An Encounter with Survivors

"Phew—"

After reading the message on the second sheet, Wang Tao sighed.

Though he knew the situation outside had to be bad, he was still disappointed once it was truly confirmed.

There was one last sheet of paper in the envelope.

This sheet explained how to use the radio to contact their base, gave the exact location of their Survivor Base, and included a set of blueprints.

These were not maps, but zombie blueprints. They recorded information on all the types of zombies encountered so far! Compared with the contact information, Wang Tao was much more interested in the zombie blueprints.

After all, he was too far from the Military Base right now. Even if he knew how to contact them, he had no way of doing so. But the zombie information in these blueprints could definitely help him a great deal.

There were more than twenty types of zombies listed in the blueprints, and Wang Tao recognized several of them.

The sneaky zombie he had encountered before was called a "Silent One."

Silent Ones lurked quietly in dark places or disguised themselves as human corpses. They made no sound, and their own senses were weak. Only when prey came close would they notice it and suddenly launch a fatal strike.

These zombies were actually about as strong as ordinary zombies in a direct fight. But because of their ambushes, many people had died at the hands of Silent Ones. Inside buildings, they were an extremely dangerous type of zombie...

The child zombie Wang Tao had encountered before, the one that could dash over short distances, was officially called a "Dasher."

They were somewhat faster than ordinary zombies and had greater attack power as well. When they got close to prey, they would activate their dashing ability. A single Dasher was not much of a threat, but if Dashers were mixed in with other zombies and suddenly attacked, survivors would be in serious danger...

Then there was the Screaming Zombie Wang Tao had encountered and run over on the road. She was called a "Screamer."

She herself was relatively weak—far weaker than an ordinary zombie. A physically fit adult man could easily take her on alone with a melee weapon.

However, this zombie was highly sensitive to sound. Before discovering humans, she would make certain preparations. Once those preparations were complete, she would let out a huge scream capable of drawing in nearby zombies, especially special zombies.

If she was killed before she could scream, there would be no problem. But if a Screamer managed to cry out, the best choice was to run! Otherwise, once the horde surrounded you, death was the only outcome...

As for the Hammer Zombie Wang Tao had encountered today, there was an introduction for him as well, though it was brief.

The Hammer Zombie was called a "Terror Brute." He was a type of zombie that had only appeared a few days after the apocalypse began. At that time, everyone had been focused on protecting themselves, and no one would take the initiative to kill him.

Terror Brutes were slow, but they could use weapons. They had high attack power and strong defenses. Furthermore, their attacks carried Shockwaves that science could not explain... As for their eyes being sensitive to light, that was not mentioned. Presumably, no one had discovered it...

Wang Tao had not encountered the other types of zombies yet, but he firmly memorized all the information about them. It would definitely come in handy later.

The materials also stated that most zombies feared fire. If one wanted to establish a Survivor Base, fire was indispensable.

At the end of the document, it also mentioned Zombie Crystal Cores.

It said that only powerful zombies possessed Crystal Cores. But no one yet knew what they were used for, because several volunteers had all failed their experiments and suffered severe aftereffects.

They speculated that consuming these Crystal Cores should enhance a human's physical abilities, but the side effects were enormous. Anyone who wanted to use one had to prepare themselves mentally. In principle, they did not recommend using them...

After Wang Tao finished reading the information on all three sheets, he carefully put them away and placed them in the box holding his weapons.

As for the guns, after giving it some thought, he took one out and loaded it with ten bullets.

A gun was something he might not need. But he had to have it ready in advance—what if it proved crucial at a critical moment?

Then Wang Tao packed up the airdrop. He needed to bring all of it back with him. Unfortunately, these things could not be placed in the Space Backpack, or it would have been much more convenient.

By then, the sun was already close to setting.

The sunset was beautiful, but unfortunately, Wang Tao was not in the mood to appreciate it.

He casually prepared himself a simple but filling dinner. Just as he was halfway through eating, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

Because he saw a group of people appear in the distance!

There were six of them in total—four men and two women. They were filthy all over, carrying large and small bags on their backs, and holding some homemade weapons. There even seemed to be a police officer among them? "There are actually survivors out here..."

Wang Tao found it somewhat surprising.

It was not strange for there to be survivors. The world was so vast; there had to be people who had lived. But for survivors to come out at a time like this... Were they tired of living?

Night was about to fall! Even he did not dare go out at night...

But Wang Tao soon realized that he might have misunderstood.

These survivors might not have come out in the evening. They might have set out earlier and simply kept walking until evening.

Because they were hiding in a corner by the wall, pointing at the water plant. They seemed to want to come over and stay the night, but they also looked afraid.

Wang Tao had no intention of going out to greet them. After struggling in society for so many years, he had long understood how treacherous people could be. Especially now, when he had so many supplies and was badly injured, he had to be even more vigilant.

The small building where Wang Tao was staying was some distance from the entrance, but there were no buildings in between to block his view, so he could clearly observe what was happening outside.

The group of survivors cautiously entered the water plant. When they saw that the main gate was unlocked, they were all excited. But a young man with dyed yellow hair jumped in fright upon spotting the zombie Wang Tao had smashed to death in the guard booth, then panicked and ran back into the group.

"Zombie!"

"Don't panic. There are so many of us—one zombie can't beat us!"

A woman in a black police uniform pulled out a Police Pistol. Keeping it aimed at the guard booth, she hurriedly shouted in a low voice.

When the others saw the policewoman speak up, they immediately seemed to find their backbone. They tightly gripped their weapons—kitchen knives, steel pipes, table legs, and the like—and formed a fan-shaped formation around the guard booth.

The policewoman was about to say that she would take a look when a thin young man beside her suddenly spoke to her. "Honey, how about you go take a look?"

"...Okay."

The policewoman opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing else.

She put away her pistol, took the baton from her waist, and cautiously approached the guard booth.

The others followed behind her with their weapons in hand.

When the policewoman reached the guard booth, she cautiously glanced at the zombie inside. The moment she saw the bloody hole in its head, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Everyone, don't worry! The zombie inside is dead!"

Only after hearing that the zombie was dead did the group dare to breathe loudly.

The policewoman's husband was still somewhat uneasy. He went over and took another couple of looks. Only after confirming that the zombie was indeed dead did he straighten his back.

"But how did this zombie die? Judging by the wound, it seems it hasn't been dead for long..."

The policewoman frowned and looked around the water plant. Could there be someone inside...

Inside the small building.

After seeing the situation with the survivors outside, Wang Tao immediately relaxed.

"So they're just a bunch of rookies..."