Two Worlds in the Apocalypse: Each journey through the modern world lasts 60 seconds.

Time slipped by unnoticed, and it was already past noon. The sky remained a lifeless, hazy gray, and the sunlight weakly pierced through the clouds, casting a dim halo over the earth.

Inside the driver's seat, Xu Mo rested one hand on the steering wheel, his gaze habitually sweeping across the road ahead and to the sides. However, the long drive, coupled with the almost unchanging desolate scenery outside the window, gave rise to an indescribable sense of boredom and tedium.

It had been more than half a day since we left Qingsongling Town. Apart from the brief encounter on the riverbed earlier, the journey had been unexpectedly peaceful. We hadn't encountered any hordes of mutated creatures, nor had we found any trace of other survivors. As far as the eye could see, there was only the devastation left behind by the flood—cracked mud, uprooted or snapped dead trees, and the occasional wreckage of abandoned vehicles scattered among the weeds and mud like carelessly discarded toys in the distance.

"Tsk." Xu Mo clicked his tongue lightly, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with this aimless driving.

To dispel the boredom, Xu Mo reached out and turned on the radio on the car's center console. This SUV was well-equipped, with a fully functional radio that supported multiple bands and included basic signal search and storage capabilities. The black LCD screen lit up, displaying the current frequency.

Xu Mo skillfully rotated the tuning knob, his ears carefully discerning the sounds emanating from the speaker. First came piercing white noise and electrical hum, jumping and flickering between different frequencies. He patiently searched through them segment by segment, paying particular attention to the frequency bands he remembered the Jiangcheng shelter frequently used.

However, the result was disappointing. Aside from occasionally picking up some incomprehensible, intermittent Morse code-like ticking sounds, the expected steady and powerful broadcast voice failed to appear. On the radio's LCD screen, numbers kept changing, but it couldn't lock onto a clear and stable signal source.

"It's probably not time for the broadcast yet," Xu Mo frowned, his finger lingering on the tuning knob for a moment before finally turning it off, and the monotonous sound of the engine returned to the car.

After driving for a while, Xu Mo sighed helplessly and turned on the car audio system again, wanting to hear some sounds.

Fortunately, the original owner of this car seemed to be a music lover, as the built-in hard drive contained a lot of songs. I randomly opened a folder called "Classic Oldies," and a slightly husky, soothing male voice echoed in the car.

The music did alleviate the boredom to some extent. Xu Mo leaned back in his chair, listening to the melodies that belonged to another peaceful era, and his mood relaxed a little.

However, these songs create a strong sense of disconnect with the apocalyptic scene outside the window, making it easier for listeners to recall the past and feel a sense of unreality and disorientation.

Xu Mo shook his head, turned down the volume so that it was only background noise, and continued to focus his attention on driving and observation.

As the wheels continued forward, the sky gradually deepened in color, shifting from grayish-white to a dusky yellow, then tinged with a hint of somber orange-red. The sun, like a giant, cold bronze disc, slowly sank towards the western horizon, and the light between heaven and earth quickly softened and then dimmed.

Night is approaching.

Xu Mo glanced at the clock on the dial, then looked at the desolate wilderness ahead where there were still no artificial lights or building outlines, and began to seriously consider where to stay for the night.

Throughout the entire day, he hadn't seen a single house that could serve as temporary shelter. Occasionally, he would pass through places that resembled villages, but all that remained were ruins, making them completely unsuitable for spending the night.

Spending the night in the car seems like an option. Given the car's sturdiness and airtightness, as long as it's parked in a relatively secluded and open place and the doors are locked, the safety factor isn't too low.

However, Xu Mo was somewhat resistant to this option. Spending the night huddled in a cramped train carriage would not only make it difficult to guarantee the quality of his rest, but also inevitably slow his reaction time should an emergency occur while he was asleep. More importantly, a sense of urgency to reach his destination as quickly as possible was quietly growing in Xu Mo's heart.

The straight-line distance from Qingsongling Town to Jiangcheng Shelter is about 200 kilometers. Before the apocalypse, with unobstructed highways, this distance would only take two or three hours by car.

Now, relying on this powerful off-road vehicle, although the average speed may only be 20 or 30 kilometers per hour, or even lower, due to the extremely poor road conditions, it is still much faster than walking on foot.

"At this speed, even if we take a detour, we should be able to get there in two or three days, right?" Xu Mo estimated in his mind. "Instead of sleeping in the middle of nowhere with trepidation, it's better to travel a longer distance under the cover of night. The sooner we get to Jiangcheng, the sooner we can have peace of mind."

Once this thought arose in Xu Mo's mind, it quickly became firm.

"I'll rest in Jiangcheng!" Xu Mo made up his mind, his eyes regaining focus. He checked the car's condition; the fuel was sufficient, and the lights were working properly. Adjusting the seat, Xu Mo prepared for a long night drive.

Just as the last rays of the sun were about to be swallowed by the horizon, and the world was plunged into the deepest darkness before dawn, Xu Mo keenly noticed that some uninvited guests were beginning to appear outside the car window.

At first, there were only one or two dark shadows, like fleeting ghosts, skimming low in the air not far in front of the SUV, moving at extremely high speeds and with unpredictable trajectories.

Soon, the number of shadowy figures began to increase, three or five, seven or eight... They circled the vehicle, maintaining a certain distance, flying up and down, as if conducting some kind of reconnaissance.

It's a bat.

These bats appeared to be a size larger than those commonly seen before the apocalypse; in the increasingly dim light, only their blurry black outlines and rapidly flapping fleshy wings could be seen.

Xu Mo's heart sank slightly. In the original world, seeing bats returning to their nests at dusk might be considered a sign of good fortune, but here, any living creature that approaches must be assumed to be malicious.

"If this were the original world, I might say I'm blessed with good fortune, but unfortunately, this is the apocalypse," Xu Mo murmured, a hint of cold self-mockery in his voice. Without hesitation, he slowed the car down slightly, released his left hand from the steering wheel, and skillfully pulled out the TT33 pistol he always carried.

He rolled down the car window, and the cool, earthy night air rushed into the car. Xu Mo held the gun in his left hand, his arm steadily resting on the window frame, his sharp gaze locking onto the dark figures flitting and dancing in the twilight.

These bats seemed particularly interested in the moving vehicles and the "life" emanating from inside them, circling in increasingly smaller circles, and some even boldly began to try to get close to the car windows!

"Bang!"

The first gunshot shattered the silence of the wilderness. A bat that was trying to swoop down from the side was blown into a cloud of blood mist in mid-air, its mangled wings and body falling helplessly to the ground.

"Bang! Bang!"

Xu Mo's eyes were icy, his finger steady and rhythmic as he pulled the trigger. The TT33 pistol rang out crisply, each shot accompanied by the fall of a bat. His shooting was extremely precise; thanks to his exceptional dynamic vision and body control, he hit almost every target he aimed at. Small bursts of blood exploded in the air as bat corpses fell to the ground one after another.

However, the gunshots and the smell of blood, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirred up even bigger waves.

More bats swarmed in from all directions and unknown corners, far exceeding the number before, and in the blink of an eye, they formed a small, swirling "black cloud" around the SUV.

The swarm of bats, which had been circling the vehicle, seemed to be completely enraged, or perhaps driven mad by the death and bloodshed of their companions. They emitted sharp "squeaks," which merged together to form a chilling sonic wave.

These bats no longer merely circled around; instead, they began to recklessly and frantically crash into the SUV, like a suicide attack.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A series of dull thuds echoed as bats' flesh and blood slammed against the car doors, windows, hood, and windshield. Although the impact of a single bat was limited, the dense and frequent impacts still caused the car to vibrate slightly and obstructed visibility.

"Are you all alright?" Xu Mo cursed under his breath; the situation was more troublesome than he had anticipated. Xu Mo quickly closed the car windows to prevent any bats from sneaking into the car.

The swarm of bats went completely berserk, attacking the SUV relentlessly with their bodies, teeth, and claws. Sharp claws scraped against the paint, producing a sickeningly loud sound, and the continuous, dense thuds of impact were like a hailstorm. The entire SUV seemed to be enveloped in a restless, malevolent darkness.

Xu Mo frowned; he knew he couldn't continue to be passive like this. Obstructed visibility was the greatest danger; if the road ahead couldn't be seen, the vehicle could easily get stuck in a ditch or crash into an obstacle.

He slammed on the gas, the diesel engine roared angrily, and the SUV accelerated sharply, trying to use its speed to shake off the swarm of frenzied bats.

At the same time, Xu Mo suddenly turned on the car's front windshield wipers with his left hand and sprayed out windshield washer fluid, clearing a relatively clear fan-shaped field of vision.

The off-road vehicle raced across the dim wilderness, with the black "cloud" relentlessly pursuing it from behind and to the sides, launching attacks without hesitation.

Xu Mo's eyes were sharp as he stared intently at the small area illuminated by the headlights ahead. He gripped the steering wheel firmly with both hands, maneuvering the vehicle on the bumpy road while also keeping an eye on clearing away the bats that stubbornly clung to the glass and obstructed his view.