CH 65

TL: Moonlit

Xiao Hen, accompanied by Luo Zhi, kept watch over Feng Hui. He witnessed with his own eyes the survivors who were bitten and discarded, convulsing and struggling on the ground, only to stand up quickly and continue biting others. The rate of infection was even faster than the zombie virus itself!

Xiao Hen was filled with fear. He observed and counted silently. After being bitten, it took only 5 seconds for a person to stand up again and bite others. The speed of transmission was terrifying!

However, Xiao Hen also noticed something unusual. The infected individuals moved stiffly, lacking the agility of those who had not been infected. Their muscles were atrophied, and their skin shriveled, resembling dry corpses crawling out of graves. Yet they could still run and jump, devouring people everywhere.

Xiao Hen held the gun in his hand and shot down all the transformed cannibalistic creatures along the way. He had Luo Zhi dragging Feng Hui, who was tied up like a rice dumpling, following him as they made their way toward the entrance of the residential area. Xiao Hen kills as he advanced.

As they neared the entrance, Xiao Hen heard the roar of Wen Qingling, the zombie. When he was still human, he didn’t understand the meaning behind the various roars of zombies. But now, as a zombie himself, the “language” of zombie roars finally became mutually intelligible.

Wen Qingling was gathering all the zombies in Nan Yan Town. He didn’t allow anyone from the Nan Yan Base to leave, whether they were humans or monsters. The survivors who managed to escape outside the base thought they had finally survived, but they were met with an overwhelming army of zombies. Everyone despaired and had to retreat back to the entrance of the base.

Xiao Hen stood there, holding the gun, while Luo Zhi remained by his side, unharmed. The survivors who had already lost hope saw a glimmer of hope once again. Many people cried and rushed forward, hoping that Xiao Hen would take them away and save them.

However, before they could approach, Xiao Hen had already aimed his gun at them.

Xiao Hen had a serious expression, showing no signs of relenting. “Back off!”

The rushing survivors were immediately frightened and stopped in their tracks. They had thought that Xiao Hen had more compassion than Wen Qingling, but they never expected him to raise the gun against them. The survivors had no choice but to retreat to a safe distance.

“It’s rare to see you aiming the gun at humans. That’s quite an improvement. We should celebrate,” came the voice of Wen Qingling.

Xiao Hen: “…”

Xiao Hen turned around and saw Wen Qingling had returned. However, his appearance left people at a loss for words.

Wen Qingling had four automatic rifles hanging on him, with four boxes of ammunition entwined with vines and dragged behind him. But what shocked everyone even more was another thicker vine wrapped around a long string of corpses, all dragged along with him.

Everyone: “…”

Everyone: “…”

Everyone: “…”

Is this a devil? Why is he dragging so many corpses? Won’t he let them rest even in death?

Xiao Hen also couldn’t quite understand. “What is this…”

Wen Qingling glanced at him and threw the rifles and ammunition boxes hanging on him to the ground. “Who can tell me why the guns and ammunition boxes from my base are here in your base?”

Everyone fell silent. This proved that the four dead individuals were indeed connected to their base.

Wen Qingling asked, “Mo Jing, am I doubting this?”

Mo Jing remained silent.

Wen Qingling continued, “Fang Zi, am I making baseless accusations?”

Fang Zi: “…”

Wen Qingling then turned to Yang Mengyu. “Yang Mengyu, are your assurances reliable?”

Yang Mengyu burst into tears. “We didn’t know it would turn out like this. If we had known…”

“If you had known, you would have escaped long ago, right?” Wen Qingling interrupted her. “Whether you knew or not, my people did die at the hands of your base. How should we settle this account?”

Mo Jing remained silent for a long time before finally speaking up. “What do you want?”

Wen Qingling replied, “To wipe you all out.”

Mo Jing’s face changed.

Wen Qingling glanced at Xiao Hen and saw that he didn’t intervene. Indeed, he had made progress.

Wen Qingling patted Xiao Hen’s shoulder. “I’ll leave it to you.”

Xiao Hen glanced at Wen Qingling and instantly swapped his gun. He raised his hand and three shots from the gun resounded—headshots.

Mo Jing and the others turned pale. Each shot felt like it hit them personally. They clenched their fists, breathing heavily. Faced with Wen Qingling and Xiao Hen, armed with the guns, they could only let themselves be slaughtered. Even though they possessed supernatural abilities, they couldn’t contend with them.

Xiao Hen aimed the wooden storage box at Teacher Gao, and he managed to maintain his expression. “Wen Qingling, do you want to kill me too?”

Wen Qingling tilted his head and pondered for a moment. “I don’t have to kill you, but it depends on your value.”

Thick vines emerged from the ground, entwining Teacher Gao and dragging him closer. The black thorns on the vines pierced into Teacher Gao’s flesh. The more he struggled, the deeper the thorns penetrated.

Teacher Gao angrily said, “Wen Qingling, I’ve misjudged you. After the apocalypse, you have completely lost your humanity. I’m ashamed to have a student like you!”

Wen Qingling stared at him. “I don’t need humanity. But what about you? Weren’t you carefree and ready to die at any moment? What made you change your mind and choose to become a monster? Tell me, I’d like to know.”

Xiao Hen: “…”

No, please don’t listen to him, don’t learn from him!

Teacher Gao rebuked angrily, “In your eyes, everyone is a monster!”

Wen Qingling replied, “In my eyes, you are the monster.”

A wooden thorn appeared in Wen Qingling’s hand, and without hesitation, he stabbed it into Teacher Gao’s heart and then threw it aside to keep Feng Hui company.

Wen Qingling said coldly, “Continue killing.”

Xiao Hen continued using the gun.

This time, Mo Jing seemed calm. If the people Wen Qingling killed were hidden monsters, then as a human, he had nothing to worry about. Even if it was him, he would want to kill such monsters.

The hidden monsters among the crowd couldn’t hide any longer. The few remaining ones turned to escape, but Xiao Hen shot each of them in the head, killing them on the spot.

Wen Qingling applauded sarcastically, his face twitching. “Impressive skills.”

Not only was Xiao Hen skilled with the gun technique, but his sense of smell was also excellent. He didn’t make any mistakes in killing one and not letting anyone escape.

The original three hundred people in the Nan Yan Base were now reduced to only a few dozen. After Wen Qingling and Xiao Hen double-checked them, it was confirmed that they were all humans.

Seeing Xiao Hen put away the gun, the survivors who managed to live by sheer luck all knelt on the ground, their legs weak. Their bodies were soaked in a cold sweat. Those who hadn’t experienced the despair of being chosen by the grim reaper would never understand.

Wen Qingling didn’t pay attention to them. He grabbed Feng Hui and pulled her over. “Come, show me your tooth-changing ability.”

Xiao Hen: “…”

Why are you still concerned about her teeth? Isn’t this a hurdle you can’t pass?!

Feng Hui was also devastated. She thought Wen Qingling was a devil who killed without blinking an eye and enjoyed tormenting people.

Wen Qingling said, “I’ll count to three, and if you don’t change your teeth, I’ll kill you.”

Feng Hui: “…”

Feng Hui looked at Feng Yi in the crowd with a gaze full of resentment. This was her own brother. As long as she turned into a flesh-eating monster, even her own brother wouldn’t recognize her.

Wen Qingling said, “One…”

Feng Hui sneered, “Aren’t you going to recheck? Among the three of us in the family, two are not human. Do you think Feng Yi, the one remaining, is still human?”

Feng Hui was captured alive, and her mother was already killed by Xiao Hen when she was eating people. Now she was hanging from Wen Qingling’s vine.

Feng Yi’s face changed drastically. He never expected that his own sister would try to drag him down!

Wen Qingling said, “Two… Three!”

Feng Hui was about to demonstrate her tooth-changing skill on the spot, but Wen Qingling immediately counted two and three without giving her a chance to perform. Wen Qingling’s actions were swift, and the wooden thorn pierced through her skull. Feng Hui widened her eyes and died without closing them.

Wen Qingling said, “I’m sorry, I suddenly don’t want to see it anymore.”

Wen Qingling sensed Feng Hui’s past, and at the moment of the greatest emotional turmoil, it was too filthy for him to look at it directly. It wasn’t the scene Wen Qingling wanted to witness, so he decided not to watch it and killed her directly.

Wen Qingling threw Feng Hui’s body aside and grabbed Teacher Gao. The wooden thorn was still stuck in his heart, causing Teacher Gao to tremble in pain. Wen Qingling understood now that even such monsters still had a sense of pain.

Wen Qingling continued to explore Teacher Gao’s past. Wen Qingling narrowed his eyes as he witnessed the moment of the greatest emotional turmoil for Teacher Gao. He saw a figure in a black robe from head to toe. Teacher Gao’s attention wasn’t focused on the figure in the black robe but on the young man beside him.

The young man’s name was Gao Hong, the son of Teacher Gao and his ex-wife. Gao Hong introduced the black-robed person to Teacher Gao, who could grant humans a new life. As long as the black-robed person bit them, leaving a “mark of rebirth,” Teacher Gao would possess great power, an everlasting life, and no fear of the zombie virus, becoming a superior being in the “new world.”

Gao Hong had already become a follower of the black-robed person, and for some reason, Teacher Gao, after considering everything, was persuaded. The black-robed person left a “mark of rebirth” on Teacher Gao’s wrist, infecting him and turning him into a flesh-eating monster, hidden in the Nan Yan Base…

The scene ended, and until the end, Wen Qingling hadn’t seen the face of the black-robed person. Even from Gao Hong’s words, it was impossible to determine the identity of the black-robed person. Teacher Gao was merely a pawn being used, not qualified to know the identity of the black-robed person.

Wen Qingling carefully recalled the details and suddenly asked, “How tall is your son?”

Teacher Gao trembled all over. “Wen Qingling, you can kill me, but I beg you one thing. If you encounter my son in the future, please spare him. He is my only family. I beg you not to kill him…”

Wen Qingling shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t. As long as I, Wen Qingling, am alive, I will certainly exterminate your group.”

Teacher Gao suddenly burst into laughter. His teeth fell out of his mouth, and saw-like teeth quickly grew from the gums. He violently lunged at Wen Qingling, his mouth full of saw-like teeth biting towards Wen Qingling’s neck!

Suddenly, several thick wooden thorns pierced out of the ground, impaling Teacher Gao. Blood gushed out of his body, and he coughed up blood while smiling. He said, “They all say… to take a bite of your flesh… and their power will increase…”

Wen Qingling responded, “Am I related to Tang Seng?”

Teacher Gao was pierced through but still struggling on the wooden thorns, forming a bloody spectacle. Tears streamed down Yang Mengyu’s face, and she trembled as she pleaded, “Wen Qingling, give Teacher a quick death. Don’t torture him anymore, sob…”

Wen Qingling coldly glanced at her and said, “When they were devouring my people, did anyone speak up for them and ask for a quick death?”

Yang Mengyu was at a loss for words and could only close her eyes, unwilling to witness the cruel scene before her.

Teacher Gao laughed, “Your people… are especially delicious. Devouring one… grants great power…”

Wen Qingling wasn’t provoked. He said, “How about you provide some useful information? Perhaps I can promise you this: when I capture your son, I’ll let him die quickly. Otherwise, I will let the zombies slowly devour him, letting him witness his own transformation into a skeleton.”

Teacher Gao could no longer laugh, his hatred is evident in his grinding teeth.

Wen Qingling asked, “Tell me, how tall is your son?”

Teacher Gao asked in disbelief, “Why are you fixated on my son’s height?”

Wen Qingling replied, “Taller than ‘Tall.'”

Teacher Gao remained silent.

Xiao Hen stayed quiet as well.

All the survivors present were speechless.

Wen Qingling continued, “Did you say it yourself, or should I personally measure it when I capture him? Depending on the measurement, I might let a certain number of zombies enjoy him together. The unit of measurement will be centimeters, just so you know.”

Teacher Gao, unsure of why Wen Qingling was fixated on his son’s height, had already witnessed Wen Qingling’s ruthlessness. He feared that his son would truly be handed over to the zombies by Wen Qingling, so he gritted his teeth and said, “181 centimeters.”

Wen Qingling nodded as if remembering something, then asked, “What is your group called? Since those outside who aren’t human are called zombies, you aren’t zombies but also not human, calling you ‘monsters’ wouldn’t be appropriate, right? If you don’t have a name, I can help you come up with one. How about ‘dentures’?”

Xiao Hen: “…”

The survivors: “…”

Damn it, “dentures”! Isn’t that too ridiculous?!

Teacher Gao coughed up blood, clearly agitated. “No need… we have a name. We are called… Shi ren…”

Wen Qingling widened his eyes. “Poets1“屍人” (shī rén) sounds similar to “詩人” (shī rén) in pronunciation but has a completely different meaning. “屍人” refers to “undead” or “corpses”?! Are you all so cultured? Eating people while composing poetry?!”

Teacher Gao coughed up blood again, directly angered this time.

Xiao Hen cleared his throat and interjected, “Perhaps what he meant was not cultured poets, but rather corpses who are stronger in combat and teeth.”

Teacher Gao shouted, “We are both corpses and humans, so we are the Undead! Immortal Undead! We live in the human base, and no one knows that we are different! This is the great trend of human development! Humans will inevitably be replaced by Undead!”

Wen Qingling said, “…”

Wen Qingling said, “Do you have a misunderstanding about life and death? Do you think your current ghostly appearance is considered alive? Does no one know that you are different?… It does seem like no ‘humans’ know.”

Wen Qingling gave him a thumbs up. “You guys are amazing.”

Teacher Gao: “…”

Xiao Hen: “…”

The survivors: “…”

Wen Qingling asked, “Do you have anything else to say?”

Teacher Gao laughed, “Your base… is finished!”

Wen Qingling replied, “Thanks for the reminder. My base is very sturdy and won’t be finished.”

Wen Qingling waved his hand, signaling Xiao Hen to deal with him. Xiao Hen was skilled in killing swiftly and would give him a quick death.

Wen Qingling closed his eyes slightly, contemplating.

However, Xiao Hen wasn’t as calm as him. The conspiracy was revealed here. “This is a ploy to draw the tiger out of the mountain.”

Wen Qingling responded, “Who said my base only has me as the ‘tiger’? They are all ‘tigers’ themselves. If the Undead dares to come, do you think our arsenals and bombs are decorations? We are already skilled at throwing bombs; we can definitely throw them out of the base.”

Xiao Hen said, “…”

The survivors said, “…”

So, when they weren’t skilled enough, they were on the path to self-destruction?!

What kind of devilish base was this?! Are they throwing bombs at their own people?!

Xiao Hen became even more uneasy with Wen Qingling’s words. “Let’s go back and check as soon as possible.”

Wen Qingling nodded slightly. “Find a vehicle and bring these bodies back for research.”

Xiao Hen raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to conduct research?”

Wen Qingling replied, “No, I have a research institute. Didn’t you know?”

Xiao Hen said, “…”

Xiao Hen really didn’t know.

Xiao Hen asked, “Don’t tell me it’s the research institute in West City?”

Wen Qingling replied, “You guessed it. Well done.”

Xiao Hen said, “…”

Fine, after sending Meng Lao back, he opened his own research institute. Xiao Hen conceded.

Xiao Hen said, “No need for a vehicle. Put them in my space.”

Xiao Hen could separate his space and create a separate space to store these bodies without any problem.

Wen Qingling glanced at him and said, “Are you planning to walk back to Ling City?”

Xiao Hen: “…”

Xiao Hen silently collected the bodies from the ground and went to pick a car nearby. There were several cars parked outside Nan Yan Base, and Xiao Hen preferred driving off-road vehicles for their spaciousness and comfort. This time, he chose an off-road vehicle and drove it over.

Mo Jing and the others, who had been serving as the backdrop, immediately approached when they saw that they were about to leave.

“Wen Qingling, can you take us with you? If we can’t join your base, we can rebuild a small base nearby or join another base. We just hope to have a place to stay. Those monsters have come here, and it’s no longer safe. We can’t stay here anymore.”

Wen Qingling replied, “There are no bases around Ling City.”

Mo Jing said, “A little further away is fine.”

Wen Qingling was puzzled, “If you want to go to another base, why don’t you go on your own? Why follow us?”

Yang Mengyu sobbed and said, “You heard it yourself just now. These monsters are hiding among the people, and no one can detect them. If… if you can take us there and help us check if that base is safe…”

They all realized that while others couldn’t distinguish between humans and monsters, Wen Qingling and his companions could. They might have some special means, and more importantly, they wanted to use Wen Qingling’s influence to secure their position in an unfamiliar base. It all depended on whether Wen Qingling was willing to lend them his influence.

Clearly, Wen Qingling was someone who had no idea what “influence” even meant.

Wen Qingling said, “I’m not obligated to do that.”

Yang Mengyu immediately said, “We can offer crystal nuclei.”

Crystal nuclei had become Wen Qingling’s Achilles’ heel. Xiao Hen had tried it multiple times without success, but he also felt repulsed by others using crystal nuclei to entice Wen Qingling.

He had his eye on the little zombie, and of course, only he could entice it.

Wen Qingling remained silent, seemingly contemplating.

Mo Jing said, “Your base probably doesn’t readily accept outsiders, right? What about Uncle Luo and Uncle Xiong? How do you plan to accommodate them? Will they join your base or be placed in another base? If they are placed in another base, we can go with them. After all, we all know each other, and it would be good to have someone to look after them.”

Xiao Hen glanced at Mo Jing. This kid was scheming.

Wen Qingling almost forgot about Luo Zhi and Xiong Shu. Bringing Luo Zhi back like this clearly wouldn’t work. His base didn’t accept humans, so where should he put them?

Xiao Hen said, “If you can’t think of a solution, just send them to Xiang County for now. Chang Boheng and Wen Chu are there.”

Wen Qingling looked at Xiao Hen, apparently not remembering who Chang Boheng and Wen Chu were.

Xiao Hen said, “You saved that couple, remember? The two who drove into Ling City on their own.”

Wen Qingling remembered, “Alright, you can send them there.”

Xiao Hen drove, taking Wen Qingling and Luo Zhi back to Ling City.

As for Mo Jing and the others, Wen Qingling didn’t mention anything about crystal nuclei or agree to any of their requests. If they wanted to follow along, they could go ahead. The road was everyone’s, and Wen Qingling didn’t want to be bothered. Whether they would be accepted if they followed to Xiang County would be up to Chang Boheng and Wen Chu.