Gu Cheng's pupils contracted sharply. "That's Old Fang's warning flare! Zombies are approaching!"
At the same time, women's screams erupted in a chaotic chorus.
The three looked around. Zombies were staggering toward them from every direction.
A Level Two Zombie charged at them with terrifying speed, its face hideously twisted.
Before Gu Cheng could act, a figure suddenly darted out from beside him, wrapped both arms around the zombie's legs, and sent it crashing to the ground.
The back of its head struck a rock, spilling foul blood across the ground.
Gu Cheng shot the zombie dead and shouted, "Everyone, get on the bus!"
The survivors who had frozen in place snapped out of it and scrambled toward the bus.
Another wave of chaotic footsteps drew closer.
The bus was parked beside a tree. Nearby, the extra layer of wire fencing Ren Bing and his men had erected came crashing down!
It was a horde of zombies!
"Get to the Biohazard Vehicle! Both of you, be careful!"
Gu Cheng snatched up his submachine gun and hurried forward, firing at the approaching zombies as he went.
Yu Jingjing grabbed Ye Ruan. "Come on!"
"You go first! I'm going to help Gu Cheng. I have bombs!"
Yu Jingjing squeezed his wrist firmly. "Be careful."
"I will!"
Ye Ruan turned and ran toward Gu Cheng without hesitation, drawing the gun from the back of his waist and shooting the zombie closest to Gu Cheng!
Yu Jingjing escorted the survivors onto the bus first. After telling someone to shut the doors, she went back for the women who had been locked up.
Zombies kept trampling over the wire fence and pouring in. Gu Cheng alone couldn't keep up with them. After emptying both guns, he could only draw his dagger to fend them off.
A burst of gunfire rang out as Ye Ruan swept down the first row of approaching zombies with a submachine gun.
Then he spotted one that hadn't been shot in the head, its hand already touching Gu Cheng's shoe.
A vicious look flashed through Ye Ruan's eyes. He strode over, grabbed the zombie by its hair, and hauled it up.
Just like that, Ye Ruan snapped the neck of an agile Level Two Zombie and tossed it away like garbage.
It even knocked down a swath of its companions.
Ye Ruan turned back and gripped the hem of Gu Cheng's shirt. "Time to go!"
Gu Cheng looked back at the women sitting beneath the veranda of the single-story building.
As the zombies approached, there was little expression on their faces. They watched everything with indifferent eyes.
Gu Cheng frowned. "We can't abandon them."
Ye Ruan took out a bomb and hurled it into the horde. Amid the flames surging skyward, he said something to Gu Cheng.
"This is a release. I'm terrified that one day, my mother will end up like this too."
"Come with me. We can't decide for other people."
Ye Ruan slipped his cool fingers between Gu Cheng's, interlacing their hands.
They poured gasoline in front of the wire fence and set it alight, temporarily holding the zombies back.
When they returned to the Biohazard Vehicle, Yu Jingjing came running back, choking on her words. "Captain... they won't leave..."
Gu Cheng regained his composure and said gravely, "We're leaving. Go drive the bus out of here first."
Yu Jingjing asked, "What about the rest of Ren Bing's men?"
Gu Cheng said, "Leave them here. They deserve it."
When the tightly bound men saw the bus pull away, they realized these people had abandoned them.
They roared in fury, sobbed, and cursed.
The women they had once tormented all began to smile silently.
Like goddesses gazing down at hell from the clouds, they savored the wicked men's belated remorse.
Ye Ruan didn't dare look at them. Holding back his tears, he was about to turn and climb into the vehicle when he suddenly spotted a small, skinny figure emerging from the backyard.
It was Ren Fei'er.
Blood dripped from her arm, and a strange, eerie grin spread across her face.
Ren Fei'er walked up to the bound men and let the blood from her arm drip onto their faces, drop by drop.
"Ren Fei'er!" Ye Ruan approached her. "Come here. I'll get you out of here."
"No."
Tears fell from the little girl's eyes as thick blood splashed onto those evil men's faces.
"They... killed my mommy. They're just as horrible as Daddy!"
As everyone watched, Ren Fei'er squeezed the wound on her arm hard, sprinkling blood over the corpse in the corner that Ren Bing hadn't had time to bury.
Gu Cheng gently squeezed Ye Ruan's fingers. "Ruanruan, get in the vehicle. I'll go pick her up."
"No! Something's coming!"
Ye Ruan's expression changed. His red eyes locked onto the backyard Ren Fei'er had just emerged from.
A rustling sound rose, like some serpentine creature slithering through the grass.
Before Gu Cheng could ask, something horrifying appeared before them.
Its lower body resembled a snake's, thick and fleshy, yet a closer look revealed no scales. Wherever it crawled across the grass, it left puddles of viscous liquid.
And its head was human. Its sex was impossible to tell, and filthy, rag-like hair clung to its body.
Its eyes were murky, without any whites.
"A female ghost, a very long neck, eyes glowing green."
Apparently, this Level Three Zombie was the creature they had described.
As the monster approached, Ye Ruan got a clearer look.
That thing didn't have a snake's body. It was made up of ring after ring of segments!
Ye Ruan understood at once. This thing was a mutant monster formed from an earthworm and a zombie!
But it seemed unable to see.
The monster stopped, twisted its flexible body twice, and turned toward the tightly bound men.
Gu Cheng traced a single word in Ye Ruan's palm.
-Blood.
The monster relied on smell and hearing. Although it had an earthworm's body, its head was human.
The men, their faces covered in blood, were utterly terrified. Their eyes bulged as they stared at the approaching monster.
Finally, one of them could no longer bear the terror and screamed.
At that very instant, the seemingly sluggish monster reared up and sprang toward him, opening its gaping maw and biting squarely into his face!
Before the blood spilled, Gu Cheng covered Ye Ruan's eyes, turned him by the shoulders, and pulled him into his arms.
Blood splashed onto the others' faces, drawing one scream after another.
Amid the screams rang Ren Fei'er's clear, innocent laughter, like the tinkling of silver bells.
Soon, Ren Fei'er stopped laughing and began singing a familiar nursery rhyme.
Gu Cheng picked Ye Ruan up and slowly backed away, putting as much distance between them and that place as possible.
They couldn't start the Biohazard Vehicle yet. Its engine was too loud. The moment it started, Ye Ruan and Gu Cheng would become the next targets for food.
To make matters worse, the gasoline burned out, and ordinary zombies flooded into the Farmhouse courtyard once again.
Gu Cheng felt for the Biohazard Vehicle's door, gently pulled it open, and slipped inside before the ordinary zombies noticed them.
He hid behind the door.
The Biohazard Vehicle's door needed a hard push to close properly, which would make a loud noise.
Gu Cheng could only leave it slightly ajar.
Ye Ruan buried his face in Gu Cheng's chest and pricked up the rabbit ears that had popped out in fear, listening carefully to the sounds outside.
The chewing stopped, and the rustling of something crawling began again.
Worse still, it was drawing closer and closer to Gu Cheng and Ye Ruan.
Ren Fei'er's singing had long since stopped. Having lost too much blood, she slumped beneath the veranda like a faded rag doll.
The monster stopped outside the Biohazard Vehicle, with only the door separating it from them.
The door was made of thick steel plating, but a Level Three Zombie's strength was not to be underestimated. Neither of them dared make a sound.
They waited a while. The monster showed no intention of leaving, but it didn't break in either.
Gu Cheng relaxed a little, then sensed trouble.
Ye Ruan's soft white hair brushed against his chin from time to time like a little brush.
It made his heart itch.
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