As the sky lightened with a fish-belly white, the floating blood fog gradually dissipated.
The entire city was silent, almost deserted.
With the blood fog gone, the singing ceased. He Lou estimated that Lan Zhiyu was probably busy devouring other citizens and didn’t have time to bother with them, two fish that had slipped through the net. He glanced at the clock tower in the distance, feeling uneasy.
Even if he didn’t treat the residents of the other world as humans like himself, the demise of the entire city made him feel a chill.
Especially when he saw Lu Yanli’s calm expression reflected in the glass window, his scalp tingled even more.
Did he really… not care at all?
“How can we enter the interlayer now?” He Lou asked again.
He reluctantly admitted that he now had to rely on Lu Yanli.
As long as Lu Yanli’s goal was also to survive, they could cooperate.
Lu Yanli, however, was staring downstairs, seemingly lost in thought. He Lou followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at Li Fangzhi’s corpse downstairs.
After transforming into a zombie, all the flesh and blood on her body had been Eliminate, leaving only a layer of skin and bones. After being thrown from a high altitude, she lay on the ground. Whether it was because of the runes or other reasons, she remained motionless in place.
He Lou looked down at Li Fangzhi’s miserable state, not understanding why he was asking, but he still nodded.
Lu Yanli said, “I have a guess. While she’s not paying attention to us, let’s watch the video first.” He unzipped his jacket pocket and took out a small storage card.
“Where’s this video from?”
“A few days ago, my place.” Lu Yanli didn’t say much more.
They randomly found a house, rummaged through the ruins for a usable computer, and inserted the storage card to view the footage.
“Fast forward, and focus specifically on Li Fangwan’s content.”
He Lou quickly operated the computer and soon cut out many scenes of Li Fangwan.
“Zoom in on this part.”
The bathroom door was made of glass, reflecting Li Fangwan’s shadow. In the video, her face was pale, and her hair reached her waist. However, the figure reflected on the glass surface… after zooming in on the face, it was Lan Zhiyu!
So, Li Fangwan had already been possessed by Lan Zhiyu. They hadn’t noticed anything and had been living with Lan Zhiyu for several days without realizing it.
The thought of this conclusion made He Lou feel as if his blood had frozen for a moment.
“From the several instances of singing, we can tell that she can bewitch people’s minds. Isn’t this a common trope in horror movies? After a ghost kills someone or possesses them, it disguises itself as that person and continues to live, while the others remain unaware.”
But now, she was possessing Li Fangwan, which might be advantageous to them.
While He Lou was still immersed in fear, Lu Yanli had a thought—
He Lou noticed that he hadn’t spoken for a while, so he took the initiative to say, “Let’s not worry about this now, let’s find the interlayer first.”
There was no way to break into room 405.
Lu Yanli glanced at him and agreed, “Let’s each find some tools. If we can’t break through 405, then we’ll go in from 404.”
With that, he lifted his foot and walked upstairs, “Let’s hurry while we can, and find tools to Chisel through the floor.”
He Lou was afraid of him, always feeling that he was plotting something, but he couldn’t refute him for the moment. After chasing after him, he found that he was really rummaging for tools, so he had no choice but to follow him and search next door.
“I suddenly remembered that I used to collect them.” Facing He Lou’s surprised gaze, Lu Yanli said frankly.
*
Lan Zhiyu Ocean Park.
Junior sister Li was at her last gasp, but she showed no signs of fear.
The young man, now with a blue face and fangs, slowly entered the ocean park. Beside him, the beautiful woman stood quietly. Her skin was very white, and her appearance was exceptionally beautiful. Judging from her appearance alone, no one would have guessed that she was the legendary, terrifying zombie.
“I actually didn’t want to kill you.” Senior brother Lin glanced at Lan Zhiyu, his eyes filled with infatuation, then turned to face junior sister Li, his eyes showing regret.
“If you were a little dumber, or a little smarter, I wouldn’t have killed you.”
If she were dumber, she wouldn’t have noticed; if she were smarter, she would have known what to say and what not to say.
Junior sister Li quietly lay prostrate on the ground, her eyes fixed on them, wondering what she was thinking.
Outside the ocean park, a constant stream of blood and flesh continued to pour in, and behind the beautiful woman, many scarlet, soft tubes were connected.
“However, we have been fellow disciples for decades, after all. I will put you last.”
Her reaction was a bit off. The young man frowned but couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
For a moment, the air was filled only with a sound similar to a quiet, baby-like sucking.
As nutrients continued to be poured in, the woman’s face became increasingly beautiful.
After an unknown amount of time, senior brother Lin slowly walked toward the junior sister on the ground.
Junior sister Li opened her eyes, “Is it my turn?”
She turned her head and looked over. Her vision was already a bit blurry, but she could still make out that none of the corpses in the distance had survived. They had all turned into white bones, piled up outside the door, and night had fallen again.
A whole day… the people of an entire city.
She confirmed again, “Everyone in the entire city is gone?”
Only then did junior sister Li laugh. Amidst senior brother Lin’s fearful gaze, she raised her hand and shook a bronze bell that she had hidden somewhere.
“Go! Kill Lu Yanli and He Lou!”
As the command was conveyed, the two flying zombies disappeared in a flash.
“You, you’re…” Senior brother Lin felt uneasy. He calculated with his fingers and was shocked to find that it was an ominous sign. He was both surprised and angry and couldn’t care so much. He raised his sword and pointed it at the junior sister lying on the ground, sternly shouting, “What exactly are you planning?”
Ah… I finally won against you once. She sighed in her heart.
As soon as she finished speaking, she severed her own heart meridian, and her whole person died.
Leaving the young man choking her neck, his eyes widened in anger.
No, impossible…
How could there be such a curse?! She must be lying to him!
The young man was shocked and angry. He glanced at the beautiful woman and the empty streets outside the door. He gritted his teeth and flew away with Lan Zhiyu.
But his heart told him that what junior sister Li said was most likely true.
She deliberately delayed the time, only telling him the truth before the final completion of the formation.
The curse was difficult to dispel for the time being. If she hadn’t said it, once Lan Zhiyu merged with this body, she would probably be destroyed by the curse immediately!
And her deliberate suicide, and sending the flying zombies to kill Lu Yanli and He Lou, was to prevent him from finding the next carrier in time! If he missed this opportunity, the next time, he would have to wait another sixty years.
How could he wait another sixty years?
No, there was still a chance!
*
Apartment, in a certain floor.
He Lou was almost Dizzy by the pungent smell of blood and decay. It took him a long time to get used to it before he barely reacted. He was soaked in blood from head to toe, like he had just been fished out of blood plasma, and his body was covered with some unknown body tissues.
Lu Yanli was no better off, but his expression was calm, and he didn’t say a word.
Seeing that Lu Yanli didn’t seem to mind him speaking, He Lou asked in a low voice, “Can we really escape?”
Lu Yanli’s voice was even lower, “Let’s take a gamble.” He had done everything he could.
They pressed close to the ground, and the floor transmitted the sound of jumping,Dong、Dong、Dong. Without guessing, they knew it was the sound of zombies jumping. The two of them exchanged a look and immediately shut their mouths, even slowing their breathing.
The jumping sound continued, once, and then again. Gradually, that sound slowly came to the top of their heads.
Once, and then again, getting heavier and heavier.