Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 14 Wilderness
But he had nowhere to go. There were zombies in front of him and enemies behind him. There was a lack of water nearby, and if he climbed a tree, he would be pecked by birds.

The only option is to find a rocky pit that can only hold one person, and try to increase your chances of survival.

After he crawled inside, he first moved rocks to block the entrance of the pit, and then released the small amount of black mist he had stored to cover most of his body as much as possible.

"Hurry up and hold on!"

The simple act of manipulating the black mist almost made him lose his vision, and he dared not touch it again.

Panic and chaos quickly erupted among the human forces as hovercars were attacked by corpse birds, crashed to the ground, and burst into flames and explosions.

Machine gun fire ripped through the air, and the constant roar of various projectiles and flamethrowers could not drown out the furious howls of the walkers.

Although the humans' heavy firepower was fierce, the hordes of zombies were like an endless tide, impossible to kill completely; it was a contest of attrition.

The only thing Zhuang Fan could confirm was that the black mist could indeed protect him and drive away the corpse monsters.

The zombies would even deliberately avoid the entrance to the pit shrouded in black mist.

The side effects were also obvious; while hiding in the black mist, there were always some whispers lingering in his ears, which was quite annoying.

Furthermore, amidst the swirling black mist, he discovered that the wound on his leg, inflicted by locusts, had completely healed.

Well, it actually has such a miraculous healing effect. Zhuang Fan suddenly realized that the mysterious fog was even more effective than he had imagined.

Zhuang Fan didn't know when he fell asleep, but when he woke up it was already the next morning.

I listened intently, but all I could hear was deathly silence outside; apart from the howling wind, there was no other sound.

Zhuang Fan kicked the rocks in the pit with all his might, and was surprised to find that all the rocks had become brittle, like tofu.

In addition, these rocks also emitted a light brown mist, which Zhuang Fan, after analyzing his memories, learned was called:
【Rotten Mist】

Humans can be infected by the eerie mist, and objects will naturally be corroded by it, producing this brown, decaying mist.

The decaying fog will cause items to continue to rot and decompose until they become empty shells and powder, at which point the fog will disappear.

The denser the eerie fog, the faster it corrodes objects.

Moreover, this decaying fog is very difficult to deal with. It cannot be dispersed by fog lights and requires high-temperature baking or a combination of ultraviolet light and nanobots to completely remove it.

Zhuang Fan frowned; he had found a clue:
If objects infected by the mysterious mist, such as rocks, rot, wouldn't that mean the entire Earth would be slowly corroded?

His observations of the field clearly do not support this simplistic conclusion.

After crushing the rock, Zhuang Fan was left with only some natural sand and gravel. He tried to use the black mist to corrode it, but it had little effect.

He gradually came to understand.

If you intentionally inject black mist into the rocks, the rocks will corrode and disintegrate, eventually turning into natural sand and gravel.

Further down, it becomes very difficult for it to rot.

However, without external forces, most inorganic materials in nature, such as rocks and soil, will remain unchanged and will not be affected by the mysterious fog.

Zhuang Fan hadn't fully figured out the specific principles behind the decaying fog yet, because he needed to continue his escape.

The trees and bushes outside had disappeared, all broken and torn apart, leaving the area completely bare.

In the distance, there were large amounts of wrecked floating vehicles billowing thick smoke, and corpses rotting on the ground like wild dogs.

His main research area is neurorobotics, studying brain-computer interfaces and consciousness mapping. Only at such close range can he properly examine the form of these guarding machines.

The prosthetic eye was completely shattered, the bionic skin was as hard as if it had been cut with a knife, and the muscles bulging all over the body were even more exaggerated than if they had been injected with hormones.
Below the chest and abdomen are mechanical implants. The exoskeleton and alloy joints gleam with a cold luster. Through a few gaps, you can see many life support tubes inside. It's not aesthetically pleasing, but it has a violent aesthetic.
Overall, if these wasteland-punk-style mechanical guards represent the average level of human technology 700 years from now, Zhuang Fan would be somewhat disappointed, as they completely lack the sci-fi futuristic feel presented in the movie.

Zhuang Fan searched the cemetery for a long time before finally finding a brand-new 95 assault rifle, which was empty of bullets.

Then, under the wreckage of the hovercar, he found energy protein bars that had been trapped under the corpse. The outer packaging was charred, but the contents looked edible, so he couldn't waste them.

Everything around him was burned clean. After searching for a while, he found nothing of value, so he hung the empty gun behind him, hoping it would scare some of the bandits away.

The sun was blazing, the air grew increasingly hot, making the corpses even more foul-smelling, and the shadows of vultures began to appear circling in the sky.

Zhuang Fan didn't dare linger. Although he didn't know where he should go, he definitely wanted to get as far away from the "Hanling Region" as possible.

The zombie horde has its advantages and disadvantages. It leaves nothing but barren land in its wake, but it also prevents monsters from sneaking up on you, and it gives you a wider field of vision.

A figure appeared in the distance; it was a kind-looking old man wearing a straw hat and carrying a short-barreled shotgun around his neck.

He was sitting on a cow, with four other cows leading him.

Zhuang Fan only realized upon closer inspection that these cattle were covered in explosive muscles, somewhat resembling Belgian Blue cattle. What was even more unusual was that they had two heads.

"Young man, are you lost?"

"No, I'm walking forward."

Zhuang Fan gave vague answers while making way for the wanderers in the wasteland. He didn't want to get too entangled with them, a lesson he learned from Xu Renyi's experience.

"Oh dear, you're practically asking for death if you go to that place."

"How to say?"

The old shepherd pointed to the dense forest in the distance: "Look at those borehole trees, those are rat people's nests, a huge, dense mass of them. If you fall in, you won't be able to get out."

Zhuang Fan hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the left ahead: "That's where I'm going."

"That's hilarious. You'd die even faster if you went there. It's a bunch of weirdos covered in tumors, chattering away, just waiting to self-destruct and find release. Anyone who goes there is doomed."

"What about this side?"

"You're really good at pointing. See that pile of stones? That's the territory of the Eagle People. They flew away when the zombie horde came last night. They'll probably be back soon."

"The vulture-men, alright," the shepherd said, having seen them several times, he knew their ferocious appearance and how they ate carrion; they certainly wouldn't refuse fresh meat offered to them. Seeing that Zhuang Fan remained silent, the shepherd waved his hand.
"Alright, I can tell you're some idiot who ran away from some shelter. You've never seen the world. I'll take you to a market town first. You can live a little longer there."

Seeing this, Zhuang Fan nodded slightly.

He took the assault rifle off his back, gripped it tightly in his hand, and cautiously followed behind the old man.

As long as he can get away from the Cold Ridge region, it doesn't matter to him where he goes.

The shepherd hummed a folk song as he leisurely led the way.

Zhuang Fan thought for a moment and asked, "The zombie horde just left last night, and you dare to stay here?"

"Hey, let me teach you some wilderness survival tips. Places after the zombie horde leaves are actually quite safe, and you can even find some loot there."

He patted the cloth bag next to his thigh: "Those thugs have quite a lot of valuables on them."

Zhuang Fan then asked, "What's the name of the market town we're going to?"

"It has no name. You could call it a town, but it's really just a village. They're pretty much the same."

The shepherd glanced at the rifle in his hand, shook his head and laughed, "Only scoundrels use that. A real man needs a large-caliber gun for short-range engagements."

Zhuang Fan didn't reply, but carefully observed the surrounding situation.

After walking for about an hour, Zhuang Fan saw a small gathering place in the distance.

It can hardly be called a small town; the houses inside are built with sheet metal, discarded boxes, and cloth, and are rough and simple.

A strong, smoky smell wafted over, pungent and unpleasant.

As Zhuang Fan approached, he realized that the residents did not look like normal humans. They had wide faces, big mouths, two fangs, and stout bodies. Their skin was dark green, and they wore only a coarse cloth around their crotches.

The old man led several cows to the gate and said to the green-skinned man at the head of the group:
"Ator, the cow has been brought, along with five pieces of gold."

The old man pointed at Zhuang Fan again and gestured: "Raw human flesh, add another piece."

Zhuang Fan remained on guard, raised his assault rifle, and slowly retreated: "You're not being honest."

"How to say?"

"Are you sure I can survive here longer?"

The shepherd chuckled and said, "You're absolutely right. Their meat stores are full. You can stay here and survive for at least a week. Isn't that much better than you running around outside?"

In Xu Renyi's memory, those lone travelers who survived long in the wild were not easy to deal with, and Zhuang Fan had personally experienced this.

"Waaaa, waaaaa!"

At the sight of the assault rifle, Ator became extremely angry, and at his call, more Greenskins rushed over, carrying ironwood clubs and shields.

The Green-skinned race, mutated due to excessive radiation, have thick, dark green skin that smells terrible. They are cannibalistic, have degenerated and brutal thinking, are stubborn, have a strong reproductive drive, and are enemies of almost all races.

They're no different from orcs.
After memorizing the green-skinned characteristics, Zhuang Fan's tone turned slightly cold: "If you dare to come any closer, I will definitely shoot."

“Ator, his gun is empty, he’s just bluffing. Just grab him.”

The shepherd lowered his hat brim, patted the cloth bag beside him, and said jokingly, "Where did these bullets come from? I've already picked them all up; they're right here."

Dogs are hot.
Zhuang Fan cursed under his breath and stopped trying to be brave. Taking advantage of the encirclement by the green-skinned soldiers, he found an opening and escaped.

Along the way, a dozen or so green-skinned men jumped down from the wooden towers, one of whom swung a machete at Zhuang Fan.

To lighten his load, he swung the assault rifle forcefully, and it struck the green-skinned man in the face.

"Shhhhh-"

A dozen or so wooden spears sliced ​​through the air and fell in parabolic arcs, nearly hitting him.

Zhuang Fan ignored what was happening behind him. The first principle of escaping was speed, and the second principle was to make full use of obstacles.

The current situation is that there are no obstacles around, the area is flat, wide and boundless, all of it is Gobi Desert, and the green-skinned man's running speed is in no way inferior to his.

We've really hit a brick wall.

Half an hour later, Zhuang Fan was completely dazed from running. He stopped, panting, while forty or fifty green-skinned animals were still chasing after him, shouting "Waaa!" as they ran.

Are you crazy? Is it really necessary to chase after someone this far?
Zhuang Fan carefully searched the old man's memories and found that these green-skinned people were not only stubborn, but also very vengeful and would not give up until they achieved their goal.

Okay, then you all come along.

Seeing this, Zhuang Fan changed his escape strategy and rushed straight to the furthest pile of rocks, which was the habitat of the Vulture Clan.

He rushed to the pile of rocks, found a crevice in the rocks, and squeezed in, using the eerie fog to conceal himself as much as possible.

Before the eagle-man, whose sweet dream had been disturbed, could react, he saw a group of green-skinned menacingly charging towards him.

The green-skinned men were truly reckless, brandishing their spiked clubs and shouting "Waaaa!" without any fear of enemies many times their size.

The entire Eaglemen bristled and took to the air, immediately engaging the Greenskins in a chaotic battle.

The vulture-men all share similar characteristics: long legs, pointed beaks, humanoid shapes, and bodies covered in black feathers. Moreover, they are quite intelligent, and Zhuang Fan could hear them roaring angrily.

"Damn it, those filthy beggars are here again!"

"Are you crazy? How many times has this happened already?!"

"He's not crazy, he's here to steal our prey."

The instigator took advantage of the civil war between the two sides and quietly fled from the rear; running away was the best policy.

(End of this chapter)