Chapter 120

Chapter 120

Hearing that the Black Wolf was still clearing out zombies, the Teddy Bear turned off the tap and rushed out with water dripping from his head. Another zombie's howl came from upstairs, which made him angry, and he knocked over a cup of water on the table with one paw.

"Look at it, it did that on purpose, not by accident," Shen Juanjuan pointed at the Teddy Bear's back and said to Chu Ya.

"It's going to help Shen Wangwang fight the Mutants, this is to boost morale."

"Oh, okay then." Shen Juanjuan immediately grabbed the spatula on the ground and loudly asked the Teddy Bear: "Chu Baolong, do you need me to help?"

"Ao!" Chu Baolong refused and instantly dashed out the door.

Chu Ya held back Shen Juanjuan: "It's fine, Shen Wangwang told me there are only a few Mutants upstairs, he and Chu Baolong can handle it."

"Not as many as we encountered on the street earlier, right?"

"No."

Shen Juanjuan then said to Xu Wangduo: "Have you seen human Mutants? We saw so many just now, definitely over two hundred."

Xu Wangduo slowly shook his head.

"Their faces look like this." Shen Juanjuan bared his teeth fiercely and scratched in front of him, "They want to hit people and bite them, making people bleed."

Listening to Shen Juanjuan, Xu Wangduo's face grew paler, and he got up to walk to the window, pulling down the roller blind to look outside.

This was only the second floor, and the faces of the dozen or so zombie corpses lying downstairs were clearly visible. He stood stunned by the window, his breathing becoming more and more rapid. The other researchers also approached, and after seeing the situation outside, they all covered their mouths.

"You stay here for now, I'll go clear the entire building again." Chu Ya then asked Shen Juanjuan: "Will you stay here too? These people are no good, if the human Mutants come, they will all be bitten one by one. You're the guide, can you watch over them here?"

Shen Juanjuan, who had been holding onto the hem of Chu Ya's clothes, looked at him blankly upon hearing this.

"I'm leaving it to you." Chu Ya pressed Shen Juanjuan's shoulder solemnly, pulled his sleeve from Shen Juanjuan's hand, and strode towards the door.

"Then how long will you be back? Two minutes?" Shen Juanjuan chased after him a few steps and asked.

"Ten minutes."

"Can't it be two minutes? I think I can only protect them for two minutes." Shen Juanjuan chased him all the way to the door.

"I'll try to be as quick as possible."

Chu Ya left the laboratory and closed the door behind him. The laboratory door was very sturdy, and since he was in the same building, he would rush down at the slightest sound, so he felt more at ease leaving Shen Juanjuan here.

Chu Ya strode upstairs and helped the Black Wolf and the Teddy Bear clear out the zombies inside the building until he was sure the entire building was clean, then returned to the research institute.

The moment he opened the door, Shen Juanjuan, standing by the door, assumed an attack stance: "Psychic—", recognizing Chu Ya, he immediately stepped aside, "—Attack!"

After releasing the psychic attack into an unoccupied corner, Shen Juanjuan hurriedly rushed towards Chu Ya.

Chu Ya picked him up, took the spatula from his hand, and asked the others: "Now that the building is cleared, do you need to go upstairs to rest?"

Xu Wangduo was still somewhat dazed and replied after a while: "No need, the lab is fine, we can continue working."

Feeling that both Xu Wangduo and the other researchers were not in good shape, Chu Ya advised them not to rush. Xu Wangduo turned to look at the others: "Alright, let's take a break."

The researchers' resting room was on the third floor, and everyone went back to their rooms, tightly closing the doors. Xu Wangduo did not leave but only looked at Chu Ya, hesitating to speak.

Chu Ya then asked: "Dr. Xu, is there something you want to tell me?"

Xu Wangduo walked to the end of the corridor and looked down from the window there. Chu Ya led Shen Juanjuan to his side. The view here was not too broad, but it could still see a section of the street, where although there were people, they were clearly not normal.

"I said it was impossible for zombies to appear because after so many years of mutation, plus the Gengming injection, even if there was black sore disease, there wouldn't be any zombies. But now they have really appeared..." Xu Wangduo's voice trembled.

Shen Juanjuan tiptoed to look out the window and said to Xu Wangduo: "Those are human Mutants."

"Yes, they are also called zombies, it means the same thing," Chu Ya explained.

Xu Wangduo looked at Chu Ya: "There is only one reason for zombies to reappear in the world."

Chu Ya fell silent for two seconds before asking softly: "Gu Lin?"

Xu Wangduo gave a bitter laugh: "We were still celebrating that Gu Lin couldn't create conscious zombie armies, only ordinary zombies. But who would have thought... But no normal person would do such a thing, right? Linya City has a population of a million, he wouldn't be that crazy, right? It must be that the zombies he created escaped from the lab and made their way to Linya City..."

Chu Ya remained silent, only tightly pursing his lips. Xu Wangduo also realized and muttered: "No, it couldn't be accidental. Only by sea can one reach Linya City, it's impossible for a zombie to hide on a ship for over half a month without being discovered. Even if various coincidences brought it to Linya City, it would be detected at the dock. And if it bit someone at the dock, after screening and quarantine, the source of infection would be quickly cut off, it wouldn't lead to a city-wide outbreak..."

Finally, Chu Ya spoke: "Everything is man-made. Just send one person to carry the virus to Linya City and evade the dock inspection. Based on the time of the full-scale outbreak, the first zombie should have appeared last night."

"But if Linya City breaks out with zombies, does he think Cloud Peak can escape? As long as ships leave here, the zombie virus will soon spread across this continent." Xu Wangduo's eyes were red, pacing back and forth anxiously, "What is he trying to do? Let all humans perish together?"

Chu Ya said hoarsely: "Just this morning, all the cranes at the docks were destroyed, no one can leave Linya City now."

Xu Wangduo stopped: "Even if these ships are destroyed, what about the returning ships?"

"He will certainly seal all the routes, not allowing any ships to return to Linya City."

"Why is he doing this?" Xu Wangduo's face was full of disbelief, "Is he mad?"

Before Chu Ya could answer, he suddenly realized: "Gu Lin wants to seize the chip and create his zombie army, but Linya City is entrenched with power, not a place he can easily reach. So he is gradually weakening the power in the city, making it fall apart, so he can easily get the chip."

"Beast, a beast with a wolf's heart and a dog's lungs." Xu Wangduo cursed angrily, grabbing Chu Ya's arm, "We mustn't let him get the chip, otherwise the entire continent will truly be doomed. Give me some more time, let me create a medicine that can resist both black sore disease and the zombie virus."

Chu Ya pursed his lips: "Rest assured, I will do my best to protect you and these researchers."

In the distance, the sound of gunfire and the roars of a group of zombies could be heard. Xu Wangduo wiped his face, "What do we do now?"

Chu Ya pursed his lips: "I don't know either, but for now, we can only hide in this building. Dr. Xu, go rest for a while, I'll come find you later."

Xu Wangduo now had no heart for work and returned to his room. Chu Ya led Shen Juanjuan to the fourth floor, where they had once stayed. On the way, the phone rang again; it was Yun Tuo.

"Brother Yun Tuo."

Yun Tuo's voice was a bit hoarse: "Xiaoya, is everything okay on your side?"

"It's fine. I've already arrived at the Bi Tao Building and found Dr. Xu and the researchers; none of them are hurt."

As Chu Ya recounted the situation to Yun Tuo, he heard gunfire continuously in the background, reminding him that the largest resettlement point in Linya City was at the West District exit, quite close to the orphanage.

"Brother Yun Tuo, how is the orphanage? Is the resettlement point overrun with zombies?" Chu Ya asked anxiously.

Yun Tuo replied, "Don't worry, we have many sentry guides here, so the zombies can't get in. Just protect yourself and Dr. Xu and the others."

Chu Ya felt somewhat relieved. Yun Tuo continued, "I think all this is Gu Lin's doing, the appearance of the zombies and the destruction of the stone-breaking machine on the boat."

"I know, his goal is the chip."

"You must protect Dr. Xu and the others. If anything changes, contact me immediately."

"Understood."

Yun Tuo added, "I suspect the communication room is unattended now. We won't be able to use the phone for long, but even if we lose contact, don't panic. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen to the children at the orphanage."

Seeing Shen Juanjuan looking at him eagerly, Chu Ya asked, "Brother Yun Tuo, can you give the phone to the kids from Class One? Either Lin Duozhi or Tang Yuanyuan would do."

"Wow!" Shen Juanjuan immediately jumped up, reaching for the phone and pressing it to his ear, shouting excitedly, "Lin Duozhi, Tang Yuanyuan."

"Wait a minute, Juanjuan, give me two minutes," Yun Tuo said from the other end.

The sound of footsteps, gunfire, and Yun Tuo's conversation with the management came through the phone. Shen Juanjuan held the phone closely, occasionally shouting Lin Duozhi's name and then smiling excitedly at Chu Ya, "Not yet, I called the wrong person again, ha ha, I find it so funny."

Finally, a faint voice came from the other end: "Hello, hello." It sounded like Lin Duozhi.

"Hello, hello," Shen Juanjuan also said.

"Hello, hello." Yun Tuo seemed to have adjusted the phone, making Lin Duozhi's voice louder: "Hello."

"Lin Duozhi!"

"Shen Juanjuan!"

"Lin Duozhi, I was just in that big building, there were so many things inside, and a lot of Mutants. They were growling... growling..." Shen Juanjuan narrated urgently.

Lin Duozhi also spoke non-stop from the other end: "There are a lot of zombies outside the orphanage, they climb walls very fast. Inside, they're shooting, bang bang bang, and I'm helping the sentries manage their mental domains."

"I'm managing too. We ran down the street, I had a weapon, I smashed their heads, bang!"

...

Both children kept talking, but they could still hear each other clearly. After clearing the entire building, Black Wolf and Teddy Bear came over, and Chu Ya led Shen Juanjuan upstairs.

"That Mutant didn't have any arms, just like Chu Baolong," Shen Juanjuan said.

"Awooo!"

"Chu Baolong has arms, it's like he took them off," Shen Juanjuan let go of Chu Ya's hand, petted Teddy Bear's head, and comforted, "You look so good, better than that Mutant."

...

Inside the quiet building, Chu Ya could hear the sounds coming from the phone, understanding that the orphanage was surrounded by a large group of zombies.

However, Yun Tuo's commands were orderly, so he knew the situation at the orphanage wasn't too bad.

After Shen Juanjuan finished talking to Lin Duozhi, he also spoke with Tang Yuanyuan and Chen Hongliang. Chen Hongliang said after a few words, "I need to kill some zombies, I just killed two."

"They're Mutants," Shen Juanjuan corrected.

"Everyone calls them zombies, but Mutants sounds better."

"Chen Hongliang! Make your quantum beast stop barking at us! Our ears are going to go deaf!" someone shouted from the other end.

"Alright, sure!" Chen Hongliang responded loudly. Shen Juanjuan exclaimed, and Chu Ya quickly moved the phone away from his ear.

When Chu Ya opened the door to their former room, Shen Juanjuan was still on the phone, talking to the kids from Dorm 16 and Liu Sijin.

"Liu Sijin, I went to the exchange today, there were so many things inside. My brother bought me a new weapon, I'll show it to you when I get back to the orphanage."

As soon as Teddy Bear entered the room, it took the spatula from Chu Ya's hand, pulled Black Wolf into the bathroom to take a bath, while Chu Ya walked to the window to look outside.

The air was thick with smoke, the sky dark and heavy. The view from here was wider than downstairs, showing smoke rising from various parts of the city. There were no pedestrians on the streets, only groups of zombies wandering around, running toward the direction of gunfire whenever it sounded.

After Shen Juanjuan finished talking to all his friends, he handed the warm phone to Chu Ya and turned to look at his empty hands.

"Where's my weapon?" he asked.

Chu Ya replied, "Chu Baolong took it to the bathroom to clean it."

Shen Juanjuan immediately ran into the bathroom, where he saw Teddy Bear had already washed the spatula, scratched its back, and was holding it in an attack position, looking at itself in the mirror.

Black Wolf stood behind it, watching appreciatively.

"That's my weapon," Shen Juanjuan immediately reached out to grab it, but Teddy Bear twisted its body, holding the spatula: "Awooo!"

"You lost your weapon, this one is mine."

"Awoo."

"Give it back to me."

"Awooo!"

Chu Ya was still in a daze when he heard another quarrel from the bathroom, seemingly escalating into a fight, with cabinets banging loudly.

He hurried over and separated the two who were wrestling on the sink. The Teddy Bear left the bathroom with a spatula, and Shen Juanjuan burst into tears, immediately chasing after him. Chu Ya quickly grabbed him: "Wait, I'll get it for you."

The Teddy Bear kept looking back as he walked, and upon seeing Chu Ya following, he quickly hid behind the Black Wolf. Chu Ya then said gently: "Chubao Long, this pot—weapon belongs to Shen Juanjuan. Yours was lost while fighting zombies. There's a kitchen—weapon storage in this building. Return this to him, and I'll go get you another one."

"..."

"I know, I'll find a better one."

Chu Ya went to look for the kitchen on the third floor, where he met a researcher standing at the door for some fresh air.

"The main kitchen isn't in this building," the researcher pointed to the left, "a few dozen meters away is a two-story building, which is the dining hall and kitchen. Normally, Bitao Tang's subordinates eat there, and our meals are delivered from there."

As they spoke, all the doors along the corridor opened, and the researchers nervously poked their heads out.

"Chu Ya, what's going on?" Xu Wangduo asked.

Chu Ya explained: "I'm looking for the kitchen."

"There's a small kitchen on the fourth floor, fully equipped, but without ingredients," a researcher said.

Xu Wangduo added: "The kitchen is in another building. If you're going, I'll go with you."

"I can do it; I'm quite strong and can carry some sweet potatoes or rice flour."

Compared to taking several researchers to fetch food, Chu Ya felt it would be safer to go alone, so he said: "No need, I'll take the quantum beast and go."

Xu Wangduo also knew that going with them would only add trouble for Chu Ya, so he didn't insist.

Chu Ya returned to the fourth floor and gave Shen Juanjuan and the Teddy Bear some instructions, coaxing them to stay inside.

"I can only protect them for two minutes, so you have to come back quickly," Shen Juanjuan reminded.

"I know."

"Should I go to the second floor to protect them?"

"No, just stay here."

The Teddy Bear let out an "Ao," and Chu Ya added: "I'll bring back food and find you a weapon from the weapon storage."

When Chu Ya and the Black Wolf went downstairs, Shen Juanjuan held his spatula and peered out the window with the Teddy Bear, watching until Chu Ya disappeared around the corner of the building without turning away.

After a moment, Shen Juanjuan's gaze swept to the other side, and he suddenly exclaimed, shaking the Teddy Bear's arm: "Zombies!"

The Teddy Bear turned his head and saw about twenty zombies gathered outside the building, staring at the window at the end of the second-floor corridor.

Iron bars were welded to the windows on the second floor, but the window at the end of the corridor, used by Bitao Tang's guards to check the outside, remained unbarred. The zombies were now focusing on this window, trying to climb up the wall.

"They're climbing, they want to get to the window!" Shen Juanjuan said in panic.

The steel walls were very smooth, and the zombies couldn't climb up, only roaring and slamming their bodies against the wall. One zombie, whether by accident or design, stepped on the backs of the others and tried to climb through the window using a human ladder.

Shen Juanjuan and the Teddy Bear were both alarmed. After exchanging glances, they rushed to the door together.

They quickly descended to the second floor. As soon as Shen Juanjuan peeked out, he saw a pale hand on the window at the end of the corridor, followed by a zombie's head poking through.

The zombie's face was half-rotted, one eyeball hanging out of its socket, and clumps of blood-soaked hair dangling down.

Shen Juanjuan stared into the zombie's single eye, so terrified that his spatula fell to the ground, but he instinctively released a Psychic Bind.

The zombie had just opened its mouth, not yet managing to climb into the window, when it fell backward.

"It was me who knocked it down," Shen Juanjuan's heart pounded, "I'll tell Shen Miaomiao that I knocked it down."

With Chu Ya not around, Shen Juanjuan was hesitant to get too close to the zombies, but the Teddy Bear had already charged forward. He shouted "Chubao Long" in panic and picked up the spatula to follow.

Another zombie appeared at the window, and the Teddy Bear threw his arm like a boomerang, causing the zombie to fall.

"Ao!" the Teddy Bear called out.

Shen Juanjuan replied: "I saw it, you took down that zombie." He mimicked the Teddy Bear's throwing motion as he ran, "Bang! Bang!"

The Teddy Bear rushed to the window, reaching out his claws, and Shen Juanjuan followed closely, smashing his spatula down hard on the zombies below, shouting, "Bang!"

The spatula hit a zombie's back and fell to the ground, but the zombie didn't fall, instead roaring and continuing to climb the wall, its long nails scraping against the metal with a grating sound.

"My weapon won't come back," Shen Juanjuan said, leaning on the windowsill.

Stimulated by Shen Juanjuan and the Teddy Bear, the zombies began to climb each other's shoulders, more frantically trying to reach the second floor. Despite his fear, Shen Juanjuan used Psychic Bind on the zombies almost reaching the window, while the Teddy Bear lay flat on the windowsill, slashing at the zombies' heads with his claws, piercing through those restrained.

"Chubao Long, don't fall."

"Ao."

The commotion on the second floor was significant, but with the sounds of gunfire and explosions echoing throughout Linya City, and Xu Wangduo and the others staying in their tightly closed rooms, no one noticed the child and his quantum beast fighting zombies at the other end of the second-floor corridor.