Chapter 210

Chapter 210

Lin Fen and the others reached the mid-slope, the frontline of the Eastern and Western Allied Army, with the slope below teeming with zombies.

From here, following the ridge, one could reach the main camp. Lin Fen ran towards the frontline first, picking up two machine guns from an ammunition pile.

"Who are you?" the soldier distributing ammunition asked, seeing him not in uniform and hastily intercepting, "Civilians have gone up the mountain, don't take guns here, hurry up there."

Lin Fen handed the two machine guns he was holding to someone behind him, continuing to grab more guns and ammunition, responding, "Western Allied Army Major General Lin Fen."

"Ah! It's Major General Lin." The soldier snapped to attention, promptly assisting with the ammunition.

Feng Zai Ping was instructing an officer beside him when he suddenly stopped, abruptly turning to look behind.

"Lin Fen! Yu Yuan!"

Lin Fen and Yu Yuan were about to leave when they heard this voice, and they hesitated for a moment.

"General Feng!" Both of them spoke at the same time.

Feng quickly glanced at the people behind them before returning his gaze to the two. Although he and Lin Fen didn't say anything, they saw excitement in each other's eyes.

Lin Fen, who also needed to find Feng Chen and Yan Bubu, didn't linger. After saluting Feng, he turned and ran towards the direction of the main camp.

"Lin Fen, where are you going?" Feng called out loudly.

Without turning back, Lin Fen replied, "To pick someone up."

Feng didn't ask whom he was picking up. After a two-second silence, his voice hoarse, he said, "I'll send more people with you."

Lin Fen, without any pretense, responded, "Okay! Send some scouts as guides."

The officer beside Feng reacted quickly, immediately selecting ten scouts as guides and equipping them with weapons to follow Lin Fen.

Below the mid-mountain, it was all zombies, swarming forward densely. The ones in front kept getting killed, and others continuously took their place. Lin Fen and his group unleashed their psychic powers as they plunged into the horde, stabbing forward in unison. Stepping on the corpses of the zombies, they carved a path towards the main camp.

Feng watched their figures disappear into the zombie horde before turning back to continue commanding the battle.

"General Feng, Ran Zhengshou just contacted us with a new idea to discuss with you," reported the officer.

Feng, while reloading his gun, calmly said, "Repeat the details to me."

"Yes," the officer began relaying the content from Ran Pinghao over the communicator, but his voice gradually faded, and he stopped. His eyes were fixed on Feng's hands, and finally, he hesitantly asked, "General, are you alright? Do you feel unwell?"

Feng's hands were trembling, so much so that he couldn't even remove the empty magazine. He put down the gun and grasped his right hand with his left, saying, "I'm fine, just a bit emotionally unstable. It'll pass soon."

Feng closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he had regained his usual composed and calm demeanor. Quickly reloading his gun, he fired towards the front, urging, "Continue, you've only reported half of it."

"Yes," the officer, snapping back to reality, continued with the report.

Under the direction of Uncle Cai, a group at the main camp slowly carried Feng Chen towards the hillside. Despite the numerous zombies, the group was well-armed, with each person handling a machine gun on the perimeter, making the journey perilous yet safe to the foot of the mountain.

"The zombies at the base of the mountain are fewer than in the camp, allowing everyone to finally catch their breath. Anxiously, someone asked, "Uncle Cai, what do we do now?"

Uncle Cai turned, surveying the cliff on the hillside, and pointed in a certain direction, "See over there? There's a large platform on the mountain wall. We can climb up to it."

That platform was about ten meters above the ground on the mountain wall. Though not very large, it could fit the hundred or so people if they squeezed in.

"Good, pick up any ropes you find on the way. There's one over there, grab it quickly."

"Here's another rope, a bit short, but we can tie it together."

……

As the group climbed up the slope, someone carrying a stretcher suddenly exclaimed with joy, "He's awake! I saw him move, and his eyes are open too!"

"Quick, give him some water. His lips are so dry. Keep moving and feed him."

Feng Chen finally regained consciousness.

He found himself on a shaky stretcher, surrounded by intense gunfire and intermingled with the roars of zombies. He was momentarily disoriented, unable to remember why he was there or what had just happened.

Heads circled around the stretcher, all looking down at him. Someone with a water bottle approached his mouth, urging, "Drink some water, come on, drink."

Feng Chen tried to sit up, but a sharp pain upon moving forced him back down with a groan, cold sweat sliding down his face.

"Don't move, you've been injured by Chen Sizhe. You can't move now," someone urgently pressed his shoulders down.

Injured by Chen Sizhe...

Feng Chen's vacant thoughts gradually coalesced, recalling the recent events. His expression changed abruptly, and with difficulty, he muttered, "Explosion... it's about to explode..."

"We know, but it's okay. Your brother has gone after him," someone reassured him.

"My brother?" Feng Chen looked at the speaker.

The person nodded, "Yes, he came while you were unconscious and then chased after Chen Sizhe into the central city. Don't worry, he said he wouldn't fight Chen Sizhe directly, just to take the detonator. He's a Light Guide and can't be bitten by zombies, so he'll surely get it."

Feng Chen looked up at the sky, his face as pale as paper.

Having clashed with Chen Sizhe before, he knew Yan Bubu was no match for him, and snatching the detonator wouldn't be easy.

Someone had already climbed up to the platform on the mountain wall, throwing down several long-tied ropes. As everyone looked up, the person carrying the stretcher shouted, "Don't move, just lie there. We'll tie the stretcher to the ropes and pull you up."

Feng Chen struggled to sit up, but even sitting straight was difficult, nearly falling off the stretcher, hastily steadied by someone beside him.

"Don't move, we're about to lift you up," the person pressed down on his shoulders.

Feng Chen sat sideways on the stretcher, gasping for breath.

He didn't know Yan Bubu's condition, feeling both anxious and panicked. He must find Yan Bubu and bring him back safely.

But with his body covered in injuries, not only finding Yan Bubu but even standing and walking a few steps were impossible.

Feng Chen's gaze inadvertently swept across the mountain wall, something in the bushes catching his eye, drawing his gaze back sharply.

Seeing him still, the person beside him bent down to tie ropes to the four corners of the stretcher. Feng Chen glanced around, noticed a curious child staring at him, and waved with his uninjured hand.

The child immediately ran over, and Feng Chen whispered something in his ear. The child nodded and then turned, running towards the bushes.

"I've tied this corner. How about yours?"

"Mine's secure too. Let's test its strength to ensure it doesn't snap halfway."

"Hey, hey, hey, the zombies on the left are breaking through! Who's in charge of the left? Block them quickly!"

……

The person beside the stretcher stood up and asked Feng Chen, "So, shall we start lifting you—"

His words abruptly stopped, eyes widening in horror, then slowly turning pale as he staggered backward until bumping into someone.

"What are you doing? My finger is on the trigger, I almost shot into the crowd..." The person turned, and on seeing Feng Chen, also froze, then pointed at him, shouting, "He's been bitten by a zombie! How could you not notice? He's been bitten!"

The bustling crowd halted in unison, their gazes fixated on Feng Chen, before collectively falling into a stunned silence.

Feng Chen remained seated on the stretcher, his head slightly bowed, arms resting on his knees, wrists limply dangling in the air, appearing no different than before. However, the skin of his neck, visible above his collar, had turned dark purple, and his hands now bore long, black nails.

Uncle Cai was the first to regain composure, his voice trembling as he asked, "What's going on? Didn't I ask you all to be vigilant? What has happened?"

"Him, I... I don't know, I don't know how he got bitten. But, I was right next to him, tying up the stretcher, and didn't notice any zombies," someone replied in panic.

Those guarding the perimeter with guns stared blankly at Feng Chen, only snapping out of it as zombies nearly breached their line, hastily resuming their firing.

Uncle Cai's lips quivered, "What happened... How did it turn out like this..."

"I don't, don't know."

Tears streaming from his eyes, Uncle Cai stomped his feet furiously on the ground, letting out a series of anguished roars: "How are we going to explain this, how do we face his brother... Why is this happening again, just like before..."

With a bang, he stepped on something which sprung away, rolling on the ground.

Everyone's gaze shifted to the object, noticing it was a silver-white syringe tube, its cap opened, devoid of any liquid.

After a brief silence, someone shouted, "That's the syringe Chen Sizhe was holding, the one he said could turn people into zombies."

"It was the brother who asked me to give it to him," a timid voice emerged from the crowd.

Everyone turned their heads as the child stuttered under their gaze, "The brother asked me to give it to him, and then he injected himself with it."

Uncle Cai picked up the empty syringe, looked at it for a moment, then turned his gaze back to Feng Chen, opening his mouth but unable to utter a word.

Everyone silently watched Feng Chen, who sat motionless as if asleep.

"Uncle Cai, what do we do now?" someone asked, struggling to speak.

Roar!

The howling of zombies echoed from not far away, as another large group charged towards them. Without waiting for Uncle Cai's response, everyone scrambled to grab their guns, readying themselves for the impending onslaught.

"Quick, give me bullets, I'm out!" someone reached back for more ammunition.

"I'm almost out too, hurry and pass me some."

After distributing bullets, the person in charge of ammo looked at the only two remaining ammo belts by their feet, wiped their face, and said hoarsely, "Hurry, get to the platform. We're almost out of bullets."

"Move it, quickly, let's get to the platform. Get the stretcher up first," Uncle Cai said, placing Feng Chen's feet on the stretcher and shouting towards the platform.

Feng Chen, at this moment, couldn't hear any external sounds, but he could hear the crackling of his bones and feel every cell in his body constantly bursting and regrowing.

In his mental realm, a dense black fog covered the outer wall, resembling patchy black moss, spreading in all directions. The fog gradually enveloped the golden mental threads, dyeing them black.

His mental threads seemed to resist the black fog, with gold shimmering through, only to be covered again... After several cycles, his threads turned black, but golden patterns began to emerge on the black surface.

Gold and black, finally compromised and merged into one.

"I'm out of bullets!"

"I've got just a few dozen left!"

As guns clicked empty, the zombies drew closer. People on the platform were desperately dragging the stretcher up, while those below were squeezed together.

A few children, pressed against the wall, were encircled inside. All they could see were the backs of adults and hear the increasingly loud growls of zombies, their eyes wide with terror.

After Uncle Cai shot a zombie, he glanced at the stretcher hanging in mid-air, then turned back and shouted to the children, "Don't be scared, kids, we're covering you. You'll be pulled up soon."

After shouting, he fired forward, but after two clicks, the gun didn't fire. He looked at the approaching zombies, took a deep breath, discarded the empty gun, and picked up a stone from the ground.

The sound of empty guns being discarded echoed around, and everyone started picking up stones.

"Don't be afraid, if we die, we'll return to Haiyun City! We can keep each other company on the road!" someone yelled loudly.

Some were wailing, others gasping as if they were running out of breath, but they all chanted in strained voices, "Not afraid, not afraid... Death is quick, you won't feel pain, and we'll be back in Haiyun City soon."

"Who still has bullets, please... take me first..."

Roar!

The horde of zombies lunged forward, baring their ghastly, gaping mouths in mid-air. After hurling stones at them, everyone clutched the person next to them, closed their eyes, and braced for the impending pain of being torn and bitten apart.

Feng Chen, who had been lying on the stretcher, suddenly opened his eyes at this moment. His eyes, dark and lusterless, stared fixedly at the sky, but his mental energy surged like a mighty wave, crashing down on the zombies below.

With a thunderous explosion, zombies within a hundred meters around the people at the base of the cliff were flung backward, falling to the ground like heavy sacks, their mouths and nostrils oozing crushed black brain matter.

The area fell into sudden silence, devoid of zombie howls or human speech. Only a lone zombie, arriving late, continued to charge toward them.

A majestic black lion slowly materialized in the air.

Its eyes, once amber and golden, were now pitch black, with long sharp fangs protruding from its mouth, and a vertical golden mark on its forehead.

The black lion leaped from mid-air, charging like lightning at the zombie and crushing its head in one bite. The zombie's body staggered forward a few steps before falling.

Lin Fen and his group finally reached the main camp and saw the group of people standing at the base of the cliff.

"There they are! They're safe!" Yu Yuan exclaimed with a mix of shock and joy.

Wang Suizi and Ji Yi shouted excitedly as they ran, "Bubu, Feng Ge..."

Feng Chen stood up from the stretcher in mid-air, his movements showing no sign of his previous injuries. He glanced at the group from afar and then leaped down from the stretcher.

Wang Suizi and the others, not taking a close look at Feng Chen, continued to run forward, but Lin Fen and Yu Yuan suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"Did you see that... He, he..." Yu Yuan stiffly turned his neck to look at Lin Fen, his face rapidly draining of color, turning ashen.

Lin Fen's breathing quickened, but he quickly recovered, grasping Yu Yuan's hand to continue running forward: "It's okay, look, he's talking to those people."

"Right, he's still talking. Did we see wrong?" Yu Yuan watched uncertainly ahead, "And where's Bubu? Why can't I see Bubu?"

The people from Haiyun City stood motionless, observing Feng Chen, fixated on his face that was both handsome and eerie, with no one uttering a word.

Feng Chen removed and discarded his tattered combat uniform, wearing only a gray short-sleeved T-shirt, and said to them: "I'm now heading to the Central City to find my brother. Major General Lin and Colonel Yu have arrived; they will lead you out."

"What? Major General Lin and Colonel Yu?"

"Is it Major General Lin and Colonel Yu from Haiyun City?"

Upon hearing the names of Lin Fen and Yu Yuan, the group finally snapped out of the mental fog induced by Feng Chen, regaining the ability to speak.

Feng Chen, knowing they would relay the events to Lin Fen and others, didn't wait for them to approach and already turned, sprinting towards Central City, shouting as he went: "Sasaka, let's go!"

The black lion standing in the center of the campsite also quickly dashed towards the crevice in the mountain.

Feng Chen raced forward, and not far ahead was the caterpillar vehicle dragging the barricade, slowly moving encased in a layer of zombies. As he ran past, the zombies on the vehicle suddenly burst apart like popcorn, scattering far and wide, their skulls crushed by his mental force.

Feng Chen charged into the crevice, with zombies in the passageway being flung to the sides, striking the walls and falling silently.

A clear path emerged in the corridor swarming with dense zombies.

Lin Fen and his group had reached the people under the cliff, watching Feng Chen's retreating figure like everyone else. No one spoke or moved, except for a pack of quantum beasts snapping at the zombies nearby.

It wasn't until Feng Chen disappeared into the crevice that everyone snapped back to reality and hurriedly fought off the approaching zombies.

Wang Suizi mechanically pulled the trigger, her eyes somewhat glazed over: "What is Feng Ge now? Is he a zombie or a human?"

"Human," Lin Fen replied softly, still looking in the direction where Feng Chen had disappeared, "and a Dark Sentinel too."