Before everything goes out

Five minutes later.

The group stood by the roadside, looking at the several zombies lying on the ground, their expressions subtle.

"Compared to those at toll booths, have these ones hardened?"

I think so.

"Yeah, not only has it gotten harder, but its eyesight has also improved, and it's become more aggressive."

Li Fei squatted in front of a dead zombie and wiped the blood off his knife onto its clothes.

His earlier conjecture was now confirmed.

really.

The closer you are to the city, the stronger the zombies become.

From the initial complete lack of response at the highway service area, to the aggressive yet slow-moving tollbooth attendants, and then to the people in this rural town who would climb over the highway barriers even from a distance of ten meters...

Although this group of zombies still posed no threat to them.

But there is no doubt that his insight, agility, and strength have all improved.

Including physical strength.

A normal attack can no longer produce the same blood-splattering effect as before.

If I had to put it into words, it would probably be an upgrade from "my maternal grandmother could easily handle it" to "my second uncle will be fine as long as he's careful".

so...

Will the zombies become even stronger as we move further into the city?

"Or could we skip the city center and go directly via the Fourth Ring Road?"

After his conjecture was confirmed, Li Fei immediately came up with a new plan.

The plan has changed.

Since they can still easily deal with the zombies on the outskirts of the Fourth Ring Road, there's no need to risk crossing the city...

They had no idea what the situation was like in the city, and taking a slightly longer route was better than encountering even more powerful zombies.

"Hmm, I think it's a good idea, but what exactly is the connection between these things and Zhang Cheng's group?"

She Qingqing took a knife and peeled off the clothes of several zombies.

Just like before, these zombies also had clusters of mushrooms growing on their bodies.

"It might be due to time constraints."

Li Fei frowned slightly, as if deep in thought.

"If Zhang Cheng and his gang hadn't encountered us, they might have turned into zombies like us later on."

Of course, this is just his speculation.

Whether this is true also needs to be verified.

"Woof!"

The call of the two-tung sword interrupted their discussion.

Looking back.

Under the dim sunlight, more zombies were approaching from the path between the two self-built houses.

Ten, twenty.

Looking further back, there were even more, crowding together on that narrow path, a dense, overwhelming mass.

"Damn, this thing's eyesight really has improved!"

Niu San cursed.

Because he was wary of the numbers, he put down his axe and instinctively raised his gun to fire, but Li Fei stopped him.

"Don't shoot."

Li Fei looked into the distance.

Nearly 100 meters away, behind these scattered self-built houses, lies a much larger town.

If we fire, those twenty or thirty zombies will be no problem, but doing so will not only waste bullets, but will also attract more zombies.

Yes, but not necessary.

"Let's go, there's no point in wasting time with them."

Without further hesitation, Li Fei led the group away at a jog.

Compared to before, the zombies' agility has improved, but it is still far from the normal running speed of humans.

It didn't take long for the dark mass of zombies to slowly disappear around the corner of the road.

The journey continues.

...

Two hours later.

It's not even five o'clock yet.

On the South Fourth Ring Road of Changjiang City, a group of people put down their backpacks and took a short rest on an elevated bridge.

Li Fei leaned against the elevated railing, drinking water and gazing out at the view.

As the sun slowly descended, its golden rays bathed the earth, gilding everything on the ground with a golden hue.

This includes the asphalt road, the dilapidated shops along the roadside, the scattered zombies wandering the road, and the abandoned vehicles that almost completely block the road...

These originally messy and dilapidated things have taken on a touch of elegance under this golden filter.

My gaze returned to something closer.

The scenery here is completely different from that of the urban-rural fringe areas.

Rows of skyscrapers, each over a hundred meters tall, stand in orderly rows, silently blocking the sunlight, which then spills out from the edges of their rectangular silhouettes.

It looks like another kind of solar eclipse.

The cityscape he remembered was finally seen here again.

but.

There was no hustle and bustle, only a jungle of steel and concrete.

Dead silence, desolate silence.

"So this is what a big city is like. It's definitely more modern than our village."

Compared to Li Fei, Niu San was even more mesmerized.

Having almost never left Shuanghe Village, he was completely overwhelmed by the urban scenery before him.

Although he had seen plenty of big cities on TV, seeing them in person was a different story.

He looked at a dark blue building. The glass curtain wall, which should have been reflective, was now dull and lifeless due to the accumulation of dust, but it also had a unique roughness due to the vines that covered it.

watch carefully.

The vines did not climb all the way up the exterior wall from the ground.

Instead, they burst forth from inside the building, through the ventilation ducts and windows that hadn't been closed, wildly extending their branches to expand their territory.

There were also birds.

Scattered bird nests dotted the thick vines.

Niu San was quite familiar with birds; he knew that if he fired such a shot now, it would definitely startle a large flock and create a spectacular scene.

"How's it going? Can you see your house from here?"

Li Fei withdrew his gaze and looked at the little mute boy beside him.

He was too short to stand on the roof of an abandoned car, tiptoeing to look over the fence and trying to see in a certain direction.

"Uh-huh."

After looking for a while, the little mute boy's eyes gradually cleared, and he pointed to a certain building.

"Wan...what...Yuan..."

Li Fei squinted and read out the words on the building's exterior wall with difficulty.

He wasn't sure about the middle character; it had been reduced to just the "iron" radical. It could be Wan Jun Yuan or Wan Ming Yuan.

In short, it's clearly a high-rise residential complex.

Are you sure your family lives here?

"Mmm!"

The little mute boy nodded excitedly.

"How many years have you been out here?"

The little mute boy made a two with his fingers, then a three.

"A couple of years, you're not sure?"

"Mmm."

The little mute boy nodded.

She Qingqing stared at the spot thoughtfully, while Niu San continued to look around, captivated by the city scenery.

"Okay, you take care of finding the way. We'll take you back now. We'll definitely get there before dark."

Li Fei reached out his hand to the little mute boy.

The latter took his hand and jumped off the wrecked car.

When they set off again, although the stiff smile was still on his face, his steps were noticeably lighter, and the spice jars in his crossbody bag jingled loudly.

It looks like a wind chime.