In The Zombie Shadows Chapter 9

Lydia flew very fast, but with Qi Leqining in tow, he was still slowed down.

"Roar---"

When a strange beast discovered Lydia, it immediately roared and rushed towards her.

The other beasts were attracted by the roar, and realized that there was a native species in front of them. At the same time, their eyes lit up, and they gathered together by chance, chasing Lydia closely, intending to divert trouble to the east.

This native species is very powerful. With her around, 90% of the aliens behind will change their targets. As for Jake Qi and Qi Ning, who were caught in their claws, they were directly ignored by the beasts.

It's so small that it can't even fit between the teeth. It must have little combat effectiveness and can be completely ignored.

Who says alien beasts have no brains?

Reality will slap you directly.

Sensing the alien beast's intention, Lydia gritted his teeth with hatred and had to increase his speed to the limit. The powerful wings spread out, like a black lightning streaking across the sky.

If she can escape this time, she must kill these ones!

Even if we can’t kill the real master, we have to catch a few winged lizards and beat them to death!

"Roar!"

The alien beast roared again. It had the shape of a lizard, bat-like wings, and its big mouth opened, revealing two rows of sharp teeth. The teeth were unevenly arranged, with the tips protruding from the lips, and there were pieces of rotten flesh between the teeth.

Jake Qi saw it clearly and couldn't help but feel nauseous.

The alien beasts were getting closer and closer, and the aliens chasing after them found Patunia and raised their weapons one after another.

Jake Qi was covered in hair and found a dense forest ahead. No matter what, he shouted anxiously: "Patunia, go to the woods, go to the woods quickly!"

Lydia responded, quickly changed the direction of flight, found the target, and quickly swooped down.

Below is a pine forest with straight trunks and green canopies like tall towers. The sharp pine needles stand upright, with a faint blue light shining at the top. Each pine tree is wrapped with dark green vines, and under the vines are cloud-like fungi. From a distance, they seem to be integrated with the tree trunks.

Jake Qi wanted to find a place to hide, and then he spotted this forest.

Not so with Patunia. She knew exactly what was hidden in this forest.

A few years ago, she had been to District 11, otherwise she would not have had the chance to rob Alan's prey. She knew how powerful these pine trees were, and once strayed into the forest and almost lost her life.

In order to get rid of the entanglement of the alien beasts and avoid the alien races, she flew to this pine forest completely instinctively. Jake Qi reminded him midway, which was a mistake.

Lydia folded his wings and swooped down at a very fast speed.

If you didn't know her species, you wouldn't think you were a crow.

Such terrifying speed is completely comparable to that of a peregrine falcon.

"Hold on!"

Getting closer to the pine forest, Lydia changed his form, holding Jake Qi and Qining in his arms, trying to shrink his body as much as possible. The black wings tightly wrapped the three people, and like silkworm cocoons, they fell vertically into the dense forest.

During the fall, several pine branches snapped.

The sound echoed in the forest, as if some kind of switch had been touched. Almost instantly, all the vines wrapped around the tree trunk came to life.

Thick vine branches poked out of the tree crown, like a giant python spitting out letters. The green leaves opened up and made a clattering sound, comparable to a sharp scimitar.

Between the vines and tree trunks were shriveled corpses. There are exotic beasts, native species, and a lot of zombies. The crystal core of the corpse was not absorbed. Instead, it was embedded deeply in the tree trunk, emitting a faint colorful light in the dim forest.

Lydia found the landing point very cleverly. He used the soft cap as a buffer to constantly avoid the attack of the vines. After landing, he popped forward and landed exactly between two pine trees, avoiding the most fatal blow.

Vines are not intelligent, but they have an innate sense of territoriality. After Patunia landed, they did not continue to attack, but stayed at a safe distance. The thin leaves made a rustling sound, as if they were greeting each other, and they seemed to be assessing each other's strength. In the end, unable to reach an agreement and not wanting to cause a conflict, they simply changed direction and swiped at the strange beast in the air.

The alien beast was not as lucky as Lydia. It was unable to dodge and was hit by the vines. Before he could react, he was already tightly entangled.

The green leaves opened one after another, scratching through the hard scales of the alien beasts. Thin vine tendrils penetrated from under the leaves and pierced into the alien beasts' bodies one after another, burying themselves deeper and deeper.

Roar---

The alien beast howled in pain and rolled in mid-air.

The vines became tighter and tighter, dragging the strange beast into the forest in the blink of an eye and tying it tightly to the tree trunk.

In the wailing sound, the hard scales were completely broken, and the flesh and blood disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye. In less than five minutes, the alien beast stopped breathing, and its huge body turned into an empty shell. The crystal core left behind was embedded in the tree trunk, and there were still black and red blood streaks on it.

The vines changed from dark green to deep red, becoming blood vessels that transport nutrients, delivering fresh flesh and blood to the roots of the pine tree.

The fungal canopy opened one after another, and fluorescent hyphae floated out. The crown of the pine tree made a rustling sound, and the hard pine needles broke off the branches and rained into the air.

The nearest beasts were all stabbed, and they felt like they were under anesthesia. Their bodies swayed in mid-air and soon fell vertically.

The vines wait for the opportunity to fly out and wrap around the prey falling from the sky. The dark green vines were entangled tighter and tighter, and the sound of cracking bones could be clearly heard.

The five aliens stopped in mid-air and opened their protective shields to block the flying pine needles.

"Oren, do you want to go down?" The person who spoke was a girl with pale skin and long fiery red hair. Seeing what happened in the forest, there was no expression on his face.

"There is a native species down there, it would be a pity to let it go." The boy who looked about 67% similar to the girl said.

Oren stopped in mid-air, his long dark red hair tied behind his head, his face was very handsome, but there was a bit of darkness in his eyes. After looking down at the pine forest for a long time, my companions became impatient and finally made the decision: "Go down."

The boy cheered, and the girl raised her lips for a rare moment.

The other two people looked at each other. The boy with gills on his neck took off the spear on his back. The tip of the spear was covered with blue arcs of electricity and made a harsh crackling sound. The other person raised his laser gun and pointed it at the dancing vines.

The beam hit the vine, and the green vine branches twisted on the spot, became scorched black in the blink of an eye, and disappeared into the dazzling light group. As the vines disappeared, the pine trees they were wrapped around began to tremble violently. The crown of the tree opened like a giant umbrella, and countless pine needles flew out.

The fungus under the tree breaks free from the soil, uses its roots to climb up the tree crown, flies out with the pine needles, and explodes in mid-air one after another. The hyphae are densely connected into a network, which is highly corrosive and can even melt a spear wrapped in electric light.

Oren and others quickly retreated, gave up close combat, and took out long-range weapons one after another.

Amidst the roar, half of the forest was enveloped in dazzling white light.

Under the pine tree, Lydia put down Jake Qi and Qining and tried to move his blood-stained wings. Severe pain hit him instantly, Lydia groaned and staggered to the ground.

The wings were already covered with scars after resisting the attack of vines. Then it was corroded by hyphae, half of the right wing feathers fell off, two long and narrow wounds ran across it, and the bleeding could not be stopped at all.

"Let's go." Lydia swallowed the only crystal core and pushed Jake Qi with all his strength. "Leave with the cub and go east. Remember to walk among the trees and be careful to avoid the vines. If If they come down, I can still hold off some time for you."

Jake Qi frowned and did not leave immediately. Instead, he walked around behind Lydia and carefully inspected her injuries.

Lydia was seriously injured, and a crystal core could barely stop the bleeding. As time passed, half of the body became paralyzed and gradually became unable to move. Seeing that Jake Qi refused to leave, his expression became anxious, "Hurry up, do you want to die with the cub?!"

The crow girl led him and his son to escape from the alien beasts. It was impossible for Jake Qi to be unethical and commit suicide by crossing the river and burning the bridge, leaving her behind like this.

But what to do?

Looking up at the pine trees embedded with crystal nuclei, are we going to lay claws on these big guys?

The chances of success are really slim.

When he was at his wits' end, Qining suddenly nudged him, opened his mouth, and spat out a transparent crystal core.

Jake Qi looked at the crystal core, then at his son, and a huge question mark appeared above his head.

Where did this come from?

"Hide it in your mouth." Qining patted his cheek.

"When did you hide it?"

"When saying goodbye to Hong Guo."

The red fruit in the kitten's mouth is his squirrel playmate.

Jake Qi: ...

Is this what a cat should do? Shouldn't he let Qining play with Squirrel?

Putting aside the children's education, Lydia should be saved with this crystal core.

Jake Qi glanced at the sky, where aliens and mutated plants were still fighting fiercely.

A network of vines protects the roots of the pine trees from the scorching beams. Pine needles and fungi kept flying out, and we all wanted to give these intruders a good look.

For a moment, neither side could do anything to the other.

Occasionally, a strange animal would pass by in a panic, but it would be left aside.

Although the battle was fierce, Jake Qi frowned. Although the fighting power of these alien races was strong, there seemed to be a big gap between them and the two he had seen before.

If it had been those two people, the three of them would have been reduced to ashes long ago, and how could they have escaped into this pine forest.

Shivering inexplicably, Jake Qi picked up the crystal core and brought it to Lydia.

The crow girl's consciousness was already a little blurry. She felt the warmth on the back of her hand. She struggled to open her eyes and was stunned when she saw the crystal core placed in her palm.

"For me?"

Jake Qi nodded and pushed with his paw.

Lydia did not refuse, and immediately swallowed the crystal core into his belly. His paralyzed body gradually recovered, and the wound quickly began to scab.

"Walk."

After regaining some strength, Lydia stood up, bent down and picked up Jake Qi and Qining. While holding Jake Qi in his arms, he suddenly sniffed and said in surprise: "I didn't notice it before... have you ever met the barn owl from District 11?"

Jake Qi nodded.

"Didn't you get eaten?"

"...No."

"Then it's definitely not Alan you met."

Jake Qi moved his ears curiously. Alan? Who is this?

Considering Lydia's injury, Jake Qi insisted on walking by himself, while carrying Qining on his back. The kitten lay on Jake Qi's back, touched his cheek with his little paws, and began to seriously consider whether he should tell his father that he still had two crystal nuclei.

While advancing through the woods, Jake Qi asked Lydia why he appeared in District 11.

When this topic was brought up, Lydia's face suddenly turned black.

"Find someone!"

It turns out that the raptors from District 11 passed by District 12 and happened to meet Patunia's group. The two parties exchanged greetings, and the former continued to fly to Area 10, while the latter ended hunting and turned around to return to the tribe's territory.

Unexpectedly, the two young crows were inexperienced and did not know the horror of the hunting ground. They did not listen to the warnings of their elders and flew out of the border after chasing the prey, crashing into District 11.

When the barrier was raised, the little crow had flown too far. Lydia chased after them, but also had no time to escape, and they were trapped in the hunting ground together.

"I just want to find them quickly."

Lydia said as he dodged the vines flying from the left. There was anger in his tone, but more of worry.

Jake Qi didn't say anything. He carried Qi Ning and walked beside her, nimbly jumping over a pulled twig. At the same time, he was secretly glad that it was his own kitten who saved her worries.

The three of them walked in the forest for two full days, encountering mutated plants "blocking the road" several times and having to turn around midway. After going around three times and twice, I almost lost my way.

When encountering native species hiding in the forest, most of them can get along with each other in peace, but a few of them with bad tempers will be driven away at most. Unfortunately, I encountered a ferocious beast. It was a blessing not to be caught as a snack, let alone as a snack.

If Lydia had not been injured, or if Jake Qi was stronger, a similar situation would never have happened.

The reality is that although there are not many strange beasts that can survive in the pine forest, they are all fierce. They are injured, weak, and small. They are no match for them. They can only run away when they encounter them.

In comparison, the threat of aliens was secondary.

Occasionally, aliens fly overhead, and they are either busy chasing alien beasts, or they are attacked by mutated plants. As long as they hide in time, the possibility of being discovered is slim.

By the third day, the three of them were tired and hungry. They could only move forward mechanically, and their words seemed weak.

Qining contributed two crystal nuclei, and Lydia and Jake Qi regained their strength. They finally found a stream and jumped to the water's edge to drink. They barely drank until they were full.

Holding the listless kitten, Jake Qi felt sour in his heart and his throat was blocked.

As if he could understand Jake Qi's mood, Qi Ning raised his head, licked Jake Qi's chin, and comforted: "Dad, I'm fine."

Jake Qi felt even more uncomfortable and hugged the kitten tighter. Licking the kitten's nose and feeding half of the crystal core into his mouth.

"dad?"

"Eat it." Jake Qi closed his eyes and rubbed the kitten's head, "Dad, half a pill is enough."

After a short rest, the three of them continued on their way.

It was quiet all around, without any sound of birds or animals.

The sun penetrates the dense tree canopy and shines on the soft forest floor. When you step on it, you almost feel trapped in it.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the trees became sparse.

His vision suddenly opened up, and there was a rapid cry in his ears, and then, two black figures flew towards him.

Jake Qi suddenly became alert and wanted to retreat behind the tall grass. Lydia looked excited and shouted: "Pava, Luca!"

Hearing the shout, the two little crows moved. Recognizing that it was Lydia, they all accelerated and rushed over.

They regretted it as early as when District 11 was closed. I regret that I should not have listened to the warnings of my elders and rushed into the hunting ground rashly. After suffering these days in the hunting ground, the two of them were confused and scared. They were in danger several times and both had scars on their bodies.

"Patuni..."

The distance was getting closer and closer, and a little crow had joy in its eyes, and was about to pounce into Patunia's arms when a terrifying beam of light suddenly fell from the sky, instantly engulfing him and his brothers.

The little crow disappeared in the light, and Lydia froze in place, maintaining the posture of stretching out his arms.

Jake Qi hugged Qi Ning tightly, his pupils kept dilating and shrinking, and his whole body was cold, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.