Chapter 240 - 224: Monkey

Chapter 240: Chapter 224: Monkey

On the 91st day of the apocalypse, a light snow began to fall over Yanhai City.

Fine, hazy snowflakes landed on the ground, blanketing the earth in a layer of white.

Three sets of tire tracks marked the snow at the main gate of A Port.

Qiao Yunliang’s team had gone to the North River District for the cannery, while Gao Yan’s group went to the countryside to find chickens.

Yu Dong’s combat and logistics teams headed to the area north of the quarantine zone to explore.

This time, their target was a large department store near the Urban Area. It must have been a densely crowded place when the apocalypse broke out, which was why Yu Dong had never brought his team here before.

But with the cruise ship now running low on supplies, a large department store could provide a massive restock. The store’s basement level was a huge supermarket containing vast amounts of goods.

All the easily accessible supplies along the roads had already been scavenged. It was time for them to try tackling a tougher target.

’If they could take it... the resources in this massive department store and its warehouse would be worth more than all the small shops and mini-marts they had looted since the apocalypse began combined.’

Moreover, the various other shops inside the mall would also provide a wealth of practical supplies.

ROAR!

A white zombie, covered in snowflakes, didn’t spot Yu Dong’s team until it was very close. It roared and charged at them...

THUD!

Having run too fast, it slipped and fell on the slick ground. It then struggled, unable to get back up.

SHLICK!

Yan Yikai rushed forward and finished it with a downward diagonal thrust of his spear, his movements fluid and stylish.

"I call that one ’Phoenix Nods.’ What do you think, Master?"

Yu Chengfei shook his head. "You need more practice."

"Huh? How much longer do I have to train before I’m considered a master myself?"

"Your aptitude is passable. With another three years of practice, you might be able to properly channel your strength into your techniques."

Yan Yikai: "..."

’This Liuhe Great Spear technique is really powerful, but it takes a ton of hard work.’

As they entered an unfamiliar area, the number of zombies wandering the roadside began to increase.

The combat team sprang into action.

Watching them clear out zombies, Yu Dong slowly began to notice a few patterns.

’The snow seems to be affecting the zombies’ hearing and sense of smell. We have to get pretty close before they notice us... And with the cold, their movements have slowed down. Their joints are obviously stiff...’

"Boss, come take a look at this!"

Yan Yikai, still at the head of the formation, pointed his spear tip at a frozen corpse on the ground.

"Boss, look! This zombie froze to death!"

"Huh?"

Yu Dong moved closer for a look. The zombie was ice-cold, frozen solid like a popsicle, and completely still.

And there was no fatal wound to its head.

’It really froze to death...’

This was the first time Yu Dong had ever seen a zombie freeze to death. In his past life, he hadn’t survived long enough to see temperatures drop to twenty degrees below zero. In those later days, he’d just huddled with others in his residential complex, burning fires for warmth, never daring to go outside.

"Holy crap! This is just like the drunks back home in the Northeast. They get wasted, lie down in the middle of the road, and the next day they’re popsicles. The sanitation workers have to chisel a few ’old popsicles’ out of the ice every year. Looks like a job for the homicide squad... Dongzi, if we ever can’t handle the hordes, listen to me. We’ll just sail the cruise ship to my village back home and become apocalyptic farmers in the Northeast. It’ll be awesome."

Huang Zhiqiang still hadn’t forgotten his plan to become a Northeast apocalyptic farmer.

’Looks like the cold weather isn’t all bad. Even the zombies can’t handle it...’

The remaining zombies that were still animate had also become stiff and slow, making them easy targets for Yu Dong’s team.

Exploring an unfamiliar place today was proving to be even easier than their previous outings.

As they continued north, they reached their destination: Mao Ye Department Store.

A massive, comprehensive shopping center.

Yu Dong had shopped here before; it was very close to his school.

It was usually bustling with people, and it was absolutely packed on weekends.

Yu Dong had been prepared to use drones and Molotov cocktails to gather the zombies and burn them for a bit, but to his surprise... there wasn’t a single zombie in the large plaza in front of the store.

It looked completely clean.

"Where are the zombies? Did they all run inside the store to hide?" Yu Dong muttered in confusion.

Just then, Yan Yikai spotted something on a large rock up ahead.

"Brother Dong, look! Someone wrote something here!"

Yu Dong walked over for a look. A line of text was spray-painted on the rock.

[The mall has been cleared. Please proceed to the basement level. We have plenty of food and water.]

"Oh... so someone’s already set up a settlement here. What a shame."

Yu Dong had thought today was going to be a smooth run, a chance to secure the resources of a huge supermarket. He never expected it to be already occupied.

Huang Zhiqiang looked miserable.

"Dammit! All those supplies... just gone? Why don’t we go inside and take a look? Maybe there’s stuff they don’t need that we can haul away. We can’t leave empty-handed, can we?"

For a pack rat like him, leaving empty-handed was the worst possible outcome.

Zhao Youcai chuckled. "Just because someone else is using it, we can’t take it? We have guns, crossbows, and manpower. Who’d dare say no to us? Huang, you need to get rid of that small-time citizen mindset..."

"But we can’t just rob them..."

"What’s this about robbing? It’s the apocalypse! The supplies are just out there for the taking. The strong take what they need. It’s not ’first come, first served.’ If I go sit in a supermarket, does that make the whole place mine? There’s no logic in that!"

Yu Dong frowned slightly. "Youcai, be friendly. They might end up coming back to the cruise ship with us, you never know."

’Since we’re here, we might as well go down and check out the situation.’

’Leaving a message outside like that suggests they’re a friendly team that values cooperation, not a group of lone wolves.’

’Of course... according to the dark forest rule of the apocalypse, it’s never wrong to assume the worst and treat them as an enemy first, no matter what they seem like.’

"Everyone load your crossbows. The robo-dog will go in and scout the path."

Yu Dong and Zhao Youcai both drew their pistols and disengaged the safeties.

As the robo-dog entered the mall, the faint glimmer of candlelight could be seen shining from below in the dim interior.

The robo-dog nimbly descended the stairs into the basement.

There... it saw lit candles and two people guarding an entrance. The area beyond was pitch-black; aside from the candles and the two guards, nothing else was visible.

They looked at the robo-dog in confusion. The robo-dog tilted its head up to look back at them.

The pair, a man and a woman, smiled warmly. "Is someone out there? It’s very safe in here, don’t worry. You can come in. We have warm rooms, blankets, food, and water. Everyone is welcome."

Then, the two of them secretly made a hand signal behind their backs. From a nearby room, people armed with steel pipes, daggers, and knives emerged one by one, lurking in the shadows, waiting for their prey to appear...

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Two flares were tossed in from the outside.

SIZZLE... SIZZLE...

The burning light illuminated everyone hiding nearby. The robo-dog scanned its surroundings and took in the entire scene.

Astonishment was written all over their faces.

Next, a flashbang was tossed down.

BANG!

Instantly, the group of thugs was blinded.

The combat team members filed in, tactical flashlights and Death God Repeating Crossbows in hand, instantly lighting up the gloomy underground shopping area.

"Drop your weapons!"

"Everyone on the ground! Hands on your head!"

"Don’t move! Move again and we shoot!"

BANG!

Yu Dong shot down a thug who was trying to flee.

Anyone else who tried to run or fight back was immediately pierced by crossbow bolts!

After five of them were taken down, the rest all dropped to the ground, trembling with their hands on their heads.

Yu Dong looked at the group with utter disdain.

"Deceiving people with kindness... That’s the most disgusting trick of all. You’re all scum!"

Yu Dong had genuinely wanted to believe they were a good team that helped each other, like Song and Ji Luo, leaders helping their people survive the apocalypse.

Unfortunately, he had been disappointed.

The combat team tied up all the captured thugs.

"A bunch of nobodies, trying to play robbers with your granddaddy?"

"Why lure people here? What do you do with the people you capture?"

"There are a bunch of captives in the back! Fucking animals! They’ve been capturing people and keeping them as slaves!"

A team of villains that captured people for their own sick amusement. Listening to the reports from his men, Yu Dong felt nauseated.

Zhao Youcai asked, "Dongzi, we should just execute this scum on the spot. Taking them back would be a waste of our food."

Just as Yu Dong was considering it, his satellite phone rang.

"Hello, Professor Meng?"

"Yu Dong, I have some good news for you."

"Oh?"

"The inactivated virus vaccine I’ve been developing has been successfully tested on lab mice! They produced antibodies and survived!"

"Really, Professor Meng? Does this mean we’ll be able to become immune to the zombie virus?"

A jolt went through Yu Dong. This was huge!

’A vaccine for the virus!’

’This could benefit all of humanity!’

"Er... we’re still a long way from that. The animal trials aren’t complete yet. I need to test my new vaccine on more animal species, preferably primates, which are closer to humans. Their test results would be the most reliable."

"Such as?"

"Could you get me a few monkeys?"

"Professor Meng, it’s the dead of winter. We can’t even find a single chicken. Where am I supposed to get you monkeys...?"

Yu Dong gave a wry smile, then turned his head and looked at the group of ’animals’ they had just captured.