Chapter 71

Chapter 71

"Bang—"

After taking down another zombie with a precise shot, Jiang Nian couldn't help but quip:

"Because the virus triggered the lockdown AI, the factory automatically sealed itself, trapping everyone working inside... reminds me of that old movie with the Umbrella Corporation's Hive facility."

Honestly, this really feels like living out a video game.

Liao Yu, walking behind him, responded earnestly:

"At least our situation's better than in the movies—we're not stuck underground, we can run whenever we want, and we have abilities... Though, the zombies in reality have abilities too..."

"..."

"You think there might be survivors inside?"

Tang Yi's question sounded naive and silly, yet his expression was utterly sincere.

Lu Ningzhou sucked in a breath, he muttered:

"Don’t say such creepy things. Anyone who survived would probably be scarier than the zombies."

"If there are, they’d be the chosen ones—real-life apocalypse heroes!"

Liao Yu’s voice grew excited.

"You’re such an anime-obsessed, boss..."

"I’m just making a realistic extrapolation. Typical anime-obsessed protagonists would’ve already been reborn before doomsday to stockpile supplies, amass followers, and dominate everything—not end up in such a messy situation."

"Haha..."

"Yeah, hahaha..."

"..."

As Jiang Nian listened to his teammates sniping zombies while bantering, he smirked faintly at the mention of reincarnation and stockpiling supplies.

Reincarnation, stockpiling, dimensional storage, a lover, reliable teammates—he had it all. Yet, unlike those protagonists who effortlessly conquered the apocalypse, he was just barely scraping by a little more comfortably than others.

"Brrrt-brrrt—"

"Brrrt-brrrt—"

"Crash—"

Entering the factory area, the team fanned out slightly, moving in a search pattern to clear out the wandering zombies outside the sealed work areas.

Only then did they forcefully breach the doors.

With a thunderous crash, the workshop door gave way. Everyone pulled up their masks and snapped their goggles in place, bracing themselves.

Peering through the broken entrance, the workshop was consumed by darkness inside.

"Rrrraaagh—"

After a while, chilling shrieks echoed from the depths of the workshop, and soon, a group of twisted, run-of-the-mill zombies came rushing out amidst chaotic footsteps.

But everyone quickly noticed something odd—each of these zombies was missing limbs:

Not from rot or decay, but limbs torn off, as if ripped away in a struggle or eaten during the early stages of infection.

Questions aside, these zombies, having evolved to a certain degree, were fast despite their injuries, closing in on them in no time.

"Brrrrt—"

"Bang!"

"..."

Gunfire erupted, Thunder Fire crackled, and the charging zombies were blown to bits.

After collecting the energy cores, Cheng Jing signaled, and the group flicked on their headlamps to enter the workshop.

Due to contamination from the zombies and the apocalypse virus, the sealed workshop was just as ruined as the rest:

Dried black blood and evidence of brutal wreckage were everywhere. Machine parts and chemical materials were strewn across the floor, blackened and spoiled by pollution, beyond recognition.

There were also mangled limbs and putrid flesh—some picked clean to bone, others still clinging to tendons and flesh, riddled with teeth marks.

Inside the factory, they broke into teams of two, moving in a unified direction.

Cheng Jing paired with Jiang Nian, while the others shifted roles based on their Superpower strengths and situational needs, forming five groups in total.

"Wait—something’s wrong."

While the others cautiously advanced, Jiang Nian suddenly stopped, adjusting his headlamp to shine on a blackened, rigor-mortis claw—clearly from a zombie.

"What is it?"

Cheng Jing asked, tracking his light.

The others froze too, turning alertly toward them.

"Brother Jing, look—these bite marks are recent..."

Thinking he might be mistaken, Jiang Nian crouched, picked it up with a tissue, and confirmed the newly torn bite marks.

"Zombies eating zombies?"

Cheng Jing said grimly, instructing the others to examine the scattered limbs on the ground.

Soon, they confirmed:

Many of the severed limbs bore new bite marks.

The discovery made everyone’s skin crawl.

They all recalled how the zombies they encountered earlier were missing body parts—likely caused by this.

Yet, based on their current intel, zombies don’t cannibalize. They were drawn to the fresh flesh of the living.

"..."

As the group speculated and discussed, Jiang Nian cut in, dead serious:

"There's intense and chaotic energy fluctuations from Superpowers here. Either zombies eating other zombies is related to Superpowers, or there's something else present. Everyone stay alert."

If Yang Kai hadn't been there, he would have used his own Superpower. The Purification Superpower reacts to zombies and could serve as an early-warning system.

His teammates knew his Superpower detected energy shifts, so they naturally trusted his judgment.

Yang Kai observed the others' reactions and guessed that his ability was likely a detection-based support ability. He nodded in acknowledgment.

"Teams, move in tight formation—back-to-back, eyes sharp."

After Cheng Jing's order, the group pushed ahead, everyone on high alert.

According to the facility logs, around a hundred people had been locked inside this workshop.

Aside from the twenty-something they had taken out at the entrance, most were still inside.

Guns locked and loaded, Superpowers primed. The moment any movement was detected in a corner, they opened fire instantly.

As the saying goes, fear just means you need more bullets. So, if something felt off, they didn’t hesitate—they just shot first, figured it out later.

Thus, some unfamiliar zombies were blasted down to just a glowing core after a hailstorm of gunfire and energy blasts.

The racket kept pulling in more zombies, especially since this place was a full-blown zombie hive.

They didn’t need to search—the zombies would come to them.

But gradually, as a throat-burning, acid reek wafted from ahead, they stopped encountering any more zombies.

The surrounding machinery also showed signs of corrosion from acidic substances.

"God, that’s vile!"

Huang Qian tugged at her mask and muttered.

"Reeks like a chemical vat..."

Lu Ningzhou replied offhandedly.

Zhou Rongbin chimed in:

"There is indeed an indoor chemical pool here... Map says it’s right in the center of the workshop. We’re about halfway there."

"..."

The group continued inward until, after navigating around a pile of chemical barrels, they finally saw the pool—square, four meters in length and width, but only about a meter deep.

A third of the liquid had evaporated, leaving behind a thick, tar-thick, inky sludge that reeked of gut-churning acid stink.

But the most horrifying sight was a male zombie in a blue work uniform, sitting in the chemical pool, chomping on a rotting zombie arm like a drumstick.

Around him floated several other dismembered limbs and swollen, half-dissolved guts.