Shifting Winds

The Zombie Tide continued its relentless advance westward, surrounding the Residential Camp so tightly that nothing could get through. Fortunately, Han Bing had ordered his men to reinforce the walls beforehand, keeping them from being smashed down by the tide's impact.

By now, the Residential Camp held three or four times as many people as before. After Han Bing informed the other three community camps about the Zombie Tide, they had followed him to the Residential Camp, though they remained half skeptical.

Looking at the endless Zombie Tide outside the Residential Camp, the leaders of the other camps all felt grateful for their decision.

Inside a room specially cleared out for meetings in the Residential Camp, Han Bing sat at a conference table with the other camp leaders. The atmosphere was distinctly strange.

Just then, a man suddenly stood up. With a scheming look and a broad smile, he asked Han Bing in a low voice, "Brother Han, is Brother F... Feng still out there?"

At those words, Han Bing's eyes hardened. He stared coldly at the man and asked, "Do you need something from Brother Feng?"

"Brother Han, everyone in camp has already heard about Brother Feng. You used to be a big shot yourself, but now you're working under an outsider. Doesn't that bother you?" An ingratiating smile instantly spread across the man's face.

The moment he finished speaking, Han Bing's expression darkened, and a sinister gleam flashed in his eyes.

"Say one more fucking word, and I'll feed you to the zombies!"

The man shuddered in fright, his face turning as white as paper.

Han Bing swept a cold gaze over everyone, then turned and left the meeting room.

The spacious meeting room fell so silent that they could have heard a pin drop.

"Ahem, gentlemen, why don't we all head back?"

"Ah, Han Bing is right. We still don't know what's happened to Brother Feng. It really is too early to discuss his successor."

"All right, let's pretend this never happened and let the matter drop quietly."

With that, two men slowly left the meeting room. The man who had spoken to Han Bing remained in his seat without moving an inch.

Just then, one of his men pushed open the door and came in.

"Master Hua, everyone's gone. Should we also..."

Only then did he slowly stand up.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Master Hua saw the layers upon layers of zombies outside the thick walls. Suddenly, as though something had dawned on him, his eyes lit up.

"Han Bing, I gave you a chance, and you refused to take it. Don't blame me for showing you no mercy!"

His subordinate looked utterly bewildered. "Master Hua, are you going to..."

"Heh." Master Hua gave a wicked smile and said softly, "This Residential Camp will soon have a new master!"

Early the next morning.

The gentle sunlight caressed Liu Feng's face like a woman's soft hand. He slowly opened his eyes. Little Knife was already awake, standing by the wall and watching the zombies below.

Smiling, Liu Feng got up and walked over to her.

Overnight, the Zombie Tide outside the community had thinned considerably. Quite a few wandering zombies were also trapped inside.

"Looks like the Zombie Tide has passed," Liu Feng said with a smile.

Hearing him beside her, Little Knife merely nodded in agreement without saying anything.

Liu Feng leaned against the wall and looked at Little Knife through the strands of morning light. A few loose strands of her dark hair caught the sunlight. The scene was as beautiful as a painting.

Just as Liu Feng was about to lose himself in the sight, Little Knife suddenly turned her gaze toward him.

"What... are you looking at?"

"Huh?" Liu Feng nearly fell over in his fluster. He swallowed nervously and offered a feeble explanation. "I... I wasn't looking at anything."

"Then why were you staring at the same spot without moving your eyes?"

"Well... I was thinking about something. So I spaced out a little."

At that, Little Knife turned sideways and leaned against the wall as Liu Feng had.

"Were you thinking about your brothers?"

Liu Feng froze for a moment, not expecting her to guess what was on his mind.

"How did you know?" he asked in surprise.

Little Knife gave a rare smile, lowered her head, and said quietly, "I saw you part ways with your brothers on the main road yesterday. And last night, you looked like you'd eaten shit. It was obvious something was bothering you."

Liu Feng gave a slightly awkward smile and asked sheepishly, "Was it really that obvious?"

Little Knife nodded, then said thoughtfully, "I'll go back with you."

"What?"

There was so much packed into that sentence that Liu Feng failed to process it for a moment.

"You saved my life yesterday. So just consider this my way of repaying you."

Liu Feng nodded solemnly.

In truth, if Liu Feng had chosen not to intervene yesterday, Little Knife could have escaped unscathed thanks to her speed. His involvement had instead made their retreat a particularly awkward scramble.

That was why Liu Feng felt deeply ashamed.

"All right, then. I'll lead the way."

On the way back to the Residential Camp, Liu Feng and Little Knife chatted happily. Killing zombies and flirting—he managed both without missing a beat.

Of course, Liu Feng gained more than that along the way. Little Knife gave him a great deal of information that the system lacked.

In year 50 of the Doomsday Calendar, a failed biochemical research project caused a mutated virus to infect human bodies. Almost overnight, the entire city fell.

By year 100 of the Doomsday Calendar, the global human population had dwindled to roughly five percent of its original size, and zombies had taken over the planet. The planet's other creatures also continued evolving as nature changed.

Mutant Beasts, a new kind of evolved species, burst onto the scene!

In year 139 of the Doomsday Calendar, through humanity's tenacious resistance, the Xia Kingdom gradually secured the Four Great Main Cities as humanity's primary strongholds.

By then, humanity had gradually begun restoring civilized institutions.

However, reclaiming their place at the top of the food chain remained a distant dream.

It was at this point that the Gene Warrior Project came to light.

By altering human genes, it forcibly induced another stage of human evolution. Scientists had been secretly researching the project ever since the Zombie Virus first broke out.

As the experiments progressed, the first Gene Warrior was born. His immense strength inspired awe and fear. With nothing more than a light punch, he could shatter a massive boulder in an instant.

Yet this powerful Gene Warrior never lived to see the next sunrise.

Genetic defects gradually became the obstacle the scientists had to overcome.

As the experiments continued, more and more Gene Warriors were created. Very few, however, could survive for long.

(End of chapter)