s like a connection between twins.” Zhou Liming tried to explain, but he realized he could not describe what kind of feeling it actually was.

An Xiaowei truly could not understand. “Could you be overthinking it? How could they appear here so quickly?”

Zhou Liming also smiled bitterly, wondering if he was indeed overthinking it.

Under the sunset glow, a huge shadow appeared on the mountains on both sides of the road. Then two, then three…

“Huuu!”

A long, haunting howl suddenly rang out, echoing in the mountains.

“Huuu… Huuuuu…”

A series of howls followed, as if thousands of Fierce Beasts were roaring.

Zhou Liming’s pupils contracted sharply. Reflected in his eyes were dozens of purple-blue light orbs shooting out from the mountain ridges.

“No!!” Zhou Liming screamed, watching helplessly as these dozens of light orbs merged into the road. Then, a series of explosions rang out. The hit cars were thrown into the air, instantly shattered into countless pieces, and scattered around amidst the burning blue flames. The people inside the cars were engulfed by the flames amidst their shrieks!

The people walking on both sides of the hit cars were not spared by the huge impact. The blue flames rolling over them like waves turned them into human torches.

The entire highway seemed to have been plowed. More than ten cars were burning on the road. People swallowed by the fire waves struggled for only a few moments before collapsing and stopping all movement. The highway was in total chaos. People attacked without warning ran around in panic. Cars collided with each other, and the road was blocked in moments.

Accompanying the appearance of these large Fierce Beasts were massive numbers of Multi-legged Insect Beasts. They moved like a swarm of cockroaches, making a “shasha” sound as they pounced onto the highway.

Panicked and terrified, An Xiaowei gripped the steering wheel with a pale face. The heavy truck crashed heavily into the back of a Honda CR-V whose driver had already fled. The huge impact, combined with the fact that the CR-V lacked a rear anti-collision beam, caused the heavy truck to plow right through it, crushing the entire rear cargo box into a twisted mass of scrap metal.

“Ahhh!”

An Xiaowei let out a scream, staring down at the Honda CR-V, utterly bewildered.

Chaos filled the view. Stopped cars and the wreckage of destroyed, burning vehicles completely blocked the road.

“Damn it!”

Zhou Liming clenched his fists, cursed, and violently opened the door to jump out.

If it were just himself, it would have been fine. But he was responsible for the safety of the Dean and his younger brothers and sisters. He absolutely could not stay behind. If the Fierce Beasts approached, he would not be able to protect them. More importantly, how would they view him if he revealed his Fierce Beast form? How could they ever accept him?

“Absolutely, absolutely not. I will not lose the loved ones by my side. Never…”

Zhou Liming walked up to the Honda CR-V crushed by the heavy truck. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then bent down, reaching his hands under the car.

An Xiaowei panicked: “What are you doing?”

Veins bulged on his arms, and faint scales appeared on his skin, giving him a dark, greenish-blue hue.

“Ahh… Aaaaah…”

Zhou Liming roared like a raging beast. He forcibly flipped the 1,500-kilogram Honda CR-V. To An Xiaowei’s stunned amazement, he pushed the overturned car off the highway. You cannot imagine how shocking this sight was, how hard it was to believe, and yet how incredible it was.

After pushing the CR-V away, there were still vehicles blocking the way. Zhou Liming clenched his fists tightly, roared continuously, and charged forward with large strides…

Zhou Liming flipped car after car. The crazy scene even made many people forget to run, watching Zhou Liming in a daze.