Chapter 289: Take the Corpses Back

"Stone-skinned zombie..."

Meng Changwei muttered with a grim face, then frowned at the culprit who had killed his three companions and asked, "So what is it? A venom zombie?"

Zhang Su shrugged and said, "Calling it that isn't wrong..."

The venom zombie now looked nothing like it had when alive; previously, its skin blotches only darkened when it vomited, but now all of them were fully visible—vivid purple patches, as if it suffered from a severe skin disease.

"But... no, Master Zhang, why do such strange zombies exist? Do you know how they come about?"

Meng Changwei wiped sweat from his forehead in frustration.

"You've never seen one before?"

Zhang Su asked cautiously.

"Where would we ever see a monster like this...?"

Meng Changwei's men all shook their heads, staring at Zhang Su with confused expressions, like bewildered elementary students—clearly, they had never known mutated zombies existed.

Zhang Su turned to ask Xin Qi: although Ling Ling San had been modified, it was clearly different from ordinary zombies; if they'd ever seen one, they wouldn't be this shocked.

"I know that pesticide and fertilizer plant!"

The man with relatives working there continued, "That plant was small, an old factory, always planned for renovation, but the permits never came through. I heard there were only about a hundred employees. The disaster broke out in the morning—probably only a few on duty inside!"

As soon as Zhang Su finished speaking, Xin Qi immediately chimed in, pointing northwest: "Big Brother, if we're talking poison, there's a pesticide and fertilizer plant over there!"

"There probably won't be many."

Zhang Su listened, feeling slightly deflated—he'd sent Ling Ling San out specifically to intimidate, since Tianma Island looked too dangerous to approach. But then again, such a powerful weapon didn't need to be shown off to everyone.

Xin Qi gave a strange little smile and said, "Uh, Big Brother... they were very cooperative back then. Our transaction went smoothly, so... we didn't even pull out our weapons."

"The stone-skinned zombie we mentioned earlier was found at an abandoned quarry. So this venom zombie might... hmm... there could be some toxic environment nearby?"

"If the conditions for mutation are this strict, it's acceptable... there probably won't be many. Poor guys—they walked right into it."

Zhang Su waved his hand and said, "No big deal. We've studied the causes of these special zombies before and came up with a likely theory: they were trapped long-term in a specific environment, and due to environmental factors, they underwent strange mutations, gaining special abilities."

Meng Changwei frowned, puzzled by all the incomprehensible talk.

"What's this? What are you talking about? What's Ling Ling San?"

Zhang Su nodded, not dwelling on the past: "This zombie was likely trapped inside the pesticide plant and mutated. Then, for some unknown reason, it joined a horde. We don't know how many venom zombies like it there might be."

"Toxin? Pesticide and fertilizer plant!"

"Then there probably isn't much to worry about—maybe it's just this one venom zombie. Damn, if there were more of these things, it'd be a nightmare!"

Someone else beside Meng Changwei chimed in, excitedly: "My cousin works at that plant! I heard the equipment's ancient, emissions don't meet standards, tons of violations—every year they fight with nearby villagers, but the boss is too slick for anyone to touch him!"

"Xin Qi, when you went to Daqiao Fort to collect grain, you didn't bring Ling Ling San?"

Meng Changwei's expression eased slightly, his single eye filled with sorrow as he sighed at the unpredictability of fate.

Zhang Su spread his hands toward the barracks and said, "The dead are dead; the living must go on. Boss Meng, shall we head to the Azure Dragon Corps to pick up our goods?"

"Ah..."

Meng Changwei let out a long sigh, looked at his motionless fallen comrades, and mourned, "Their necks above were corroded—they didn't even get the chance to turn into zombies. Completely freed, huh? Alright, load them onto the truck. We'll take them back and bury them later."

"Got it."

The people from Daqiao Fort moved together, carefully loading the three bodies onto the vehicle.

Zhang Su watched Meng Changwei's actions, then quietly instructed those around him: "When we get back, pack up the venom zombie and take it to Dr. Fu for study! Don't just move one—load several zombies to burn. Don't let them get suspicious."

The stone-skinned zombie had provided them with excellent bulletproof material; this venom zombie might have unique uses too, waiting for experts to uncover them.

Everyone cleaned up the mess and drove toward the barracks.

"Boss, they... they're taking the zombies away!"

On Meng Changwei's vehicle, one man stared at the rearview mirror, his expression strange.

"Huh?"

Meng Changwei froze, looked at the mirror, and indeed saw two men loading the zombie corpses into the trunk—this was highly unusual.

Could it be "pass by, leave nothing behind"?

Obviously impossible!

Anything out of the ordinary must have a hidden motive.

"I'll ask."

As he spoke, Meng Changwei stomped the accelerator, catching up to the FJ Cruiser, rolled down his window, and called out: "Hey, Master Zhang, why are your people taking the zombie bodies back?"

Zhang Su slowed slightly—he'd expected suspicion—and replied with a perfectly reasonable expression: "For firewood, of course. You think we're eating them...?"

"Firewood?"

Meng Changwei stared at Zhang Su in disbelief, as if he were looking at a monster.

"Hey, you don't know? Zombie corpses burn well—better than coal!"

Zhang Su looked at Meng Changwei with surprise. This wouldn't stay secret forever anyway; revealing it was harmless—using a worthless tidbit to mask the real secret.

"I... damn, we never burned them! You can do that?"

Several men in Meng Changwei's vehicle exchanged glances. Usually, zombie corpses were dumped far away, fearing viral contamination—no one dared burn them.

"So... all these zombie corpses everywhere... you use them for heating and fire?" Meng Changwei asked, still incredulous.

Their camp didn't lack firewood—rural areas never did—but if there was a better fuel source, they wouldn't refuse.

"Exactly. I'm only telling you because there are so many corpses here. You couldn't haul them off anyway. See? I just taught you a useful trick. You'll give us extra supplies this time—consider it tuition."

Zhang Su spoke naturally.

"Fair enough, fair enough..."

Meng Changwei closed his window and slowed down. Inside, his men exchanged strange glances, thinking their leader was shameless—but he'd genuinely shared useful knowledge, which was decent enough.

(End of Chapter)