Chapter 77

The off-road vehicle sped across the snowy plains.

Ji Qing held the steering wheel, kept one foot on the accelerator, and looked calmly ahead. He drove very steadily, but the passengers inside were not nearly as “steady.”

Xie Chang’an leaned limply against the window of the off-road vehicle, breathing in fresh air.

He had not ridden in cars much in Spring City.

He had especially never experienced a vehicle taking a route this bumpy. The moment that thought crossed his mind, another wave of nausea churned in his stomach. “Urgh...”

“Brother, one look at you and it’s obvious you were born poor,” Jiang Cuo said from the passenger seat, his tone full of sympathy. “You should know that there are only three mainstream means of transportation these days: cars, ships, and trains. If you get carsick this easily, how are you supposed to flee for your life smoothly when a Black Tide breaks out?”

Xie Chang’an retorted with difficulty, “I’m fine on trains and ships.”

“And how useful are those two?” Jiang Cuo scoffed. “When a mutant outbreak really happens, whether trains can keep running at all becomes a question. As for ships... sigh, I don’t even want to start on the probability of dying on a ship.”

Humans were not a race that could move freely across the ocean.

If a shipwreck happened, it was best to first pray that it had not been caused by marine mutant species. Most marine mutant species moved in groups, and a shipwreck also came with the risks of suffocation, restricted movement, and lack of supplies. Compared with being stranded on land, a shipwreck at sea was far more dangerous.

That was why several of the noble-born students in Class S had never seen an island before.

“Hey—last time but one, when the Black Tide hit, trains were exactly what let people escape successfully. Everyone who chose cars died,” Xie Chang’an shot back. After nearly a full semester of theory classes at the Third Ability Academy, he had also learned about the aftermaths of the Black Tides over the years.

“That was because of the earthquake, okay?” Jiang Cuo shrugged. “Only trains could get out of the Black Tide zone fast enough. The roads for cars were cut off directly. But speaking of it, it really was a pity. If not for the chain reaction caused by the earthquake, more people could have survived.”

“Sigh...” Xie Chang’an let out a long breath after hearing that.

From the bottom of his heart, he also sympathized with the survivors who had been unable to escape because of the earthquake. Even though the Federation had Seers capable of predicting Black Tides and scientists capable of detecting Black Tide fluctuations, Black Tides were still far too uncontrollable.

The topic between the two of them soon shifted to the train accident ahead of them.

Ji Qing drove the off-road vehicle while following the terminal’s navigation and quietly listened to their conversation.

He had no intention of joining in. After all, the more one said, the more likely one was to say something wrong. But Ji Qing also remembered the details of the last few Black Tides:

The last Black Tide, and also the most recent one, had taken place half a year ago in Huai City, which had already fallen. The reason for that Black Tide remained unknown. Every method the Federation possessed for detecting Black Tides had failed at the time, which had led to the deaths of over three million people across the city without any warning at all.

The one before that, the same Black Tide Xie Chang’an had just used as an example, had taken place three years ago on the outskirts, and then spread into Qing City. The Seer had given an early warning at the time, and Qing City’s upper echelon had originally planned to reinforce the city walls and call for aid, but the Black Tide had spread with terrifying speed.

For the sake of the citizens’ safety, the city lord had first notified the city’s elites, then used the broadcast system to inform the rest of the citizens to evacuate. The time they had reserved should originally have been enough for the citizens to leave Qing City, but no one had expected the Black Tide to trigger an earthquake. In the end, only a small portion of the citizens who had been notified last managed to escape by train.

Ji Qing found the whole matter rather sigh-worthy.

Even in the wasteland, where resources were scarce and human habitation sparse, human society still retained ideas of hierarchy and priority. But Ji Qing had also noticed something bad: Black Tides were happening more and more frequently.

The last Black Tide had been half a year ago. The one before that had been three years ago. The one before that had been seven years ago... The gaps between them were growing shorter and shorter, and at the same time, they were leaving people increasingly unsettled. Combined with the Deep-Sea Monarch’s remark about “the conflicts on land,” Ji Qing felt a growing sense that things were not good.

But speaking of the sea...

Ji Qing suddenly thought of the other side of the ocean. When that old thief Yuexia Cao designed the map of the wasteland world, he had definitely used the real world’s map as reference. If that was true, then the Earth was round, and the other side of the ocean naturally ought to be another continent...

Ji Qing’s world was similar to Yuexia Cao’s world.

And precisely because they were similar, Ji Qing was now curious about the regions beyond the Federation map. On this Earth, what roles exactly did humans and mutant species play? Had mutant species perhaps already taken root on another continent?

“Top student, what do you think?”

The sudden call broke Ji Qing’s train of thought.

With an expression as calm as ever, Ji Qing glanced at the two boys in the back seat through the rearview mirror. “What do you mean, what do I think?”

His attitude made it seem as though he had never zoned out at all.

Naturally, Jiang Cuo did not think there was anything strange about it. He had always been a talkative person, so it did not take long before he restated the question he had just brought up. “I mean—once we get near the danger zone, should we stop and continue on foot?!”

“Staying in the car the whole time doesn’t really feel like anything,” Jiang Cuo said bluntly. “And driving in a danger zone can easily put mutant species on alert. Anyway, we can get back to the car before nightfall, so we might as well walk. My brother here has been feeling sick for ages! Though honestly, he really does have a poor man’s constitution, all this ￥#￥...”

Ji Qing cut him off coldly. “That was the plan from the start.”

They had rented this off-road vehicle, and it was going to have to be returned. Ji Qing had no intention of driving once they entered the danger zone. If they really ran into a mutant species attack or came across an infected person, there was no telling how badly the vehicle might be damaged.

Ji Qing had no desire to waste time wrangling with the rental place.

It just so happened that they were about to reach the border of the C-rank danger zone, so Ji Qing simply said, “I’m planning to find a concealed place to park first. Do you want to get out now?”

Jiang Cuo protested, “Of course we’re following you, Top Student!”

Xie Chang’an also nodded lifelessly. Although he wanted to get out of the car immediately, he knew very well that “you must not act alone in the wilderness.”

And so the two of them followed Ji Qing in a small detour.

Ji Qing chose to park the vehicle inside a conifer forest. He specifically used his ability to move the vehicle through the air behind a rock and covered the body of the car with a snow camouflage tarp. After all his work, the snow off-road vehicle blended right into the snowy wilderness.

Check the surroundings, lock the doors, set traps, spray small mutant species repellent.

By the time Ji Qing finished all of that and left, Xie Chang’an had already shaken off the nausea from motion sickness. Wearing the winter clothes they had each bought in Ning City, the three of them officially stepped into the C-rank danger zone where the crashed train was located.

It was now ten in the morning, and it had been less than half a day since they had left Snow City.

Their breath turned into mist as it left their mouths, and the cold had reddened their cheeks. Ji Qing lifted a small mutant species he had just knocked down with one hand and looked down at it expressionlessly. The small mutant species he had just struck from the tree was a mutant squirrel.

Its eyes were blood-red, its teeth had grown unnaturally large, and its claws were extremely sharp.

Ji Qing thought to himself that, after being infected by mutant species, both animals and plants seemed to have the aggression in their genes slightly brought to the surface.

Though Ji Qing’s first reaction on seeing the squirrel had been wanting to know whether it would taste good.

Hm? Why had he suddenly wanted to take a bite? Ji Qing tilted his head, baffled. But for humans, mutant species flesh was not edible. These mutant species that were hunted were just like animals and plants infected by plague.

One careless mistake, and one might be infected by that plague as well.

If they truly had nothing else to eat, then perhaps it might be worth trying. But regrettably, Ji Qing and the others were not yet at the point of running out of food, and Ji Qing himself did not dare expose anything unusual about himself.

So, regretfully, Ji Qing set down the squirrel carcass in his hand.

He began walking again and called out to the two figures in the distance, “Have either of you found any train wreckage?”

Jiang Cuo, who was hugging a tree trunk and looking into the distance, replied lazily, “No.”

Xie Chang’an, on the other side, had just sheathed his Tang Saber again and answered seriously, “No.”

On the snow in front of him lay the mutant squirrel that had just tried to ambush him. Ji Qing glanced over from afar, then sighed. “Strange. It looks like it’s not around here. Let’s sweep the surrounding area a little more.”

Liu Mu had already marked the rough range of the train derailment for him.

Ji Qing had originally thought that, with that map, searching would be relatively simple. But what he had not expected was that the snow would cover all traces of the accident so completely. Fifty-seven days really was enough time for that to happen...

Shhrrr—

Snow shook loose from the branches and fell to the ground.

Jiang Cuo slid down the trunk in one motion and ran over to Ji Qing before stopping beside him. “By the way... Top Student, do you think we’ll run into an infected person?”

His tone was bright with excitement. Clearly, he was looking forward to it.

Ji Qing gave him a cold glance, then glanced at Xie Chang’an, who was walking toward them. “Probably not. Fifty-seven days in, I can’t imagine why an infected person would still choose to remain in the same place.”

“Huh? Huh?” Jiang Cuo blinked in surprise.

He immediately raised a finger and summarized in mock seriousness, “Top Student, you definitely haven’t had much contact with infected people.”

Ji Qing was speechless. “...”

But he could not be bothered wasting words with Jiang Cuo, so he simply said, “Fine. Then trouble yourself, Jiang Cuo, and share your insight.”

The moment he heard that, Jiang Cuo became thoroughly satisfied.

“I’ve seen infected people before. How should I put it...” Jiang Cuo’s tone suddenly carried a trace of melancholy. “I think they’re pitiful. If they’re being controlled by mutant species and can’t even kill themselves, then they’re basically no different from the walking dead. Sometimes I really can’t understand why anyone would shelter an infected person...”

While Jiang Cuo was explaining his views, Xie Chang’an’s figure was gradually drawing near.

Without showing anything on his face, Ji Qing swept Xie Chang’an with a glance, then answered calmly, “Maybe that’s because the infected people you met were already in the late stage of mutation. As far as I’m concerned, they’re simply people suffering from an acute contagious disease that modern medicine has no way of curing.”

“Hm? Is that how you see it, Top Student?” Jiang Cuo tilted his head.

But on second thought, Jiang Cuo realized that he really had never encountered an infected person in the early stage of mutation. He hesitated inwardly. Perhaps that was possible too...

Just as Jiang Cuo was about to continue, Xie Chang’an suddenly asked, “Were you talking about infected people?”

Jiang Cuo jumped on the spot in fright. “You scared me to death!!!”

“Ah?” Xie Chang’an was instantly flustered and apologized repeatedly. “Sorry, that was my fault for not making any sound, but... were you talking about infected people?”

He asked the same question again.

Xie Chang’an stared at Ji Qing with great concern, but Ji Qing merely replied coldly, “It was just an unimportant topic.”

Ji Qing did not want to repeat himself.

That would only earn him a great deal more scrutiny from Xie Chang’an before he deliberately exposed that the two of them were not the same person. As long as the manga readers could infer it, that was enough.