CHAPTER 13

Tang Yu grabbed her teammate beside her and found a two-story building across the mall. They climbed onto the balcony.

This place was still considered the outskirts of the city, and the mall was not very large. From their current position, they were not far from the mall, just separated by a two-lane road.

Standing high and looking far, the three of them peeked out from the balcony and quickly understood the current situation.

A group of people was trapped inside the mall, visible through the glass doors. There were also some remaining zombies inside. At the moment, they couldn't retreat or move forward.

"Seems like they're newcomers," Jin Ye concluded. "Zombies don't close doors, so they must have closed it themselves. Locking themselves in a confined space is undoubtedly a death sentence. Most of these people are probably new players who recently joined the game."

Before her words could settle, a man in the mall suddenly waved his hands vigorously towards their direction.

Tang Yu crouched down. "Did he see us? Is he asking for help?"

"Seems like it."

"But we're zombies." Tang Yu found it amusing. The person on the other side probably mistook them for humans.

"I wouldn't go down even if I weren't a zombie," Jin Ye said cold-bloodedly. "Look at the zombies down there. They're different from the ones we encountered before. We're greatly outnumbered, and going down would be suicide."

After Jin Ye's remark, Tang Yu also noticed that the zombies surrounding the entrance of the mall were not in a frantic state like the others. Although they were crowded together, upon closer inspection, they maintained a certain distance from each other. Unlike the zombies elsewhere, who would shove their elbows into each other's mouths, flailing their limbs in chaos.

These were well-behaved zombies with a sense of boundaries.

This slight difference surprised Tang Yu. "Do they have consciousness too?" she muttered, then denied the thought.

They didn't use tools to hit the glass doors, nor did they communicate with each other. Although they maintained a sense of order, they only mindlessly pounded the door and roared.

It was completely different from Tang Yu and her group.

Tang Yu recalled what Jian Wu had mentioned before, that the mutated zombie king could control its kind to engage in battle. Could these zombies also be controlled?

But they didn't seem very formidable. Their brains were still dull.

While she was thinking, gunshots suddenly rang out from the empty street.

The three people on the balcony quickly dodged into the house and peeked their heads out towards the road.

A large truck was approaching, and the people inside the truck were shooting towards the entrance of the mall. The zombies surrounding the entrance immediately changed their target and surged towards the truck.

The people on the truck calmly jumped out of the vehicle. Tang Yu roughly counted and realized there were over twenty people, all strong men.

These men seemed to have a lot of combat experience, and their weapons were in good condition. Some even threw grenades. In just ten minutes, they had dealt with fifty unarmed zombies.

The people trapped in the mall finally saw their saviors, broke the glass door, and rushed out. They cried out, "Thank you for saving us!"

Tang Yu couldn't help but think, shouldn't it be my zombie comrades who need saving? It's so miserable. They don't know how to use weapons or think, they can only be beaten.

Tang Yu observed that there were five newcomers in this group, three men and two women. The one who just thanked them was a man with braided hair.

"Newcomers?" one of the men holding a gun on the truck chuckled as he sized up the five individuals, his gaze not friendly.

The man with braided hair noticed this but ignored it directly and answered, "Yes, we are newcomers."

The armed man said, "Since that's the case, why not join us? We're fighters from the Hubao [Tiger Leopard] Camp. If you follow us, we guarantee you won't be scared enough to wet your pants like this time." He laughed loudly and patted the tiger and leopard tattoos on his shoulder.

How impolite. Tang Yu silently complained. This Hubao Camp doesn't seem like a good place to go.

Clearly, the people who were saved also noticed this.

However, the man with braided hair actually agreed on his own. "Okay, big brother, if you can take us in, we're really lucky."

His friends looked at him in disbelief, especially one long-haired girl who seemed to sense danger and firmly said, "I'm not going. I can handle myself alone..."

But before she could finish her sentence, the man with tattoos suddenly fired a shot, killing her instantly.

Not only were the people nearby shocked, but Tang Yu and her group were also greatly frightened.

"This is bad, let's go." Tang Yu lowered her voice. "Neither of these groups are good people. The man with braided hair has seen us and might expose us."

The three of them crouched down and left the building, planning to escape in another direction by climbing through a ground-floor window.

This unexpected incident made Tang Yu realize that some of the players in this game had gone crazy, and not all those who rescue others are necessarily good people.

After a show of force, the group led by the man with braided hair would definitely join the so-called Hubao Camp. Even if they wanted to refuse, they didn't have the guts.

It's just that Tang Yu felt sorry for her three surviving teammates who were now trapped in the den of the man with braided hair. Weak individuals wouldn't have a good time in such a powerful camp.

Tang Yu speculated that this group of people probably came for the Zombie King and would likely stay in Y City for a few days.

In her mind, she planned to seize an opportunity to transform the girl into a zombie and recruit her. It would be saving a life, and sometimes unconventional methods were necessary.

However, Tang Yu suspected that people were treacherous, but she didn't expect the man with braided hair to expose them so quickly. Just as she climbed out of the window, she heard the front door being kicked open. Several muscular men armed with guns rushed in and happened to spot Xiaoli who was climbing out from the back.

Xiaoli was quick-witted. She knew it would be difficult to escape at this point, so she grinned and said, "Brother, don't kill us. We're just passing by."

Tang Yu and Jin Ye had no choice but to stop in their tracks and pulled their hat brims down, facing away from the crowd.

The tattooed man walked in, looked at Xiaoli in surprise, and asked, "All girls?"

This disrespectful address infuriated Tang Yu, and if it weren't for the enemy's overwhelming firepower, she would have charged in and torn this brother Hu's mouth apart.

"Brother Hu [Tiger], They're all women, maybe some players from other teams." his subordinate replied.

Brother Hu pushed his subordinate aside, chuckled, and said, "Since that's the case, sisters, how about joining our camp? Your points must not be very high, right? I'll protect you."

"No need for the trouble, haha." Xiaoli smiled brightly, but in her heart, she had already cursed his ancestors for eighteen generations.

"No trouble at all. How can it be a trouble to serve beautiful ladies?"

Now, not only Tang Yu but also Jin Ye wanted to charge in and tear this Brother Hu's mouth apart.

As Brother Hu approached, he curiously asked, "Why aren't your friends showing their faces?"

"They're ugly and don't want to be seen." Xiaoli calmly replied.

In a way, Brother Hu was indeed correct.

Brother Hu, however, remained skeptical. "They didn't even make a sound?"

"They're both mute." Xiaoli continued.

"You have a terrible eye for choosing teammates." Brother Hu sneered disdainfully. Perhaps it was because of his overwhelming strength that he felt a strong sense of superiority towards the weak, and he couldn't be bothered to verify whether Xiaoli was telling the truth.

On the other hand, his subordinate showed some alertness as he kept his eyes on Tang Yu and Jin Ye's figures.

Brother Hu waved his hand and said, "Stop making excuses. Get in the car with us. I'll take you to kill the Zombie King. Any leftover points will be yours."

Xiaoli hesitated and glanced back at Tang Yu and Jin Ye. Tang Yu nodded slightly, indicating for her to agree for now.

Since no one in the enemy camp raised objections, it meant that this team didn't have any keen-sensed supernaturals. Tang Yu decided to go along with the mistake and act as a human for the time being.

And so, the three of them mistakenly boarded the stolen vehicle.

They were arranged in a corner of the truck. Tang Yu and Jin Ye kept their hat brims pulled down, and the collars of their combat uniforms were raised to cover their chins, only revealing their eyes as they surveyed the surroundings.

The truck had no roof, and the side railings were very low, with only a few iron bars to prevent the zombies from swarming.

As they moved closer to the city center, they saw more and more zombies. Since it was noon, most of the zombies appeared somewhat sluggish. Groups of zombies stood in the shadows in the distance, swaying left and right. Tang Yu took a look through the railing and shivered.

Those zombies swayed rhythmically like waves of grass blown by the wind, occasionally shifting positions, forming neat formations like an army.

It was eerie.

The zombies that were closer clung to the back of the truck, only to be shot down by the other muscular men.

However, the zombies in the city were different from those in the suburbs. Their stamina seemed to have been raised by one level as they relentlessly chased after the truck. Some of the more agile ones even climbed onto the iron bars on both sides.

The corner where Tang Yu was located was very close to the iron bars, so she and Jin Ye had to take action to repel the zombies.

The subordinate who had been keeping an eye on her withdrew his gaze. Tang Yu's intervention inadvertently dispelled his doubts.

At least they had helped, and their skills were not bad. The rookie team with the braided man, on the other hand, cowered in a corner and dared not move.

Tang Yu pulled her hat brim down again. At this moment, the truck suddenly came to a stop.

Brother Hu shouted from the co-driver's seat, "Let's find a place to regroup and rest for now. We'll continue forward at night."

The vehicle turned and left the bustling city, stopping at a dilapidated gas station. The group got off the truck and quickly dealt with a few stray zombies by shooting them.

Tang Yu looked up at the sky. The midday sun was glaring, the time when the zombies were weakest. But Brother Hu suddenly stopped the advance and insisted on taking action at night, which didn't make much sense.

Perhaps he wasn't afraid of the zombies at all but wanted to hunt them.

Tang Yu remembered the supernatural talent mentioned by Jin Ye. With Brother Hu acting so arrogantly, he must have some ability backing him up.

Moreover, that pile of weapons of seemingly high level was also very eye-catching.

Tang Yu and Jin Ye exchanged glances, deciding to go along with it since they were already here. Besides, following Brother Hu might lead them to the Zombie King and they might even get their hands on some handy weapons.

The gas station had a run-down convenience store, but all the goods inside had long been looted. At this moment, everyone crowded inside the convenience store to rest, and there was also a staff rest room.

Brother Hu smiled and said, "Let's leave this place to the ladies." He raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

In his eyes, giving a little benefit would make the women grateful. Besides, his little scheme in mind was clear to everyone present.

Tang Yu glanced at the others and took the lead in walking towards the room, with Jin Ye and Xiaoli following suit. Only the rookie woman stood alert in her place.

Xiaoli pulled her and dragged her into the room as well.

Brother Hu was very satisfied with Tang Yu's understanding.

Tang Yu was also satisfied with Brother Hu's arrangement. It was perfect because she needed a private space to discuss some matters with Jin Ye.

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