Chapter 0054: Perils of Survival in the Apocalypse

"Gina!"

Di Ping took several deep breaths, trying to calm the excitement that had stirred in him. Only then did he remember Gina, who was still in his arms, looking slightly dazed. He hurriedly called her name in a soft tone.

"Master!"

Gina stirred from her stupor. Upon seeing Di Ping holding her, she suddenly panicked, her face flushing red. She lowered her head and softly spoke.

"Are you alright, Gina?"

Di Ping released his embrace and asked with concern.

"Master, I'm fine! It's just that Gina feels useless... I couldn't protect you!"

Gina steadied herself, her face filled with disappointment as she spoke, her voice tinged with self-reproach.

"Haha! Gina, trust me, we will get stronger and stronger. One day, we'll capture that eagle and make it into a soup!"

Di Ping chuckled heartily, his tone filled with confidence as he looked at Gina.

"Mm!"

Gina seemed slightly taken aback by Di Ping's bold words, her face flushing further. She lowered her head, responding in a barely audible voice, like the whisper of a fly. In that instant, it seemed as though the spirit of a young girl had returned to her body.

"Let's go!"

Di Ping, noticing Gina's shy demeanor, couldn't help but feel a surge of attraction. Her fair, slightly flushed face and her delicate waist—he couldn't believe his eyes.

She was wearing a crop top, revealing more than he had expected.

The sight of her exposed skin almost caused him to choke on his own breath, and for a moment, he felt his heart race uncontrollably.

"Stop it!"

Di Ping bit his tongue hard, the pain jolting him back to reality. He was in a dangerous environment, yet he had allowed his thoughts to wander. He realized just how far his self-control had slipped.

Forcing himself to turn away, he focused on calming his breath.

"Master, what's wrong?"

Gina seemed to sense something was amiss with Di Ping. Her voice was soft, filled with concern.

"It's nothing! Let's go!"

Di Ping didn't look back, his words sharp and terse.

"Okay."

Gina responded with a confused expression but followed behind Di Ping, her thoughts racing. What was going on with him? Though she was still young and had a basic understanding of gender-related matters, it was all still quite vague to her. Moreover, she didn't fully comprehend the extent of her own allure.

The two walked in silence, Di Ping focused solely on moving forward, trying to keep his thoughts under control. After some time, he realized something. He had been so preoccupied with managing his emotions that he hadn't noticed how quickly they were advancing. They had covered a distance of at least two kilometers, and the elevated road ahead was now within reach, yet there hadn't been any sign of movement.

It felt unnervingly quiet.

Suddenly, a realization struck him. The path they had just taken was the same one the giant eagle had flown over. Given the eagle's overwhelming presence, no mutated creatures would dare stay in its territory. Di Ping was filled with a surge of joy. It seemed that fortune was on his side after all.

The elevated road, which would have once been bustling with traffic, now stood silent, like a statue untouched by time, as though it had stood undisturbed for millennia.

Underneath the overpass, things were relatively undisturbed. The holly trees planted in the median were only about five or six meters tall, not yet large enough to obscure the road.

On either side of the road were ornamental trees—Magnolia grandiflora—planted when they were no larger than a child's arm. They had grown to about the thickness of a small bowl, standing at a height of only a few meters. The road surface itself was in better condition than Di Ping's own neighborhood road, unaffected by the harsh conditions of the post-apocalypse.

Di Ping thought about taking the elevated road, but then reconsidered. The eagle, even with its incredible strength, hadn't dared to travel in the open. It was likely that the danger of being exposed had kept it away from the high road, so Di Ping decided to stay below.

The discarded vehicles along the road were few. This area was on the outskirts of the city, and during the apocalypse, only a few speeding vehicles had collided and been abandoned, scattered along the roadside without blocking the path.

"Chew!"

Suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the air, reminiscent of the call of a shrike, echoing from afar.

"Quick, hide!"

Di Ping immediately grabbed Gina and pulled her to take shelter under a Magnolia tree, its broad leaves offering cover from the sky. The tall grass below concealed their figures just in time.

"Chew!"

The whistle grew louder. Di Ping looked up, only to see a flock of birds emerging from the city. Upon closer inspection, he could make out around twenty to thirty birds, their wings flapping rapidly as they headed straight for him.

"Shrikes?"

The birds were fast. Within moments, they were almost upon Di Ping. As they came closer, he recognized them. They were shrikes, but much larger than he had ever seen before—almost the size of wild ducks, at least twice as large as normal.

Their beaks, which had once been blunt and innocent, had now grown to about five or six centimeters in length, with curved barbs that made them resemble the beaks of hawks.

"Damn it!"

Di Ping cursed inwardly. Only a few days ago, he had wondered why he hadn't heard the birds singing, assuming they had all perished. Now, he realized how wrong he had been.

These birds weren't harmless. Their appearance—like the giant eagle earlier—was enough to send a chill down his spine. Could they have turned to meat-eating after running out of food? The way things had been in the apocalypse, with all animals becoming highly aggressive, these birds were undoubtedly a threat.