When Lucas diluted his corrosive liquid with water, it surprisingly became flammable. A single drop of the corrosive solution could dilute an entire bucket of water, so they quickly prepared dozens of barrels of the flammable mixture.

  Following Elijah’s instructions, Lucas doused the surrounding trees with the flammable liquid. He then used the corrosive fluid to carve a path near the woods. Even if the forest caught fire, this path would lead outside. Once the woods erupted into flames, their enemies would have no choice but to escape through this route.

  “Done?” Elijah asked immediately when Lucas returned.

  Lucas nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Didn’t miss any spots?” Elijah asked casually, knowing how careless Lucas could be.

  Lucas snapped impatiently, “No!”

  “Good.” Elijah pulled out a lighter and ignited a nearby tree. The trees soaked in flammable liquid burst into roaring flames at once, and the fire quickly spread to the surrounding trees.

  Watching the forest blaze grow larger, Elijah and Lucas immediately retreated, heading for their prearranged ambush spot to wait.

  ...

  Liam realized his worries had been completely unfounded. His regenerative ability was far stronger than before. The wound on his arm hadn’t become inflamed at all, and it had already scabbed over in just three hours. It would probably fully heal in a few more hours.

  “Hungry?” Seeing the young girl looking listless, Liam asked softly.

  She lifted her head slightly, nuzzled his hand, then touched her stomach with a troubled expression. It seemed even she was worried about her own appetite.

  “I sent Black Armor to hunt some prey. Just hold on a little longer.” Liam smiled and patted her head.

  He genuinely enjoyed the affection she showed him.

  After the apocalypse, everyone fought to survive. Loneliness was often drowned in the bodies of women who sold themselves for just a few pieces of meat. But Liam had never touched those women. For one thing, he feared losing himself to such indulgences. For another, the rations he received weren’t even enough for himself, so he had no extra meat to waste on pleasure.

  Besides, actors had no loyalty, and prostitutes had no honor. He didn’t believe those women, little better than prostitutes, could fill the emptiness in his heart.

  But this girl was different. The pure attachment in her eyes was something that could never be faked.

  She was the only companion Liam had truly acknowledged since the apocalypse began.

  After a while, Black Armor returned, dragging a mutated pheasant with its silk threads. Even after mutating, this type of pheasant remained extremely weak. Its body had only grown to the size of an ostrich, with faint signs of atavism. It even bore a slight resemblance to a phoenix. If it continued mutating, it might truly turn from an ugly duckling into a swan.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Liam expertly plucked its feathers and removed its innards. He fetched some water to clean the mutated pheasant, then used the flame from his tail to roast it. As long as the temperature stayed below two hundred degrees, the hair he used to hold the pheasant wouldn’t burn.

  Once it was cooked, the girl ate three-quarters of the entire bird. Her stomach’s terrifying digestive capacity was truly astonishing.

  Full and sleepy, Liam and the girl curled up together to sleep, leaving Black Armor to keep watch nearby in case Lucas and Elijah tracked them down.

  He didn’t know how long he’d slept when Black Armor suddenly sent a warning. Liam jolted awake and picked up the girl, fleeing the tree hollow.

  Standing on a branch, he looked out — the entire area had been swallowed by a sea of fire. The once-red woods blazed fiercely, cracking and popping. Countless mutated creatures scrambled in panic, only to collapse in the thick smoke.

  “Dammit, those two maniacs. Did they know my hair can’t stand high heat?” Liam immediately realized the fire was definitely the work of Lucas and Elijah.

  But this was no time to be angry. Escaping was the only priority; if the fire grew any bigger, it would be too late.

  Liam held the girl, jumped down from the tree, and mounted Black Armor. He pointed toward a section with weaker flames and shouted, “Out of the woods! Now! Full speed!”

  Black Armor’s nine legs surged forward, carrying Liam and the girl through the forest at incredible speed. But Liam knew the situation was grim. Even though the flames were weaker in their direction, the danger was still extreme. Trees could collapse at any moment, and they had to avoid being trampled by panicked animals. He wasn’t sure if they would make it out alive.

  “Moo~~~” A mournful cry suddenly reached Liam’s ears. He turned and saw the glue snail he’d met before.

  This snail had been a huge help to Liam. If it hadn’t used its super-strong glue to trap swarms of mutated creatures, Liam would have had a far harder time in the woods. But the glue snail was extremely slow — it was bound to die in the fire.

  Liam’s mind flashed. His hair instantly grew wildly, shooting out to wrap around the snail’s shell.

  “Snail brother, you can understand me. I mean no harm. I’m just trying to get you out of this damned forest!” Liam shouted quickly when the snail struggled.

  The glue snail was a high-level mutated creature with decent intelligence. Hearing Liam’s words, it stopped struggling and let out a grateful cry.

  The closer they got to the edge, the fiercer the flames became. Liam had to use his hair to slash through blocking trees. The glue snail was clever; it shot glue in all directions to extinguish small fires and prevent trees from collapsing.

  Suddenly, as Black Armor passed an unburned tree, the tree exploded violently. Countless seeds shot into the sky and scattered in all directions. Liam only had time to shield the girl before he was blown more than ten meters away. His hair, wrapped around the glue snail, lost control and released it. The snail was sent rolling into the fire by the blast.

  The shock finally jolted the normally carefree girl awake. She saw Liam’s back covered in blood and quickly supported him, her face tight with panic.

  Then she remembered something. She took out her pendant and rubbed it against Liam’s back. The greencrystal inside the pendant emitted a faint green light. Liam’s broken spine rapidly healed. In moments, no trace of the injury remained — but the greencrystal inside the pendant had shrunk by an entire circle.

  “Cough… cough…” Liam coughed up dark blood. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled weakly when he saw the girl’s anxious face. “I’m… okay. We have to leave, now. It’s not safe here.”

  The girl nodded, lifted Liam into her arms, and ran toward the forest edge. She finally spotted a ditch, jumped in, and fled along it.

  Liam’s mind stirred. Black Armor, which had been lying on the ground, immediately climbed to its feet and rushed toward his position. Its thick, tough shell had taken the least damage from the explosion, despite being closest to the blast.

  The girl finally carried Liam out of the burning woods. Glancing back at the forest, Liam felt as if he’d been reborn. He was once again reminded that in the apocalypse, animals were not the only threat — many plants were far more dangerous.

  The exploding tree they’d encountered was clearly a mutated plant that self-destructed when threatened, launching its seeds away from danger to ensure its offspring survived.