Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six

The Rocktop Birds were coming head-on, a vast multitude that blotted out the sun, and it was too late to turn back now.

Xu Fang said in despair, "Their timing is too perfect. They show up just as we leave Mechanical City, why didn't they appear in the last two days?"

Shen Xiuzhe stopped the car. With the Rocktop Birds’ huge size and rapid flight speed, turning back now would still result in them being caught in the blink of an eye.

"Mechanical City has a sonic interference device that prevents the Rocktop Birds from lingering overhead. That's why they haven't come for us these past two days."

Staring at the swiftly approaching flock in the sky, Shen Xiuzhe quickly pondered a strategy.

"If only we had known, we should have brought one of those interference devices when we left. Then we wouldn't be under siege now. These birds really hold a grudge."

"There's only one large interference device in Mechanical City, and it's bigger than an RV. How could we possibly bring it?"

"Alright then."

Ouyang Dong also came down from the RV, puzzled, "Why have we stopped? Xu Fang, are you going to relieve yourself again?"

Xu Fang pointed to the sky: "Look there, your admirers have arrived."

Ouyang Dong looked up, his face calm as he observed the advancing Rocktop Birds, "I knew it, we couldn’t escape this ordeal."

"What do we do? How about we all hide inside the RV and wait for them to leave?" Xu Fang said anxiously.

Shen Xiuzhe, with his arms folded, spoke gravely, "The Rocktop Bird's beak is hard enough to chisel through rock. By the time they leave, the RV will probably be pecked to pieces."

Ouyang Dong plucked a handful of wildflowers from the ground, holding them as if he had given up resisting. But upon hearing Xu Fang's idea, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Back in Chuxi City, when we were gathering supplies, didn't the boss armor up the car with spikes? If we do the same with the RV, those birds won't be able to touch us."

Xu Fang immediately nodded, "This is a good idea."

The two exchanged a sly smile, seemingly conniving despite just discussing strategies against the rock-top birds; their chuckles made it seem like they were plotting something nefarious.

Shen Xiuzhe said indifferently, "These birds have another trait: they like to drop objects from high altitudes. If they find they can't get close to the RV, they might start throwing stones."

The rock-top bird, with a wingspan of three to four meters and talons like iron hooks, can grab sizeable stones. If they drop these from a great height, even one hitting the RV could crush it. And with so many birds in the sky, dodging is impossible.

As the flock of birds neared, they felt helpless; Ouyang Dong had already resigned himself to fate, lying flat on the ground with wildflowers in hand.

Xu Fang, in desperation and not knowing what to do, took a deep breath, gestured grandly, and with the resolve of a hero, declared, "You go first, I'll cover the rear!"

Hearing this, Ouyang Dong sat up from the ground, "The disaster is my fault, I should cover the rear. You run first, I'll try to delay them as much as possible."

Watching the two rush to prepare, Shen Xiuzhe was exasperated. They had powers and were more than capable of handling these birds. Previously, they were concerned about the birds holding grudges and didn't want to harm them, but now, confrontation seemed inevitable.

Wu Nainai and Wu Duo also got out of the vehicle. Seeing the approaching birds, Wu Duo suddenly said, "I have a plan."

The two, pushing and shoving each other, immediately turned to Wu Duo, asking in unison, "What's the plan?"

Wu Duo blinked, "Actually, when we were in the Mechanical City, Grandpa Lin gave me something..."

The rock-top birds' calls were harsh, squawking menacingly at the oncoming RV, their small, round, beady eyes gleaming fiercely.

A few of them dove first towards the RV, their broad, massive yellow beaks sharp enough to pierce through steel.

Suddenly, a brown object was thrown from the moving RV – a hard-shelled, round fruit, the rock-top bird's favorite food.

The round fruit rolled onto the ground, clattering away.

The rock-top bird, diving straight towards the RV, immediately cleared its fierce beady eyes upon seeing the fruit.

A slight flap of its wings changed its course, heading straight for the fruit.

The fastest bird reached the fruit first, pressing it down with one claw, pecking rapidly at the fruit's hard skin, forgetting its original purpose, focused only on feasting.

The RV sped along, occasionally tossing out a hard-shelled fruit, each as large as a human head, enough to keep a rock-top bird busy for a while.

The succession of thrown fruits attracted most of the rock-top birds, with the sound of pecking echoing everywhere.

It seemed that, for these rock-top birds, feasting was more important than revenge.

Xu Fang, throwing fruits out of the RV, couldn't help but say, "Grandpa Lin has been so good to us. Without all these fruits, we might have faced a tough battle today."

Udo took the fruits one by one from the space: "Yes, we never mentioned the rock-top bird incident, but Grandpa Lin was still prepared and gave us plenty."

Wu Shuangxue, with a gentle look in her eyes, said, "Many people entering and leaving Mechanical City encounter rock-top birds, so he's just being cautious."

Ouyang Dong, throwing fruits from another window, wondered, "Does Professor Lin know about Udo's space ability? I don't recall seeing her demonstrate it in front of him."

Udo paused, slightly embarrassed, pursing her lips. She had thought her grandmother didn't want her to take food from the space to keep Grandpa Lin from knowing about her ability. But later, her grandmother explained it was because Grandpa Lin wouldn't eat it but would share it with everyone, so it was best to let things happen naturally.

On their first day in Mechanical City, when she took out gasoline and a flamethrower from the space to kill a hybrid zombie, Grandpa Lin had already known about her ability, so before they left, he had asked her to take the weapons and fruits with her.

"He knows, I used my powers in front of him the first day we were killing zombies," said Wu Duo.

They threw many fruits out of the window, but in the end, only one bird continued its relentless pursuit.

Even after several fruits were thrown out, the rock-top bird didn't even glance at them, its eyes fiercely fixed on the RV.

It attempted a few times to flip the RV with its wings, but the RV, being extremely heavy and reinforced with metal, was impossible for a single bird to overturn, leaving the rock-top bird squawking angrily.

The RV had windows on both sides and the back, and the reinforcing bars had been removed by Shen Xiuzhe for easier fruit-throwing.

This also made it easier for them to look outside.

Xu Fang stuck his head out of the RV window, holding binoculars and looking up. After observing for a while, he suddenly said, "The rock-top bird chasing us seems to be the one we shot in the butt."

Xu Fang remembered that bird's eyes had more white than usual, giving it a somewhat lifeless look. A closer inspection with the binoculars confirmed it was the same bird.

Ouyang Dong frowned: "It's not coming to capture me again, is it?"

Xu Fang chuckled: "I guess it's just seeking revenge for an arrow, considering the boss said these birds hold grudges."

They had thrown so many fruits already. If it ignored the food, it meant the bird was after them for some other grudge.

Like, perhaps, the grudge of being shot in the butt.

Seeing it couldn't flip the vehicle with its wings and its companions were distracted by the food, the lone rock-top bird tried to land on the RV, but Shen Xiuzhe's erratic S-shaped driving made it miss every time.

It finally succeeded once, only to have spikes suddenly protrude from the flat metal roof of the RV, stabbing it in the butt again, causing it to screech in pain.

Watching the rock-top bird's misfortune, Xu Fang and Ouyang Dong, who had been fearful of their fate, burst into laughter.

Their loud laughter infuriated the rock-top bird, which flew above the RV, its tail feathers quivering.

"What is it doing?" Xu Fang wondered, puzzled.

Ouyang Dong squinted for a moment before his face suddenly changed: "Damn! It's not going to... poop on us, is it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a large splash of ash-grey liquid fell from the sky.

Ouyang Dong: "No, no, no..."

Xu Fang: "Oh my, oh my, oh my!"

Amidst their cries of alarm, Shen Xiuzhe nimbly dodged the mysterious liquid with a serpentine maneuver.

Xu Fang and Ouyang Dong breathed a sigh of relief. The thought of such a large bird's droppings was a terrifying visual, and if it hit the RV, the scene would be disastrous.

"Thankfully it's just one bird. If the others weren't distracted by food and all decided to relieve themselves on our roof, it'd be like rain. No running fast enough to escape that," Xu Fang remarked with lingering fear.

Ouyang Dong, imagining the scenario, made a face of disgust: "Stop, that's just gross."

The rocktop bird, full of resentment for missing its target, glared menacingly at the vehicle, its tail feathers twitching.

Xu Fang, with binoculars in hand: "...Damn it, that damn bird is at it again."

Shen Xiuzhe, an excellent driver, narrowly avoided each bird dropping attack, while Xu Fang and Ouyang Dong inside the vehicle were on tenterhooks.

"This won't do... That bird's got an endless supply, and at this rate, even the boss driving won't help us avoid it," Xu Fang was almost scared senseless. Glancing around inside the RV, he noticed Lin An standing by another window.

Unlike the two restless fellows almost climbing out the window, Lin An was just standing by the window, curiously looking out, though from his angle, he couldn't see the rocktop bird above.

Xu Fang rushed to Lin An, startling him, who was quietly looking out the window, causing him to shudder.

"An Ge, help! That bird is about to relieve itself on our RV. Can you whip up a water spout to toss it into the sky and get rid of it? Otherwise, if that big pile of bird droppings falls, our vehicle will be submerged."

Lin An's ability was indeed useful, especially for long-range attacks; dealing with a single bird should pose no problem.

He glanced nervously at the people inside the RV, who were all looking at him expectantly. Lin An instinctively lowered his gaze, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

Under the collective gaze, Lin An's body tensed, not wishing to let everyone down, he murmured softly, "Alright."

Almost carried by the others to the window, the wind howled in, blowing Lin An's bangs askew and revealing his flawless face, his eyes squinting slightly in bewilderment as he looked outside.

He couldn't see anything.

"An, you need to stick your head out, the bird is circling right above the car."

Obediently, Lin An tiptoed and stretched his head out of the window, instantly getting his face and hair tousled by the fierce wind.

Gazing upward, slightly dazed, he spotted the rock-top bird and also saw its droppings descending from high above.

His squinting eyes widened in shock at the sight of the massive bird droppings looming above.

A large mass of greyish-white droppings headed straight for the RV, when suddenly a layer of water appeared above it, rising from below, catching the falling droppings and then continuing upwards, enveloping the rock-top bird in a watery net.

The previously fierce bird, its beady eyes wide with alarm, tried to change direction too late and got caught in the "water net," flapping its wings in panic, along with its droppings, all smacked down to the ground.

As the RV sped away, the drenched rocktop bird, unable to fly due to its wet wings, could only stand there, cawing and cursing angrily.

Soon another rock-top bird arrived, clutching a fruit in its claws. It landed beside the soaked bird and, with its clear yet dim-witted eyes, blinked, seeming to realize something. It moved far away until the smell of droppings was gone, then began pecking at the fruit.

The drenched bird, unable to chase its enemy and shunned by its companion, cawed loudly and, stretching its neck, wobbled towards its mate, then pecked fiercely at its companion's head.

Unaware of the rock-top birds' "civil war" behind them, the people inside the RV showered Lin An with praise.

Xu Fang exclaimed, "An is so amazing, truly incredible! Without you, we'd have been buried in bird droppings. You're my hero!"

Ouyang Dong nodded earnestly, "Yeah, yeah, we'd have been done for without you!"

Grandma Wu agreed wholeheartedly, "

Wu Duo felt envious; her spatial ability was convenient but not suited for combat: "I've seen several ability users at the base with water powers, but none as impressive as Little An Ge."

Lin An shifted his gaze, too shy to look at the people in front of him. Flushed with embarrassment and unsure how to respond, he just stood there, dumbfounded.

Having narrowly avoided a "human tragedy," everyone in the RV was immensely grateful, showering Lin An with praise. Xu Fang, in particular, was effusive with compliments, almost lifting Lin An to the skies.

Lin An had never experienced such a barrage of praise before and felt utterly dazed, almost as if smoke was coming out of his head.

It was too exhilarating.

It's becoming a bit too much to handle.