Chapter 782 - 653: What’s Over There?

"Sob, sob, wuuu..."

The sound of crying grew louder, as the mysterious man lay on the ground without reservation, feeling desolate, miserable, and helpless, crying with genuine emotion.

"Why did he start crying without a word? Get up, everything will get better!"

Pu Chanyong approached and tried to comfort him.

The mysterious man lay there on his own, crying even more sorrowfully, as if his voice carried long-repressed pain and grievances.

"Why did you all come to Red Gully Village? I was doing fine here, just fine, why did you come to Red Gully Village..."

The mysterious man cried while expressing the woes in his heart, ultimately lamenting the complete death of those friends and relatives who had turned into zombies.

To Duan Wuhu and others, those were zombies, but for the mysterious man, they were spiritual sustenance.

"This guy’s obsession is too deep, seems like he has some issues...but he’s really quite formidable."

Zhao Dezhu gestured to Duan Wuhu, implying that being skilled in combat doesn’t mean he doesn’t have mental problems; the two don’t necessarily conflict.

"Alas, what a pitiful person... I also think he’s been greatly traumatized, probably suffering from schizophrenia."

Shen Linrui sighed; the experiences faced by those from Dragon Head Camp were also dreadful, but sudden and not fully verified, unlike the man crying on the ground.

According to his statement, he stayed in Red Gully Village after the disaster erupted, gathering his zombified relatives and friends, reminiscing about old times, trapped in memories he couldn’t escape.

"But he’s really quite impressive, I think he could give Sister Lala a run for her money!"

Wu Lue said seriously; he had just been clearing zombie corpses, able to observe the fight more clearly. The mysterious man’s combat prowess surprised him, though it wasn’t earth-shattering, as he’d seen more exaggerated feats.

"You mean to say you overlooked me and Brother Xiaolu here?"

Zhao Dezhu was somewhat dissatisfied with Wu Lue’s conclusion but only felt discontent, not disputing, as he too sensed the gap.

However, this was limited to killing zombies; a direct personal showdown would be unpredictable!

Duan Wuhu glanced at the time, turned, and shone his flashlight over the ground full of zombie corpses. They had enough firewood for warmth at night, but what should they do about the guy lying there crying?

"Seeing him in such pain and missing his loved ones, why not let him reunite?"

Lu Yubo tentatively asked, shaking the food sampler in his hand, not seeming to be joking.

"No, no, that’s too outrageous... Brother Lu, this is not a joke."

Zhou Haiquan had a peculiar expression, thinking the Yama Corps men were too ruthless.

"Xiaolu, I know I don’t have the authority to command you, but we can’t decide life and death so lightly. Just now, this fellow was fighting zombies alongside us, which counts as fighting shoulder to shoulder, don’t you think..."

Shen Linrui twitched his mouth; he had chatted with Lu Yubo before and found the young guy pretty normal, wondering why he was so indifferent before life.

"He didn’t kill a single one..." Lu Yubo muttered softly; he only saw the man flip the zombies over, never actually kill them.

"Should we ask Brother Su?"

Wu Lue pulled out the radio and suggested.

"What the heck, have you checked the time? Why bother the big guy with such trivial matters..." Zhao Dezhu was speechless.

"Um..."

Duan Wuhu stood with one hand on his hip, looking at the man lying and crying on the ground, smacking his lips and saying, "It’s pitch black outside, traveling in the dark is too dangerous. So, let’s clean up, rest, keep watch as needed, and leave at dawn; as for this fellow...let him cool down."

Persuasion wouldn’t work, killing him was too absurd, and leaving him alone seemed like a good choice. Everyone nodded and returned to the yard together.

The mysterious man lay on the ground, not caring about others leaving, continuing to sob.

Back in the yard, everyone saw the ground full of corpses and got a bit worried.

Shen Linrui felt overheated and wanted to take off his hat to cool down a bit, but just as he did, Flash squeaked a sound again, grabbed the hat, and placed it back on his head.

Shen Linrui was curious about Flash’s behavior, taking it out from under the hat and holding it in his palm, confusedly asking, "The fight’s over, are you still scared?"

"Little Flash is interesting; it doesn’t fear humans, doesn’t fear animals, just zombies?"

Duan Wuhu curiously asked.

Shen Linrui shrugged, saying, "It wasn’t this exaggerated before."

Flash’s whiskers trembled, then it twisted to point towards Cloud Dragon Valley and gestured again.

"Impossible! Can you feel it? Why didn’t you feel these previous zombies?"

"What’s up, Captain Shen, is there a situation?"

Seeing the change in Shen Linrui’s expression, Duan Wuhu quickly asked.

"It said..." Shen Linrui was conflicted, unsure if he should trust Flash’s judgment but truthfully said, "The little guy says there are more zombies over there; it can sense them."

"Then why couldn’t it sense these earlier zombies?" Lu Yubo eyed Flash, asking the same question as Shen Linrui, holding a grudge over its previous attack.

Shen Linrui spread his hands, indicating he didn’t know.

"Um, Little Flash, can you help go over there and check the situation?"

Duan Wuhu imagined he was talking to a first-grade student, trying to appear kind and friendly.

Flash shook its head defiantly...

"That Corgi that fought you, Good Fortune, patrols around Celestial Horse Island every day, yet you’re so timid even with a wand!"

Lu Yubo bluntly pointed out Flash’s soft spot.

"Eek eek, eek!"

Flash showed its two front teeth, then squeezed its fist at Lu Yubo as a sign of protest, then scurried down Shen Linrui’s arm into a pocket, leaving only its head poking out as it glared at Lu Yubo and then withdrew again.

Everyone was speechless, Wu Lue shook his sore arm, then scratched his ear, saying, "Reliability still lies with technology, let me see what’s up."

The crying continued intermittently, sometimes loud, sometimes soft, as Wu Lue operated the UAV, sending it into the air guided by Shen Linrui.

"Captain Shen, are you sure the direction is correct? There’re only broken houses here, nothing else."

The UAV flew overhead, displaying detailed ground conditions on the screen, showing the state of Red Gully Village, except for the wreckage; there was nothing special.

The UAV flew to the foothills of Cloud Dragon Valley, aside from fallen trees, no unusual creatures were found.

"Captain Shen, shall we... ask Flash again?"

Duan Wuhu pointed to Shen Linrui’s pocket.

Shen Linrui nodded, gently lifted Flash out of the pocket and asked softly, "Flash, try to sense again, where are the zombies?"

Flash stood on Shen Linrui’s shoulder, looked at the screen, snuffed in the direction of Cloud Dragon Valley, then pointed diagonally upward.

"On the mountain?"

Wu Lue understood Flash’s meaning and began maneuvering the UAV to climb, initiating another search, besides collapsed trees and scattered stones, still nothing was discovered.

"Little guy, are you capable or not?"

Lu Yubo was very frustrated. He had just been half-frozen on the rooftop and finally could sleep warmly, but after a battle with zombies, he was now starved, cold, tired, and sleepy.

This time, not just Lu Yubo doubted; the others shared a polite smile, clearly skeptical of Flash’s judgment.

"Is it too tense?"

Shen Linrui gently stroked Flash’s back.

Flash kept sniffing toward Cloud Dragon Valley, its small nose and whiskers trembling. After ten seconds, it lowered its arms in frustration and sheepishly shook its head toward Shen Linrui.

"Alright, no feeling, then forget it; rest."

Shen Linrui didn’t hold it against Flash; it faced enough in just one day, a bit odd wasn’t surprising.

"Okay, pack up! Um, battery’s at sixty-three percent, need a charge!"

Wu Lue muttered while retracting the UAV.

In the village, everyone busied themselves, while in the cave of Cloud Dragon Valley, the vertical pupils watched the UAV leave and then crawled out again.