AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

He Started To Wonder If He Should Find A Chance To Sack Feng Yimo.

“Thinking about tomorrow...” Ji Yanqing confirmed their escape route with the three people from Xue Gang’s team.

The trio had left at dawn, cautiously navigating the city knowing about the presence of Awakened Zombies. However, their journey had been smooth for the first half, leading them to lower their guard.

They were attacked while resting around 11 am. The sweltering heat had made them drowsy, and coupled with their carelessness, they only realized the danger when the two Awakened Zombies were already upon them.

What followed was an afternoon of desperate flight.

They lost two people along the way, only reaching the building where Ji Yanqing and the others were staying when night fell.

“So you didn’t reach the city outskirts?” Ji Yanqing pondered.

“No.”

“To get out of the city from here, unless we go back to the forest, the shortest route requires a full day’s travel, assuming no detours.”

“What are you getting at?” Xia Shen Shu looked at Ji Yanqing, wondering why he was asking this.

“Tomorrow’s journey might be difficult…” Ji Yanqing briefly shared his thoughts.

Hearing his concerns, the others, already in a state of shock, frowned deeply.

“Why don’t we return to the forest?” Lan Zi suggested.

“We might as well die in this city then,” one of the trio retorted.

“It’s better to think of other solutions. Our escape from the forest involved a great deal of luck. We might not be so fortunate if we try again.” This time, Xia Shen Shu agreed.

Silence descended upon the room as everyone racked their brains for a viable solution.

Off to the side, Ji Le rubbed his growling stomach, preparing to mentally tell it to be quiet. But his hand brushed against the bulge in his pocket.

His pocket bulged with the small bread roll he had saved, intending to give it to Ji An after his recovery.

Ji Le swallowed hard and pulled out the bread roll.

The roll wasn’t large, but the inflated packaging made it look bigger, so much so that he could barely hold it in one hand.

Ji Le, holding Ji An’s hand with his other hand, looked at Ji An hesitantly.

“Where did you get that?” Ji An asked, noticing the bread roll.

“Dad gave it to me.”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Ji Le, looking back and forth between the bread and Ji An, said softly, “But I want to give it to you after you recover.”

Ji An must have fallen ill because he hadn’t eaten enough.

Ji An was taken aback, his eyes, still red from crying earlier, welling up again. He threw his arms around Ji Le. Ji Le was just as small as him, his short arms easily encircling Ji Le’s entire body.

“Brother…?” Ji Le didn’t mind the hug, but he didn’t understand why Ji An suddenly embraced him.

“I’ll protect you,” Ji An sniffled, his normally childish voice choked with emotion.

Besides Ji Yanqing, Ji Le was the person he loved most. Even if he turned into a little zombie, he would remember Ji Le and protect him.

“Does it hurt?” Ji Le, hearing the sadness in Ji An’s voice, asked with concern.

“No, it doesn’t hurt.” Ji An released him.

Ji Le scrutinized Ji An’s tearful eyes, then glanced at Ji Yanqing, who was lost in thought, contemplating their next move.

“Aren’t you hungry? Eat quickly.” Ji An urged him.

Reminded of his hunger, Ji Le looked at the bread roll in his hand.

The bread had a custard filling, and he could almost smell the sweet aroma even through the packaging. He swallowed hard, unable to resist.

He hesitated, torn between his hunger and his desire to save it for Ji An.

“Eat it.” Ji An nudged Ji Le’s hand.

Unable to resist any longer, Ji Le struggled to tear open the packaging and pulled out the square, pale yellow roll.

The sweet scent of custard filled the air, making Ji Le’s mouth water. He was both hungry and eager to taste the sweet treat.

Instead of taking a bite, he carefully broke the small bread in half. After examining both pieces, he gave the one with more custard to Ji An. “Brother, you eat it.”

Ji An, whose eyes had finally stopped tearing, felt them heating up again as he saw the offered bread. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and accepted it.

Even if he turned into an ugly zombie, he would definitely remember Ji Le. Ji Le was his little brother.

Seeing Ji An accept the bread, Ji Le no longer held back. He stuffed the other half into his mouth, anticipating the delicious taste of the sweet custard.

But as the bread touched his tongue, his brows furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” Ji An asked.

Ji Le looked at the bread roll in his hand, confused. “It doesn’t taste good…”

Ji An was taken aback. He took a bite of his half. The custard still tasted slightly strange, but it wasn’t spoiled; it still tasted like custard. “It tastes fine, like before—”

His words caught in his throat, and he looked at Ji Le, his face draining of color. Could Ji Le also be…

Ji Le looked at the bread in his hand, disappointment etched on his face. The bread didn’t taste as good as he had expected, but he still finished it.

Finding food was difficult and dangerous; even if it didn’t taste good, it shouldn’t be wasted.

Seeing this, Ji An’s heart, which had been in his throat, settled back down. If Ji Le also found food distasteful and craved blood, he wouldn’t know what to do.

He looked at the bread in his hand and hesitantly put it into his mouth. Suppressing his aversion to the taste, he forced himself to swallow it.

If he didn’t eat, Ji Yanqing would definitely notice that he was turning into a zombie.

If he did turn into a zombie, Ji Yanqing would definitely kill him.

In the darkness, Ji Yanqing and the others continued to brainstorm, but they couldn’t find a way to safely leave the city. They had no choice but to abandon their discussion for now and rest.

Looking back, Ji Yanqing noticed Ji An and Ji Le curled up against each other, fast asleep.

They were so small and thin, and the sight of them huddled together was both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

In the past, children their age would have been treasured by their families, never allowed to feel hungry or thirsty. They would have been plump and well-fed.

He glanced at the bedroom. After taking a deep breath, he steeled himself against the revulsion he felt and walked towards the room.

Ignoring the three bodies embracing each other on the bed, he opened the wardrobe and pulled out a thick winter quilt, carrying it back to the living room.

They were thin, and even the folded quilt seemed large for them.

After settling this, he sat down next to the quilt.

“Ugh…” Xia Shen Shu was spitting something out, leaning against the window.

Ji Yanqing looked over. It had started snowing outside.

Large, fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky, blanketing the already dead city, lending it an eerie beauty.

Xia Shen Shu had just caught some snowflakes and tasted them.

After spitting them out, he closed the window and walked back to the living room. Meeting Ji Yanqing’s gaze, he said, “They still taste bitter.”

Back when they discovered that it snowed in this city, people from Xue Gang’s team had dug some up and tasted it. But the melted snow had a strange, bitter taste.

“It’s probably from the gases emitted by those trees,” Xia Shen Shu speculated.

The city was close to the mountain range. If those trees in the forest really were releasing harmful gases, it was highly likely that they could contaminate the water vapor in the air.

Ji Yanqing took out his water bottle and offered it to Xia Shen Shu.

Xia Shen Shu saw it but didn’t take it.

Ji Yanqing simply tossed it to him.

Lan Zi had lost a lot of blood due to her injury and needed to rehydrate. For the past two days, Xia Shen Shu had given her the entirety of both their water supplies.

The water bottle landed in his arms, and Xia Shen Shu didn’t refuse this time, opening it and taking a few sips.

After drinking and screwing the cap back on, he tossed the bottle back to Ji Yanqing, who was only left with half a bottle.

The three people from Xue Gang’s team, who were settling down to sleep, observed them, swallowing involuntarily.

One of them took out his own water bottle from his backpack and took a couple of sips. Ignoring the burning stares of the two beside him, he put the bottle back in his backpack.

Only one of the three people who came back had a gun; the other two were just ordinary members. The one with the gun had his own supplies allocated by Xue Gang, but the other two didn’t.

Ji Yanqing didn’t try to be a good Samaritan. After putting his water away, he closed his eyes.

The night was more than halfway over, and Xia Shen Shu, who had managed to sleep during the day, took over the watch.

Knowing the dangers lurking in the city, Ji Yanqing slept lightly. He opened his eyes as the sky began to lighten.

The heavy snowfall from the previous night had blanketed the entire city in white. Looking out the window, it was a pristine, spotless world.

However, the exposed sides of the buildings, still revealed patches of lifeless gray, constantly reminding them of the harsh reality they were in.

He stood by the window for a while, letting the cool air seeping through the gap fully awaken him.

He woke everyone up, urging them to prepare to set off as soon as it got a little brighter.

Roused from their sleep, they silently began to eat their breakfast.

After distributing the food according to their portions, Ji Yanqing gave extra to Ji Le and Ji An. Ji An still had a fever, and Ji Le had been complaining of hunger last night.

Their supplies were limited; they needed to conserve.

He couldn’t give Ji An and Ji Le special treatment, but he could share his own portion with them.

As soon as he put down the food, Ji An pushed his share towards him, wanting him to eat it all.

Ji Yanqing felt Ji An’s forehead, which was still burning hot, his cheeks flushed red. “Still no appetite?”

“Mm...” Ji An lowered his head, looking uneasy.

Ji Yanqing frowned slightly, a hint of worry in his eyes.

“Try to eat a little.” He selected some more filling food items and gave them to Ji An.

Observing them, Ji Le’s clear, dark eyes filled with concern.

“Hiss…” Lan Zi gasped in pain.

Ji Yanqing, Ji An, and Ji Le all turned to look.

Xia Shen Shu, after quickly finishing his breakfast, took some clean clothes he had found in the room and tore them into strips, preparing to re-bandage Lan Zi’s wounds and give her another injection before they left.

He was removing the bandages from Lan Zi’s face, neck, and shoulders, revealing the wounds underneath.

The wounds weren’t particularly deep, but because they hadn’t been stitched, the dried blood and scabs looked horrifying, like three large, contorted centipedes clinging to her skin.

“Do you care?” Lan Zi asked abruptly.

Ji Yanqing, confused, didn’t understand what she meant.

Lan Zi gestured towards the closed bedroom door. Although he hadn’t said anything, they could all sense his aversion to the three corpses in the room.

Those corpses were indeed disturbing, and the despair surrounding them weighed heavily on all of them, like a boulder pressing down on their chests. But Ji Yanqing’s revulsion seemed even more profound.

He lowered his gaze. “No, I don’t.”

“I’m the eldest in my family,” Lan Zi continued.

Some bandages were stuck to her wounds, forcing Xia Shen Shu to pull them off with force. Wincing in pain, Lan Zi attempted to distract herself by chatting.

“Back in the early years, my family wasn’t well off, so my parents went to the city to work after I was born. I spent my childhood with my grandparents.” She hissed in pain as another bandage was removed.

“When I was around eight or nine, they bought an apartment in the city. I thought they’d finally take me to the city to study, but they didn’t.”

“The year after they bought the apartment, they had my younger brother.”

“They took my brother to live with them, saying that they now had the means and didn’t want him to suffer in the countryside, walking half an hour to school every day.”

“From that point on, I hated my brother, feeling that my parents favored boys over girls.”

“The following year, they had my younger sister, and they took her to the city as well.”

“That’s when I finally understood that they simply didn’t like me.”

“I never understood why. It wasn’t until I started working that I finally gathered the courage to ask them. Guess what they said?”

Ji Yanqing looked at Lan Zi. Her distraction technique was indeed effective. She was so engrossed in the conversation that she barely noticed when one of her shoulder wounds split open, fresh blood trickling down.

“What did they say?” He prompted.

Lan Zi chuckled humorlessly. “They said I was spoiled by my grandparents, wasn’t close to them, and always bickered with my younger siblings. They didn’t want my brother and sister to turn out like me, so they took them to the city to raise themselves. And as for me, I was already grown up; they simply didn’t have the energy to discipline me.”

She looked at him. “What about you?”

He lowered his gaze.

She didn’t press further. She just wanted to distract herself, and even without him saying anything, she could guess.

Ji Yanqing must have come from a perfect family.

Whether his parents were wealthy or not, she didn’t know, but they must have loved him deeply. Only a child who grew up surrounded by love could develop a personality like his.

In this apocalyptic world, people like Xue Gang were everywhere. But someone like Ji Yanqing… In all the time since the outbreak, she had only met one.

She and Xia Shen Shu might not be bad people, but Ji Yanqing was undoubtedly a good person.

“All done,” Xia Shen Shu said, breaking the silence.

Lan Zi glanced at the fresh bandages, exhaling deeply. Her wounds still throbbed with pain.

Xia Shen Shu grabbed the prepared antibiotics and painkillers, ready to inject them.

Ji Yanqing turned his gaze towards Ji An and Ji Le.

Looking back, he was met with two pairs of bright, curious eyes. Ji An and Ji Le were looking at him with anticipation.

“Hm?” He glanced down. Ji Le had finished his food, but Ji An hadn’t touched his.

“Dad…” Ji Le’s voice was soft and childish.

“Dad,” Ji An tugged at his finger.

Ever since they could remember, their world had been this broken wasteland. They barely remembered anything from before the apocalypse; they had only heard stories from others.

They yearned for that world.

More importantly, they were curious about Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing looked at Ji An. “Eat your food and take your medicine, then I’ll tell you.”

Ji An glanced at the food in front of him, his expression resolute, as if facing a formidable enemy. After a moment of hesitation, he picked up the food and started stuffing it into his mouth.

There wasn’t much. By the time Ji Yanqing prepared the medicine with water, Ji An had already swallowed everything, forcing it down with a pained expression.

He handed him the medicine, which Ji An also drank quickly.

Watching Ji An finish his food and medicine, he started packing, preparing for their departure. The sky was gradually brightening.

“Dad…” Ji An looked up at him expectantly.

Ji Le trailed behind him like a little tail.

A slight smile touched Ji Yanqing’s lips. “I’ll tell you next time.”

With that, he deliberately ignored the disbelieving looks on their faces and walked towards the door.

Not expecting him to go back on his word, Ji An and Ji Le, facing this situation for the first time, exchanged astonished glances. They then dashed after him.

“No going back on your word!”

“Dad!”

Ji Yanqing had already reached the door before they could react. Seeing them running towards him, a faint smile appeared in his eyes.

Ji An and Ji Le were gradually becoming like normal children.

When he first found them, let alone acting spoiled or asking him questions, they hadn’t even dared to speak.

He patted their heads, then looked at the others, reminding them that it was time to go.

Looking up, he met a pair of deep, black eyes.

Feng Yimo was quietly observing him, his gaze seeming to pierce through him.

Startled, Ji Yanqing quickly looked away.

“Help me carry this.” Xia Shen Shu handed Lan Zi’s backpack to Feng Yimo.

With injuries on her neck and shoulders, Lan Zi couldn’t carry anything. He needed to look after her and be on guard for danger, so he couldn’t carry it either.

“Sorry to trouble you,” Lan Zi said weakly.

Feng Yimo glanced at the backpack, but didn’t take it.

He didn’t care about Lan Zi’s life or death, nor did he care about Xia Shen Shu’s opinion. He didn’t dislike them; he simply didn’t care.

In his view, every person and zombie in this world was no different from random objects or vehicles he encountered on the road. Why should he help a car or a rock?

“The backpack contains supplies. We can’t just leave it behind,” Ji Yanqing explained.

With fewer people, they could only carry limited supplies. And if someone was injured, they could carry even less. A larger group meant greater danger and resource consumption, but it also meant they could carry more supplies.

If he or Xia Shen Shu were injured, leaving only one or two people to carry supplies, they would have to prioritize discarding unnecessary items, like clothes or the medicine they had painstakingly collected from the hospital.

After all, they wouldn’t die immediately without medicine, but they would die quickly without food and water.

Feng Yimo glanced at Ji Yanqing’s face, then reached out to take the backpack and put it on.

The corners of Xia Shen Shu’s lips curled up in a smile. He was already contemplating finding an opportunity to ambush Feng Yimo and stuff him into a sack.

After waiting for the other three to get ready, Ji Yanqing took a deep breath and led the group downstairs.

Knowing they were about to leave, Ji An and Ji Le stopped playing around and followed seriously behind him, hand in hand.

As they opened the door, a blast of icy air hit them.

Shivering from the biting cold, everyone’s smiles vanished, replaced by a sober awareness of the harsh world they were in. They quickly crossed the corridor and reached the first floor. Ji Yanqing cautiously opened the iron gate and peered out through the gap.

After confirming there were no zombies in the open space outside, he quickly pushed the gate open and stepped out. He then led the group towards the road on the right side of the residential area.

This road was the main road leading out of the city towards the highway. As long as they followed it straight, they would be able to leave.

They were currently in the center of the city, slightly towards the left. Even if they walked in a straight line, it would take them until nightfall to reach the city limits, assuming no obstacles along the way.

The road wasn’t far from the building they had been staying in. It took them less than three minutes to reach it.

Upon arriving, Ji Yanqing instructed the others to stay behind the buildings while he cautiously approached the road for a closer look.

Looking down the road, he didn’t see a single zombie, only abandoned vehicles.

He quickly returned to the group and relayed his observations. He then led them along the alley behind the buildings that lined the road.

He didn’t choose to walk directly on the road. It was too wide and exposed, and zombies from afar could easily spot them.

“Not a single zombie?” Xia Shen Shu asked, his brow furrowed, as he scanned their surroundings.

“Mhmm.”

Xia Shen Shu looked at the three people who had returned last night. “Were there zombies on the road when you came back?”

He vaguely remembered encountering quite a few zombies on this road earlier. Even if some had been attracted by Xue Gang’s group, there shouldn’t be none at all.

“Yes, there were.” The three answered in unison.

Ji Yanqing looked back, his face grim.

Those zombies couldn’t have all disappeared overnight.

Zombies could be attracted by sound and light, but they usually didn’t travel far distances. They mostly stayed within a fixed area, moving without purpose.

After walking for about five to six minutes, they spotted a figure loitering at the intersection ahead.

Ji Yanqing didn’t try to disturb her. Instead, he led everyone around her, utilizing the cover of the flower beds in the street.

After bypassing her, they continued forward.

As they were about to move some distance away, Ji Yanqing abruptly stopped and looked back. He felt a faint, lingering gaze, sending chills down his spine.

“What’s wrong?” Lan Zi, her forehead beaded with sweat, looked at him.

He scanned all the buildings behind them, confirming that he didn’t see anyone.

He shook his head and continued leading the way.

After walking briskly along the road for over an hour, they completely left the residential area and entered an industrial district.

As the sky fully brightened at around 6 am and the air began to warm, they found traces of Xue Gang and his group.

In the urban area on the other side of the industrial park, within a narrow alley, a large patch of fresh blood started to emerge from under the melting snow. The pungent smell, mixed with the cold air, made them cover their noses.

Xue Gang and his people must have suffered heavy losses here. But apart from the bloodstains in the snow, there were no bodies or zombies in sight.

They didn’t linger. They quickly passed through the alley, trying to get as far away as possible.

They rushed forward for over ten minutes until they were all out of breath and Lan Zi could barely stand. Only then did Ji Yanqing call for a break.

Finding a place to rest temporarily, Ji Yanqing took the opportunity to circle the surrounding buildings while the others rested.

He still didn’t see any zombies on the road, but the feeling of being watched intensified, making him feel uneasy.

At around 9 am, with the sun high in the sky, they spotted a few zombies up ahead.

There were several zombies, both large and small, scattered around the entrance to a residential complex, blocking their path.

“Let’s go this way,” Xia Shen Shu pointed to the left, suggesting a detour.

“Let’s go,” Ji Yanqing agreed.

As they were about to continue after bypassing the zombies, Ji Yanqing suddenly turned back.

He quickly reached the edge of the complex, hid behind a building, and looked at the zombies they had just passed.

Xia Shen Shu and the others, seeing his actions, stopped as well.

“Ji Yanqing?”

After returning to the corner, he looked back at them with a grim expression.

Seeing his face, Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi exchanged glances, their expressions growing serious.

“Those zombies are watching us,” Ji Yanqing said.

Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi exchanged another look, goosebumps erupting all over their bodies.

“What do you mean ‘watching’ us?” One of the three people accompanying them asked.

If those zombies had spotted them, they would have charged over immediately. They weren’t Awakened Zombies capable of thinking.

Ji Yanqing was forced to consider the worst-case scenario. “We’ve been discovered. Since morning... no, most likely since last night…”

“Impossible!”

“Why didn’t those zombies attack us back then?” Xia Shen Shu asked. Last night, thinking they were safe, they had even managed to get some sleep, except for the person on watch.

Ji Yanqing shook his head. He couldn’t figure out how they had been discovered, but it was the truth. He had clearly seen one of the zombies at the complex entrance turn and ‘look’ in their direction.

“Then what should we…”

Lan Zi’s gaze was fixed on the end of a street to their right. The place was some distance away, but still within sight.

A black travel bag lay abandoned in the corner of a shop by the roadside. The bag was stuffed full and free of dust, starkly contrasting with the surrounding garbage.

Ji Yanqing and the others exchanged glances and quickly moved towards it.

Approaching the bag, Xia Shen Shu reached out to grab it.

The bag must have belonged to someone from Xue Gang’s team. Inside were clothes, food, half a bottle of water, and some bullets.

He swiftly transferred the bullets, food, and water into his own backpack, while scanning their surroundings.

Ji Yanqing’s attention was drawn to an upward staircase beside the shop.

This wasn’t a bustling street. Small shops had been converted from the ground floors of residential buildings, selling hardware and groceries. There were multiple access points leading upstairs from the street.

The staircase in front of him had footprints on it, bloody footprints.

Seeing those bloody footprints, everyone tensed up.

Holding his axe, he cautiously approached the staircase, his back against the wall. Xia Shen Shu and the others with guns loaded them.

The corridor was narrow and dark. As they ascended, the second-floor landing opened up to a row of rental rooms, all looking grimy and dilapidated.

“Anyone there?” Ji Yanqing called out.

While speaking, his eyes followed the blood trail towards one of the rooms.

No one answered; the dark corridor was silent.

He glanced at Xia Shen Shu and the others, who were on guard with their guns, and then aimed his axe towards the door.

He tried to push the door open with the head of his axe.

The door was locked from the inside, and he couldn’t force it open.

He retracted his axe, stepped back a little, and spoke again, this time slightly louder, “Anyone there? Xue Gang?”

This time, there was a faint shuffling sound from behind the door, as if someone were moving something away.

Then, the doorknob turned, and a man’s face, tear-streaked and filled with terror, appeared in the gap.

Seeing Ji Yanqing and the others outside, the man choked back a sob, then quickly turned and said something.

Two minutes later, whatever was blocking the door was moved aside, and the door swung open.

Inside the small, cramped room, thirty or so people, men, women, and children, sat or crouched, all looking disheveled and despairing. Tears streamed down their faces, and several were injured.

There were no guns in sight.

“Where are Xue Gang and the others?” Xia Shen Shu asked.

“They ran away...” the man who had opened the door said, his voice hoarse.

Xia Shen Shu frowned. “Ran away?”

“Those zombies seemed like they could think. We couldn’t shake them off, no matter how hard we tried. So Xue Gang threatened us with his gun, made us distract them, and then he and the others escaped…” The man glared at the man with a gun standing behind Ji Yanqing. He was from Xue Gang’s team.

“That bastard…” Lan Zi cursed, leaning against the wall.

Xia Shen Shu was furious, but not entirely surprised. This was exactly the kind of thing Xue Gang would do.

He looked at Ji Yanqing, his eyes asking what they should do.

Ji Yanqing observed the group in the room.

Xue Gang’s survival team had originally numbered over three hundred. They lost half their members in the forest, but they still had over a hundred and thirty people when they left. Yet, there were only around thirty people in this room.

All this had happened within three days.

Three days, over three hundred lives.

“What are your plans?” Ji Yanqing asked.

Everyone in the room looked at him in bewilderment, followed by a chorus of sobs.

After being forced by Xue Gang to distract the zombies, they had fled, losing members along the way, until they reached this place.

When they squeezed into this small room, they thought they were doomed, but they had survived the night. Yet, as they watched the sky brighten, they felt no joy, only despair.

They were completely defenseless, and those terrifyingly intelligent zombies were still out there. Leaving this room meant certain death.

When they heard noises outside, many of them had broken down, crying out in fear.

Ji Yanqing scanned their tear-stained, despairing faces. He even saw three or four children, barely fourteen, skeletal and weak, among them.

“If you have nowhere to go, would you like to join my survival team?” Ji Yanqing lowered his voice slightly, making it sound more commanding and steady.

His words stunned the group in the room, as well as Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi.

They looked at him, astonished, not because he had decided to take these people with them, but because of the words “survival team” coming from his mouth.

Previously, with their small numbers, fewer than ten in total, they never considered themselves a “survival team.” In their minds, a “survival team” referred to those larger groups with a considerable number of members.

After the initial shock, Xia Shen Shu laughed. He had been waiting for this moment.

Lan Zi, her face pale and covered in cold sweat, also smiled.

Their original goal had been to find a survival team and join it, but now everything was different.

“Have you decided? We have to go,” Ji Yanqing said. They couldn’t afford to waste any more time here.

The Corpse King in this city had certainly discovered them and wouldn’t let these people go. Whether they stayed or left, it was a death sentence. So they might as well fight for a chance to live.

Furthermore, since he had already decided to form a survival team, this was an opportunity.

If they missed this chance, who knew when they would encounter other survivors again? He couldn’t just wander this vast wasteland, waving a flag and shouting that his survival team was recruiting. That would only attract zombies.

The people in the room came to their senses and looked at each other hesitantly.

Silence fell over the room.

Ji Yanqing didn’t give them time to ponder. He turned and headed downstairs.

Seeing him leaving, the man who had opened the door was the first to move, followed by a few others. Soon, the entire room surged out the door, all grabbing their belongings and following him.

They didn’t want to die here.

As for the rest, they could think about it later if they managed to leave this city alive.

Ji Yanqing didn’t look back, leading the way down the stairs. Turning a corner and seeing what lay ahead, he stopped in his tracks.

Those following behind also halted their steps.

At the bottom of the stairs, on the street below, about a dozen ordinary zombies were roaming about.

Sensing the commotion, all the zombies turned to face them.

Looking at their decayed, twisted faces, their pale, lifeless eyes, everyone in the stairwell gasped, their bodies turning ice-cold.

Ji Yanqing took a deep breath and continued down the stairs, his axe in hand. What had to come, would come.

Reaching the ground floor, he looked out. There were fifty or sixty ordinary zombies scattered across the street, but that wasn’t the most terrifying sight. The most terrifying sight was the Awakened Zombie on the roof across the street.

Seeing that Awakened Zombie, the others panicked, their faces paling even more.

“I’ll handle it. You guys take care of the rest,” Ji Yanqing said.

Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi looked at him, then at the Awakened Zombie on the opposite rooftop. Their lips moved, but they couldn’t speak.

“Find an opportunity to escape,” Ji Yanqing reminded the anxious group behind him, glancing at them briefly.

They all looked at him.

He wanted them to run?

Xue Gang had forced them to be bait, to distract the zombies so he could escape, but Ji Yanqing was going to face the Awakened Zombie himself and let them escape?

“I’ll come find you,” Feng Yimo’s calm voice, like a cool spring, calmed Ji Yanqing’s nerves.

He looked at Feng Yimo, confused.

Feng Yimo glanced at Ji An and Ji Le, who were clinging tightly to Ji Yanqing’s clothes. They would keep him safe.

He then looked towards the end of the street, and before Ji Yanqing could reach out to stop him, he dashed off in the direction they had come from.

He would kill the Corpse King at the hospital.

“Feng Yimo!” Ji Yanqing’s pupils constricted sharply. He attempted to chase after him, but he had only taken two steps when the surrounding zombies swarmed towards him.

He swung his axe, the sound mixing with the gunshots from Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi.

There was only one Awakened Zombie here. They couldn’t delay any longer; it would only attract more.

They still had a slim chance if they fought now. If they waited, it would be certain death.

The scene descended into chaos. Ji Yanqing only had time to catch a glimpse of Feng Yimo disappearing down the street before having to focus all his attention on the zombies in front of him.

Feng Yimo sprinted down the street, turned left, and entered the main road beside the buildings.

He ran along the road, heading in the direction they had come from.

His speed increased, his body a blur as he traversed half the city in the blink of an eye.

“Roar?” The black beast, who had been lying in wait some distance away, dropped the zombie bone it had been gnawing on and lifted its head, peering out from the building.

It looked towards Feng Yimo and, seeing he was alone, hesitated for a moment before leaping out of the building onto the road.

It then followed Feng Yimo, running towards the city center.

Inside the vast gymnasium, the giant, humanoid Corpse King, so obese his belly almost touched the ground, sat amidst the rapidly growing grass, his four-pupiled eyes swiveling as he looked at the four Awakened Zombies crawling on the inner wall of the stadium.

These four Awakened Zombies were vastly different from before. He had shared his blood with them again, further accelerating their evolution.

Hard scales had started to appear on their bodies, their speed and strength greatly enhanced. They were now almost half-Corpse Kings themselves.

“UghWaauu...” A strange, beast-like sound erupted from his throat, and the four Awakened Zombies immediately turned to face him.

He had sensed something was amiss last night when one of his Awakened Zombies, sent out to hunt, suddenly lost contact. It sent shivers down his spine. He had never expected that someone else in this world could override his mental imprint.

He had immediately recalled all his Awakened Zombies and started making defensive arrangements, leaving the hospital and relocating to this gymnasium, half a city away.

Now, he had nothing to fear.

“Grrr…”

At his command, the four near-death Awakened Zombies swiftly headed towards the gymnasium entrance.

Whoever had overridden his mental imprint, they wouldn’t find him. He had already set traps for the people in that building.

All he had to do now was wait; wait for his Awakened Zombies to bring back food and that other Corpse King who had dared to challenge him.

Closing his eyes, he began to sense the immense power surging within him. After his initial awakening, he had quickly undergone a second awakening and evolved into a Corpse King. Since then, he had been constantly feeding, consuming countless humans and zombies. And just recently, he had experienced a strange, new sensation.

He seemed to be on the verge of a third awakening.

An awakening beyond a Corpse King.

He would soon become something more powerful than a mere King.

“Grrr...” He growled excitedly.

“Crash!” The sturdy, reinforced wall was kicked open, creating a gaping hole. A tall, slender figure appeared in the opening.

Hearing the commotion, the excited Corpse King opened his eyes. His eight pupils fixed on Feng Yimo.

Seeing him, sensing his murderous intent, his pupils constricted. Impossible. How did Feng Yimo find this place?

“Grrr...”

He had to admit, Feng Yimo was indeed cunning, deciphering his plan and taking advantage of the moment he sent out his Awakened Zombies to launch a sneak attack.

“...” The Beast King, who had been following closely on all fours, slammed headfirst into the wall, unable to stop in time, creating another massive hole. It looked at the grotesque flesh ball rising from the ground, then at Feng Yimo, and silently took a step back, wanting to distance itself from the situation.

They weren’t acquainted!

Really!

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