CHAPTER 71: CHAPTER 28 COLLAPSING SITUATION_1

A few survivors from Chaihe Town watched as several rag-clad figures emerged from the devilish vines ahead, whispering among themselves:

"Could these guys have come from Hualin Town? That would be something."

"Isn’t that the truth? A while ago, Brother Little Sky tried to go to Mudanjiang City but was whipped back by those devilish vines. He was bedridden for a day before he could get back on his feet."

"Let’s see how this pans out. We don’t know how capable the remaining ones are. If they’re all Level 2 professionists, perhaps the Cross-river dragon has come."

"What Cross-river dragon? I wish they were stronger. The stronger they are, the better they can help us escape those zombies. Otherwise, we won’t have many good days left."

As soon as these words were spoken, a heavy silence fell over the group.

Thinking of the zombie horde currently occupying Chaihe Town, and the terrifying Corpse King, they pinned their hopes on Wen Yu and his companions.

Seeing Wen Yu and his group approach, the middle-aged man leading the survivors stepped forward to greet them. "Hello, my name is Li Dalong. You can just call me Dalong," the middle-aged man said, his face wreathed in a polite smile.

"We escaped from Hualin Town. You might have realized that there’s been a little problem there," Li Quan’an said, nodding to Li Dalong.

"Yes, we thought Hualin Town had become a ghost town. It’s impressive that you survivors managed to escape," Li Dalong exclaimed. It didn’t cost anything and could improve their relationship; why not?

Li Quan’an eyed Li Dalong, and his heart skipped a beat. This man’s gear was severely damaged, he had a sallow, malnourished look, and several scars adorned his face. The situation in Chaihe Town was clear just by looking at him.

Still holding onto a sliver of hope, Li Quan’an cautiously asked, "How are the survivors in Chaihe Town faring?"

Li Dalong took a close look at Li Quan’an and then at the professionists behind him. They looked very rough, completely lacking the leisurely air of the person he’d encountered before, indicating their limited abilities.

"Not well. Very bad," Li Dalong said, shaking his head at Li Quan’an before turning directly to Wen Yu. "And how should I address you, young brother?"

"Wen Yu is fine. Where is your gathering place?" Wen Yu asked directly.

Li Dalong opened his mouth, the flattering words he was about to utter caught in his throat. This Wen Yu certainly has a temper.

Powerful experts are indeed straightforward, he mused. Interacting with Wen Yu was difficult, perhaps only slightly less so than dealing with the eccentric Brother Little Sky.

"It’s just ahead, in the farmland. I’ll take you to meet Brother Da Fei first. We can talk as we walk," Li Dalong said and immediately started leading Wen Yu and the others forward. His teammates hoisted the unconscious professionist onto their backs, while Sun Ruixing carried the injured Bai Xiao’an. Bai Xiao’an’s leg seemed to be crippled, but his life wasn’t in danger.

Wen Yu quickly followed, his mind filled with questions about Chaihe Town.

"Why did you set up your gathering place in the farmland? Open fields lack defensive measures, and there are many mutant beasts." This was Wen Yu’s question; in his view, compared to high-rise buildings, farmland offered practically no advantages.

Li Dalong gave a bitter laugh. "We didn’t want to leave Chaihe Town, but we had no choice."

Pausing as if to organize his thoughts, Li Dalong continued, "We were driven out by zombies. Chaihe Town is inaccessible to us now."

"Zombies?" Wen Yu raised an eyebrow.

In Wen Yu’s eyes, zombies equated to mobile points. For these cannon fodder to drive survivors out of Chaihe Town, it must be a situation he had never encountered before.

"What happened?" Wen Yu’s voice had taken on a serious tone.

Li Dalong slowly began to explain the dire situation Chaihe Town faced. "When the apocalypse first started, I guess it wasn’t too different from other places. Those with courage went out to kill zombies and change professions. Those without courage holed up at home, waiting to die."

"It wasn’t until Brother Da Fei rescued me that I dared to step outside. That’s when I changed my profession and became a professionist."

"A few days later, Brother Da Fei had gathered a few hundred professionists, along with some elderly people and children."

"But then, the situation took a turn."

"For some unknown reason, zombies began to ferociously attack our camp. There were too many of them, they were organized, and, damn it, they even used tactics! Chaihe Town had a resident population of 80,000; you can imagine how many zombies there would be. The few hundred of us in the camp couldn’t possibly defend against such a force. And what’s more..."

"A commander emerged from the zombie horde—a giant zombie over three meters tall."

"I’ve never seen this zombie; Brother Little Sky was the one who described it. By the way, Brother Little Sky is our most powerful expert here—a Level 2 professionist."

Once Li Dalong finished his brief explanation of Chaihe Town’s general situation, the scene fell silent once more.

"Why don’t you leave?"

"Leave? Where could we go? We originally planned to head to Mudanjiang City, but that road is completely blocked by those devilish vines. Where else can we go?"

"What about the opposite direction?"

"It’s all zombies; we can’t break through. Besides, these zombies keep harassing us frequently. If it weren’t for Brother Little Sky’s formidable strength, our camp would have been wiped out long ago."

"Why did you come this way? Aren’t there a lot of mutant creatures around here?"

"What choice do we have? We’re short on food, water, everything. If we don’t come out, staying in the camp is just waiting to die!"

Li Dalong looked at Wen Yu with a bitter smile and asked tentatively, "Brother Wen Yu, you’re a Level 2 professionist, right?"

Seeing Wen Yu nod thoughtfully, Li Dalong became visibly excited.

"Level 2 is great! We simply don’t have enough people capable of fighting in our camp right now. With Brother Wen Yu here, we might actually be able to launch a counterattack against these zombies."

Wen Yu eyed Li Dalong carefully. He could tell that Li Dalong and the professionists beside him were genuinely happy. Everything they had said was true. If the external pressure weren’t so intense, the local professionists’ first reaction to his sudden appearance would undoubtedly be suspicion and caution.

"By the way, is your camp the only one in Chaihe Town?" Chaihe Town, being near Mudanjiang City, had a relatively large population. It was unlikely that, unlike Hualin Town, so few people had survived.

"There was," Li Dalong stated firmly.

"Before our previous camp was breached, there was another group, led by police officers and government officials. They had many more people than us. However, we haven’t seen them since we fled the urban area. Still, a camp of several thousand people... It couldn’t have just collapsed so easily, could it?"

Thinking of this, Li Dalong hesitated again; clearly, the memory of the zombie horde had left a profound impact on him.