Chapter 507: When You Gaze Into the Abyss, the Abyss Gazes Back

"The zombies are dead! Yanluo Wang is invincible!"

Realizing this, Zhao Dechu immediately raised his arm and shouted—he had been instructed by his father-in-law to always protect the leader's dignity in public.

"So strong!"

Zhang Su stopped in his tracks, a flicker of unusual color passing through his eyes—truly unusual color…

A faint red glow swept across his pupils like flowing light, vanishing as swiftly as a retinal scanner—no one else noticed, not even himself.

Boom.

Zhang Su hurled the zombie's corpse aside with force; the thud as it hit the ground was staggering.

At first, he had been afraid facing the towering zombie, nearly half a meter taller than him, but after engaging, the white mist allowed him to precisely track every movement—the confidence came from power, from possessing the means to win, and so he remained calm, delivering the final killing blow.

After the fight, he gained deeper insight into the hulking zombie: its attack and defense had significantly improved; while its defense couldn't match the petrified-skin zombies, its threat level was far greater due to fewer weaknesses. Its fatal point was the same as ordinary zombies—the brain—but reaching it was now vastly harder.

Previously, kicking an ordinary zombie would knock it off balance, letting him crush its skull easily; against this hulking zombie, that tactic didn't work—it only got you killed.

Looking at the still corpse on the ground, Zhang Su wore a victorious smile. Killing this one himself felt more satisfying than using the fire zombie to eliminate five others—it wasn't just his personal victory, but proof that humanity could still defeat zombies.

Though the path ahead was thorny, victory still deserved celebration.

"Yanluo Wang is invincible! Ooh!"

Zheng Xinyu, holding her signature baseball bat, skipped over to Zhang Su's side, beaming at him as she smoothed his disheveled collar—more praise was coming, and he needed to maintain a good image.

The other comrades who had rushed to help also grinned excitedly, gathering around the zombie corpse.

"Brother Su, only you could do it! That thing was terrifying—one swipe flattened a car door. If I'd faced it alone, I'd have run!"

Wang Xin nervously kicked the zombie corpse; its tough flesh and muscle felt nothing like human tissue—more like hardened rubber.

"Any breakthrough?"

Ju Wuying looked at Zhang Su intently, awaiting his answer.

Zhang Su knew she meant his use of the white mist—he shook his head sadly: "Same as before."

His distance hadn't changed; his reaction speed and judgment had improved slightly, but that wasn't a breakthrough in the white mist.

Ju Wuying nodded thoughtfully: "It seems fighting this one wasn't hard enough to push you to the brink—if it had been life-or-death, you'd have broken through."

She longed to see Zhang Su break through again; whether he admitted it or not, she considered herself his former master—her most proud disciple.

Zhang Su grimaced oddly—he knew death's edge could unlock potential, but this method was too dangerous; one misstep meant utter ruin. If he could keep winning without breaking through, that was fine too…

"Brother Su, I'm in awe, truly in awe! Dude, you did that, and that—so insane! How'd you do it?"

Qi Xiaoshuai mimicked Zhang Su's movements, his gestures clumsy and weak.

"Exactly! Brother Su, you're godlike—descended from heaven!"

"Of course! My Brother Su? Naturally!"

Liu Yao and Yang Xin showered praise—they'd witnessed the fight firsthand and knew if they'd fought the hulking zombie to the death, they'd be the ones lying on the ground.

Moments later, those who had been watching from the sidelines rushed over, their admiration for Zhang Su unhidden—everyone envied the strong, craved their protection, and dreamed of becoming strong themselves.

"Yanluo Wang, I—I want to learn from you!"

"Right! We're too weak—we must grow stronger. Next time, we won't be dead weight!"

"Yanluo Army is invincible—I'll grow stronger and join the Yanluo Army!"

Many were emotionally stirred, praising Yanluo Wang's strength and the Yanluo Army's bravery, while also self-criticizing.

After months of training, before this snowfall, they'd handled ordinary zombies effortlessly—but just as their confidence swelled, heaven delivered a brutal lesson.

After the snow, even ordinary zombies demanded full vigilance; facing a hulking zombie meant either sniping from afar or using explosives—or else running, or becoming dinner. "Strength takes time—not just physical power, but mental growth matters too. Today, you didn't flee—that's already a small step forward!"

Zhang Su didn't blame them for their fear—not everyone was like him, blessed with advantages. He too had once been afraid. Rebuilding civilization needed all kinds of people; once stability returned, everyone would find their place. For now, they must work toward stability. His gaze swept the crowd—then paused on an odd figure.

Chen Hanzhou stood among the group, but he was staring intently at the zombie corpse on the ground.

"Little Chen, notice anything?"

Zhang Su asked, seeing his intense focus.

Chen Hanzhou looked up, realizing everyone was watching him—he scratched his head sheepishly, then said: "Brother Su, haven't you noticed these zombies all seemed fixated on it?"

He pointed to the overturned cargo truck.

Thought was essential to human progress—Chen Hanzhou's question instantly sparked reflection in everyone present.

Previously, zombies targeted humans—especially noisy ones. Recalling earlier scenes, several hulking zombies had seemed obsessively drawn toward the fire zombie?

"Now that you mention it, I think you're right."

"Could these things know the fire zombie is a threat to them?"

"No way—don't tell me zombies have consciousness? Then we're all screwed!"

People murmured nearby; Zhang Su listened, analyzing—his conclusion matched theirs.

From any angle, he hoped zombies remained mindless—simple aggression was easiest to handle. Any higher thought would make things infinitely more complex.

"What magic does the fire zombie have to attract them?"

Chen Hanzhou walked over to the cargo truck alone, extending his hands as if warming them.

Qi Xiaoshuai stood beside him, also stretching out his hands, laughing: "Maybe they're just cold!"

The crowd chuckled, dropping the thought—no use speculating blindly. But one person still wore a thoughtful expression: Ju Wuying. Yet her focus wasn't on the hulking zombie—it was on Chen Hanzhou near the truck.

"Hey, big brother—don't you think maybe…"

Zhao Dechu frowned: "Could these things think the fire zombie is their boss? That's why they're chasing it?"

Zhang Su's lip twitched: "You're all getting weirder by the minute—if zombie behavior were this easy to figure out, we'd have solved this long ago. All we know is: these zombies are drawn to the fire zombie. So we protect the fire zombie. That's it."

Everyone agreed—the fire zombie's power was undeniable. Without it, the battle would've been horrific.

At that moment, Zhang Su suddenly sensed something amiss; he looked up at the sky—the dark clouds still hung overhead, but the snow had vanished. Around him, bonfires burned, and flame zombies radiated heat, so the ground held no snow, yet when he gazed toward the distant ground, he spotted a thin layer of snow, about one centimeter deep. From the state of the clouds, it was clear this snowfall was far from over.

Just then, Zhang Su sensed something odd—he looked up. The clouds remained, but the snow had ceased. Around them, fires and the fire zombie's heat kept the ground clear, but farther out, snow lay about a centimeter thick. From the cloud cover, this storm wasn't over.

Chen Hanzhou, who had been staring at the cargo truck, lifted his head and glanced at the sky; the faint red glow in his eyes flickered once more, though he noticed nothing himself. He looked at the overturned cargo truck with a trace of lingering emotion, then returned to the crowd.

Chen Hanzhou, still staring at the cargo truck, looked up at the sky—the faint red glow flickered in his eyes again. He felt nothing, only a lingering glance at the overturned truck before returning to the crowd.

When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back! He pondered why the fire zombie attracted the hulking zombies—but ignored the fact that he himself was drawn to it. Ju Wuying stood among the crowd; without battle, she was nearly invisible, ethereal. Now, her puzzled gaze softly locked onto Chen Hanzhou.

With questions unanswered, she moved closer to Chen Hanzhou, hoping to catch subtle clues.

These subtle movements vanished in the crowd—no one noticed. All attention remained on the sudden, fleeting snow.

"The snow wasn't heavy, but it caused plenty—ordinary zombies turned rabid, and spawned monsters like this!"

Zheng Xinyu poked the hulking zombie with her bat; its flesh was unnaturally tough—nothing like human tissue. According to Fu Wei's research, these zombies' bodies had ceased to resemble humans at all.

"Big brother, you're probably the first human to kill one of these monsters. Name it—we need a standard term."

Zhao Dechu grinned, proposing this—normally, Yu Wen led such things; years of exposure had rubbed off on him.

"Right, Brother Su, Zhuangzi's right!"

"The first to kill such a monster deserves naming rights."

Zhao Dechu's suggestion sparked enthusiastic agreement; some inwardly cursed themselves for not thinking of it first.

Zhang Su gave Zhao Dechu a strange look, then glanced around at his comrades, grinned, and didn't humble himself: "I hope these are one-offs—never see another. If we do, I'll call them 'Hulking Zombies.' Simple and clear."

"Hulking Zombie—perfect name! Clear, direct!"

"Let's test it—'Hulking Zombie's coming!' Everyone'll know what's up. Perfect!"

"Brother Su is truly both cultured and martial!"

With more people, flatterers multiplied—each pulled out all stops.

Zhang Su shifted his tone and turned to Liu Yao, who had been clapping enthusiastically: "Your name doesn't matter much—Liu, how the hell did you guys stuff so many zombies into this place, this so-called Yujing Garden community? Just this tiny spot spat out seven big ones—who knows what else is hiding inside?"

Zhang Su shifted tone, turning to Liu Yao, who had been clapping: "Naming's secondary. Old Liu—how many zombies did you shove into this 'Yujing Garden'? A tiny place like this spat out seven Hulking Zombies. Who knows what's still inside?"

Everyone followed Zhang Su's finger to the broken signboard: "Yujing Garden" had faded—"Yu" had lost its double-person radical, "Jing" was reduced to just "ri," and only "Yuan" remained intact. The once "Yujing Garden" was now "Xie Ri Yuan."

Liu Yao scratched his head awkwardly, glancing at Ma Xiyu: "Little Ma, remember?"

Ma Xiyu frowned, thinking: "Exact number? I don't know—but under two thousand. We killed some gradually. Maybe a thousand left. Later, we thought locking them all in Yujing Garden was bad, so we moved some to Wanshu Di."

"Alright. Assume Yujing Garden held a thousand zombies. If Hulking Zombies are a result of this snowfall's enhancement—that's one Hulking Zombie per 130 ordinary ones. That ratio isn't low…"

Zhang Su frowned, muttering calculations.

Wang Xin stamped his foot and looked anxiously at Zhang Su: "Brother Su, will there be trouble on the mountain?"

Wang Xin stamped his foot, tense: "Brother Su—what about the mountain?"

Zhao Dezhu's face froze at Wang Xin's words; he hurriedly said: "That's right, big brother—that temple's got a bunch of zombies locked inside! If what you say's true, we might end up facing a big one!"

Zhao Dechu's face paled: "Right! There are plenty of zombies locked in that temple! If your math's right, one Hulking Zombie might've emerged!"

"Cameras monitor constantly—any movement's spotted. Many are armed. Your wife's got explosives. Tanks and Lingling Three are still on Tianma Island. What could possibly go wrong?"

Zhang Su had thought of the zombies stored on Tianma Island during his first battle with ordinary zombies—he believed nothing would go wrong. The mountain's combat strength was far from weak.

Ordinary zombies had grown stronger—minor troubles, maybe—but not enough to cripple the camp. Even a few Hulking Zombies couldn't match Lingling Three, let alone tanks. Pure nonsense! If so many people couldn't even use existing weapons, Zhang Su would be deeply disappointed.

"Yeah, yeah, hehe—I overthought it. Overthought it…"

In truth, Zhao Dechu, the obsessive husband, feared only Yu Qing—rarely were he and Yu Wen both away from her. He feared she'd be left vulnerable.

"Come on, everyone—clear the battlefield! First, help flip the cargo truck back upright!"

Zhang Su clapped his hands: "Everyone! Clear the battlefield! Help flip the cargo truck upright!"

He couldn't return to Tianma Island now—there was still much to handle here.

The snow had stopped, but the clouds remained, heavy as shadows over everyone's hearts.

As Zhang Su suspected, trouble had indeed stirred on Tianma Island—significant, but not catastrophic. Besides the tragic death of Lian, only Yu Jiaohua and Guo Fenfang, the two women, had been bitten. Everyone else was fine.

At the scenic area's entrance, chaos reigned: the archway collapsed, the ticket booth vanished, wooden pillars shattered, rocks scattered everywhere, a massive crater gouged into the cement—like a fighter jet had bombed it. Two ruined zombie corpses lay in the crater—Hulking Zombies, Zhang Su's own naming. Limbs and debris were scattered like a human puzzle.

"Sister Qing, was that bomb mixed with Shengtian Original Plasma?"

"Terrifying! The ground shook—was it an avalanche?"

"Where's any snow? And an avalanche? Did a donkey's fart blow out your brain…?"

"Stop talking about useless stuff—so, did that monster die or not?"

The people from Tianma Yu hid behind their tanks, peering nervously toward the scenic area's main gate…

Originally, after Yu Jiaohua and Guo Fenfang were taken to Cuileng Pavilion, the crowd began clearing the battlefield, but just then, a loud clang echoed from the temple direction inside the scenic area.

Before anyone could investigate, Mo Qianlan alerted everyone via walkie-talkie: two strange figures had appeared at the temple entrance—small heads, massive bodies, radiating a grotesque horror!

When the crowd saw the giants through the scenic area's main gate, everyone froze, instantly realizing those two were mutated zombies!

After receiving the news, Fu Wei seemed to race toward the scenic area's main gate like a whirlwind from the lab, but before he arrived, a deafening explosion roared out, making his head ring.

(End of Chapter)