The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

Page 181

The awakened individuals whose names were called immediately took action.

Soon, a team of fifteen people, led by Vice President Zhao and including core members such as Xu Ming and A Cai, was assembled.

Everyone had changed into newly made black snakeskin armor, held sharp weapons, and had a grim expression.

Han Ning also changed into an inconspicuous set of ordinary leather armor, blending into the middle of the team, concealing most of his aura, and looking like an ordinary strong player.

Vice President Zhao walked over to the five heads and took a rough wooden box from a team member next to him.

He picked up a still-warm head with an expressionless face, as if picking up a stone, threw it into the box, and closed the lid.

Dark red blood quickly seeped from the cracks in the box, dripping onto the ground.

Despite his expressionless face, the perceptive Han Ning clearly noticed that Vice President Zhao's fingers were trembling slightly as he lifted Zhao's head.

We are all people who have come from civilized society, and we are still not used to doing such bloody things.

Perhaps before this, Vice President Zhao had never even killed a chicken.

But everything is for survival.

Others followed his example and did the same.

"..."

Their mentality wasn't as good as Lao Zhao's; their expressions showed they were barely suppressing nausea and terror as they shoved their heads into the wooden box at lightning speed.

This kind of decapitation, putting the enemy's head into a box, is something I've only ever seen in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

With everything ready, Vice President Zhao's gaze fell on Han Ning.

Han Ning nodded almost imperceptibly.

Chapter 206 Rock Gathering Area

"Let's go!" Vice President Zhao shouted in a low voice, taking the lead and striding forward.

It's still early, only noon.

The hail from the sky wasn't very heavy.

As the group exited the gathering area, Han Ning greeted Xiao Ba and several other bees who were busily building their home outside.

"Goo?"

Xiao Ba learned that they were going on a long trip.

They immediately asked if they should send a few bees to help them.

"Thank you then, Xiao Ba." Han Ning did not refuse.

"Cuckoo!"

Xiao Ba has a strong appeal.

A short while later, a small group of fifteen bees from four different bee families hovered silently in front of them.

Each bee is over 1.2 meters long. When a human straddles one of them, it's like sitting on an extended rocking horse, which is a bit comical.

But these bees are all extraordinary bees. Even the most agile flower-symbol bees can carry at least 500KG of weight, making it easy to carry a person.

So the group changed their course from walking to riding bees at low altitude, flying towards the rocky settlement area.

With the help of the bees, the team's progress was much faster.

As we moved away from the settlement area, a patch of undulating permafrost appeared beneath our feet.

Following the information left by the awakened ones in the Rock Gathering Area, they gradually flew over the target location.

A rudimentary settlement gradually emerged.

The outer perimeter is a wooden wall about three meters high, made of tree trunks of varying thicknesses, with the tops sharpened.

Scattered within the walls are dozens of low wooden and thatched huts, with a slightly larger building in the center.

Several guards armed with homemade weapons stood watch at the entrance.

"Lower the altitude and stop directly in the rock cluster area." Vice President Zhao waved his hand.

If there's an open road, there's no need to follow the rules and go through the main gate.

They possessed overwhelming power, and the swarm swaggered down into the middle of the rocky settlement.

The scene inside the rocky settlement was quite unexpected.

As soon as you step onto the uneven frozen ground, you are hit by a pungent smell that is a mixture of rottenness and various fishy odors.

The narrow dirt road was crowded with low shacks with walls haphazardly plastered with mud and branches, and roofs covered with blackened thatch and large, unidentified leaves.

The hailstones falling from the sky pelted the buildings, making a crackling sound, making them look like they could collapse at any moment.

Several emaciated children huddled in the shack, and upon seeing a stranger, they immediately shrank back like frightened field mice, with only their wary eyes peeking out from the gaps.

“This is worse than some slums in Africa,” Xu Ming said in a low voice, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he suppressed his discomfort.

The smell of blood was tolerable, but the various feces and human body odor in the air was rather disgusting.

The weather was cold, and there were few people in the gathering area. The people Han Ning saw were all dressed in rags.

People with good living conditions wear tattered cotton-padded jackets or down jackets that have faded so much that their original color is no longer visible.

Those with poor living conditions could only wear tattered single-layer clothing.

Almost everyone had a malnourished, pale complexion, high cheekbones, and sunken eyes.

It's hard to imagine that they came from modern society just a few months ago.

Just then, an old woman leaning on a wooden cane, wearing a tattered robe, shuffled past them. Han Ning noticed that her bare calves were covered with strange purple patches.

The "square" in the center of the gathering area was just a slightly larger open space, the ground worn hard and shiny from being trampled.

At the entrance of a nearby shed, several stone stoves were emitting blue smoke, with a chipped iron pot on top, cooking some kind of grayish-green paste inside.

A little girl, about six or seven years old, was shivering in the cold wind, stirring something with a wooden spoon. Her thin clothes offered no protection from the chill.

Han Ning noticed that when the residents in the gathering area saw them, they either quickly hid inside their houses or placed their hands on their weapons and watched warily.

“That looks like some tree bark,” Vice President Zhao noticed Han Ning’s gaze. “We’ve cut down those kinds of trees before. The bark and the inside of the tree seem to be edible, but it’s hard to swallow.”

Han Ning did not respond.

He saw several figures huddled in some more dilapidated shacks. They were clearly patients, shivering in dirty blankets, with only some dry grass under them.

Every few dozen meters, there was a guard holding a spear. Although they were also thin, they were obviously much stronger than ordinary residents, and water bags were hanging from their belts.

In the central open space of the rocky settlement, hail pounded against the wooden sheds, making a monotonous crackling sound.

A dozen or so guards were the first to react. They gripped their sharpened spears or simple machetes and surrounded the area from all sides, their faces filled with surprise and doubt.

Where did this large group of people suddenly appear from?

And... what's with these dozen or so bees that are even bigger than small cars?

The leader stepped forward, his spear tip pointing at Vice President Zhao at the head of the group, and demanded in a stern voice:

"Who are you? Which gang are you from?"

Vice President Zhao glanced at Han Ning in the group with an inquiring look.

Han Ning subtly tilted his head towards Vice President Zhao.

Vice President Zhao understood, remained silent, and gestured with his chin towards the team members beside him.

The team members quickly untied the rough wooden boxes they had been carrying on their backs.

Dark red ice crystals clung to the edges of the wooden box, and a faint smell of blood wafted through the air.

With a soft "pop," the lid of the box was opened.

Several heads, frozen blue and with expressions of terrified shock, lay starkly inside.

The one at the very top, with a hideous scar running across its right cheek, is Blackie!

"This……"

The guards who had gathered around froze instantly when they saw the human head inside the box.

They were like ducks with their necks choked, all their questions stuck in their throats.

Someone gasped, and the cheap machete in their hand clattered to the ground.

The guards' fierce expressions turned ashen, their eyes darting back and forth between the wooden box and Vice President Zhao, their feet instinctively shuffling backward.

Vice President Zhao slammed the wooden box lid shut and said:

"Blackie was blind and we killed him. Now who's in charge of Rock? Tell him to come out and see me!"

The guard's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and his lips trembled a few times.

"wait wait wait."

He turned to a young guard beside him, whose legs were trembling with fear, and growled:

"Quickly, go find Boss Wei and call all the managers over here, quick!"

"Yes Yes……"

The young guard scrambled and stumbled as he rushed deeper into the settlement.

A moment later, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard from all around the rocky area.

Nearly a hundred men and women, dressed in fine metal armor, wielding sharp tools, and emanating energy fluctuations unique to Awakened Ones, surrounded them.

Soon, they surrounded Han Ning and his dozen or so companions.

Chapter 207 Clearing Out Supplies

"Who are you?!"

A shout rang out, and an ordinary-looking man walked through the crowd to the front of the line, looking at Vice President Zhao, who was at the head.

When his gaze shifted and he saw the familiar head in Ah Long's hand beside him...

"..."