Chapter 76

Chapter 76

The auntie watched as Granny Wu brazenly confronted several psychics who angrily got out of their car to teach her a lesson, only to be beaten back by Granny Wu's bare hands.

Afterwards, the psychics, now with bruised faces but smiling, courteously helped Granny Wu into the car.

Granny Wu drove away swiftly and efficiently, a stark contrast to her earlier demeanor during breakfast.

Outside Sand Dune Town, Lu Li's teammates were waiting, their vehicle equipped with powerful firearms, weapons with strong destructive power and high exchange value at the base, yet they hadn't had the opportunity to use them until now.

Due to a lack of energy resources.

Apart from Sand Dune Town, resources had been depleted elsewhere; Sand Dune Town had the most reserves but also the highest concentration of zombies.

If Lu Li could successfully extract the resources, they planned to level Sand Dune Town, knowing that not all zombies would be eliminated, but a significant number would be.

Of course, all this depended on their ability to retrieve the resources and survive.

The group waited outside Sand Dune Town, on high alert for zombies, but instead of zombies, they saw a cloud of dust approaching from the distance.

"What's that?"

"Looks like someone's coming."

"Who would come to Sand Dune Town now? Must be passing by."

"…Passing by here? They must be out of their minds."

As they were talking, the jeep from the dust cloud approached rapidly.

"Hey, it looks like that car is heading into Sand Dune Town."

"Not just looks like it! They're definitely going in!"

The group quickly got out of their car, waving and shouting, trying to stop the vehicle heading towards certain doom. However, the jeep didn't slow down and sped past them into Sand Dune Town.

The group exchanged glances, their faces filled with confusion and bewilderment.

"That car just now looked familiar. I remember it might be Zhao Li's gang's vehicle."

"Really? I thought I saw an old lady driving it."

"Seeing things? Impossible. But are Zhao Li and his crew that bold to drive into the dunes?"

“……”

The jeep drove into the town, attracting zombies with its noise. They roamed the streets, unaware until the vehicle sent them flying upon impact.

These zombies were physically robust, as tough as iron plates. Despite being hit by the speeding car and spinning 360 degrees in the air, they landed on the streets and rooftops, then continued their wandering.

In contrast, the old jeep was badly damaged, its front crumpled, looking utterly pitiful.

Granny Wu was unsure of the others' whereabouts, but having been here before, she knew that the town's layout was a web radiating from the central square, making it easy to locate others from this point.

But seeing the mist scattered around, she knew there were formidable zombies here.

When Granny Wu, wearing sunglasses from the car, made a cool entrance, she immediately spotted her granddaughter standing dazed among the zombies.

"What's going on here?" Granny Wu wanted to approach her granddaughter but was repelled by waves of foul smell.

"Did you fall into a sewer? Why the stench?" Granny Wu covered her nose, retreating continuously.

Lin An, seeing Granny Wu in her lucid state, felt like he found a pillar of strength and quickly recounted recent events to her.

"A psychic-type zombie here?" This was Granny Wu's first encounter with a zombie possessing abilities similar to hers.

"Yes, it's a little girl."

Granny Wu, eyeing the silent and vigilant Shen Xiuzhe behind Lin An, gestured with a tilt of her chin, "And what's his story?"

Lin An scratched his cheek, "He's affected too, but Shen Xiuzhe seems not fully controlled. He's just a bit..."

Before Lin An could find the right adjective, Shen Xiuzhe stepped in front of him defensively, "Be careful, this person is very dangerous."

Perhaps due to an explorer's intuition, Shen Xiuzhe sensed a dangerous aura emanating from Wu Shuangxue.

Granny Wu was speechless but looked at Shen Xiuzhe and then at the other three fully controlled individuals, resigning herself to the situation, as they were all in similar straits.

Intrigued by Lin An's mention of a psychic zombie, Granny Wu's interest was piqued. Although her ability could control zombies, she often preferred brute force, finding it more satisfying than using her powers. Now, facing an equal opponent, she was eager to test her mettle.

Closing her eyes, she attuned herself to the surroundings. The terrain, streets, and zombies transformed into a three-dimensional map in her mind, where a small figure, unlike the others, appeared somewhere in the space.

Found it.

Wu Shuangxue opened her eyes.

As zombies swarmed around, Lin An and Shen Xiuzhe held them off, allowing Granny Wu to focus on the psychic zombie, attacking with her unique abilities.

Unsure of the enemy's strength or her own limits, each battle was a thrilling challenge for her.

Her invisible powers formed into sharp spikes, piercing the zombie's head. The little zombie shrieked sharply, and the surrounding zombies, along with Wu Duo and the others, went berserk, attacking relentlessly with Granny Wu as their primary target.

The zombie realized Granny Wu's danger and commanded the horde to attack her with full force.

Granny Wu ignored the surrounding zombies, not because they wouldn't attack her, but because she trusted her teammates, Lin An and Shen Xiuzhe, to handle them while she focused on the psychic zombie.

Lin An and Shen Xiuzhe didn't let Granny Wu down, keeping the zombies at bay around her.

Even Wu Duo, Xu Fang, and Ouyang Dong were restrained by Shen Xiuzhe using chains.

Fortunately, they hadn't put away the chains used earlier to kill a speed-type zombie.

Just as Granny Wu was about to intensify her attack, her vision blurred momentarily. When it cleared, her breath hitched at the sight before her.

Wu Duo lay in front of her, eyes dilated and fixed on Granny Wu, her dirty face streaked with tears, her body gruesomely mutilated by the zombies. Nearby lay her parents, who had become zombies in the early days of the apocalypse, their bodies blackened and bloodied, headless, as they clutched their own heads in their arms.

"Mom, it hurts so much."

"Mom, why did you have to kill us?"

The two figures staggered towards her, holding their heads in their arms, accusing her with their gaze.

This was her deepest fear.

Wu Shuangxue took a step back, noticing the knives in her hands. These twin blades had been her companions for decades, aiding her in the wilderness against beasts and foes. She prided herself on her explorer identity, with the knives as extensions of her hands, witnessing all her glories.

Yet, in the end, it was with these knives that she killed her own family.

The blades and her hands were covered in blood, the thick liquid dripping down her fingers.

It was a sin she could never wash away.

No!

Don't be deceived.

All of this is fake.

Wu Shuangxue closed her eyes, reminding herself that her son and daughter-in-law had been cremated and buried by her. With Lin An and Shen Xiuzhe here, and their strength, it was impossible for Wu Duo to be devoured by zombies.

It's all false.

She was being exploited by the psychic zombie, who had found her weakness; any wavering of her mind would lead to her control.

She must not waver.

Everything before her eyes is false.

Wu Shuangxue steadied her spirit, her decades of combat experience and life lessons quickly freeing her from the illusion.

Now it's her turn!

Wu Shuangxue attempted to wrest control of the zombies from her opponent but failed. This zombie was more powerful, controlling every move of the horde with countless invisible strings, like a puppeteer, beyond her reach to intercept or seize control.

So, Wu Shuangxue mimicked the attack style of the previous zombie, creating illusions for her adversary. If she could disturb its focus, she could seize control and kill it within the illusion.

The little zombie hid in a corner. Small but cunning, she knew venturing out meant death, so she let her controlled zombie troops handle the fight, appearing briefly before vanishing, the rest being an illusion of her creation.

The central town's zombie was too formidable; she dared not approach, but in this place, the little zombie was invincible.

After being attacked just now, she bared her teeth, peering through the fog.

Suddenly, the fog before her eyes started to dissipate.

The little zombie, panicked, curled up. The fog was usually her best cover, using it and psychic attacks to devour many.

As she prepared to create more fog, two figures suddenly appeared nearby.

A man and a woman: the man tall with dark skin, and the woman also tall, with long, straight, flowing black hair, exuding a gentle aura.

"Baby," the woman with long, straight black hair softly called, her eyes gently curving towards the little zombie.

The little zombie tilted her head, staring unwaveringly at the man and woman not far away, her red eyes unblinking.

"Baby, I'm your mommy," the woman's voice rose again.

The little zombie slowly stood up, clutching a rabbit doll in her arms, hesitantly gazing at them.

"Come here, come to mommy and daddy."

This time, the little zombie seemed to recognize them, stumbling towards the two figures.

"Daddy! Mommy!"

Clutching her rabbit doll, she reached out her arms. As she ran faster, her sparse hair transformed into complex, pretty braids adorned with flowers, her grey skin turned fair and soft, and her blood-red eyes became dark, bright, and clear.

The little girl looked aggrieved, her lips pursed and eyes brimming with tears, "Daddy, mommy, where did you go?"

The couple didn't answer; they simply squatted down, opening their arms to her. The little girl rushed into her parents' embrace, crying with her doll, "Where did you go? Don't leave me alone."

The man and woman gently touched her hair, their eyes full of tenderness, "Come with mommy and daddy, okay?"

Without any hesitation, the girl, wiping her tears, nodded.

Holding her daddy's hand in one and her mommy's in the other, with the rabbit doll in her father's hand, the three walked away happily together.

The fog gradually dissipated...

The surrounding zombies stopped their movements, snorting confusedly, and lunged again at the humans nearby.

Xu Fang, just regaining consciousness, narrowly avoided a close encounter with a zombie, frightened, he instantly used his ability to conjure a brick from the ground, smashing it onto the zombie's head.

The brick shattered, but the zombie remained unscathed.

Fortunately, Ouyang Dong was nearby to help, preventing Xu Fang from getting bitten.

Wu Duo also came to her senses, her eyes immediately finding her grandmother.

"Grandma, what are you doing here?" She looked at Wu Shuangxue in surprise, having no memory of being controlled just moments ago.

At this moment, Wu Shuangxue stood in the corner of the room, where a little zombie lay, completely lifeless.

Although they shared the same type of special ability, the little zombie was far more formidable. Her illusions were flawless. Had Wu Shuangxue not been older and weathered by many hardships, she too might have fallen prey to the deception.

In contrast, her own illusions were quite rudimentary. Partly because it was her first attempt, and partly due to her lower ability level.

The figures she conjured, based on the deep-seated memories of the little zombie, bore only a seventy percent resemblance. Their expressions, speech, and movements were stiff and unnatural. An adult zombie would have seen through the ruse instantly.

But this zombie was only four or five years old. She never doubted the two figures that suddenly appeared before her, trusting them completely, which allowed Wu Shuangxue to exploit her vulnerability and easily kill her.

"I hope she is truly with her parents now," Wu Shuangxue murmured, looking at the little zombie on the ground, a slight smile on her lips, tightly clutching a rabbit doll.

Afterwards, Wu Shuangxue asked Shen Xiuzhe to cremate the little girl. As she turned to ashes, a gust of wind suddenly arose, scattering the small pile of ashes completely.

Nothing remained on the ground, not even the white fog.

"Let's go," Wu Shuangxue said, without a second glance, signaling everyone to leave.