Chapter 40: Fast Forward

The young man pursed his lips, his complexion slowly returning to normal. "N-nothing, I just needed to use the restroom."

Not daring to look at Gui Ye again, he turned his gaze to Li Xingyue. "Brother, I suggest you just come clean. Look around you. Even if I were to let you go, these guys here would still give you a hard time. Like I said before, let's make money together—from now on, we’re brothers!"

Li Xingyue had observed the young man's behavior, wondering why he had been so flustered, but he also realized the logic in what was said. If he didn't say something now, there was no way he would walk out of here in one piece.

"Fine, I'll tell you, but you have to promise to let me go after I do!"

The young man smiled. "Don't worry, I promise. They will let you go too, right, everyone?"

The surrounding men all wore broad smiles and voiced their agreement.

"Alright, about two kilometers ahead of this mall, there’s another large shopping center, but there are quite a few zombies over there. You need to be careful. That’s all I know."

Li Xingyue spoke with utmost sincerity, his eyes steady, and the young man nodded upon hearing this.

"Alright then, you go ahead. I’ll be leaving now." Li Xingyue said, taking Gui Ye by the arm, ready to depart.

"Wait!" The young man suddenly blocked their path. "Brother, we’re running low on wristbands, so we’d like to borrow yours for a bit. You don’t mind, do you? Don’t worry, I’ll return them once we’re done."

The young man’s words sounded polite, but in reality, he was after the points stored in the wristbands. It was an open robbery, and if Li Xingyue didn't hand them over, he likely wouldn't be allowed to leave at all.

Li Xingyue’s expression darkened, but he said nothing. He handed his wristband to the young man and turned to leave.

Watching his back, the young man sneered, "Safe travels, brother!"

No sooner had the words left his lips than the two were surrounded by a circle of men who drew their weapons in perfect unison.

Li Xingyue stopped and turned to face the young man. "What is the meaning of this? The Zombie Hunter Squad regulations forbid infighting, and killing me won't do you any good, will it?"

The young man burst into wild laughter. "You idiot, this isn't inside Freedom City! So what if I kill you? Besides, you're right—there's no benefit to killing you, but I just want you dead!"

Li Xingyue didn't show the intense anger or desperate pleading the young man had expected; instead, he broke into a brilliant smile.

"I didn't want to go to such extremes, after all, we are all human. But since you want me dead, don't blame me for being cold-blooded!"

Li Xingyue patted Gui Ye on the shoulder. Gui Ye understood instantly and gave a slight nod.

Everyone, including the young man, was baffled by Li Xingyue’s final words—had he been scared out of his wits? The young man didn't want to waste any more time; after all, they had just discovered two treasure troves and needed to start looting!

"Alright, kill him, and let’s go move the supplies!"

"Ah! Who the hell bit me?"

"Damn it, who’s pressing on me? Get up... ah! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

"Holy crap, zombies! There are zombies!!!"

The moment the young man gave the order, chaos erupted. People began screaming in all directions. As everyone looked around, they realized that out of nowhere, a horde of zombies had appeared and begun attacking them relentlessly.

"Damn it, run!"

"Don't run! Everyone, stand together and fight back!"

"Right, let's kill the zombies together!"

"Screw you, with this many zombies, what are you going to kill?"

At this point, at least a thousand zombies had them surrounded. Many scrambled in panic; some tried to flee but couldn't break through the encirclement.

"Wait, we have vehicles! Let’s drive through!"

"Right, let’s use the cars to smash a path!"

Some were clever enough to think of the cars, but because everyone had parked bumper-to-bumper upon arrival, the vehicles inside were immobile, while those on the perimeter were already swarmed by zombies.

"Everyone, don't panic! These zombies must be low-level; we can handle them!"

Some realized the situation—that fighting was the only chance for survival, and fleeing would only lead to being picked off one by one.

"Damn it, for my wife, I’m fighting!"

"Damn it, for your wife, I’m fighting!"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Brother, at a time like this, I won't hide it from you anymore. I’ve been sleeping with your wife for a while now; she’s not worth it!"

"You bastard, you slept with my wife! I’m going to kill you first!"

...

Almost everyone began taking up arms to fight the zombies. Gradually, more and more zombies fell, and the survivors began to see a glimmer of hope.

Li Xingyue and Gui Ye stood where they were, completely unmoved. Both were casually smoking and chatting. The few men who had surrounded them earlier were furious at their indifference.

"You damn coward, stop smoking and start killing the zombies!"

"Yeah, you spineless wretch, you’re a disgrace to our Zombie Hunter Squad!"

"Screw it, leave him be. We’ll kill him once we’re done with the zombies!"

*Damn, now you remember we’re countrymen? It’s too late,* Li Xingyue thought. He had almost pulled his gun to shoot them earlier, but realized it would be a waste of bullets.

He turned to Gui Ye. "Speed it up."

Gui Ye understood immediately and closed his eyes again.

Another massive wave of zombies surged forward...

About an hour later, the original group of over a thousand had been reduced to less than a tenth of its size. A few dozen survivors were holding on, utterly exhausted. In their despair, someone spotted a gap in the encirclement.

"Brothers, it’s open over there! Hurry, get to the cars and run!"

Everyone reacted instantly, scrambling to find vehicles and fleeing into the distance.

Li Xingyue had let them go on purpose, intending for them to carry the news back to Freedom City. If he went back alone and the entire group had vanished, fingers would inevitably be pointed at him.

Soon, only three people were left on the scene: Li Xingyue, Gui Ye, and the young man.

The young man’s ammunition was long gone, and he was desperately hacking away at zombies with his blade. He looked at the fleeing crowd, filled with despair—why were there so many zombies surrounding him specifically?

Suddenly, he noticed the zombies in front of him stopped attacking. As one, they turned and knelt before him.

*??? What is going on?*

The young man was bewildered. Why were they bowing to him?

"Brother, I didn't realize you were a Tier 3. Impressive!" Li Xingyue clapped as he walked up to the young man.

The young man’s jaw dropped as he stared at Li Xingyue and Gui Ye. He noticed that neither of them had a single drop of blood on them; they were as clean as they had been before.

"You... how are you two completely fine?"

Li Xingyue looked troubled. "Of course I'm not fine. Can't you see my shoes are dirty? Sigh, I have to clean them again. So annoying."