Chapter 171: The Strange Woods

Early the next morning, Qin Yu and the others packed their belongings, ready to leave and head toward City S. What awaited them, however, was something utterly beyond anyone's imagination.

Since they only had one car, they had to leave some items behind. Of course, leaving them behind simply meant storing them in Qin Yu's spatial dimension. Even the remaining three tires of the replaced car were unbolted by Zhao Meng and handed over to Qin Yu.

With that, Qin Yu and her group boarded the single vehicle and set off grandly toward City S.

Because there were so many people, they had no choice but to squeeze together. This made the already sultry and humid weather even more suffocating under the circumstances, and everyone's mood inevitably grew irritable.

Zhao Meng twitched her neck, but accidentally bumped into Xia Cheng's head. Xia Cheng winced in pain and looked at Zhao Meng, his eyes full of accusation.

Rubbing his sore chin, Xia Cheng looked at her with teary eyes and said, "Wife..."

Seeing Xia Cheng like this, Zhao Meng could only offer a helpless, awkward smile and said, "It was just too cramped, I just wanted to stretch my neck. I'm sorry, does it hurt? Let me blow on it for you."

Xia Cheng pushed his cheek right up to Zhao Meng and said, "Come on, give me a kiss."

Zhao Meng rolled her eyes at Xia Cheng's shameless look, but still kissed the spot where he had been bumped.

Having received his kiss, Xia Cheng smiled happily, completely forgetting about how cramped it was. He looked at Zhao Meng with a goofy grin, successfully earning himself yet another eye-roll from her.

Seeing the two of them still publicly displaying their affection, Xue Qi simply could not take it anymore. He glanced at Zhao Meng and said, "Xiao Meng, please, spare our bodies and souls from this double assault, will you? My poor little heart can't take it."

To this, Zhao Meng's response was a massive, rolling eye-roll! Hmph.

Qin Yu was also finding the humid heat unbearable, so she cracked the window slightly to breathe some fresh air. Catching this, Feng Ji, who was driving, paused for a moment in thought before rolling down all the windows.

Qin Yu was momentarily stunned by the fully opened windows, then she glanced at Feng Ji, a flash of a smile crossing her eyes.

Turning back, Qin Yu said to the others in the back, "The windows are open now, everyone be careful. A single moment of distraction could lead to a zombie attack."

The others nodded, breathing in the fresh air while keeping their eyes sharp and vigilant.

The stifling heat accompanied them all the way forward. By noon, when the sun was at its fiercest, Qin Yu suggested pulling over to rest. If they were to drive continuously for an entire day, they would surely be exhausted by the time they reached City S. Should any danger arise at that point, they might not be able to evade it in time, which would spell serious trouble.

For everyone's safety, they should pause for a while this noon, Qin Yu thought to herself.

Naturally, the others agreed with Qin Yu's suggestion, as they were indeed quite tired. Consequently, the group found a spot that looked relatively flat and safe, parked the car, and took a moment to regroup.

Qin Yu took out food from her spatial dimension and had Zhao Meng light a fire to cook a meal. Because there was an abundance of food in her space, Qin Yu had no immediate worries about running out. She pulled out roughly enough ingredients to feed everyone for a day to prepare this meal.

The others remained silent regarding Qin Yu's display, primarily because they were genuinely craving that food! Everything looked utterly delicious!

Sitting around in a circle, everyone stared fixedly at Zhao Meng. There was no helping it, since she was the head chef! Zhao Meng held a pan over the makeshift fire with one hand and stirred the shredded potatoes in the pan with a spatula in the other.

The tangy aroma of vinegar-infused shredded potatoes, blended with the fresh scent of potato, wafted through the air, causing everyone to instinctively swallow hard. Seeing the hungry expressions of the group, Zhao Meng smiled slightly, and her movements quickened.

Under Zhao Meng's skillful hands, plate after plate of visually appealing and fragrant dishes were laid out before them. Everyone swallowed their saliva, waiting for Zhao Meng to give the word to dig in!

Unable to bear the almost obsessive gazes of certain individuals any longer, Zhao Meng waved her small hand magnanimously and announced, "Dig in!"

This utterance sounded practically like celestial music, and everyone immediately picked up their bowls and chopsticks, shoveling food into their mouths. Just like that, half an hour later, everyone was thoroughly stuffed.

Xue Qi lay lazily on the ground, rubbing his distended belly, and flashed Qin Yu a huge smile. "Sister-in-law, you're amazing!"

Hearing this, Zhao Meng asked with a beaming smile, "And what about me?"

Xue Qi's face stiffened. In truth, he hadn't intended to praise Zhao Meng at all, but since she had put him on the spot, he naturally had to shower her with compliments. Besides, his future culinary delights depended entirely on Zhao Meng! With this thought in mind, Xue Qi immediately praised, "Xiao Meng is the most amazing person in the world!"

Zhao Meng lifted her chin slightly and said with a haughty air, "Of course! Kneel and sing 'Conquer'! Haha."

Xue Qi rolled his eyes and ignored her henceforth. Zhao Meng didn't mind his attitude either, continuing to amuse herself right there.

After resting and entertaining themselves for a little longer, the group prepared to leave. But upon looking around, something seemed rather amiss.

Given how unpredictable zombies could be, Ouyang Jue always maintained a protective barrier. Out of absolute trust in Ouyang Jue, none of them had paid attention to what was happening outside the barrier.

In the past, there had never been any issues, but today something seemed to have gone wrong...

Everyone stared in utter astonishment at the overwhelming sea of trees that had completely enveloped this tiny patch of land.

Zhao Meng twitched the corner of her mouth, turned her stiff neck toward Ouyang Jue, and asked, "What is going on here?"

Ouyang Jue shook his head, a look of helplessness on his face. "I don't know." He could sense the aura of zombies emanating from within this massive expanse of forest. Could there be some high-level zombie hidden inside?

Ouyang Jue's eyes were filled with scrutiny. At that moment, Qin Yu was also staring blankly at the sudden appearance of the vast forest.

"Tell me, ever since all this started, we've seen zombies and mutated animals, but the one thing we haven't encountered is mutated plants, right? Well... excluding that pet of Murong's fellow," Zhao Meng mused, rubbing her chin in deep thought.

"Indeed. Xiao Meng, do you mean to say that what's in front of us now are mutated plants?" Qin Yu asked, looking at Zhao Meng.

Zhao Meng nodded and said, "It should be!"

After a brief moment of contemplation, Qin Yu said, "Everyone, get ready for battle!" She then turned her head to Ouyang Jue and instructed, "On the count of three, drop the barrier."

Ouyang Jue nodded, awaiting Qin Yu's command.

"One! Two! Three! Drop!" With Qin Yu's order, the barrier instantly vanished, and simultaneously, they were met with the frantic assault of the seemingly harmless forest.

The branches of the trees whipped toward them like tentacles, carrying an unstoppable, bamboo-splitting momentum.

Seeing this terrifying spectacle, Zhao Meng shouted at the top of her lungs, "Everyone, be careful! These things are not easy to deal with!"

Her only answer, however, was the rustling sound of moving tree branches. It was then that she looked around and discovered, to her horror, that the others had vanished!

Presented before her eyes was nothing but a sea of lush green foliage.