"One, two, three, four... five? I almost forgot—Hu An's still an Evolutionist."
As he counted, Su Huan carefully plucked a few fruits.
If the water purifier deal went smoothly, he might let Hu An live.
But if the deal fell through, he couldn't find a single reason to let Hu An survive.
As for the supplies at the Water Plant and the fair-skinned women, he wasn't interested. The only benefits worth having were the ones in his pocket, and the quickest to obtain right now was the fair, meaty body of Hu An.
Feeding the Blood-Thirsty Vine would also let him grow more Blood-Thirsty Fruits.
After picking the fruits, Su Huan headed for the train.
Liang Kuan was leading some passengers in clearing out zombies. They worked in groups, armed with long poles and similar weapons. Once they knocked a zombie down, they swarmed it and beat it senseless.
These zombies hadn't even reached the first rank. As long as they didn't form a massive horde, they posed little threat to organized humans—not even as much as some large predators.
"Drag all the zombie corpses to Carriage 2," Su Huan said coolly as he passed.
"Understood."
Once aboard, Su Huan looked around and found Wan Xing in the dining car.
She sat on the sofa, holding a potted plant, her delicate face calm as she gazed out the window.
Outside, the people fighting the zombies looked like a satirical painting, where civilization met savagery and death mingled with hope.
Yu Yue was wiping down the bottles and jars in the kitchen. Their occasional clinks brought the rhythm of daily life back into focus.
Ever since Su Huan had stopped having time to cook, the dining car's kitchen had become her domain.
When Su Huan appeared, the two women instinctively looked at him, their expressions tightening.
Su Huan walked straight up to Wan Xing and took out five Blood-Thirsty Fruits. "Try extracting something from these today."
Wan Xing sat up straight, curious. "What are they?"
"Blood-Thirsty Fruits. They grow on a mutated plant that absorbs flesh and blood. They can promote biological evolution, but you can't eat them raw. You'll die on the spot."
"Got it. I'll try right away."
Wan Xing took the fruits, stood, and went to Carriage 2. It had originally been intended as an armory, but now served as a garage and a large workshop.
A faint smell of blood still hung in the air. Even with the air conditioning turned all the way up, the metallic stench wouldn't go away.
"They'll bring the zombie corpses over soon. Extract from those too, and pay attention to anything besides Pan-Energy Crystals. Once you successfully extract something, come upstairs and get me."
After giving his instructions, Su Huan headed straight up to the second floor. His clothes were still dripping wet, but that wasn't what mattered right now.
His gaze passed through the glass and protective mesh, over rows of buildings, and settled on the towering water tower. Thinking of Gao Zhe hiding somewhere in the shadows, waiting for him, Su Huan couldn't help licking his lips.
"You'd better stay hidden. Don't show your face."
He took the first-rank Pan-Energy Crystal he'd gotten from the Night Demon out of his pocket, sat on the floor, and quietly extracted the Pan-Energy from it.
Dark green moss covered the water tanks at the Water Plant, and a ruptured pipe snaked across the ground, casting a winding shadow.
Gao Zhe held a bloodied steel rebar in one hand, tapping it against the metal stairs to produce an uneven, shivering clang.
The sound pressed on the nerves of the guards inside.
Three men in security uniforms stared tensely at the control room's iron door. Then they heard a faint noise behind them.
"Who's there?!"
One of the guards, nerves stretched taut, shouted.
As he turned, all he saw was half a bloodstained rebar flying toward him.
Bang!
The rebar plunged into his eye socket and pinned him to the wall.
A broad stain of crimson spread across it.
The other two turned around just in time to see a one-armed figure in a hoodie jump down from the window.
He landed on one foot, then sprang up like a crouching tiger, crashing into them. The stomach-turning sound of bones snapping followed one after another.
Boom!
Gao Zhe slammed the two men against the wall. He braced himself on one hand, twisted his powerful waist, and stood up. Pulling the rebar from the wall, he swung it at the guards, who were groaning softly.
A crisp crunch like a cucumber breaking rang out, and then the room fell silent.
Only a rustling sound came from the bedroom.
Keeping close to the wall, Gao Zhe made his way to the inner room. He placed his hand on the door, took a deep breath, and shoved it open.
But he didn't move for a long moment. His tall frame stiffened, his pupils contracting to pinpoints.
The stench of rotting, braised meat poured out of the room.
The thirty-square-meter space was packed with moldy food wrappers. More than twenty women had their hands bound and were hung from the ceiling, their toes barely touching the floor. They had to constantly struggle to keep their balance.
Four more women hung from the ceiling fan in the middle. As it rotated, they were forced to shuffle around with it. Two of them were barely breathing, their arms mottled black and purple. Suspended from the fan, they were dragged around and around, grinding circles of bloody streaks into the floor.
Even when they saw Gao Zhe enter, the women's eyes showed not the slightest reaction. They sat in silence, like mute people.
Even the armed train, which Gao Zhe thought of as hell, was nothing compared to this tiny, thirty-square-meter room.
The women hung naked like cured meat in a smokehouse.
"You..."
The hoarse voice startled Gao Zhe. He could hardly believe it had come from him. After a long pause, he hurriedly found the fan switch on the wall.
He switched off the spinning fan.
Then he stepped forward and took down the nearest woman. "You... they... Forget it. I'll get you down first."
For the first time, he realized how inadequate his words were.
He could only work quickly, to spare them as much suffering as he could.
He had just finished getting everyone down when he heard a sudden rush of movement. He turned back in confusion and saw a woman leap out of the window.
"Don't—"
Gao Zhe's heart lurched.
This was the sixth floor!
Feeling the woman struggle in his arms, he quickly looked down.
She crawled out of his embrace, knelt on the floor, and kowtowed to him three times. Then she crawled toward the window too.
Gao Zhe reached out and grabbed her. Gritting his teeth, he said, "There's a train outside. There's food. Come with me. You can live!"
The woman turned and opened her mouth, revealing an empty cavity.
She had no tongue—not even any teeth.
The woman gave him a smile so hideous it made his heart ache. Kowtowing as she backed away, she finally crawled to the window and jumped, just like the first woman.
Gao Zhe stiffly withdrew his hand, clenched his fist, and slammed it against the ground. His teeth ground together, his face so dark it seemed water might drip from it.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
The sound of kowtowing filled the room.
After a long while, only Gao Zhe remained in the room, along with a few women who had already died.
At last, the sky cleared. Dusky yellow sunlight streamed through the window, cutting a bright yellow patch across the wall.
Gao Zhe sank down at the boundary between light and shadow, his expression bleak.
"I... was wrong... No, I wasn't wrong! Those who exploit and toy with others deserve to die too!"
"Su Huan!"
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