Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

”Xiao Xie, thank you so much for providing us with such a valuable research material.” Dr. Wei smiled and nodded at her, his face full of appreciation.

”It’s my duty.” Xie Ning’s expression was rather detached. She nodded and turned, walking to Gu Chen’s side. ”Let’s go check the east wall. Where do the flocks usually attack?”

Gu Chen gave Dr. Wei a nod of acknowledgment, then took his girlfriend’s hand and started walking. ”You think there’s something strange about those bird flocks too, don’t you?”

”I do. It’s a bit strange. These flocks of Mutated Birds seem organized. They come to cause trouble every so often, and some can even get past the laser protection shield.”

”There must be a Spiritual System Mutated Bird organizing their movements.”

”So you’re saying these flocks aren’t actually coordinating with the zombie tide below, but are acting on their own?”

Xie Ning nodded. Just then, she heard a series of sharp gasps from the edge of the wall.

”Holy crap, what is that?”

”What is that?!”

Xie Ning turned to look. A layer of greyish-white, something that looked like fog but wasn’t, was rolling in from the distant horizon, sweeping toward the base at an incredible speed.

”It couldn’t be a sandstorm, could it?”

”Are you kidding? This is the Capital.”

”What’s it matter if it’s the Capital? You’re so uncultured. When a large amount of sand and dust blots out the sun and the urban topsoil erodes...”

”Okay, okay, stop explaining! Just tell us what to do. Oh, damn, I think it’s almost here!”

”Find something to cover your faces! We have to get indoors, quickly!”

Gu Chen reacted instantly. ”Looks like a hurricane is whipping up the surrounding snow and mixing it with dust.”

”Is it because of the rising temperature?”

”Whatever the reason, we need to pull back now!” Gu Chen ordered decisively. ”Get all Superpower Users on the wall to retreat in batches.”

”What about the zombie tide below?”

”Third Rank Superpower Users and above, hold your position! Everyone else, retreat now!”

Lu Wei immediately took a group of people to organize the evacuation.

Xie Ning silently pulled out a handful of masks, scarves, and sunglasses, handing them out to those who were staying on the wall.

By now, everyone could feel the force of the hurricane-force winds hitting them head-on.

The fierce wind whipped up layers of snow and dust, blurring the air into a bizarre, greyish-white substance that rapidly advanced on the wall.

Xie Ning silently put on her sunglasses and mask, then added a large scarf, wrapping herself up securely.

Even so, when the sandstorm slammed into them with a roar, Xie Ning’s small frame was nearly blown off its feet.

”Back when Zhu Bajie went looking for girls, was the demonic wind this strong?”

’What a time for his girlfriend to be cracking jokes,’ the corner of Gu Chen’s mouth, hidden beneath his mask, couldn’t help but twitch. ’She really isn’t afraid of anything, is she?’

Xie Ning summoned a golden shield, planting it in front of them. She let out a long breath. ”The dust is too thick. Should we pull back for now?”

Her voice, muffled by the scarf, was torn apart by the wind, but Gu Chen was standing right beside her and managed to make out most of it.

”Wait a little longer!” he had to shout to be heard.

”Have Li Xiang go over and see if there’s any change in the zombie tide below.”

Xie Ning turned her head and saw the siblings, Li Xiang and Li Dawei, huddled against the parapet. They each had one hand pressed to the scarves on their faces, while the other clung desperately to the wall.

The two of them in the exact same pose was a comical sight.

”Li Xiang!” Xie Ning yelled in her direction, waving energetically for her to come over.

Still clinging to the wall, Li Xiang yelled back, ”I’m about to be blown away!”

’She felt like a wilting flower in the wind; if she let go, she was sure she’d be sent flying.’

Xie Ning abruptly tossed a golden chain toward her. With a RATTLE, the chain shot out like a serpent and coiled around Li Xiang’s waist.

”Grab on and come over.”

Xie Ning couldn’t hear what Li Xiang was shouting, but she guessed it was something along the lines of ’I’m afraid to let go!’

Li Xiang quickly grabbed the chain and began struggling toward Xie Ning, pulling herself along.

Since she was walking directly into the gale, a wind so strong it felt like it could tear her soul from her body, Li Xiang was not feeling good at all.

Pressing a hand over her mouth and nose, she shuffled forward, occasionally glancing at Xie Ning and yelling words that were instantly lost to the wind.

Xie Ning glanced at her once, then again, her own face impassive beneath her scarf.

By the time Li Xiang had crawled over to them at a turtle’s pace, she was drenched in sweat and the back of her shirt was soaked through.

”Couldn’t you have just given me a little fucking tug? Do you have any idea how exhausting it is walking against this wind?” Li Xiang started swearing the moment she opened her mouth. ”You could have just flicked your wrist and pulled me over! Did you really have to make it so difficult for me...”

”You’re too weak,” Xie Ning cut her off bluntly. ”Go check the state of the battlefield and report back. Now.”

Li Xiang was so angry she could only roll her eyes.

But with Gu Chen standing right beside Xie Ning, she felt she was no match for the couple on her own. So, she gave up and obediently went to check the situation below the wall.

After one look, she couldn’t resist leaning halfway over the edge.

Xie Ning gave the chain around her waist a sharp tug. ”Do you have a death wish?”

Pulled back to Xie Ning’s side, Li Xiang said quickly, ”The zombies below are completely lost! They’re acting like idiots, haha.”

She laughed, her expression gleeful. ”They can’t even find the wall anymore! They’ve stopped trying to climb and are just milling around in circles.”

”Maybe the sandstorm is affecting their senses?”

”We thought they were drawn to heat signatures, which is why they automatically converge on the base,” Xie Ning frowned. ”How could a sandstorm block that sense?”

Gu Chen thought she had a point and nodded slightly. ”Still, it’s best to be cautious.”

”So what’s the plan?” Li Xiang turned to look at the couple. ”Do we... Do we still have to stand guard up here?”

Gu Chen thought for a moment. ”Let’s hold for another half hour and observe.”

With the zombie tide blanketing the ground below, it was impossible to leave the wall completely unguarded.

But in a sandstorm this bad, how many people could they possibly leave on watch?

A trickle of icy sand slipped down her collar. Xie Ning quickly tightened her scarf. ”Li Xiang, the Organization has a particularly arduous mission for you.”

Li Xiang’s heart skipped a beat. She had a very bad feeling about this.

’Xie Ning has been setting her up like this since they were kids!’

’And from the looks of it, she was about to do it again.’

”Nope. I refuse. I don’t want to.”

Xie Ning blinked. ”Just hear me out. This is a paid service, of course. And because your superpower is so special, the Organization has no choice but to entrust this difficult mission to you!”

”Look, no one else has this great honor. Only you! You’re the base’s only High-level Visual Ability User. How badass is that!”

Because Xie Ning’s entire face was covered, Li Xiang could only see her dark, dark eyes. She couldn’t see any other expression, and so, she somehow found herself thinking that the look in Xie Ning’s eyes was actually quite sincere...

Li Xiang was starting to get carried away.