Embark on the Road

by Tai Baiyang

  The evolver not only has the capabilities, but he was also decisive and sensitive when faced with opponents stronger than him. This must have been the other reason why he was chosen as a gate guard. However, Zhang Mu was not going to make the same mistake twice. If he had allowed the evolver press the alarm, he may as well retire early.

  Zhang Mu’s gaze circled the spears on the ground and was amazed by their numbers. He didn’t know that the base could afford so many spears for the evolver. Although the spears could be reused, the sheer quantity was still very surprising.

  Zhang Mu quietly jumped down from the gate and moved between the ruins to the central building. His instinct told him that the people would all be gathered there.

  As expected, Zhang Mu heard some faint sounds as he was nearing the building. It must be the people of this survival base. At this timing, Wang Liang and his team would have been outside scavenging for supplies. These people are indeed very free.

  However, when Zhang Mu got closer and he managed to see the entire landscape, he knew why they were still staying at the base. A few pots boiling with water were laid on the flat piece of land in the middle of the unfinished building. Each pot was surrounded by around ten people and they were happily eating away.

  Despite the steam, Zhang Mu managed to see what was in the pots.

  Each pot was filled with dismembered parts of a human.

  Although Zhang Mu had seen people who ate other humans, most of them did it for two reasons. One reason was that they were famished and the other was that these people were sadistic. For the first kind, they had no more food and if there wasn’t anyone to help them, they would die of hunger. As for the sadistic ones, they were discriminated by all the other human beings and chased out of the survival bases. Without the protection of these bases, they would die very soon out in the wild. People who ate humans never live for long. Hence, Zhang Mu had not heard news about these people for a long time.

  Eating humans was a taboo in every survival base.

  However, in this survival base, almost everyone was eating human meat, right in front of him. Zhang Mu finally understood why they dared to sneak such an attack on Wang Liang and his team. In their minds, they don’t view themselves as humans. Humans are food to them. Hence, why should they bother?

  It seemed like the middle-aged man had recognised how powerful Zhang Mu was and concealed himself well, doing a trade with Zhang Mu outside. Thinking back, Zhang Mu felt that if he had not displayed his powers then, he might have become food too.

  Zhang Mu suddenly realised why they refused new additions to the survival base. They were crazy but scared too. They became monsters, yet afraid that other people would find out. Anyone that didn’t follow them would probably be lying in the pot now. Sadly, most people gave in and followed their leader on this path of no return.

  One of the evolvers finished the entire pot of human soup and still felt hungry. He waved his hands. The rest of the people immediately understood him and a skinny fellow made his way into the unfinished building.

  After a while, the skinny man pulled a ragged little girl out. The girl was already in a state of stupor. However, when she was pulled to the pot of boiling water, she immediately started crying. The skinny man beside her sneered as his face was filled with greediness. He scanned the little girl’s body, contemplating how much meat she could give to the people.

  No one cared about the crying little girl. These people had already lost their humanity. They were enjoying the process of seeing the little girl cry. To them, this was music to their ears. The louder and more miserably the girl cried, the more excited they felt.

  Five minutes passed and the little girl had no more energy to cry anymore. The people’s excitement started to dwindle and the man who waved his hands just now spoke some words. Right after that, the skinny man acted and lifted the little girl up, preparing to take off all her clothes and dumped her into the pot.

  Zhang Mu wanted to save the girl immediately when he saw her but he held himself back as the leader still hadn’t appeared - the silver-hair middle-aged man. However, he couldn’t do nothing. How could he let a little girl die in front of him just because he wanted to wait for the right moment to attack and subdue everyone at one go?

  He had been through a lot in his past life and his heart had became cold. However, his human blood was still running. It was still warm!

  Zhang Mu came out of his hiding place and showed off his presence. This action caused all the people, no all the monsters, to look at Zhang Mu. The skinny man put down the little girl and glared at Zhang Mu dangerously.

  When tens of people holding human bones looked at you, even Zhang Mu felt uncomfortable. A few of them even held skulls and licked them in front of him, adding on to his discomfort.

  Zhang Mu wanted to conceal his identity, but that seemed irrelevant now.

  He was not going to let anyone of these people walk out alive.

  This was his baseline and was also the baseline of the human race.

  Chapter 89: Underestimated

  Zhang Mu never saw himself as a saviour. He knew his own capabilities. He was just a small figure who managed to come back from the future.

  There were many injustices in the world now. Zhang Mu didn’t want to care about them nor have the ability to care about them. However, this was different. Wang Liang had begged for his help and eating humans was a behaviour condemned in the future by all humans. Zhang Mu was already used to this. Hence, the first thought that came to his mind when he saw anyone eating humans was to kill them. They were more dangerous to humans than the walking dead or mutated animals.

  They could easily camouflage themselves into the human society or a survival base and when a crisis happened, they would start their act. This would destroy a survival base totally. No one can differentiate these monsters from a normal human just based on their appearance. Who knows, maybe the person smiling at you now would be thinking about how to cook you the next second?

  Zhang Mu had personally experienced it before. There was a survival base which he traded with a few times which had several cases of missing people. The people targeted were mostly normal humans, with young girls and children forming the larger proportion.

  As time goes by, the number of missing people increased and the leader had no choice but to involve the entire survival base to find the missing people. Although normal humans were not as important as evolvers, they formed the foundation of survival base and were indispensable.

  After much investigation, it was found out that there were a few spots where the cannibals performed their activity. The cannibals wanted to run away but the leader had an evolver who could control mutated animals. The evolver controlled a mutated dog and picked out the cannibals in the crowd.

  Zhang Mu looked at the new cannibals in front of him and thought back to the day when those cannibals were executed. They still wore a grin on their face as they looked at the humans as though looking at their food, their face full of greediness. He could almost hear their unrestrained laughter.

  If he didn’t kill these people now, they would cause more disasters in the future.

  At the moment, the man who asked for the little girl laughed and broke Zhang Mu’s train of thoughts. His laugh sounded horrible and dull. He looked at Zhang Mu without any signs of surprise and said slowly, “You actually managed to reach here. You must have killed Bai Feng. I don’t know what the leader is thinking when he let Bai Feng guard the gates and gave him so much trust.

  “He is useless. Maybe he was upset because we were eating and let someone slipped passed him. Useless is the correct word to describe him,” the man didn’t hide his contempt towards the guard and threw away the bone he was holding in his hand. He scanned Zhang Mu from head to toe.

  He gave a greedy grin and licked his lips, “you must be an evolver with a special ability to be able to kill that trash. However, you are too confident. There is no one here that is weaker than the guard. You won’t be th
inking that you can kill all of us just because you are able to kill the guard right? We didn’t notice your presence before because we were eating but you chose to show yourself.”

  “You saw all of us and still dared to show yourself. I don’t know if I should complement your courage or exclaim at your stupidity,” he said. His gaze fell onto the little girl that was put down by the skinny man. He understood immediately, “it seems like you couldn’t watch on any longer. Very righteous of you. Are you trying to be a hero?”

  His voice turned cold, “you can be a hero, but I don’t know if you will be able to handle the consequences.”

  “To tell you the truth, I have never tasted an evolver. There were some that rejected us and were killed, but they were eaten by the leader. Now it is finally my turn.” the man said finished and wiped off the oil stains on his hands. He slowly got up and turned his head, “brothers, none of us have tasted the meat of an evolver. The leader didn’t allow us to attack them but this one walked in by himself. Shall we eat him?”

  “Yes!”

  “Why not? The leader is always worried and hesitant about us eating evolvers, but this guy came in himself. If we don’t eat him, we are stupid!”

  “Yes, eat him. No one will know. Even the biggest survival base was almost destroyed by us and they could only run away like dogs. Who else can fight with us?”

  The man got everyone’s response and everyone stood up, looking at Zhang Mu with malicious intentions. They were really excited. No one thought about why Zhang Mu appeared here and why he didn’t have any intentions of escaping. They must have thought that they could definitely kill him.

  A fat man 2 metres tall struggled to stand up and threw away the skull in his hands. He charged at Zhang Mu and muttered, “his head is mine. If anyone dares to fight with me, I will kill you.”

  The man who spoke was just about to signal with his hand when he heard the fat man. He put down his hand and stared at the fat man as though he was a joke, “sure, you like to eat the head, take it. No one will fight with you.”

  The rest of the people scattered away from the fat man. Although the fat man was a bit stupid, his combat ability was scary. Once, he tore a small mutated animal into two pieces with his bare hands.

  Feeling the vibration, Zhang Mu adjusted his sunglasses and looked up at the man that was charging towards him with full force. The fat man was almost a head taller than him.

  When the distance between then was about 10 metres, Zhang Mu took out his Obsidian Beetle claw and placed it in front of his chest.

  The fat guy was dripping saliva all over as he said, “weapon? Is it of any use? Your head is mine.”

  With a screeching sound, a huge fist got engulfed in flames and struck towards Zhang Mu’s head.

  An evolver with additional fire-type element ability?

  Chapter 90: Dragging The Time

  Zhang Mu’s expression changed slightly. Combined with the weight of the fat man, the flame-punch was indeed powerful. This type of evolver was extremely popular during the first period after the Cataclysm. All they had to do was to use their body to release the power of their abilities.

  Zhang Mu felt the heat in the air and slightly tilted his body. The fat man’s punch didn’t hit him.

  “He managed to dodge the fat man’s punch. Is he an agility-enhanced evolver? Seems like the enhancement is not small.”

  The man who was watching the fight from afar muttered to himself. However, he was still unconcerned. As a person who defeated Bai Feng and reached this area, he definitely had some abilities up his sleeve.

  However, no matter how strong he is, the man thought, this is my area. In my area, I have the final say.

  Zhang Mu had maneuvered to the back of the fat man and pierced the claw into his back. The huge layer of fat blocked it from reaching his vitals and Zhang Mu was not able to meaningfully injure the fat man. Just as he was about to pull the claw out, his eyes narrowed and he decisively let go of the Obsidian Beetle claw.

  Flames started to appear on the back of the fat man. The flames were trying to reach Zhang Mu’s hands through the tip of the Obsidian Beetle claw.

  The fat man could actually use his fire element on his entire body.

  “His reaction is really fast. He even dodged the fat man’s automatic fire defense.”

  The man who was still observing the fight started to think more highly of Zhang Mu. This automatic fire defense had caused many people to suffer heavy losses because the flames ignited almost instantaneously.

  However, the man wearing the mask managed to escape from any injuries.

  Zhang Mu lost his Obsidian Beetle claw. He looked at the fat man who was turning around with mixed feelings.

  The fat man didn’t bother about the object that was stuck to his back. He was very angry. To him, Zhang Mu was just food, an item. How could food attack and hurt him?

  Without a pause, he punched Zhang Mu again and again. Zhang Mu shifted his body and evaded all the attacks. In the end, the fat man didn’t even touch a corner of Zhang Mu’s clothes.

  Actually, Zhang Mu was trying to drag the time. He was waiting for their leader to appear, the silver-hair middle age man. If he showed his true powers now and scare away the real mastermind, all the efforts would be in vain. This was why he hadn’t used the Bloodvine Lotus and only used his powerful body to deal with this fat guy.

  The fat guy got irritated after many failed attacks and the jeering behind him. He couldn’t stand it anymore and with an angry howl, his entire body was cloaked in flames. He made himself a real human torch. He charged at Zhang Mu, no longer throwing punches. He wanted to use the heat from his body and burn Zhang Mu alive.

  After retreating for a distance, Zhang Mu had already reached a dead end. He wanted to turn in another direction but the human torch disrupted his plans.

  At this moment, all the audience felt that Zhang Mu was dead. Some were even anticipating his burnt look.

  “That stupid fat man always burn the meat till its charred. Only he likes to eat it that way. If I knew this was going to happen, I would not give in to him. Such a waste. But I guess he is able to finish the man himself.”

  “Yes, we can only look forward to drinking some soup. I think that our leader is so powerful because he ate evolvers.” The man who said this received a death glare from the man who gave the command and he shut up. If the leader heard what he said, he might die a terrible death.

  “Why aren’t you running away?”

  Zhang Mu could vaguely see the vicious face of the fat man through the flames. He seemed to have regained his composure. Zhang Mu stared at him quietly. The fat man blocked off everyone’s view. That meant that the Bloodvine Lotus could appear now.

  Just as the fat man was about to pounce onto Zhang Mu, an opening appeared on Zhang Mu’s left arm. Under the fearful gaze of the fat man, a sturdy vine that was full of pricks appeared out of the skin and broke through his fire defense. The next second, the vine reached his chest.

  The fats in his chest were sucked dry and his skin sagged. Zhang Mu felt disgusted. He didn’t know the Bloodvine Lotus had such a heavy taste. Does it suck such disgusting fats? Zhang Mu felt his hair standing when he realised that the Bloodvine Lotus was inside his body. A chill ran down his spine. It dissipated all the heat coming from the fat man.

  Zhang Mu controlled the vine well and didn’t let it penetrate the body all the way. The audience was still wondering why the fat man stopped his attack. Some of them thought that the fat man suddenly decided to be nice and split the man with them.

  At this moment, the Bloodvine Lotus had sucked the fat man dry and the fat man’s eyes had stopped moving. It was as though he couldn’t believe Zhang Mu actually killed him. If it was the first few times Zhang Mu used the Bloodvine Lotus, he would have been worried whether the Bloodvine Lotus could break through the fire defense system. However, after being baptised by the merchant’s flames, he didn't have such worries anymore.

  Some tim
e had passed and the audience were starting to become suspicious. Finally, when the flames on the fat man extinguished, they realised that something was wrong. Zhang Mu kicked away the 100 kg of meat and exposed himself once again to the cannibals.

  The man in command finally became serious. He knew that even he didn’t have the confidence to kill the fat man so quickly when the fat man launches his ultimate attack. Yet, Zhang Mu did it. This fact alone was scary enough.

  Could it be that this man whom they thought was just a normal evolver was actually someone not to be provoked?

  No, that is not possible. Even if he is that strong, he cannot defeat all the evolvers here.

  But why am I feeling hesitant? What am I afraid of?

  To be safe, the commander decided to attack together with all the men behind him.

  Chapter 91: Attacked By Everyone

  Zhang Mu stared coldly at the people who were closing in on him. They all had fear on their face. Zhang Mu didn’t launch any attacks. Till now, the middle-aged man hadn’t appeared at all. Zhang Mu felt worried.

  He heard the man mention that their leader ate evolvers before. This raised Zhang Mu’s wariness. The leader didn’t share any of it with the rest of the people either.

  If that was the truth, things would be more complicated. None of the cannibals he met before dared to prey on evolvers. The chance of success was low and people in the base would react immediately if an evolver went missing. They would place more importance in the disappearance of an evolver as compared to a normal human.

  Thus, Zhang Mu didn’t know what mutations would occur if a cannibal constantly consumed evolvers. He could only wait until the mastermind decided to act.

  Zhang Mu faced a dilemma. If he didn’t use the Bloodvine Lotus, it would be hard for him to gain an upper hand in front of so many evolvers. Little black was still in his cocoon and the mutated wolfdog was at home. There was nothing that could lend him a helping hand. In this state, he might not even stay alive if he decided not to retreat.