Yu Qingxian emerged from the forest, looking at the peacock feather in her hand. She pondered for a moment, realizing she could not take it away.
If she brought it with her and dropped it somewhere, it would endanger these animals if discovered by humans.
Even in the apocalypse, there were still many who sought pleasure.
If someone took a liking to the mutant peacock's feathers, what would happen?
After considering this, Yu Qingxian put down her camera, asked the Tyrannosaurus Rex to wait for her, and returned the feather.
On her way out, she carefully covered the branches and openings.
She even used a shovel to dig up anything resembling a pathway.
This way, even if someone passed by, they would not notice anything amiss.
Fortunately, the roots of trees in this area had raised the paths, making it easy to restore the natural look.
Though it was unlikely anyone would come to such a place.
Yu Qingxian finished her tasks, and it was already late.
She looked at the sky.
There was no way she could find a house to stay tonight.
Many fruit trees were planted around the houses in this rural area, surrounding the entire village with trees.
Yu Qingxian found a spot, using a shovel and an axe to clear a small area, and gathered branches to start a fire.
The frozen branches produced billows of smoke when ignited.
Watching the smoke rise above the treetops, Yu Qingxian found it amusing and even took a photo.
She then fed the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Looking at its food supply, she estimated it would only last three to five days.
She needed to go to the city.
The battery in her luggage case was also running low.
It was time to find a generator to recharge it.
As the Tyrannosaurus Rex ate, Yu Qingxian studied the map of nearby cities.
One was about fifty kilometers behind her.
But it was not feasible to turn back.
Another was over a hundred kilometers ahead.
It was a city in a canyon, with only one road leading out.
For some reason, Yu Qingxian felt a sense of despair when she looked at this city on the map.
It was built along the canyon, with a river and cliffs on one side.
Only one road passed through the entire city.
The city was not large, with a population of less than 600,000.
But such a location was inherently dangerous.
If the zombie virus outbreak occurred, a single car accident would leave no chance of escape.
Yu Qingxian was indeed worried about the situation in this city.
It had been almost a year since the apocalypse began.
Could there still be survivors in this city?
After much thought, Yu Qingxian decided to head to the city in the canyon.
With the Tyrannosaurus Rex's speed, they could reach it in a day, over a hundred kilometers away.
But at the moment, its food supply could last at least three days, so there was no rush.
Yu Qingxian thought this way, never expecting that there would actually be survivors in this place.
Seemingly due to the fire she had started, a heavy vehicle approached from the direction of the road.
Yu Qingxian looked towards the roadside.
Her sled was only about ten meters from the road, so she pulled it as close to the side as possible.
Even though she didn't expect any vehicles on this road, Yu Qingxian still moved the sled as far as she could.
So when the vehicle stopped, she was surprised.
Two people actually walked towards her direction.
Fortunately, they noticed the Tyrannosaurus Rex and did not approach too closely.
"Are you a survivor? How come you're alone? Do you want to come to our shelter and rest?" a woman asked Yu Qingxian. Her voice sounded young.
She was heavily bundled up, with only her eyes visible through the layers.
Yu Qingxian, of course, could not speak.
She simply waved her hand at the woman and the person beside her from inside her down jacket, then lowered her head as if tending to the fire.
When she heard the vehicle, she had already put on her mask.
The hood of her down jacket was also pulled up, and with the darkness, they could not see her face clearly.
Seeing Yu Qingxian wave them off and noticing the formidable Tyrannosaurus Rex, the person did not say anything further.
They only said, "Since you want to stay here, be careful. There are two smoke bombs here; keep them for use. There are Mutant monkeys in this area that eat people, so be careful."
They took two smoke bombs out of their bag and placed them on the ground.
Yu Qingxian did not respond except to wave her hand in refusal.
The two spoke in a heavily accented Mandarin, clearly locals.
Their vehicle also seemed to have been modified.
Three others remained in the vehicle, one holding a gun, possibly as a precaution against the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
In the end, Yu Qingxian's encounter with the humans ended safely with their polite gesture.
After the vehicle drove off some distance, one of the people in the backseat asked in the local dialect, "Why bother with that person? Daring to start a fire alone in the wild, not afraid of death. These mountains are full of those Mutant monkeys and other mutated animals and zombies. Doesn't even have common sense, not afraid of being eaten."
But the woman in the passenger seat laughed and reassured him, "Don't say that. To be able to survive alone in this kind of apocalypse takes skill, not just luck. Didn't you see that big dog with them? It looked very formidable."
They then discussed their haul from this trip.
Yu Qingxian, of course, could hear their conversation.
But she could not understand a single word.
Although she was from this province, there were so many different dialects in the south.
Even between neighboring villages, the dialects could be unintelligible.
But Yu Qingxian did not mind.
It seemed this place did have a shelter.
And the number of survivors in the whole country was far greater than the number on her phone.
However, Yu Qingxian was more interested in the Mutant monkeys those people mentioned.
What were Mutant monkeys?
Yu Qingxian inexplicably thought of a particular mountain and its monkeys.
But it was clear that the Mutant monkeys the woman spoke of were not as simple as mutated monkeys.
Yu Qingxian was certain those people had left, so she went to examine the two smoke bombs.
She tapped them with her shovel to ensure they would not suddenly explode, then picked them up.
They were indeed smoke bombs.
No traps or anything.
These smoke bombs were for her to use against the Mutant monkeys.
In other words, the Mutant monkeys relied on their vision to identify prey?
Thinking of this, Yu Qingxian looked at the fire in front of her.
Would a Mutant monkey suddenly appear if she turned her head?
With this thought, Yu Qingxian abruptly turned her head, but there was no abnormality in the forest behind her.
She then looked up at the trees.
The Mutant monkeys must have characteristics of monkeys to be called such.
And they were likely primates.
Such as humans, gorillas, baboons, or apes and monkeys.
And as Yu Qingxian looked up, she met a pair of glowing red eyes.
Its body was covered in black fur, but she could barely make out that it had once been human.
So this was a Mutant monkey.
Yu Qingxian saw the Mutant monkey hanging from the tree, warily watching her and the Tyrannosaurus Rex, not attacking rashly.
So this must be a higher-level zombie.
She grabbed her camera and took a picture of it.
Speak of the devil, and it shall appear.
The Mutant monkey seemed to have grown fur to withstand the cold, since it was a zombie.
But it was slender and much larger than an average monkey, clearly identifiable as a human being from its size.
Just too ugly.
Indeed, having no hair was not attractive, but being covered in fur was unsettling and disturbing.
Of course, the ugliest was that zombie-devouring creature.
