Through the surveillance footage, Chen Chao saw that after these people entered the building, they were quickly welcomed by the other survivors. A rough estimate showed there were about thirty to forty survivors in the building, with around ten of them equipped with firearms. As for the rest, most were young women, with only a few elderly people.
This was a small survivor community, and the survival rules here were clearly not as harsh as in the later stages. Although the young women had somewhat ambiguous relationships with the armed men, they had not yet become outright objects of desire.
The moral veil had not yet been torn.
In the middle of the crowd, there was a very young boy, probably around sixteen or seventeen, with an obviously juvenile face. However, the people around him treated him as if he were the center of their world, showing that this young boy was the leader of the community.
This surprised Chen Chao.
He quietly observed for a while, then shifted his gaze to the figure of Chen Shiyu on the surveillance screen. He saw her being carried by a burly man into a luxurious room, tossed onto the bed. The burly man looked at her body, seemingly weighing something, but ultimately shook his head and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Since then, the door remained shut, and it was clear that Chen Shiyu was still inside.
Chen Chao glanced at the room number, then took a deep look at the face of the burly man who had carried her back. His gaze then shifted to the young boy leader. Through the surveillance footage, he quickly caught sight of the boy's movements.
At this moment, the boy was in the building's underground wine cellar.
Chen Chao immediately opened the security room door, his figure blending into the shadows, and swiftly made his way to the wine cellar.
Along the way, he encountered no survivors. Everyone was in their own rooms—some playing single-player games to pass time, others sleeping in boredom, and a few contemplating survival.
Chen Chao easily arrived at the wine cellar.
He first listened intently for any sounds from behind the door. Hearing nothing, he used his lockpicking skill to quietly open the door.
The light refracted, and his body became translucent. From inside, it would seem as though the door had opened by itself, as if a faint wind had blown it open.
Chen Chao quickly scanned the interior.
The wine cellar was spacious, with shelves stacked with various fine wines and a few well-known spirits. At that moment, the room was empty.
Chen Chao was puzzled. The boy leader had entered this room but had never come back out. Where could he have gone?
He stepped into the cellar, remaining alert as he scanned the surroundings.
Soon, he heard a faint sound coming from behind one of the shelves.
Chen Chao's gaze flickered slightly, and he silently moved toward the shelf. Peering through the gap, he saw that behind the shelf was a small storage room with a door slightly ajar, emitting a faint, putrid odor.
Through the crack, Chen Chao could clearly see the scene inside, and his pupils constricted slightly.
Inside the room were several wooden racks, on which two women were hanging. They were both beautiful, but now they were stripped bare, resembling lambs ready for slaughter. One was in relatively good condition, while the other was beyond recognition—her chest had been flattened, and her ribs were sliced open, exposing her intestines and internal organs. On a table next to the rack, there were a few human arms, both male and female.
The dimly lit small storage room was covered in bloodstains and a thick stench!
Roar~!
From the darkness within the small storage room, low growls echoed. Six rotting arms reached out from the shadows, grabbed the arms on the bloodstained table, and dragged them back into the darkness. Then came the sounds of low chewing.
Zombies?
Chen Chao was momentarily stunned.
He was sure that these rotting arms belonged to zombies!
Standing in front of the bloodstained table, besides the boy leader, there was a girl in a black tight-fitting dress, wearing a black veil that covered the upper half of her face, leaving only the lower half of her nearly perfect face visible. Her red lips were painted like blazing fire against her fair skin, exuding an eerie, noble coldness.
"Is this really okay?" The boy leader nervously looked at the darkness, instinctively stepping back a few steps.
The girl in the black dress spoke in a clear voice, tinged with a youthful innocence that clashed with her noble demeanor, giggling as she replied, "Don't be afraid. Aren't they cute? If we feed them ten more people, they'll evolve. By then, with their power, it will be easy to rule this city."
The boy leader swallowed nervously, glancing at her with a grim expression. "Xiaoyu, actually… ruling this city isn't that important. I just want to be with you."
"What silly things are you saying?" The girl in the black dress cupped his face gently and whispered, "In a world like this, if we want to live well, we must do what must be done!"
The boy leader gazed into her stunning face, and the faint fragrance of her body made his heart race. He blushed and stammered, "I-I understand."
"Good boy." The girl in the black dress gently stroked his hair, her tone soft. "Now that we both have these great powers, we must do something. The world is in chaos; we will be the kings of the new world! Tomorrow, bring two more people."
The boy leader was taken aback, then quickly responded, "Won't it be too frequent? Lately, people have been disappearing, and they say it's because they went out and got eaten by zombies. If more people go missing, others will surely start suspecting something."
"Who dares suspect?" The girl in the black dress raised his chin, her tone casual. "If they do, just bring them here."
The boy leader hesitated for a moment, but seeing her dark eyes staring into his, his heart raced again, and he quickly turned his head away. "I understand."
The girl in the black dress smiled faintly, her lips curling into a wicked grin. "I heard that this afternoon, someone brought back a girl. You can send her over tonight. After all, little children like her are useless and just a waste of food… Who!"
She suddenly turned her head, her sharp gaze piercing through the door.
The boy leader froze for a moment, then hurried to open the door. However, there was nothing outside. He was confused. "There's no one here."
The girl in the black dress frowned. "Impossible. I sensed a strange disturbance just now. It must have been someone! Could it be… another ability user like you?"
The boy leader was stunned. "No way?"
The girl in the black dress's gaze fell behind him, her pupils suddenly shrinking. "Move!"
The boy leader's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly dodged. He turned back to look at where he had been standing, only to see a young man in a black tracksuit had appeared out of nowhere, like a ghost. The man held a steel rod in his hand, without making a sound.
He realized how close he had been to being ambushed.
However, he had no idea that Chen Chao had no intention of ambushing him. If he had wanted to, even with the boy's quick reflexes, a fatal headshot would have already been fired.
Chen Chao's cold gaze locked onto the girl in the black dress. After hearing her words, a killing intent surged within him. He hadn't expected to be detected, but since he had, he didn't feel the need to remain hidden anymore. These two were likely self-awakened evolved humans, stronger than regular evolved humans, but they posed little threat to him.