Chapter 343 - 169: Mutant

Chapter 343: Chapter 169: Mutant

Zhao Dazhu sucked in a sharp breath. He had clearly remembered something, and he couldn’t help but shiver.

"Xu, I just came to give you a heads-up," Zhao Dazhu said. "Those people are active around here. You’re out here all alone, so you have to be careful. If you run into anyone with physical mutations, be extra cautious. There’s hardly a single good person among them."

Zhao Dazhu’s tone was adamant. Watching him, Xu Mo could guess what was going through his mind. ’He must have seen some truly horrific things to be so certain that "not a single one is good."’

"I understand." Xu Mo nodded. "Thanks for making a special trip out here."

Zhao Dazhu waved his hand dismissively.

"It’s the least I could do. You gave us so much stuff; this is nothing. If it weren’t for you, the three of us might have starved to death. I don’t have many other skills, but I know how to repay a kindness."

After saying this, Zhao Dazhu glanced at the darkening sky and said his goodbyes to Xu Mo.

"I have to get back. Xiufen and Niuniu are still waiting over there, and I’m worried about them. They’ll start to get anxious if I’m not back this late."

"Be careful on your way back." Xu Mo nodded.

Zhao Dazhu cupped his fists in a brief salute, then turned and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

After watching Zhao Dazhu leave, Xu Mo sat there for a little while longer before returning to his tent to sleep.

「The night passed without incident.」

The next morning, Xu Mo washed up, packed his gear, and continued on his way.

About twenty minutes into the drive, a series of rolling peaks appeared ahead. They weren’t high, only a few hundred meters, and they joined together to form a small mountain range. The mountainsides were covered in withered yellow vegetation, looking desolate under the sun. At the foot of the mountains, a few scattered buildings were faintly visible, likely a village of some sort.

Xu Mo’s gaze swept over the buildings. That was probably the direction Zhao Dazhu had come from last night. Based on the distance and travel time, he likely lived somewhere in those mountains. The dry well connected to the underground river was probably also hidden somewhere nearby.

However, Xu Mo had no intention of investigating. He pulled his gaze back and kept driving.

He hadn’t been driving for long when he suddenly felt something was off.

It was a familiar feeling. He was being watched. Someone was looking at him!

And this time, the gaze was completely different from Zhao Dazhu’s. Zhao Dazhu’s stare had been cautious, filled with hesitation and vigilance, as if trying to determine if he was a threat. This gaze, however, was filled with obvious hostility, like a hunter eyeing its prey, or a viper staring down a mouse.

The corner of Xu Mo’s mouth curled up slightly.

"What a coincidence."

’Zhao Dazhu had just warned him last night, and he was already running into them today. It seemed the Mutants’ range of activity was larger than he’d imagined. Maybe they had a stronghold nearby, or perhaps they were patrolling this area, looking for lone survivors.’

Xu Mo didn’t speed up. His eyes remained fixed on the road ahead as the SUV continued forward at a steady pace.

After driving for another ten minutes or so, Xu Mo noticed something unusual in his rearview mirror.

An SUV was accelerating from behind, trying to catch up. It was a modified SUV; its body was battered, but the engine sounded steady. As soon as the vehicle appeared behind Xu Mo’s SUV, its headlights began to flash on and off, as if signaling for him to stop or pull over.

Xu Mo ignored it and kept driving.

After the SUV rounded a bend, Xu Mo saw a vehicle parked sideways on the road not far ahead. It blocked two-thirds of the narrow path, and a woman was standing a short distance in front of it.

She was in her twenties, dressed in a dirty camouflage uniform. She held a shotgun, its muzzle aimed squarely at Xu Mo’s SUV. Her face was twisted into a distorted smile, as if she were looking at prey that had fallen into a trap.

’A pincer attack.’

Xu Mo’s eyes turned cold, but he didn’t slow down.

The SUV roared as it charged toward the car blocking the road, its speed not just maintained but increased.

The woman with the shotgun was clearly stunned for a moment. She probably hadn’t expected the driver to be so bold. ’He’s blocked from the front and back, and I’m pointing a gun at him, yet he’s charging straight at me?’

Her stupor lasted only an instant. The next second, a vicious look flashed across the woman’s face, and she pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The gunshot echoed across the empty highway. Xu Mo saw a burst of fire erupt from the muzzle as the shot screamed toward the SUV’s front windshield.

CLANG!

With a sharp ring, the pellets struck the bulletproof glass, sending up a few sparks. The lead shot left only a few barely visible white marks on the glass before ricocheting off to who-knows-where.

The vehicle issued by Jiang City had full-body bulletproof glass of shockingly high quality. The lead shot from an old shotgun like that couldn’t do a thing to it. Forget a shotgun; even bullets from a standard rifle would have a hard time penetrating this glass.

The woman was completely frozen. She could only watch as the SUV charged toward her like a steel behemoth. She wanted to dodge, but it was already too late.

THUMP—!

A dull thud of impact.

The woman was sent flying by the SUV. Her body tumbled through the air a few times like a kite with its string cut, tracing an arc before crashing heavily into the grass by the roadside, motionless.

At the same time, Xu Mo wrenched the steering wheel.

In the nick of time, the SUV barely managed to swerve around the pickup truck blocking the road, its body almost scraping against the pickup’s front end as it passed.