Chapter 21

"Please don't kill me... I... I beg you."

Hu He seemed to have lost his ability to speak, repeating only this one sentence. His face was covered in tears, and snot ran from his nose into his mouth. Eventually, the pressure of death finally broke the bonds of his fear. He roared, his hands bound behind him, and his legs suddenly burst with immense strength, sprinting at an astonishing speed toward the distant street.

Just as his body leaped off the ground, he suddenly felt weightless, as if he was being dragged back by a powerful force.

Su Hao threw the fleeing prisoner to the ground, picked up the fire axe he had prepared, and with great force, chopped down on Hu He's strong left leg.

The heart-wrenching scream pierced the calm of the night. The hungry zombies wandering in the depths of the street quickly caught the sound and slowly approached the intersection.

The severed leg in the pool of blood continued to twitch, as if it were a separate life. Hu He clutched his wound and wailed, rolling on the ground. Su Hao stood nearby, watching silently, his eyes cold and a hint of cruel satisfaction in them.

He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he hadn't returned in time, if the thugs had stormed into the building earlier, if...

Would Li Xiaomei have been drowned in the semen of dozens of thugs?

Or would the baby in the cradle have been boiled into a thick soup?

This was not a mere fantasy but a cruel reality that could easily become true.

He had seen it.

He had experienced it.

Fortunately, he survived.

Thinking of this, Su Hao couldn't help but tremble all over. He walked silently to Hu He, pressed his left hand on the other's throat, and with his right hand, drew a long, diagonal cut on his abdomen. Under Hu He's desperate and terrified gaze, he pulled out a section of intestine, slowly dragging it like a rope, threading it through a rebar nailed to the ground, and pulling it to the bottom.

"You... You're not human, not human... You, you're a ghost, a monster——"

Hu He felt a severe pain in his stomach. He wanted to crawl to the rebar to retrieve his intestine. But he didn't do it; instead, he turned over, clung to the ground with his hands, and howled, struggling to crawl to the other end of the street.

He didn't dare to go closer——he didn't know what other terrifying methods Su Hao would use to torture him. Instinctively, he wanted to stay as far away from this person as possible. Like a pig whose hind leg had been cut off by a butcher, it wouldn't resist but would only scream and crawl into the corner of the pigpen, hiding as far away as possible.

The footsteps of the zombies in the night became heavy and clear, their ugly, rotten faces appearing under the moonlight. They came in groups, with flies circling around them, moving toward Hu He, who was shivering and gradually losing consciousness.

...

In the early morning, it started to drizzle.

The atmosphere in the small building was more somber than usual, and people were busier.

Tao Yuan took over the rooftop guard duty from Old Song, while Li Xiaomei, carrying the baby, prepared breakfast as usual. Han Ying's legs, after being treated, were bound with splints, making her unable to move. All her physiological activities, including eating, had to be assisted by Han Jing.

The others gathered around the dining table in the hall, silently eating the food in their bowls.

Du Tianhao broke open a steaming bun, picked up a piece of fermented tofu with his chopsticks, and evenly spread it on the cut surface. He closed it and, with a sense of comfort and anticipation, took a big bite.

He had been eating instant noodles and cookies for over two weeks. Compared to his time at the gym, this was a very happy moment.

Being alive was indeed a miracle——if Su Hao's first aid had been delayed by a few more minutes, he might have suffocated to death. In comparison, the other wounds on his body were much less severe.

"Hello, we... we met at the supermarket."

Du Tianhao tried to find the right words to express his gratitude, but the words that came out of his mouth were stiff and halting. Not good at socializing, he could only extend his right hand across the table.

Su Hao put down his half-finished bowl of porridge and calmly looked at the muscular man opposite him. After about twenty seconds of silence, he suddenly smiled, revealing his neat, white teeth, and firmly shook the other's hand.

"We all owe you a debt of gratitude. Welcome aboard!"

The somber atmosphere at the table immediately became lively.

"I never thought something like this would happen."

Liao Qiuguang was bare-chested, with a thick bandage wrapped diagonally across his chest. He held the area where his ribs were broken and said slowly and heavily, "I didn't know you were here. Otherwise... we would have tried to stop it."

"Regardless, I should thank you."

Li Xiaomei brought a bowl of mixed pickles and said softly, "To be honest, I was very scared at the time. Even though I had a gun, I completely forgot how to use it. I'm sorry... your friend didn't survive."

She was referring to the fat man.

He died a terrible death, his face unrecognizable.

The atmosphere became somber again.

"Everything will be fine. We must believe in ourselves and in each other. Because... we are friends."

Su Hao emphasized the last few words. At this moment, he could only use these words to encourage the survivors.

A soft, cool hand reached out from the side, grabbed his wrist, and gradually tightened its grip.

It was Xin Yan.

She had a faint smile on her face, a hint of melancholy in her eyes, and an expectation that Su Hao couldn't quite understand.

...

At 3:26 PM, Su Hao pushed open the door to Old Song's room.

He was not dead, nor had he turned into a zombie.

"Hey! Untie me, I'm not dead. This is really uncomfortable, water... I need water."

He kept talking incessantly, wriggling and complaining about the numbness in his neck and the soreness in his body. When Su Hao quickly untied the ropes and Xin Yan brought up a bowl of clean water, the old man, who had just sat up, suddenly stiffened and fell heavily back onto the bed.

Old Song's forehead was very hot, his body burning like a fire. The thermometer showed a temperature of 39 degrees.

Su Hao, who was a half-doctor, used cold water and alcohol to cool Old Song down and injected some antibiotics. After repeated efforts, by around 8:00 PM, the temperature finally dropped.

The moonlight outside the window was cold and clear, and the distant, chilling moans of the zombies could still be heard.

Old Song lay in bed, looking through the glass at the world outside, which was gradually turning dark. His eyes, surrounded by wrinkles and somewhat cloudy but still sharp, emitted a melancholy and profound gaze.

"I never thought I would still be alive."

Su Hao smiled, took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and passed it over.

The old man took the cigarette but didn't smoke it. He turned his head and looked at Su Hao with a strange expression, saying, "I once saw a movie called 'Twilight.' You look a lot like the vampires in it. The only difference is that your skin is yellow, while theirs are very white, like... unused sanitary napkins."

He struggled to find a clearly inappropriate word for comparison.

It sounded funny, but Su Hao showed no reaction. He took out another cigarette, lit it, and puffed on it, exhaling smoke.

Tears gradually welled up in Old Song's eyes.

"She lost her husband over a decade ago and wanted to find another one, but her daughter always opposed it. We met while dancing in the square. She always said I was clumsy, and I always stepped on her feet. We went to the market together to buy groceries, and I made sweet garlic and pickled radish that she really enjoyed. One day, we had planned to play mahjong at home. I was making tea in the kitchen, and she was chatting with her friends in the living room. When I heard someone screaming for help, I ran out and saw her pinning someone down on the sofa, already gnawing off half their head. I was terrified and locked the kitchen door. She became more and more aggressive, tearing off arms from the dead and gnawing on them like pig trotters... I had never seen her eat so much meat at once. My friend was almost completely eaten. Her stomach was swollen like a balloon, full of meat, the skin stretched so thin that it even tore through her clothes. She lay on the sofa, panting, and I was terrified. I called for help, but no one answered, and there were crazy people eating others downstairs. I had no choice but to open the door and go out. She was too full to stand, but her eyes glowed red. I could only use a kitchen knife to cut off her head. The meat... sniff... the undigested meat, spewed out of her throat, splattering everywhere. I... I never thought it would end like this, sniff... I miss her, I miss her so much..."

Old Song's narrative was incoherent, and Su Hao silently smoked one cigarette after another. The old man's intermittent sobs and painful, mournful whimpers echoed far into the night.

...

When the dawn's first light peeked through the night, Su Hao was already standing by the window, gazing at the distant, cold, and uneven buildings.

Enhanced human physiology was more advanced than that of ordinary people. Under normal circumstances, sleep time would gradually decrease as the enhancement level increased. For example, with Su Hao's current third-stage enhanced physique, he only needed about four to five hours of sleep.

He pushed open the door, walked downstairs to the dining room, plugged in the electric cooker, and placed a two-in-one steamer with cold porridge and buns. After doing this, he moved to the center of the hall and began to stretch.

Su Hao had lived in the base city since he was very young. There were tall, thick walls, and various supplies and equipment were abundant. Of course, all of this was not provided for free. To receive protection and food, one had to pay a corresponding price.

Just like in the civilized era, in the future, everyone had their own value.

Men had to fight. Women, if they were pretty enough, could offer their bodies. If you needed to support more people, it meant you had to pay more to the base's management. Conversely, if you couldn't provide equivalent value, you would be expelled from the city and forced to wander in the wild.

Now, it was the third week after the virus outbreak. The influence of morality and law was gradually fading. It wouldn't be long before these two words, which represented beauty and civilization in future books, would be thrown into the trash and covered with thick dust.

At 8:00 AM, the survivors gathered in the first-floor hall. Old Song was recovering quickly and was in good spirits.

People sat together, eating their breakfast, occasionally exchanging glances and making light-hearted jokes. They all avoided topics like "death" and "injury" and tacitly refrained from discussing the recent attack by the thugs. This mutual respect and kindness filled the room with a warm and harmonious atmosphere, and Li Xiaomei's baby in her arms gradually became the focus of conversation, receiving countless praises.

"We must accelerate the construction of our base outside the city."

Su Hao interrupted the conversation, making the atmosphere serious again: "Heavy machinery, vehicles, building materials... all these things will take a lot of time to find and gather. According to our original plan, we should at least complete the concrete foundation of the new base before winter."

"Materials and supplies are not a problem. Now, the entire city is unmanaged, and gathering them is not difficult."

Tao Yuan stroked his son's forehead, frowned, and said, "The problem is that we have very few people. Completing the work in a short time is indeed challenging. If we allocate too many people, and another incident occurs, it might be... "

"Therefore, we all need to become stronger——"

Su Hao looked around at everyone and said with an unshakable tone: "Starting today, we will continue with two more weeks of shooting and combat training. Remember, you are not alone; we are a team. Behind each of us are wives, children, husbands, sisters, friends... To protect them, we must become stronger."

The addition of Du Tianhao and Liao Qiuguang to the training would undoubtedly increase the consumption of ammunition. Eight hundred, a thousand, or even more. But Su Hao had to do this——it was better to train them in advance than to waste bullets in battle. The difference between a skilled and an unskilled person was significant. The stronger the people around him, the more help they would be to him.

After speaking, he took out eight vials from his pocket and placed them on the table. Through the polyester walls of the vials, a slightly red liquid could be seen.

"Each of you, drink one."

Xin Yan picked up one of the vials, examined it carefully in the sunlight, and asked curiously, "What is this?"

"A medicine."

Old Song interjected, saying kindly, "It will make you immune to zombies. If you are bitten, you won't be infected. Look, like me."

He unbuttoned his collar, turned his head, and showed the bite wound on his shoulder——the wound was healing, with light pink new skin growing around the edges. It was not wrinkled or dry, looking as healthy as a normal person's.

He wouldn't reveal that it was actually Su Hao's blood. It sounded too strange. People could accept the concept of blood transfusions but not the idea of drinking someone else's blood.

"Where did you get this?"

Tao Yuan's expression was also full of curiosity.

"I tried mixing several antibiotics and adding some special proteins. Of course, everyone's physiology is different, so it might not work for everyone, and the effects might not be as good as expected, but it's worth a try."

Su Hao spoke sincerely and seriously.

The first part of his explanation was fabricated, but the latter part was his genuine thoughts. He couldn't be sure if his blood would have the same effect on everyone.

However, so far, Old Song was still alive and had not mutated.

...

By the roadside, the shrubs in the green belt were dug up, and a pit over a meter deep was dug in the soft red soil. Du Tianhao and Liao Qiuguang, carrying the fat man wrapped in plastic, slowly placed him at the bottom of the pit.

Everyone, except for Han Jing who was on guard duty on the rooftop, stood on the road, silently watching their actions.

The grave was gradually covered with soil, leveled, and formed into a small, conical mound. Finally, Du Tianhao forcefully planted a wooden plaque with the fat man's name on it at the head of the grave.

Tao Yuan and Li Xiaomei, holding their child, stood in front of the grave, solemnly bowing three times.

Du Tianhao walked to Su Hao, took a deep breath, and hesitantly said, "About your plan, I have a suggestion. Um... we lack manpower. If... if you can accept others joining... I mean, there are still some people where I used to stay. Hu He is dead, and they... are not all bad."

Su Hao saw the awkwardness in the rough man's heart, smiled faintly, patted his shoulder, and nodded seriously.

...

The gym's door was still locked.

The hall was empty, with food packaging and empty drink bottles scattered on the wooden floor. The soft mats, covered in footprints, were thrown everywhere, and the corners of the room were stained with deep yellow urine, emitting a strong, pungent odor. The partition connecting the second floor groaned under the weight, and heavy thuds could be heard, mixed with the intermittent sobs and moans of women.

Two naked, muscular men sat on chairs, heads tilted back, eyes half-closed. Their legs were spread, and in front of each of them knelt a naked woman, servicing them in the most filthy and pleasurable way for men.

Hu He didn't take everyone with him; he left two of his trusted men as guards. As for the women... except for those who were killed as zombie infants, seven remained. They shared a common trait——they were all young and beautiful.

Using beautiful women to feed zombies was a real waste.

Cao Rui, hands on the ground, mechanically moved her head up and down. Occasionally, she would lift her eyelids to glance at the men on the chairs——their faces were filled with pleasure, completely relaxed, with no intention of opening their eyes.

On the day Hu He left, all the remaining women became their playthings.