"HUFF… HUFF…" Shen Feng sprinted through the deserted, dilapidated streets, carrying his weapons and ammunition.
The impact from the earlier explosion had been too intense, and the Brain Apes hadn't yet picked up his trail.
Meanwhile, the appearance of a thousand Ape Cavalry had startled the wildlife living in this urban jungle. Rats, rabbits, foxes, and deer scattered in every direction, flushing out flocks of birds. The entire ruins of Huicheng were filled with a clamor that further concealed Shen Feng's movements.
Shen Feng even encountered a fox running alongside him. They glanced at each other, but instead of attacking, they both continued fleeing for their lives.
This showed that, to a certain extent, the Brain Apes had already replaced humanity as the planet's dominant species.
Soon, Shen Feng arrived in front of the Huicheng Epidemic Prevention Center building.
After the Petrification Disease outbreak, epidemic prevention had become the top priority. The prevention centers in every city had undergone large-scale renovations, so their internal structures and layouts were more or less identical.
Shen Feng's arrival immediately caught the attention of some Skinners inside the building.
Just as he had expected, the epidemic prevention center in every city had become a nest for Skinners.
Without a moment's hesitation, Shen Feng used materials at hand to fashion several large torches. He wrapped them tightly with rags he had already soaked in fuel, then stuck them all over his front and back until he looked like a giant skewer of candied fruit.
He then lit all the torches with a match, took a deep breath, and burst through the doors of the Epidemic Prevention Center.
Upon seeing Shen Feng appear, a dozen or so Skinners hiding inside immediately roared and charged, wanting to tear this human to shreds.
But before they could even reach him, the scorching flames forced them back with shrieks of pain.
The searing heat of the fire was far more intense than sunlight—for these Skinners, it was the most agonizing thing imaginable.
The surrounding flames made Shen Feng sweat profusely, but his heart grew much calmer.
'Just as I thought,' he mused. 'These Skinners are terrified of fire!'
'They might look terrifying, but they have a fatal weakness. If you exploit it, they're just a bunch of pushovers.'
'Using boiling water before was a bit stupid of me.'
'The feeling of being roasted by fire after being skinned… the mere thought is enough to make my skin crawl.'
"Kill… me…"
"…Die…"
A crowd of Skinners surrounded Shen Feng, wailing mindlessly, but none dared to approach.
This sudden intruder was like a porcupine; they had no way to get their hands on him!
Shen Feng quickly bypassed the Skinners and rushed to the elevators.
Unlike the Epidemic Prevention Center in Qi City, the elevators in the Huicheng center were still working!
'I just wonder if it'll fall halfway down after so many years of neglect…'
'I'll risk it!'
Shen Feng gritted his teeth, forced the elevator doors open, and darted inside.
Inside the elevator stood a statue of a pretty young woman, likely a former elevator operator. She still wore a professional smile, but her clothes were in tatters.
Shen Feng sighed, took a towel from his bag, and draped it over the operator's statue.
The elevator swayed and rattled, its lights flickering constantly. It took nearly a minute to reach the top floor of the twenty-story Epidemic Prevention Center.
The doors opened, and Shen Feng immediately stepped out.
Several Skinners wandering the top floor spotted Shen Feng and charged at him, only to be seared by the flames and retreat with screams of agony.
Shen Feng ignored them and walked directly to a metal door in the center of the floor.
According to the schematic of the Epidemic Prevention Center he had seen, this should be the core research lab. A vast amount of research data was stored on the computers here.
It could be said that this place held humanity's most cutting-edge research on the Petrification Disease, and its security measures were the tightest.
Before Shen Feng stood a twenty-centimeter-thick alloy door, strong enough to withstand artillery fire.
More and more Skinners gathered in the corridor. These former Incinerator Technicians still held a subconscious attachment to the Epidemic Prevention Center, so they had made it their nest and wandered its various floors.
Every city once had thousands of Incinerator Technicians, which meant there were thousands of Skinners.
They seemed to have a particular fondness for the top floor; nearly a hundred Skinners had now gathered around Shen Feng. If not for their fear of the scorching flames, they would have charged him long ago.
The torches stuck to his body had burned down considerably, even singeing his hair, but the lab door was still closed!
Even after nearly ten years, the lab's electronic access control system was still faithfully in operation.
Shen Feng felt a headache coming on. His gaze swept over the crowd of Skinners, and he began quickly examining the tattered remains of their clothing.
Incinerator Technicians were not just ordinary sanitation workers who burned things. High-ranking Incinerator Technicians also participated in the decision-making of the entire Epidemic Prevention Center.
In a way, they were more like an army.
Therefore, some of the highest-Level Incinerator Technicians would also have clearance to enter the top research lab!
Soon, Shen Feng's eyes landed on a Skinner wearing a tattered white lab coat.
On this Skinner's coat was a badge, bearing the title: "Captain, Huicheng Incinerator Brigade."
'You're the one!'
Shen Feng quickly drew his pistol, wrapped it in a piece of cloth, and charged toward the Skinner.
Before it could react, Shen Feng pulled the trigger.
"THUMP!" The sound of the gunshot, muffled by the cloth, was a dull thud, like a sledgehammer hitting the ground.
'The Brain Apes probably haven't searched this area yet. This shouldn't attract their attention.'
The Skinner's heart was pierced by the bullet. It slowly collapsed, a flash of relieved joy flickering in the depths of its chaotic consciousness before it went still.
Without pausing, Shen Feng pulled out the dagger at his waist, gritted his teeth, and cruelly gouged out the Skinner's eyeball. He then placed it against the access scanner on the lab's alloy door.
A green beam shot out from the sensor and began scanning the iris.
"Identity verified: Shi Changlei, Captain, Huicheng Incinerator Brigade. Clearance Level: One."
The alloy door, sealed for years, rumbled open, and Shen Feng immediately slipped inside.
Just as he entered, the door closed again, shutting out the Skinners who had been watching him like hungry tigers.
The torches stuck to Shen Feng's body suddenly went out.
He couldn't help but think how close that was. The fire had dried all his sweat, but now it poured out of him.
He pulled out a plastic water bottle, dropped the eyeball inside for safekeeping, and then collapsed onto a chair, panting heavily.
The mad dash while carrying a heavy load, combined with the searing heat of the torches and the heart-pounding tension, had left him completely exhausted. He didn't want to move a single muscle.
Lifting his eyes, he saw a huge laboratory filled with electronic screens and various incubators.
A dozen or so statues in white lab coats stood in various places, frozen in different poses, their faces still showing the expressions they wore the moment they were petrified.
From the way they looked, it was as if they were in the middle of an experiment, ready to spring back to life at any moment.
He pulled out a water bottle and chugged half of it. Shen Feng knew he was safe for now.
His goal had never been to clash with the Brain Apes, but to find the reason for their emergence.
After resting for a while to recover his strength, Shen Feng got up and walked to an electronic screen. He pressed the dust-covered power button, and the system, which had been dormant for years, immediately whirred back to life.
The statue standing in front of the screen was that of an elderly man with glasses, clearly the person in charge of the Epidemic Prevention Center.
Shen Feng used the ID card from the man's body to log in, and the entire database of the Huicheng City Epidemic Prevention Center was immediately displayed before him!
Gazing at the various data and files appearing on the dusty screen, Shen Feng found his breathing quickening.
'Maybe this time,' he thought, 'I'll be able to complete part of the main quest.'
"TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT…" Just then, the sharp, piercing sound of gunfire erupted from the street below!
Shen Feng frowned, rushed to the window, and peered down through the blinds.
On the street in front of the Epidemic Prevention Center, dozens of Ape Cavalry had appeared and were now firing at the Skinners inside the surrounding buildings!