Dark Civilization Volume 1 Chapter 15

Book 1 Chapter 15: Leaving The Hotel!

With a flash of his body, Ye Chen instantly arrived before the mutant ant. Grasping the fireman's axe, he swung it at the mutant ant's remaining appendages, craftily aiming for its joints.

*Clang!

Although the sharp axe was backed by Ye Chen's monstrous strength, hacking the mutant ant's sleek black limbs still felt like striking reinforced steel bars. Sparks flew as the axe grinded on the mutant ant's joint.

His initial strike actually failed to lop off its limb, only causing a slight dent upon the ant's exoskeleton. Ye Chen was inwardly impressed at its durability. Mutant ants certainly lived up to their reputation as beings among the strongest in the later stages of the apocalypse, their exoskeletons were almost impregnable!

Ye Chen did not stop there; he continuously hacked with his axe. Right now, he only needed to get past its hard exterior. The insides of an ant were much softer; he could easily tear the limb off after getting past its exoskeleton.

The mutant ant which was exposed to an exploding gas cylinder at close proximity had shards of shrapnel lodged throughout its body, bits that were blown off the cylinder itself. Currently, it was experiencing a concussion and could only struggle helplessly on the ground.

With Ye Chen landing consecutive blows with the axe, the handle finally snapped after being exerted past its breaking point. With no other choice, Ye Chen wielded the axe-head directly and continued his a.s.sault. A minute later, he finally managed to hack off all the ant's limbs.

Afterwards, Ye Chen pinned down the mutant ant's head before attempting to break off its mandibles. Only after an intense couple of minutes did he manage to do so. With that, Ye Chen could finally relax. He hefted the mangled mutant ant and left the room with it in tow.

Returning to his room, Ye Chen dumped the mutant ant on the floor and searched for a spare gas cylinder. After emptying the gas cylinder, he took it apart and stuffed the mutant ant inside.

A wooden box simply could not suffice. It would crack with the slightest wiggle made by the mutant ant. Against a creature with such immense strength, wood might as well be considered paper….

"I can't allow this mutant ant to die yet or else the gene cells in its body will solidify, making extraction impossible." Ye Chen pondered, "Right now, my objective is to locate a research facility. There, I'll be able to extract this ant's genes and have them injected into my body!"

Ye Chen went over to check the hotel's built in computer, a quick browse indicated lack of internet connection. Ever since the apocalypse struck, communication networks the world over have ceased to function. Not only has the internet gone down, phone lines were dead as well.

However, Ye Chen was already prepared. He had known that things would turn out this way before the apocalypse struck and had purchased a map of China and various other detailed maps beforehand.

This map purchased for a few dollars was just as useful as a pistol or any other sidearm in the apocalypse world!

Ye Chen flipped through the map of the city. After scanning through it briefly, he found a symbol on the map indicating a research facility seven kilometers away.

Ye Chen's brows began to cringe.

Seven kilometers…. It was neither too long a distance nor too short.

Normally, it would be just a bus ride away. Now, with monstrosities roaming everywhere and countless zombies lining the streets, these seven kilometers implicated an unpredictable amount of danger. Even if he were to set out alone, he couldn't guarantee a safe arrival at the research facility.

To go or not….

A tinge of doubt and hesitation began to surface in Ye Chen's heart.

If he was currently alone, he would undoubtedly risk everything to head over towards that research facility. The reason was, the mutant beasts and zombies were currently still at their weakest. After the second month and the month after, those creatures will only continue to grow stronger….

If he failed to reach the research facility now, he'd lose his chance forever.

However, he had his younger sister with him in this life, if he were to meet an untimely demise; there will be no one else who could look out for her….

Those days of living pitifully in solitude, Ye Chen deeply understood how it felt. He would never allow his little sister to live like that.

While he was deep in contemplation, time pa.s.sed and it was now almost mid-day. The door opened and in came Ye Zhu and Bai Long. Immediately noticing Ye Chen on the sofa with a glance, Ye Zhu brightened with cheer as it clearly indicated that his hunt was successful. With a light chuckle, she inquired: "What's on your mind?"

Ye Chen raised his head to look at her.

This familiar face before him, was smiling with such playfulness….

Such thoughts gave rise to a deep sense of warmth in his heart. Ye Chen shifted himself to the side of the sofa to allow his sister to sit down with him. After a moment to collect his thoughts, he glanced at Ye Zhu and slowly began to speak, saying: "For what needs to be done, I'll have to embark on a journey of utmost peril!"

Ye Zhu was astonished, the smile on her face gradually began to fade. With her brows in a slight furrow, she understood that there was a good reason why her brother had suddenly took on such a somber demeanor. The perilous journey he spoke of was certain to be dangerous beyond anything they had faced so far!

After a brief silence, she asked: "Where are you headed?"

Ye Chen studied her gaze for a moment, before gravely replying: "Away from this hotel to a research facility. It's seven kilometers away."

Ye Zhu nervously bit her lower lip. She hesitated awhile before asking: "Can you not go?"

Ye Chen slowly shook his head; this simple gesture conveyed his solemn resolve.

Only attaining the might of a genome warrior would afford him the ability to survive in this world, otherwise an inevitable death awaits.

Ye Zhu tightened her hands into fists before staring straight into her brother's eyes saying: "I'll go with you!"

"Not happening!" Ye Chen flatly refused.

Ye Zhu fought against his gaze, saying: "If you're going to risk your life, then I'll not live on complacently either. You may leave me here, but I'll follow you in secret if I have to!"

Ye Chen inadvertently broke into a bitter smile; he had already predicted such a development. Now, there were only two choices before him.

First choice: abandon the journey to the research facility!

Second choice: bring his sister along the journey with him!

Ye Chen knew that with his sister's stubborn personality, she would not concede after resolving herself to do something. Ye Chen also knew that if he were to perish, the eventual changes brought by the apocalypse would undoubtedly be overwhelming. The Volcanic Era aside, even surviving in the Glacial Era would require his guidance; the odds of his sister surviving alone were abysmal.

"Fine!"

After what felt like an eternity, Ye Chen finally heaved a sigh and said: "Let's go together then."

Ye Zhu gazed suspiciously at her brother. After studying his expression for a moment, she was finally convinced that he wasn't trying to dupe her. Finally, she broke into a smile, saying: "That's how it should be. From now on, don't ever think of leaving me behind. If we live, we live together. If we die, we die together!"

Ye Chen was inwardly moved by her words, he began patting her dotingly on the head.

"You guys plan on leaving?" Bai Long who was sitting close by decided it was the right moment to cut in.

Ye Chen turned to face him and nodded before saying: "You can choose not to come. With your current strength, you should be able to live here comfortably. Eventually, there should be a a chance to escape here when the army pa.s.ses by. It's the best plan I can offer you."

Bai Long furrowed his brows saying: "But where exactly are you headed?"

Ye Chen calmly replied: "A dangerous place. With my current strength, I only have thirty percent of surviving this journey."

Bai Long dropped into silence.

Thirty percent? Gambling on such a slim chance was like walking to your own doom.

During dinner, all three of them were silent. Everyone had their own thoughts to attend to. Therefore, the silence continued throughout the night.

The next day.

With the windows opened, the first rays of sunshine seeped into the room.

Ye Chen was busy packing things that would be useful during the journey. Aside from a new fireman's axe, he broke down a watermelon knife to be used as a dagger and strapped it around his thigh on his camo pants. He also packed a small pouch full of candy into his backpack.

He did not bring any bottles of gasoline. A bottle's worth may be useful against a group of zombies, but against a creature with 30 men's worth of strength, it wouldn't amount to much. The sound of the explosion however, would alert their presence to any other creatures nearby making things worse.

After the preparations were done, Ye Zhu prepared a sumptuous meal for breakfast. Who knows when they would be able to eat a fresh meal like this after they left this hotel?

The two began wolfing down their breakfast with frightening haste.

"Where's Bai Long?" Ye Zhu glanced at her surroundings but failed to locate the man in question.

Ye Chen indifferently replied: "He's probably asleep or something. Just have your things ready, we're leaving after this."

As Ye Zhu glanced at Bai Long's bedroom door, a tinge of disappointment rose in her heart as she turned to pack her things. Her choice of necessities was much more different than her brother's. In her backpack were numerous sets of clean clothes….

Ye Chen was honestly speechless at the sight, he finally took out some unnecessary clothes and switched them for a pouch of candy. The calories in a single piece of candy were almost equivalent to a bowl of rice.

"We're off!"

As Ye Chen opened the door, he glanced back into the room. This room that they've inhabited for the past few weeks suddenly seemed a bit cold and empty.

As the two stepped forth to depart, the bedroom door suddenly flung open. Out came Bai Long wearing a set of camo clothes while wielding two watermelon knives and a black package slung on his back. Smilingly, he said: "Let's go!"

Ye Zhu was startled into asking: "What do you mean?"

Bai Long chuckled while glancing at her astonished face, saying: "How could a righteous man like myself possibly allow a delicate little lady to accompany a cold-blooded, emotionless and perverse man like that alone? Naturally I'll have to follow along to protect you!"

"What a terrible excuse!" Ye Zhu inwardly thought, inadvertently breaking into a smile.

Ye Chen coldly replied: "What did you just say about me?"

"I seem to have lost my memory, what were you talking about?"

"There'll be mutant freaks everywhere, don't come complaining that I didn't tell you so when you end up dead."

"Relax; a charitable, self-sacrificing and pa.s.sionate youth like myself would never blame you for your faults."

"Very well, from now on you'll be in charge of holding off any mutant freaks we come across."

"d.a.m.n! Are you trying to intimidate me?"

"Whatever, don't come then."

"Xiao Zhu, you see it don't you? How cold, perverse and emotionless this guy is!"

"You should be happy; my brother's only trying to save you from dying a senseless death."

"As if he'd be so kind!"

Translator's Notes:

Up till now, the author has used the term 'strange creature' in Chinese to refer to mutant beasts. I'll be using the term mutant freaks or mutant beasts depending on how vague the author gets.