Chapter 32 Encountering Crisis
The pizza is fresh out of the oven, covered in mozzarella cheese, and bursting with the aroma of seafood and meat. This pizza is incredibly generous with its toppings, and every bite is pure bliss.
Lu An picked out a generously portioned steak and handed it to Yu Miaomiao, then popped a piece of steak into his own mouth, the milky aroma filling his mouth.
"I'll drive after we finish eating, you can rest."
"Okay, let's find a place to rest when it gets dark. We still have plenty of time, so we won't travel at night for now."
The next natural disaster should occur in at least two weeks. The actual distance from Ningcheng to the capital is only a little over 1,000 kilometers. Considering road conditions and unforeseen circumstances, it should arrive within a week at the latest.
Thump. Thump. Thump
There was a knock on the RV door, and He Liang shouted from outside, "Stop eating! Stop eating! Look outside! Hey!"
The two exchanged a glance, opened the privacy curtain, and their expressions changed upon seeing the scene outside.
Hundreds of pairs of green eyes were staring at their car; they were mutated rats.
The parking spot was outside the city, probably in a field.
We haven't seen any mutated species inside the city yet, but we didn't expect there to be so many outside the city.
The mutated species survived the last natural disaster, but due to food shortages, mutated animals or plants will actively attack humans, their own kind, and other species, basically attacking indiscriminately. Such a large-scale coordinated action is extremely rare.
At this moment, Yu Miaomiao and her group were the prey being targeted.
He Liang hid in the shadows, not daring to peek out. The mutated rat was a size larger than an ordinary cat or dog.
Their claws are incredibly sharp, allowing them to easily cut through the ice and carve out vast, intricate tunnels within it, enabling them to move freely.
Some forwards are already eager to step forward and test their skills against Unimog's metal shell.
"There are too many of them. This is not a good place to fight. Let's find a way to escape."
In her previous life, Yu Miaomiao experienced countless battles against mutated plants and animals.
Although they had rarely seen such a large number of mutated animals acting together, they had the most experience among them.
"They've already climbed onto the roof of the car, what are you going to do?"
He Liang watched from the shadows on the car roof as a huge rat crawled over his head, its sharp teeth dripping a disgusting green slime.
The rat's eyes glowed green, its body was completely hairless, and its exposed skin was bluish-purple, covered with uneven fibroids.
He wouldn't be affected at all in the shadows, but even so, he almost vomited from looking at them.
He was even somewhat panicked that his mutation might also result in such an ugly appearance.
"Hold on tight and support it well."
Following Yu Miaomiao's instructions, Lu An drove the Unimog like an arrow, crushing a swarm of mutated rats wherever it went, with green blood splattering everywhere its wheels, which were taller than a person.
But the rats were not deterred; instead, they swarmed forward like moths to a flame.
However, the entire RV is covered in metal, and the mutated rat's claws only scratched some of the coating. As the vehicle speed increased, the mutated rat clinging to the vehicle was thrown off by inertia.
Soon, except for a few mutated rats clinging to the roof, they had basically shaken off most of the mutated rats.
The mutated rats used the glacier to accelerate and catch up with Unimog. Seeing that the distance they had just opened up was being closed again, Lu An stepped on the gas pedal and kept dodging the potholes and sharp protrusions on the ice.
Several times the tires narrowly avoided being punctured by ice shards.
Yu Miaomiao took out a grenade from her spatial storage and threw it at the right moment. She threw four or five grenades in succession, and after blowing the first few rows of mutated rats into the air, she finally created a greater distance between them.
Having witnessed Yu Miaomiao wield a Tang sword and a pistol, He Liang was no longer surprised by the use of grenades.
When Lu An drove the car into a tunnel, the mutated rats seemed to stop abruptly at the tunnel entrance, ceasing their pursuit, but they still did not leave, lingering at the tunnel entrance.
"An'an, something's not right." Yu Miaomiao told Lu An to stop the car and not to go any further into the tunnel.
After the natural disaster, most of the tunnels were buried. This one was preserved because it is located in the middle of the cliff and at a higher altitude.
Since it wasn't frozen, the exit should be open.
There was some subtle movement on the roof. Several mutated rats clinging to the roof were pacing anxiously, wanting to get down but not daring to move.
He Liang looked at the mutated rat, which had just been fierce and menacing, and was puzzled as to why it had suddenly become so timid.
Yu Miaomiao: "We need to retreat the way we came."
"But there are still mutated rats blocking the way outside, so it seems they won't give up so easily."
Lu An was puzzled, but he had already put the car in reverse and was ready to back out at any time.
"There's probably something wrong with this tunnel... I suspect there are mutated plants."
"Holy crap... what the hell?"
He Liang shouted outside, and Yu Miaomiao quickly told Lu An to back up the car.
"Squeak...squeak..." All that could be heard from outside the car were the mutated rats' shrill screams.
"What makes mutant plants more terrifying than mutant animals is their relentless nature and endless regeneration. As long as there is even a trace of them, they can quickly take root, sprout, and grow into dead vines."
Yu Miaomiao saw that there were traces left by plant vines on the car window glass, as well as scratches left by the mutated rat that was dragged off the roof.
As they reversed out, the mutated rats that had been lingering at the entrance of the hole had all dispersed, probably having heard the screams of their kind and chosen to abandon their carload of prey.
"What kind of mess is this...?"
He Liang's day was full of ups and downs.
Even though you have nothing to fear in the shadows, seeing the disgusting mutated rats right in front of you, with dark purple thorny vines hooking onto them, is more thrilling than a 3D movie.
After all that commotion, it was already getting dark.
However, when they were being chased by the mutated rats, they fled in the direction of the capital, and their journey was actually faster than planned.
We've now driven to the towns and villages near the city.
After driving for a while, we arrived at an urban village and saw several houses that were higher than the ice.
"Let's spend the night here."
Lu An parked the car against the wall of a building, and only after observing that there was nothing unusual around did he open the car door and get out.
He Liang also crawled out of the shadows, his face pale.
Yu Miaomiao released the three little ones from the space and let them move freely inside the car.
It was almost time to prepare dinner, but Lu An had just gone through a fierce competition and didn't have much of an appetite.
He Liang also lost interest, feeling it was too cold outside, and retreated back into his shadow.
Yu Miaomiao couldn't miss a single meal, so she found a bucket of instant noodles and prepared them. She sat in the RV waiting for the noodles to cook while playing with the cat toy.
Lu An got out of the car and looked around. There wasn't a single house in the area; it was eerily quiet.
"Sometimes I really suspect that Yu Miaomiao has precognitive abilities."
He Liang followed Lu An on his inspection tour in the shadows.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your secrets."
Lu An ignored him, returned to the RV after finishing his inspection, and He Liang, feeling awkward, smiled and followed him back to the roof.
Curiosity killed the cat; he shouldn't have asked such a stupid question.