Just after crossing a street, Lin Qi raised his hand to signal, and the two of them stopped in their tracks.
"Listen carefully, is there some kind of sound?"
The silent city had no other noise, so that faint sound of breaking wind was easily detected.
Just as the two were listening intently, a roar suddenly erupted, coming from the direction of a building not far away.
"It's a Mutated Zombie!"
Lin Qi was exceptionally sensitive to the sounds of Mutated Zombies; this roar carried a soul-shaking intensity.
Following that sound, the zombies that had been wandering aimlessly on the street seemed to have been summoned, turning their bodies one after another and heading toward that building.
Even though their speed was slow, after a moment, most of them had already gathered there.
"Someone must be over there, having attracted the attention of the Mutated Zombie. Let's take the other side."
The area near that building was the path Lin Qi had explored yesterday, but he hadn't encountered that terrifying Mutated Zombie then. Now, he had no choice but to change his route.
The nearby zombies had all been drawn away, which provided the two with a safe passage, so they quickly crossed the street and turned into a complex of buildings.
Not long after entering, they saw a few people nearby moving in a hurry. They also shared the same goal: to transfer their target as quickly as possible and move toward the central street.
Upon discovering Lin Qi and Zhao Tuantuan, those people did not stop; they even remained on high alert, full of caution.
Lin Qi did not want to have any interaction with these people either, so he silently stopped and waited for them to leave first.
"Boss, they have weapons!"
This group consisted of eight people in total, five men and three women. The men were all sturdy, and the women were all of superior beauty.
Even in normal times, it would be hard to encounter such high-quality people; he hadn't expected to meet them together after the Apocalypse had descended.
"I saw it. A bow made of wood—how much power could it possibly have?"
The leading man was tall and strong, with a shaved head, looking quite ruthless. He stared at the backpacks the two were carrying, lost in thought.
"They must have food on them. We'll find an opportunity to check later. If they dare to resist, we don't have enough women to go around anyway, and that little girl looks quite tender!"
A lewd glint appeared in the eyes of the Baldy. Even though they were forty or fifty meters away and he couldn't see their faces clearly, their figures could not hide the truth.
"Boss, you can't eat alone! The brothers haven't tasted anything fresh in a long time!"
Hearing the words of the Baldy, the remaining four men chuckled.
Before the Apocalypse, these people were all law-abiding, good citizens, but the future was dark and dim. Without the constraints of the law, their hearts had completely degenerated.
Operating on the principle of enjoying themselves as much as possible before they died, they had unknowingly uncovered the evil within their hearts step by step.
Their group had been trapped in a building. There were originally more than twenty people, but the rest were mostly the elderly, weak, sick, or disabled, who were seen as burdens. This time, using the excuse of going out to find Supplies, they had only brought the three most beautiful women and abandoned everyone else in the building.
"Don't worry, if I eat the meat, you'll have the soup!"
The Baldy gestured for the group to hide in a corner and wait for the two to approach.
"Brother Lin, those people seem a bit strange!"
Zhao Tuantuan had excellent eyesight. Those people had been looking back at them frequently just now; they definitely had some Special intentions.
The girl's sixth sense was very sharp.
"There are few normal people left in the Apocalypse. Be careful later."
Lin Qi pulled out an Arrow and nocked it on the Bow and Arrow, ready to attack at any moment. As they walked along the edge of the street, the five men suddenly appeared from around a corner and ran toward them.
"Brothers, are you also heading to the central street? How about we go together?"
The Baldy did not speak, instead letting a Suit Man wearing glasses come out to negotiate. This Suit Man had a kind appearance, and his first impression would not make people wary.
"No need. The fewer the people, the smaller the target. We don't want to be chased by zombies."
Lin Qi raised his bow and aimed, preparing for the worst. At this moment, he already regarded these people as enemies.
"Little brother, don't be like that. Look, we are five strong men, and we have weapons. Even if zombies come, we can protect you. Following us will definitely be very safe."
As the Suit Man spoke, his gaze could not help but drift toward Zhao Tuantuan, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.
From a distance, it wasn't very clear, but at such close range, Zhao Tuantuan's cute face still had a hint of baby fat, and the straps of her backpack pulled tight against her shoulders made her chest stand out even more prominently.
Compared to her, the three beauties in his own team were simply insignificant.
"I'll warn you one last time: get lost!"
Lin Qi felt increasingly disgusted as he saw the gazes of these men. Unknowingly, he had come to regard Zhao Tuantuan as the person closest to him in this world. People with such obvious Special intentions were likely not targeting him.
"Kid, you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Do you think you can scare us with a tree branch? You don't even have an arrowhead; what kind of archer are you pretending to be?"
A fierce look appeared on the Baldy's face, and the flesh on his cheeks twitched. He held a Fire Axe in his hand and pushed past the two men in front of him as he walked over.
There were brown Bloodstains on the Fire Axe, proving it was a weapon that had seen action. In ordinary times, he only needed to show his fierce look to intimidate most Survivors. This innate temperament allowed him to easily gain the fear of others after the Apocalypse descended.
"Whoosh!"
The Arrow broke through the air and directly pierced the neck of the Baldy. The exposed arrowhead protruded three fingers' length from the back of his neck, causing the four men behind him to tremble in fear and instinctively scramble several meters away.
"Who is next?"
Lin Qi nocked his bow again, aiming at the remaining four.
Seeing that the Arrow had locked onto them, the remaining few were completely panicked. They didn't even dare to say another word, and in the blink of an eye, they ran across the street and disappeared around the corner.
"Brother Lin, you killed someone again!"
Although Zhao Tuantuan's tone was trembling, there was no look of panic on her face; instead, there was a hint of excitement in her eyes.
"These people were clearly waiting for us, and their weapons had zombie blood on them. Their intentions were impure. If I hadn't struck first, I would have definitely been at a disadvantage if I had fallen into a passive position."
Lin Qi stepped forward and pulled out the Arrow. At this moment, the Baldy's body had already gone limp; although he was still twitching, he no longer had any strength left.
"Then why didn't you kill all of them?"
Zhao Tuantuan seemed to have slowly accepted the matter of killing. After shifting her mindset, she was afraid these people would retaliate, so she thought it would be better to kill them all and be done with it.
"They had already run a distance away, and I wasn't confident I could hit their vitals. Besides, I only have these few arrows left, and retrieving them is a troublesome matter."
The way of handling things from the perspective of his main consciousness left Lin Qi without the slightest sense of guilt about killing, as if he were wantonly killing and venting in a game with a high degree of freedom, without having to consider the consequences in reality.
"He's not dead yet. While he's still warm, I should be able to get one more hit in."
So he pulled out his dagger, aimed at the back of the Baldy's head, and stabbed it down!
The advanced progress of the dagger was very difficult, and Lin Qi naturally would not let such an opportunity pass.
Moreover, destroying the Baldy's brain would also save him from turning into a zombie. With his physique, he might have had the potential to become a Mutated Zombie.
✦✦✦