Chapter 320 - 162: On the Way

Chapter 320: Chapter 162: On the Way

"BOOM—!!!"

The roar of the Barrett shattered the silence of the open wilderness. A .50 caliber Armor-Piercing Bullet tore from the muzzle, ripping an invisible path of death through the air. The Mutant Cheetah, caught in mid-leap, had no time to dodge. The bullet pierced its skull with pinpoint accuracy and exploded out the other side.

Its head exploded like a watermelon struck by a sledgehammer. The headless body, carried by its own momentum, surged forward another two or three meters before crashing to the ground, skidding across the pavement and sliding to a stop.

Xu Mo lowered his rifle, gazing at the cheetah’s corpse.

’Dead. A one-shot kill to the head. As dead as it gets.’

He walked over to the corpse and looked down at the brainless cheetah. All that was visible now was its grayish-brown fur and slender limbs. Its claws were still caked with dirt and bits of grass; he had no idea where it had come from.

Xu Mo shook his head gently.

"If you could speak and communicate, you definitely wouldn’t have died so quickly."

The corpse, of course, offered no reply. Xu Mo crouched down to examine the cheetah’s front paws. In the sunlight, its claws, a good five or six centimeters long, glinted ominously. ’The deep gouges in the wood at the farmhouse... this must have been what made them.’

’That poor survivor was probably torn to shreds by claws just like these.’

Xu Mo stood up and glanced back at the cheetah’s head—or what was left of it.

The power of the Barrett’s bullet was immense. The Mutant Cheetah’s entire head had been obliterated, leaving only the bloody, mangled stump of its neck.

Xu Mo had actually wanted to see if there was a red Crystal Core inside its head. He had found one before, in the head of the mutant he killed outside Mori Town. Xu Mo had obtained a dark red Crystal Core from it. He still had no idea what the thing was used for, but he always carried it with him.

’This Mutant Cheetah, though smaller than the one from Mori Town, was probably just as strong. If I could get another Crystal Core, maybe I could figure out what they’re used for in the future.’

’A pity the head was gone.’

With a regretful "tsk," Xu Mo turned and walked back to his SUV.

The SUV drove around the Mutant Cheetah’s corpse and continued on its way. The corpse shrank in the rearview mirror until it vanished completely.

Xu Mo pulled his gaze from the rearview mirror and focused on the road ahead.

The weather was still scorching, the sun still relentless.

He recalled the way the cheetah had lunged, the pure killing intent in its eyes, and the words he had started to say—"Can you speak..."

’Can it speak? Obviously not.’

’It was just an animal, a Mutant Beast driven by instinct. It pounced on prey it saw and chased scents it caught. It couldn’t think, couldn’t communicate, couldn’t ask, "Are you human, or something else?"’

And so, it died.

Then Xu Mo’s thoughts turned to Void, recalling its words: "You killed my progeny. I am heartbroken."

’The difference between those who could communicate and those who couldn’t was immense.’

’With those that could communicate, you could have a dialogue, negotiate, even build some kind of understanding. With those that couldn’t... you could only kill.’

’Maybe more non-humans capable of communication would appear in the future. Maybe one day, humanity would have to coexist with them in this wasteland. But not now.’

Xu Mo slammed his foot on the gas, and the SUV sped onward.

The sun scorched the earth. The wilderness stretched on, boundless.

The SUV receded into the distance, eventually vanishing into the shimmering heat waves on the horizon.

Behind him, the cheetah’s corpse lay in the middle of the road, slowly growing stiff under the brutal sun. In the distant tall grass, a few mutant birds circled before descending to enjoy their unexpected lunch.

Meanwhile, even farther away, in the ruins of Luochuan City, the two-headed, four-armed being stood under the sun, gazing up at the sky. Its human head squinted slightly, while its zombie head hung open, emitting a low hiss.

Standing beside Void were Luo Li and Tiantian. They were at the settlement...