Chapter 671: What

“Wuwu, wuwuwu a…”

The sobs grew louder; the mysterious figure lay on the ground, weeping without restraint—gloomy, pitiful, helpless, with raw, unfeigned grief.

“This… why start crying without saying a word? Get up, everything will get better!”

Park Chan-yong stepped closer and tried to offer comfort.

The mysterious figure lay on the ground, ignoring them, weeping to himself, growing even more heartbroken, his voice carrying the weight of long-suppressed pain and resentment.

“Why did you come to Honggou Village? I was fine here, perfectly fine… why did you come to Honggou Village…”

As he wept, the mysterious man voiced his inner anguish—ultimately, he was mourning his loved ones and friends who had turned into zombies and were utterly killed.

To Duan Wu and the others, those were zombies; to the mysterious man, they were spiritual anchors.

“This guy’s obsession runs too deep—I think there’s something wrong with his head… but he’s damn strong.”

Zhao Dezhu made a gesture toward his own head beside Duan Wu: being skilled in martial arts didn’t mean your mind was sound—the two weren’t mutually exclusive.

“Sigh, what a pitiful soul… I think he’s suffered a massive shock—he’s probably suffering from schizophrenia.”

Shen Linrui sighed; the few from Dragon Head Camp had endured terrible fates too, but theirs had erupted suddenly, and still hadn’t been fully confirmed—unlike the man lying on the ground weeping.

According to his account, he’d stayed in Honggou Village after the disaster, gathering together his relatives and friends who’d turned into zombies, clinging to memories of the past, trapped forever in recollection.

“But he’s really strong—I feel he could go toe-to-toe with La La!”

Wu Lue said solemnly; he’d just been clearing zombie corpses and had observed the battle more closely—the mysterious man’s combat power had surprised him, though not stunned him, since he’d seen even more extreme displays.

“You’re saying that… just skipping over me and Little Lu entirely?”

Zhao Dezhu was dissatisfied with Wu Lue’s assessment, but only to that extent—he didn’t deny it, because he’d felt the gap too.

But that was only in killing zombies; in a real, direct duel, who’d win was anyone’s guess! Duan Wu glanced at the time, turned his flashlight beam to the ground littered with zombie corpses—it would be more than enough firewood to keep them warm tonight, but what to do with the man sobbing on the ground before them?

“Seeing how much he suffers, how deeply he misses his loved ones… should we help him reunite with them?”

Lu Yubo asked tentatively, shaking the grain sampler in his hand—not sounding like he was joking.

“No no, that’s insane… Little Lu, this isn’t a joke!”

Zhou Haiquan from Dragon Head Camp wore a strange expression—his inner thought: the Yanluo Army’s tough guys were too ruthless.

“Little Lu, I know I have no right to order you, but we can’t just decide someone’s life or death so lightly—this guy just fought alongside us against zombies; we’re comrades-in-arms, aren’t we…?”

Shen Linrui’s lips twitched; earlier, chatting with Lu Yubo, he’d thought the kid seemed perfectly normal—how could he be so cold-blooded when it came to life?

“He didn’t kill a single one…” Lu Yubo muttered softly; he’d only seen the man knock zombies down, never kill them.

“Should we ask Zhang Su?”

Wu Lue pulled out the walkie-talkie and suggested.

“Are you kidding? Look at the time—why wake up Big Brother over this tiny mess…” Zhao Dezhu was speechless.

“Mmm…”

Duan Wu stood with one hand on his hip, watching the man sobbing on the ground, clicked his tongue, and said: “It’s pitch-black outside; traveling in the dark’s too dangerous. Let’s tidy up, rest when we need to, post sentries, and leave at dawn. As for this guy… let him cool down first.”

No amount of persuasion worked; killing him was too extreme, so leaving him alone was the best option—the group nodded in agreement and returned to the courtyard.

The mysterious man lay on the ground, utterly indifferent to their comings and goings, still sobbing.

Back in the courtyard, the group stared at the ground littered with corpses, troubled.

Shen Linrui’s scalp felt hot—he wanted to take off his cap to cool down, but the moment he did, Lightning squeaked and snatched it back, plopping it onto his head again.

Shen Linrui found Lightning’s behavior odd; he pulled the creature out from under the cap and held it in his palm, puzzled: “The fight’s over—why are you still scared?”

“Lightning’s interesting—it isn’t afraid of people or animals, just zombies?”

Duan Wu asked curiously.

Shen Linrui shrugged: “It wasn’t this extreme before.”

Lightning’s whiskers trembled; it pointed toward Yunlong Valley, then gestured again. “Impossible! You can sense it? Then why didn’t you sense these zombies before?”

“What’s up, Commander Shen? Any issue?”

Duan Wu noticed Shen Linrui’s odd expression and asked urgently.

“It says…” Shen Linrui hesitated—he didn’t fully trust Lightning’s judgment, but he spoke honestly: “The little guy says there are still zombies over there—he can sense them.”

“Then why didn’t it sense these zombies before?” Lu Yubo asked, glancing at Lightning with the same question Shen Linrui had—still bitter about its earlier attack.

Shen Linrui spread his hands, indicating he didn’t know.

“Hmm, Little Lightning, could you go check over there for us?”

Duan Wu imagined himself addressing a first-grade student, forcing himself to look gentle and kind as he sought its opinion.

Lightning immediately shook its head…

“That corgi you fought—Lucky—it patrols Tianma Island every day, and it’s a female dog. You’re a male and still too cowardly!”

Lu Yubo bluntly struck at Lightning’s weak point.

“Zhi zhi, zhi!”

Lightning bared its two front teeth, then clenched a tiny fist at Lu Yubo; after its warning, it scurried around Shen Linrui’s arm and vanished into his pocket, poking out its head once more to glare at Lu Yubo before disappearing inside.

Everyone fell silent. Wu Lue shook his aching arms and scratched his ear: “Technology’s more reliable—let me see what’s going on.”

The sobbing continued, intermittent, now loud, now faint; Wu Lue reactivated the drone, lifting it into the air, while Shen Linrui pointed the direction.

“Commander Shen, are you sure about the direction? This side’s just ruined houses—nothing special.”

The drone hovered above, feeding detailed ground footage to the screen; they could clearly see Honggou Village—just chaos, nothing unusual.

It flew all the way to the foot of Yunlong Valley—only fallen trees, no abnormal lifeforms detected.

“Commander Shen, maybe… ask Lightning again?”

Duan Wu pointed at Shen Linrui’s pocket.

Shen Linrui nodded, gently pulling Lightning out of his pocket, speaking softly: “Lightning, sense again—where exactly are the zombies?”

Lightning climbed onto Shen Linrui’s shoulder, glanced at the screen, sniffed toward Yunlong Valley, then pointed diagonally upward.

“On the mountain?”

Wu Lue understood Lightning’s gesture and began piloting the drone upward, searching again—still, only fallen trees and scattered rocks, no discoveries.

“Little guy, are you even reliable?”

Lu Yubo was frustrated—he’d spent half the night freezing on a rooftop, barely got a chance to warm up and sleep, then fought another zombie battle, and now he was hungry, cold, and exhausted.

This time, not just Lu Yubo doubted—everyone wore polite smiles, clearly skeptical of Lightning’s judgment.

“Could he be too tense?”

Shen Linrui gently stroked Lightning’s back.

Lightning kept sniffing toward Yunlong Valley, its nose and whiskers trembling; after over ten seconds, it drooped its arms in disappointment, ears hanging low, and shook its head at Shen Linrui.

“Alright, if you can’t sense anything, forget it—rest now.”

Shen Linrui didn’t press it; the little creature had endured too much in a single day—some odd behavior wasn’t surprising.

“Alright, call it a day! Hmm, battery’s at 63%—need to recharge!”

Wu Lue muttered, retracting the drone.

In the village, people went about their business; inside the cave of Yunlong Valley, the vertical-eyed creature watched the drone vanish, then crawled out again.

(End of Chapter)