Chapter 600

"Good morning, Uncle Zhang."

"Big Brother Zhang, good morning."

"Good morning to you both. It's cold, so wear more layers; don't just focus on keeping the vegetables warm."

Even with his sharp hearing, Zhang Su couldn't make out the conversation between Duan Wu and Fu Weijun from over a hundred meters away. On his way to Cuileng Pavilion, he ran into Mo Qianlan and Yi Xiaoling, who were heading to the vegetable sheds together.

Yi Xiaoling tilted her head and smiled. "Don't worry, don't worry, Big Brother Zhang. You should take care of your own health too. By the way, those glasses of yours are really cool!"

After being at the camp for a while, Yi Xiaoling's condition had gradually improved. Not only had her personality become more cheerful, but her skin and appearance had also recovered. She wasn't exactly stunning, but at the very least, she was a girl who was pleasant to look at.

"Uncle Zhang's eyes were slightly injured, so he wears them because he's a bit sensitive to light..."

Mo Qianlan whispered a reminder to Yi Xiaoling from the side.

"Ah... so that's why. I'm sorry, Big Brother Zhang. But they really do look good, just a tiny bit small."

Yi Xiaoling touched her temples, implying they looked a bit tight.

"Cough, cough..." Zhang Su felt this woman was truly observant. He waved his hand and said, "I've already asked Xinyu to help me find a suitable pair. Haha, you two go ahead and get busy."

After the small talk, Zhang Su walked into the nearby Cuileng Pavilion. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Xie Yanshan doing stretching exercises, huffing and puffing out white mist. Nearby, Liu Tianji and Ke Zhiyu were doing push-ups, and they had already counted to thirty-four...

Seeing Zhang Su standing quietly watching them, Xie Yanshan didn't speak, just nodded as a greeting.

Zhang Su sensed that Xie Yanshan's mood was slightly heavy. He didn't know why, but guessed it might be because he had lost his good partner, Fu Weijun. "Forty-nine, fif... ty! Huff..." Liu Tianji stood up, looked at Zhang Su, and waved happily. "Brother Su, good morning. Damn, you look pretty flashy."

"Good morning, King of Hell." Ke Zhiyu greeted him with his usual reserve, then stood respectfully to the side. He still hadn't forgotten his status and didn't dare to act too familiar.

"My eyes are a bit sensitive to light."

Zhang Su pushed up his sunglasses, walked between Liu Tianji and Ke Zhiyu, grabbed their regrown palms, squeezed them, and nodded with a smile. "Looks like you've recovered quite well?"

"Quite well, even better than the originals, haha!"

Liu Tianji clenched his fist, feeling quite satisfied with this brand-new hand.

It seemed like a joke, but Zhang Su asked very seriously, "Why better than the originals? In what way?"

"Uh..."

Liu Tianji choked. His comment hadn't been thoughtless; he truly did feel a subtle difference, but he couldn't quite articulate it. He frowned in thought.

Ke Zhiyu, standing to the side, spoke up weakly: "The fingers are stronger than the original hand, and the joints are more flexible."

"Seems like that's it."

Liu Tianji wiggled his fingers uncertainly; they were indeed lighter and more agile than the other hand.

"Normal. New things are bound to work better. The observation period is over, so you two can regain your freedom, but don't get too happy too soon!"

Before the two could cheer, Zhang Su threw a curveball, nipping their joyful expressions in the bud.

"Ke Zhiyu, you don't need to go back and report to Liu Yao. From now on, just follow Liu Tianji. You're temporary members of the Yama Legion. Once you've grown in all aspects, you can become official members."

Temporary workers! Upon hearing Zhang Su's words, Ke Zhiyu suppressed his excitement and nodded vigorously. "Yes, okay, I will definitely work hard!"

Going from a nameless grunt in the kindergarten branch to a temporary member of the Yama Legion in one leap—it couldn't be more satisfying.

"Also, regarding the issue with your hands... try not to expose them. Wear gloves. If people don't ask, leave it at that. If they do ask, just say you had your old hands reattached!"

Zhang Su pointed at their palms. This matter was impossible to explain. If people knew there was a miracle medicine capable of regrowing severed limbs, even he wouldn't have any peace. He had taken a rough look yesterday; there were quite a few people in the camp missing arms or legs—at least over twenty!

"No, this... Brother Su, will people believe that?"

Liu Tianji put his two hands together; the contrast between the new and the old was very obvious.

The old hand had calluses, scars, and all sorts of signs of hardship, while the new hand was just that—new, smooth, and tender. "Then don't let people look so closely, and stop showing them off, alright?"

Zhang Su slapped Liu Tianji's new hand, and red marks immediately appeared on several fingers.

"Hiss! Take it easy, you'll break it... I understand, I guarantee there won't be any problems."

Both Liu Tianji and Ke Zhiyu knew the gravity of the situation and didn't dare to joke around, quickly agreeing.

"Fine, that's it. That... Little Liu, you live alone and have plenty of space, so let Ke Zhiyu stay in your room. Change the sofa into a bed, no problem, right?"

Zhang Su remembered that Liu Tianji used to live with Wang Xin, but later Wang Xin got together with Zhang Ya, and the two moved into one room, abandoning the single Liu Tianji...

"No problem! I get along well with Big Dumb, so don't waste resources. He can just stay with me. I can teach him the rules around here, haha."

Liu Tianji agreed readily.

"You two go ahead. You don't need to participate in any outdoor missions for the next two days, but remember to attend the afternoon training on time!"

"Got it."

"Yes!"

"Don't run off, here, take these gloves!"

Seeing the two bolt away as soon as they finished talking, Xie Yanshan hurriedly handed them his own leather gloves.

"Hehe, thank you, Dr. Xie."

The two put on the gloves and left happily. Stepping out of Cuileng Pavilion meant a new lease on life—and it wasn't just a new life they had gained, but new hands too!

"Those two have such a good mindset. Even in such a difficult environment, nothing can keep them down!"

Zhang Su watched their retreating backs and sighed with emotion.

"Indeed, we should always maintain a good mindset. For instance, I'm about to tell you some bad news, and you should also maintain a good mindset."

Xie Yanshan walked to Zhang Su's side and said in a very low voice.

Zhang Su turned his head with a strange expression. "No, Old Xie, I never realized you were so humorous. Hurry up and say it, what's the bad news?"

Xie Yanshan looked toward the house and whispered, "The other four injured people didn't make it."

"This..."

Zhang Su finally understood why Xie Yanshan looked so heavy-hearted. The reason was here. He asked in confusion, "Didn't you say that... Guo Fenfang, her condition was still pretty good?"

Xie Yanshan shook his head. "I came here to check after dinner last night, and the situation was indeed stable, including the other two injured people who were brought back; they were all fine. But when I did my routine check this morning, I found their breathing had stopped and their bodies had stiffened to varying degrees. The estimated time of death is between two and four in the morning."

"This, this is fucking reasonable? Did someone mess with them?"

Zhang Su's eyes turned cold. Fortunately, he was wearing dark sunglasses, otherwise, Xie Yanshan would surely have been affected. His first reaction was that someone had snuck into Cuileng Pavilion and poisoned them.

Xie Yanshan shook his head decisively. "No one messed with them. It's a problem with the zombie-transformation blocking fluid. We encountered similar situations when testing it back at the Green Dragon Legion. The effective period of the serum after entering the human body is only two to three days."

"Six people were injected with the blocking fluid around the same time, and these four died around the same time. Only Liu Tianji and Ke Zhiyu survived. It wasn't easy for them."

"Wait, you just said they died, but didn't turn into zombies?"

Zhang Su asked.

Xie Yanshan was slightly stunned. He looked at Zhang Su with a strange expression and nodded. "That is indeed the case. They passed away very peacefully. If they had turned, they would have transformed shortly after death. It seems the blocking was successful after all?"

"That's true..." Zhang Su rubbed his temples helplessly and said, "Successfully blocked the transformation, but the people didn't pull through! Sigh..."

As he spoke, Zhang Su sighed and pulled out a cigarette to light it. "Before, seeing the situation with Qiu Hui and Liu Tianji, I was thinking that eventually, we could build a special unit that wouldn't attract the attention of zombies. Now it seems that plan is impossible to realize!"

(End of chapter)