There was still some time before the zombie horde arrived, enough for them to devise a response.
Whether they chose to fight or flee was not within Lu Chen’s considerations.
After all, he had only come to give them a warning and had no intention of staying here.
Lu Chen took out his homemade slingshot, picked up a stone and a scrap of paper from the ground, and wrote a line on the paper.
A few minutes later, a person in the guardroom who was observing the surroundings with binoculars saw a paper ball suddenly fly into the wire fence.
He immediately grew alert and quickly notified the others via walkie-talkie.
Soon, several fully armed combat personnel emerged from the school building.
Covering each other, they found the paper ball Lu Chen had shot inside.
After reading the contents of the paper ball, their expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly ran back into the school building.
Lu Chen didn’t linger any longer. He returned to the car and drove away from the area.
Ling Jiujiu found this somewhat strange.
As far as he knew, humans lived in groups. Since Lu Chen and Xu Jie clearly knew there were many people in the school, why didn’t they join them and instead chose to leave?
On the way out, Xu Jie, who was driving, suddenly grew serious.
The car slowed down, and only then did Ling Jiujiu see that a car was slowly approaching from the opposite direction.
Xu Jie held the steering wheel with one hand while secretly gathering strength in the other.
“How could it be such a coincidence… They couldn’t be here specifically to block us, could they? Repaying kindness with ingratitude…”
Lu Chen stared at the oncoming car and said calmly, “Drive slowly past them.”
There were only two people in the oncoming car—the same armed personnel from the school earlier.
The driver was an ordinary person, while the person in the passenger seat was an awakened.
Lu Chen could sense that the awakened’s level was slightly higher than his and Xu Jie’s.
If he and Xu Jie teamed up, dealing with him alone wouldn’t be a problem.
However, Lu Chen didn’t think the two were targeting them; otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent only two people.
As the two cars drew closer, the window of the oncoming car slowly rolled down.
“Be careful,” Xu Jie straightened up, his gaze fixed intently on the car to the side.
Then, the man in the passenger seat extended his hand, holding a note.
The man removed his sunglasses, revealing a pair of narrow, phoenix-like eyes, and said to Lu Chen, who was also in the passenger seat:
“Did you throw the note?”
Lu Chen rolled down half of his window and nodded to the man.
The man asked again, “How large is the zombie horde you mentioned?”
Lu Chen replied, “Without sufficient firepower, the horde is large enough to breach the electric fence and flatten the entire school.”
The man frowned slightly, then glanced into their car. “There are only two of you?”
Lu Chen said, “Three.”
The man nodded and added, “If you have nowhere to go, you can join us.
We have people and ample resources.
If you don’t like it, you can leave anytime since you’re awakened.”
Xu Jie hesitated for a moment, but Lu Chen directly refused.
“No need. We still want to look for a safer refuge.”
The man didn’t try to persuade them further, only saying, “My name is Jing Fu. If you ever want to come, you’re welcome anytime. Just mention my name.”
With that, the man rolled up the window and gestured for them to drive back.
Xu Jie watched their car disappear completely from the rearview mirror.
“They just left like that? Could there be some kind of ambush?”
Lu Chen: “Probably not, there’s no one from their group nearby.”
Xu Jie thought for a moment, hesitating a bit: “They seem somewhat reliable, don’t you think?”
Lu Chen didn’t overthink it, simply stating: “Judging by their demeanor, they have no intention of retreating at all.”
Xu Jie was shocked: “Hundreds of zombies… I think they’re insane.”
But Lu Chen didn’t see it that way: “They managed to set up an electric fence, so they must have someone with research skills. Their firepower might actually be sufficient.”
Xu Jie: “Should we observe them a bit longer then?”
Lu Chen still shook his head: “Didn’t you hear what Jiujiu said? The zombie horde is specifically targeting them. Something feels off to me.”
Xu Jie: “So, the more people there are, the more dangerous it becomes?”
Ling Jiujiu, who had been huddled in the back protecting her head, chimed in:
“Before, when I talked to other zombies, they either ignored me or growled at me. But the zombie leading the charge last night could communicate with me. I think zombies are getting smarter.”
Ling Jiujiu didn’t think much of it, but to Xu Jie, her words were chilling enough to make his hair stand on end.
Zombies were getting smarter.
Didn’t that mean zombies were evolving too?
Lu Chen: “Imagine if zombies gained intelligence and learned to cooperate. What would humanity face then?”
Xu Jie couldn’t help but swallow hard, goosebumps rising on his arms.
“It would be an undead army that’s incredibly difficult to kill.”
Ling Jiujiu listened in confusion, only sensing that the atmosphere in the car had turned tense.
“Humans are so powerful, with guns and intelligence. Why should they be afraid of those dumb zombies?”
Xu Jie forced a smile, uglier than a grimace:
“If only all zombies were as cute as you.”
Lu Chen explained to her: “Zombies evolve by absorbing Crystal Cores. Someone in the laboratory once proposed that if zombies evolved to possess human consciousness, it would be a terrifying prospect. Zombies far outnumber humans, and their only fatal weakness is the head. Once zombies decide to target humans, humanity would be utterly defeated.”
Ling Jiujiu thought back to what she heard last night and said: “But they only think about eating.”
Xu Jie: “That’s even more terrifying. If zombies feed on humans, then in their eyes, humans are no different from cattle or sheep. If humanity were truly defeated, humans might end up as livestock raised for food.”
Ling Jiujiu: “…”
That sounded really scary.
Lu Chen’s expression turned grave: “If awakened ones united to fight against zombies, we might stand a chance. But…”
He didn’t need to finish. Xu Jie understood all too well.
Take the Sea Serpent Base, for example—just one region, yet the relationship between awakened ones and ordinary people was already complicated enough. Not to mention the conflicts with other survivor bases.
Getting all awakened ones from various bases to unite and cooperate sounded like a fantasy.
“I’m really worried about humanity’s future,” Xu Jie sighed deeply.
Lu Chen: “Take it one step at a time. There’s no use rushing now.”