[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-zombie-apocalypse-creation":3,"chapter-zombie-apocalypse-creation-zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-689":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Zombie Apocalypse: Creation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1887495,2510,"Chapter 689: Lost Man in the Village","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-689",689,"\u003Cp>Somewhere in Fangkai county...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Major Lan! Someone had been reported missing. They were last seen scouting Dawang villages ahead with their group.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only a single person? No one was with him? They just came back to the camp without him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Major Lan questioned the reporting soldier, he awkwardly scratched his head, as he didn’t know the answer to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not sure, sir... Should I tell the unit leader to go back and investigate the matter?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tell him to come over here. I want to hear him explain it to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, sir!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the reporting soldier headed off out of the balcony, Major Lan turned around to look towards the wall in the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was already fully built, a five-meter-tall reinforced concrete wall that separated them from whatever was coming from Guangxi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Major Lan, why aren’t you asleep yet?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wen Zhang, what have you thought about my offer? Are you accepting it or not?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Major Lan asked, ignoring the man’s question as he walked up to the balcony with a can of Coca-Cola in hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m still thinking about it. Just give me one more day and I’ll give you the answer tomorrow.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You said that for the sixth time now. If you keep delaying it, I’m going to be forced to send you back to the safe zone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just trust me. I’ll give you the answer you wanted... You want it?\" Wen Zhang offered as with his already half-finished can.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m good... This is the last time. If you don’t give me the answer by tomorrow morning, I’ll have one of the soldiers send you back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine, fine... I’ll give you the answer tomorrow morning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Wen Zhang turned around and was about to leave, Major Lan turned around before asking him a question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why are you delaying it so much? Didn’t you want to leave at the start?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I did want to leave. But I just have a bad feeling. I haven’t been wrong a single time since I got here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then you should leave even sooner. Why would you want to stay in an area that gives you a bad feeling?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Wen Zhang didn’t respond. He only turned around and left, leaving Major Lan alone on the balcony as he looked up to the moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Almost full moon again... I wonder how my parent doing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Major Lan quickly shook his head as he turned his attention back towards the lighted area in front of the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although there was no one there, he himself had a weird feeling tonight. The more he thought about it, the weirder he felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why did Wen Zhang have a bad feeling? Why do I have a weird feeling?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unable to understand it, Major Lan shook it out of his head before the reporting soldier finally came back with another soldier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander! Sergeant Liang reporting for duty!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What happened to the lost soldier? Why did you come back without him? I want to hear the full story.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Um...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Liang looked over to the reporting soldier, Major Lan quickly waved him away before the two of them stood alone on the balcony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander, that’s what I don’t get either. He just vanished out of thin air. Not a single one of his peers could remember where he went.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re telling me he has some sort of magic?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Major Lan not believing him a single bit, Sergeant Liang quickly took out a phone from his pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander, look at this... One of the soldiers took a picture of a house, right? You see this soldier here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Liang pointed at a man standing next to two other soldiers in the middle of the night, Major Lan nodded his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is the soldier who went missing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah. This picture was taken just an hour ago, before he vanished... Do you notice something a little off about this picture?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking a closer look, Major Lan couldn’t tell anything different about it. It was just a house with three soldiers standing in front of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t see any issue.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander, who’s taking the picture?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Major Lan froze for a second as his brain quickly realized what was wrong. The army had specifically confiscated all phones during on-duty missions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only person who had a phone was the radio operator, who was always sitting in the base, let alone going out into the village to scout ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did a soldier find a phone on one of the scouting missions or something?\" Major Lan questioned as he accepted the phone from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Could be... But here’s the issue: I went on to ask the two other soldiers who went on the mission alongside the missing soldier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They said they never had a phone or even took a picture. When I showed this to them, they were completely shocked.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You sure they aren’t lying?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m sure of it. We already went through all the houses in that village a few days ago. There’s not a single phone there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait, how did you get this phone?\" Major Lan questioned as he quickly realized the hole in the whole story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I picked it up just as I was doing a roll call to get ready to leave for the night... That’s when I figured out someone was missing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re telling me you just happened to walk into the phone. That’s too big a coincidence to be true.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s the truth, Commander. Whether you like it or not. I’m not lying... I really just found this when I was walking to the front to do the roll call.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Examining the phone itself, Major Lan himself couldn’t find anything truly unique. It was just a typical smartphone that had a third of its battery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only thing that’s off was the fact that it looked brand-new, with only default apps inside and nothing else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was not a single thing in the storage other than the photo that had been taken. Still, it didn’t mean much without any concrete evidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can go back to your unit. I’ll personally investigate this tomorrow morning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, sir!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Sergeant headed out of the balcony, Major Lan started checking the setting before noticing something really off about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The activation date was tonight—the same time when this picture was taken. In the middle of the night at 9 PM.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Someone must have planned this. But why did they take a photo of the victim? Who could have a phone around here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more he thought about it, the more confused he became... until the realization hit him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It can’t be... Why would he do this? What does he get out of it? There’s no reason for him to do this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Major Lan was about to come up with an actual reasoning, he immediately turned around with his gun raised as he felt a chill down his spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whoa. What is this for? I’m coming here to give you an answer. Why are you pulling the gun on me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wen Zhang, where did you go tonight?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Major Lan questioned, his gun still pointing at Wen Zhang, who stood right at the balcony entrance with both hands raised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was at my house the entire day... Why are you asking that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you have any proof that you’re in the house for the entire day? Any witnesses that was with you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was alone at home. Why would any of your men be with me? You okay? You look a little nervous——\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t walk any closer. I’ll shoot if you don’t stay back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay, okay. I won’t walk any closer. Why are you pulling the gun on me? Did something bad happen or something?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Someone went missing tonight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh shit. So my bad feeling wasn’t wrong... Are you trying to suggest that I did it?\" Wen Zhang questioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re the only one who’s not with another soldier... Tell me, do you recognize this phone?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Major Lan showed the phone that the sergeant had picked up, he immediately noticed Wen Zhang’s eyes widening for a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is it yours or not?\" Major Lan questioned again after noticing him just standing there in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s... It’s not mine. But I do recognize it. I think I know how your soldier might have gone missing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noticing him sighing and looking a little depressed, Major Lan started to lower his guard a little as it seemed he wasn’t the perpetrator, as he had thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s a long story... Do you remember how I said my family was dead? They aren’t exactly fully ’dead’ as you might think.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh? What do you mean by not fully dead... Wait, are you telling me they turned into zombies?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Major Lan questioned as he couldn’t understand what Wen Zhang meant by it until he took out an exact-looking phone from his pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The people who made your soldier disappear might have been my family... They are still alive in Dawang village.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1502,"2026-06-10T06:59:53.682Z",1,"novelbin.me","af854cda47f998212c5e7323cbfb8d83ea5cdf4ee4af693d331539f821d891f2","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-690","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-688",829,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fzombie-apocalypse-creation-cover.jpg"]