Chapter 129: Low Morale

"How many bullets are left?"

Hu Huayao leaned against the wall, his face pale, with a bandage wrapped around his arm. He was fortunate that Chen Feng had organized for them to scavenge several pharmacies shortly before; otherwise, he would have been forced to use strips of ordinary cloth for a dressing.

Yang Shuo sat on the sofa, placing his pistol on the table. His tone was despondent: "Only the last two left."

After he spoke, both men fell silent, and a sense of defeat permeated the room.

It had been four days since Chen Feng left. Even though they had been well-prepared and had stockpiled a large amount of food, they had kept the curtains drawn tight to avoid drawing attention. They didn't even light candles at night, maintaining the illusion that the place was devoid of survivors.

But the apocalypse was inherently unpredictable. Yesterday, for reasons unknown, a dozen zombies had gone berserk, frantically pounding and smashing against the apartment building's entrance. Zombies were mindless and felt no pain; if left unchecked, the door would eventually be breached.

For the sake of safety, Hu Huayao had decided to take a risk. Speed was a weakness of the zombies, and he figured that if he could dispatch them quickly, it wouldn't attract too much attention from the surrounding area.

Everything had gone smoothly at first. But just as they were killing the final zombie and their guard was down, a zombie with an abnormally large head and a skeletal, emaciated body had charged at them from a distance. Hu Huayao hadn't thought much of it at first, but upon contact, he discovered the creature possessed terrifying strength, instantly snapping one of his arms.

Surrounded by enemies and with Hu Huayao severely wounded on the ground, Yang Shuo—who had always been at odds with him—had suddenly rushed out in the nick of time. He used his gunfire to draw the creature's attention, firing two shots straight into its forehead. Bizarrely, the zombie didn't fall; instead, it glared at Yang Shuo with malice before turning and fleeing.

With the strange zombie gone, the two men had managed to catch their breath and return to the building.

Hearing that only two bullets remained, Hu Huayao let out a sigh, his expression weary. He then said, "No matter what, I have to thank you. About the past... I apologize."

In the peaceful era, Hu Huayao had been a successful man, surrounded by wealthy and influential friends; his standards were naturally high. He dared not say anything against Chen Feng—not only was the man his savior, but Chen Feng also possessed extraordinary abilities and the power to tame those terrifying monsters, which commanded respect.

Yang Shuo, however, was different. He was a loafer, and the inherent laziness in his bones was impossible to shake. Hu Huayao simply couldn't accept such a hoodlum as his companion. Furthermore, Yang Shuo felt that the arrival of Hu Huayao and Hu Jia had depleted their food supplies. Consequently, the two had clashed constantly; if not for Chen Feng’s authority, their verbal arguments would have turned physical long ago.

Of course, Yang Shuo hadn't forgotten that Hu Huayao was skilled in combat. Even though they didn't get along, they had never crossed the line into actual violence.

But after this ordeal, Hu Huayao realized that Yang Shuo was just foul-mouthed; when it truly mattered, he hadn't retreated, but instead stepped forward to save him. For that alone, it wasn't beneath him to lower his pride and offer an apology.

Yang Shuo, whose expression had been one of dejection, felt his face flush with sheepishness when the arrogant Hu Huayao actually apologized. Just as he was about to say something in response, he glanced down at the two remaining bullets on the table, and his face fell again. He sighed and said, "Forget it, Old Hu. You went out to deal with those zombies for the sake of this base. We’re in the same boat now. I might be a bit of a bum, but I couldn't just stand by and watch you die."

"Besides, I haven't exactly been easy on you either. Let it go; it’s in the past. What’s most important now is that zombie that escaped. No matter how I think about it, something feels wrong."

With things laid out this way, their relationship eased slightly. Hu Huayao frowned and said, "I think it’s strange too. Did you notice? That deformed zombie seemed to wait until the others were all dead before it charged out."

"Zombies don't have intelligence. Usually, when we encounter them, they don't know how to ambush; they just charge at us like they’re high on adrenaline."

"And there's more... I don't know if you remember the look it gave us before it left? It seemed... like it was glaring at us."

At this, Hu Huayao fell silent, looking toward Yang Shuo. Their eyes met, and as if a realization had struck them both, their expressions turned heavy. In unison, they whispered:

"A monster!"

Yang Shuo’s face turned frantic, his voice rising: "Brother Li once said that some zombies evolve. They possess abilities that ordinary zombies don't. I saw two of them from the building before—one with immense strength, and another that used crying to lure humans into a trap. But... Brother Li also said that such zombies have a powerful presence, and ordinary zombies wouldn't dare approach them. So what’s up with this one? It was hiding among a group of small-fry and even tried to win through an ambush!"

Hu Huayao frowned, thinking for a moment. "Hmm... I’ve heard Fan Li mention these zombies too. He said that once they mutate into monsters, they gain certain abilities. Do you think this one might have some kind of unique power?"

Yang Shuo wasn't stupid. Prompted by Hu Huayao, and combining the fact that the zombies had been smashing the door and the creature only emerged after the others were dead, his face turned the color of liver. "If this thing is that cunning, could its ability be controlling other zombies?"

Hu Huayao nodded. "I’d bet on it."

If they had killed the creature that day, it would have been fine. But after taking two shots to the head, it had managed to escape. If it truly possessed the ability to control other zombies, coupled with that bizarre, vengeful glare it gave them, it wouldn't be long before it returned with a new group of lackeys to exact revenge.

Due to the previous pounding, the entrance was already damaged; if it were attacked again, it wouldn't hold for long. On top of that, Hu Huayao, their main combatant, had a broken arm and was severely weakened, and they only had two bullets left. If the zombies breached the building, they would have no way to defend themselves.

"Is this it? Are we fated to be eaten?"

"What about Nannan?"

The two men looked dejected, their expressions so dark they seemed to drip with gloom.

*Bang!*

Just then, the door was suddenly flung open. Both men looked over in shock to see Liu Hao running in, his face pale as if he had been terrified out of his wits.

Pointing toward the window, Liu Hao stammered, his lips white: "Look... look outside..."

A sense of dread washed over the two men. They walked to the window and pulled back a corner of the curtain to peek outside. With just that one glance, they felt like balloons losing all their air, stripped of the strength to even stand.