Chapter 93: Chapter 85: Unconscious Animals

“Thank you, thank you, big brother, for sparing my life!”

Wu Daqiang saw that Zhang Su indeed intended to let him live, and was nearly moved to tears with joy.

“Go ahead.”

Zhang Su waved his hand, signaling the others to make way for Wu Daqiang.

“Thank you, big brother, thank you, thank you all… Oh, wait!”

Wu Daqiang limped towards the door, suddenly thinking of something and turned back to Zhang Su, “If I go back alone, I definitely won’t survive. Master Xin will surely send someone to investigate. You might not be afraid, but if it’s unnecessary, you should leave.”

Zhang Su was slightly taken aback, not expecting Wu Daqiang to plan on leaving alone, and nodded: “Alright, I understand.”

This vendetta was nearly impossible to resolve; Zhang Su couldn’t simply let the intruding group of four seize supplies. Master Xin’s side would undoubtedly grow suspicious after losing people, and things wouldn’t end peacefully.

Wu Daqiang nodded without saying more. Despite his injuries, he was content to have a life spared; no matter how it’s said, they were in the wrong first. As he exited, he didn’t forget to gently close the door, though its lock was already broken and couldn’t be secured.

“Brother Su, you’re really letting him go?”

Lu Yubo thought Zhang Su would do something last-minute, like taking him out when leaving, but he really let Wu Daqiang go.

“You believe he didn’t assault that girl, so you’re letting him go?” Zhong Xiaoshan asked softly.

Zhang Su shook his head: “I indeed believe he didn’t do that, but I really thought I’d let him go as long as he dared to pick up a knife. No matter how he spins the story when he goes back, it’s better than killing him, it’s just…”

“I didn’t expect he’d plan on leaving Phoenix International. Pack your things; this place can’t be stayed in anymore.”

After simply explaining to the group, Zhang Su looked at the three diverse corpses on the ground, shaking his head helplessly.

He didn’t doubt Wu Daqiang’s final warning, because whatever angle one looks at it, Tan Huajun’s home couldn’t be stayed in; even without Wu Daqiang’s warning, he planned to find a new place to stay overnight!

“Your earlier words turned true, live humans are scarier than zombies, sigh…”

Standing by the door, having packed, Zheng Xinyu said lowly.

Zhang Su chuckled: “This is just the beginning; the Dark Forest has only just started, let’s go.”

“Brother Su, let me take one more look.”

Tan Huajun, propped with a caliper, stood at the door, the light of a flashlight sweeping past the house she had lived in for five or six years, she couldn’t help but shed tears.

This was the house she moved into after divorcing her husband, the starting point of saying farewell to the past and beginning a new life, but now it had reached its conclusion.

In the post-apocalyptic survival, being homeless is the norm, and wandering is the main theme.

Zhang Su and the others left the seventh building, not encountering Wu Daqiang due to the time difference.

At night, under the cold, hazy moonlight, they could barely see human outlines within three to five meters. The five of them traveled through the darkness, not using flashlights as that would surely expose their whereabouts.

The group returned to the fourth building they passed in the afternoon, squeezed into a safe apartment and searched upward, quickly finding an open room on the third floor.

The room was in disarray; using the faint light from a phone screen to casually check, they didn’t find disturbing corpses. The smell lacked blood and rot, making this environment quite decent for them.

Zheng Xinyu, without taking off her backpack, was the first to rush towards the balcony, planning to draw the curtains to avoid being found again.

However, as she crossed the threshold and reached the balcony, she caught a glimpse of something odd. Without turning on the flashlight, she couldn’t see clearly what it was.

“Huh? Eh~~~!”

Zheng Xinyu instinctively leaned closer for a look, nearly letting out a scream, but thankfully, Zhang Su had been reminding her never to make a sound, so she forcibly held back.

Though the scream wasn’t uttered, the strange sound immediately grabbed Zhang Su and the others’ attention.

“What’s going on?”

Zhang Su darted to the balcony, the sharp blade of the kukri now in hand.

“Dog, doggie!”

Zheng Xinyu pointed at a dog cage in the corner, surprised.

???

Zhang Su and Zhong Xiaoshan exchanged glances, even in the dark, they felt each other’s astonishment.

“Brother Su, what about the dog? Are you planning to eat it?”

Confused by their surprise, Lu Yubo asked, cluelessly.

“Eat eat eat, eat for nothing…” Zhang Su, speechless, gave Lu Yubo a light tap on the head.

Tan Huajun was also somewhat confused and asked: “Brother Su, you seem surprised seeing the dog, why is that?”

“Let me check the situation first.”

Zhang Su didn’t answer them, crouched down, illuminating the dog cage with his phone screen; it was a small Corgi, quietly curled up in the cage. From its slightly heaving chest, he could tell it wasn’t dead, but…

People had approached, yet it hadn’t responded, and considering how many days had passed, the food in the cage seemed untouched, the water quite full, only naturally evaporated a bit.

“Is this Corgi dead?”

Zheng Xinyu crouched beside Zhang Su, tensely watching the small Corgi.

“Not dead. But its state is quite peculiar…”

Zhang Su turned around his knife, using the blade’s back to prod the Corgi through the cage bars. It swayed with the force, as if boneless, but still slept sweetly, showing no sign of awakening.

He stood up, frowned, and said: “Old Tan, Bozai, think about it; since the zombie virus outbreak, have you seen any other animals besides this dog? Birds, cats, dogs, anything—even insects. Have you seen any?”

“Animals?”

Lu Yubo immediately tilted his head and began digging through recent memories, nodding vigorously: “I really haven’t seen any cats or dogs. As for other animals, it’s cold, so I haven’t seen any either.”

Tan Huajun chuckled awkwardly: “I’ve been stuck at the gas station the whole time, so I don’t know what’s going on outside. But since you all say you haven’t seen any, there must be something wrong.”

“The outbreak of this virus is very strange in itself. Maybe animals have gotten infected too?”

Zhong Xiaoshan pondered and said.

Zhang Su questioned, puzzled: “It doesn’t make sense. Even if animals are infected, where are they? Did they just vanish into thin air?”

“Oh dear! Stop analyzing these things. Aren’t you all tired?”

Zheng Xinyu wasn’t interested in these questions with no clear answers. She had been on night watch earlier and was now very sleepy.

Zhang Su glanced at the corgi inside the dog cage, then raised his wrist to check the time: “Over four hours until sunrise. Tonight, we’ll have to make do on the couch for one night. Who is supposed to be on watch during this time?”

Zhang Su checked the time and asked the group.

Zhong Xiaoshan raised her hand and said: “It’s my turn!”

“You all go ahead and rest. I’m not sleepy and can keep watch until dawn.”

Tan Huajun said weakly.

Finally making it back home, with no family left, only a note, and now unable to stay in the house, lying with three dead bodies, Tan Huajun felt deeply sad.

The group knew Tan Huajun was feeling bad, so after a couple of comforting words, each went to sleep. To express their gratitude for Tan Huajun taking over the night watch, Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan gave Tan Huajun some of their allocated food.

The current environment demands growth, both physically and psychologically, to quickly adapt to the new order.

As time passed with eyes half-closed, Zhang Su opened his eyes again, sensing a soft glow through the curtains. He looked at the time; it was a bit past seven in the morning.

Scouting around, Zheng Xinyu was still sleeping like a little cat beside him, Lu Yubo was splayed on the floor, snoring softly.

The night watch Tan Huajun was sitting at the dining table near the kitchen, one hand propping her cheek, the other resting on a caliper, staring blankly, lost in her thoughts.

Zhang Su’s ear twitched, hearing slight noises from the bedroom, knowing without a doubt that it was Zhong Xiaoshan searching for something.

“Go take a rest; we’re not leaving this morning.”

Zhang Su didn’t wake Zheng Xinyu or Lu Yubo. He walked over to Tan Huajun and said softly.

Tan Huajun was startled, instinctively gripping the caliper tightly, but relaxed her grip upon seeing it was Zhang Su.

“Okay, Brother Su.”

After letting Tan Huajun go rest, Zhang Su first went to the balcony to check on the sleeping, or perhaps comatose, corgi. It had yellow and white fur, with a long tail curled beside its legs, big floppy ears, and a black nose gently twitching with its slow breaths.

He took the clothes hanger from the balcony and poked the little corgi for a while, but seeing it didn’t respond at all, he pursed his lips and joined Zhong Xiaoshan in rummaging through the house.

From the living traces, you could tell this used to be a happy family of three, who presumably were very lucky to escape. But later, others came to search here, leaving almost no supplies behind.

There was no food or drink, but there was plenty of warm clothing.

Tan Huajun finally took off layer after layer of gas station work clothes (her own clothes had been taken by the rescue team) and changed into a thin down jacket found in the wardrobe. You could tell the house’s original female owner was not thin either.

The others also changed into clean clothes to varying degrees. Though they couldn’t take a bath, wearing clean clothes made them feel much better.

“Let’s discuss what to do next.”

Around ten in the morning, after having breakfast, the five sat together to start planning their next move.

Everyone knew Phoenix International was just a temporary resting place, even an accidental one. But they were quite confused about the next steps, all looking at Zhang Su.

Zhang Su, seeing everyone looking at him, directly shared his thoughts: “Head south, left at the intersection and more than two hundred meters from there is my shop. I’ve hidden some good weapons there. Getting them would greatly increase our ability to fight zombies!”

“Brother Su, are you talking about those iron knives you sold us?”

Lu Yubo asked sneakily, wearing a cheeky expression.

Zhang Su glanced at Lu Yubo, responding dryly: “Just for that comment, when we get to the convenience store, you’ll be the last one to pick a weapon!”

“I’m just kidding, hahaha.”

Lu Yubo laughed awkwardly, fiddling with the food sampler in his hand: “This is pretty good, I don’t need a new weapon.”

“The intersection, turn right… it’s not far, less than two kilometers? But what if it’s inconvenient to stay at the convenience store?”

Zheng Xinyu pondered and asked.

“If that doesn’t work, we’ll head directly north to get out of the city! That’s the general direction, but who knows what might happen along the way!”

Zhang Su explained, drawing with his fingers on the ground.

“Head north out of the city?”

Zhong Xiaoshan asked weakly, looking at Zhang Su with a curious expression.

Zhang Su nodded, apologetically: “Xiaoshan, I know you want to go to Funing County to check on your parents, but you know the current situation, going to Funing is certainly not as good as heading to Qing County.”

Of the four counties in Qin City, Qing County is the largest, four times the size of Funing County. But due to various geographical and developmental factors, it has only one-third of Funing County’s population. A simple calculation shows that Qing County’s population density is less than one-tenth of Funing County’s.

Understandably, encountering ten zombies in Qing County would mean facing over a hundred in Funing!

Zhong Xiaoshan certainly understood this reasoning, biting her lip and nodding silently, speaking softly: “If I have the chance, I’d still like to go to Funing and see.”

She couldn’t leave the team and head to Funing alone like Wang Guangjun. Her combat power wouldn’t allow it, and the distance to Funing is not comparable to the School of Environment.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep