The zombie horde

Lu Heng stood at the entrance of the Shelter, gazing at the newly built farmland and fishponds in front of him.

The Furniture Puppet was tilling the field with tools, turning over the soil row by row with mechanical and steady movements. The fishpond was calm and empty, without even a single fish fry.

The framework for self-sufficiency in food and aquatic products has been established, but actual production is still far from being achieved.

Lu Heng's gaze lingered on the fishpond for two seconds. There was water, but water alone wasn't enough; he needed to put fish fry in to raise them. There was no rush; he could keep an eye out for them next time he went out to gather supplies.

What really troubled him was the farmland.

Puppet can handle tasks like turning the soil and breaking it up; there's no shortage of labor. The bottleneck is the weather.

This area experiences frequent snowfalls after winter sets in, and temperatures often drop below freezing. Vegetable seeds can be cultivated in the Shelter's Planting Room, where temperature and humidity can be controlled. However, staple crops are different—wheat, rice, and corn—these must be grown outdoors on a large scale, and the limited space in the Planting Room is simply insufficient.

The problem is that open-field planting can't withstand the cold snaps here.

The seedlings had just sprouted when a sudden drop in temperature could freeze the entire field to death. They barely survived one round of snowfall before another blanketed the land, and so on, until the crops never had a chance to mature.

Unless you can get a fast-growing variety from the treasure chest.

Short growing cycles, allowing harvesting before the next cold snap—that's the real way to solve the food problem. Ordinary seeds collected by ourselves are basically useless in this kind of weather.

This is a bit tricky.

Lu Heng withdrew his gaze and looked up at the sky.

The eastern horizon was tinged with gray, and the stars were disappearing. Dawn was approaching.

He turned and walked back into the Shelter, glancing at the energy core panel. The reserves were still above the safety line, enough to last a long time. As the Fortress's energy supply was not a concern for the time being.

After confirming, Lu Heng walked straight to the Portal and activated the passage.

With a flash of light, he was already standing on the base's teleportation platform.

Everything inside the base was normal, with no abnormalities. Lu Heng glanced around, didn't linger, and turned to leave.

The air outside was cold and dry, and the pale sunlight enveloped the entire ruins.

Lu Heng did not head towards the main town's residential area. He had already explored most of that area and looted almost everything he could, so there was nothing worth going back for.

All that's left is the industrial zone.

Those tall chimneys could be seen from afar, their dark gray hues piercing the sky and standing out starkly against the gray-white backdrop. From any angle along the way from the Shelter to the base, the outlines of those chimneys were visible, like a few withered bones stuck in the earth.

Lu Heng walked along the road towards the industrial area.

The closer you get to the industrial area, the stronger the smell becomes. A putrid, rotten stench wafts from ahead, mixed with a damp, musty odor, smelling like rotting meat and rusted iron mixed together.

Lu Heng slowed his pace and made his movements quieter.

After passing the exterior wall of a partially collapsed factory building, the interior of the industrial zone came into view.

Between the dilapidated factory buildings, countless figures moved slowly.

Zombie.

Not just one or two, but a whole bunch.

They wandered aimlessly in the factory's open space. Some leaned against the wall in a daze, while others dragged their broken bodies and paced aimlessly. Their grayish-white skin was covered with rotting patches, their empty eye sockets stared in all directions, and they made low, muffled gurgling sounds from their throats.

A quick glance revealed at least a hundred.

Standing in the shadows of the factory's outer wall, Lu Heng looked at the horde of Zombie and suddenly felt a strong longing for Bone Demon.

With the Bone Demon around, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger to deal with these minor monsters. He could just toss them into the horde and the Bone Demon would clean them up on its own; he only needed to stand by and watch. Now that the Bone Demon is gone, while a hundred or so Zombie pose no threat, cleaning them up one by one by hand would be a complete waste of time and energy.

Lu Heng leaned against the wall, his gaze sweeping over the gap in the factory's outer wall and scanning the interior of the factory area once more.

Hundreds of Zombie densely packed the open spaces between factory buildings, the passageways, and the loading and unloading areas, almost completely filling the core area of the industrial zone. They were not random stragglers, but rather gathered in this area with an eerie density, as if attracted by something and unwilling to leave.

Lu Heng's brows twitched slightly.

Something's not right.

He understood the Zombie ' behavior logic very well—when they had no goal, they would wander aimlessly, scattered throughout any area they could reach. But now, the density of these Zombie was clearly abnormal; they were clustered together inside the industrial area, while there were only a few scattered around the perimeter.

It was as if they were guarding something.

Or rather, something attracted them here.

Lu Heng's gaze lingered for a couple more seconds deep inside the factory, where the view was obscured by several half-collapsed buildings.

However, he was only puzzled for a moment.

Who cares?

Whatever's hidden here, it's not relevant to him right now. He came to the industrial zone to clear territory and collect resources, not to conduct archaeological exploration. If he encounters anything troublesome, he can just run. With his current physical condition and Mental Energy reserves, nothing can stop him if he wants to leave.

He still had that much confidence.

However, with hundreds of Zombie piled up together, the sheer number was indeed a nuisance. Cutting them down one by one was too slow; a large-scale approach was needed to clear them out.

Lu Heng reached into the Wristband Space with his right hand, and the Deboning Knife fell into his palm with a sound.

The blade was icy cold, and a familiar weight came from his palm. He tightened his grip on the hilt, and Mental Energy surged from his body, flowing along his arm and into the blade.

Buzz--

A layer of pale blue light patterns appeared on the surface of the blade, and subtle energy fluctuations spread outward from the blade, cutting several visible lines into the air.

Lu Heng took a deep breath and exerted force with his legs.

He burst out from behind cover and charged straight at the horde of corpses.

The nearest Zombie were the first to notice the commotion. Their murky eyes turned sharply toward him, and they hissed sharply as they lunged at him with their rotting mouths open.

Lu Heng did not slow down.

He gripped the Deboning Knife horizontally in his right hand, compressing his Mental Energy to its limit on the blade, and slashed it fiercely in an arc straight ahead.

boom.

A blue energy wave exploded from the blade, sweeping forward in a fan shape. The seven or eight Zombie at the forefront didn't even have time to react before their bodies were struck head-on by the energy wave, their torsos snapping in half, and grayish-white flesh and black blood splattering everywhere.

With a single slash, a whole area was cleared away.

Without pausing, Lu Heng plunged directly into the depths of the horde of corpses.

The Deboning Knife transformed into a blue arc in his hand, slashing left and right, each strike imbued with Mental Energy. Within its sweeping range, Zombie fell in droves. Limbs and severed arms flew everywhere, black blood splattered on the ground, and the air was filled with a strong stench of decay and acridity.

The horde of corpses was alerted.

The stench and sounds of blood emanating from Lu Heng's rampage spread like signal flares. The surrounding Zombie seemed to be drawn by something invisible, surging towards him from all directions. Countless arms reached out from all sides, their rotting nails, broken bones, and knuckles stained with black blood all aimed at him.

Lu Heng weaved through the horde of corpses, his blade flashing incessantly.

A Zombie lunged at him from the side, its withered arm brushing against his shoulder, its fingernails leaving a white mark on his Combat Suit.

It's not broken.

Another one pounced from behind, grabbing his back with both hands and tearing at him forcefully.

The Combat Suit made of incredibly tough material; even when Zombie's knuckles dug into it, not a single fiber was torn.

Lu Heng didn't even look back at it. With a backhand slash, he cleaved its head off and continued pushing forward without stopping.

Several more Zombie surrounded him from the front, opening their rotting mouths to bite his arm. The moment their teeth touched his Combat Suit, there was a dull crunch; the Zombie ' teeth shattered, and black blood seeped from the corners of their mouths, leaving not even a mark on his Combat Suit.

The defenses are impenetrable.

These Zombie were so powerful and their attacks were so strong that they couldn't even penetrate the defenses of Combat Suit.

Lu Heng completely let go of his inhibitions, no longer dodging, and charged straight at the horde of corpses.

The Deboning Knife danced in his hands, waves of Mental Energy flowing into the blade, blue arcs flashing back and forth in the gray factory area. With each slash, a clearing appeared in front of him; before the Zombie behind him could surround him, a new blade of light swept over.

As if entering an empty place.