Zuo Nan, seeing this, had no choice but to follow.
Then came Xiaobai and Mo Ran.
After everyone entered the spatial rift, the surrounding scenery blurred for a moment, and when it became clear again, they found themselves on a street in another world.
It was eerily silent. Cars were parked haphazardly on the road, and debris and garbage on the ground drifted slowly with the wind.
The air was filled with the smell of burning plastic, along with a strong scent of blood.
Scattered everywhere were mangled limbs, internal organs, and puddles of blood that had not yet dried.
In the distance, buildings still spewed wisps of black smoke, half their structures scorched beyond recognition.
"Wow, where is this? It seems different from where we were before!"
"There are no giant plants here, and the cars are so new!"
Xiaobai looked around with wide-eyed curiosity.
Mo Ran also joined in Xiaobai's playful exploration.
Xiao Ruan remained curled up in Zhang Chen's pocket, showing no reaction, as if asleep.
"Is this a parallel world? It looks... not as harsh as our own world!"
Zuo Nan glanced into an SUV parked by the roadside. Two zombies inside were struggling to reach out, trying to tear a piece of flesh from his body.
However, the seatbelts and windows obstructed their actions, trapping them securely inside the vehicle.
"If we could stay in this world forever, we could definitely become the overlords of this place!"
"Ending this kind of apocalypse, I think it's quite achievable!"
Zuo Nan said with a smile.
This was also the first time he had shown such a relaxed smile on their journey.
"I wish we could survive in a world like this, but we only have 24 hours. Once the time is up, we'll be forcibly teleported back!"
"After all, we don't belong to this world."
Zhang Chen said.
"24 hours... that's so short..."
Zuo Nan looked disappointed.
"Xu Ruina and Shirley also came through this portal, so they should be around here!"
Zhang Chen stated.
"Speaking of which, since Xu Ruina and Shirley will also be forcibly teleported back after 24 hours, couldn't we just wait for them outside?"
"Why do we have to come in and look for them?"
Zuo Nan asked.
Zhang Chen ignored Zuo Nan.
The 24-hour transmigration only triggered prompts once they entered this world; otherwise, Zhang Chen wouldn't have received this information.
Moreover, the notebook had mentioned before that this world was dominated by the genetics faction.
Zhang Chen also wanted to learn more about the talents and skills within his body from the scientists of this world.
Undoubtedly, these talents and skills were the brainchild of the progress faction.
They achieved strength by having survivors kill mutated creatures and obtain core fragments, then using these fragments to get stronger.
Previous records from the progress faction also stated that the genetics faction aimed to apply this strengthening to their own people, thereby creating new humans adapted to the apocalyptic world.
In contrast, the progress faction advocated for strengthening the survivors who transmigrated, turning them into weapons against the apocalypse.
One applied to oneself, the other to others, and the depth and refinement of the research would certainly differ greatly.
Zhang Chen hoped to learn more about the secrets of becoming stronger from the scientists of the genetics faction.
"Hey, hey, come over here, it's dangerous over there!"
Suddenly, a voice came from a shop on the street.
It was a man wearing glasses and a suit.
Zhang Chen led everyone over.
After welcoming Zhang Chen and his group inside, the man in the suit immediately closed the door and secured it with several chains.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, confident that no zombies had discovered them.
"Are you crazy, wandering around on the main road without any weapons!"
"If it weren't for me, you would be dead by now!"
The man in the suit complained.
Zuo Nan glanced at the man and said nothing.
He thought to himself: Even if a zombie horde came, let alone harming Zhang Chen, he himself could easily handle it.
This man was far too full of himself.
Zhang Chen, however, smiled and said,
"Yes, we were too careless. Thank you for your rescue!"
"I wanted to ask, are there any places like research institutes nearby?"
The man in the suit paused, then said joyfully,
"You're also planning to go to the shelter?"
"Excellent, we can set off together!"
Zhang Chen frowned and asked,
"Shelter? What shelter, and what does it have to do with a research institute?"
The man in the suit laughed heartily and said,
"The only safe shelter in the entire city now is the Epidemic Prevention Research Center. It's guarded by the army, and they broadcast messages searching for survivors every day."
"We were originally planning to go there, but this route is too long, and there are too many zombies..."
"But now, with your help, I think we have a chance to try!"
Zhang Chen nodded with a smile and said,
"No problem, you lead us to the research center, and I guarantee your safety along the way!"
Zuo Nan looked at Zhang Chen, then at the man in the suit, and thought to himself: If he had met someone like Zhang Chen who made such a bold promise back then, he would have been overjoyed!
This man in the suit was truly lucky to have such a powerful escort, it was like having an invincible mode activated!
"Wait for me, I'll go discuss it with everyone. Since it's still early, let's set off as soon as possible!"
The man in the suit excitedly ran towards the monitoring room inside the shop.
There were three other men and one woman inside.
They were all dressed in professional attire.
It was then that Zhang Chen noticed they were wearing work badges around their necks.
Using his absolute vision to see at a distance, he read their badges.
The man in the suit was named Zhou Haifeng, a salesman for a real estate agency.
The people around him were his colleagues.
Among them was a balding middle-aged man whose work badge identified him as the general manager of a branch company of a real estate agency, named Yan Baokun.
His position was quite high!
He was likely a leader who came to inspect the lower-level stores and got trapped.
Otherwise, a sales representative would rarely encounter someone of the rank of branch company general manager.
Yan Baokun smiled at Zhang Chen and his group, then, with his back to them, said to Zhou Haifeng,
"We're trapped here with limited food, and you're bringing in other people with your saintly kindness. Do you think we eat too much already?!"
Zhou Haifeng chuckled sheepishly and said,
"Don't I think that more people mean more strength? They've promised to go to the shelter with us, so we can look out for each other on the way and be safer!"
Yan Baokun said with a stern face,
"Nonsense. Look at their group: two men, two girls, and one girl who looks about eleven or twelve years old."
"Taking people like that on the road, are you sure you're not just bringing along dead weight?"