In the depths of the dense forest, dense leaves cover the sky and the sun, forming a continuous "umbrella cover" for dozens of miles, blocking the light outside. Occasionally, a ray of sunlight broke through the blockade and made its way to the glade. The dazzling light that was incompatible with this dim space became the hope in Luo Youcheng's heart, he knew that he only needed to see three more such lights to see a strange tree, and that was his only chance to escape.

Heavy gasps and messy footsteps were driven away by distant shouts and muffled gunfires, hopping and jumping between the branches and roots that coiled in the woods. Thanks to these crooked trees, natural obstacles have been set up in the forest, otherwise Luo Youcheng, a seventeen-year-old boy with no special abilities, would have been caught up by the hunters in Zizai City.

Another beam of sunlight passed through the blockade of the branches and leaves, and Luo Youcheng said to himself, soon, soon, he is about to be saved. It's just that at this moment, his physical strength has been squeezed dry, and there seems to be a blunt knife in his throat that keeps cutting, and his lungs are about to explode.

The pursuers seemed to be getting closer, Luo Youcheng exhaled heavily, and his body slipped under the fallen branches, and continued to run. After chasing and fleeing, more than half an hour passed, and he saw the tree and knew that he was safe.

Luo Youcheng had read the ancient books of the old era, and knew that before the era of calamity[note 1], this was the normal state of tree growth, but in this dense forest where the branches were willfully bent and tilted, and the branches grew bulging and attached vines for no reason, this tree was an anomaly. Just like the handsome man in the world of mutants, he has also been reduced to a different species.

The mutant hunter behind him is not outstanding, if he sends a hunter with special abilities, the other party only needs to move his fingers, and he can easily crush him, how can he escape here. But he's just a little beggar of the same species who stole a few pieces of synthetic food in the base of Freedom City with his companions, and he didn't need those big guys to help.

His little friend has been captured by these people, and he doesn't know what fate he will face. Heterogeneous beggars like them who have committed the crime of stealing are caught in three ways, selling them to wealthy families to be prostitutes or meat mushrooms, or cutting off their feet and throwing them in a corner of the base to become real beggars, and the most terrifying thing is to be raped and then killed by mutants. Either way, it was not what Luo Youcheng wanted, so he had to escape today.

He stared closely at the root of the giant tree that needed to be surrounded by three people, there was a small hole, he only needed to get into it, climb through the pit that only allowed one person to crawl forward for nearly thirty meters, and enter the underground labyrinth, even if ten or eight hunters came, they might not be able to find him.

The hunters behind him were less than two hundred meters away from him, and the hunters were really aroused by this slippery xenomorph beggar. There was no shouting such as "Stop, or you will shoot", and when they entered the firing range, the three people raised their guns and shot in unison.

Hearing the gunshot, Luo Youcheng subconsciously threw himself on the ground. The bullet struck a lying branch behind him, and splinters of wood flew messily, a piece of debris grazing his cheek, leaving a trail of blood. After Luo Youcheng fell to the ground, he crawled quickly for a few seconds. Taking advantage of the gap between the hunters' magazines, he got up, ran a few steps, and with a leap, swooped down towards the hollow of the tree.

Seeing that his body was getting closer and closer to the entrance of the cave, a strange change came suddenly. A cloud of black mist suddenly erupted from the entrance of the cave, which instantly enveloped Luo Youcheng and immediately retracted into the cave. From the appearance to the disappearance of the black mist, it was only a blink of an eye, and the boy was nowhere to be found.

Luo Youcheng had a long dream in which a ghost wanted to take possession of his body. In front of this ghost with the face of a fruit bat, he trembled, powerless to resist, and watched as the ghost devoured his consciousness little by little. When he was about to perish forever, he seemed to hear someone shouting:

"Get out of here, don't touch him".

In a daze, he didn't know how long it took for him to hear two people talking something he didn't understand.

A child's voice said with palpitations: "I was almost killed by that person." Hey, Guangxu, how did you get here? ”

The thick male voice replied, "It's a step too late, and that person has won over there." ”

Tong Yin sighed softly: "I don't know if this kid has the ability to fight against that person." Would you like to take him back for some training? ”

"He's a carrier of the SDR virus, and it would be a disaster for us to bring him back."

Tong Yin asked, "But he's still a child, how can we help him?" ”

The man said, "You, not me, are helping him." ”

Tong Yin retorted: "But the teacher said that you have to take the lead in this matter." ”

"I'll take the lead, and you will execute."

Tong Yin screamed, "Why? ”

The male voice said: "I don't like violence, the teacher said, if the guidance is not good, this kid's feet will be full of blood." ”

"I'm bleeding." Tong Yin protested.

"Not negotiable." The man's tone was unmistakable.

"No, I'm going to celebrate Ponca Jr. tomorrow. You know, little Punca is my best friend. Ever since little Punca found his sister, he has lived happily ever after. I want each of my friends to live happily ever after, and I can't let my absence diminish his happiness......" The child's voice babbled on and on, not knowing what he was saying. Suddenly, he seemed to be covered by someone and made a "whine" sound.

"Brother Tony." The male voice said in as gentle a tone as possible, "You're going to celebrate Ponka's birthday, and I support you." During your absence, I'll take the shift. However, the teacher also said that this kid must be guided by a childlike and innocent heart so that he will not go astray, and this task belongs to you. ”

Tony listened and said shyly, "Then I'll reluctantly agree." ”

Luo Youcheng listened to it for a long time and still looked ignorant, he couldn't help but open his eyes, and was about to ask something, but he felt that the world was spinning, and he only heard the man say in a haze:

"If you're fainted, close your eyes."

When Luo Youcheng came back to his senses, he found himself sitting under a big tree, twenty meters in front of him, three hunters holding guns.

The fat hunter asked, "Take it back?" Or kill him. ”

The hunter with a bulging bunch on his forehead said, "Kill this little bunny." ”

The skinny hunter asked, "Combo or single?" ”

The drum hunter said: "Single shot, come to the color head, I shoot the head, the fat duck shoots the chest, the chicken shoots the belly, whoever misses the target, the night wine money is counted as anyone's." ”

"Am I going to die? Who are those two? If you saved me, why did you send me to the hunter's gun? Hearing the sound of the hunters turning the transmitter, Luo Youcheng's ears buzzed, his brain seemed to be plastered with white lime, and his heart was like a frightened rabbit in his chest, he trembled, and when the three gunshots rang out one after another, he closed his eyes, let out a terrible scream from his throat, and fell backwards.

Note 1: Calamity Era: In 2655 AD, the Super Doctor Virus (SDR) broke out, and there was not a single human being on Earth, and the survivors called this year the first year of the Calamity Era. But there are also many human settlements that people call the New Era.