Chapter 119

Chapter 119

Seeing the most chaos near the entrance, Chu Ya swiftly killed the few zombies that were attacking people, quickly clearing a path. Those trapped inside the exchange rushed out again; several bodies lay at the door, trampled by many feet.

"Shen Miaomiao... oh... let's hurry, let's hurry."

Shen Juanjuan sobbed uncontrollably but did not stop swinging his spatula, using Psychic Bind on the zombies while helping Chu Ya organize his mental domain.

A zombie was roaring and lunging forward when it suddenly fell from the air, twitching on the ground. The Teddy Bear pounced, using both claws and teeth.

It had just pulled its claw from the zombie’s temple when another spatula flew out, piercing the head of another zombie.

Chu Ya was unsure if any of those rushing out had been bitten by zombies. According to the survival manual, everyone needed to be checked for injuries before leaving. But the exchange had turned into a hunting ground, and everyone only wanted to escape. Even if he tried to stop them, he couldn’t.

Chu Ya saw two Bitao Tang subordinates firing guns at the entrance and shouted at them, "Don’t let anyone leave! Make them wait on the street. If they don’t obey, break their legs!"

Although many had already left the exchange, it was better to keep as many as possible, minimizing the infection source rather than letting everyone rush out.

Chu Ya carried Shen Juanjuan and rushed to the entrance, only to see the two Bitao Tang subordinates stepping back in terror, staring at something on the right side of the street.

Following their gaze, he saw the entire street filled with fleeing people, and at the end of the street, a group of zombies was sprinting towards them, numbering in the hundreds.

"It’s over, over. Not just the exchange, everywhere is full of zombies. What’s happening?"

"Run first! Hide first!"

The two subordinates, pale-faced, no longer cared about the exchange and turned to flee.

Most people inside the exchange had already run out, leaving only the zombies, numbering over a hundred. About a dozen people lay on the ground, bloodied and mangled, their fates unknown.

Chu Ya and Shen Juanjuan were now the only living beings in the eyes of the zombies, so they all charged towards the entrance. Seeing the Black Wolf and Teddy Bear still fighting fiercely, Chu Ya shouted amidst Shen Juanjuan’s sobs, "Get out! Close the door!"

Chu Ya pushed the metal door, and the two quantum beasts quickly ran out, followed by some zombies.

One zombie just showed its head when it was pierced through the skull by the Black Wolf’s sharp claws. Shen Juanjuan also swung his spatula forcefully, striking another zombie’s head, while the Teddy Bear leaped up, claws extended.

As the zombies fell, the metal door closed. Seeing the group of zombies approaching, Chu Ya quickly carried Shen Juanjuan and ran in the opposite direction.

The zombies ran fast, and within a short time, they were just a dozen meters behind. Chu Ya sprinted while carrying Shen Juanjuan on his back: "Hold onto me tightly!"

Chu Ya grabbed the Black Wolf with his right hand and the Teddy Bear with his left, leaping onto the Black Wolf’s back.

"Sit down, hold my waist!"

Shen Juanjuan immediately slid onto the Black Wolf’s back, hugging Chu Ya’s waist.

"Silver Wolf, maintain the same speed!" Chu Ya ordered.

The Black Wolf carried Chu Ya and Shen Juanjuan, maintaining an equal distance from the zombie horde. Chu Ya continuously released Psychic Bind to kill them.

The zombies behind them fell one by one under Chu Ya’s attacks, while Shen Juanjuan kept organizing Chu Ya’s mental domain and used Psychic Bind on the leading zombies.

Zombies from the alleys rushed onto the streets, and those lying by the roadside, tearing at people, roared and chased after them. Although Chu Ya killed many, the number of zombies did not decrease; instead, it increased.

After the initial shock, Shen Juanjuan stopped crying and sat behind Chu Ya, one hand around his waist, the other swinging the spatula, cursing hoarsely.

"Thick-skinned bastards, I don’t want to see you. I have a spatula, I have Psychic Bind, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill all of you, I’ll tear your ugly faces apart..."

The Teddy Bear, dangling in mid-air, bared its teeth menacingly, waving its claws in warning. A zombie lying on the ground, convulsing and transforming, had purple-black veins appearing on its face. As the Teddy Bear passed over it, it reached down and clawed, causing the zombie to fall back with several holes in its head.

In a short time, a large number of zombies seemed to have emerged in the city. Chu Ya had read about zombies in the school library, knowing that in densely populated cities, if one zombie appeared, the time it took to infect the next person could be minutes or hours, but then the number of zombies would increase exponentially, like nuclear fission, and fully erupt within 10 to 15 hours.

If it came to this, they needed to find a safe place nearby, stockpile enough supplies, and patiently wait for rescue.

The Black Wolf had run several streets, and Chu Ya had been continuously killing zombies. The zombie horde seemed enraged, constantly falling and being replaced by new ones, always chasing behind them.

After the initial panic, gunshots echoed throughout the city, with explosions and burning buildings sending up thick smoke. On both sides of the streets, zombies ran through the corridors of steel buildings, while survivors hid in their rooms, doors tightly shut.

Chu Ya didn’t know the situation at the orphanage, but with its high walls and usually locked gates to prevent children from running out, it should be fine. However, he wasn’t sure if Yun Tuo knew about the zombies in the city and needed to inform him as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, he was about to reach for his phone when it rang. Only Yun Tuo, Xiao Rui, and Rong Chen knew his number, so he immediately reached for it.

Suddenly, a zombie leaped from the third floor opposite, and he quickly fired several shots, causing the zombie to fall straight down.

Zombies kept leaping from the upper floors along the way, and Chu Ya didn’t have time to answer the call. Shen Juanjuan, tightly hugging his neck and swinging the spatula, also couldn’t free his hands. Chu Ya placed the Teddy Bear in front of him and handed it the phone: "Answer it quickly."

Chu Ya held the Black Wolf with one hand and a gun with the other, instructing the Teddy Bear, "Press the green button!"

The Teddy Bear looked at the button, gagged, wiped its paw on the Black Wolf, and then pressed the green button with its claw.

"Xiaoya!" Yun Tuo’s voice came through.

The Teddy Bear screamed loudly into the phone: "Aaaaaa!"

Yun Tuo, hearing the chaos, including Shen Juanjuan’s curses and Chu Ya’s gunfire, said, "Xiaoya, can you hear me?"

"Aaaaaa!"

"Can Xiaoya hear me?"

"Aaaaaaaa!"

Chu Ya, shooting at the zombies leaping from above, shouted, "I can’t hear. CUBL, give the phone to Shen Juanjuan."

The Teddy Bear handed the phone to Shen Juanjuan, who stopped cursing and croaked a response.

"Juan, are you on the street?" Yun Tuo asked.

Shen Juanjuan tilted his head to look at the phone, and Chu Ya shouted, "Just say it."

"Oh, okay, hello, hello."

"Brother Juanjuan, are you on the street?" Yun Tuo asked again.

Shen Juanjuan replied, "We're running in the streets! There are so many Mutants, human Mutants, those thick-skinned ones have been chasing us, I want to kill—"

"Brother Juanjuan, calm down. Now, repeat exactly what I say to Chu Ya, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good, now tell him, Xiao Rui is at the dock, and I'm at the orphanage."

Shen Juanjuan then leaned close to Chu Ya's ear and shouted, "Good, now tell him, Xiao Rui is at the dock, and I'm at the orphanage."

Yun Tuo added, "Everything is fine at the orphanage, tell him not to worry."

"Everything is fine at the orphanage, tell him not to worry." Shen Juanjuan continued.

"There are many people at the dock, Xiao Rui can't leave them now. Go back to Bita Tower and protect Dr. Xu. The door lock code is 1357."

"There are people at the dock, Xiao Rui and them, go back to Bita Tower and protect Dr. Xu, the door code is, is..."

"1357." Yun Tuo repeated.

"The door code is 1357."

Hearing Shen Juanjuan's relay, Chu Ya immediately told Black Wolf, "Turn right ahead, we're heading to Bita Tower."

The zombie horde pursued them relentlessly, with zombies leaping from the rooftops of buildings on both sides. Chu Ya focused on dealing with them, while Shen Juanjuan kept an eye out for other threats. Survivors were fleeing everywhere, and whenever Shen Juanjuan saw someone being chased by zombies, he quickly used Psychic Bind to give them a chance to escape.

Black Wolf ran through four or five streets and soon arrived near Bita Tower.

"Shen Juanjuan, don't make any noise, we need to play hide and seek with them," Chu Ya instructed Shen Juanjuan and then told Black Wolf, "Now, lose them."

Following Chu Ya's command, Black Wolf suddenly leaped up, directly onto the second floor of a nearby steel building.

There were a few zombies on the second floor, pounding on the doors. Chu Ya immediately killed them. Black Wolf followed the stairs to the third floor, rushed through the corridor, and leaped onto the roof of a nearby three-story building.

Chu Ya killed the dozen or so zombies that followed, and the zombies still on the street lost their target. When Black Wolf leaped from the roof to a nearby street, the zombie horde paused for a few seconds before rushing toward the distant sound of gunfire.

There were not many zombies on this street, so Chu Ya did not shoot; he only used his Psychic Bind to kill them.

Shen Juanjuan, following his instructions, remained silent, only silently waving his spatula at the dark alleys.

Chu Ya reached Bita Tower and saw about a dozen zombies downstairs. They wore the uniform black clothes of Bita Tower and carried guns and radios, clearly having been bitten by zombies before they could react to the crisis.

Several of these people were familiar to Chu Ya, one of whom had even spoken to him. That person was now looking up at the sky, occasionally letting out a howl, with a chunk of flesh torn from his neck, no longer bleeding, revealing a ghastly white wound.

Chu Ya had been able to kill zombies without hesitation, but seeing people he knew transformed into this state made it hard for him to act.

He leaned against the wall at the corner and took a deep breath. Black Wolf and Teddy Bear hid behind the wall, watching the zombies and then looking at him. Shen Juanjuan tried to peek out but was pulled back by Chu Ya.

Listening to the occasional howls, Chu Ya knew these were no longer the people he recognized; they had died when bitten by zombies. He needed to enter Bita Tower quickly to check on Xu Wangduo.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and stepped out from the corner. The black-clothed zombies turned abruptly and howled, lunging at him. Black Wolf and Teddy Bear charged forward, and Chu Ya's Psychic Bind split into several beams, piercing their skulls.

Shen Juanjuan tried to look up again, but Chu Ya kept his head pressed against his shoulder. After struggling twice and failing to break free, he lay still.

The zombies fell to the ground, and Chu Ya did not spare them a glance, walking to the tightly shut entrance of Bita Tower and entering the code.

The metal door opened, and he carried Shen Juanjuan and the two quantum beasts inside, closing the heavy metal door behind him.

Inside, it was quiet, with only the distant sounds of intense gunfire. Chu Ya tried to set Shen Juanjuan down but found him clinging tightly, trembling.

"It's over, everything is fine now, we're safe." Chu Ya patted his back.

"Those Mutants, why, why are they so strange?" Shen Juanjuan's voice was soft and trembling with fear. "They were all dressed, wearing shoes, one even had his hair tied up, just like yours. They looked just like people."

When Shen Juanjuan said the last part, it sounded as if he was about to cry. Chu Ya thought it would be too cruel to let him know that the zombies he had killed were once people, so he consoled him, "Monkey Mutants look like monkeys, and human Mutants look like humans. We don't kill monkeys, but we must kill Monkey Mutants because they are not the same kind. It's the same with human Mutants; we must eliminate them, or we will die."

"Monkeys are good, Monkey Mutants are bad. People are good, human Mutants are bad. Right?" Shen Juanjuan asked, sniffing.

"Right." Chu Ya touched his forehead. "No matter how much human Mutants look like people, they are still thick-skinned."

Shen Juanjuan finally calmed down, and his body stopped shaking. Just as Chu Ya was about to step forward, he heard a ding, and the elevator arrived at the ground floor, slowly opening.

He stood still, and no one came out of the elevator. Chu Ya turned Shen Juanjuan to face backward, and Black Wolf silently approached, leaping into the elevator as the doors began to close.

The elevator doors opened again, and Black Wolf slowly walked out, his fierce expression still visible, growling low in his throat.

A man in black lay sprawled outside the elevator, his face purple and blue, with a hole in the middle of his forehead, punctured by a claw.

"What was that? I heard something."

Shen Juanjuan tried to turn his head to look, but Chu Ya carried him upstairs, saying, "Nothing, there was a problem with the elevator. Shen Wangwang will fix it soon."

Black Wolf paused, then turned and dragged the zombie's body out of the elevator and into a nearby empty room.

Teddy Bear stood on the stairs, watching. It had been ferocious while killing zombies, but now, seeing Black Wolf dragging the zombie's body into the empty room, it stuck out its tongue, wrinkled its face, and shook its head repeatedly.

Black Wolf looked up, saw its expression, and stopped. Teddy Bear rubbed its arm and hurried to follow Chu Ya up the stairs.

After discovering zombies in the building, Chu Ya's heart sank, unsure of the current situation of Xu Wangduo and the researchers.

The second-floor corridor was empty, and the laboratory door was tightly shut. He walked quickly to it, releasing his Psychic Bind.

His Psychic Bind penetrated the laboratory door, searching quickly inside, but found no one. However, he was relieved to see that there were no signs of struggle, and the instruments were intact, humming with activity.

"Can I lift my head now? Can I get down and walk myself?" Shen Juanjuan asked in a muffled voice from his arms.

Chu Ya only then realized that Shen Juanjuan had been pressed against his chest all along. He released him and placed him down before pressing his fingerprint onto the lab's lock.

His mental power continued to search within the laboratory, finally discovering Xu Wangduo and about ten researchers behind a locked small door. The room was a cold storage chamber, where Xu Wangduo and the researchers huddled together, their faces pale and lips blue from the cold, looking not much different from zombies.

Having registered his fingerprint, the lock beeped open. He led Shen Juanjuan into the lab and unlocked the small door. Inside, a chorus of screams erupted, and Xu Wangduo raised his gun. Chu Ya swiftly disarmed him and shouted, "It's me."

Five minutes later, the group of researchers and Xu Wangduo were seated in the institute's main hall, each wrapped in thick blankets or clothing.

"We were working when gunshots suddenly rang out outside. People from Bitao Tang pushed us into the cold storage, saying there were zombies, and locked the door. If you hadn't come, we might have frozen to death..." Xu Wangduo, unable to speak properly due to the cold, one of the researchers shivered as he spoke.

As the researcher recounted the events, the Black Wolf was checking each floor and room of the building. The Teddy Bear stood in front of the sink, turning on the tap to wash its paws and body, even sticking its head under the water to rinse.

"What's wrong with the tap?" a researcher asked in shock.

Shen Juanjuan, leaning against Chu Ya, turned his head and glanced over, "Chu Baolong is taking a bath."

"…Oh."

Xu Wangduo finally caught his breath and said in a trembling voice, "The major forces outside must be fighting again. Was it Guangta Gang who came for us? They actually locked us in the cold storage and claimed there were zombies. What nonsense! How could there be zombies now?"

"Yes, even patients with black gangrene wouldn't mutate into zombies," a researcher added.

No sooner had he spoken than several zombie growls echoed through the building, seeping into the lab through the open door, sounding as if they were just upstairs.

Everyone looked up at the ceiling, and Shen Juanjuan, frightened, snuggled closer to Chu Ya. "Did you hear that? There are Mutants upstairs!"

Xu Wangduo gaped upward, and the Teddy Bear, which had been rinsing its head, also lifted its gaze upon hearing the sound.

Bang!

This was followed by the loud crash of furniture being overturned. Xu Wangduo trembled and looked across at Chu Ya.

Chu Ya nodded and whispered, "Yes, there are indeed zombies. They're everywhere on the streets, and my quantum beasts are clearing them out upstairs."

Xu Wangduo seemed to have heard something beyond his comprehension, still looking bewildered, while the other researchers exchanged glances, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.