"What… what should we do?"
Zhang Lei instinctively looked to Huang Jin, seeking help.
Huang Jin, however, was staring at Bai Ge, who was blocking their way, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Have you ever killed anyone?" he asked.
"No… no…"
"Perfect. This is a good opportunity to practice. Just think of it as gaining experience for Guangtou. Run him over."
"D-Don't you think that's a bit too much?"
"Of course it's too much. Someone's going to die. But let me remind you, if he doesn't die, it's going to be us."
"And also, Bai Ge and Guangtou have a pretty close relationship, and they're both quite… passionate. Do you think your girlfriend—"
Boom!!!
Before Huang Jin could finish, Zhang Lei had already slammed his foot on the gas pedal.
With the sound of bones crunching under the truck, they sped away from the shelter.
At the entrance of the shelter, only Old Wang stood there, blood splattered on his clothes, looking utterly shocked.
And on the ground, Bai Ge's body was reduced to a bloody, unrecognizable mess.
Who would have guessed that not long ago, this pile of flesh was a living, breathing person?
—
The truck roared down the road, speeding toward the outskirts of the city.
Eventually, they stopped near the city's edge.
The loud noise of the truck had attracted a horde of zombies, so they quickly got out.
Zhang Lei and Huang Jin hurried into the house where they had hidden supplies during the day, locking the door behind them.
They quietly waited for the zombies to move away.
—
"Do you think they'll send someone after us?"
Zhang Lei asked, still shaken.
Huang Jin smiled and said,
"Do you think those selfish bastards would risk getting eaten by zombies in the middle of the night to take revenge?"
"But you said Guangtou is the boss's brother…"
"Half-brother!"
"Right… then what do we do now?"
"Let's sleep first. We'll figure it out in the morning. I'll wake you up."
"Okay…"
Exhausted, Zhang Lei fell asleep quickly.
Three hours later, at nine in the morning, Huang Jin woke him up.
"Get up. If you don't, your enemy's going to be rescued."
"Are they here? Are they here?!"
Zhang Lei shot up in panic.
"Not yet. But it's daylight now, and the truck's still parked outside. It'll draw attention sooner or later."
"Oh… oh…"
They got up and went outside, only to find that the supplies they had hidden in the tricycle were now gone.
Zhang Lei looked confused.
"Don't bother looking. I've already moved everything to the truck."
"Oh."
They stepped outside and saw that there were no zombies around anymore.
"Where are the zombies?" Zhang Lei asked.
"Over there," Huang Jin pointed to a large tree not far away.
But due to the angle, they could only see the branches, not the full view.
Zhang Lei instinctively walked over.
Huang Jin reminded him,
"Move quietly. You're not wearing human skin right now."
"Got it."
Zhang Lei walked closer, and after going around a corner, he finally saw the real sight beneath the tree.
A group of zombies had gathered around the base of the tree, while at the top, hanging from a rope, was none other than Guangtou.
His hands were tightly bound with hemp ropes, and he hung just two meters above the zombie horde below.
A knife was embedded in his foot, blood pouring out.
The smell of fresh blood attracted nearly every zombie in the vicinity.
The other end of the rope was tied to an electrical pole beside Zhang Lei.
If Zhang Lei cut the rope, Guangtou would fall into the zombies, becoming their next meal.
"See the knife?" Huang Jin's voice suddenly came from behind, startling Zhang Lei.
Huang Jin, like a merchant showing off his wares, proudly said,
"To be honest, pulling this off wasn't easy. I had to make noise to draw the zombies away, then quickly tie him to the tree. And the knife throw at the end? That was the real genius move. Zombies can't resist the smell of blood."
"No wonder you were a hitman…"
"Is that a compliment?"
"I guess…"
"Well, it means your eyes are still sharp."
He then handed Zhang Lei a dagger.
"Cut it."
But Zhang Lei didn't take the dagger. Instead, he went to untie the knot on the electrical pole.
The knot was tight, and Guangtou's body was heavy—almost double Zhang Lei's size.
But fueled by hatred, Zhang Lei gripped the rope tightly, slowly lowering Guangtou's body.
"Wuwuwu…"
Guangtou cried out in despair as he saw Zhang Lei. His eyes were pleading.
But Zhang Lei ignored him, continuing to lower the rope slowly.
The zombies began to feast on Guangtou's body, starting from his legs.
Guangtou could only watch as his legs were gnawed down to the bone, then ripped off.
Eventually, the force of the zombies overwhelmed Zhang Lei, and the rope slipped from his hands.
Guangtou's body was devoured by the horde, torn to pieces.
—
Guangtou was dead.
Huang Jin had kept his promise to Zhang Lei.
Without hesitation, he jumped into the driver's seat of the nearby truck and prepared to leave the city.
Meanwhile, Zhang Lei stood frozen on the ground, still staring at the zombie horde, lost in thought.
"Are you not coming with me?"
Huang Jin asked from the truck.
Zhang Lei smiled.
"Will you take me?"
"Of course not. I'm just being polite."
"Then that's settled."
Huang Jin shrugged, showing no trace of disappointment in his eyes.
"But, to be honest, if you were a normal person, you'd probably beg me to take you with me."
"Oh, really…? Maybe I'm not so normal, then."
Zhang Lei smiled bitterly and glanced back toward the shelter.
Huang Jin seemed to understand what he was thinking.
"Look, as your old classmate, I'm going to give you some advice. Don't go back. Guangtou is dead, Bai Ge is gone. That woman has probably already been discovered, and right now, she might be cuddling up with some beast. If you go back now, you're just walking into a trap."
"Yeah… maybe."
Zhang Lei smiled wryly but then sighed in resignation.
"I'm not doing this just for her, though. There's still my girlfriend's grave over there… she hasn't found peace yet."
Huang Jin didn't say anything further. He understood.
His old classmate was too kind.
And kind people were out of place in this apocalyptic world.
So, this anomaly had snapped.
—
"Here."
Huang Jin tossed a bag out of the truck.
Zhang Lei instinctively caught it and opened it to find half a bag of food and a set of zombie clothes.
"What's this?" He looked up at Huang Jin in surprise.
Huang Jin just slammed the truck door shut with a loud bang and said,
"Gift for you. The clothes are already ruined anyway."
He slammed the gas pedal, and the truck sped off into the distance.
Zhang Lei watched the truck's fading silhouette, unable to suppress a smile.
He still wore that warm smile—the kind that felt out of place in a world like this.