Necrosis (2)

The room was pitch black.

Zhou Zhi did not step inside.

Instead, he stood outside to observe.

After a brief moment, Zhou Zhi turned and walked away.

He headed toward the other side.

A noisy commotion drifted over from that direction.

Xia Yu and the others approached.

"Let's spend the night here."

Zhou Zhi said, "There might still be Mucus Men at night. Use debris to block the doors and windows and reinforce them."

There were naturally enough materials here; if not, they could dismantle the furniture.

The Mucus Men were not terrifying.

Zhou Zhi was well aware that those Mucus Men could hardly break through locked doors or the walls of a house.

Yet, if that were all there was to it, there should have been many survivors under the plague.

But looking back at the journey so far, aside from the fact that Bai Xiu knew a little bit of the Plague Extermination Art to keep everyone safe, there wasn't a single living person left.

They were all the disease-type [Mucus Men].

There were even greater threats.

There must be monsters far more dangerous than the Mucus Men.

Xia Yu was truly a beautiful girl.

If some girls were hard to describe in terms of beauty—just pleasant to look at—then Xia Yu was the very symbol of beauty.

Whether it was her eyes, her nose, or anything else.

Every feature aligned perfectly with human preferences.

She had a slender figure and a pleasant voice.

Lei Heng and the others sat to one side, eating food scavenged from Uncle Liang's shop.

"She's really good-looking."

"Boss, tell me, how can there be such a beautiful girl in this world?"

A lackey crouched on the steps, eyeing the distance.

"I used to hang around the central school area, how come I never heard of a girl like that?"

Lei Heng chuckled, spat on the ground, and cast a sidelong glance: "That just means you weren't hanging around in the right circles."

His eyes reflected Xia Yu's long, slender legs.

And her delicate hair clip.

"Tsk, tsk..."

Lei Heng swallowed hard.

From beside him came the voice of one of his lackeys.

"Boss... something isn't right inside..."

Lei Heng felt a flicker of annoyance; the lackey's voice always seemed to come at an inopportune time, but he still turned his head: "What is it?"

"Boss... you should go take a look."

"Inside... it would be best to call that Plague Exterminator Zhou... to go with you..."

Lei Heng was stunned.

Although he harbored resentment toward Zhou Zhi, he understood now that relying solely on himself, it was absolutely impossible to survive in the plague zone.

If he wanted to live, Zhou Zhi, who mastered the Plague Extermination Art, was one of their few guarantees.

It was just that...

"I'll go take a look first."

Lei Heng whispered, "Qingshi becoming a plague zone is a danger, but it's also an opportunity."

"If that Xia Yu wasn't using [that thing], I would have already had my way with her."

Every danger was an opportunity.

Lei Heng certainly understood this; perhaps he really could pull chestnuts from the fire in the plague zone, master a technique or two of the Plague Extermination Art, and become a Plague Exterminator himself—it wasn't impossible.

Just imagine, he could even become a figure like the [Seven Xuanyuan Stars] seen on television.

Lei Heng stood up: "Where is the restroom, Old Man Liang?"

In the distance, Uncle Liang looked dejected, crouching to one side without saying a word.

"Boss, Boss, I'll take you there."

The lackey from before immediately understood what Lei Heng was thinking.

Zhou Zhi's calm gaze landed on Lei Heng's back.

Then, it swept over Uncle Liang.

"What is this..."

Lei Heng remembered that this was not the place where Uncle Liang and the others had discovered the death of his Mucus Man wife, but a different room.

Given the current situation, they lacked the means for a proper burial, so everyone had left Uncle Liang's wife where she lay.

If it had been that other room, Lei Heng would not have been willing to risk the danger of infection to enter.

But this place was different.

This was the living quarters of Uncle Liang's son.

He pressed the light switch.

It didn't turn on; instead, it emitted a strange, crackling electrical sound.

The room looked very dilapidated, with peeling paint everywhere, forming a stark contrast to the exterior.

Standing behind Lei Heng, the lackey pointed forward.

"Boss, look there."

Lei Heng frowned, sniffing the stench in the air.

It was the sour, putrid smell of rotting flesh.

The man with the sinister face lowered his head, following the direction of the finger.

Beneath that bed, which didn't look particularly refined.

"Hmm... this..."

Under the bed.

Several chunks of rotting meat had sprouted grotesque white fuzz, extending toward the back of the bed frame.

Surrounding the meat were rows of strange scratch marks; although crude, it was clear that someone had carved them with intent.

The bed frame was very low, and if not for the stench of the meat, it would have been difficult for anyone to discover such a thing beneath it.

"This is the 'good stuff' you were talking about???"

Lei Heng really wanted to slap his lackey across the face.

A piece of rotten meat.

It was completely putrid.

The lackey felt aggrieved, lowering his head: "No, Boss, this is what I found on the edge of the side window in... Old Man Liang's house."

As he spoke, he pulled a small booklet from his bosom.

To be precise, it was a yellowed piece of letter paper that had been folded countless times.

The edges were tattered and worn.

Lei Heng snatched it away.

"[Flesh and blood proliferate, thus is the Tai Sui]."

"[Take wood from the Five Elements, and longevity shall follow]."

Five Elements? Tai Sui?

These terms left Lei Heng somewhat bewildered.

They didn't sound like terminology from Xuanyuan.

"Forget it, just take it for now..."

Lei Heng glanced at his lackey out of the corner of his eye.

"Wrap it up with a piece of cloth."

The lackey froze, then looked at the rotting meat under the bed. His mouth hung open, but in the end, he tore a piece of fabric from his clothes, preparing to wrap the putrid flesh.

But the moment the lackey touched the rotting meat.

A terrifying thing happened.

"Something's wrong..."

"Boss..."

"It hurts..."

The lackey cried out in agony.

That chunk of rotting meat seemed to have come to life.

Through the fabric, it latched onto the lackey's hand with absolute suction!

"It... it's biting me!"

"It's..."

Lei Heng's expression shifted, and he immediately bolted toward the exit.

Behind him, the lackey's desperate voice rang out with piercing shrillness.

Something was wrong here.

This was what Zhou Zhi felt.

It did not come from the external pathogens, but from within.

Zhou Zhi looked at Uncle Liang.

Ever since his son and wife had died, Uncle Liang had worn this look of a man who had lost all will to live.

It was just that... Zhou Zhi could smell a strange scent on Uncle Liang.

That scent had actually been present back at the clinic, but it had been far too faint.

However, after arriving at this courtyard, and especially in the room of Uncle Liang's son, that scent had become distinct enough.

It was like rotting flesh.

More crucially...

[Human with terminal illness].

[Pathogenization Index: 73.6%].

[Compared to physical ailments, psychological ones are perhaps even harder to cure].

Zhou Zhi remembered that when they entered the mansion, Uncle Liang's pathogenization index had been less than thirty percent.

But now...

Had this old man only walked around the mansion twice?

"This old man was the one who suggested coming back to this house."

"Imagine, perhaps he had long premeditated what he wanted to do upon returning..."

"Perhaps it was to retrieve something?"

Zhou Zhi's right hand never left his scalpel.

In the distance.

A cry of alarm rang out.

Followed by the voice of Lei Heng.

"Help... help me..."

"There's... there's a monster!!!"