Wuzhiqi had felt something was strange earlier but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Hearing Kuafu's message, it all clicked into place.
A zoo was once a paradise for humans, but for the apes, it was a prison devoid of freedom—a Hell of hatred.
Why would Kuafu go to a place like that to relax!
This was his way of telling them he had been imprisoned and had lost his freedom!
The apes immediately began to rally. Amidst the neighing of warhorses and the roaring of their own kind, they gave chase in the direction the armored vehicle had gone!
At that moment, the faces of the Ape Cavalry were all grim.
More than half an hour had passed since the armored vehicle left, and now they could only hope that, just like before, it had broken down somewhere along the way.
After all, while the warhorses were fast, they couldn't compare to a tireless machine.
Cavalry could travel at about fifty kilometers per hour, with a maximum single-trip distance of eighty to one hundred kilometers.
But the Defender-3 armored vehicle had a top speed of one hundred kilometers per hour and could travel five hundred kilometers continuously!
At this moment, all the Ape Cavalry were kicking themselves, especially Wuzhiqi. He couldn't believe he had completely missed the deeper meaning in Kuafu's words!
If anything happened to Kuafu, he would never be able to forgive himself.
...
Inside the armored vehicle, Shen Feng had already left Huicheng far behind with Kuafu in tow. After speeding through the wilderness for some time, he turned onto a highway and raced toward the Capital.
He wasn't going at full speed; after all, he had two horses in tow behind the vehicle.
If the armored vehicle's engine had problems again, those two horses were his backup plan.
Fortunately, with the armored vehicle clearing the way, there were few obstacles, which allowed the two horses to move much faster.
Once on the highway, the armored vehicle's traces would become much fainter, making it difficult to track.
"Where exactly are you going?" Kuafu asked. His expression had actually relaxed, and he seemed very interested in Shen Feng.
After all, this was the first human he had met since the large-scale outbreak of the Petrification Disease, and this human was completely different from what he had imagined, seemingly driven by some purpose.
Judging from this human teenager's expression and behavior, he didn't seem like someone who had just transformed back from a statue at all.
Shen Feng didn't hide anything. He answered coolly while driving, "To the Capital."
Since a moment ago, he'd been feeling a faint headache, as if something inside his skull was cracking open.
'Is the Petrification Disease getting worse?'
'I have to move faster!'
Just then, he suddenly spotted something, let out a curious "Huh?", and abruptly stopped the vehicle.
Kuafu was also a bit baffled by this action and quickly looked outside.
Shen Feng found another rope and tied Kuafu up more securely, then opened the hatch and climbed out.
Next to the armored vehicle was the trailer of a large truck; the cab was gone.
Although the tires were a bit flat, they looked usable. The tires on this kind of large truck were usually semi-solid.
Shen Feng immediately found some steel cables and hitched the trailer to the armored vehicle. He then fashioned a ramp out of a few metal door panels and led the two horses up into it.
After closing the trailer doors, Shen Feng returned to the armored vehicle and started the engine.
This time, he went full speed ahead!
With the two horses now being towed, his speed immediately increased, and he began to tear down the highway.
After seeing this, Kuafu's expression grew even darker.
With this, the Ape Cavalry's hopes of catching up to the armored vehicle on just their warhorses were nothing but a fool's dream.
"Are you trying to find a cure for the Petrification Disease? To save all the humans who've turned to stone? Or are you just trying to treat your own case? I can tell you've been infected with the Petrification Disease."
Kuafu said slowly, his gaze fixed on Shen Feng's slightly stiff hand.
Shen Feng didn't answer his question. Instead, he suddenly asked:
"You can speak fluently? Why were you pretending to have trouble with the language before?"
Kuafu was taken aback for a moment, then said meaningfully:
"I just didn't want to appear too human among my own kind. Even though I'm considered a wise one among the Ape Race, I can't stop the suspicion in every ape's heart. Perhaps it's a common failing of all primates..."
Shen Feng nodded, then was suddenly struck by a violent headache, as if his head was about to explode. He quickly raised a hand to his forehead, his eyes wide, on the verge of passing out.
Thankfully, the pain was fleeting. Shen Feng shook his head sharply, took a deep breath, and then felt a faint, tingling itch coming from inside his head.
At the same time, he felt his mind was much clearer than before—even clearer than waking up from a long, deep sleep!
All sorts of things began to pour out from the depths of his mind: the "Construction Approval Report for the Qi City Epidemic Prevention Center's Solar-Assisted Power Supply System," various notes and diaries on the Petrification Disease, all kinds of newspaper and magazine articles about the Petrification Disease, various technical reports on Petrification Disease virus experiments, and on and on.
At first, it was things he had seen since arriving in this world, but it quickly turned into information from deep within his own memory.
Besides the things he had learned in school, there was all kinds of knowledge and information he had seen unintentionally. Even things he had only glanced at for a moment before now became vivid and incredibly clear!
'What is going on!?'
Shen Feng's eyes widened. He felt as if he had turned into an information processor.
After about ten seconds, the feeling finally began to fade, but the shock on Shen Feng's face was impossible to hide.
Seeing this, Kuafu's gaze sharpened, and he asked slowly:
"Did you... inject the last Pangu Potion?"
'That's right! The Pangu Virus potion!'
Shen Feng suddenly understood. This must be the effect of the Pangu Virus!
He had previously thought the thing was expired and useless, but it seemed its effects just needed time to manifest.
He felt as if his brain had just been washed with cooling balm. His mind was incredibly light, as if it were about to take flight.
And yet, the faint pain also lingered like a shadow, a constant reminder that his brain could crack open again at any moment.
'I just wonder if there are any other side effects?'
Shen Feng didn't answer Kuafu's question. He just glanced at him and casually turned on the music player.
Perhaps the music could alleviate the constant pain.
The song "Desperado" by Super Band immediately poured from the player, drifting over the highway:
"...We're off, don't ask where the road is.
Facing the wind and moving forward is the only way.
We're off, I don't want to ask where the road is.
Fate, alas, what does it matter what stands in the way?
When the engine rumbles and the dream begins to ache,
It stirs up the wind, remolding every face.
The night fog is so thick, the open space wild and surging.
I have a premonition the end of the road is a maze..."
Amid the music, the chaotic information in Shen Feng's mind was rapidly organized and integrated, mirroring the changes happening within his brain.
Seeing that Shen Feng was ignoring him, Kuafu stopped asking questions and gradually became immersed in the music.
He suddenly discovered that among humanity's legacy, there were still many good things he hadn't yet had the chance to unearth.
Like music.
The music drifted, the engine roared, and the man and the ape sat in silence.
About two hours later, the armored vehicle's engine finally let out a loud BANG. The problem caused by the degraded fuel had struck again, clogging the engine.
The armored vehicle's speed rapidly decreased until it was finally struggling to move forward at all.
Shen Feng shouldered his backpack, held his Shotgun, and prodded Kuafu out of the vehicle, leading the two warhorses down from the trailer.
For the rest of the journey, they would have to rely on these two horses.
The man and the ape mounted up and galloped off into the wilderness.