Qin Li Feng sighed, "Let's go." He thought that if Chen Shu had fled, then Shao Qi and the others must be trapped. Waiting here was not an option.

The convoy entered the city, drawing the attention of lurking mutated beasts. The once-deserted streets now buzzed with activity.

Chapter 175: Rendezvous

Chen Shu felt uneasy after entering the city with his group. Given the onslaught of mutated beasts, their opponents should've been trapped, but he couldn't guarantee that all the experts were dead. Were some still alive?

"It's okay. As long as Zhuo Hao and his group are dead, the rest won't know what I've done," Chen Shu consoled himself.

To ensure clarity, he took a detour, buying time for the mutants. This detour took over an hour.

Due to his diversion, when Shao Qi and others left the city, they missed each other. Shao Qi saw an empty campsite upon exiting, while Qin Li Feng found only scattered remains of mutants in the city.

"Something's not right. Even if they all died, there should at least be some human corpses." The scene was littered only with mutated beasts, and their numbers didn't add up.

"Look, there are signs of burning here."

"This area was dug up; they're alive!" The group excitedly found clues and asked Chen Shu, "Chen, what was their condition when you left?"

Chen Shu was baffled. How could this be? Had Shao Qi and his group burned the bodies after escaping? That might be possible, but it seemed too fast.

Wait! Chen Shu looked towards the government building on the other side. He gasped, realizing the towering city hall was missing. What had they...?

Confusion clouded his mind, rendering him unable to grasp the current situation. Although tempted to approach for a closer look, fear held him back. It wasn't until Qin Lifeng approached with a furrowed brow that he finally spoke up, "I... I don't know what happened. Everything was fine when I left. Perhaps they've managed to free themselves."

"It does seem like they've escaped, but they're gone. I'm not sure if they've left the city or are still inside," Sang Liwu remarked, picking up a few empty medicinal bottles. "It looks like a good number were injured."

After hesitating for a few seconds, Qin Lifeng ordered, "Let's retrace our steps. Since they've freed themselves, there's no point in wandering blindly within the city. We'll wait for them outside to avoid getting separated." He then summoned Xuan Xue, whispered instructions, and led the group out of the city.

This time, instead of relying on Chen Shu for guidance, Qin Lifeng navigated using a map. Seeing the route, his suspicions about Chen Shu deepened.

Zhou You organized a meat roast. For the injured, the best remedy wasn't medicine but the meat of mutated beasts - the higher the level, the better. Hence, he brought out some meat from the beasts slain by Zhuo Hao's group.

The aroma of the grilled meat wafted through the air, allowing the tension among the group to finally ease. Their focus shifted from worrying about the other group to satisfying their hunger.

"Aren't you afraid of ambushes in the city? What if Chen Shu leads another group into another enemy trap?" Zhou You asked Shao Qi as he passed him a piece of grilled meat and sat next to him.

"It's not out of the question, but most of us are either injured or exhausted. Venturing further into the city would make us a burden. It's better for us to wait here," Shao Qi reasoned.

Scanning the warriors present, Zhou You nodded and said, "Let's hope everything goes smoothly."

Zhou You's hopes were nearly realized. The reason for 'nearly' was that, just a kilometer from the city gate, Qin Lifeng's group bumped into Xiao Baihu.

"Damn... it's... a mutated tiger. A high-level beast!"

"Not just that. It's the king among high-level tigers - the Flying White Tiger." Sang Liwu swallowed hard, feeling a cold sweat despite his worldly experiences.

"Retreat! We're no match for it!"

Qin Lifeng carefully examined the white tiger, and he was quite sure it was the one they had raised. He couldn't help but chuckle at the irony - it was like a flood washing away a temple meant to worship dragons. Now, what to do?

Seeing some people readying their weapons to fire, Qin Lifeng urgently stopped them, "Don't shoot! We can't defeat it, and we shouldn't provoke it. Move back cautiously and detour from the crossroad we saw earlier."

"Captain Qin, it's... it's approaching us..." someone cried out nervously.

Recognizing Qin Lifeng, the white tiger merely intended to greet him. The pointed guns and cannons posed no threat to it, especially after its recent hunt.

Not daring to let the tiger come any closer, Qin Lifeng turned and ran, with everyone else following suit. The tiger, seeing familiar faces running away, roared in annoyance, startling many.

"It... it didn't follow."

Fearing that they might be tempted to hunt the tiger, Qin Lifeng quickly said, "Forget it. Let's get out of the city and regroup with the others. We need to warn them about the presence of the mutated tiger in the city. We must retreat immediately."

What Qin Lifeng didn't know was that the white tiger had already met Zhou You. He feared the creature might make a grand reunion scene in front of everyone, which would be more than just a scare.

Anxiously running his fingers through his hair, he thought, "If I told them that humans could tame a high-level mutated beast like the white tiger, would they think I've lost my mind?"

Outside the city, the others also heard the tiger's roar, their faces turning pale. "Where did that roar come from?"

"Oh my God, there's a mutated tiger inside. What will they do?"

"We can't just sit here and wait after they risked everything to save us in the city. We have to go in."