Chapter 76
Just because they wanted to survive, to find a peaceful utopia in the apocalypse, the mutants finally began their inevitable first clashes.
Their demands weren’t high—just no plague outbreaks, a piece of land to grow something without it being plundered as soon as it sprouted, and clean water resources. That would be enough!
But was such a place, hidden from others, only found in remote mountains and valleys?
It wasn’t something you could casually find by leaping off cliffs like in martial arts novels. The beauty of stumbling upon a hidden paradise after experiencing hardships was likely non-existent in the era of global information. Even the poorest and most remote places would barely qualify.
But would they be able to survive there?
Roughly calculating, such places would be found in Yunnan and Tibet, places where people in poor health probably couldn’t reach.
Now their only hope was on the islands!
Before the apocalypse, many people couldn’t understand why several countries were always fixated on reef islands the size of basketball courts. Now, they probably understood without needing explanation. Islands, unless they were in frigid zones or barren islands less than a hundred square meters, had become hot commodities.
As long as they could hold onto these islands, even if they spent all day lounging around and sleeping, the tides would bring plenty of food. With something to eat and drink, what more could you ask for in the apocalypse?
Living off the land and the sea, the words of the ancestors were always right.
The mutants suddenly became a hot commodity. When armed groups thought about seizing islands, they generally only considered three things: are there national troops stationed on the island, how many people are guarding it, and most importantly, are there mutants!
Of course, mutants were described differently by many countries. Some believed they had superpowers, while some Western countries called them heretics or evil. There were even those who revered them as prophets or claimed they were chosen by God. In India, they were called guardians of the gods. In the end times, religion was always relied upon, and people could only pray in desperate situations.
At least mutants lived much better lives than ordinary people. It was normal for people to wish they could wake up tomorrow morning as one of them.
There were good and bad islands. Islands with freshwater were the most popular. They shouldn’t be too close to the mainland, preferably surrounded by deep seas, and at the convergence of warm and cold currents was ideal because it meant abundant fishing grounds.
Once food wasn’t an issue, the problem was how to capture or defend this utopia in the apocalypse. Suddenly, various rafts made of all kinds of materials appeared, and mechanical ships were useless. All manpower or boats that could be paddled by manpower became hot commodities.
Annie and Li Shao’s target was any of the Shengsi Islands or the Zhoushan Archipelago below Chongming Island.
However, the population density along the southeast coast was high, so they could only temporarily regroup there and then cross the East China Sea to seize the Ryukyu Islands. They were rich in resources and beautiful scenery, so grabbing any of them would be a reason to smile.
But it wasn’t enough with just three mutants. The end times had turned warfare back into an era where numbers and brute force mattered.
However, when it came to the first battle, Li Shao burst out laughing and couldn’t get up for a while.
Those so-called former XX Construction Company, with many powerful boats, occupied some island…
Were those even boats they were rowing?
Li Shao had seized a dilapidated fishing boat from the leader of a riot on the riverbank. Though tiny, it wasn’t like the Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse boats you’d see in amusement parks!
If they really start fighting, can these boats underfoot compete with anyone?
They’d capsize with just one big wave. They could only be used on clear, breezy days.
But even Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse boats were still boats after all. The further it went, the less Li Shao could laugh. At a loss, the public’s wisdom in desperate times was especially strong. For instance, rafts thickly bound with layers of foam flip-flops, making them unstable and forcing people to lie down…
However, these people wielded formidable weapons, all coming from construction sites. They had no shortage of steel bars and wrenches.
It could only be said that fortunately, people had an instinctual fear of mutants. There weren’t many of Annie’s people, not even ten.
This group of construction workers simply decided not to fight. They weren’t short of food for a few people to eat, but without these mutants, they’d still encounter other mutants. To defend this good place, they couldn’t afford to back down.
In the days that followed, Li Shao excitedly pointed out several nearby small islands, feeling like a general leading troops to battle behind closed doors. It was just that leading a fleet with Donald Duck and others was rather frustrating…
After all, even in a city as big as City B, only four high-level mutants had emerged. Due to the stimulation of the mermaid’s song, Tarassa Goddess also produced four in one breath, except for Nalin staying on Saipan Island, the rest were almost all here and almost united. Ordinary mutants were really no match.
Li Shao was naturally timid and not cut out to be a pioneer. However, in their current situation, where bravery and recklessness only led to quicker deaths, his cautious nature proved beneficial.
With no weapons available and strict controls on cutting tools, the Chinese punks were used to improvising with whatever sharp objects they could find. In this setting, even ordinary sharp tools could become deadly.
Li Shao encountered a mutant with modest strength but impressive control over metal objects. This mutant could make dozens of steel forks fly around like hidden weapons. However, this ability was limited; it could only take out one or two people at a time.
Li Shao, on the other hand, was exceptionally strong. He could lift and hurl hundreds of pounds of stones, which were even able to bend steel forks. His strength was unmatched, and people on the nearby islands were too cautious to challenge him. Survivors in the apocalypse valued their lives greatly.
In any case, these islands were separated by numerous sea routes, and even if a mutant was powerful, they would not easily dominate such a large area. They couldn’t afford to be reckless or overextend themselves.
Just keep it as a nuclear weapon.
So, the first to be famous was Li Shao, but to be honest, a guy with brute force had really low evaluation points.
“We still need some time to accumulate food and fresh water. After everything is enough, we can leave. However, before this, there will definitely be mutants coming to make trouble. People are always careless and cautious, so from now on, no solo actions allowed!”
Xu Qishen loved daydreaming, Li Shao had no opinions, so Annie’s decision had never been questioned by anyone.
“What skills does that mutant with steel forks have?”
“Control metal… It was useful before the end of the world. You can directly scrap a car or key mechanical components, but now it’s been half a day without use, and we don’t even need to mine ore.”
“Never mind, if he wants to follow us, let him. Anyway, he won’t stay alone on an island with us.”
“Sister Annie, what do you think is the most powerful ability? I recently heard news from the north that there’s a water mutant named Zhou Liang. He seems incredibly powerful; he can freeze water into ice to attack, and even conjure up a ball of water to suffocate people by covering their mouths and noses tightly, drowning them on land… What if we encounter someone like that?”
Annie froze as she thought about it. Such malicious intent and control ability, she couldn’t think of a way to deal with it. Even if they used fire to evaporate the water vapor quickly, they might end up cooking themselves.
Annie wasn’t afraid of fire, but she wasn’t particularly fond of water either— they would need to simultaneously use fire to burn the person and see who would give in first!
However, water was naturally capable of extinguishing fire, which was a major disadvantage.
Before Annie could finish worrying, Li Shao muttered again:
“However, I heard that this Zhou Liang was previously causing trouble in B City and was chased away by the national mutant squad? How capable is that captain? Anyway, I can’t figure out what his ability is!”
In the base of B City, Captain Hao was sneezing wildly, feeling lethargic as if he’d been struck by frost. He sat stiffly in place. Coming from a military background, he wouldn’t lie down even if he was exhausted.
The scale of B City’s mutant squad had expanded, now numbering more than thirty people, double the original count. However, they were all just average mutants; there wasn’t a standout among them.
Despite this, some couldn’t help but whisper privately, wondering if this guy with the rank of Second Lieutenant and military equipment was sent by the government to take charge. What abilities did he possess, anyway?
As for which mutant ability is the most powerful, there’s currently a lot of debate without any authoritative opinion.
Captain Hao completely ignored all this messy stuff.
He wasn’t alone in feeling disheartened! Mutants from around the world would silently agree, and only optimists like Li Shao or fools would enjoy their peace.
The reason was simple.
What about the sea monsters?
Are they all dead?
For a whole week, no, thirteen days, there hasn’t been any inexplicable sonic transmission!
During the days when it was noisy, people hated to take a knife and kill those sea monsters, but after a long time without hearing any sound, they still wondered—
This isn’t normal, it’s been more than ten days without a word from them, did they all kill each other to vie for the position of the so-called boss?
Wait, the last message received was from Abiseth, saying that the siren was still alive.
Sea monsters like sirens and mermaids were still alive. Isn’t this indicating their dissatisfaction with the behavior of other sea monsters blatantly ignoring them and directly fighting for the boss’s position?
For those who feared the worst, the idea of everyone being wiped out seemed plausible. They hoped for a resolution where the sirens and mermaids would fight to the death and devour each other when mating, eliminating the threat altogether.
The apocalypse was already harsh enough, and no one wanted to deal with sea monsters attacking the city again.
Of course, the truth is that the sea monsters continue to stay in a certain sea area, eating and sleeping, and others just drifting around.
Thomas drifted around, while Abiseth followed the aircraft carrier, and Siren drifted around with Xia Yi = =
Now the headache for the mermaid was that Xia Yi refused to leave.
The Great Barrier Reef had the most beautiful tropical corals and schools of fish, the furthest offshore deepwater area, where many tiger sharks were waiting to hunt for food. Xia Yi even saw a group of dolphins from afar, but the little guy wasn’t among them.
The closer you swim to the densely packed coral reefs, the more you find that natural harbors and deep bays have formed here. These corals that extend out into the sea surface like walls have become natural fortresses where many schools of fish hide from the storms.
The water inside was very calm, with very little fluctuation, and it’s incredibly clear—you could see schools of angelfish swimming lazily connected by their white fins from far away, and in the clear seawater, you could even see the azure sky and clouds clearly.
In such a beautiful place—where you can occasionally go for a massage from the parrotfish—who would want to leave?
The most crucial thing is to leave here for Antarctica!
Xia Yi was not a fool.
But the Great Barrier Reef was still an island. Australia had vast land, but not Papua New Guinea. Even if the population was small, it’s still a country, and migrating south to the Great Barrier Reef to find food was an inevitable process.
A quiet life was about to be destroyed.
