Kindness or Foolishness

Under the infested Kunlun village, three youngsters carrying a big sack rushed toward the Wild Goose Chamber with smiles plastered on their faces.

From their various hideouts, the few remaining survivors watched the trio with wide eyes. Their shock slowly turned to envy and greed.

With each passing second, their bodies thirsted for water and good food. Those who had food at home had long since consumed it all, and now they were on the brink of insanity.

Inside a basement, a group of men and women wore unsightly expressions, their eyes bloodshot from hunger.

"Boss, we must do something," a young man with a savage expression said to a burly man standing by the window.

These were the Savage Crow Gang, and these men were the few survivors of the gang. The Savage Crow Gang was an infamous group in Kunlun Village.

Before the onset of the apocalypse, they had the backing of a powerful inner sect disciple, which made them influential and unruly in the village.

With the support of an inner sect disciple, many ordinary young men had joined the gang, as it was the only way they could survive in such a dog-eat-dog world.

As a result, the membership of the Savage Crow Gang quickly grew, numbering in the hundreds. When the apocalypse came, a few of them survived, while most turned into zombies.

Being an unruly gang that walked between life and death every second, their hideout was fortified, which helped them during the apocalypse.

Looking at their boss, Mo Chao, all the members of the Savage Crow Gang held their breath, waiting for his decision.

"Lou Ning, take ten men and search the nearby houses for food. And remember, when those vile things attack, go for their heads," Mo Chao commanded.

He had been watching Li Chen fight the zombies and noticed that going for their heads made it easier to kill them.

When Lou Ning heard Mo Chao's command, a bright smile appeared on his face. Without hesitation, he picked ten of their strongest men and rushed out of their hideout.

Unbeknownst to Li Chen, his brave actions against the zombies had given many people the courage to come out of hiding.

…

In another part of the village, Elder Lan and the disciples had emerged from their hiding place. Looking at each other, tension hung in the air as the events that had transpired earlier played in their minds.

Jiao and Ziheng stood together, with fake regret plastered on their faces. They knew their previous actions would have incurred the ire of the others, so they played the guilt card.

"Elder Lan, we're sorry for leaving you to face that thing…" Jiao began, her expression apologetic, her voice laced with regret and nervousness.

"We acted on impulse, not realizing what we had done. By the time we understood, it was already too late. Please forgive us."

She lowered her head, tears hanging at the corners of her eyes.

Watching her performance, both Elder Lan and the disciples were easily deceived by her act.

Standing to the side, Xia glanced at the drama queen, the corners of her lips curling upward in disdain.

'What a great actress,' she mused, shaking her head at the naive Elder Lan.

Since the drama queen hadn't acted against her, Xia didn't care what happened to her or Elder Lan. With the world going crazy, she only had herself to worry about.

As far as she was concerned, everyone else could die for all she cared.

Standing at the center of the disciples, Elder Lan looked at Jiao and Ziheng for a moment. She reprimanded them briefly before her expression softened.

"You're all disciples of the Kunlun Sword Sect. You must look after each other. This must never happen again," she said to everyone.

The disciples nodded in agreement, and Elder Lan, satisfied, composed herself. With that settled, she knew they had to figure out what was going on.

"Let's leave. We can't stay here any longer. It's too exposed, and those things might attack again," she said and quickly led the disciples out of the large courtyard.

At the back, Ziheng held Jiao's hand, his face still showing traces of shock. Noticing his expression, Jiao smiled slyly and puffed out her chest with pride.

Unknown to them, their interaction didn't escape Xia's sharp eyes. 'I must keep an eye on those two,' she decided.

As the disciples left the courtyard, they encountered hundreds of zombies. With their previous experience, they charged forward, swinging their blunt weapons.

Ten minutes later, all the zombies were dead, and the disciples panted heavily, beads of sweat gathering on their foreheads.

"Elder Lan, I'm exhausted and hungry. I can't go on," one of the disciples gasped, trying to catch his breath.

He wasn't the only one feeling that way—every one of them was struggling. None of them had eaten for the past four days, and they couldn't continue any longer.

"Don't worry. We'll find shelter soon and look for food," Elder Lan said with an encouraging smile.

"Hey…"

Suddenly, a female voice shouted from a distance. Instantly, their bodies tensed as they assumed a fighting stance.

When they looked up, they saw three girls huddled together on the second floor of a two-story building.

The girls waved at them, and Elder Lan didn't hesitate. She urged her disciples to head toward the building.

Watching the Kunlun Sword Sect elders and disciples rushing toward them, the three girls on the second floor breathed a sigh of relief.

With the Kunlun Sword Sect elder and disciples, they could already envision a brighter future. Or so they thought.

... 

Meanwhile, inside the village chief's building, over five hundred zombies stood as if compelled by an invisible force. These five hundred weren't ordinary zombies—they were mutants.

If Li Chen were to see the hundreds of mutants, he would be scared out of his wits. And these mutant zombies trembled as if an even more powerful being were about to appear.

Creak!

The door to the village chief's room opened, and a middle-aged man with scanty, long braided hair stepped out. However, this was no ordinary man—he was a zombie far more powerful than the mutant zombies.