"Brother Li, look, there’s a light up ahead!" one of them whispered to Li Quan’an.
Li Quan’an looked in the direction his subordinate was pointing. A faint light flickered erratically, like a tiny flame, but it was unmistakably there.
Damn it all, I must be seeing things! How could there be any light in Chaihe Town when it’s overrun with zombies?
Li Quan’an cursed under his breath. Nevertheless, the small light ahead was undoubtedly a beacon of hope for them.
Taking a deep breath, Li Quan’an said, "Let’s go check it out."
Suppressing the unease in his heart, Li Quan’an led his men, crouching low and cautiously advancing towards the source of the light.
As Li Quan’an and his men drew closer, they realized the scattered light was meticulously arranged. From most directions, the light was invisible, obscured by buildings; it was only detectable from a few specific spots. If Li Quan’an’s group hadn’t memorized the source’s location, they would never have found this place.
It was a low-rise residential building. Its dilapidated structure, mottled walls, and pitch-black corridor sent a chill down their spines. The light came from a spotlight tied to a third-floor window.
"Should we go in and take a look?" Li Quan’an cautiously discussed with his two remaining men.
"Let’s go. We’re as good as dead out here anyway," one of them replied.
Although they hadn’t encountered any zombies in Chaihe Town, they weren’t naive enough to believe it was empty of them.
Just as Li Quan’an decided to lead the way into the building, footsteps echoed from the corridor. The three men tensed, instantly on alert.
As the sound drew nearer, Li Quan’an surprisingly felt a sense of relief. The footsteps had a regular rhythm—human footsteps.
And humans, no matter what, are better than monsters. That was Li Quan’an’s current thinking.
As the footsteps reached them, a young man in a police uniform, his face pale, descended the stairs. He immediately spotted the three men standing before the building.
"Living people?" the young man asked, raising an eyebrow. His voice was somewhat hoarse, like someone who hadn’t had water in days.
"Yes, living people," Li Quan’an replied.
Seeing this man, Li Quan’an felt a strange unease, as if he wasn’t facing a person, but something... peculiar.
"Nowhere else to go?"
When Li Quan’an nodded, the young man in the police uniform gestured. "Come with me."
With that, he turned and walked into the pitch-black corridor.
"What do we do?" one of Li Quan’an’s men asked, uncertain.
Li Quan’an gritted his teeth. "What choice do we have? Follow him."
With that, he led the way into the stairwell. His men followed one by one.
At the front, the young man in the police uniform leading the way heard the footsteps behind him. A subtle smile touched his lips.
The sky had cleared. Wen Yu was awake, but the sunlight piercing through the drafty walls was so bright he couldn’t open his eyes.
As Wen Yu called, Cyclops responded with a couple of "WOOF"s.
"Come here, stand right here."
WOOF WOOF? Boss, what are you doing? Cyclops wondered, but he still obediently moved to Wen Yu’s side.
Feeling the glaring sunlight completely blocked by Cyclops’s massive body, Wen Yu stretched languidly, patted Cyclops’s somewhat deflated belly, and sighed contentedly.
Being big certainly has its perks!
Cyclops was rendered speechless. Here he was, such a powerful soul pet, and his master not only didn’t feed him properly but also used him as a guard dog. Now, in the daytime, he even had to provide services as a curtain! Cyclops didn’t even have the heart to complain.
"By the way, where’s Sun Ruixing?" Wen Yu asked Cyclops, noticing Sun Ruixing was no longer under the bed.
As Cyclops’s intelligence grew, he could handle many simple problems. Wen Yu was starting to realize that advanced mutant beasts, with their intellect and learning capacity, were definitely not inferior to humans. Even speaking human language was no longer an insurmountable hurdle for them. These were the areas where humans had, until now, held an advantage over mutant beasts...
"WOOF WOOF." He got up much earlier than you. He went out this morning... Cyclops thought, recalling the past few days and using Sun Ruixing to tease Wen Yu.
Unfortunately, it was completely useless.
"Let’s go out and take a look. Today, we’ll head to Chaihe Town to check on that Corpse King. Prepare yourself; it might be a tough fight," Wen Yu said, his tone somewhat serious.
Hearing the word "battle," Cyclops’s eyes instantly lit up. He didn’t care a bit about Wen Yu’s "tough fight." If a battle wasn’t fierce, how could one get good spoils and, more importantly, tasty food?
Wen Yu pushed open the wooden door and stepped out. He immediately saw the still-desolate camp and Sun Ruixing outside, stretching and exercising.
"Yo, Brother Sun, your lifestyle habits are pretty good!" Wen Yu said, taking a couple of steps forward to tease him. A good night’s rest had left Wen Yu in high spirits.
Behind him, Cyclops’s enormous body struggled to squeeze through the doorway.
That was the sound of the wooden doorframe splintering.
Spotting a dazed patrol member nearby, Wen Yu called out directly, "Hey, you! Yes, you. Help me replace this doorframe."
After giving the simple instruction, Wen Yu waved to Sun Ruixing. "Let’s go. We’ll meet Zang Pengfei, ask for a couple of guides, and then head to Chaihe Town to assess the situation."
Sun Ruixing hesitated for a moment, then said to Wen Yu, "You go on ahead. I’ll wait for you at the camp entrance. I want to go see Bai Xiao’an."
"Mm," Wen Yu replied. It was the answer he’d expected. He paid Sun Ruixing no further mind, leading Cyclops directly towards Zang Pengfei’s wooden cabin. Cyclops followed closely behind, like a young nobleman from ancient times parading his fierce hound through the streets.
Less than ten minutes later, Wen Yu emerged from Zang Pengfei’s cabin. Behind him, Li Dalong followed, bowing and scraping. Wen Yu had requested Li Dalong from Zang Pengfei.
Cyclops, who had been lying by the door of Zang Pengfei’s cabin, got up and followed. The personnel for this reconnaissance mission were now all assembled: Wen Yu, Cyclops, Sun Ruixing, and Li Dalong.
Ignoring the commotion Cyclops caused in the camp, Wen Yu led Li Dalong directly to the camp entrance, where Sun Ruixing was already waiting.
"No one there? Or were you chased out?" Wen Yu asked.
"Bai Xiao’an isn’t there, but I saw Bai Feifei. That fellow Sun Aotian took Bai Xiao’an out early this morning."
"Hmph. Let’s get going then. We’ll discuss the detailed plan and route on the way."