Chapter Twenty-Five: Arrival at the Destination

That night was both agonizing and delightful for Mu Siyu; she had never dreamed that Wood could be so formidable. When dawn crept in and Mu Siyu could no longer bear it, Wood finally relented, surrendering with a triumphant laugh. He held her close and slept for a while in the sealed exhibition hall, unconcerned about zombies—his abilities made him fearless of such threats.

When morning broke fully, the two awoke and inspected the "Puma." They discovered that the car had likely been test-driven and its tank was almost full, so there was no need to refuel. They started the engine, crashed through the glass, and sped out.

The Puma’s power was astonishing; it had taken Wood half an hour to reach the city before, but their return journey lasted only twenty minutes. By then, daylight had arrived, and the zombies surrounding the city, drawn by the scent of living humans, surged forward. But the Puma was no ordinary sedan—its roaring engine plowed right through the horde, carving a path and stopping beside the warehouse’s iron gate.

Seeing Wood return, Old Kong was overjoyed. He quickly opened a narrow gap to let Wood in. When he caught sight of Mu Siyu, his expression shifted, then he exclaimed happily, “Mu Siyu, you’re alright!”

Everyone was stunned to see Mu Siyu walk in as if nothing had happened. Wu Feng asked in surprise, “Has the girl evolved?”

Wood replied, “Perhaps, but I’m not sure what her power is.”

Fan Wen looked at Mu Siyu with envy but dared not approach, while Mu Siyu acted as if he didn’t exist.

Wu Feng nodded without speaking. Wood called to the three women, collected the capsule houses, and said, “Brother Feng, we’re leaving now. May we take some food and water?”

Wu Feng, wishing to keep this powerful man but not daring to force it, saw they were only a few people and was unconcerned about the loss of supplies. He replied generously, “Take as much as you can carry!”

Wood smiled slightly and said to the four women, “Your clothes are tattered. Go choose some new ones.” The women knew of his special abilities and, unable to carry much, followed Mu Siyu to select clothing and shoes.

Wood then led Old Kong to a spot out of sight of Wu Feng and the others to gather food. Old Kong watched in terror as any canned goods, water, rice, meat, and other supplies touched by Wood’s fingers vanished instantly. He had no idea where Wood was hiding them. In a short time, Wood had taken about a tenth of the food, filling his space ring and storage belt to capacity. In such a place, who knew when they’d find food again? Yet he didn’t worry about affecting Wu Feng’s group, since this was the city's largest warehouse.

Once he was satisfied, Wood made a show of stuffing two bags with food, handing one to Old Kong, and they marched out boldly. The four women each carried a heap of clothes.

Wu Feng and his men were stunned, secretly amused that these people were foolish enough to choose clothes when food was so scarce—utterly backwards priorities.

Wood ignored their mocking looks, said farewell to Wu Feng, and took the four women into the Puma, gunning the engine as they sped out of the city. After they’d gone far, one of Wu Feng’s men went to the restroom. Returning, he glanced casually at the spot where Wood had gathered food, then jumped in shock, shouting, “My God! What kind of bags did they have? They took at least a tenth of the food!”

…

In the car, Old Kong was recounting to the four women how much food Wood had taken, gloating, “When they realize so much food is gone, they’ll jump out of their skins!” This drew laughter from the women, except Mu Siyu, who remained silent. Her sister, Mu Siqing, asked, “Sister, are you still thinking about that scoundrel? I wish I could kill him—not only did he humiliate you, he pushed you out as a shield. He’s not human!”

Mu Siyu glanced at Wood, lowered her head, and stayed silent. The women tried to comfort her, not noticing the subtle changes in her expression. Wood parked the car in a remote spot and asked, “What are your plans? I’m heading to Bio City. I have plenty of food now, enough for you all for some time. What I must do there is extremely dangerous—I may not be able to keep you safe.”

At that, Kong Yangyun nervously said, “Mr. Wood, are you worried we’ll drag you down? Don’t worry, I have this—maybe I can help.”

Qiao’er quickly added, “Brother Wood, I can drive. If you’re tired, I’ll take over.”

Mu Siyu looked at him with sorrow and whispered, “Are you going to abandon us?”

Wood hurried to explain, “That’s not it, but where I’m going is very dangerous. You’d better think it over! If you don’t go, I’ll leave most of the food and water with you, keeping only a month’s supply for myself.”

The group shook their heads repeatedly. In truth, after these days together, Wood was reluctant to part with them, so he didn’t insist and let Old Kong drive while he rested.

On the road, the women were curious why Mu Siyu had survived the virus infection. Mu Siyu told the truth, and the women looked at Wood with intense admiration, as if they could devour him, making Wood’s hair stand on end. He felt like the monk in the monster’s eyes and quickly said, “I’m not certain—it might just be Mu Siyu’s luck. If you’re brave, you could try getting infected yourselves.”

Hearing this, their enthusiasm waned—who would risk their lives?

Mu Siqing, ever curious, asked, “Sister, why were you and Brother Wood gone so long? I was scared when I couldn’t see you!”

Qiao’er giggled, “Heh heh… Most likely, they were off doing something adults do!” Mu Siyu blushed furiously at being exposed. Mu Siqing didn’t understand and asked, “What do adults do? Why does it take so long?”

Qiao’er teased and didn’t answer. Mu Siqing pressed her sister, and Mu Siyu lied, “The virus acted up, so it took a long time!” That stifled her sister’s questions, though Qiao’er and Yang Xiu exchanged knowing, amused looks, leaving Mu Siyu flustered.

Thus, amid the women’s teasing, the Puma raced toward Bio City. Whenever they encountered refugee camps, Wood and Old Kong traded food for gold and jewelry, but the closer they came to Bio City, the fewer refugees they found, and the more zombies appeared. The rumors of Bio City being a dead city were true.

During their two-day journey, Mu Siyu finally awakened her abilities—she could control the wind. Though her powers were only emerging, she could already summon small whirlwinds to attack zombies. Yet her physical strength was far inferior to Wood’s, with all attributes around fifty. Wood also gave her a detector so she could discern which monsters she could handle and which were dangerous, avoiding life-threatening mistakes.

At every city they passed, Wood would spend a night, searching for powerful zombie beasts to challenge, honing his skills. Sometimes he brought Mu Siyu along, calling it “training.” Everyone knew what kind of training it was—except for Mu Siqing, who, according to Mu Siyu, was only twenty, still a student, and a virgin.

By the time they reached Bio City, Wood’s attributes were nearly two hundred, and his mental strength had reached four hundred. His B-class skill, “Particle Wave,” was at level three (out of five). The only regret was that, despite Qiao’er’s promise to serve Wood together with Mu Siyu, Wood couldn’t risk bringing Qiao’er into danger. Whenever they camped by the highway, Mu Siqing clung tightly to her sister, leaving Wood no opportunity to try the legendary “double cultivation.”

Upon entering Bio City, Wood immediately sensed a powerful aura enveloping the area, and the zombies seemed more organized, as if under some strong influence.

“This is the place!” Wood thought, gripping the map he’d gotten from the refugees and searching for the rumored laboratory. But it was only a standard city map, with no sign of any laboratory. The city was vast—he couldn’t possibly search it spot by spot. He grew anxious, checking the system’s interdimensional display: twenty days remained, yet it seemed finding the source of the virus and eliminating the infection would be a daunting task.

Qiao’er saw his concern and said, “I once heard the president of Datong Corporation mention that the virus outbreak laboratory belonged to a pharmaceutical company. The main reason for the research was to create biochemical weapons, but an accident led to this disaster.”

Her words sparked Wood’s hope. His eyes brightened, “So we should check the laboratories of pharmaceutical companies?”

Qiao’er blushed, “Unfortunately, I didn’t pay much attention at the time and didn’t remember which company.”

Even so, Wood was overjoyed. He cupped her face and laughed, “Thank you! I’ll start with the pharmaceutical companies!”

He carefully examined the map’s pharmaceutical company markings. As he searched, a slender hand reached over and pointed to a corner, “It should be here!”

Wood turned to see Mu Siyu smiling at him. She explained, “This Gaosheng Pharmaceutical Company is the most renowned in the world. Many vaccines for current viruses are developed in its labs, but the exact location of its laboratory is unknown.”

“Though I don’t know why you’re investigating this, it’s ultimately good for humanity. We’ll help you! Let’s go to this company, clear out the zombies, and search their files and documents. We’re bound to find clues.”

Wood saw her analysis was sound and was delighted. He agreed to follow her plan, and as the Puma sped into Bio City, he felt a strong intuition—this was the destination of his mission.