Chapter 122: The Hunt

It was precisely Wang Yezhi’s words that had kept Xie Han filled with excitement for several days. However, the equipment at the XR virus research center was pitifully scarce, and the difficulty of conducting any meaningful research was obvious. Therefore, Xie Han brought several leaves of the multicolored plant back to the modern world. Through certain connections, he contacted a large research center in Shanghai and entrusted them with characterizing the plant.

Modern research equipment was certainly not as advanced as that of the post-apocalyptic world, but the modern world possessed an advantage the apocalypse lacked: peace and stability. Sometimes, a small amount of advanced equipment cannot compare to a vast quantity of rudimentary equipment. Thus, while Wang Yezhi had spent a week only scratching the surface, the large research center in Shanghai had already provided a clear, written answer.

When Xie Han received the email from the research center, he stared at the identification results in disbelief.

"Damn, this is just too ridiculous." It was no wonder Xie Han cursed; according to the center’s findings, the plant’s effects on the human body were twofold: first, it enhanced immune capacity; second, it improved conception rates and fetal antibody resistance. The first point was not particularly surprising, but the second was shocking. Could it be that this miraculous herbal plant was so unremarkable in its function?

But upon a second thought, Xie Han was suddenly overcome with ecstasy. This plant, which might have little use in the modern world, meant what for the apocalypse? It meant rebirth and the continuation of the future.

The post-apocalyptic world was everywhere permeated by the XR virus. Although three and a half years had passed and its infectiousness was no longer as potent as it once was, those who had survived already possessed a certain level of immune resistance. However, this applied only to survivors, not to young children or infants. In the apocalypse, these two age groups could not survive XR virus infection, regardless of how superior their genes might be.

It was precisely under these conditions that the natural rate of conception in the apocalypse was already low. Even when conception did occur, the virus often destroyed the embryo within the first month, turning it into a mass of blood and resulting in miscarriage. As for the pregnant women who were lucky enough to reach the fourth or fifth month, it was nothing short of a catastrophe. Once the XR virus caused the four-or-five-month-old fetus to evolve into a zombie, it would literally tear its way out of the womb, a scene too gruesome to behold.

One might think a four-or-five-month-old fetus was not yet fully formed and could not possibly possess the strength to tear through a stomach. But one should not underestimate the power boost the XR virus granted human zombies. While it might be difficult for a fetal zombie to break out from the outside, it became much easier from the vulnerable interior.

Against this backdrop, the thing every woman feared most was conceiving after being subjected to men's base desires. Many women were struck with panic upon discovering they were pregnant, and some even resorted to extreme measures to terminate the pregnancy. The act of pregnancy, a woman’s natural calling, had become something more feared than zombies in this post-apocalyptic world. No woman wanted to get pregnant; they had seen too many women meet tragic, horrific ends.

Consequently, the entire future of humanity was filled with uncertain crises. Many even imagined that humanity would not need to be extinguished by zombies; it would self-extinct because the presence of the XR virus made it impossible to pass on the next generation. This thought caused many to lose the courage to struggle for survival, living like walking corpses, terrified of each passing day.

If this plight continued or remained unresolved, the future of humanity would be filled with despair. In Xie Han's view, this was a problem not only he would face, but every human settlement would eventually confront. Perhaps the dilemma was not yet obvious, but as time passed, it would gradually manifest.

Xie Han had never considered this issue before because his focus had been on construction, causing him to overlook this massive, latent problem. If not for the appearance of this multicolored plant, he might not have noticed this issue for a long time. Perhaps even if he built the entire base perfectly, making it impregnable to zombies, it could very well be destroyed by this very problem.

The appearance of the multicolored plant would undoubtedly solve this. Enhanced resistance, improved conception rates, and increased fetal immunity—combined, these were perfect. This would imbue his New City with vitality and hope. More importantly, New City had finally found its advantage among the various human settlements: the continuation of humanity itself.

With this discovery, Xie Han named the plant "Nuwa Herb." He increased the collection team to two hundred people and began to expand the search radius. As a result, massive amounts of herbs were discovered, and although the Nuwa Herb was rare, it was continuously found and brought back by the collection teams. The collection of Nuwa Herb was primarily based on transplantation; the plants were settled in a vast gravel belt by the lakeside, guarded by heavy troops.

Meanwhile, the XR virus research center temporarily shifted its focus to the study of the Nuwa Herb so that the medication could be developed and put into practical use as quickly as possible.

The quantity of Nuwa Herb was indeed very scarce, and they usually grew in desolate areas where no one had set foot. Under Xie Han's leadership, the team had traveled across countless mountains and rivers, with their search radius at one point extending to the outskirts of the former Wangtian Base.

Xie Han was currently leading the collection team through an area dozens of kilometers north of the military restricted zone. Before his eyes lay endless emerald mountain ranges, appearing like a pristine, untouched forest. The August weather was somewhat sweltering, but walking under the trees, one could feel the dampness and coolness of the shade. Xie Han even discovered some red mushrooms from July that had not yet withered in August. After climbing a towering peak, he looked out at the highway cutting through the mountains. This highway connected Wangtian City to the provincial capital of Binhai Province, Haigang City. The entire highway spanned over two thousand kilometers, crossing more than a dozen cities and dozens of large towns. Before the apocalypse, it was the busiest highway between the two provinces, with tens of thousands of vehicles traveling it daily.

However, the arrival of the apocalypse had turned this once-bustling highway deathly silent. Countless abandoned cars were scattered across the road, severely blocking traffic. In some places, dozens of vehicles had collided, completely sealing off the highway. It was no wonder there had been no traces of survivors passing through; it was likely they lacked the capacity to clear the zombies along the way.

The zombies on the highway were somewhat sparse; they were originally drivers who had turned, and over three and a half years of mutual cannibalism, they had become increasingly rare. However, those that had not been consumed by their own kind in three and a half years were undoubtedly the elite among common zombies. Their attacks were more ferocious, and although their numbers were few, the threat they posed remained massive.

Xie Han, however, had no intention of provoking them. His current mission was to collect herbs and search for the Nuwa Herb. Hunting these zombies was an absolute necessity, but not now; everything had to wait until New City could become self-sufficient.

Under Xie Han's command, the two-hundred-person collection team quickly occupied the vast mountain area by sector. Looking from afar, the two hundred people dotted the giant peak like stars.

As usual, Xie Han found a clean rock to sit on, staring blankly at the overlapping mountain ranges in the distance. Possessing the third-level gene, his hearing was nearly ten times sharper than that of an ordinary person. Especially on this high peak, his hearing reached incredibly far. As he twitched his ears, faint sounds of gunfire and the characteristic "woo-woo" of zombies seemed to drift toward him.

Xie Han gave a start and leapt up from the rock, looking toward the end of the highway in the distance. The sound was distant, yet it grew clearer by the moment. It was evident that the commotion was moving from the distant highway toward Wangtian City.

Xie Han’s sudden movement also startled the squad of thirty soldiers. Zhao Baian, who had been promoted to deputy captain of the collection team, did not know what was happening when he saw Xie Han listening intently. He quickly followed suit, but heard nothing. "Commander, what is it?"

"There is a situation. Gather the collection personnel and hold one position. Soldiers, assemble and follow me." After repeatedly confirming that he hadn't misheard, Xie Han issued his orders quickly.

The soldiers were already gathered together, so Xie Han’s order was executed in half a minute. The collection personnel, however, were spread out over a wide area and would need at least fifteen minutes to assemble and fortify. Xie Han disregarded the collection personnel and, once the soldiers were assembled, immediately led them toward the highway not far down the mountain.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Xie Han did not rashly charge onto the highway. Instead, he quietly approached and climbed a small hill by the roadside, took out his binoculars, and peered into the distance. By now, even the ordinary soldiers could faintly hear the mixture of gunfire and engine noises.

Through the binoculars, he saw various abandoned vehicles parked chaotically on the highway, blocking most of the road; in some gaps, there wasn't even enough space for a single car. On the road, a lack of rain for several months had left it covered in layers of dust. As the wind blew, sand and gravel flew, and clouds of dust rose.

The wandering zombies, influenced by the sounds of gunfire and engines, rushed toward the source of the noise like wolves smelling blood. Soon, nearly a hundred zombies gathered, filling that stretch of the highway.

Further away, a large bulldozer was smashing through, violently knocking aside the abandoned vehicles in its way, roaring down the highway with unstoppable momentum.

Behind the bulldozer were three military off-road vehicles. In the open vehicles, six or seven people sat in each, their faces tense, clutching the vehicle's fixtures in terror to avoid being thrown out. Behind the off-road vehicles were two cargo trucks, packed full of screaming people. Fear had driven them into a panic, as if the end of the world were upon them.

Bringing up the rear of the convoy was another bulldozer. Unlike the first one, which focused on pushing power, this one had been modified. Three machine guns were mounted on its rear frame, along with eight shooting positions, giving the vehicle significant firepower. The three machine guns were firing wildly; however, from Xie Han’s position, he could not see what lay further behind, so he had no idea what they were shooting at.

The lead bulldozer was brutal. Its massive bucket smashed any car in its way, sending them flying into the air, where they disintegrated before even hitting the ground. The bulldozer roared past without stopping. With such reckless action, the blocked highway was forced open, creating a path through the obstacles for the convoy.

Clearly, this was not the first time this convoy had encountered a mass of zombies blocking their way. The lead bulldozer plowed into the zombie swarm without a moment's hesitation, while the limited firepower on the vehicle opened fire. If abandoned cars couldn't stop this frantic machine, these zombies, far more fragile than steel, certainly couldn't. The giant bucket was soon covered in black liquid and mangled flesh. As the convoy drew closer, Xie Han could see more clearly through his binoculars. To his astonishment, through the shattered windshield of the lead bulldozer, the driver was a woman. She wore a helmet, and her disheveled hair whipped in the wind, making it hard for Xie Han to see her face. Every time the bulldozer struck an obstructing car, she gritted her teeth, enduring the violent impact.

The driver of the rear bulldozer was a bearded man. He stared fixedly ahead, seemingly dissatisfied with the speed of the off-road vehicles, shouting loudly, but the distance was too great. Coupled with the roar of the engines and the machine-gun fire, even with Xie Han’s full concentration, he could not make out what was being said. He surmised, however, that the man was shouting for the vehicles ahead to move faster.

Some of the cars thrown aside still contained gasoline, and upon impact, they turned into massive, burning fireballs, crashing to the ground. Flames splattered, and thick smoke billowed. The dust kicked up by the high-speed travel gradually obstructed the view.

When the convoy finally burst through the swirling yellow dust, Xie Han could finally see what was behind the rear bulldozer. Due to the dust, nothing had been visible when the convoy first emerged.

But less than three seconds later, Xie Han’s pupils constricted. Two leopard-like figures dashed out of the dust like lightning, their limbs pounding the ground with power. In the blink of an eye, they accelerated again. Their狰狞 (sinister) forms were identical to the biological R3 type, but based on Xie Han’s understanding, while these two resembled R3s, they were fundamentally different.

The speed of a biological R3 was terrifying, but these two leopard-like zombies were only slightly slower than an R3 in Xie Han’s eyes, a speed that was still astonishing. A biological R3 still retained some human characteristics, but these two zombies had evolved to the point where they lacked any trace of humanity. Their massive, blood-red maws occupied the space of their entire faces, incomparable to the relatively small mouths of the biological R3s.

A trace of panic arose in Xie Han’s heart. These were a brand-new type of zombie he had never encountered. He quickly called out to Zhou Ruomeng, asking anxiously, "What is going on with these two zombies?" Ignoring Zhou Ruomeng’s reply, his mind was already submerged in the third-level database.

Zhou Ruomeng said, "You should know that the evolution of the XR virus’s hosts is always ever-changing. The 'R' level is merely a general classification. Within the R-level, zombies can be divided into several categories: Agility, Strength, Mental, and Composite. The biological R3 type includes many evolutionary variants; while their abilities are strange and varied, they ultimately cannot escape those four categories."

"So, these two zombies can also be classified within the R3 range?" Xie Han felt a headache coming on. The more he learned, the more he realized the complexity of zombie classification was far beyond what humanity currently understood. There were even many types of zombies that had never appeared in human sight.

Zhou Ruomeng nodded and said, "Yes. The R3s you encountered before were of the Agility and Mental types. These two you are seeing now are the Composite type. Generally speaking, the Composite type is the hardest to deal with. They possess good speed, powerful strength, and terrifying defensive capabilities. In their nomenclature, they have a bloody name: Hunters."

While Zhou Ruomeng was analyzing this information, the rear bulldozer veered slightly during its travel and struck the front of an abandoned car. Although the bulldozer successfully smashed the car's front off and continued moving, the slight hesitation broke the speed balance they had been maintaining.

The two Hunters leapt into the air simultaneously, ignoring the conventional bullets striking their bodies, and pounced onto the frame behind the bulldozer.

"Damn it..." the bearded man driving cursed fiercely, jerking the steering wheel in an attempt to throw the Hunters off the frame. Unfortunately, the Hunters' sharp claws were enough to keep them anchored to the rear. Instead, a machine gunner, caught off guard by the Hunters’ sudden pounce, was violently thrown off the bulldozer.

"Ah..." The machine gunner was flung off at high speed and slammed into the front of a nearby car, caving it in. Blood sprayed everywhere, and the gunner could only open his mouth; before he could utter a single sound, the gushing blood choked him.

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