The Chef Rules the Last Days-Chapter 485 - 483: The Small Village

The speeding car whipped up a breeze, setting the dense leaves atop it into motion, many fluttering down, some even standing erect as they pierced the muddy ground, looking incredibly hard.

"Lu Chen, something seems off, slow down a bit."

The man did as he was told, gradually reducing the speed. "Leaves?"

He too had noticed the issue. Su Mo nodded, leaned against the window, and squinted to examine, "Have you noticed that the direction of the mutation of these things looks familiar, the leaves are sharp and move with the wind."

"Willow trees," he quickly supplied the answer.

Indeed, the mutated willow trees they initially encountered in Lakefront Town were very similar to these, where a mere strand of leaves had killed a full-grown man.

Lu Chen picked up the walkie-talkie and instructed those following, "Stay in the middle, don’t get close to the leaves on either side."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jin Han couldn’t hold back and blurted out with impatience, "Are these leaves problematic? A leaf just drifted down and sliced off a piece of metal from the front of the car!"

"The leaves are problematic. Stick to the middle, this stretch is long, try not to kick up any wind."

"Roger that."

The car’s speed dropped to twenty yards per hour, inching forward on the muddy road as the sky grew gradually darker by the minute.

Su Mo leaned by the window, frowning, "These leaves are such a nuisance. We’d be lucky if a strong wind doesn’t blow, otherwise our car might end up scrapped here, and fixing it would be a big issue."

True to form, shortly after her words, a gust blew by, and the big trees on both sides began to rustle ominously.

Jianxiong also leaned out the window, and upon seeing this, shouted loudly, "Damn, they’re going to fall!"

Su Mo slapped her mouth, realizing that bringing attention to the situation was not at all helpful at that moment.

Behind them, Jin Han, also somewhat terrified, called for the Gold Element Superpower User to activate their superpower and reinforce the car’s exterior.

Lu Chen had maintained a speed of over twenty yards per hour when he noticed the wind growing increasingly stronger; at this rate, their Volkswagen would surely end up like a hedgehog.

He floored the gas pedal, surging forward as the storm arrived.

Seeing him do this, Jin Han immediately hit the accelerator, calling for his companions to follow.

On either side of the road, the wild winds and their speed lifted countless leaves that spun rapidly in the dimming sky before flying toward the middle of the road where their vehicles were.

Su Mo, sitting inside the car, was already on Level 1 alert. Their Volkswagen, merely picked up from the roadside, had no puncture resistance whatsoever.

"Hold tight," said Lu Chen, as he spun the steering wheel quickly, trying to dodge the areas dense with leaves, but still, a number of leaves from above rapidly descended, piercing their windshield.

The sharp tips of the leaves instantly penetrated halfway through the glass into the car.

Su Mo yelled, "Watch out!"

The penetration power was too strong. In just a few minutes, the windshield was pierced with dozens of leaves.

To make matters worse, some leaves that fell to the ground were crushed by the fragile car tires. With a loud "bang," the front wheel of the Volkswagen Lu Chen was driving burst open, the tire’s rubber flying off to the side of the road, leaving the poor vehicle with only a steel rim fruitlessly spinning in place.

Inside the car, Su Mo was flung hard toward the door due to the imbalance but was pulled back by Lu Chen. He forcefully held onto the steering wheel, steering the Volkswagen that was about to crash into a tree back on course.

Jianxiong in the backseat also slammed hard against the door panel, his arm causing a bulge in the door from the impact, the pain making him grimace and wince as if he were a stone.

At the same time, he was the first to spot the entrance to the town ahead.

"Boss! We’re almost there! Boss! Just a few hundred meters ahead! We can rush through!"

The windshield in front of Lu Chen was shattered into many pieces, and through the hazy view, he could barely make out several figures lingering at the end.

He slammed on the gas pedal and gripped the steering wheel tightly, propelling the car forward.

Following behind them, Jin Han and the others had it much easier, as they were in modified battle cars. Aside from the damaged windshield, the tires were still robust enough to support them up to this point.

"Over here, over here! We can stop here! They won’t drift over!"

A few townspeople stood there, waving their arms and shouting loudly while also clearing a large open space beside them.

The hood of Lu Chen’s car was billowing thick white smoke, and to make matters worse, the entire hood had popped up, completely blocking the view ahead.

Worried about hitting someone, Su Mo didn’t think twice; she rolled down the window, her right hand condensing into a woody shield, which she held over her head as she peered outside. After locking down the location and distance the townspeople mentioned, she quickly drew back inside.

"To the right ahead, about 500 meters, there’s a large open space without those weird trees," she repeated urgently.

Lu Chen, his face calm, followed her directions, expertly steering the car as they raced forward.

In the end, after busting two tires, the car narrowly stopped on that open space, closely followed by Jin Han and the others.

They had all made it through the journey with close calls but no mishaps.

Just as Su Mo breathed a sigh of relief, the man beside her turned her around and began checking her up and down.

"Did you get hurt?"

He revealed his anxious emotions as he examined her.

Shaking her head, Su Mo unfastened her seatbelt, "No, no, let’s go take a look at the engine, the smoke’s almost seeping into the car." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Relieved, the three of them got out of the car.

Among the thick white smoke, many sharp leaves were jammed into the engine, and the hood showed signs of being pierced directly by leaves.

"It’s broken," he said after observing the damage.

Su Mo walked a bit farther away, waving off the unpleasant white smoke, "Anyway, this is a small town, finding another car shouldn’t be too hard."

Jin Han and the rest also got out of their cars, assessing the damage to the vehicles.

After a brief discussion, the group turned their attention to the several strangers huddled together nearby.

They were all ordinary people with sunken eye sockets, gaunt cheeks, and emaciated figures, clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition.

Moreover, the way they looked at the group was filled with fear and trepidation, with just a faint hint of envy that was almost imperceptible.

As the leader, Lu Chen took the initiative to approach them and greet them, "Hello."

His expressionless face as he greeted them made the townspeople too intimidated to meet his gaze. Although he didn’t let out any aura of oppression, they still lowered their heads further, not daring to speak.

Su Mo clung to his arm and smiled warmly, taking the lead to say, "We are superpower users from outside, just passing through. You don’t have to be afraid, we just want to seek shelter in the town for the night."

Immediately, someone from the group lifted their head, "Come to my place! My house can accommodate people! As long as you can provide compensation, you must have quite a bit of food with all that equipment from outside, right? We’re starving!"