The group continued forward and entered a narrow alley. Moss and unknown vines covered both walls, while the stagnant water on the ground gave off a sour, rancid smell.
Water splashed up from the puddles as Paopao’s shoes stepped through them, wetting the hems of her pants. She did not make a single complaint and continued walking steadily on her short little legs.
An’an could not help sighing inwardly.
This child was truly sensible. So sensible that it was heartbreaking.
When they emerged from the alley, the view suddenly opened up.
It was a small plaza. A dried-up fountain stood in the center, surrounded by shops that had long since closed. At the other end of the plaza was a wider main road, with even taller buildings lining both sides.
But everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to what was scattered across the plaza.
More than a dozen zombie corpses were lying in disarray on the ground. They had clearly died not long ago, as fresh wounds could still be seen on their bodies.
The air was filled with a heavy smell of blood and decay. Bai An’an’s stomach churned violently, and she almost could not hold it in.
She covered her mouth and forcibly suppressed the nausea.
“Who did this?” she asked quietly.
Fu Shen crouched down and examined one of the zombie corpses.
He used his military knife to move the zombie’s head slightly. The cut across the wound was extremely clean, as if something very sharp had sliced through it in a single strike.
“Knife wounds,” he said. “Not caused by an ability.”
“The fight happened not long ago.” Shen Hanzhou walked over to another zombie and examined it. “These corpses haven’t completely stiffened yet.”
Lu Xi covered Paopao’s eyes while scanning the plaza himself.
“To kill this many zombies in one go, they can’t be ordinary people. At minimum, it’s a combat team of four or more people, or one or two high-level ability users.”
Bai An’an nervously glanced around.
“Are they still nearby?”
“Don’t know.”
Shen Hanzhou stood up and brushed at some nonexistent dust from his hands.
“We can’t stay here for long. The smell of blood will attract more zombies.”
The group quickened their pace.
“Wait.”
Bai An’an suddenly stopped.
“A pharmacy.”
Fu Shen turned back to look at her.
“I… I want to go inside and take a look.” Bai An’an pointed toward the pharmacy. “There might still be some usable medicine. If someone gets injured, my ability alone might not be enough.”
Fu Shen was silent for a moment before nodding.
“Five minutes. Hanzhou, go in with her. I’ll stand guard outside.”
Bai An’an immediately ran toward the pharmacy, with Shen Hanzhou following behind her.
The pharmacy was small, and the shelves had been knocked over. However, some medicines remained inside the cabinets and had not been completely looted.
Bai An’an crouched down and quickly picked up several boxes of anti-inflammatory medicine, painkillers, bandages, and disinfectant, stuffing everything into her backpack.
“Tourniquet, tourniquet…”
She searched while muttering to herself. Finally, she found a roll of medical tourniquet in a drawer beside the cashier and quickly shoved it into her bag.
Shen Hanzhou leaned against the doorframe and watched her bustle around. Suddenly, he chuckled.
“Which university are you studying medicine at?”
“A local medical university.” Bai An’an paused for a moment before adding, “I haven’t graduated yet.”
Shen Hanzhou did not ask anything else.
Bai An’an put her bulging backpack on and squeezed through the gap in the glass door. She gave Fu Shen an OK sign.
Fu Shen glanced at the backpack, which had clearly become much fuller, but said nothing. He turned around and continued leading the way.
The group continued forward for another ten-odd minutes. The buildings on both sides became taller and more imposing, while the streets grew narrower. They had already entered a nearby residential area.
There were more and more vehicles along the roadside. Some even had people sitting inside them.
More precisely, they contained human remains.
Some were clearly people who had been bitten by zombies and died after turning. Others had been trapped inside their vehicles and unable to escape. Whether they had starved to death or something else had found them, only skeletons remained.
Bai An’an did her best to turn her face away and avoid looking.
After walking for another ten minutes or so, Fu Shen suddenly stopped.
His body leaned slightly forward like a leopard that had sensed danger. His eyes locked onto the corner of the intersection ahead.
Bai An’an followed his gaze, and her heart sank.
At the other end of the intersection, a huge black shadow was slowly moving.
The thing was at least over two meters tall, more than twice the size of an ordinary zombie. Its body was an unhealthy dark gray. Its skin looked stretched tight and glossy, revealing the raised outlines of the muscles underneath.
Its limbs were completely disproportionate to those of an ordinary human. Its arms almost reached its knees, while claw-like growths extended from the tips of its fingers.
But the most unsettling thing was its eyes.
They were dark red.
Unlike the cloudy, dull eyes of ordinary zombies, these seemed to contain a faint trace of consciousness.
A word immediately flashed through Bai An’an’s mind.
Mutant.
Before she could say anything, the mutant suddenly turned its head.
Those dark red eyes locked precisely onto their location.
Bai An’an’s feet felt as though they had been nailed to the ground. Her entire body instantly froze.
“This way.”
The voice was very soft, but in the dead silence of the street, every word struck their ears clearly.
Bai An’an abruptly turned her head.
A girl’s face poked out from behind the rolling shutter of a milk tea shop. She was frantically waving at them.
“Get inside! Don’t stand there!”
She lowered her voice as she urged them, her tone filled with urgency.
There was no time for anyone to hesitate.
“Go.”
Fu Shen spoke in a low voice and immediately moved toward the milk tea shop.
Shen Hanzhou followed closely behind. Lu Xi carried Paopao, while An’an brought up the rear.
She had barely taken two steps when a low growl came from behind.
The mutant had clearly pinpointed their location and had begun accelerating.
Bai An’an did not dare look back. She simply lowered her head and sprinted forward.
She could even feel the foul-smelling wind behind her getting closer.
The next second, Fu Shen grabbed her and pulled her into the milk tea shop.
The rolling shutter slammed down behind her with a loud bang. At the same time, a dull impact came from outside.
“The rolling shutter won’t hold it. Follow me.”
The girl led everyone out through the back door of the milk tea shop.
Bai An’an followed the people ahead at a hurried jog, her heart pounding violently as though it were about to burst from her chest.
The sound of that impact had made her scalp tingle. That thin rolling shutter would not hold for long. The mutant had only been temporarily blocked.
“This way.”
The girl’s voice came from ahead as she led them into a half-open iron gate at the end of a narrow alley.
Behind the gate was a cramped courtyard filled with abandoned chairs and battered advertising signs. At least it was an enclosed space.
The girl closed the iron gate and dragged a table over to brace it from behind. Only then did she turn around and let out a long breath.
“Okay. We’re safe for the moment.”
Bai An’an supported herself with her hands on her knees and panted for a while before raising her head to examine the person who had saved them.
The girl looked to be in her early twenties. She had an oval face and a high ponytail, with loose strands of hair stuck to her sweaty forehead. She wore a dark gray tactical jacket and held a dagger in her hand.
What caught Bai An’an’s attention most was her gaze.
Alert, sharp, and carrying a hint of appraisal.
“You’re together?” the girl asked first.
Her eyes swept over the group, lingering on Bai An’an for a few extra seconds.
“Yes. Five people.”
Shen Hanzhou pointed toward Paopao in Lu Xi’s arms.
“Six including her.”
The girl froze for a moment when she saw Paopao, but said nothing. She simply nodded.
“That thing just now was a mutant,” Shen Hanzhou said in a lowered voice. “We’ve been fighting it for two hours already.”
“You?” Bai An’an asked.
“A group of survivors who organized themselves. There are around twenty or thirty of us. I’m one of the members responsible for going outside to search for supplies.”
The girl paused.
“There is a large shopping mall warehouse nearby. We originally planned to use the warehouse as our base, but the moment we went inside, we ran into that mutant. It had already made the warehouse its nest.”
She hesitated before continuing.
“We originally wanted to retreat, but someone in our group was injured while escaping. Our food supplies are also running out quickly. That warehouse is our last hope.”