"This is the true God, the only God in the world. He has questions for you, and you must tell the truth. If you lie, you will suffer a punishment more terrible than those monsters," Jie Xiya warned the woman with a cold face.
"Yes... yes... I will definitely tell the truth and not hide anything!" the woman said, trembling slightly. Seeing the corpses of the Resurrected scattered all over the ground, she dared not play any tricks. She knew that these new types of Soul Lost creatures had terrified the city defense forces into abandoning the city and fleeing. To think that they were defeated by a group of elf merchants. It was evident that these elves were absolutely extraordinary.
"Where did all the people in the city go?" Zhang Chen asked.
"We suddenly received notification three days ago that the entire city was to be evacuated, and the whole town was to be emptied. They said there was a Soul Lost infection and it needed to be quarantined and dealt with."
"Everyone leaving the city had to undergo strict checks."
"After leaving the city, you could go anywhere except to the east. This city is considered an edge city for the Soul Lost infection."
"The soldiers said that if the city was cleared, a vacuum zone would be formed, and the Soul Lost would not spread easily." The woman answered truthfully, huddled in the corner.
"Since the whole city was evacuated, why didn't you leave?" Zhang Chen asked again.
"I originally intended to leave, but my husband didn't want to. He is the finance officer of this town, and a lot of our family's business is here."
"He was worried that our property would be stolen if we left. And he said... since everyone would be leaving anyway, no one would notice if just our family stayed behind, so we hid and didn't leave."
"Then how did you get infected?"
"The infected person, who wasn't found during the city-wide search, actually came to our shelter! At that time, many people had the same idea of not wanting to leave, mostly wealthy families, as their assets were here, and they would be penniless if they left. Among them were martial artists, very strong ones, but they didn't expect this Soul Lost creature to be even stronger, and it had no weaknesses. Soon, the shelter was breached, and only I survived by hiding in a storage chest." The woman shuddered uncontrollably as she recalled the bloody scene.
"Where did the Soul Lost outbreaks initially begin?" Zhang Chen pondered for a moment and then asked.
"It's said that they were first discovered in the eastern great city, the old capital. That's all I know!"
"I've told you everything. Can I go now?" the woman asked softly.
"Yes, you may go." Zhang Chen looked at the woman with sympathy and then nodded to Jie Xiya.
"Then go!" Jie Xiya gestured for the woman to leave.
"Thank you... thank you..." The woman stumbled a couple of steps towards the city gate.
Suddenly, her back bulged out significantly, and she began to convulse uncontrollably on the spot.
"What... what's happening to me? Please... save me..." The woman turned her head back with difficulty, but in an instant, her neck snapped backward, bending over her back. Then, tentacles emerged from her back.
*Swish!* Jie Xiya was prepared. An arrow precisely pierced the woman's energy core, causing her to collapse rapidly, her body shriveling.
"She was infected too? But... when was she infected?"
"We had guards escorting her all the way, and all the nearby new Soul Lost creatures are dead. She couldn't have been infected!" Jie Xiya exclaimed in disbelief.
"It must be airborne transmission!" Zhang Chen said calmly, looking at the corpses of the Resurrected littering the ground.
"Airborne transmission? But she hid in a storage locker for three days. If it was airborne transmission, she should have been infected long ago!" Jie Xiya asked, puzzled.
"She was fine in the storage locker because the virus concentration in the air wasn't high enough."
"From the apocalypse... or rather, from ancient times to the present, human physiques have evolved to resist minor infections. That's why the Soul Lost creatures keep reappearing."
"Everyone carries the zombie virus to some extent. It only flares up when the body's energy is extremely low. What surprises me is that the zombie virus also dies when humans die, and can only infect the living."
"This is probably a form of self-evolution for the zombie virus."
"It's the same here. The air originally contained the Resurrected virus, but the concentration was very weak. When the woman came out, she encountered corpses of Resurrected creatures all along the way, increasing the virus concentration, and thus she was infected." Zhang Chen analyzed.
"But we are also in this environment, why weren't we infected?" Jie Xiya looked at the guards who had escorted the woman, but they showed no abnormalities.
"Because this virus is inherently targeted at humans. When the original inhabitants created you, they did so to create new humans who could evade zombie virus infections."
"You are all warriors, and your internal energy is higher than that of ordinary people, so you wouldn't be so easily infected." Zhang Chen didn't explain further, seeing Jie Xiya's semi-understanding look. After all, explaining this would be troublesome, and it would require going back a very long time. Moreover, the history or myths they knew were vastly different from reality. Making them understand the original inhabitants, experiments, zombie viruses, and so on, was a very complicated matter.
"What do we do next, Master?" Miao Ke asked.
"I want to go to the old capital to take a look. A virus that has been absent for hundreds of years suddenly appearing must be problematic."
"The journey will be dangerous, so the caravan doesn't need to follow. You should proceed directly to Battlefire Fort."
"I will meet you there after I finish here," Zhang Chen instructed.
"We rest tonight and set off for Battlefire Fort tomorrow!"
"While I'm away, you must strictly adhere to the caravan's regulations. This is human territory, so we need to act discreetly!" Jie Xiya told the others in the caravan.
"Aren't you coming with the caravan?" Zhang Chen asked in surprise.
"I was sent by the Queen to assist you as a guide, so of course I will go wherever you go!"
"The caravan guards and merchants come here every year, and they are very familiar with this place. They will be fine without me."
"After all, the caravan poses no threat. Even if they pass through checkpoints, humans will facilitate their passage," Jie Xiya said with a sweet smile.
"Alright, to avoid any further complications, we will set off tonight and strive to rendezvous with the caravan as soon as possible." Zhang Chen finished speaking, and with the four women, he lightly leaped onto the rooftop and then galloped eastward.