Chapter 44: Something's Not Right

Chen Yuan's words didn't just fail to convince Wang Meng; the teammates behind him didn't believe a word of it either.

Zombies? They had seen zombies before. More than seen, they had killed some. Weren't they just a bit faster and stronger than normal people? With Wang Hao's skills, he wouldn't have been afraid even in a one-on-two fight. What's more, the men who went with him yesterday were all trained fighters from the camp. How could they have been eaten?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Chen Yuan looked at the group's indignant faces and shook his head with a wry smile. "As I thought, I can't fool you guys..."

Hearing this, the expressions on their faces finally relaxed a little. Right. How could the captain have been eaten by zombies? Impossible.

"I did run into them yesterday," Chen Yuan continued, his tone casual. "I just... killed them along the way."

Wang Meng: ???

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU'RE DEAD!"

"GET HIM!"

"!!!"

...

Chen Yuan's words had collectively broken their defenses. Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, he slung the compound bow from his back, drew a high-explosive incendiary arrow from his quiver, and nocked it.

His eyes, cold and sharp, locked onto the crowd before him. He said in a deep voice, "Leave now, and I can let you go. Otherwise, I can send you to meet that idiot Wang Hao!"

"Fuck him! Everyone, get him! Kill him!" Wang Meng roared, immediately charging toward Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan focused his mind, drawing and releasing the arrow in one fluid motion.

WHOOSH—BOOM!!!

The exploding fireball painted everyone's face red, and a scorching wave of heat blasted down the corridor. At the same time, Tieniu charged forward, its two massive attack horns leading the way.

The next second, piercing screams echoed through the hallway.

Chen Yuan calmly drew and fired again, and again, as if he were at a training range.

WHOOSH—BOOM!!! WHOOSH—BOOM!!! WHOOSH—BOOM!!!

With Tieniu charging and breaking their lines, the enemy couldn't even get close. The battle on both sides was over in less than twenty seconds.

Looking at the smoking corpses on the ground, Chen Yuan pursed his lips, turned, and walked into the gold shop. Well, since I'm here, might as well take it all. In this apocalypse, gold and silver were truly the most worthless things; no one had even bothered to loot them. But that was fine. Others didn't need it, but he did. Should I pay a visit to the national bank vault? The inventory there must be pretty substantial... he mused. Forget it, another day. I have other things to do now.

After a quick sweep, he turned and left the mall. As for the few remaining members of the Fenghuo Squad and what kind of predicament they now faced, that was outside the scope of his consideration.

It was still early. He decided to search for the second material on his list: the super server.

Two hours later...

On a vast, frozen river, the biting cold wind howled, kicking up waves of white snow. Chen Yuan sat on Tieniu's back, his expression growing grim. The robot dog's scanning range was five hundred meters, but a river this large... how long would that take? Relying on luck was not an option, and time was not on his side.

Helpless. Utterly helpless.

"If only I knew where the damn thing was..."

He didn't know anyone here he could ask... He scanned the length of the river, his gaze stretching forward.

"I'll go ask the Wind-Breaker Squad."

Fortunately, he did know one or two people. Jiang Nan, Anna, or Qi Yan—they should have gotten familiar with their group by now. If he went and asked them, he might get a clue. Besides, it was a good opportunity to check on the camp's situation.

Having made up his mind, he set the navigation route in his visor. Tieniu began to run across the ice like an untethered wild dog. The wind whistled past his ears. Chen Yuan kept a constant watch on the riverbanks for any unusual movement, his bow strung and ready to fire at a moment's notice.

However, the entire journey was uneventful. He didn't see a single zombie until the large, round dome of the Science and Technology Museum came into view.

"I wonder how Lan Ya is progressing..." Chen Yuan muttered to himself, deciding to check on her that night.

He was familiar with the route this time. After coming ashore nearby, he walked directly toward the museum entrance. In the few days he'd been gone, the path outside had been widened considerably. But the messy footprints on the ground put him on high alert.

「Report, Master. Humans detected. A threat is present.」

Tiedan's voice sounded. Chen Yuan could vaguely see people armed with weapons patrolling the main entrance about three hundred meters away.

He patted Tieniu's head and smiled. "Let's go. It's fine."

As long as he didn't run into any advanced zombies, the remaining ordinary zombies and humans posed basically no threat to him.

As the man and his two dogs gradually approached, a person from the other side shouted, "Stop!"

Chen Yuan smiled. "I'm looking for Xue Wu. Tell him to come out."

The guard, Su Minghai, was taken aback, his gaze toward Chen Yuan becoming hesitant. He gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "Captain Xue is busy. What do you want with him? State your purpose first!"

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow. Busy? Alright then, he'd try someone else. "Is Jiang Nan here? I'm looking for her. Please go and give her a shout."

Hearing the name Jiang Nan, Su Minghai's expression clearly changed. He shook his head. "No such person!"

Chen Yuan put a hand to his forehead. Right. Good security measures.

"Anna and Qi Yan. Just call out any one of them. My name is Chen Yuan. I'm their friend."

This time, Su Minghai nodded. "Wait here." With that, he quickly turned and ran inside.

Chen Yuan got off Tieniu's back. After standing and waiting for about three to five minutes, he saw three beautiful figures rush out from inside. In the few days he'd been gone, the three of them seemed to have slimmed down a bit, their features becoming even more defined.

Jiang Nan was running in front. The moment she saw Chen Yuan, her eyes couldn't help but turn red. She rushed up to him, her hands immediately patting him up and down, then asked with concern, "Are you hurt?"

Chen Yuan shook his head, amused. "Why are you so nervous? I'm not hurt."

By now, Anna and Qi Yan had also caught up. Although they didn't get handsy, their eyes were also filled with deep concern.

Seeing their unusual behavior, Chen Yuan frowned. "Did something happen? Where's Xue Wu? What's he busy with?"

Jiang Nan bit her lip. "Come inside first. I'll explain everything slowly."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly, exchanged a look with the others, and then walked towards the museum entrance. The second he stepped inside, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere was not right. Before, while people weren't exactly full of vigor, there was at least some light in their eyes. But this time, it seemed to be mostly worry and silence.

Su Minghai followed behind Chen Yuan. Anna explained Chen Yuan's identity to him. Learning that the man riding the robot dog was not an enemy, he finally relaxed and turned to attend to other matters.

The group went to the rest area and sat on the sofas. Jiang Nan sat beside Chen Yuan, with Anna and Qi Yan sitting opposite. Eight eyes met, and the atmosphere became somewhat silent.

Finally, it was Anna who spoke first. "Chen Yuan… that… that antibiotic you have. Do you have any more?"