The apocalyptic livestream attracted a lot of haters, alarming the government.

Because of Zhu Peng's death, the number of fans in the live broadcast room has increased again recently, exceeding 40 in just two days.

But to Ye Xiao's surprise, the system did not force him to send fans.

Perhaps because only two days had passed since the last transmission, the system remained completely silent.

However, the chat in the live stream has been somewhat chaotic these past few days, with many new fans criticizing the inhumanity of the live stream from a moral standpoint.

They cursed Ye Xiao for causing the deaths of innocent fans, but this cursing didn't last long because there was a group of wealthy young men in Ye Xiao's live stream.

Several SC messages were pinned at the top of the live stream, warning all fans who attempted to insult Ye Xiao that the system would randomly select and send anti-fans to the live stream.

Upon hearing the news, the fans who had been cursing disappeared instantly, and many longtime fans mocked their hypocritical sense of justice.

Ye Xiao ignored the chaos in the live stream and looked at Chen Ge in the driver's seat. The cigarette in Chen Ge's mouth was burning, and the smoke, carrying the smell of nicotine, filled the car.

Noticing Ye Xiao's glance, Chen Ge awkwardly switched the cigarette from his right hand to his left, and said somewhat apologetically:

"I'm done smoking after this one!"

"It's okay, give me one!"

Ye Xiao's words surprised Chen Ge slightly. He took out a pack of cigarettes from the box on the right and handed it to Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He then picked up a lighter from the storage box and lit it. The sudden stimulation made him cough uncontrollably a few times, but Ye Xiao did not give up and gradually got used to the taste.

Sitting in the back seat, Lu Zhao patted Ye Xiao on the shoulder, indicating that he should have one too.

Because of Zhu Peng's death and the parasite issue, they have been under a lot of mental stress these past few days.

The fear and anxiety about parasites have always lingered in people's minds.

The specimens of the three parasites placed at the base were eventually redistributed.

The partially mature parasite was left at the base; Huo Yan needed to research ways to deal with it.

Ye Xiao stored the other two in his inventory.

Leaving it there was safe enough, and now the convoy left the base, heading towards the Red Maple Base along the winding mountain road, following the directions on the map.

Their trip to the Red Maple Base wasn't just about selling samples; they had many other tasks as well.

Purchase seed nuclear generators, gather information on king-level mutated plants, and collect seed cores...

Bapingshan is not far from the Red Maple Base. Before all the tragedies befell this land, the journey by highway took only an hour.

Because it's in the neighboring city, even though most of the roads are blocked by dilapidated ruins and abandoned vehicles, it only takes half a morning to get there.

Of course, assuming nothing unexpected happens.

But since it's near a large base like Red Maple, or perhaps a safe city, it's necessary to eliminate threats in the surrounding area as much as possible.

So, along the way, apart from those strange, menacing plants and the pitiful houses torn apart and destroyed by the green monsters, they didn't encounter any terrifying monsters.

Of course, they were off-center from the old city, and as they approached the Red Maple Base, some unfamiliar vehicles began to appear in their field of vision.

They are also encased in a somewhat bulky steel shell, welded with metal spikes, and fitted with window railings.

Their appearance already revealed their affiliation; these must be adventurers from the Red Maple Base.

As the convoy followed the car in front, the roads in the vicinity were clearly cleared, with no obstructions or even any wildly growing, twisted plants climbing on the nearby buildings.

Surprisingly, this area was not overrun by vegetation. The dark gray buildings exposed to the sunlight revealed their original appearance, which, apart from being slightly old and dilapidated, were actually quite well preserved.

Strangely, no one lived in this area, and gradually the car slowed down.

Ye Xiao opened the window, removed the window bars, and poked his head out.

He saw the tall city wall at the end of the road, the towering wall lying like a gray dragon in the distance.

That's the legendary Red Maple Base!

The pointed watchtower was equipped with a heavy machine gun, its dark muzzle watching every approaching vehicle warily.

The line of vehicles slowed down as they underwent routine checks beneath the massive, beast-like maw of the city gate.

After moving at a snail's pace, Ye Xiao and his group's car gradually came to a stop.

A fully armed soldier glanced over Ye Xiao and his group's car, walked to Chen Ge's open window, and asked:

"Is this your first time visiting the Red Maple Base?"

"Correct!"

The man's gaze remained cold and stern. "Go through passage number 2 and go in for an examination."

"Ok!"

Chen Ge nodded with a grin, restarted the car, and drove towards the other side door.

This spot is about four or five meters away from the main gate, just enough for one car to enter.

The black iron gate slowly opened, and the car passed through the thick gray city wall, which was more than ten meters high. It gradually drove into a square courtyard, where several soldiers in combat uniforms quickly surrounded it.

"Get out of the car! Check!"

A loud shout came from outside the car, and at the same time, the metal on the hood was hit with a gun butt with a thud, urging Ye Xiao and the others inside the car to get out quickly.

"Let's go, get off the bus!"

Ye Xiao said something, unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and jumped out of the car.

After being cooped up in the car for several hours, Ye Xiao unconsciously took a few deep breaths of fresh air from outside.

It was noon, and the sun was high in the sky, its blinding light unchallenged by any cloud.

Everywhere were fully armed personnel, and the atmosphere was unusually somber and serious.

Lu Zhao, who had changed into a black combat uniform, leaned closer to Ye Xiao and whispered:

"These people are all soldiers. It seems that the Red Maple Base is backed by the military."

Ye Xiao wasn't surprised at all. "Even the military couldn't control such a large area."

Similar to the Gaotang base, after undergoing a series of strict checks and registrations, Ye Xiao was released after handing over two primary seed cores.

The car slowly passed through the checkpoint and headed along a relatively empty street toward the cluster of buildings deeper in the neighborhood.

After crossing the high walls, they finally saw the true face of the city that had been hidden.

The streets are lined with low-rise buildings, and it is the outskirts of this city. Everywhere you look, you can see men, women, and children walking around.

But most of them had slightly thin faces, and wore rather worn-out clothes, worn-out shoes, and patched garments.

Some were rummaging through trash cans, while others were dragging sacks of junk.

In the distance are huge chimneys belching smoke, and beyond the low houses, you can even see rows of factory buildings.

As you pass through this slum, the surrounding buildings gradually rise up, resembling houses in a small town on the outskirts of a city, with additional stacked buildings crammed between four or five-story buildings.

New floors were added one after another, making the original building look heavy and cumbersome.

The place was bustling with people, instantly becoming lively, making Chen Ge and his companions, who had never set foot here before, feel as if they had suddenly returned to the pre-apocalyptic world.

But this place is different from before the apocalypse. There aren't as many small food and catering shops here; instead, there are mostly repair shops that look like junkyards.

And the streetwalkers you see everywhere, unable to hide their haggard faces because they can't afford cosmetics.

Due to malnutrition, most of them are thin and frail, and even the tattered clothes they wear are hand-cut to expose large areas of their skin.

They abandoned their last shred of dignity and fearlessly flirted with Ye Xiao and his slowly passing adventure team's vehicles.

His actions were unrestrained and he uttered lewd and obscene words.

"Ugh!"

A sigh came from Lu Zhao in the back seat, while Chen Ge in the driver's seat smiled with a hint of helplessness, saying:

"Don't be fooled by how pitiful these women look. There are no kind souls in the apocalypse. They'll do anything to survive."

"This is the lower city. Our adventure team can enter the middle city, but we can't go to the upper city or the central city. I guess only some adventure teams with high merit or important figures can stay there."

Ah Zhao, sitting in the back seat, clung to Ye Xiao's backrest and asked, "Boss, where do we go first?"

Ye Xiao's lazy voice came from the passenger seat.

"Let's find a parking spot in the central district first, and then we'll head over to the Adventurers' Guild."