44: Arrive at Ning'an City

Zhang Xiaoli was stunned when she opened her eyes and looked at her newly acquired pet—the Willow Tree.

Was this still the willow that had inspired fear at first glance?

Over ninety percent of the trunk and branches had been cut off, leaving only the largest trunk, which was merely forty to fifty centimeters in diameter.

"At least it's still a Willow Spirit."

Zhang Xiaoli could only comfort herself, thinking inwardly, and with a wave of her hand, she put the Willow Tree into her pet space.

With the Willow Tree subdued, Qin Shi Lei and the others returned to the Old Locust Tree.

The leaves and small branches of the Old Locust Tree had been burned away, leaving only some of the larger trunks still burning.

Zhang Xiaoli extinguished a small section of the trunk, then reached out and pressed her hand against it.

A moment later, she spoke, "This Old Locust Tree is dead, and I didn't find any crystals."

An Qian frowned and said, puzzled, "Why didn't it drop a treasure chest?"

Qin Shi Lei speculated, "Perhaps it voluntarily spat out the Spirit Pearl, so there are no spoils of war."

He paused, then added, "Let's go then. Let the fire continue to burn."

Zhang Qiang interjected from the side, "If you don't mind, let us two join you. I can be your guide."

"Thank you, Qin Dage," Qin Shi Lei nodded, readily agreeing.

Having someone more familiar with Ningan City as a guide was, of course, ideal.

Zhang Qiang drove, Xie Haimei sat in the passenger seat, and Qin Shi Lei sat in the middle of the back seat, with An Qian and Zhang Xiaoli on either side.

"Most of Ningan City has now been subdued by the military, but the process of subduing it also resulted in heavy losses, preventing absolute control over Ningan City."

"Many hunting teams have appeared in the city, with the purpose of hunting zombies."

"With the environment greatly changed, the power of firearms has been greatly weakened. The army does not easily offend those powerful teams."

"Among them, there are three strongest hunting teams. Apocalypse Home, led by Tang Haotian of the Tang Group, numbers seven to eight hundred people, and the physical quality of most of its members is no weaker than that of a Soldier King before the apocalypse."

"The second is Ningan Martial Arts Hall. The curator, Zheng Shaoan, was a martial arts master before the apocalypse, and most of his five to six hundred members were his original members, each possessing unique skills."

"The third is an organization called Dark Moon. I heard it was an underground organization before the apocalypse, and the strength it has shown is no weaker than the previous two. Its leader is a mysterious figure codenamed Red Moon."

Zhang Qiang drove while introducing the distribution of forces in Ningan City to Qin Shi Lei and the other two.

An Qian asked the question she cared about most, "What about ordinary people? How are they living?"

Xie Haimei interjected, "Thanks to the army's rescue, ordinary people can still barely survive."

She paused, then added, "If they are beautiful and encounter some shameless scoundrels, their fate will be very tragic."

Because she had met Zhang Qiang's group at the very beginning of the apocalypse, she had avoided becoming a plaything for those powerful men.

An Qian could only pray in her heart that her mother would lock the door securely and wait safely for her return.

Xie Haimei suddenly turned to Qin Shi Lei and asked, "Qin Dage, do you have any extra arrows? I'm an archer, and I don't even have a single arrow. I'm really panicking. I'll buy them from you with crystals."

Qin Shi Lei took out seven arrows, "These are the last seven arrows I have left. Unfortunately, the arrowheads are all deformed. I'll give you three."

These arrows had all been shot at least three times, and Zhang Xiaoli had helped him retrieve them repeatedly, picking out the better ones.

Looking at the seven arrows in Qin Shi Lei's hand, Xie Haimei felt a sudden pang of pity for him.

He couldn't even afford arrows. The arrowheads were so deformed and he was still using them; accuracy certainly couldn't be guaranteed.

Xie Haimei thought for a moment, then took the three arrows, saying boldly, "Qin Dage, when we get back to the city, I will definitely buy you three hundred good arrows so you won't miss shots because of the arrows."

Zhang Xiaoli took the arrows, looked at them, and asked doubtfully, "Does a deformed arrowhead cause inaccuracy?"

"Of course," Xie Haimei said, pointing to the arrow in her hand. "For an arrow like this, where even the shaft and fletching are damaged, a sixty percent hit rate would be good."

"That's strange," An Qian then added, "How come Qin Shi Lei has never missed? Are you really the Arrow God who never misses a shot?"

Zhang Xiaoli also added, "Even at two or three hundred meters, he has a hundred percent hit rate."

Qin Shi Lei said calmly, "You two shouldn't praise me. Actually, I can only hit the target if I see it first."

"......." Xie Haimei looked at the three of them speechlessly.

I'm also an archer. Is it really okay for you to brag like this in front of me?

Finally, she nodded and said, "I also need to see the target before I can shoot."

Zhang Xiaoli asked, puzzled, "How come last time, even when that person hid behind a big tree, you could still hit him?"

Qin Shi Lei calmly replied, "Because I had already seen him and knew he was hiding behind the big tree."

Seeing that the two were talking more and more absurdly, Xie Haimei turned away and no longer paid attention.

Although she knew that an arrow's trajectory would also have an arc, it was simply impossible to apply it in actual combat.

Unbeknownst to them, the SUV had already entered Ningan City.

The scenery before their eyes showed more traces of artillery bombardment than Ancheng.

The roads must have been cleared, as vehicles could drive relatively smoothly on the main roads of the city.

Under An Qian's direction, Zhang Qiang drove directly towards Tianhe Garden in Songshan District.

As they got closer to Tianhe Garden, An Qian's heart grew increasingly anxious.

Qin Shi Lei gently held her hand, giving her a reassuring look.

An Qian's home was on the 25th floor of Building C.

Everyone quickly ran up the stairs.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Mom, it's me, open the door quickly." An Qing's voice trembled slightly.

But there was no response for a long time.

"Step back a little."

Qin Shi Lei pulled An Qian behind him and kicked the door.

"Bang!"

The iron door slammed violently against the side wall.

An Qing rushed in, quickly checking every room.

Her face grew increasingly anxious.

"Here's a note your mom left."

Qin Shi Lei handed An Qing a note he found on the coffee table in the living room.

"An Qing, after the zombie outbreak, your father happened to be nearby. Because the water and electricity were out, there wasn't enough drinking water at home. Your father and I went to the nearby Tang Group to seek help from his company colleagues. Your loving Mom."

After reading the note, An Qing immediately ran outside.

Qin Shi Lei and the others had no choice but to quickly chase after her.

Everyone soon arrived at Meijing Haoting, a villa area about four or five kilometers away.

"This is the residence of Apocalypse Home's high-ranking members. What are you doing barging in?"

As An Qing was about to enter the villa area, she was stopped by an auxiliary member of Apocalypse Home.

"I'm looking for An Wenyan. He should also be a member of your Apocalypse Home," An Qian said her father's name.

Just then, a woman who looked somewhat similar to An Qian walked out from inside.

Seeing An Qian, her lips curved into a smile, and she walked over, "You're here to find my dad, aren't you? Come with me."