Chapter 27

That same morning, following Zhao Chong's directions, Lin Tu went to the bus terminal to siphon gas from a bus and brought it back to the neighborhood, filling up Zhao Chong's sedan. His car had run out of gas because he'd been blasting the air conditioning to stay cool, so he hadn't been able to drive it off. When he learned that Lin Tu was short on wheels, he simply gave the car to her.

After all, the world had already fallen apart. This treasure he'd saved years of salary to buy was now just a common thing, its chassis too low for anything but the smooth roads of a civilized city.

The radio had warned that the dandelions were approaching. Lin Tu planned to take the drone and head to the southwestern edge of the city to see how much damage they could do—better to prepare before the dandelions blew in.

That afternoon, Luo Yongzhi spotted her parking the car outside the neighborhood. The next day, the two set out together. During their conversation, Lin Tu learned that the superior who held the key to surviving this disaster had already obtained an important item in the capital and was on his way to their location. That was exactly why Zhang Jie had been so confident. Apparently, there was a one-hundred-percent safe shelter nearby, and that item could open its door, letting them ride out the rest of the time undisturbed.

Lin Tu had doubts about whether the shelter really existed. She trusted herself more. So even after hearing that Zhang Jie and his crew had already given up and lain down, Lin Tu still decided to make the trip to the city's southwest.

.

The black-and-white gradient sedan drove southwest along the road.

Thanks to the Biosafety Prevention and Control Command, all visible plants on the city roads had been cleared. A few small plants remained, but they couldn't lift the whole car like the bushes had.

The car drove smoothly southwest for nearly forty minutes before the area ahead turned visibly desolate.

More precisely, it felt like the two had wandered into another world.

The buildings were covered in pitch-black vines, their structures barely visible through the gaps. Vine after vine hung like black snakes between the rooftops, linking one building to the next. Further off, several buildings were completely hollowed out, leaving only swaying frames—dark holes like chests with their hearts torn out.

The sky hung low, and even lower, two tiny figures with their car stared out at the bleak apocalyptic scene.

"Holy crap! They're moving!" Luo Yongzhi shouted, pointing at the vine-like black snakes on the rooftops.

He turned to see Lin Tu calmly pulling out the drone and adjusting it, making him feel like he was making a fuss over nothing.

"I'll keep watch," Luo Yongzhi said immediately, taking the initiative.

Places like this had both visible threats and hidden ones lurking in the shadows.

Lin Tu hummed in acknowledgment. For a better view, she climbed onto the car roof and expertly flew the drone straight southwest, into that apocalyptic painting.

The drone flew high and fast, almost brushing the low-hanging sky.

Luo Yongzhi stood nearby, gripping his steel rod. After the last disaster, he'd spent sixty points to upgrade it, and now it had a smashing effect—every hit stored power in the rod, up to the thirtieth, when he could release all that power at once, enough to shatter any vine's body. Right now, he had one charge stored.

Even if a mutant plant attacked, he could handle it quickly...

Luo Yongzhi watched the surroundings warily, ready to activate the smash at any moment, when Lin Tu suddenly leaped off the car roof like an agile monkey. She tossed the controller to the ground without even recalling the drone and yelled, "Get in the car!"

Luo Yongzhi froze for a second, and Lin Tu was already inside. He finally snapped to attention and made for the passenger seat. As he pulled the door open and looked up, he saw a scene he'd never forget—

The sky in the southwest seemed to vanish, replaced by countless black specks like insects devouring the rust-colored clouds. The airless void behind the atmosphere seemed to touch Earth directly for the first time. The already faint sunlight died out, and at the edge of the decaying city, the vines vanished into the dark. For a moment, Luo Yongzhi couldn't tell if those terrifying mutant plants were still there or already coming for them.

"Go!" Lin Tu roared from inside the car. He could tell she was about to curse.

Luo Yongzhi felt a few stings on his body and scrambled into the car.

The car fishtailed and tore away at full speed.

"What the hell are those?!" Luo Yongzhi gasped.

"Dandelions," Lin Tu answered quickly, then leaned toward him, grabbing several bottles of water from the glove compartment and dousing herself with them.

"What are you doing?!" Compared to the pain on his own body, Lin Tu's actions were more confusing to Luo Yongzhi.

Lin Tu turned and saw several black dandelions firmly rooted on his forehead, dancing in the wind. She was speechless. Not bothering to explain, she tossed him a bottle. "Quit talking. Pour it over your head!"

Luo Yongzhi took the bottle, confused, and copied her, drenching himself from head to toe. For a moment, he almost recalled the pre-apocalypse days and said that classic line.

Then he felt his face itch. Something black fell from his eyes. He looked down and saw a few—or rather, several—black threadworms, like tiny cheerleaders with pom-poms, writhing weakly.

"What the hell!" Luo Yongzhi jumped up, banging his head hard on the car roof.

Luckily, the car was already unstable enough that the impact didn't matter. "Dandelions?" he asked, in the most shocked tone of his life.

"Didn't you listen to the radio?"

"I did," Luo Yongzhi said, clenching his fist and cursing. "But who could've guessed? No wonder the government never came back—not a single word!"

He then pressed the skin where he'd been stung. "Completely numb. I can't feel a thing on this patch. Water can stop them? How did you know, Sister Lin?"

Lin Tu ignored him, because her phone buzzed.

In a disaster world like this, players couldn't message each other through the app, and Lin Tu hadn't downloaded any local social apps or forums. So unless she killed a monster and got a reward, her phone shouldn't ring.

While driving, she pulled out her phone. In the Anju app, a new private chat box had appeared.

"Damn!" Lin Tu couldn't help cursing.

"What's wrong?" Luo Yongzhi felt the car speed up sharply. "Did something happen?"

"Someone's about to have a bad day," Lin Tu said through gritted teeth.

As she set the phone down, the screen flickered, showing a familiar message from 'I love my home' Wind Chime: "Good afternoon, master. The weather is awful and pollution is heavy. Someone is trying to break into your home, and the wind chime is feeling upset. A home shouldn't be without its master—please return soon!"

What had taken forty minutes, Lin Tu covered in seventeen minutes, pushing the car to its limit.

On the way, the Butler also messaged, saying the group had tried everything to pry the door open. But Lin Tu's shabby house had been upgraded once, with the [Sturdy Walls] feature, so ordinary people would have a tough time smashing through the door or breaking the lock.

By the time Lin Tu got home, the group had just given up on the lock and left.

"Need my help?" Luo Yongzhi asked in front of her house.

Lin Tu was inspecting the door lock carefully—they hadn't managed to break in, but there were marks from their attempts, and fixing it later would cost points.

What had she done to deserve this? She'd worked so hard for those points. She hadn't provoked anyone, so why wouldn't this damn world and these damn people just leave her alone?

"No, go back," Lin Tu said, a violent rage boiling inside her. She sent Luo Yongzhi off, then took out her big knife, gripped it tightly, and headed into the neighborhood.

According to the Butler, the man leading the door-breaking had been identified—it was Li Tong, the one who'd been delivering supplies to her all this time.

At the entrance of Building 6, Unit 102, a thin, pale youth was stubbornly blocking the door.

"These are my things, left by my dad! What right do you have to take them? I won't give them to you!"

Behind him, the door was ajar, revealing the flickering candlelight inside and wafting the smell of meat. It was that smell that drove the people confronting him even more frantic.

"Xiao Yuan," before Li Tong could speak, an older woman beside him couldn't help but say, "We all know you're a good kid, but no one in the neighborhood has anything to eat. You're hoarding all this—you can't be so selfish!"

"Auntie Tong, I won't!" Tears welled up in the boy's defiant eyes. "You're robbers! I'd rather die than give it to you!"

Xiao Yuan was none other than Yuan Que (fourth tone), the boy who'd stood beside Lin Tu when they signed up to clear the dodder. He hadn't left with Zhao Chong and the others, for some reason.

From a distance, Lin Tu saw this and thought to herself—so it was because he had a ton of supplies at home, just like her, unable to leave.

"Bullshit!" Li Tong had no more patience for him. "The whole neighborhood is one now. Whether you like it or not, you have to hand over the supplies. Our new rule targets selfish people like you. From now on, everything is shared equally—we sink or swim together!"

"Exactly! If I hadn't found out you were hiding stuff, people might starve while you sat on your hoard, watching them die!"

Some were already hesitantly stepping forward, reaching for the boy. Their moves weren't too rough—probably still some lingering civilized concerns.

"And don't tell me none of that is from the neighborhood," Li Tong said. "The other day, you went to the convenience store and took their stuff, keeping it all for yourself, leaving only scraps for everyone else. You should give that back first!"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

The crowd, now feeling righteous, surged forward. The boy stretched his arms wide, gripping the doorframe, but he couldn't withstand the crush of dozens. Someone even took the opportunity to punch him hard.

The boy's face was flushed red, his hair disheveled, his thin arms white at the joints, tears nearly spilling from his broken eyes.

"Hey!" Lin Tu picked up an empty flowerpot from the ground and hurled it at the crowd.

Her strength was immense. The pot hit the ground like a cannon shell, scattering the crowd instantly.

The moment they saw Lin Tu, the faces of the neighborhood residents—especially Li Tong's—paled. He knew she was strong, but hadn't expected it to this degree.

"You make a good point," Lin Tu said, taking off her glasses and tucking them into her pocket, revealing a pair of cold eyes. "So I'll take all his stuff. Any objections?"