Chapter 162: The Attack of the Zombie Rats

"Zhang Yang!" Feng Fei screamed in fury. Zhang Yang scratched his ear while swiftly obliterating a zombie. He cast a cold, indifferent glance at Feng Fei and said, "I'm not deaf, you don't need to shout."

"Then are you blind?! Didn't you see that a zombie was practically right on top of me?!" Feng Fei panted heavily, her chest heaving.

"I saw it. So what?" Zhang Yang wore an expression of utter impatience. He simply could not fathom why this woman had come along in the first place. Weren't missions of this caliber restricted to ability users of Tier 3 and above? Where on earth did a coward like her get the nerve to tag along?

"So what? You didn't even think to destroy it?! Do you want to watch me turn into a zombie? Do you forget that we're supposed to be a team?" Feng Fei pointed at Zhang Yang, shaking with rage.

Zhang Yang let out a sneer. "Say one more word and I'll toss you right out of the vehicle!"

Realizing that Zhang Yang was entirely capable of following through with his threat, Feng Fei instantly clamped her mouth shut. She clenched her fists so tightly that her fingernails dug deeply into her palms, casting a venomous, hateful glare at Zhang Yang.

Seeing that Feng Fei had finally shut her trap, Zhang Yang felt a slight sense of relief. That woman was truly unbearably noisy, he thought to himself with a touch of boredom.

With her head lowered, the pungent odors trapped inside the car slowly invaded her nostrils. Her stomach, which had barely settled, began to churn violently once more. The bumpy, pothole-ridden stretch of road made her feel like retching on multiple occasions.

Feeling the turbulent upheaval in her stomach, Feng Fei's resentment toward both Zhang Yang and Qin Yu grew deeper and more profound. A sinister plan began to take root in her mind—a plan to make all of these people simply disappear.

In stark contrast, the atmosphere among Qin Yu and her companions was remarkably harmonious. Any occasional stray zombie was dispatched in a single strike, and their meals were lavishly supplemented by the endless provisions stored within Qin Yu's spatial dimension. Life couldn't possibly be more comfortable!

In truth, Qin Yu and the others had overheard Feng Fei's shrill shrieks, and their unanimous consensus was that she completely deserved it. The muffled, frantic sounds of Feng Fei's temper tantrums drifting from the vehicle ahead caused Zhao Meng to burst into unadulterated, gleeful laughter.

"Xiao Yu, did you hear that? Haha! That woman Feng Fei is practically boiling over with rage. Even though I have no idea what happened, it still feels so immensely satisfying!" Zhao Meng clutched her stomach, laughing uproariously.

Catching sight of Zhao Meng in such a merry state, Xia Cheng reached out to gently rub her flat stomach. Feeling the soft warmth beneath his palm, Xia Cheng narrowed his eyes with an expression of pure, indulgent enjoyment.

To Qin Yu, the scene reeked entirely of excessive public displays of affection. For a split second, she seriously contemplated whether she should separate them into different seats—though, of course, the thought remained strictly a passing notion.

"Xiao Yu, what do you suppose our objective is for this mission to City S?" Zhao Meng abruptly recovered her seriousness after she finished laughing.

The transition had occurred far too rapidly for Qin Yu to process immediately. She tapped the cushion she was sitting on, deep in thought.

A moment later, she shook her head and replied, "There wasn't a single hint or warning beforehand. It's really impossible to guess!"

"True, this mission came out of nowhere, and it's marked as top-priority. It must be an emergency. Besides, the bounty reward is so insanely tempting that it makes you wonder if there's some sort of catch hidden behind it!" Zhao Meng rubbed her chin, striking a pose reminiscent of a master detective.

"I doubt it. The military issued the bounty long before they even knew we would accept it," Qin Yu reasoned.

Upon reflection, Zhao Meng decided that made sense. She waved her hand dismissively and sighed, "Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. We'll find out what's going on once we reach City S. For now, we just have to focus on the journey ahead."

Qin Yu nodded in silent agreement.

"By the way, Xiao Yu, you really need to keep an eye on that woman Feng Fei. The way she looks at you—tsk tsk—it's as if she wants to tear you apart and swallow you whole," Zhao Meng said, smacking her lips.

"Mm, I'm afraid she's bound to stir up some trouble during this trip, so we'd better stay on our guard. Xiao Meng, you should be careful too. Try your best not to be alone with her," Qin Yu said, her brows furrowing slightly as she calculated the likelihood of Feng Fei making a hostile move.

Zhao Meng nodded, patting her own chest with an air of absolute confidence. "Don't you worry, Xiao Yu! If she dares to pull anything, I'll blast her to cinders with a fireball!"

Xia Cheng reached out to pull Zhao Meng's hand away from her chest, wearing an expression of feigned distress. *Sigh, it took so much effort for her to grow to this size, what if she flattens them further by patting them?* Xia Cheng thought mischievously.

Had Zhao Meng possessed any inkling of Xia Cheng's scandalous thoughts, she would undoubtedly have subjected him to domestic discipline on the spot. Mistaking his gesture out of genuine concern that she might have hurt her hand, she didn't read too much into it.

As for Qin Yu, she gracefully feigned complete oblivion to their antics, entirely absorbed in pondering when exactly Feng Fei might choose to strike.

By this time, the interior of the vehicle was filled only with the sound of Zhao Meng's voice and Xia Cheng's occasional, doting interjections, maintaining an otherwise peaceful atmosphere.

The sun descended rapidly toward the horizon. Fortunately, just as dusk began to settle, Qin Yu and her group arrived at a secluded village.

The settlement was largely devoid of zombies. Hu Ke and the others swiftly cleared out the few remaining ones and searched the nearby farmhouses, only to discover that most of the food supplies had already been scavenged by previous survivors. This also explained the scarcity of zombies in the area—evidently, they had already been wiped out.

Despite the lack of provisions in the village, Hu Ke decided that they would spend the night there. The village offered plentiful firewood, which meant they could finally enjoy a hot meal.

Hu Ke and his team managed to unearth a small sack of rice, some flour, and a few rotting potatoes and cabbages from a small, local cottage.

Stepping in to help, Zhao Meng cooked a pot of rice porridge and noodles, ensuring that everyone enjoyed a satisfying and comforting meal.

Throughout the entire process, Feng Fei remained remarkably tight-lipped, uttering not a single word. She silently consumed her share of the porridge and noodles, putting on an unusually obedient display. This docile demeanor caused Hu Ke's impression of her to improve somewhat, viewing her as someone who at least knew how to read the room.

With their bellies full of warm porridge and noodles, a wave of drowsiness washed over the group. They promptly selected a few neighboring farmhouses to bunk down in for the night.

By now, the night was pitch black, and the exhaustion accumulated over a grueling day quickly lulled everyone into a deep sleep. Ouyang Jue maintained his barrier active to safeguard the sleeping group.

In the dead of night, Qin Yu was half-awakened by a faint, persistent rustling sound that grated on her nerves and kept her from slipping back into slumber. Though her eyelids felt leaden and heavy, the escalating noise eventually forced her to snap her eyes open.

The sight that greeted her made her blood run cold. Crawling rapidly toward her across the floor was a tiny zombie rat. Reacting with split-second agility, she whipped out her dagger and dispatched the creature instantly.

Knowing that rats were social, burrowing creatures, Qin Yu understood that the appearance of a single specimen meant others were surely nearby. The absolute priority now was to rouse the others and evacuate the area immediately!

With that urgent thought, Qin Yu scrambled off the brick bed, slicing down any further zombie rats while kicking doors open to wake her companions.

Zhao Meng and the others were naturally high-vigilance individuals. The moment they heard Qin Yu's voice, their groggy, sleep-addled minds snapped to instant alertness. Initially suspecting some minor disturbance, they quickly realized the gravity of the situation was far worse than anticipated.

Ouyang Jue's barrier was utterly useless against subterranean intruders. The instant he detected the presence of the zombie rats, he dropped the barrier entirely and threw himself into active combat to slaughter the swarm.

While Qin Yu's group handled the rodent assault with relative ease, the situation on Hu Ke's end was proving to be drastically more perilous.