Chapter 127: Red Specks of Light in the Darkness

"Look, it's just ahead." The two turned a sharp corner, one after the other, and Wen Hui pointed toward the alleyway at the end of the bend. Originally, Wen Hui had refused to let Zhuang Xiaoyuan follow, but after Zhuang Xiaoyuan cited her current weakened state and the danger of being alone, they had come together. Along the way, Wen Hui had roughly explained her discoveries within this ruined city.

"Whoa, it ended up like this? I thought I might be able to fix it." Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s disappointment was evident as she stared at her beloved vehicle. Although she was currently unable to access her Chloe transformation, the knowledge she had acquired from Zhuang Xiaosi was enough for her to handle some simple repairs. However, the moment she saw her car, those hopes were completely shattered.

The state of the car could only be described as tragic. Of the four tires, only one remained, and even that one was completely fractured and unusable. While tires might still be found in this abandoned city, the chassis was severely damaged as well; one could see from the outside that it had collapsed by half.

Not to mention the exterior, which was truly a sight of ruin. The only things that remained intact were the seats inside, which were surprisingly pristine despite the severe damage to the shell.

"Wow, I found it! There’s so much food, thank goodness. Finally, I don't have to just gnaw on crackers anymore." Wen Hui, who had climbed into the car first, let out an excited cry. It seemed her harvest was quite good; the food supplies stashed behind the back seat hadn't been depleted much, or she wouldn't be this happy.

Ignoring Wen Hui, who was busy sorting through the food in the back, Zhuang Xiaoyuan slid into the driver's seat and began searching for her hidden stash. She pressed a few spots on the center console, and a faint sense of relief washed over her. Fortunately, although the car was a wreck, some of the manual switches were still functional; they were independent mechanical toggles, after all.

As she pressed the switch, the console between the driver and passenger seats popped open, revealing a hidden compartment. Zhuang Xiaoyuan pushed the console to the right, fully exposing the secret space and the items concealed within.

"Huh? You actually had a secret compartment like this? You’re really devious, Xiaoyuan." Having noticed Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s long silence and her focus on the driver’s seat, Wen Hui leaned over. Seeing the open compartment, she couldn't help but peek inside while taking a jab at her friend.

"It’s not devious, it’s being prepared. I anticipated that this kind of situation might happen, though I admit I wasn't fully prepared. Sigh." Rolling her eyes at Wen Hui, Zhuang Xiaoyuan reached into the compartment, pulled out a pair of pistols, and tossed one to her.

"A pistol... You actually prepared such a useless thing? I have my Hurricane Gun; I have no need for this." Catching the gun, Wen Hui looked at it blankly, intending to hand it back.

"Keep it. It’s not for killing monsters, but for ending your own life when your divine power is exhausted and you have no way to fight back." Zhuang Xiaoyuan didn't take the gun back and continued pulling items from the compartment: a noise-canceling ear-mic headset, a Chloe-reinforced dagger, stimulants, an underwater respirator, moisture-proof matches, and various other scattered, miniature tools.

"Suicide... So this is the 'Final Toll' that every member of the Mecha Unit carries. It looks so ordinary..." Hearing this, Wen Hui froze for a moment. She looked at the pistol in her hand, thinking of the soldiers who had used such weapons to end their lives before being consumed by demons. This gun held the hopes of countless warriors and was stained with their blood.

"Alright, that’s about it. Are you done yet?" Having emptied the compartment into a military-green backpack she had retrieved, Zhuang Xiaoyuan turned to ask Wen Hui in the back. It was better not to linger here until they understood the situation in this city. Who knew what kind of strange things they might encounter?

"Wait a second, I'll be done soon." Urged by Zhuang Xiaoyuan, Wen Hui stopped worrying about the pistol, shoved it into her pocket, and began stuffing food into her own pack. She had already filled two large bags, and this was the third. With food sources currently non-existent, she couldn't afford to waste a single bit.

"Swish, swish, swish."

"Wait, stop. Xiaohui, do you hear something strange?" Zhuang Xiaoyuan pushed the roof hatch open and leaned over the seats to help pack. A moment later, a faint, eerie sound began to echo around them, putting her on high alert.

"A sound?" Focused on the food, Wen Hui only noticed the anomaly after Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s warning. Feeling a strange, chilling aura in the breeze, her expression shifted. She shoved Zhuang Xiaoyuan, grabbed the two food bags, and leaped out of the car. "Run! Something is coming!"

The force of Wen Hui’s shove made the gravity of the situation clear. As Wen Hui jumped out, Zhuang Xiaoyuan followed the momentum, grabbed a backpack in each hand, and scrambled out the other side, running back the way they had come.

"Swish, swish, swish." The sound of countless small creatures crawling toward them drifted from the depths of the alley. Inside the pitch-black space, tiny red lights began to flicker. A sea of gathering red dots surged forward, pouring toward them like a tide.

"What in the world is that?" Seeing the dense cluster of red lights still hidden in the darkness behind her, Zhuang Xiaoyuan felt her scalp tingle. She accelerated her pace; regardless of her physical weakness after the fever, she would have run just as fast—the scene behind them was simply too horrific.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak." As they dashed out of the alley and rounded the corner toward the small clinic, the swarming mass pursued them. In that split second of turning the corner, they caught a glimpse of what the red dots truly were.

They were rats—thousands of them. But they weren't ordinary rats; they were skeletons. There was no flesh, only bone, with red lights glowing in their hollow eye sockets. They were like the skeleton soldiers of fantasy tales, only in the form of rats.