Apocalypse: Transmigrated with an Overlord System
Chapter 169: The Line Between Courage and Caution

Chapter 169: Chapter 169: The Line Between Courage and Caution

They quickly divided themselves and dispersed in the forest, each group heading in their own direction. The tacit understanding between them had long been established—knowing each other’s pace, knowing how to fight, and knowing how to retreat. All this had become second nature.

Behind them, other survivors began to catch up. Some scattered and headed in other directions, but more people followed closely—everyone tried to keep enough distance to avoid being named but did not dare to go too far, for fear of losing shelter.

Some people quietly followed Liora’s team and talked in low voices.

"That’s Miss Liora’s team... they’re the safest."

"As long as we don’t make them angry, we can still benefit from it."

"Just follow quietly and learn from them."

Liora heard their whispers but did not respond. She didn’t care what they talked about behind her back.

Let them try. She was not against it at all. She was just afraid of the trouble they might cause.

That’s why her nerves were always tense and never relaxed.

This world would never be kind to stupidity and greed. Not every follower possessed good intentions. Some people would rather steal than work.

They passed a low bush, and several berry plants grew quietly in the pile of dead leaves. They were colorful and looked very similar to the edible "fruit" in the base records.

Liora half-crouched down, her eyes slightly fixed.

These fruits... were wrong.

"Don’t touch these." Her tone was sharp, and her voice was clearly transmitted to the back.

That voice was like a cold wind passing through the treetops, shocking people’s hearts.

A young follower had just stretched out his hand and immediately retracted it as if he had been electrocuted after hearing her warning. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he hurriedly explained, "Know, know! I didn’t touch it!"

Xu Kai stared at him coldly from behind, with no emotion in his tone: "Keep going."

His deep eyes were like knives, making the young man not dare to even breathe.

Further ahead, the first mutant beast finally appeared.

It was a mutant rat with slender limbs and a thin body. It was about the size of a medium-sized dog. There were several sharp spikes on its back, glowing faintly. Its eyes flashed with cold green light, and it let out a hissing roar from its mouth, like a creature corroded by some kind of corrosive energy.

It first crouched on the ground, and the next moment, it turned around and wanted to escape just as it looked at the number of people in Liora’s group.

"I’ll do it." Yang Ming stepped forward calmly, and a short blade flew out like lightning, hitting the rat’s forehead.

"Puff—"

The mutant rat stiffened, fell to the ground, and twitched twice before no longer moving.

Yang Ming walked over, pulled out his short blade, and wiped the blood on the fur of the mutant rat.

"Level 2 mutant rat. It has less meat but can be eaten after processing."

Liora looked around and found no signs of other mutants. She nodded and said, "Take it with you. It could be exchanged for base points."

At this time, a voice behind her sounded hesitant. It was a quiet, short-haired woman: "Can I... can I try the next one? I have a small range of freezing ability, maybe I can help."

Her voice was nervous and uneasy but not weak.

Liora turned her head to look at her, without any contempt in her eyes. After a moment, she nodded: "Okay. The premise is, "Don’t drag anyone down."

"Thank you!" The woman bowed her head slightly, her expression a little excited.

Lin Ci is her name, Liora memorized it in her heart.

A low roar came from the depths of the forest, followed by Shen Haoran’s angry shout and the faint fluctuations of Mei Yi’s healing power. That should be a conflict on the southeast side.

On the other side, there was a burst of "bang" on the west side, followed by a faint cheer.

"Ji Ming should have killed something." Yang Ming tilted his head to listen and laughed loudly.

All of them were still not far from each other. If they stayed quiet and focused, they could clearly hear movements from other groups. After all, ever since awakening their abilities, everyone’s physical senses had improved, especially their hearing, it was now many times sharper than before.

The sounds of leaves rustling, footsteps brushing against dry branches, and the low growls of distant mutated beasts echoed faintly in the air.

Liora stopped for a moment and looked ahead. The trees became denser deeper into the forest. The light from the sky barely reached the ground in some places, and the shadows between the trees looked like moving beasts in disguise.

She took a deep breath.

She didn’t want to waste time fighting over the resources near the edge of the forest. Those things were meant for people who couldn’t go deeper. The ones who followed her needed to understand that.

She turned back, her eyes calm but sharp.

"We’re going deeper," she said clearly, her voice spreading without needing to be loud. "The edge has some supplies, but it’s for the weaker ones. You can stay here if you want. It’s safer. But I won’t stop until we reach the inner zone."

The people following her stiffened slightly. Some looked hesitant, and some exchanged glances. A few whispered to one another.

"That far in?"

"There’ll be more mutant beasts..."

"But also better rewards..."

Liora didn’t try to persuade anyone. She simply turned and began walking forward again, stepping silently over twisted roots and dried leaves.

Xu Kai followed without a word. Yang Ming adjusted the strap on his shoulder and smiled faintly. "Now it gets interesting."

The others in her team followed as well, each of them ready. Their movements were silent and steady. They had done this before.

A few of the survivors behind them didn’t move.

But some chose to follow.

The short-haired woman, Lin Ci, was among them. She tightened her grip on her gloves and stepped forward, her face pale but determined. "I’ll come too."

No one replied, but the fact that she moved without hesitation spoke enough.

And so, their group stepped into the deeper part of the forest.

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