That night, Tang Ye was restless. Since yesterday, it felt like a thread was tangled up in his heart, constantly giving him a terrible premonition, as if something was about to happen.
After looking at the night sky outside the window, Tang Ye walked out of the door and coincidentally saw Xu Haiyang not far away, who looked in his direction as soon as he appeared.
"You feel it too?" Tang Ye interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.
Xu Haishui nodded. Tang Ye was deep in thought but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out what was going on. It seemed as though there was a voice in his heart, constantly reminding him to get away from Lin City immediately or he would die a terrible death.
Tang Ye was somewhat nervous, but how could a zombie be afraid? He was already a Level 6, considered a Zombie King by a powerful New Human, and what other creature could be stronger than him?
Suddenly, he recalled the name Su Sigui had called him, a strange grammatical title.
Pacifist... Nuclear pacifist?
Also, the location of the drone he destroyed and the place where Su Sigui appeared... when the dots were connected, could it be...
"Could they not belong to the same group?"
Tang Ye arrived at a critical point and had a guess in his heart, but he dared not confirm it. If it were really that way, it would be absurd!
He said to Xu Haishui and then descended the stairs, heading for the main gate of the Shiwuguan Base. On the way, they encountered several survivors who respectfully greeted Tang Ye as they saw him, only to be interrupted by Tang Ye saying, "Follow me".
Along the way, Tang Ye’s company grew from two to more than ten, including Huang Quanjiu, all fully armed. They left the Shiwuguan Base and headed toward the zombie-infested area.
"Where is the boss taking us?"
"You see, once we go out, two kilometers further there will be zombies."
"Are we actually going there?"
"Your words... are nonsense. Isn’t the boss here with us?"
The people were buzzing with discussion. Finally, when the convoy approached the horde of zombies and everyone’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point, an unforgettable scene unfolded before them.
Under the glare of the car lights, countless zombies parted to either side, clearing the way for the convoy. People’s mouths hung open wide enough to fit an egg, staring blankly at everything in their sight. They doubted if they were dreaming.
Outside the car windows, it was pitch dark. The dilapidated buildings retreated and gave an eerie, chilling feeling. As the convoy passed, the zombies on the side let out harsh screams, and sparse footsteps approached like phantoms to the weak humans.
The convoy went further and further away. Many of them noticed that this was the way to the city center. Some were confused, others terrified.
Many of the survivors who had escaped Crown City District to Shiwuguan Base knew what kind of creatures were in the city center, naturally, they were fearful. But after a while, they calmed down.
Living in the Shiwuguan Base, they had heard some of the exploits of their boss, Li Henian, who was said to be a Level 6 New Human. While this sounded exaggerated, no matter what, Tang Ye gave them a feeling of great power, which greatly reassured them. They even became eager to see how their boss would deal with the Level 5 zombie.
What they didn’t know was that the Level 5 zombie had already been dealt with.
Under Tang Ye’s command, they arrived at the place where Tang Ye and Su Sigui had fought. Due to it being night and the power in Lin City being cut off, there was no light. Other than the stumbling zombies in their sight, there was nothing else.
These zombies seemed to be under Tang Ye’s control. When they arrived, the zombies behaved as if they couldn’t even see them and paid no attention at all, which allowed many survivors to become adventurous, circling around in front of the zombies.
"Well, everyone listen up. The zombies will retreat in half an hour. Your task is to find people. Recognize the faces of your companions, search every building extensively. If you encounter strangers, detain them immediately!" Tang Ye said loudly in front of everyone.
Half an hour later, just as Tang Ye said, the zombies receded, leaving a large clearing. The survivors from the Shiwuguan Base turned on their flashlights and entered each building, looking for the stranger Tang Ye mentioned.
During their search, they noticed that the place looked like it had been demolished. There were pits all over the road and a large area of collapsed buildings in the distance, as if they had been shelled. But there was no smell of smoke. They began to wonder, what had happened here?
Not far away, there were zombie bodies scattered all around. There were chunks of flesh in the front, but toward the back, the bodies didn’t have heads. Their heads were on the ground, and their necks were neatly cut. It was clear that they were sliced open by a sharp weapon.
People felt horrified in their hearts. Who did this?
They couldn’t help but glance at Tang Ye. Tang Ye had left the base yesterday and brought them here today. Many of them suspected that this was Tang Ye’s doing and their respect for him grew even stronger.
Most of the survivors were arranged by Tang Ye to search the building where Su Sigui had been, especially that silver-colored door. Tang Ye planned to leave no stone unturned.
He was puzzled. If the drone and Su Sigui were not from the same group, why did Su Sigui warn him?
And why did he know about the nuclear bomb?
Hopefully, there isn’t one. For the first time, Tang Ye felt how important he was, causing such a disturbance and even a nuclear bomb was used against him.
This seemed like an overreaction. At least, Tang Ye thought so, or maybe his guess was wrong. Perhaps what Su Sigui had been talking about was "Pacifist" and not "Nuclear"!
Xu Haishui handed him the remnants of the downed drone. Tang Ye glanced at it and casually threw it aside. He sat on top of the tank, watching people bustling in and out.
Half an hour later, just as Tang Ye had expected, nobody found any strangers. The large silver-colored door that many soldiers were guarding was empty, not even a speck of dust. When Tang Ye saw this, he guessed that it must have been a research workshop underground, but all the equipment inside had been moved out.
He looked up at the starry sky, and the unease in his heart was still bothering him.
"A nuclear bomb... because of me? Maybe I really should leave Lin City."
Murmuring to himself, Tang Ye looked in the direction of Honglin High School. That place had the only beautiful thing in his heart, but he couldn’t protect it. But how could he leave?
Shiwuguan Base was something he had built with his own hands, just like a book written by a writer. It was his hard work and although it wasn’t a big deal for Tang Ye, he had made an effort and felt a bit reluctant to let go.
Leaving Lin City, where should he go then? Gujin or Yuhuang?
Just as he was pondering these thoughts, Xu Haishui’s eyes were drawn to a red dot in the horizon.