Chapter 925 - 272: Settlement

There’s not much in the backpack: a bottle of water, two packs of compressed biscuits, and some random stuff like candles and mechanical parts.

Su Changxing also noticed something from the items these two people had collected, which indicated they probably belonged to a gathering point and were assigned relevant tasks.

If it were just the two of them, they probably wouldn’t be collecting things that are essentially useless for survival.

He pondered that he must find the location of this gathering point, not to do anything but simply to avoid unnecessary conflict with these humans.

As he thought about this, he looked at the faint red figure hurriedly running away on the street and followed.

The distance wasn’t close yet; he followed them intermittently for over an hour before finally seeing, from afar, the street blocked by barricades. There was someone on a wooden tower with a heavy crossbow, and in front of the barricades were zombie corpses scattered everywhere, surrounded by circles of iron nets.

"It’s quite big."

Su Changxing was somewhat surprised by the size of this gathering point. From afar, it occupied at least three or four streets, forming a large circle with a shopping mall at the center, where he saw many people walking along the streets inside.

After taking a look, he immediately turned around to leave to avoid being noticed by others, as there were definitely many Extraordinary people in this gathering point.

"These people seem to have been here for quite a while, to have built such a large, complete gathering point."

He estimated that these people, although also placed here, might have experienced completely different circumstances from theirs and thus couldn’t be judged the same way.

...

"0931 is back. We were attacked by an Extraordinary Zombie, so we had to terminate the search task."

A young man in a green hoodie stood at the barricade, waving and shouting, crouching and gasping for air; his abdomen was covered in blood, having been seriously injured when the zombie knocked him down.

"I’m injured and need treatment!"

The iron gate of the barricade was lifted slightly for him to enter, and he collapsed to the ground as soon as he crawled in.

It was only then that he had the courage to look back, but there was nothing, seemingly just his imagination. However, he was sure something must have been following him, possibly that Extraordinary Zombie.

It’s strange why that zombie didn’t kill him; thinking back now, he felt the zombie deliberately spared him, or else he would have been dead in the hallway already.

He felt incredibly lucky now, though also remorseful for his companion’s death. They shouldn’t have taken on such a dangerous task.

But there was really no choice, hence the risk-taking.

The gathering point was also experiencing a food shortage, with not enough for everyone’s share. To get enough food, one had to contribute to the gathering point.

But they, as ordinary people, didn’t have any special abilities, so they had to grit their teeth and do tasks, occasionally killing two zombies to earn points.

Points could also be exchanged for food, but earning points by killing zombies was too inefficient, not enough to trade for food, so they had to do tasks, go to designated locations, and search for corresponding supplies.

He went to the infirmary, where they simply cleaned his wound, applied alcohol, and wrapped it with a bandage.

This was only thanks to him providing the location of an Extraordinary Zombie, enabling the use of alcohol to treat his wounds.

Just then, a man in a gray plaid shirt approached him with a concerned tone:

"I’m really sorry about Wang Wei. I should have advised you two back then that going into uncharted areas was too dangerous."

The young man in the green hoodie was named Lou Qiang, and his companion was Wang Wei. They had completed a task independently before and got a taste of victory, so they insisted this time as well.

Following the team for tasks was safer but yielded just as little, with at most one or two hundred points per task.

This way, they could survive, but it was almost impossible to become Extraordinary in a short period.

Lou Qiang gave him a cold look and said unhappily, "I don’t need your sympathy, it’s just our own fault at most."

The man in the gray plaid shirt smiled indifferently at these words and continued, "If you want, you can completely join us. With your ability, you don’t have to live so miserably."

Lou Qiang fell into silence; this matter hit him too hard, with images of Wang Wei being knocked down and bitten by the zombie replaying in his mind.

The other party was his best friend, a close buddy, but when faced with danger, he still chose to run without hesitation.

He wasn’t sure if his discomfort was guilt or regret, or perhaps both.

The man in the gray plaid shirt was about to leave when he remembered something and turned back, saying, "By the way, several Extraordinary adults have posted information gathering tasks in the past two days. You can check it out, maybe you’ll find something you know."

"Although I’ve said it several times, I still hope you can join us. Working alone is always more effort than it’s worth; only by uniting can we have greater power and survive better."

Lou Qiang watched the other’s retreating back and said, "I’ll think about it and get back to you later."

Then, he went to the task information board to check and immediately noticed a sketch of a backpack that seemed very familiar, with a yellow duck ornament. Thinking back, wasn’t this the backpack worn by that Extraordinary Zombie!

What a coincidence.

Moreover, the reward for this information-gathering task is quite generous. The issuer offered a reward of one hundred Points, which is equivalent to three fist-sized loaves of bread. To him, it’s like a pie falling from the sky.

He walked towards the house. After taking a few steps, he recalled that it seemed like that Extraordinary Zombie spared him, allowing him to survive. Doing this might appear somewhat ungrateful.

"It’s just a Zombie," he told himself. There’s naturally no need for civility with a Zombie, as they are not even the same species.

Perhaps the Zombie simply didn’t pay attention to him, thus sparing him, focusing its attention entirely on another Zombie.

Upon entering the information room, he recorded everything he knew about that Zombie on a piece of white paper, placed it in an envelope, and waited for the task issuer to come and check it. He estimated they might need to find him again afterwards.

He had just returned to the base and hadn’t even sat down to rest when a man in a black trench coat, hooded with a pale complexion, found him.

Looking at the man’s dark eyes and the invisible pressure emanating from him, Lou Qiang knew he was an Extraordinary.

This was quite normal, as most task issuers were Extraordinary.

"Have you seen this backpack on an Extraordinary Zombie?" the man asked with a smile as he looked at him.

Lou Qiang nodded, "About ten kilometers east of the gathering place."

"I see, that’s quite close. Can you describe what that Zombie looks like?" the hooded man continued to ask.

"Its head is tilted, carrying the backpack you want. It’s quite distinctive; at the time, it used a Silver-White Machete to kill another Zombie. If you’re planning to hunt it, I advise you to be careful. I think that Zombie is quite unusual."

The hooded man smiled after hearing this and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your concern. It seems you’re telling the truth. Here’s your reward."

Lou Qiang received one hundred Points from him and felt a bit relieved; at least the other party was willing to pay. As he was about to leave, he heard the man say:

"I hope this information doesn’t reach anyone else. I’ve paid for it, and I hope you understand."

Lou Qiang’s heart tightened, feeling like he was being watched by a venomous snake. He nodded repeatedly, "Certainly, I assure you no one will know about this."

...

After discovering this large gathering place, Su Changxing walked in the opposite direction of the gathering place, wandering along the streets, trying to find another Extraordinary Zombie.

The previous Extraordinary Crystal had been mostly consumed during this period, and he could clearly feel his body and two Abilities becoming stronger.

This strength was visible, and besides, the wound on his neck had recovered once again.

During this process, he encountered humans several times but managed to evade them cleverly each time. Sensing that the humans were becoming denser in this area, he adjusted his direction again, estimating that there might be a gathering place nearby.

This was clearly noticeable; from the center of a gathering place, humans would spread out to explore, or simply hunt Zombies to reduce their numbers, while also collecting Points.

Given the existence of a Mysterious Shop, Points undoubtedly exist, and most likely, Points are obtained by killing Zombies.

In his search, Su Changxing didn’t find any sign of Extraordinary Zombies, unsure if it was bad luck or because the number of Extraordinary Zombies was inherently low.

Or was it because of his location?

As dusk fell, the streets were painted with distinctly visible patterns by the setting sun, and the sea waves roared endlessly.

Su Changxing finally spotted another Extraordinary Zombie. It was hiding in a sewer and emerged from a manhole as the daylight faded, coincidentally being spotted by Su Changxing.

"Hiss hiss~"

This Extraordinary Zombie had a robust physique, wore a gold necklace around its neck, and upon seeing Su Changxing, it appeared vigilant, emitting a threatening hiss, seemingly warning him rather than launching an immediate attack.

This was somewhat unexpected—he thought this Extraordinary Zombie would attack immediately.

Su Changxing decisively drew the Silver-White Machete from his back and charged at the Zombie boldly.

The Zombie, seeing Su Changxing charging aggressively, retracted its head, appearing to prepare to flee.

Su Changxing jumped into the manhole after it, finding the surroundings in darkness. The sewer was overgrown with vegetation, with black plant-like seaweeds entangled in the air.

The two Zombies chased each other through the sewer, their Speed not being vastly different.

After running for a distance, they found the sewer floor covered in rubble, indicating a collapse in this area.

Then.

Su Changxing noticed a large hole in the wall ahead, seemingly smashed open by something, with rusty steel bars protruding from the concrete.