Xiao Liu: “Ranran, they said the people from the electromechanical plant across the way went into the back mountain. They went several times.”

“Ask them if they can help guide us,” Nan Muran thought for a moment. The situation in the mountains was complicated, and having some little locals familiar with the area leading the way would be ideal.

After Xiao Liu conveyed Nan Muran’s request to the group of little cuties—

The once lively, chattering animals and plants in front of them suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

The little rabbit, little squirrel, and even the newly joined little deer exchanged glances but stayed silent, their faces clearly showing fear.

“What’s wrong with them?”

Just as the eagle finished asking, the little animals scattered, disappearing into the surrounding bushes.

The open clearing was left with only one dumbfounded little squirrel, looking lost after its companions had fled.

Seeing the five humans staring at it, the little squirrel didn’t know whether to run or stay.

“Ask it what’s going on,” Nan Muran said helplessly to Xiao Liu.

None of the group dared move, afraid that if they scared this little fool away too, they’d have no one left to ask for directions.

Xiao Liu: “Why did they all run?”

Little Squirrel: “They’re scared.”

Xiao Liu: “Why aren’t you scared?”

The little squirrel looked both sad and resigned: “I can’t run that fast.”

Xiao Liu: “Such a dummy.”

Tree Spirit: “We won’t make you lead us to the back mountain. Just tell us why they were so scared they ran.”

Hearing the tree spirit’s words, the little squirrel visibly relaxed: “Those people all went to the back mountain. But it’s not just the back mountain — it starts not far ahead. That’s the territory of tigers and wolves.”

“They’ve eaten a lot of the mountain’s little animals… and even people. We don’t dare lead anyone there.”

Xiao Liu: “You don’t need to lead us, but can you tell Ranran how to get there?”

Little Squirrel: “Just keep going along this path. Once you reach the Taoist temple, it’s tiger territory. Wolf territory is beyond the mountain ridge.”

Hearing about a Taoist temple, the eagle immediately spoke up: “You mean the temple halfway up the mountain?”

The little squirrel tilted its head, blinking in confusion, almost looking like its tiny brain would cramp up.

Nan Muran chuckled: “How many Taoist temples are there on this mountain?”

“One,” the eagle answered a bit awkwardly, realizing he had asked a dumb question.

“Then why are you making things difficult for this little dummy?” Nan Muran said, pulling a handful of nuts out of her space.

The little squirrel’s eyes lit up at the sight of the nuts in Nan Muran’s hand.

“These are for you. Thank you for showing us the way,” Nan Muran said gently, placing the nuts on the ground when she saw it didn’t dare come closer.

Unexpectedly, the moment she placed the nuts down, a whole bunch of little squirrels suddenly darted out from the surrounding bushes so fast it made their heads spin.

When they looked down again, the pile of nuts was completely gone.

“Did it just get robbed?” Qi Jin asked, feeling bad for the little squirrel still standing there, motionless. It must be pretty upsetting to have your food stolen by your companions.

“You’re so silly. Aren’t you afraid of starving to death?” Si Ye crouched down and reached out, wanting to poke the little creature.

Unexpectedly, the little thing jumped straight onto his hand and scrambled up to his shoulder.

Nan Muran had to pull out another handful of nuts, watching as the little dummy gleefully stuffed itself and packed some away.

Once it was full, Si Ye placed the chubby little fellow back on the ground: “Alright, we’re heading to the back mountain. Go find your friends and play.”

Following the little squirrel’s directions, after a short distance, the five of them found a new path. The shrubs and grass along the sides clearly showed signs of recent human activity.

“I’ll go first,” the eagle said after roughly confirming their location and started leading the way.

Since there were obvious signs of passage, it wasn’t hard to follow.

After hiking up the mountain for about an hour, they suddenly heard faint sounds of crying.

“There’s someone up ahead,” Jiawu said with certainty.

“There are three women and one man in a nearby pavilion,” Nan Muran immediately probed ahead with her spiritual power and relayed the situation.

Jiawu checked the surroundings: “No other abnormalities around. We can go take a look.”

As they quickly approached, they found four people gathered in a dilapidated pavilion near the steep stone steps along the mountainside.

Three women and one man.

The man sitting at the edge looked full of regret, while two of the women were crying.

“Do you recognize them?” Si Ye asked the eagle. Since they were from the factory’s residential compound, there was a good chance he would know them even after being away for a few years.

The eagle studied them carefully and shook his head: “I don’t know the women. The man looks young, probably a university student who joined the factory in the past couple of years.”

“Let’s go over.”

They followed the stone steps forward. Once they got close, the four in the pavilion spotted them.

Seeing their camouflage uniforms, the man’s face lit up with excitement, and even the women stopped crying.

“Soldiers? We’re saved!” an older woman sobbed with relief.

But when the man got a closer look, excitement faded slightly. Clearly, this wasn’t a typical military rescue team, not with a child barely ten years old and an eye-catching beautiful woman among them.

“Are you from the electromechanical plant’s residential compound?” the eagle asked urgently.

The man froze.

The woman behind him quickly nodded: “Yes, we are.”

“Where’s Deputy Director Fu and his family? Do you know?” the eagle asked, clearly relieved.

Hearing that, the man studied the eagle’s face carefully, recognizing it. His eyes lit up: “You’re Deputy Director Fu’s younger brother who joined the army, right?”

So they really were soldiers!

“That’s me. Where are they?” the eagle pressed.

From the man’s story, Nan Muran’s group finally learned what had happened at the electromechanical plant since the apocalypse began.

Because they were from the same factory area and knew each other well, and thanks to the factory’s abundant stockpile of supplies, everyone initially survived by sticking together.

Aside from those who got sick or the elderly and children with poor immunity, most survived the early days.

But after the acid rain, zombies overran the entire plant. Under the security department’s leadership, the survivors fought back against the zombies in the factory and residential areas, though many died in the process.

Only in the past month had life barely stabilized.

Since the electromechanical plant’s residential area was right across from Mount Ling, and Mount Ling was rich in resources, survivors managed to scrape by by constantly scavenging and hunting in the mountains.