Chapter 35: is out

Chu Che glanced at the watch on his wrist, then lifted his eyes to look toward the village entrance, his face still maintaining a calm and composed expression.

When his gaze turned toward the village entrance, it remained equally untroubled and serene, showing no urgency at all.

When he made eye contact with the other survivors, Chu Che's eyes were exceptionally tranquil.

Seeing Chu Che's calmness made the other survivors feel somewhat reassured.

But deep within Chu Che's eyes, there was a faint trace of anxiety hidden.

Up to this point, whether it was Chen Ye, Nana and Iron Lion, or any other survivors, not a single person had escaped from Longevity Village.

So many survivors had entered the village earlier.

But now, there seemed to be no movement at all.

It had already been 21 minutes past the agreed time.

If things had gone according to plan, the convoy should have already been on the road leaving by now.

After becoming a Sequence Superpower of the Pathfinder Sequence, Chu Che constantly sensed danger at all times.

As ordinary survivors in the convoy, they might wonder - if even a major metropolitan city like Shanghai had fallen, why had their time with the convoy seemed so safe and peaceful?

Sometimes they even wondered if the apocalypse was just a deceptive rumor.

Except for those times when the convoy would randomly choose paths erratically.

Like in the morning suddenly moving forward seven or eight kilometers, then in the afternoon backtracking seven or eight kilometers back to the starting point.

They'd clearly decided to head east in the morning, but when it was time to depart, they'd head south instead.

Though they didn't quite understand the convoy leader's erratic behavior,

during their time with the convoy, aside from material shortages, they hadn't encountered any danger.

After living comfortable days in the convoy for so long, sometimes they doubted whether the Anomaly apocalypse even existed.

But in Chu Che's eyes, life in the convoy was far from safe.

They were actually on the brink of danger every single moment.

From the day he became a Pathfinder Sequence, Chu Che could very sensitively detect the aura of Anomalies.

In his perception, the convoy was constantly in danger.

The seemingly safe path ahead.

In Chu Che's perception, there was actually great terror ahead.

The seemingly peaceful route they'd taken.

In Chu Che's perception, there were several Anomaly auras following the convoy's residual traces, tracking them.

Anomalies would hunt humans based on the traces left behind by human presence and kill them.

This was why the convoy had to keep moving constantly, continuously changing their position to prevent Anomalies from locking onto their specific location.

The purpose of the Pathfinder's existence was to find a safe route for the convoy in this apocalypse filled with countless Anomalies, ensuring the safety of the convoy members.

The reason Chu Che had set the assembly time at four o'clock

was because through his perception, staying at Longevity Village until before four o'clock was safe.

But once it passed four o'clock, there was a high chance that unknown Anomalies could catch up to the convoy at any time.

In Chu Che's perception,

about ten kilometers to the southwest, there was an Anomaly with a terrifying aura approaching.

This Anomaly seemed to have detected the convoy's aura and was accelerating toward them.

It had been the same last time at Xinghua Town.

Back then, Chu Che had also sensed several terrifying Anomaly auras approaching, which was why he led the convoy in a frantic rush.

This situation was remarkably similar to what happened last time at Xinghua Town.

Chu Che glanced at the watch on his wrist again.

I'll give you eight more minutes.

Four-thirty!

If you're not out by four-thirty!

I can't wait for you any longer!

Otherwise the entire convoy will die!

The deeply hidden worry in Chu Che's eyes grew a little stronger.

"A-Che!"

Old Bao's voice sounded beside him.

Chu Che looked at Old Bao and could see the anxiety and concern in Old Bao's eyes.

Chu Che smiled calmly: "No hurry, Old Bao, let's wait a few more minutes. We'll leave at four-thirty!"

Old Bao didn't say anything, turning around to prepare for departure.

Hearing they would be leaving soon, waves of commotion arose within the convoy.

"They haven't come out yet, where are we going?"

"No, my husband hasn't returned, I'm not leaving!"

"Grandma... Waa waa..."

"Big brother, my big brother is still inside, how can we leave?"

At this moment, they were less than a hundred meters from the village entrance. At Iron Lion's current speed, he would probably burst out of the village in just a few seconds.

Chen Ye was gripping the backpack straps tightly, his eyes both anxious and calm.

Right now, the village was surrounded by ghostly shadows from all directions.

Chen Ye couldn't tell whether these ghostly shadows were Corpse Puppets or other Anomalies.

Whispers like snake tongues came from beside his ears.

"Don't leave me! Don't!"

"Hehe... Won't you stay and play with me?"

"Wuwu... Are you really leaving?"

"I'm so cold, the village is so cold, won't you stay?"

Countless voices sounded in Chen Ye's ears.

Among these voices were elderly people, women, young children, and youths.

Some voices even sounded quite familiar.

Like members of the convoy.

Some voices sounded completely unfamiliar.

Chen Ye's mind grew dazed and confused.

A young man who was about to rush out of the village stopped in his tracks, his eyes confused as he turned and walked toward the nearby darkness, disappearing without a trace.

"Whoosh!"

Chen Ye raised his hand and shot an arrow toward a dark shadow in the darkness.

"Ah~~~"

A shrill scream rang out, giving Chen Ye's ears a brief one-second respite and restoring a bit of his rationality.

The long-legged girl's eyes turned cold, her long sword slashing toward the darkness.

A sword qi sliced through the air and attacked the darkness.

"Ah~~~~"

Another scream came!

After releasing this sword qi, the long-legged girl swayed, nearly falling off Big Fool's back.

By now, the girl's small face had turned as pale as paper, looking as white as a corpse that had been dead for three days.

Even her once rosy lips had turned ashen gray.

"Big Fool, don't stop, hurry!"

Chen Ye quickly reminded.

"Damn it!"

"Hold on tight!"

Iron Lion's three-meter-tall body erupted with hazy red mist, his entire aura undergoing a dramatic transformation.

In Chen Ye's perception at this moment, Iron Lion felt like a prehistoric mammoth.

Chen Ye wrapped his arm around the backpack strap, using his other hand and foot to cock the crossbow.

The one-handed cocking technique was something Chen Ye had practiced frequently in normal times, and now it came in handy.

A bolt arrow soaked in black dog blood was already loaded.

Just as Chen Ye finished cocking the crossbow, he vaguely sensed a figure appearing beside him.

This figure moved with incredible speed, like an old mountain ape.

The Hunchbacked Old Puppet?

Chen Ye's heart jumped in alarm!

Why did this Hunchbacked Old Puppet suddenly appear now!?

Chen Ye looked at the Hunchbacked Old Puppet, and saw that it was also looking at him, its mouth stretching into an exaggerated curve as if smiling at him.

But the human head on the Hunchbacked Old Puppet's back was staring at him with intense malice, a faint voice coming through:

"Why didn't you save me? Why didn't you save me?"

"Dead, you're all... going to die! All going to die!"

"I will be the next you! I am you..."

Chen Ye raised his hand and shot an arrow!

The Hunchbacked Old Puppet didn't dodge or avoid, allowing the bolt arrow to pierce its eye socket.

Previously, the Hunchbacked Old Puppet had shown caution after being hit by Chen Ye's bolt arrows.

But now, Chen Ye's arrow seemed to have hit somewhere else.

The Hunchbacked Old Puppet continued running with the arrow still stuck in its eye socket, showing absolutely no reaction, its form still as swift as a monkey.

A chill ran through Chen Ye's heart!

A feeling of impending doom assaulted him!

But just at that moment, Chen Ye felt a wave of warmth throughout his body.

The dimness before his eyes suddenly became bright.

A slightly yellowish light showered down before him!

Warm and bright.

He... was out!

Chen Ye looked again toward the Hunchbacked Old Puppet.

He saw that the Hunchbacked Old Puppet was now standing in the shadows at the village edge, still grinning eerily at him, the bolt arrow still embedded in its eye socket.