Chapter 753: Floxenia!
Originally, there were about 70,000 humans within Qing Zhang City. However, after the Hunting Party, there were only 40,000 left. Of these, only 3,000 were willing to join Yue Zhong.
The remaining 30,000 were not willing to leave Qing Zhang City, after all, there were their possessions and livelihood. Furthermore, there was clean water here. The moment they left Qing Zhang City, all that belonged to them would be taken away.
In this world, migrating was an arduous and risky thing. Without experts to guard them, they would easily be preys for Mutants, Savages, Mutant Beasts, Irradiated Devils and even Living Corpses.
Yue Zhong got Anya to act as their guard while appointing 5 elite Type 2 Divine Warriors from the resistance to be commanded by Mandy Zhang. The entire procession then began to move towards Red Rock City while transporting a mass of resources. With the protection of a Type 4 Divine Warrior, it was sufficient to deter most enemies.
Having made his preparations, Yue Zhong then continued towards the Resistance headquarters.
Qing Zhang City had a clean water source, and it was extremely favorable for humans to live. However, Yue Zhong had no choice but to give up on it, otherwise, when the Saint Clan City sent a regiment, they could easily raze the entire city.
The Resistance headquarters was located about a thousand kilometers away to the east of Saint Clan City, within a huge ruin of a place called Chang Lan.
Chang Lan Ruins were like the Ancient Ruins, it had been an abandoned city in the past, with plenty of Mutant Plants, Living Corpses, Mutant Beasts and Irradiated Devils.
It was precisely such locations that humans had a means of freedom. Such conditions were so harsh that most of the Saint Clan governing members disdained to even visit. It was like those rich millionaires that did not want to visit the slums.
Throughout the Chang Lan Ruins, there were many heavily radiated areas, and many soldiers were following Jess as they applied for their anti-radiation medicine, before employing their radiation detectors and advanced slowly.
Yue Zhong and his men had managed to clear out a few waves of the Living Corpses, and some small Mutant Beasts. They infiltrated the heavily radiated areas and managed to come to a region which seemed to be full of skyscrapers that had been at the mercy of time and erosion.
"Help!!"
"Ah!!! Save me!!!"
"...."
At this moment, there were the sounds of human screams and wails of agony.
"Prepare for battle, I’ll go take a look!"
Yue Zhong left his instructions and immediately rushed towards the source of commotion in a blur.
In a few breaths, he arrived at an area, noting hundreds of humans fleeing madly. Behind the humans, there were a number of human-like creatures, their skin reddish-black, covered with sores and boils. Their eyes seemed to be compound, and they had sharp claws, powerful thighs, and the stench they emitted was extremely horrid and putrid. These were the Irradiated Devils.
There were only about 20 of them, but their movements were agile and quick, the weakest was at least 4 times as strong and fast as a human. They were chasing the humans with fervor, killing them by biting through their throats.
The screams rang out constantly, as many of the humans were helpless against these powerful creatures. With no defense or way to fight back, they could only flee, or be killed.
In fact, there were over hundreds of humans here, if everyone worked together, they could possibly turn the tides and hunt the Irradiated Devils down. However, every single one of them was frightened out of their wits and only sought to flee, hence, becoming prey.
In the face of crisis, the ugly nature of humans began to show itself. In order to live, in order to run faster, many of those behind fought to go in front, pushing the ones in front of them or shoving them away.
"Get lost!!" One middle-aged man ran like mad when suddenly, a girl appeared in front of him, and his eyes turned bloodshot as he reached out to shove her without hesitation.
The girl seemed to execute a dodging maneuver, but her actions were to slow, and she was pushed to the ground. Her bleak eyes seemed to dilate with despair.
One of the Irradiated Devils who was munching on some brain matter immediately charged towards the girl, reaching out to grab her head. Once its claws connect, her brain would definitely be squashed.
At that critical juncture, there was a flash of a blade, and the Irradiated Devil was sliced in two, as the dark pus from its body splattered everywhere.
"These Irradiated Devils are truly a nuisance!"
Following Yue Zhong’s shout, Devil Flame burst out from him, turning all the black pus into smoke.
Yue Zhong’s figure appeared in front of the little girl as he frowned at the sight of the Irradiated Devils. It was the first time he came across them, however, he had already grasped their distinct features from Jess earlier.
The difference between the Irradiated Devils and most other strange creatures was that their bodies had a corrosive attribute. Once their pus and blood were spilled, there would be a strong poisonous gas that is released. It could corrode and infect anything it touched. Even Type 4 Divine Warriors could be mutated. It was one of the terrifying poison of this world.
Facing such creatures, the best method was to use the RH2s to eradicate them from afar.
Yue Zhong eyed those Irradiated Devils coolly, and fired a number of Devil Flame fireballs at them, causing them to combust and be consumed in flames.
In a manner of seconds, all 20 had been wiped out by Yue Zhong easily, as the life force from them was absorbed into his body.
After all that, he turned to look at the girl.
He had just turned when the girl replied, "I’m fine, I’m ok."
"What? Did she just read my mind? No way?" Yue Zhong was taken aback, as he assessed this girl in front of him.
The girl had a head of short, blue hair, clear eyes, and although her body was dirty and smelly, he realized her features were distinct and pretty. The only thing was that she seemed to have no expression, and her eyes did not have any sign of life, as though she was a toy that had been broken.
A look of pity flashed past his eyes, such cases were truly all too common here. Once they landed up in the hands of perverts, even the prettiest girls would become like lifeless dolls.
The girl looked at Yue Zhong coldly, her beautiful but soulless eyes, "I truly am able to read minds, but I’m not a toy that was broken! You shameless man!"
When Yue Zhong heard this, he was shocked. He had not said anything, and was thinking to himself as he looked at this mixed-blood loli, "Mind-reader!! You truly can read minds!! Let me ask you, are you able to hear what I’m thinking right now? What’s your name?"
The girl continued to stare at Yue Zhong coldly, "Of course! My name is Floxenia, a Chinese-American, and I’m a freak that can read minds."
"Amazing!!" Yue Zhong’s heart leaped with joy as he ignored her stench and carried her, "This is great!! Who would have thought I could gain such a treasure here!!"
Floxenia looked at the celebrating Yue Zhong, her eyes flashing with self-loathe, "Treasure? Am I a treasure? Aren’t you afraid of me? I’m a monster that can unearth your darkest thoughts, a monster that even her own father, mother, grandfather, teachers and friends would not want to be with. A freak with no love!"
Due to her powers, Floxenia’s family had broken apart, and everyone around her hated and distanced themselves away from her, afraid that their thoughts would be revealed.
There would be darkness in everybody’s thoughts, and everyone was afraid of them being revealed. Even the closest of couples would have their secrets and things that they didn’t want others to know. Floxenia could lay all these secrets bare, naturally, everyone would avoid her.
Yue Zhong stared fixedly at her, his gaze burning, "Hahaha! Floxenia, that’s because you don’t know how to utilize your power! I’m not afraid of you, even if you can peer into my deepest thoughts. Because from now on, you are a treasure that belongs only to me! I will teach you how to utilize your power, and keep you by my side. You must listen and obey me. In exchange, I will never abandon you, how’s that?"
Mind-reading was a rare and precious skill, not to mention that it was a skill she naturally awakened even before the apocalypse. Such people were truly talented beyond talented, different from those who fought constantly to improve and enhance themselves like Yue Zhong.
Yue Zhong had experienced countless battles and had many close shaves with deaths that he could count, relying on the System to enhance him every step of the way. He had become an Evolver also due to using treasures, unlike those heaven-defying ones. He was just an extremely hardworking person. However, he would not underestimate a natural talent, instead, he wanted them all within his control. Only then, he could become strong, extremely strong.