Raising Zombies?

Gu Yue sensed something strange and had already begun moving away from the red door.

But after all, his eyes were closed, and ghosts flew without making a sound.

At that moment, Wu Zhong saw with his own eyes that the ghost had long since flown over his head, landing beneath a chandelier not far ahead and standing there fiddling with a hemp rope... It seemed to have flown out because it found the room too dark.

And by coming out like this, Gu Yue, who thought he was moving away, was actually heading straight toward it.

"Within one meter, you'll be drawn in?"

"Um... you're going the wrong way. It's right in front of you. You're getting closer to it now."

Wu Zhong hesitated, but still warned him.

Though he did not understand it, ever since hearing about Eternal Thirst Plum's effects, Wu Zhong had been somewhat traumatized. He felt a strong aversion toward things like this.

If they could avoid getting close, they should.

The thought of Gu Yue being infected with some permanent negative effect made him unable to bear it.

Good lord, even a ghost had been affected. This was probably another unsolvable thing, wasn't it?

"How do you know? Are you trying to harm me?" To Wu Zhong's surprise, Gu Yue did not believe him. He was convinced that Wu Zhong was one of Endless Summer's people.

"Why would I lie to you? Trust me." Wu Zhong's eyes widened as he watched him get closer.

As Gu Yue approached, he dragged Wu Zhong closer as well, making Wu Zhong's heart leap into his throat.

Yet still, nothing happened.

Was it fake?

The thought flashed through Wu Zhong's mind.

But that was impossible. The ghost had clearly been drawn in and was frantically trying to untie the rope.

It was growing increasingly agitated, already looking furious as it hissed sinisterly, "It won't come apart. Why won't it come apart?"

At the same time, once Gu Yue came within one meter, even with his eyes closed, he suddenly shuddered, opened them of his own accord, and squeezed forward to untangle that Tangled Mess, his gaze obsessed.

One human and one ghost, who had been fighting fiercely just moments ago, now stood face-to-face, working together on a tangled ball of rope.

But they could not untangle it at all, and even began blaming each other.

"Don't pull! You ugly ghost, I was about to get it undone." Gu Yue's tone was irritable.

Ghost Gizzard was no more polite, speaking in a sinister voice. "I can undo it myself. Stop bothering me!"

Though the human and ghost were both irritated, they did not start fighting. Instead, they focused on that Tangled Mess.

Wu Zhong was dumbfounded. He had confirmed that this Tangle's properties were indeed formidable.

He just did not know why he had not fallen for it.

"So this is a disaster anomaly? It's seriously freaky!"

No one was paying attention to Wu Zhong anymore. The Air Shield restraining him had also loosened and dispersed because of Gu Yue's abnormal state, vanishing into nothing.

The human and ghost were so absorbed in tackling the Tangle that they seemed to forget food and sleep, not even sparing him a glance.

It was as though that Tangle was the greatest mystery in the universe, containing endless profundities, enough to make one devote life and death to it, as if it had to be untangled even at the cost of everything!

"What do I do? They've both been hard-controlled by this Tangle... Can I leave now?"

"But... where could I even go?"

"Chicken Gizzard is controlled here too. Without him leading the way, how am I supposed to escape?"

Wu Zhong was frantic, but he did not dare wander around this area alone.

Who knew whether he might run into an even more unbelievable disaster anomaly?

His gaze swept aside, and he suddenly reached out and pulled the gun from Gu Yue's waist.

It was heavy. It looked like a Type 92 pistol, but it had clearly been modified. Its design was sleek, and its grip was comfortable.

This was the first time he had ever handled a real gun. Imitating what he had seen in movies, he flicked off the safety.

Then he felt around Gu Yue and found four grenades, as well as a military knife two feet long.

The other party was too preoccupied to care about him anyway, so he might as well take them for self-defense.

"What if I take this Tangle with me?"

Wu Zhong gathered his courage and touched the Tangle again.

When he found that nothing happened, he simply grabbed it and began moving slowly.

The human and ghost had been studying it, so they instinctively followed... It seemed they would not voluntarily move more than one meter away from the thing.

Wu Zhong tugged the Tangle along, like he was walking two...

"I'm going to untangle it! I, Gu Yue, will definitely untangle it!" Gu Yue roared.

The ghost was equally confident. "Almost, almost! The one to undo this knot will definitely be me, Chicken Gizzard!"

Seeing that they could still speak, Wu Zhong hurriedly shouted, "Brother Chicken Gizzard, point me in the right direction first!"

The ghost still remembered its task and snapped irritably, "Go find it yourself. Stop bothering me."

As Wu Zhong dragged the Tangle, drawing the two along, he looked around.

He recalled what Endless Summer had said before... Containment Room 013.

Sure enough, all the red doors were numbered.

The place where the Tangle had been was 011, so 013 could not be far away.

He searched while dragging the Tangle, leading the human and ghost along behind him.

The red containment rooms were not far apart, and he spotted it soon enough.

"Why are we coming here? Th-this is another red door."

Wu Zhong stared at the red door of 013, his expression tense.

He knew there had to be some kind of disaster anomaly inside.

However, Endless Summer had said not to approach any red doors except the one Chicken Gizzard would take him to... which was this place, Containment Room 013.

"How do I get in?"

Wu Zhong shouted, but the human and ghost were engrossed in their unraveling and growing increasingly frustrated.

"Tch..."

Wu Zhong could only rely on himself. After racking his brains, he really did come up with a solution.

He grabbed the Tangle and pressed it against the door, while also shoving Chicken Gizzard.

"Pop!" Chicken Gizzard was squeezed out of shape. Under the intense pressure, it instinctively turned incorporeal and passed through the red metal gate in an instant. Since it was holding the Tangle, it dragged the Tangle inside as well.

And with that, Gu Yue of the containment unit twisted his face in fury.

"Don't go! My rope knot, I'm about to undo it!"

In a rage, he condensed an Air Shield and pressed it into the recess. The red door slowly opened.

Wu Zhong followed him inside and found that Chicken Gizzard had not gone far. It had only turned incorporeal for an instant, and after passing through the gate, it was standing just beyond the entrance, continuing to fiddle with the hemp rope.

The room behind them was pitch-black and dim.

Wu Zhong casually felt along the wall and actually found the light switch.

"Thunk, thunk, thunk!"

One light after another lit up overhead, illuminating a vast hall.

The sight before him made Wu Zhong suck in a breath.

Zombies. They really were zombies—zombies packed densely together!

Most of their bodies were rotting away, and many had intestines dragging across the floor. Some were missing arms, while others had lost their entire lower halves.

Each let out hoarse, breathy sounds, exactly like the zombies in movies.

The instant the lights came on, countless zombies turned toward him.

In that moment, Wu Zhong's limbs went cold!

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Countless zombies raced toward him, swarming like sardines.

They were in the first-floor hall, while Wu Zhong had entered from a second-floor platform.

But that could not stop the zombies. Drawn to Wu Zhong, they directly formed human ladders and climbed up.

Without hesitation, Wu Zhong hid behind the human and ghost, even hoping that the Tangle could control the zombies too.

But he was disappointed. The zombies were completely unaffected by the Tangle. They ignored the ghost as well, lunging at Gu Yue and him.

Gu Yue was not stupid either. Though his mind had been warped and he was obsessed with untangling the Tangle, he could still think. He was merely treating the Tangle with an absurd degree of fixation.

"Stop bothering me!"

"Boom!"

Tough Air Shields formed all around him, densely packed and layered atop one another, protecting him securely and blocking the zombies' bites and claws.

But Wu Zhong went numb, because after the zombies realized they could not bite Gu Yue, they used him as a stepping stone and climbed over to chase Wu Zhong.

Wu Zhong remembered Endless Summer's instructions: when he saw zombies, he should think of agonizing, painful things.

But he had thought of them. It was useless. The zombies lunged at him without mercy.

Wu Zhong gripped the pistol and fired furiously, but the recoil was so strong that his arm nearly smashed into his own face.

"Bang!" He had no idea where that shot went.

Wu Zhong shouted for help, retreating again and again as he fired repeatedly. The ghost ignored him too.

However, the ghost had also truly reached the height of its irritation and rage.

"It won't come apart! Why won't it come apart? It's so hard! So hard!"

The ghost's face twisted. When it saw a bullet strike the Tangle, it seemed to receive inspiration and began trying to solve it through brute force.

Its ghost claws were like iron as it tore at it with all its might.

But the rope was indestructible and suffered no damage whatsoever. Instead, the ghost accidentally hurt Gu Yue.

Gu Yue refused to be outdone and immediately shouted, "Jade Origin Blade!"

"Break for me!" He shone brilliantly as green energy flowed around him, forming blade-shaped luminous vapor that bombarded the rope knot!

He intended to cut through the Tangled Mess with a swift blade!

Unfortunately, it did not work. Instead, the green energy carried some kind of corrosive effect and injured Ghost Gizzard.

The two gripped opposite ends of the Tangle and fought fiercely over it. Because they were standing so close, they indirectly harmed each other.

And Gu Yue's attack covered a wide area, blasting away and tearing apart quite a few zombies as well.

"Damn it, this ghost is useless. I have to rely on Gu Yue instead."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Wu Zhong found an opening and kicked two zombies away with all his strength.

A zombie lunged at him from behind and to the side. He shoved the pistol into its face and blew one apart.

"Bang!" The zombie's head burst open, and even its chest cavity exploded!

"That's some firepower."

Wu Zhong pressed the gun against another zombie and blew it apart. Though he only hit the upper part of its chest cavity, the power was enough to rip through its neck and send its head flying.

With the pistol's power, he killed two zombies at close range and finally managed to run into an observation room, rushing inside and shutting the door.

He did not even need to lock it. Leaving it half-closed was enough.

Wu Zhong was afraid that if he actually latched it shut, he would not be able to open the lock... His ability was Door-Welding, not unlocking.

And a half-closed door like this was enough to block the zombies.

"My Door-Welding doesn't need the door to be fully shut to activate. Even if I only change it slightly, its state will be welded in place."

Inside the observation room, Wu Zhong watched the zombies crowd outside, unable to enter.

There was a ten-centimeter gap between the door and its frame. One rotten, disgusting zombie face after another squeezed into the gap, roaring and baring its teeth at him.

"Urrgh... creak, creak..."

A wave of stench hit him. Wu Zhong irritably looked away and surveyed the observation room.

"So shabby..."

The observation room had been abandoned. There was nothing inside, and it seemed no one had come here for a long time.

Wu Zhong sighed. Fortunately, he had Gu Yue's military knife and pistol for self-defense.

Through the observation room window, he could see the full layout of the containment room.

It was huge, and it had two levels.

He had entered on the second level, on an elevated platform. The middle was open all the way through, so he could look down at the countless zombies in the first-floor hall.

But the zombies formed human ladders and could easily climb to the second floor.

They moved nimbly. Whether in running speed or agility, they were no different from living humans.

"Endless Summer said before to leave through the food delivery pipe... What is that?"

Wu Zhong searched and really did spot something like a pipe, complete with a conveyor belt.

There were many bloodstains nearby. Clearly, it was specifically used to deliver food to the zombies.

"Huh? Unit 985 raises zombies?"

"With their firepower, wiping out these zombies should be effortless. Why keep them around?"

"For research? Doesn't seem like it. Even this observation area has been abandoned. This place looks more like a warehouse."

Wu Zhong did not understand. Though these zombies were terrifying to him, at most they had the combat strength of ordinary people. They were still made of flesh and blood.

No superpowers were needed. Guns alone could deal with them.

There was no feeling of a research facility here at all. It looked like no one had come here in ages. They had even set up a special pipe to automatically deliver food on a schedule.

He did not understand why they kept a group of zombies. Was it simply because they did not want them to go extinct?

"Forget it. Anyway, I need to leave from there..."

"But... isn't that too far away? It's practically diagonal from me!"

"I have to cross the entire zombie horde?"

From his high vantage point, Wu Zhong studied the route and found no clever path to take.

There was no other way. He had to pass through the obstruction of countless zombies to get there, and his face immediately turned green.

"Me? Fight a thousand? Seriously?"