The dimly lit room had no windows and was almost completely dark, with only the moonlight from the corridor shining through the crack in the door and the faint glow from the pendant worn by the captain.
Chuanliu took the short sword, nodded slightly in the direction of the captain, and then stood with the other team members in front of the door, always ready for battle.
Under the cover of darkness, my heartbeat and breath seemed to blend into the surrounding tranquility.
Immediately afterwards, footsteps approached from the end of the corridor, lifeless footsteps wandering aimlessly through the corridor outside the room.
The corpse's stiff arms mechanically scraped across the tightly closed doors, producing a grating screeching sound. A sense of oppression and fear filled the air, as if even the air itself was trembling.
The group heard the voice of a corpse outside the door. The voice sounded particularly ferocious in the dim light as it approached the room where they were.
Several team members' legs began to tremble, and they bit their lips, forcing themselves not to cry out.
As the distance closed, the deep roar, mixed with the stench of rotting flesh, seeped through the crack in the door, making everyone in the room feel an unprecedented sense of oppression.
The sliver of moonlight filtering through the crack in the door was blocked, making the room even darker.
"Knock knock knock".
The door was struck several times by that unconscious force.
The nine people in the room almost simultaneously held their breath, exchanging glances without words, tacitly raising their weapons in preparation for the possible onslaught.
Fortunately, the sound didn't last long. After a while, the sound outside the door gradually faded away, and the footsteps of the corpse gradually decreased at the other end of the corridor until they disappeared completely.
The moonlight shone through the crack in the door again.
After waiting for quite a while, the movements of the corpses on the floor finally disappeared completely.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their tense nerves finally relaxing. Several team members, exhausted, even collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, their faces filled with the relief of surviving a disaster.
The squad leader's furrowed brows relaxed, and the brief silence gave him time to ponder the identity of the mysterious girl who had suddenly appeared in the area.
Although the other party saved them, they may not be friends or enemies.
He had never met anyone like this in all his years in Plum Blossom City, able to appear alone in the perilous residential area and remain calm in the face of hordes of zombies.
This ability is something that no one else in his team possesses.
Even as the core of the squad, he couldn't help but feel intimidated by such a large number of zombies.
He began to suspect that the woman in front of him might have been sent by the higher-ups at Plum Blossom.
He knew these people in Plum Blossom City all too well; feigned goodwill often only paves the way for deeper betrayal.
After all, he himself had experienced these things, and this was the reason why everyone in his team left Plum Blossom City.
Unable to tolerate the darkness here, they chose to rise up in rebellion.
The eight members of this team were originally residents of Plum Blossom City. He himself had even worked as a bodyguard, responsible for protecting the safety of high-ranking officials.
He has always deeply hated the corpses.
He meticulously protected the safety of the high-ranking officials, clearing the way for them and escorting them when they traveled, thus eliminating the threat posed by the zombies.
One day, he was ordered by his superiors to lead a team to a residential area, ostensibly to expand the strength of "Plum Blossom," but in reality to select strong and robust people as "laborers."
He attracted many residents by offering generous benefits for working in the main city. He shared his personal experience, showing everyone that not only was life there good, with good food and drink, but there were also no zombies to bother them.
Just when he thought he was making a contribution to "Plum Blossom," the truth woke him up like a bucket of cold water—after he brought those people into the main city, the higher-ups suddenly tore off their hypocritical masks and made him take these people to the "canteen."
In Meihua's main city, the word "canteen" has another meaning: it refers to a laboratory for developing drugs.
He had only heard about it before, but he was stunned when he saw the experimental results with his own eyes.
He knew he wasn't a good person, otherwise he wouldn't have been sent to Bliss Island.
But when he saw the entire process of those people's mutation through the thickened glass, he was shocked to realize that he had been contributing to such an inhumane thing.
It was he who personally created these inhuman things.
The evil in human nature is far more boundless than he imagined.
He began to reflect on himself and was filled with remorse.
But he couldn't change anything, so he chose to remain silent.
Until the higher-ups sent him out again, ordering him to take the batch of "experiments" he had personally "cultivated" to the outskirts of other cities and bring back another batch of able-bodied men.
He knew he had to do something, and his opportunity had arrived.
So he worked through the night to produce leaflets, exposing the crimes of the higher-ups to the ordinary residents of Plum Blossom City who were still kept in the dark. He also gathered the able-bodied men in the residential areas who wanted to rebel, forming this group.
He worried that if the girl was indeed a spy sent by Plum Blossom City, then her appearance might mean that a carefully planned trap was waiting for them.
It's precisely because he knows it so well that we have to be on guard.
This thought made the man re-examine the girl in front of him, and a wary glint appeared in his eyes.
Even if the person in front of them had saved them.
The girl hadn't had time to tie her hair yet; her dark hair, from running, covered her face, and in the dim light, her overly pale face and indifferent, deep eyes...
He stared at the girl opposite him and suddenly regretted handing his dagger to such an unidentified person.
Seeing the change in the man's eyes, Chuanliu immediately realized that the man was somewhat suspicious of him.
Her purpose in coming here was to enter the main city quietly without causing trouble, so she did not reveal her identity. She simply turned the man's knife in her hand and handed it back to him.
"Thanks," the girl said softly.
"You..." The captain hesitated, signaling his team members to stay alert with his eyes, but this micro-expression did not escape Chuanliu's eyes.
"Don't be nervous, I mean no harm. If you don't want to say, I won't ask who you are," Chuanliu said.
But this question did not put the man at ease. He tentatively asked, "Are you going out of the city or into the city?"
Throughout the entire process, Chuanliu was also observing this small team.
Judging from the reactions and behavior of the crowd, she could tell that they were not from the Plum Blossom City faction.
A thought struck her, and she adopted a wary expression, whispering, "You're from Plum Blossom City! You're here to arrest me, aren't you!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com