Chapter 12

Very quickly, Yu Xiaohu was also saved, and Chu Nan then rushed towards the other zombie-like creatures.

All of this happened too quickly. Although Tang Sanli and Yu Xiaohu were surrounded and bitten to the point of being covered in blood, they only suffered superficial injuries and no vital parts were damaged. After regaining their senses, they also got up and joined Chu Nan in charging towards the remaining zombie-like creatures.

There were a total of twenty-six zombie-like creatures. At first, more than ten of them surrounded Dongzi, crazily gnawing and chasing after Chu Nan, Tang Sanli, and Yu Xiaohu, who were only being pursued by about ten.

Many of the more than ten zombie-like creatures surrounding Dongzi couldn't get close enough to gnaw on his flesh, so they began to attack Chu Nan, Tang Sanli, and Yu Xiaohu. This gave the three a chance to fight back, unlike Dongzi, who had no room to resist from the start.

So, before this, Chu Nan had killed four, Tang Sanli had killed two, and Yu Xiaohu had killed three. Dongzi, who was surrounded from the beginning, couldn't kill any.

After that, Chu Nan suddenly entered a strange and frenzied state. By the time he saved Yu Xiaohu, he had already smashed the heads of ten zombie-like creatures, adding to the ones he had killed earlier, making a total of fourteen.

There were still seven zombie-like creatures that could move, all gnawing and sucking the flesh and blood from Dongzi's body.

Dongzi had already stopped struggling and screaming, lying still.

Chu Nan was the first to rush up. Tang Sanli and Yu Xiaohu, covered in blood, were inspired by Chu Nan and also charged forward.

In the end, the remaining seven zombie-like creatures also fell, no longer moving. However, Dongzi's body, including his face, was completely mangled, with many places exposed to the bone, and his throat was completely torn open.

Dongzi was dead.

He died a terrible death. Tang Sanli and Yu Xiaohu couldn't bear to look and turned away, covering their faces.

The ground was littered with corpses, brains, and blood. Tang Sanli and Yu Xiaohu were covered in injuries, their bodies burning with pain. Recalling what they had just experienced, it felt as if they had narrowly escaped from the gates of hell.

If Chu Nan hadn't suddenly become incredibly brave, they would likely have ended up like Dongzi, being bitten to death.

Thinking of Chu Nan, the two hurried over to see him. They found that Chu Nan had somehow curled up, his face pale, vomiting, and trembling all over.

Chu Nan had already come out of his frenzied and strange state. Once he returned to normal, he felt a headache, dizziness, sweating, cold limbs, trembling, weakness, palpitations, and a churning stomach, which made him vomit.

His arms were numb and sore, almost unable to lift. He curled up on the ground, barely able to move, and eventually couldn't even vomit anymore.

Tang Sanli and Yu Xiaohu were shocked and hurriedly called out, "Chu Nan, what's wrong with you?"

Just a moment ago, he was incredibly brave, but now he suddenly collapsed as if he were about to die.

Chu Nan opened his eyes, unable to speak, his body trembling and muscles aching. He felt as if he had been running non-stop for a day and a night, exhausted and on the verge of death.

Tang Sanli and Yu Xiaohu didn't know what had happened to Chu Nan and were about to ask when a sharp scream came from the distance.

Because it was far away, the scream wasn't very loud, but it was clear.

Tang Sanli and Yu Xiaohu's faces changed immediately.

"This place isn't safe. We... we need to leave quickly. Chu Nan, let's go." The two, despite being covered in blood and in pain, lifted the immobile Chu Nan and prepared to leave.

Chu Nan had just saved them. Although they were terrified and wanted to escape immediately, they didn't abandon him.

Even though it was daytime, they felt as if they were in a nightmare, fearing that monsters could jump out anywhere and bite them to death like Dongzi.

"Ah—"

Suddenly, a scream came from the distance.

"Who?" Yu Xiaohu, in fear, instinctively let go of Chu Nan and wanted to run away.

If real danger came, no matter how much Chu Nan had helped him, he would not hesitate to abandon Chu Nan and escape.

Carrying Chu Nan meant they couldn't run fast and might die here. Even if Chu Nan had saved his life, he couldn't follow Chu Nan to his death.

This was human nature.

Tang Sanli's face twisted, and he looked up, suddenly feeling relieved.

From the sound, he knew it wasn't a zombie-like creature.

Sure enough, a group of people appeared from behind a broken wall.

The group, consisting of nine people, both men and women, were disheveled and covered in blood, with many injuries, clearly having fought their way through many dangers to survive.

The seven men and two women looked at the scattered corpses on the ground and then at Tang Sanli, Yu Xiaohu, and the fallen Chu Nan, their faces full of surprise.

The heads of the zombie-like creatures were smashed, and the blood was still fresh, so the nine people could tell this had just happened.

"Did you... do this?" A girl around twenty, looking surprised, pointed at the corpses and then at Tang Sanli, Yu Xiaohu, and Chu Nan.

Chu Nan was lying on the ground, curled up, pale, and looking like a dead man, so the nine people focused mainly on Tang Sanli and Yu Xiaohu. Seeing their bloodied bodies and the bite marks, and then looking at Dongzi's mangled corpse, they quickly came to a shocking conclusion.

All the zombie-like creatures on the ground were taken down by these two? They were all secretly amazed.

Tang Sanli nodded and said, "These... are all zombie-like creatures. We were surrounded and had to act. What about you?"

"Amazing." The girl around twenty showed clear admiration.

The nine people walked over. The girl, who was outgoing, introduced herself, "I'm Yu Xiaotian. What are your names? Are you willing to join our group?"

These nine people were clearly a temporary group. Seeing how brave Tang Sanli and the others were, they naturally wanted to join them, so they wouldn't have to fear any more dangers.

Yu Xiaotian looked at Tang Sanli and Yu Xiaohu with enthusiasm, while Chu Nan was clearly ignored. In her mind, the brave act of killing the zombie-like creatures was mainly due to Tang Sanli and Yu Xiaohu, and the trembling Chu Nan on the ground didn't seem to have played a significant role.

"Look, what's this? Food, there's food here." Suddenly, one of the nine men shouted excitedly, seeing the food scattered near Dongzi. He was like a man on a high.

The others also gathered excitedly. They had been hungry on their journey, and seeing food, they couldn't help but be excited.

Tang Sanli frowned at the man's shout. He remembered the distant scream earlier. Clearly, there were still zombie-like creatures in the ruins. The man's loud shout might attract them, but with eleven people now, they didn't need to worry too much.

Chu Nan, lying on the ground, slowly felt the intense pain and headache lessen. He was gradually recovering from the almost suffocating state he had been in.

His mind became slightly clearer, and he realized that his current discomfort was likely a side effect of his earlier heroic performance.

He sensed a change in the bean-like object in his mind.

Previously, the reddish-brown bean-like object in his mind, after absorbing enough energy, seemed to break out of its shell. The bean-like object seemed to be shattered, but soon he could sense it again.

The bean-like object seemed to have been reborn or transformed, causing a subtle change that triggered an abnormal secretion of adrenaline in his body, putting him in a highly excited state.

This was Chu Nan's analysis based on the information he had gathered.

As a veterinarian, he had considerable medical knowledge and knew what adrenaline was.

It is a hormone secreted by the human body, released during certain stimuli such as excitement, tension, or fear.

This substance can increase breathing, provide more oxygen, accelerate heart rate and blood flow, dilate the pupils, and provide more energy for physical activity, making reactions faster and increasing strength.

Usually, the human body only secretes adrenaline in extremely critical situations, stimulating various organs to temporarily enhance reflexes, strength, and speed to deal with the crisis.

For example, as reported, a mother, when her child was trapped under a car, suddenly became incredibly strong and lifted the car, which she normally couldn't lift, to save her child. This is an example of super-activated adrenaline, and similar cases have been reported in various countries.

In times of crisis, people can burst with unimaginable strength.

All of this is the power of adrenaline, but it cannot be controlled by human will and can cause side effects.