Big G, Coffee Machine and Goblin

Chapter 7 gives you a CD from the past.
The swarm of goblins, like headless flies, was quickly left behind and disappeared.

But Ma Li had even more questions in his mind.

He thought that escaping the red mist would allow him to return to the normal world, but now the outside world is even more incomprehensible to him.

First, they ran into goblins, and when they finally met a human, they couldn't communicate with him because of the language barrier.

Ma Li carefully observed the girl beside him through the rearview mirror inside the car.

The outfit she was wearing looked genuine; besides the leather armor, short-handled sword, and short bow, there were also riveted metal shoulder guards and a pair of hard leather arm guards covered with slash marks, which looked rather shocking. She also had an empty sheepskin quiver tied around her waist.

In addition, her overall hygiene was not very good. It was unclear how many days she hadn't showered. Her chestnut-colored short hair was matted and stuck to her cheeks. Her face and body were also dirty, and her linen shirt was covered with mud and bloodstains.

However, the blood probably wasn't hers, because after a brief moment of shock, she seemed to be in good spirits and was curiously looking around.

But what Ma Li cared about most was her ears.

When the two first met, the situation was rather chaotic, and Ma Li did not notice the girl's pointed ears hidden behind her curly hair.

Those are clearly not human ears.

A name instantly popped into his mind—the elf!
Okay, with those goblins as a prelude, Mali isn't so surprised anymore.

If goblins can appear in Henan, why can't elves?
If we had to say who has a rather strange style, it would be him, who is currently driving a G300p.

"Oh, that's the handbrake, don't touch it!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Ma Li caught sight of the chestnut-haired girl intently examining the handbrake, seemingly wanting to try and pull it. He quickly reached out to stop her.

Seeing this, the chestnut-haired girl withdrew her hand, but after a short while, she became interested in the row of buttons on her left.

Worried that she might touch things indiscriminately again, Ma Li simply turned on the car stereo, which contained CDs of nostalgic 90s hits that he had casually picked up from the auto repair shop.

As soon as the prelude to "Twilight" began, it indeed attracted the attention of the chestnut-haired girl.

A look of surprise flashed in her eyes again, and then she began to search for the source of the sound.

Seeing that she had something to do, Ma Li breathed a sigh of relief and refocused his attention on driving.

As the off-road vehicle climbed the steep slope with an angle of nearly 70 degrees, the view finally opened up, and the mountains were no longer obstructing the way.

Instead, a dense forest has sprung up.

Ma Li glanced at his phone and found that there was still no carrier signal here.

He found a relatively flat spot to park the car and pulled out the map book again from under the seat.

Referring to the mileage on the dashboard, I used a red ballpoint pen to continue drawing the previous red line, eventually stopping at a place called Xinzhuang Village.

According to the markings on the map, they should have arrived in Huiji District of Zhengzhou by now, very close to the North Fourth Ring Road.

However, when Ma Li looked around, he could not see any roads or city buildings.

This place is just like the primeval forest of Xishuangbanna, full of wild and untamed atmosphere.

Ma Li stared blankly at the sea of ​​trees before him, honestly not knowing where to go next.

Should we head north to the capital and try our luck? Or should we head south to the coast to search for survivors, or really drive west all the way to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau? After all, many post-apocalyptic novels portray it as humanity's last sanctuary, with secret government bases or something similar hidden there.

Just as he was struggling with his decision, a head popped up. The chestnut-haired girl was also looking down at the map. Ma Li had an idea and shoved the atlas into her hands.

However, the latter picked it up, turned it around in front of his eyes a few times, and then handed it back to Ma Li, before pointing to the windshield.

Ma Li put away the atlas with some disappointment and looked up in the direction she was pointing.

Visibility is limited at night. Even with the ARB headlights, you can only see about a kilometer away. Moreover, the dense forest further reduces this distance, so Ma Li couldn't see anything.

However, he guessed that the chestnut-haired girl's home was probably over there.

He wouldn't mind giving the other person a ride, since he didn't know where else to go anyway.

Moreover, there should be other people, uh, or elves, where the chestnut-haired girl lives. Maybe he can find someone he can communicate with.

For Mali right now, the most important thing is to figure out what happened in the world outside the red fog and where the remaining survivors went.

After a short rest, the two set off again.

The forest was not quiet at night.

Insects are undoubtedly the main characters. Crickets are always the noisiest, like tireless rock musicians. Grasshoppers are not to be outdone, their calls are loud and clear, while mole crickets make a crackling sound like an electric shock.

Moths and other phototactic insects arrived early, fluttering and swirling in the beams of the car lights.

In addition, Ma Li also heard a croaking sound that sounded like a frog, but it was coming from the treetops, and it was probably a night heron.

Ma Li didn't used to like these penguin-like birds, which were known for their jet propulsion, but now he felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing them.

This world had become very unfamiliar to him, so encountering familiar creatures was always a good thing.

However, not everything in this forest was familiar to him.

Something was following them in the darkness, not a fox or a wolf, a common wild animal.

It is significantly larger in size, yet its footsteps are very light, making almost no sound when it walks, and it possesses superb stealth skills, always lurking in the shadows.

Even so, Ma Li still managed to catch a glimpse of it in the rearview mirror.

Judging from its outline, it appears to be a brown bear.

However, the average brown bear is no more than 2.5 meters tall even when standing. It is said that the brown bears on Kodiak Island can be 3 meters tall, and the one behind them is probably over 3 meters tall. The roof rack of an off-road vehicle can only reach its chest.

And it walks on its hind legs just like a human.

A chill ran down Ma Li's spine. He immediately opened the armrest box and took out the Type 92 pistol inside.

I felt a little more at ease when I felt the friction between the engineering plastic grip and my palm.

Although he wasn't sure how much damage a 9mm bullet could do to a beast of this size, Ma Li turned his head to look at the chestnut-haired girl in the passenger seat.

Since she was able to leave home and arrive at this canyon alone, she should be very familiar with this forest and perhaps know what is following the car. Unfortunately, the two of them cannot communicate, and Ma Li cannot even remind her to pay attention to the rearview mirror.

However, judging from the fact that she was gripping the short sword at her waist with one hand and remained vigilant, it was clear that this forest was not safe.

(End of this chapter)