Super Gene Hunting Ground

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Into the Mountains

Yang Xiao walked to the edge of the playground and drilled into the forest, entering Biyun Mountain.

There was one thing Yang Xiao found peculiar; many buildings had collapsed, yet the terrain and forests of Biyun Mountain were almost untouched.

Did an earthquake really happen last night? Why was Biyun Mountain unaffected when Kongming Academy is located at its foothills? This is illogical!

Analyzing the scene, Yang Xiao noticed that almost all human-inhabited buildings had collapsed, whereas uninhabited areas remained unaffected. This seemed to be a targeted annihilation of humanity; the damage inflicted on humans was severe. No wonder Gu Bo mentioned that humanity perished by ninety percent in one night.

Could such a situation have really occurred across the entire Earth?

That would be billions of people!

If it was really so, then it was an organized, premeditated massacre!

But who could have the capability to initiate such a massacre that transcended technological understanding? Could it be the aliens Gu Bo represented?

The thought made Yang Xiao shiver.

There was usually a tarred road from the foot of Biyun Mountain straight up, but Yang Xiao was walking in a forest seldom frequented, surrounded by tall trees and shrubs about two meters high.

Yang Xiao pulled out a melon knife from his backpack, holding an iron pipe in his left hand, cutting through vines and branches obstructing his path, moving forward slowly.

The sun was rising higher. Yang Xiao glanced at his watch; it was now ten in the morning.

He took out his mobile phone and checked; still no signal.

With most of the buildings destroyed, there was no electricity in the city, hence no network signal, perhaps even the telecommunication company’s transmission towers and server rooms were destroyed.

Yang Xiao thought it over and turned off his mobile phone to save the battery, which could be used as a flashlight at critical moments.

Yang Xiao recalled what Gu Bo had said — after seven days, all living creatures would undergo genetic mutations. Yang Xiao felt it essential not to stray far from the playground; if necessary, he must be able to run back quickly. He believed the Genetic Store would definitely be able to handle attacks from mutated creatures.

After walking around the mountain for about half an hour, Yang Xiao found a naturally concealed spot in the mid-mountain jungle, a large rock about tens of square meters surrounded by shrubs over two meters tall, from which he could clearly see the entire playground below, including the Genetic Store.

If there was an attack by mutated creatures, Yang Xiao could reach the playground at the mountain base within half an hour.

Yang Xiao decided to make this his temporary shelter for the next seven days.

In the mountain forest, it was relatively safe during the day, but dangerous at night with various mosquitoes, centipedes, and snakes active.

Yang Xiao set down his backpack on the big rock, placed the watermelon knife and iron pipe beside, and began to sleep.

From now on, he would change his biological clock, sleeping during the day and staying vigilant at night.

Around 2 pm, Yang Xiao woke up naturally, hearing noisy voices from the playground below. Peering through the shrubs, he saw about a hundred people gathered.

Groups of three to five people were discussing something on the playground; their attitudes towards the Genetic Store were filled with curiosity, confusion, and some fear.

Most people seemed unaware of the risks after seven days. Many were waiting for government rescue teams and could still find water and food in the ruins, so the general mood was relatively relaxed.

A few vigilant individuals began searching the distant ruins for food and daily necessities, just in case.

Besides the school scene, Yang Xiao could also see parts of the landscape outside the Academy; nearby high-rise buildings had ceased to exist, leaving only ruins.

On some ruins, you could faintly see people moving about in groups of two or three.

Not everyone was aware of the Genetic Store; those farther away began organizing their own rescue efforts, searching through the ruins for their relatives and neighbors.

Yang Xiao sighed, closed his eyes, and forced himself to sleep again.

If he didn’t sleep enough during the day, he would feel sleepy at night, and he didn’t want to be bitten to death by centipedes or snakes while asleep.

On the playground, Xiao Zhe, with his backpack filled with food, was looking around for Yang Xiao.

”Where did this guy go?”

Xiao Zhe, the vice-chairman of the student council and a well-known figure in the school, was recognized by many.

Some of the survivors gathered around Xiao Zhe.

”Xiao Zhe, with such a great disaster befalling us, shouldn’t we organize ourselves to self-rescue? You are the vice president of the student council and should take the lead in organizing everyone for self-rescue.”

”Why haven’t any leaders from the academy come to save us? Also, where have those People’s Liberation Army and armed police soldiers gone?”

”What about the government? The leaders of Dawn City?”

”And that strange orange building, what is it? Those two foolish Samurai at the door, are they filming a movie? They dress so oddly.”

”Is that old man’s talk about Earth’s creatures undergoing genetic mutations after seven days true? I find it somehow laughable!”

Xiao Zhe was quite overwhelmed, not really wanting to be the leader organizing everyone since they would soon face a huge problem - food shortage.

Right now, his backpack contained enough food for him to survive 7 days. All he wanted to do was find a place to hide and get through these seven days. If he became the leader, he would likely have to share his food.

Of course, as a leader, if he could successfully unite everyone, there would be many benefits, like using force to acquire more survival resources.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Zhe decided to reluctantly organize production for self-rescue.

”Here’s the thing, if you all trust me, I can lead you all to organize and confront this disaster together. However, if you join my organization, you must absolutely follow orders and arrangements. If you can do that, join my team, otherwise, take care of yourselves.”

On the spot, dozens of men and women volunteered to join Xiao Zhe’s team, while many others chose to wait and see, fending for themselves.

Xiao Zhe counted about thirty people who joined his team.

”Okay, now I have a task for everyone. Immediately go to the ruins to search for as much food and bottled water as possible. Then we’ll organize together. Also, everyone needs to find items like iron rods to serve as weapons for self-defense.”

”Xiao Zhe, searching for food is fine, but do you really believe that old man’s claim about Earth’s creatures undergoing genetic mutations after seven days?”

”Right now, I’m not worried about the mutations of Earth’s creatures after seven days, but about how we will survive the coming days. Do you all have enough food and water to last these seven days?”

Hearing this, everyone suddenly came to their senses. Everyone came empty-handed, having randomly picked up some food in the ruins without planning for the long term.

In everyone’s mind, the government was sure to come for a rescue.

”Alright, let’s not waste time. Start acting now, go to the ruins for food, and then gather at the sports field. Bring any daily necessities you can find.”

Xiao Zhe fully demonstrated his leadership ability by deciding to establish the Kongming Academy Self-Rescue Team to fight against the current disaster.

Many hands make light work!

Man can conquer nature!

However, throughout, he never mentioned assisting the injured in the ruins; he didn’t want to waste too much time. The Genetic Store and the two Samurai at its door constantly weighed on his mind; he vaguely felt that the situation might be more serious than anticipated.

Xiao Zhe’s organization was very effective, and soon, another dozen people joined Xiao Zhe’s team. Everyone started searching for food in the ruins of the academy’s market, but luck was not very good because many had already scoured this area for food. The surface food had basically been picked up.

Therefore, everyone started separately searching for food in the stores outside the academy. By the afternoon, each person had returned to the sports field with a full bag of food.

Xiao Zhe had everyone pool the food together and organized a unified distribution and watchkeeping.

Xiao Zhe established the first team of the Kongming Academy. By the second day, the team had grown to over a hundred people, and they had collected quite a bit of food, which they piled on the sports field and set up temporary tents.

In the middle of the night, under a bright moonlight.

Yang Xiao sat on a rock, drinking bottled water, and ate two ham sausages and a packet of salt-baked chicken legs.

The sounds of various insects constantly surrounded him. Yang Xiao dared not use his phone’s flashlight and could only rely on the moonlight to continuously scan the surroundings. Fortunately, there were hardly any bugs or centipedes on this large rock, so he could comfortably spend the night.

At this moment, on the sports field, the team of over a hundred people organized by Xiao Zhe gathered together, some sleeping and others keeping watch. The purpose of the watch was to prevent others from stealing their food.

Xiao Zhe had stopped accepting new members, unless they could bring sufficient food.

Among Xiao Zhe’s team, males made up about seventy percent. Now everyone was armed with simple weapons like iron pipes, steel bars, and wooden sticks, making this team the strongest in combat ability.

Among the total survivors in the academy, there were about one to two thousand people. Now, about four to five hundred gathered on the sports field, while many others were scattered elsewhere.

The news about the Genetic Store and the genetic mutations of Earth’s creatures after seven days gradually spread.