White and Xiao Feng raced across the desolate plain, the unlikely duo—one old, one young—moving with startling swiftness. The tall grass hissed as it parted behind them.
Along their path, they encountered not only the mindless undead but also mutated rats, each the size of a hound.
The "undead" were once humans who, stripped of reason by the infection, became rotting vessels animated by a cursed semblance of life. Before the Great Purge, they swarmed city after city, forcing the military to deploy nuclear weaponry, leaving in its wake a legacy of radiation that twisted the world into its current state.
It was akin to a soldier whose mangled legs had to be severed—agonizing, but the only way to survive.
Now, the undead were few and far between, their numbers thinned and their menace largely diminished. They roamed the plains in aimless clusters, their flesh reeking with a foul stench so vile that even mutated beasts shunned them.
White took care not to provoke them. Though individually feeble, a single careless scratch could spell infection and a slow descent into the same mindless fate—eternal wandering beneath a sky forever tainted.
While the undead were easily avoided, the mutated rats proved to be a far greater threat. Swift as shadows and difficult to target, they rendered firearms impractical. Ammunition was a precious commodity, and White had no intention of wasting a single round.
Suddenly, a jet-black rat hurtled toward him. It was monstrous in size, its enormous body rustling the dry grass like a blade through silk. Two crimson eyes glowed with a bloodthirsty light, and a two-meter tail lashed the air behind it. In the blink of an eye, it was nearly upon him.
At a distance of just three meters, the beast leapt, maw agape, aiming to tear into White's throat with its razor-sharp teeth.
Xiao Feng had never seen such a grotesque creature, let alone one so ferociously savage. The sight froze him, and the dagger in his trembling hand nearly slipped from his grasp.
But White was composed, focused, his gaze unwavering. As the rat lunged, he snatched its throat mid-air with his left hand, and with his right, drove the dagger deep into the creature's heart. With a powerful heave, he flung the dying rat aside.
He couldn't afford to be injured—not by something so vile. One mistake meant infection. Death. Or worse.
Such precision was a testament to White's prowess as an evolved warrior.
The rat writhed in the dirt, shrieking in agony as life slowly ebbed from its grotesque body.
Still pale, Xiao Feng asked from behind, "What was that? How could a rat grow to such a size?" His voice cracked with lingering fear.
White chuckled, "That was nothing, boy. You've yet to meet the truly terrifying beasts. When you do, try not to wet yourself." His laughter echoed across the plain.
"Hmph, I wouldn't wet myself!" Xiao Feng shot back.
White teased, "Afraid already, aren't you?"
Xiao Feng gave a sheepish nod. "What made it grow so large?"
"Radiation," White said grimly. "During the Purge, the military used nukes to wipe out the undead. It worked, mostly—but the aftermath, the radiation, birthed monsters worse than the ones we destroyed."
Xiao Feng frowned. "Didn't the military handle the fallout?"
White scoffed, "There is no military. No nation. Nothing left to take responsibility."
"Then aren't these beasts a danger to everyone?"
White's expression turned cold. "Listen well, boy. In this world, nothing is more dangerous than man." With that, he resumed his run.
As he moved, he stayed alert—ready to dispatch the next beast that dared cross their path.
Moments after they departed, a grotesque rabbit emerged from a nearby burrow. It was half a meter long, with patchy fur and blood-red eyes brimming with violence. It sprang toward the fallen rat, bit into its hind leg, and tore away a hunk of bloody flesh, which it held in its clawed forepaws, gnawing with a chilling relish.
Soon, more rabbits appeared—three, four, then more—tearing into the carcass with unrestrained fury. In moments, all that remained of the once-ferocious rat was a pile of clean white bones.
White and Xiao Feng ran for two hours before reaching the edge of the plains. Ahead lay a forest, its trees barren in the late autumn chill.
At the foot of the first towering tree, White stopped, uncapped his canteen, and took a deep drink. He handed it to Xiao Feng, who guzzled the water greedily.
"Easy," White warned. "We've only just begun the hunt."
He glanced up at the newly risen, blood-red sun. The sky had cleared after the rain, and the radiant light lifted his spirits. Sunshine was a hunter's ally.
White needed to rest a while longer, waiting for the sun to climb higher before venturing into the forest—where far deadlier creatures lurked, predators whose claws could end them in a heartbeat.
Xiao Feng capped the canteen and handed it back, smiling faintly. "Uncle White, are we entering the forest to hunt now?"
White nodded, still catching his breath. "Yes. Prey is scarce these days. If we're lucky, we might find a deer—but more likely, we'll have to take on predators like tigers, bears, or leopards. If we find a black bear, we'll hit the jackpot. But even a deer wouldn't be bad."
"Black bear?" Xiao Feng's mind conjured an image of a towering beast, a living wall of fur and muscle. He grinned. "Uncle, let me go find one. You stay here and rest."
"No. Wait until the sun is higher. Then we move together."
"Don't worry, I've got my ways." With that, Xiao Feng bit down on his dagger and swiftly climbed the tree. Agile as a cat, he leapt from branch to branch, disappearing into the forest canopy.
White, stunned by the boy's agility, shook his head in amazement. Though he'd seen Xiao Feng scale a building the day before, watching him dance along the treetops was another matter entirely.
Still worried, White loaded his massive shotgun and followed on foot, keeping pace from below.
Once the sun rose higher, the number of monsters in the forest began to wane. The irradiated beasts feared sunlight—not fatally, but enough that they preferred to hide during the day. In contrast, night turned them into unstoppable predators.
Half an hour later, Xiao Feng called down from the treetops, "Uncle, be careful! There's a leopard ahead!"
White pressed against a tree, raised his shotgun, and peered in the direction Xiao Feng had indicated. He could sense it too—something was coming.
A moment later, a powerful stag burst from the trees.
White blinked in confusion—he had expected a leopard.
Just then, a golden, striped blur exploded from behind the tree. A leopard!
White reacted instantly. He adjusted his aim and fired.
The shot echoed like thunder. The bullet struck the airborne leopard between the eyes, blood bursting in a crimson cloud.
The red blood meant the beast wasn't infected. It was safe to eat.
The leopard's lifeless body hit the ground with a thud. White laughed with unrestrained joy. "Hoho! What luck!"
A mature leopard—enough to trade for a week's worth of food and a fine bottle of whiskey.
He turned to praise Xiao Feng—but the boy had vanished from the treetop.