Chapter 68

Three men stood dumbfounded, staring at the scorpion lying in a pool of blood, the scene deathly silent.

Lu Tao didn’t give them more time to think, asking directly, "Where’s Li Jie?"

Looking at the gun barrel that was faintly smoking, "Leopard Head" swallowed hard and stammered, "D... dead."

Confusion filled Lu Tao’s face.

"In the second week after you left, she found a new recruit on the third floor and tried to use the same method she used on you to get food from him. The man had only been there a few days and didn’t know what had happened before. Li Jie’s act of being crazy and foolish didn’t work on him. The guy got angry and dragged Li Jie to the toilet, where he pressed her head into the toilet bowl and slit her throat. By the time the scorpion received the news and rushed over, she was already dead."

"Leopard Head" added, fearing Lu Tao wouldn’t believe him, "You can go back and ask the others; they all know about this."

The news was unexpected.

For some reason, Lu Tao suddenly lost the urge to pursue the matter further.

He had originally planned to go back and confront Li Jie after some time.

Now... with her dead, what was the point of saying more harsh words?

He put away his gun, tightened the bag on his shoulder, and walked toward the nearby base, bracing against the cold wind.

"Leopard Head" and the others were too terrified to make any sudden moves. Even if they did, with Lu Tao’s sharp mind and quick reflexes, he could kill all three of them in seconds.

He didn’t like killing; these people had no grudge against him.

Besides, Lu Nuer was still there.

The wind blew her long, black hair, occasionally brushing against Lu Tao’s face, causing a slight tickle.

He suddenly noticed that Lu Nuer was actually quite beautiful—her face was delicate, and her slim figure was accentuated by her light blue denim jacket. Her hands, holding the assault rifle, looked especially fair and tender in the sunlight, and her high-top shoes made her feet look dainty and cute. Her calves were slender, and her thighs were long, her steps light as if she were dancing.

This world was desolate.

At the same time, it gave those who were still alive more hope.

Lu Tao smiled faintly.

He felt no pleasure from revenge, only a growing hope for the future.

"Leopard Head" and the others had no intention of staying. As soon as Lu Tao and Liu Feier walked a few meters, they turned and ran quickly in the opposite direction.

Lu Tao didn’t chase them or order them to stop.

What was more important now was to deliver the immune serum to Su Hao and tell him about the unfamiliar team that had appeared on the east side of the city.

..

Su Hao sat at the workbench in the "castle" laboratory, staring at the immune serum package in front of him.

It had a clear production batch number and date, as well as the military’s distinctive yellow-starred emblem.

Zhou Chen moved his gaze from the microscope, rubbed his eyes, and said, "I compared it with the immune serum Wu Guoguang gave you. There’s no difference; the components are the same, and the formula is likely identical."

Su Hao didn’t speak. He took another unopened vial from the drawer, examined it carefully, and noticed a black "G69" mark on the outer packaging of the vial that Cao Rui’s team had delivered half an hour ago.

In the future world, Su Hao had seen such injection vials with special marks.

The virus outbreak wasn’t a nuclear war; many people survived, and the zombies didn’t destroy the factories and related machinery. Calculating by time, Su Hao was the third generation born after the virus disaster. Much of the historical data from before had been lost, and with the military’s secrecy about the virus, he didn’t know if the outbreak was a natural disaster or caused by human factors.

However, one thing was certain—the military had indeed used the original serum as a blueprint to develop the immune serum formula. After the virus outbreak, the military accelerated the production of the immune serum but still couldn’t meet the needs of hundreds of millions of survivors. To quickly expand the number of immune people, the military granted production rights to certain powerful families or groups.

The "G69" mark on the serum package was the batch number of the group authorized to produce it. Whether produced by the military or a company, the immune effect in the human body was the same.

"Didn’t expect them to start staking claims so early.."

Su Hao muttered, his gaze slightly cold.

"Staking claims" was a term unique to the future world.

The virus outbreak had destroyed the original order of the human world. The human strongmen who emerged in the fight against zombies were not only valued by the military but also by wealthy families and corporations. This was a battle for resources, with the military taking the largest share. The remaining parts were divided among various civilian groups.

Saying "staking claims" was essentially dividing the map into different regions and gathering scattered refugees.

Most survivor teams wouldn’t have such specially marked immune serum.

Clearly, the unfamiliar team on the east side of the city belonged to a large group.

Thinking about this, Su Hao shook his head and turned to Zhou Chen, who was standing by the workbench. "How’s the blood research going?"

Last week, three team members who had been injected with Su Hao’s blood tried to leave the "castle" at night and were shot dead by the guards.

This again showed that not everyone could become a "worker bee."

"I compared the blood samples of the three deceased members, and it seems to be an issue of mindset," Zhou Chen said, adjusting his slightly slipping glasses. "Humans are the most cunning animals. Their surface promises might just be temporary compromises. We can’t see into people’s hearts, and even lie detectors can’t determine what someone is really thinking. If the mind resists, the body cells naturally can’t fuse with the foreign blood."

Su Hao wrinkled his nose and waved his hand. "Get to the point—"

Zhou Chen nodded. "In the past few days, I’ve compared the blood samples of 281 team members and found that the number of black particles in their bodies is much higher than in the three deceased members. The same is true for my own blood sample. These mysterious cells from your body seem to naturally proliferate based on the recipient’s mindset. To put it simply, the black particles seem to be a measurable indicator of the ‘worker bee’s’ recognition of you. When they reach a certain number, they can change the recipient’s thinking. Only those who initially accepted you can have their cells fuse with the black particles, allowing them to proliferate and eventually control the brain’s thinking through their dense numbers... Ha! This is my latest research. What do you think?"

Su Hao’s expression was clearly surprised.

He had understood the implications of Zhou Chen’s words.

"The proliferation rate of these particles is very stable. I compared your pure blood with all the ‘worker bee’ blood samples and found that you have the highest number of black particles. I used this as a baseline, setting the number of black particles per milligram of blood as the standard ‘10,’ and then reduced it in multiples, dividing it into ten levels. Using this standard, I retested all the blood samples... guess what I found?"

Looking at Zhou Chen’s smug expression, Su Hao felt a mischievous urge. "Did you find out you’re my long-lost illegitimate child?"

"That’s a very boring joke; you lack the humor for it."

Zhou Chen waved his hand dismissively and continued, "The three deceased members had very few black particles, only about 2 to 3 on the standard scale. The other team members had more particles. Among them, Li Xin and Old Song were between 9 and 10. The test results showed that the average number of particles in all team members was around 7.5. This should be a very safe number. According to previous sample tests, to become a true ‘worker bee,’ the recipient’s black particle count must be at least level 5. This is a clear dividing line, and no one can fake it."

Su Hao’s next question went straight to the core. "Those who have just been injected shouldn’t have that many black particles. Your grading theory makes sense, but it doesn’t apply in this case."

"So we need time."

Zhou Chen clearly knew he would say this. "The initial attitude largely determines whether the recipient can become a ‘worker bee.’ Their thinking will change over time. Some will willingly obey your orders, while others will agree verbally but not in their hearts. For those who join the team, they should have their blood tested every three days after the injection. This process will last thirty or forty days. This is roughly the stable cycle of the black particles adapting to the environment. After that, it’s much simpler—those above level 5 are true ‘worker bees.’ Those below this standard are clearly up to no good or have suspicious intentions. This distinction is more intuitive and effective than a lie detector. Words can mask the conspiracy in one’s heart, but data is undeniable evidence."

Su Hao stared at Zhou Chen.

"Regarding identification, you are in charge of this. I don’t want any more defections or conspiracies within the team. We should be united and trust each other, not constantly on edge, fearing our companions."

Zhou Chen nodded, straightened up, and looked at him. "What should we do with those who are found to be outsiders and not part of us?"

Su Hao was silent, his eyes cold and icy.

"Kill them all, without exception—"

..

The long highway was in disarray, littered with abandoned vehicles and various discarded items. Paper and plastic bags flew around in the cold wind. Occasionally, birds would perch on the car roofs, only to be grabbed at by zombies. The clumsy and the agile were never equal; the meaningless pursuit naturally yielded no results. The zombies tried hard to catch the birds to eat, but they couldn’t achieve their goal. Sparrows chirped in the sky, clearly mocking these slow-moving monsters.

Han Fei aimed a pellet gun at a sparrow over 200 meters away and pulled the trigger.

The lead pellet hit the sparrow’s head accurately, and the poor bird couldn’t even scream before it was knocked away by the force. It scattered a few feathers in the air and fell heavily at the feet of a zombie. The lucky zombie immediately bent down to pick it up and excitedly stuffed the dead bird into its mouth. Another zombie rushed over, grabbed the head of the one eating, and bit into the mouth that still had a sparrow leg. With a "rip," the zombie’s lips were torn off, along with half the sparrow, which instantly became food for the attacker.

Shooting sparrows with a pellet gun and watching the zombies fight over them was Han Fei’s only entertainment to pass the time.

Four days ago, he had brought twenty fully armed people to clear the zombies from the building and set up a camp near the entrance.

A blue and white flag fluttered on the rooftop. The emblem was not the "UN" of the United Nations but the Chinese characters "Shengfei" in clerical script.

Han Fei was in a room on the fourth floor facing the street.

Watching the zombies still fighting over food in the distance, a smile flickered on his bearded lips. He put away the pellet gun, turned around, and walked to the chair by the table, sitting down.

The game was fun, but it couldn’t be overdone. Even sparrows, in large numbers, could attract a large group of zombies. This was why he used a nearly silent pellet gun instead of a rifle.

Han Fei didn’t like his overly feminine name, but he didn’t want to change it. When others heard it for the first time, they often thought it was "Han Fei" without the radical, which he didn’t correct. In a way, it was a form of disguise, and Han Fei never clarified or showed his ID.

It was dinnertime.

He opened a can of braised pork that had been heated and started eating greedily while glancing at "Leopard Head," who was standing about three meters away.

"Tell me, how did the scorpion die?"

His tone was cold, with a manly, raspy voice.

"Shengfei" was originally a large family-run group. Han Fei had little affection for the high-ranking family members and didn’t feel close to them. After all, they weren’t his biological father or close relatives.

When the virus outbreak happened, Han Fei was undergoing military training.

It was a large valley owned by the group, heavily guarded with electrified fences around it. There were six instructors and over thirty trainees, all with the same surname as Han Fei.

Han Fei didn’t know what was happening outside. He only knew that the old man with the same surname, who was the chairman of the group, had summoned him, assigned people, and sent him to this city with weapons, food, and immune serum to gather refugees.

As far as he knew, the board was doing similar work in other cities. The gathered refugees would be sent to the group’s headquarters in the northern province. After training and screening, they would become new members of the "Shengfei" group.

"Leopard Head" was covered in blood, his shoulders and sleeves torn, revealing lacerated skin. His hair was messy, covered in dirt and grime, and he had a few dried blood clots on his head. One of his shoes was missing.

After setting up the camp in the city, eleven people had made contact with the camp over four days. Han Fei didn’t use violence to capture them but, like the legendary Jesus, smiled and gave each person food and immune serum.

This was a plan already established by the "Shengfei" leadership—first, to establish a positive image among survivors, let the first beneficiaries spread the news of the camp, and naturally attract more survivors. When the number of people in the camp reached a certain level, they would use persuasion, deception, and threats to transport most of the uninformed to the group’s headquarters in the north.

As for those willing to obey orders, they could stay and help build a new city. If they acted quickly and didn’t waste time, it wouldn’t be long before everything here belonged to the "Shengfei" group.

"Leopard Head" and the scorpion were the first survivors Han Fei encountered in the city. As key targets to be won over, they were treated well—besides the immune serum, Han Fei invited them to have lunch at the camp. The ordinary canned meat and rice had an indescribable effect on the scorpion, who had been living on dry rations for a long time.

He had sworn on the spot, patting his chest, that he would persuade everyone in the residential building to come.

Han Fei liked the scorpion.

Of course, not in a sexual way.

This kind of tough, aggressive man was essentially a thug. His thinking was simple, and any schemes he had were likely to be resolved through violence. He was easily tempted by material things and could be bought.

A few punches and a can of food could turn him into a loyal dog.

Many wealthy families and corporations were carrying out similar plans to "Shengfei." To gather more people, "Shengfei" had set up bases in many cities. Kunming was just one of them. A large-scale operation meant a need for many executors, and the number of direct group members sent to each place was limited. Han Fei had only twenty people and had to be cautious of the ever-present zombies. He brought many weapons and food to select subordinates from the survivors.

Han Fei didn’t give the scorpion any weapons.

He wanted to see how many people the scorpion could bring back without the convenience of material resources. Based on this number, Han Fei would decide the scorpion’s future position and treatment under him.

Half an hour ago, "Leopard Head," who was with the scorpion, stumbled back, saying the scorpion was dead.

(Characters in this section: Han Fei, played by "Fire Red." Applause! Flowers! Saliva! Votes!)

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