Xu An did not linger, leaving the passage where Qin Chuan was located almost as if fleeing.
For some reason, although the man appeared to be amiable, she still sensed a dangerous aura from him.
Xu An's sixth sense had always been accurate; when she instinctively felt uncomfortable, she would subconsciously avoid it.
She had managed to glean quite a bit of information from the man named Zhou Zhe earlier.
Recalling his hesitant demeanor, Xu An subconsciously felt that Zhou Zhe's injury was suspicious.
Zhou Zhe had said, "If it weren't for...?"
As Xu An walked forward, she pondered in her mind.
"For what?"
Qin Chuan was clearly preventing Zhou Zhe from revealing more information to her.
What were they hiding?
Although the passage was dark, it wasn't completely impossible to see. Zhou Zhe's chest wound did not look like a zombie scratch, no matter how she looked at it.
If it were a zombie, Zhou Zhe would have already turned.
It was even less likely that he had been injured by a person. Who could silently inflict a severe injury on a well-trained soldier?
So, what had injured Zhou Zhe?
Xu An then recalled the zombies inexplicably cleared out of the mall...
If it wasn't Qin Chuan and his group who cleared the zombies, what else could have made the zombies fear, even afraid to approach?
At this thought, she was greatly alarmed, and couldn't help but stop.
A terrifying idea gradually formed in her mind.
"Mutated beasts?"
"But why have mutated beasts appeared so early in this life?"
An unknown fear began to spread.
Mutated beasts were products of the dense fog, monsters that gradually revealed their full forms after the fog receded.
Xu An pursed her lips tightly, clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, and stood frozen, muttering a curse under her breath.
"Damn it!"
At that moment, the spatial tree also gave a strong warning.
The instant Xu An sensed something was wrong, she quickly retrieved her long saber from her spatial storage and held it in her hand.
Even Gou Dan adopted an offensive stance, protecting her and baring its ferocious fangs.
It barked ferociously into the unknown darkness ahead!
"Jiji..."
A rabbit's cry inexplicably echoed in the narrow passage.
Xu An's palms were covered in sweat, and a sense of tension swept through her body. She did not falter, nor did she have any thought of fleeing.
Her long experience in the apocalypse told her.
Holding her ground was still a fight; if she retreated today,
it would be truly certain death.
In a flash, Xu An suddenly raised her saber and slashed at the dark shadow ahead.
A metallic clanging sound made Xu An's heart race, and she inwardly cursed.
"Not good!"
"This monster is likely already metallic."
Before she could process the information,
the monster was upon her. Xu An finally saw its appearance clearly in the faint green light.
It wasn't a mutated beast, but a monster with a rabbit's head and a human body, something she had never seen before!
"What the hell is this thing?!"
Xu An couldn't help but curse.
The monster looked as if a rabbit's head had been forcibly sewn onto a human's neck.
But the rabbit was not cute at all. Half of its face was rotten, with sparse strands of rabbit fur clinging to it. Its blood-red eyes glinted with greed.
The lower half was that of an adult male, but its arms had mutated.
Like Wolverine from the movies, its fingers had transformed into long, sharp, and terrifying iron claws.
This rabbit-headed monster clearly saw Xu An as its next meal, splitting its flesh-filled mouth and looking at Xu An as if she were its prey.
She now understood how Zhou Zhe had been injured!
Qin Chuan must have known this monster was heading in this direction, but when he saw her walking in the same direction, he didn't give her any warning.
"I knew that bastard had no good intentions!"
Despite her curses, Xu An didn't harbor much hatred towards Qin Chuan, only regret for the food she had given away.
In this apocalypse, human hearts were already cold and indifferent. She just hadn't expected that even in this second chance, the people she met were still like this.
It was chilling!
She didn't have time to dwell on it; the monster, extending its iron claws, lunged at Xu An.
She parried with her saber, but the sharp blade had no effect on the monster.
Gou Dan lunged forward and bit the monster's thigh, but the monster, as if it hadn't seen Gou Dan, pressed forward towards Xu An without concern.
Gou Dan merely became a pendant on the rabbit-headed monster's leg.
Seemingly realizing its bites were useless against the rabbit-headed monster, Gou Dan let go and retreated, waiting for an opportunity.
Xu An inwardly grumbled that she had been terribly harmed by this spatial tree this time.
If not for this damned tree's constant warnings, she wouldn't have been so unlucky to rush here to her doom.
She had thought it was like the glowing mushrooms in Yuhu Tiantian Garden. Without thinking too much, she had charged straight into this passage.
Who knew she would encounter such an unprecedented monster.
This damned tree really thought highly of her!
The impact from the earlier collision had made Xu An's hand numb. The fingers gripping the saber handle trembled slightly, but she forced herself to stabilize her posture.
Even in such dim conditions, Xu An could sense the rabbit-headed monster's eyes were bloodshot, staring directly at her.
Suddenly, the rabbit-headed monster moved with extreme speed, extending its sharp claws directly towards Xu An's face.
The passage was too narrow for Xu An to dodge. A strange fierceness surged within her.
She whistled a short tune and raised her saber to meet the attack. Just as the blade was about to collide with the rabbit-headed monster's claws, Xu An suddenly withdrew her strength.
She crouched, rolled, and got up from the side. Gou Dan, having received her command, leaped up and, using its momentum, tackled the rabbit-headed monster to the ground.
Fortunately, although the monster's appearance was terrifying, its body size was that of a normal man. Coupled with its lack of developed intelligence, it fell unprepared, landing on the ground from Gou Dan's pounce.
Xu An did not miss this opportunity. She instantly switched her Tang saber to a hunting rifle and, without even aiming, fired several shots at the rabbit-headed monster's head.
The shotgun's power was immense. Before firing, Xu An had called Gou Dan back.
Three loud bangs.
Accompanied by a shrill scream, the rabbit-headed monster's head exploded, and it rolled its eyes back in its head, completely dead.
But Xu An was still uneasy. She walked forward, drew her long saber again, and began hacking, severing the rabbit-headed monster's head.
She did not stop until the rabbit-headed monster was completely lifeless.
After confirming the rabbit-headed monster's complete demise, Xu An slumped to the ground, exhausted.
She didn't care if the sound of the shotgun might attract others.
Since her rebirth, Xu An had always felt a strange sense of detachment.
It was like a game she had died in before completing it, and now she was just reloading.
But this game had given her a bad experience. If she had a choice, she wouldn't want to play it again.
However, the reload had given her a reason to continue playing, like her mother, and Gou Dan.
But at this moment, she realized how desperately she wanted to live.
Not for anyone else, but for herself!