"Down here! I'll wait for just a minute. I'll escort you to the base's entrance. Follow my vehicle," Zhou You shouted to the people above.

Some hesitated, "It's just him and his vehicle. Is it safe to follow him?"

The zookeeper, growing impatient, donned his coat, sprinting down the stairs while shouting, "If you don't move now, you'll soon realize how terrifying this place gets after dark."

The others quickly followed. By the time they reached the ground level, the zookeeper had started up a minibus, apologizing to Zhou You, "Sir, the snow's deep. This bus might struggle."

Recognizing the zookeeper, Zhou You gave him a surprised glance, remembering the earlier greeting. He also noted the man's composure in contrast to the others, who were anxiously looking around.

The ground was littered with mutated corpses. Zhou You had collected his iron arrows, leaving the creatures overturned, making for a gruesome sight.

For many, this was their closest encounter with the mutated creatures.

"Follow my vehicle. I'll clear a path for you. But we need to move fast; the snow's accumulating quickly," Zhou You directed.

"Understood. I'll keep up," Sun Lu replied with determination. This was their only shot at escape; he couldn't afford to falter.

Zhou You turned his vehicle around, activated the large plow at the front, and began paving the way.

The road wasn’t just obstructed by snow but littered with countless mutated corpses. The sight made Sun Lu and the others gasp in horror. In just a brief time, Zhou You had taken down numerous beasts.

What shocked them even more was the sheer number of mutated creatures that had invaded the ranch. The night's impending terror was unimaginable had they not followed Zhou You.

An armored vehicle flung a two-meter-tall mutated dog corpse right next to the trailing bus. Its face was mangled, one eye pierced by a bullet while the other stared grotesquely, horrifying the passengers.

"Is... is that even a dog? Its teeth are almost as long as an elephant's!"

"Don't worry, they're all dead."

"That Mr. Zhou is incredible. These are his kills. I don't recall any warriors from our base being this skilled."

"He's taken down elite mutated creatures. These were easy targets for him."

"Truly amazing! If I had such skills, I'd be traveling everywhere. Being confined to the base all these years is suffocating. I wonder how the outside world has changed."

"What else could it look like? Haven't those documentaries captured it all? Vast mountain ranges and swarms of mutant creatures, which continuously expand their territory. Humanity must grow stronger to fend off their invasions. The reason no one wants to come to our Jiangnan Base? It's due to its proximity to the Yunlan Mountain Range."

Zhou You didn't care about what others thought. He remembered not retrieving one of his arrows. Every mutant he had killed with his crossbow was etched in his memory, yet one hyena was missing. The mutated dog from earlier resembled it. He had used the armored vehicle to turn over its corpse, but the wound clearly wasn't from his arrow.

He vigilantly surveyed the surroundings. The heavy snowstorm reduced visibility significantly. If any mutant attacked the vehicles behind, he feared they wouldn't get timely assistance.

Just as they were about to leave the ranch, Zhou You heard the sound of falling snow. Looking up, he spotted the wounded hyena on the roof of the security room, lunging towards his vehicle.

"Clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed, daring to court death like this!" Zhou You rolled down the window, thrusting his gun out relying solely on instinct without even glancing.

The first shot missed. He swiftly adjusted his aim and after firing three consecutive shots, the hyena's head was already inside the vehicle, its long teeth snapping at Zhou You.

Zhou You discarded the gun, channeling his inner power into his palm and struck the creature's head, sending it flying out of the window.

He hit the brakes, stepped out of the car, and approached the hyena. Bending down, he retrieved his steel arrow. He had assumed the arrow had hit its neck, but the creature's thick fur had only allowed the arrow to pierce the skin. No wonder it hadn’t died.

Now, it lay convulsing on the ground. Zhou You delivered a finishing kick, hearing a distinct bone-crunching sound, burying its corpse in the snow before heading back to his car.

As the vehicle hit the road, the armored car prompted: "Severe weather detected. Please input destination for autopilot mode." Whoever designed this armored vehicle was undoubtedly a genius; its features were remarkable, no wonder every expedition team was equipped with one.

Yet, Zhou You didn't activate autopilot. He was still on the hunt for the white tiger cub.

The blizzard impeded their vision. Several times, Sun Lu could barely see the armored vehicle in front, accelerating in panic. But the slippery road made the car skid. Complaints arose from inside: "Sun Lu, drive steady! You'll get us killed."

"Would've been more comfortable waiting for the military rescue," someone grumbled discontentedly.

Sun Lu shouted back: "If you don't want to continue, get off now! If we lose sight of the armored vehicle ahead, we'll all die on this road!"

Normally, Sun Lu was a gentle animal caretaker, affectionate towards creatures. Before the apocalypse, he had worked in a zoo, nurturing a fondness for animals.

After the apocalypse, animals were scarce in human bases, which led him to this job. Over the years, while others came and went, he remained. His family had been pressuring him to resign and come home, believing no woman would marry a caretaker who constantly worked in the wild.

No one expected him to snap, and though no one dared to retort, their expressions were clearly displeased.

Zhou You took a slight detour, extending his senses to search for the white tiger cub, concerned it wouldn’t find food in such harsh conditions.