Chapter 24

Unexpectedly, Xunchun didn't expect that there would be so many zombies under his command this time. Some zombies would spread the word to ten or a hundred people, causing most of the zombies in Loujiang Town to obey his orders, which made him unable to bear it for a while. Fortunately, a slight electric current came, which allowed his head to hold on until now.

However, as time went on, the pain in his head became more and more intense, and it was probably almost reaching his endurance threshold.

Xunchun leaned against the tree and sat down.

He hadn't learned how to retract his commands yet, so he could only wait until he fainted from the strain. Once he did, the zombie commands would automatically disconnect. He had tried it before, and it had no effect on him; he would recover automatically after waking up.

I discovered that my energy was secretly restored to Xunchun's system: ...

Xunchun's eyelids were fighting each other, and finally, he couldn't hold on any longer.

He had only one thought, which was to wake up soon.

…

"Why are there so many zombies outside?"

Near the edge of Loujiang Town, in a small building hidden in a garden, two people were lying on the ground on the third-floor balcony, holding their breath and observing the zombies coming and going outside the yard. Through the obstructing trees, they could even see zombies wandering in the distance.

These two people were none other than Dongxuancai and Xunyou.

Dong Xuancai had a bad feeling in his heart. These zombies seemed to be looking for something. After one group left, a new group of zombies would come, coming and going, over and over again.

Xunyou was standing beside him, his expression becoming increasingly worse.

This scene has been going on for more than an hour since they started hiding here. The zombies are tireless and keep patrolling. Not only here, but also the place where they hid at the beginning have been visited by zombies along the way.

He was a little anxious, and not just for himself.

He didn't know if his brother and sister-in-law had returned home; they hadn't returned when he left. He didn't know if they had encountered zombies along the way, and whether they could have protected themselves.

He was a little doubtful about whether his choice was the right one. What if, because of him, the two of them were surrounded by zombies? He couldn't imagine...

But neither of them could be involved in this matter.

The imagined scenes in his mind made Xunyou break out in a cold sweat. He stammered, "I think..."

"You can't think about it. We can't alert the enemy." Dong Xuancai turned his head and glanced, interrupting Xunyou's words.

He knew what Xunyou was thinking, but there were so many zombies outside that the two of them couldn't do anything alone, and they might even lose two lives for nothing. They could only wait until the zombies left before going out.

Dong Xuancai rolled over, lying on his back, looking at the orange sky. He pulled a compressed biscuit from his pocket and handed it to Xunyou, saying, "Eat something to fill your stomach."

Xunyou took the biscuit, tore it open carefully, and ate it bite by bite.

Dong Xuancai rubbed his brows as he heard the rustling sound of the packaging bag being torn open.

That day, he rushed back to the base overnight. Without even taking a rest, he forced himself to report the zombie with red eyes to the base's top management as soon as possible.

It's not like he hadn't seen teammates die at the hands of zombies before. Before coming to Tianhe Base, he'd also experienced teammates being killed by zombies due to misjudgment. But this time was different. On the way back, he kept thinking about it. The red-light zombies had clearly become smarter. It was like they had let him go on purpose.

It was as if he was being manipulated and walked into the zombies' trap.

That feeling always lingered in him.

He couldn't wait a moment and just wanted to tell the base about this as soon as possible.

The base paid close attention to his report and immediately arranged several exploration teams to go to Yangxing City and surrounding cities to search for similar red light zombies. The mission only required searching, and once discovered, they had to report back to the base immediately.

There have been no red-light zombies in four years. Most people in the base suspect that the zombies may have undergone a secondary mutation. If this is true, it means that the human situation is even worse than during the chaotic period before the end of the world.

Currently, the development focus of the base is on solving the food problem, but the results are not yet obvious. The doomsday land can accelerate the growth of plants, but fruits and vegetables are difficult to survive.

The medical situation is also not optimistic. The areas most severely affected during the doomsday are hospitals across the country. Many doctors died at the beginning, including many medical masters. In addition, the medicines of the old era were not very effective. Now many people are still dying of illness. It is not because they are unwilling to be treated, but because they have no way to treat it.

If zombie mutations occur again at this time, human development will become even more difficult.

Just in case, the base asked him and others to go to other bases to report the news. Even if it wasn't true, it was always a good idea to be prepared.

Dongxuancai agreed.

But he set out alone.

For a long time, he thought he was a disaster, that he would kill those around him. Otherwise, why did all his teammates die, leaving him alone? If they hadn't teamed up with him, his teammates might have lived longer.

They no longer ask for a long life, they just hope to live one more day.

After joining Tianhe Exploration Team 11, he originally thought that his lone wolf career would be completely gone, but he didn't expect that he would be the only one to survive this time.

He stood outside the iron gate, looking at his five teammates who had turned into zombies inside. They were screaming and trying to catch him.

He even thought for a moment, why not become a zombie with them? That way he wouldn't have to be a human anymore.

The two kind-hearted men pulled him back.

“I wish you peace!”

At the junction of light and darkness, the curse he uttered before every mission with his teammates once again brought him back to reality. He took a step forward and walked into the sunlight.

He could die, but not now when this zombie with glowing red eyes was not taken seriously by humans.

There is no human base in Loujiang Town. He entered Loujiang Town for supplies, but he never expected to see Xunyou calling for help.

"This half is for you." Xunyou broke off half of the biscuit and handed it to Dongxuancai. He had eaten a full meal at noon and was not very hungry now. "I'm full."

Xunyou's sudden action interrupted Dongxuancai's thoughts. The latter did not refuse and ate the biscuit in one or two bites.

As the sun sets, the evening breeze blows away the heat of the day, and the atmosphere on the balcony becomes quiet.

Dongxuancai glanced at the silent Xunyou and recalled what happened a few hours ago.

He didn't understand why someone standing by a dried-up pond would cry for help. There were no zombies and no one was drowning. It was as safe as it could be. He observed for a while before going over to talk to Xunyou.

He asked, "Who to save? You in an hour?"

Xunyou didn't answer, but asked instead, "Are you from the base?" There was doubt in his tone, but not much.

Xunyou's eyes were covered by his bangs, so Dongxuancai couldn't see his expression. He could only tell that he was very thin. He must have had a hard time since the apocalypse, and he looked a bit fierce.

Dong Xuancai had no intention of hiding his identity and said affirmatively, "Yes."

Xunyou asked again: "What base?"

"Tianhe Base." Dong Xuancai also took out his identity certificate, which was given to him by the base in case other bases did not believe him.

Xunyou took a closer look, relaxed, and tugged at the corner of his clothes with his right hand.

Dong Xuancai was amused by his actions. It was fine if he didn't recognize the ID, but how could he be so sure this person was from the base based on a random ID?

Dong Xuancai silently labeled him in his heart: a little smart, but not much.

Xunyou: "I have something very important to tell the base. I will go back to Tianhe Base with you." After saying that, Xu was afraid that Dongxuancai would refuse, so he added: "Don't worry, if we encounter zombies, I can protect myself."

Dong Xuancai raised an eyebrow. This...

Xunyou said again: "It's just the same road."

Dong Xuancai refused directly.

First, he is not going to Tianhe Base, and second, Xunyou can go to the base alone.

Xunyou didn't expect Dongxuancai to refuse. He stood there for a moment, hesitating whether to find someone else to go to the base. However, the credentials of the person in front of him looked very real. He couldn't understand the credentials, but he felt that this certificate was very important.

Dongxuancai didn't explain either.

Xunyou: "I haven't been to the base."

Dongxuancai thought he was joking.

How could it be possible that he had never been to the base? It was already the fourth year of the apocalypse, and the first choice for survivors was the base. Hiding from the zombies on their own was difficult, especially since he looked only sixteen or seventeen. He would only be twelve or thirteen when the apocalypse arrived, and he would be in school. He would definitely be accompanied by adults, and he would follow the adults to the base.

Even if he doesn't go to school, there will be other people around him, and if he meets a large group on the road, they will go to the base.

It's possible that you haven't been to the Tianhe base, but if you haven't been to the base, it sounds like a lie.

Dongxuancai didn't believe it and ignored him. He turned around and looked for a place to rest tonight.

Xunyou followed him silently.

"It's no use for you to follow me." Dong Xuancai said.

"I really have something to tell the base, something very important." Xunyou was anxious.

"Then tell me what it is first."

"No, I need to go back to the base."

…

The ineffective communication ended when the zombies appeared in droves. Dong Xuancai found a small building to hide in, and Xunyou followed him and hid in the small building as well.

Dong Xuancai was curious: "Why did you hide with me if you didn't tell me you could protect yourself?"

Xunyou has a twisted logic: "You didn't promise me, so what I said before doesn't count."

Dong Xuancai was speechless: ...? It seemed so reasonable that he couldn't find any words to refute it.

Dong Xuancai locked the door and went up to the third floor, not caring about Xunyou following him. The two of them stayed on the third floor, observing the zombies. There were always zombies roaming around, and there were many of them. They just watched and didn't act rashly.

After a long time, Dongxuancai asked Xunyou again what he wanted to say.

Xunyou hesitated for a long time before saying, "It's about zombies."

Zombies?

What's so important about zombies? What's there to talk about, unless... it's like the one he encountered.

Dong Xuancai studied Xunyou, wondering if he might have also encountered a zombie with glowing red eyes. Though frail, he bore no obvious signs of combat. Had he escaped? Or perhaps he hadn't faced them directly?

After thinking for a moment, Dong Xuancai probed: "You mentioned something about zombies. Are there any special things about zombies' eyes?"

Xunyou looked at him in shock and said nothing.

Seeing this reaction, Dong Xuancai thought to herself that she had guessed correctly. Zombie mutations were indeed not isolated cases. The fact that they appeared in the public eye indicated that the zombie mutation had been going on for at least some time.

His heart sank; it looked like the situation wasn't going well.

Dong Xuancai asked directly: "Do its eyes glow red?"

He asked again, "Is it stronger than other zombies?"