"Bang, bang, bang..."
The sound of gunshots echoed through the fog, one after another.
"Boss, the guys over there seem to have a lot of weapons. We've run into a tough bunch."
Liu Chen stared irritably at the dense fog before him, his eyes glinting with cold malice.
"Hao Cheng, you son of a bitch, you dared to lie to me."
He spat on the ground. "Grab your weapons, and if things go south, we retreat."
He and Hao Cheng had a partnership. Liu Chen would occasionally betray teams seeking supplies from Hao Cheng's base, while Hao Cheng would help him clear out nearby zombies. It was a win-win situation, and Hao Cheng had no reason to refuse.
This morning, the moment Xu An and her group left the base, their information was transmitted to Liu Chen. This was why they were able to ambush Xu An and her companions so precisely.
Liu Chen's subordinates remained silent. They had been informed that the targets for today's raid were three women, the most formidable among them being a resident of a base. However, even with overwhelming odds, a single person couldn't fight off a crowd, especially when they had zombies as reinforcements. Lin Zhuoran, no matter how skilled, couldn't have multiple arms.
Xu An didn't realize that even now, on land, most people still relied on melee weapons. Those with firearms were a minority, with most guns controlled by official channels. This was the reason why numerous small bases existed on land, yet no single force had managed to unify them.
Unexpectedly, the group they encountered today not only possessed firearms but also fired bullets as if they were free. It was clear these were people not to be trifled with. Even with superior numbers, they would simply become sandbags absorbing bullets against firearms.
Xu An looked at the approaching zombies. As they got closer, she noticed their pupils were not grayish-white, but black.
"Mei-jie, did you notice? These zombies' eyes seem off," Xu An asked in a low voice.
In fact, Zhou Haimeng had already noticed the anomaly with the zombies before Xu An even pointed it out. "These zombies seem to retain some consciousness, and their eyes are similar to how humans were before turning. I suspect these zombies haven't fully turned yet."
Xu An's thoughts mirrored Zhou Haimeng's. She even wondered if these were truly ordinary evolved zombies. Could there be another possibility?
Seeing the red-eyed zombies lunging towards Xu An, she didn't hesitate. With a swift movement, she shot the zombie in front of her.
After all the zombies were cleared, Xu An looked at the liquid splattered on the vehicles. The originally red blood had deepened in color, with brown streaks smeared across the ground, some still not congealed. Xu An stepped on one, and the edge of her shoe was stained red. She rubbed the marks on the headlights with her finger and sniffed them intently.
Suddenly, Xu An's expression changed.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Haimeng noticed Xu An's unease.
"It's human blood," Xu An said gravely. They were using human blood as bait, deliberately luring the zombies towards them. The amount of blood was equivalent to an adult's entire blood volume, leading Xu An to suspect how it was obtained.
Without further hesitation, Xu An, with Zhou Haimeng, followed the trail left by Lin Zhuoran. Upon reaching her, Lin Zhuoran made a "shush" gesture towards them. Xu An and Zhou Haimeng cautiously crouched beside her, making no sound.
"What's the situation now?" Xu An whispered into Lin Zhuoran's ear.
Lin Zhuoran's voice was also lowered to a whisper. "The fog is too thick, I can't see clearly, but I'm sure they're humans, no zombies. There are no less than five of them. What do we do?"
While Xu An and her group were contemplating how to flank the men, Liu Chen became impatient.
"Why is there no movement yet! How can this batch of zombies be so useless! They can't even deal with a few women!"
His subordinate remained silent, not daring to speak. The deputy captain of the base had mentioned that this batch of zombies was still unstable, and their combat effectiveness had decreased. Liu Chen knew this, yet he insisted on bringing this batch of zombies out. But no one dared to fault Liu Chen, as no one wanted to become zombie food.
"Boss, there's no movement over there. Should we go check it out? Maybe those women are already dead?" Despite Xu An's group having guns, Liu Chen's subordinates still didn't believe they could kill all the zombies.
Liu Chen pondered for a moment, took the large saber from his subordinate, raised it, pulled open the fence, and walked towards Xu An's direction.
Xu An heard the movement, knowing they were heading towards their previous location. With a glance, the other two understood Xu An's intention. Zhou Haimeng and Lin Zhuoran quietly flanked from behind. Silently, they slit the throats of Liu Chen's two subordinates. Only then did they clearly see that the group numbered seven in total; with two killed, five remained. Their expressions remained unchanged as they continued to take advantage of the dense fog. Just as they were about to take down two more, they were interrupted by a fierce shout.
"Where are Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu?" Liu Chen yelled from the middle. Just moments ago, he had a strong premonition that some danger was quietly approaching him. Having survived in the apocalypse until today, Liu Chen was no fool. He immediately stopped and began a headcount.
"Where are Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu? Damn it, where are these two? Answer me quickly, or I'll kill you!" Liu Chen's eyes turned red, and an atmosphere of fear enveloped him, as if the Grim Reaper's scythe was finally descending upon him.
"That's not right, those two guys were following behind me just now. How did they disappear in the blink of an eye?" A subordinate stepped forward to speak, and as soon as he finished, another began, "Now that you mention it, I think I felt a cold chill on my back just now. Could it be ghosts?"
The first man who spoke slapped the latter on the head. "Ghosts, my ass! It's the end of the world, where are the ghosts? Do you think we're filming a TV show!"
But the man's words reminded Liu Chen. He too had felt that intense killing intent flash by earlier. They were immersed in the dense fog, surrounded by obscurity, unable to see anything. Yet Liu Chen, relying on his senses, detected a hint of death. As everyone was filled with trepidation, someone suddenly shouted.
"There are bodies here! There are bodies here!"
"It's the bodies of Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu!!!"