Chapter 514: The Mutated Zombie Emitting Black Gas

"Just bring it back? That's too easy—leave it to me!"

Qi Xiaoshuai didn't hesitate at all before replying; after all, the big guy was just a zombie, and as long as it was about luring zombies, he had full confidence.

Pula la.

Qi Xiaoshuai ran outside and collided with someone, sending a pile of clothes tumbling to the ground.

"Sorry, sorry…"

As a delivery guy, seeing clothes scattered everywhere, he immediately recalled some unpleasant past experiences, apologized repeatedly, and knelt down to help pick them up.

Pan Ru rubbed her arm and hurriedly said, "It's fine, really, buddy—go ahead and get to work, I'll handle this."

"This is… Xiaoshuai, you go ahead, we'll take care of this."

Zhang Su glanced once and understood what was going on—he told Qi Xiaoshuai to focus on his main task while a few companions stepped forward to help Pan Ru pick up the clothes.

"I thought you all needed new clothes, so I brought some—various sizes and styles."

Pan Ru hugged her arms, revealing at least twenty to thirty different winter garments.

"Ha, I just needed this! Beautiful lady, where did all of this come from?"

Lu Yubo happily stepped forward, wearing a bulletproof vest—nobody knew what it was, but it looked bizarre.

Hearing there were new clothes, many gathered around; most combat personnel from LeGou Mall were in tatters, except those from the Yanluo Corps…

"There's plenty of this supply, but it was all locked up by Liao Youzhi—why don't you all just pick what you need?"

Pan Ru realized collecting clothes was unnecessary—she simply laid them all on the ground for everyone to choose freely.

As a shopping mall, LeGou would be absurd if it had no clothing brands at all—but these resources had been hoarded by Liao Youzhi; ordinary members couldn't access them, only combat personnel were allowed to benefit.

"You've thought of everything," Zhang Su nodded to Pan Ru.

Pan Ru smiled shyly and said, "You all fight bravely—this is just something I can do."

"Come on! Everyone except the Yanluo Corps members, come pick your clothes—follow me!"

Zhang Su waved his hand; the situation was urgent, no time to waste.

Lu Yubo had already grabbed a down jacket, heard Zhang Su's call, threw it on, and made a face at Wu Lü, who was still slow to act and hadn't picked anything yet—he was smug as hell.

"How much ammo do you have left?"

Zhang Su pointed at their guns; the flame zombies could handle the big guys, but their power was too destructive and would cause irreversible environmental damage—better to take down the big guys with firearms if possible.

Chen Hanzhou shook his hands, indicating they were completely empty.

"Boss Su, I've got about twenty rounds left."

Wang Xin still held a bottle of disinfectant—he'd been helping Zhang Ya treat wounds earlier.

"I've got… at most ten rounds."

Zhao Dezhu removed his magazine, weighed it in his hand, and said flatly.

"Mr. Zhang, my gun hasn't been fired—ammo is full, and I've got three extra full magazines."

Yu Wen walked over from the clothing area; unusually, he hadn't rushed to respond immediately—he insisted on putting on a jacket first—not because he was cold, but because his appearance was too shabby.

Other combatants' outerwear was torn, making them look fierce and battle-hardened—their raggedness was almost a badge of honor—but as the former temporary commander, he couldn't afford to look disheveled.

"Boss Su, my ammo's full too."

Lu Yubo patted his tactical belt.

"And me!"

"Me too…"

Jia Shiqin, Zhang Ya, and several others also confirmed they had ammo.

"Looks like Lao Tan's the only one who ran out of bullets… Alright, redistribute your ammo, follow me downstairs—we'll take down the big guy together!"

"The big guy? What's that? Here, Sister Tan, I've got two extra mags for you."

Lu Yubo asked curiously while handing two magazines to Tan Huajun, being extra attentive to his future mother-in-law—though he hadn't yet started calling her "mom."

"I've got ammo too, Brother Zhang—I'm coming too!"

Zhang Xin, though still picking clothes, had been listening intently to Zhang Su—he immediately volunteered; after surviving such brutal battles, how could he miss the chance to fight alongside the King of Hell?

"Me too—I've got ammo in my gun!"

Wu Daqiang and several other combatants under Li Zongkai, hearing Zhang Xin's call and recalling earlier intel, clearly understood Zhang Su's plan and raised their hands.

"You're going to kill that big zombie? I've got a gun upstairs—I'll go get it!"

Wu Baokang pulled on a down jacket, zipped it up, and sprinted off, terrified he'd miss his chance.

Previously, everyone had felt some fear facing zombies—but now, facing the King of Hell assembling a team, everyone was bursting with enthusiasm; a strange psychology had taken hold—as if following this man meant no battle was unwinnable.

"I'm coming too—give me some ammo!"

Zheng Xinyu stood up after bandaging a wounded soldier; if there was a fight, she didn't want to stay on the sidelines.

Ju Wuying stood silently among the group—she didn't use guns, but she wouldn't miss this.

Zhang Su scanned the group; the once disheveled crowd now looked revitalized in fresh clothes—he nodded. "Good, with this many of us, we've got this. Let's go deal with the final problem! Oh, and Zhu—don't come with us…"

"What the hell? Why… what's wrong?"

Zhao Dezhu was frustrated, but seeing Zhang Su give him a glance, he immediately shut up and stepped aside.

"You need to stay here and hold the line—I just took a quick look and found at least seven guys bitten. If they turn, you've got to act fast and clean, got it?"

Zhang Su whispered to Zhao Dezhu.

Zhao Dezhu understood, but still felt annoyed—he subtly nudged his chin toward Ju Wuying: "That woman's ruthless—why not leave her? Oh crap, she heard that."

He noticed Ju Wuying was staring at him with an odd expression—clearly she knew he was talking behind her back.

"I think you're more reliable—fine, you're it. Don't dawdle—finish this quickly and get to the military base ASAP!"

"Of course I'm reliable! Wait… what? I thought I'd be heading back soon—I completely forgot about Old Li's side! Damn it…"

Zhao Dezhu was pleased when Zhang Su praised him, but the next sentence stunned him—he desperately wanted to return to Tianma Island to see his wife.

Soon, over twenty men with guns descended the stairs; some had no ammo left and carried unusual calibers with no resupply, yet still joined the group—better than staying upstairs.

"We lost a lot in the last battle…" "Yeah, at least a dozen comrades stayed here forever."

The horrific scene on the first floor reappeared, prompting many to sigh—what had happened half an hour ago felt like half a century, so grueling.

Zhang Su slowed his pace, scanning the corpses—he could instantly tell which were zombies and which were fallen comrades; someone had already finished off the dead soldiers with headshots—only Yanluo Corps members would do that, their signature move.

"Once we take down the big guy, we'll recover the bodies of our fallen heroes and give them a proper collective funeral!"

Zhang Su pointed to the ground.

"Mr. Zhang, we could find a sacred spot near Tianma Island to bury our brave warriors, honoring their spirits."

Yu Wen suggested—he was best at such matters.

"Yu's suggestion is excellent—let's do it. But first, let's deal with this problem!"

Zhang Su immediately approved.

From the expressions on everyone's faces, it was clear they were deeply moved by the proposal.

Though they didn't understand the afterlife, honoring the fallen inspired the living—being remembered by future generations was the best outcome; who wants to die forgotten?

The group reached the broken outer wall of the mall and asked the lookouts—no movement detected.

Zhang Su deployed personnel into strategic positions, forming a highly effective crossfire network—over twenty guns were aimed at the alleyways flanking the office building across the street.

The few who'd hidden their lack of ammo finally confessed at the last moment; Zhang Su was speechless—when numbers grow, all kinds show up. Fortunately, Tan Huajun, Yu Wen, and Wu Baokang—three skilled marksmen—had joined, making the mission to kill six big guys viable! Boom. Boom.

A delivery van with a dented front and damaged cargo box started up, reversing backward, scattering broken debris everywhere.

Zhang Su tried turning the cargo box, but it was jammed—he adjusted the vehicle's direction so the opening faced the office building; this was his final backup—if guns failed, the flame zombie would step in.

Everything was ready—he pulled out the walkie-talkie, didn't speak immediately, just pressed the transmit button and waited quietly—not sure if Qi Xiaoshuai was in danger, but silence meant even a tiny noise would catch his attention.

As expected, after a moment, Qi Xiaoshuai whispered back: "Boss Su, you ready? Those big guys are heading straight for the kindergarten—I've already distracted them once, and they're circling ahead!"

"We're ready—lead them here. Be careful, no unnecessary moves, don't linger or get greedy—take down a few big guys and you'll get top credit!"

Zhang Su didn't mind repeating himself—he knew Qi Xiaoshuai loved showing off; if he saw dozens of them ready, he might try to show off, and if he messed up, it'd be disastrous.

"Relax, relax, I know!"

Qi Xiaoshuai shoved the walkie-talkie back into his bag and zipped it shut—he was hiding in a withered greenbelt, surrounded by a thin layer of snow.

"You idiots, follow Grandpa!"

He stood up, instinctively brushed dust off himself, stepped out of the greenbelt, and grinned—a look like he'd just pulled a muscle.

The big guys were in the middle of the street; he was at the intersection—about two hundred meters apart. That distance was safe—he just needed to get within a hundred meters, make some noise, then turn and run—he'd nail the mission.

But fate had other plans: just as Qi Xiaoshuai prepared to act, a leg suddenly appeared through the floor-to-ceiling window of a nearby restaurant, then another—over ten regular zombies emerged onto the street, swaying their heads aimlessly, then fell into step behind the big guys, beginning to circle…

Urban conditions were far more complex than the suburbs—buildings were packed, and zombies could be hiding anywhere, even after repeated cleanups.

"Damn it, this is so f***ing unfair…"

Qi Xiaoshuai nearly pulled a muscle, quickly dropped back down, peered through the fence gaps at the distance, his face twisted in frustration.

Regular zombies were far weaker than big guys, but faster—he'd quietly compared them before and thought he could outrun them at full speed, but the advantage was shrinking.

The real problem was stamina—he couldn't outlast them. If anything went wrong, he'd be done. "No… I need safety and I need to complete the mission."

The weather was freezing, but Qi Xiaoshuai's back grew warm with a cold sweat from tension.

"I'm about one to one and a half kilometers from LeGou Mall—I'll start luring them from there. The zombies will chase me slightly slower, but I can only maintain full speed for…"

A math problem from elementary school popped into his head—he crouched and scribbled simple equations in the snow; luckily, as a delivery guy, he constantly calculated delivery times—he was good at this, and quickly concluded: "No problem!" "Alright, you idiots! Oh, wait…"

From "a few idiots" to "a whole bunch," he realized he should warn LeGou Mall first.

"Hey, Boss Su, situation changed—a bit—over twenty regular zombies just came out of a restaurant—I'll lure them all… wait, hold on!"

As Qi Xiaoshuai reported, another leg stepped out from the same restaurant—this one looked like a regular zombie, even thinner—but something strange happened.

A faint black mist hovered around this zombie! The mist wasn't wide—just about a meter around the zombie, forming from afar a dome-like black canopy, roughly two meters tall and three meters wide, with swirling, wave-like edges.

Qi Xiaoshuai wasn't Zhang Su—he couldn't see all the details—but he knew this zombie was seriously messed up.

"Hey, Xiao Shuai, what's going on over there?"

Zhang Su asked with serious tone.

"I…." Qi Xiao Shuai adjusted his prone position, then said: "I saw a mutated zombie!"

"Isn't Big Guy just a mutated zombie? What's the big—wait, you mean a real mutated zombie?"

Zhang Su instantly understood what Qi Xiao Shuai meant: Big Guy was merely stronger than ordinary zombies, but still distinct from those with petrified skin, venom, or fire-breathing abilities.

"Yeah, yeah! This zombie is oozing black mist, like it hasn't bathed in a hundred years…"

Then Qi Xiao Shuai roughly described the black-mist zombie. As he spoke, he kept his eyes fixed on the group of zombies ahead and noticed something strange: the ordinary zombies and Big Guy alike had gathered around the black-mist zombie but refused to enter its mist-covered zone.

It truly seemed as if the other zombies were repelled by the black fog, unwilling to come near…

"A mutated zombie that came out of a restaurant, oozing black mist—what the hell is this?"

"According to past theories, mutated zombies change based on their surroundings. Xiao Qi says the zombie came from a restaurant. If no one looted it after the disaster, the stored food would've rotted—this is a mold zombie!"

"Uncle Zhu, only you could think of this—no one else would've come up with that!"

"What in a restaurant could produce black mist? Coal?"

Zhang Su and the others huddled together, faces filled with confusion, speculating on the possible abilities of the mutated zombie.

Every type of mutated zombie deserves serious attention; regardless of its utility, understanding its danger is critical—otherwise, you won't even know how you died!

"Xiao Shuai, any other unusual details? Can you figure out roughly what the black-mist zombie's ability is?"

Zhang Su decided to ask again.

"No way, Brother Su, it's too dark out here. If I move closer, I'll draw attention. Why don't I lure it back, kill it, and then study it?"

The sky was dark, and Qi Xiao Shuai didn't have Zhang Su's superhuman vision—he was truly struggling.

Zhang Su knew his request was unreasonable, so he said: "Alright, carry out your mission. We'll handle the rest. Move fast, and stay safe!"

With that, Zhang Su signaled to those around him: "Stand ready. As soon as Qi Xiao Shuai returns, open fire. Aim for the heads—don't waste bullets!"

(End of Chapter)