Chapter 6

Lin Chen dragged Xia Nuan and rushed into the depths of the woods,

Li Wei's crying and shouting growing closer, mixed with heavy panting,

like some big guy panting.

The bloodstains on the snow turned dark red,

and torn fabric could be seen in the dragging marks; it was the school uniform Li Wei wore yesterday.

"Search separately." Lin Chen lowered his voice, the hunting rifle loaded,

"Fire if you're called."

Xia Nuan nodded, gripping the steel pipe and walking to the left,

the sound of her footsteps crunching on the snow.

Lin Chen circled to the right, pressing his ear against a tree trunk,

and could hear chewing sounds thirty meters ahead,

sticky and gooey, like gnawing on bones.

Pushing aside the last bush, Lin Chen stopped.

Under an old locust tree, a black shadow over two meters tall was squatting,

with its back to him, head lowered, gnawing on something,

green blood dripping onto the snow through its fingers.

Li Wei was curled up beside it, a piece of meat missing from his leg,

groaning in pain but not daring to shout loudly.

It was a mutated zombie, three times as strong as an ordinary one,

its skin as hard as leather, and a tumor growing on the back of its head,

jumping rhythmically.

Lin Chen raised the hunting rifle, aiming at its head, just about to pull the trigger,

when his phone suddenly vibrated; it was a text message,

the sender displayed as "Su Qing."

【Save me, in the single-story house behind the hospital, they want to kill me—】

Lin Chen frowned, his finger hovering over the trigger.

The mutated zombie seemed to hear movement and turned its head abruptly,

a torn face facing him, half an arm hanging from its mouth—it was Li Wei's.

Li Wei screamed and fainted.

"Damn it." Lin Chen cursed and pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the zombie's chest, leaving only a small blood hole,

it didn't react, instead roaring and lunging over,

its speed not at all like its large size.

Lin Chen sidestepped, and it slammed into a tree, the tree trunk snapping with a crack.

Xia Nuan rushed out from the left, the steel pipe smashing onto the tumor on the back of the zombie's head,

making a dull thud.

The zombie felt pain, turned, and swung its fist; Xia Nuan didn't dodge,

was hit and flew out, slamming into a rock, groaning and not moving.

"Xia Nuan!" Lin Chen's eyes turned red,

lunging over to hug the zombie's leg, pulling back hard.

The zombie lost its balance and fell to the ground, snow splashing everywhere.

Lin Chen took the opportunity to climb up, aiming the hunting rifle at its eyes and firing three shots in a row.

Green plasma sprayed all over his face,

and the zombie twitched a few times before stopping.

Lin Chen didn't bother wiping his face, rushing over to check Xia Nuan's breathing;

she was still breathing, just her forehead was bruised, blood covering her face.

He was just about to pick her up when his phone vibrated again,

still a text from Su Qing.

【I know the side effects of the serum, the wound on your back will rot—】

Lin Chen gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white.

After injecting the serum last night, his back did feel numb occasionally,

but he hadn't thought much of it.

He looked down at Li Wei on the ground; he was still breathing,

so he hurriedly tore off his clothes to bandage him, hoisted Xia Nuan up, and walked toward the warehouse.

Passing that mutated zombie, Lin Chen paused,

used the steel pipe to pry open its mouth, dug out half a piece of bloody meat, and stuffed it into his backpack.

The system prompted: 【Obtained mutated biological tissue, can be used to make simple bait.】

This thing had a strong fishy smell and might be able to lure away other monsters.

Returning to the warehouse, Lin Chen placed Xia Nuan and Li Wei in the cellar,

and built a fire.

Xia Nuan woke up first, seeing the meat in his backpack, her stomach churning:

"This is..."

"Used for luring monsters." Lin Chen took out his phone,

and showed her Su Qing's text message,

"How does she know the serum has side effects?"

Xia Nuan shook her head, her face pale:

"Don't believe her, it must be a trap."

Lin Chen didn't speak, his fingers tapping on the screen:

【What side effects?】

Su Qing replied instantly: 【You'll turn into a monster, just like the one in the hospital,

I have the antidote, in the drawer of the single-story house—】

"She's lying to you." Xia Nuan grabbed his hand,

"Even if there are side effects, you can't go find her."

Lin Chen pried her hand away and continued typing:

【Send the address.】

Su Qing sent a location, in the single-story house area behind the hospital,

less than five kilometers away.

Lin Chen put away his phone and pressed bullets into the hunting rifle:

"I'll go take a look."

"Are you crazy?" Xia Nuan sat up, the wound hurting as she moved,

"Hasn't she harmed us enough?"

Lin Chen looked back at her, his eyes as cold as ice:

"I need to know what's going on with the serum,

otherwise we'll all turn into monsters like that."

He took out the mutated meat from his backpack and wrapped it in cloth:

"Watch them, I'll be back in two hours."

Xia Nuan wanted to say something, but Lin Chen had already left; through the crack where the warehouse door was smashed,

a smell of roasted meat drifted in, coming from the direction of the square, getting thicker and thicker.

Lin Chen drove toward the hospital, opening the car window on the way,

the cold wind making his face numb.

Passing the square, he glanced at that barbecue shop,

the door still open, the fire in the stove not out, and several black shadows beside it,

gnawing on something on the ground, white bones scattered everywhere.

They were accomplices of the cannibals. Lin Chen didn't stop,

stepped on the gas and rushed past, the car horn scaring away two,

the rest looking up, their eyes shining in the darkness.

Lin Chen saw in the rearview mirror that what they were holding,

was a military-uniformed arm, with a gunshot scar on it, like Captain Wang's.

Arriving at the back of the hospital, the single-story house area was dead silent.

Lin Chen parked the car at the alley entrance, fished out the hunting rifle,

and walked toward the address Su Qing gave.

The door to single-story house No. 3 was ajar, no lights inside,

and there was faint crying, Su Qing's.

"Lin Chen? Is that you?" Su Qing's voice trembled,

"Come in quickly, they've left."

Lin Chen pushed the door open, the hunting rifle aimed at the darkness:

"Where's the antidote?"

The crying inside stopped, and a phone screen suddenly lit up,

the light hitting Su Qing's face; she was smiling, a bit crazily,

holding a syringe in her hand, filled with green liquid:

"It's right here."

Lin Chen frowned, seeing the corner behind her,

piled with several sacks, bulging, seeping blood,

one of which had a hole, revealing a child's hand,

wearing an electronic watch, the same as Li Wei's.

"Li Wei's classmate?" Lin Chen asked, his voice as cold as ice.

Su Qing's smile froze: "How did you know..."

"You caught them as bait to lure mutated zombies over,

just to snatch my supplies." Lin Chen stepped closer,

"The side effects of the serum are fake,

you just wanted to trick me into coming here to die."

Su Qing suddenly jammed the syringe into her own arm,

and the green liquid was pushed in.

Her body began to twitch, her skin splitting, black scales growing out,

her eyes turning green: "Since I can't trick you, let's die together!"

It was an enhanced virus, even more powerful than the mutated zombie in the hospital.

Lin Chen pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting her chest,

but the scales blocked it, leaving only a white mark.

Su Qing roared and lunged over, her claws scratching toward his face.

Lin Chen retreated, hitting the door frame,

and the mutated meat in his backpack fell out, landing on the floor.

Su Qing's movements paused, her nose sniffing, her eyes becoming greedy,

and she actually turned to lunge at that piece of meat, gnawing on it ravenously.

Lin Chen took the opportunity to exit the single-story house, backhanded the door locked,

took out the gasoline barrel from the car, and splashed it on the door.

Su Qing was slamming the door inside, the wooden boards creaking,

and it would soon break.

Lin Chen took out his lighter and threw it over.

The flames leaped up, burning the wooden door with a crackling sound.

Su Qing's screams came from inside, mixed with chewing sounds,

she was still gnawing on that piece of mutated meat.

Lin Chen stepped back a few paces, seeing green blood flowing from the door crack,

mixed with unburned meat residue, accumulating into a pool on the snow.

His phone suddenly vibrated; it was a text from Xia Nuan,

only three words: 【It's here—】

Lin Chen looked up, seeing the black smoke in the direction of the square growing thicker,

the roasted meat fragrance in the wind turning into a rotten smell,

mixed with heavy panting, drifting from the alley entrance.

A black shadow blocked the way, even larger than Su Qing after mutation,

carrying a charred human head in its hand—it was the barbecue shop owner.

Its stomach was bulging, wearing a military coat,

it was Captain Wang's, the zipper not zipped, revealing the meat underneath,

still moving, as if something was crawling in its stomach.

Lin Chen raised the hunting rifle, aiming at its head.

The chewing sound of this thing was exactly the same as the mutated zombie under the old locust tree,

just louder, sticky and gooey,

like gnawing on its own bones.