TL: Moonlit
No matter how Xu Shengfei entered the city, the three of them couldn’t enter openly and honestly.
Not to mention the blood of Xiao Hen and Lu Tianjin, just Wen Qingling’s blood alone was like a bomb. Even zombies couldn’t withstand the power of a single drop of his blood. If humans got hold of it, the consequences would be unimaginable, especially considering its instability and propensity for mutation. No one knew what kind of mutation Wen Qingling’s blood could cause at any moment.
Since they couldn’t enter through the main gate openly, they could only climb the wall.
Wen Qingling thought of a good plan and prepared to implement it amidst Xiao Hen’s speechless expression. Xiao Hen didn’t need to climb the wall; he could teleport himself inside. Wen Qingling and Lu Tianjin were the ones who needed to climb.
Xiao Hen found a secluded spot for them, and Wen Qingling used his wood-based ability. A thick vine emerged from a corner of the wall, swiftly climbing upward like a serpent.
Even with Wen Qingling’s jumping ability, he couldn’t conquer the smooth surface of the hundred-meter-high wall. He couldn’t climb up by stepping on the wall; he could only rely on the vine to leap. In an instant, several leaps later, they were already standing on top of the city wall. Without hesitation, Wen Qingling jumped straight down.
He couldn’t climb up, but he could jump down.
Lu Tianjin’s speed was far slower than Wen Qingling’s, but he managed to climb over without any mishaps. Wen Qingling retracted his wood-based ability, and the robust vine turned to ashes, scattering on the ground.
The people in the Central Mega City probably couldn’t fathom that even a hundred-meter-high city wall couldn’t stop the wall climbers.
Below the wall was an open space without any place to take cover. Before the patrolling soldiers arrived, Xiao Hen led them away from the spot and dashed toward the nearest slum area.
The slum area had low-rise buildings and narrow alleys, with a higher population. They could blend in and avoid drawing attention.
Both Xiao Hen and Wen Qingling were fast, but Lu Tianjin couldn’t keep up with their speed. His black robe fluttered in the wind, occasionally revealing his fierce appearance, enough to frighten children… No, to petrify them.
Two children stood in the alley, appearing to be only three or four years old. They were emaciated, and covered in dirt as if they had crawled out of a garbage dump. The smaller child held a black mud ball in their arms, staring without blinking at the figure in the black robe, clearly petrified.
After a moment of shock, the slightly older child burst into tears and turned to run, leaving the smaller child standing there dumbfounded.
Lu Tianjin also froze in place. The ever-changing fierce countenance hidden beneath his hood caused him to tremble. He struggled to restrain himself, but his instincts overpowered his rationality. He let out a low roar and pounced toward the child. Xiao Hen swiftly intervened, blocking him and grabbing Lu Tianjin, pressing him against the wall.
Xiao Hen had grown accustomed to his identity as a zombie and had also adapted to the fact that civilized zombies don’t eat humans. However, he forgot about the zombie in front of him. This one had regained consciousness after consuming the corpse of an awakened individual and had mutated. He wasn’t a civilized zombie and wasn’t affected by Wen Qingling’s blood. He was a pure, flesh-eating zombie who had already devoured many awakened individuals!
The dumbfounded child started wailing loudly. Wen Qingling stared at the child for a few seconds and commanded him, “Stop crying.”
“Waaah!” The child cried even louder.
Worried that the crying would attract attention, Wen Qingling reluctantly took off his backpack and pulled out a piece of mutated beef. It was a snack from the Mama brand, and Jiang Lan had prepared many such preserved slices of meat before they set off. The majority were stored in Xiao Hen’s space, and only a small portion remained in Wen Qingling’s backpack. The outside temperature was higher, making it prone to spoilage.
“Here, stop crying,” Wen Qingling handed the fist-sized piece of mutated preserved beef to the child.
The child immediately caught the strong aroma of meat and stopped crying, reaching out to grab it.
“Give him one-third,” Xiao Hen reminded in time.
A child who had been starving for a long time would surely be overwhelmed by eating such a large piece of meat at once.
Wen Qingling raised his hand and allowed the child to jump around, trying to snatch the mutated beef from his hand. He took out a dagger from his backpack, cut a small piece of the mutated beef, and gave it to the child. The child took the meat and began stuffing it into his mouth while looking at the remaining piece.
Wen Qingling was cold and ruthless. In front of the child, he selfishly devoured the remaining two-thirds of the preserved meat.
Child: “…”
Xiao Hen: “…”
With his mouth full of meat, the child seemed like he was about to cry again. Wen Qingling said, “If you cry again, I’ll beat you.”
Knowing that crying wouldn’t bring more meat but only result in a beating, the child immediately held back his tears.
Xiao Hen moved closer, pushing Lu Tianjin away, and approached with a stern and intimidating demeanor. He said, “Leave this place and don’t tell anyone what you’ve seen. Otherwise, my brother will beat the children.”
The child was frightened, clutching a dirty mud ball, and quickly ran away.
Xiao Hen patted Wen Qingling’s forehead and said, “Don’t be fooled by the child. Despite his small size, he must be at least six or seven years old and quite cunning. That piece of meat you gave him will soon attract more children.”
Wen Qingling: “???”
The children who managed to survive the apocalypse were not ordinary. Due to prolonged starvation, they were thin and small in stature. Children without parents or relatives formed their own small groups because it was difficult to survive alone. The Central Mega City had many such children, and many people lacked vigilance towards these skinny little ones. It was because of this that they were able to fulfill roles that adults couldn’t.
Xiao Hen suggested, “If they come back, you can ask them about ‘Hui Ge’s’ news.”
Wen Qingling found it strange. “Instead of asking the people from your original Central Mega City, you want me to ask a few little kids?”
Xiao Hen: “…”
He didn’t know either, so he had to find another way.
Xiao Hen was indeed from the Central Mega City, but he hadn’t spent much time inside. Most of his time was spent on missions outside. He knew the distribution of power and the overall structure of the Central Mega City, making it difficult for him to obtain information about a specific person unless that person was well-known enough for Xiao Hen to recognize their name. Obviously, the person they were looking for didn’t meet that criterion.
Xiao Hen briefly explained the power distribution within Central Mega City.
The Central Mega City was managed by seven generals who belonged to seven major factions. Each general had a jurisdiction that varied based on their comprehensive strength. The seven major regions, in order of size, population, and military strength, were: Yin, Mo, Xiao, Hua, Lei, Nie, and Xia.
The first four generals were in charge of the first to fourth regions, located in the North, West, East, and South of the city respectively. These four regions each controlled one of the four major gates of the Central Mega City. To leave the city from the remaining three regions, one had to pass through other major regions.
The fifth region was located between the first and second regions, the sixth between the third and fourth, and the seventh between the second and fourth. The only regions without a gap between them were the first and third regions. This was also the main reason for the frequent conflicts between the Yin faction and the Xiao faction. The Yin faction had ambitions and constantly sought to annex neighboring factions, while the Xiao faction was strong enough to resist the Yin faction. The Lei faction couldn’t compete with the Yin faction and relied on support from other factions to avoid being annexed.
Wen Qingling and the others came from the south and wanted to avoid the South Gate, so they headed east. They left the territory of the Hua faction, the fourth region, and entered the territory of the Nie faction, the sixth region. There was no gate in this area, and it was rarely visited by people. They hid their vehicle there and entered the Central Mega City from the sixth region.
Wen Qingling asked, “If each faction guards a gate, is it possible for a non-human creature to be secretly let into the city? Could Xu Shengfei be colluding with the factions guarding the four major gates?”
Xiao Hen had been speculating all along, and now he was somewhat certain. “Excluding the third region, last time I came here, I warned Old Xue to be on guard against ‘Undead’. He wouldn’t knowingly take such risks. So, that leaves the first, second, and fourth regions, which are respectively the Yin, Mo, and Hua factions. It’s a choice between the three. In your opinion, which one is the most likely?”
“Do you even need to ask? It must be the Yin faction,” Wen Qingling answered without hesitation.
Xiao Hen nodded in agreement. He had reasons to support his choice. First, the armored convoy was attacked, and one of the armored vehicles managed to escape, but Yin Cheng’s whereabouts were unknown.
Second, it was confirmed that the poisonous mist was caused by the evolved blood anemone, which had been in Xu Shengfei’s possession. If the attack on the armored convoy was indeed the doing of the evolved blood anemone acting on its own, it was possible that Xu Shengfei couldn’t control it and it escaped during the pursuit, where it likely encountered Yin Cheng.
Finally, there is the matter of Yin’s intention to send people to Ling City for investigation. No one has seen any trace of them, so the most likely possibility is that they didn’t send anyone to Ling City. Then, what reason would make an elderly person who dotes on their grandchildren give up on sending people to Ling City?
There may only be one answer—the fact that Yin Cheng returned alive.
If it could be confirmed that Yin Cheng returned alive, then Xiao Hen’s speculation would almost certainly be the truth.
Xiao Hen told his deduction to Wen Qingling and asked him to ask the group of children about it. He took Lu Tianjin and hid in another alley, with Lu Tianjin unable to suppress his instincts and could only rely on Xiao Hen to restrain him.
A group of dirty children quickly found them. The child holding the ball saw Wen Qingling and immediately brightened his eyes. He said to another dirty young boy, “It’s this brother, Big Brother Yu. He’s a good person and gave me meat to eat.”
If it wasn’t for Xiao Hen’s reminder, Wen Qingling would have thought it was just childish talk. Now it seemed like he was being taken advantage of by these little devils?
Wen Qingling played with a shiny dagger in his hand. “I’m not a good person. If you eat my food, you have to do something for me.”
The young boy known as “Big Brother Yu” stepped forward and respectfully clasped his fists. “Brother, please give your orders. As long as the reward is enough, we can do many things.”
Wen Qingling glanced at him. “Are you their leader?”
Big Brother Yu smiled confidently. “I am in charge of this area. What can I do for you?”
If he hadn’t heard that this person had exquisite attire, fair skin, and could handle a piece of mutant beef, he wouldn’t have come over personally. It was clear that this was someone influential, and if he could do business with him, the reward would definitely be substantial.
Wen Qingling was quite certain that Xu Shengfei and Yin’s faction were involved with each other. He had to make a decisive strike when approaching quietly, not allowing her to escape again. So he had to be cautious and not let her notice.
There were certainly many powerful mutants in the Central Mega City, including those with psychic abilities. If Wen Qingling used his psychic power to investigate, he would undoubtedly be discovered. He decided to be more careful.
Xu Shengfei couldn’t escape from Central Mega City, but Wen Qingling was currently more concerned about Luo Fengjue and Mi Yan. Before dealing with Xu Shengfei, he had to find the two of them first.
