Marvel's Death Merchant

“Oh? You mean that lovely girl? She’s alright.” The woman then gestured for her men to bring Zoe over. “Zoe!” Francis called out loudly. But Zoe seemed asleep, completely unresponsive. “Don’t worry, she’s just asleep. Okay…” Bill said softly. “Francis, Louis, put the gun down. But old man…” Francis seemed to have a question. “If they were really robbers, they wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble. And they don’t seem like robbers.”

“Alright,” Francis said helplessly. Bill stepped forward and said to the woman, “Okay, if we lay down our weapons, will you let us go? Of course, you can also choose to stay and visit my home.” The woman said with a smile. “Alright…” Bill gestured to Francis and the others.

Chapter 669 Church Sentry Post

"Thank you for your cooperation." The woman gestured to a man beside her, who picked up a gun from the ground and began searching the three men one by one. The man found a cute little dog trinket on Francis. "What's this?" the man asked. "Get your dirty hands off me! This is my pet!" Francis shouted, his face seemingly flushed. "Oh...so an old man like you has this hobby of keeping cute little animals," the woman said with a smile. "None of your business! I like it!" The man then searched Louis. He found a bottle of perfume on Louis. Louis shouted, "Damn it! Don't touch this! It's all my perfume!" "So men like perfume too!" the woman said with a laugh.

Finally, the man searched Bill's person. He took out Bill's wallet, opened it, and found the photo inside… “Oh… oh…” Francis and Louis whispered. “Brother, I advise you not to touch that photo.” But the man seemed not to hear him and said to the woman. “This old man is a veteran.” But before he could, Bill's fist flew to his face, sending him flying two meters away. “I warned you, brother. Who told you not to listen?” Francis said. At this moment, a voice came. “…Tana!… It’s bad!… It’s bad!” The woman turned to look at the source of the voice, and a man ran over panting. “What’s wrong? Don’t rush, tell me slowly.” Tana… It’s bad… The bandits over there are attacking again. “What?!” The woman was stunned. “Shut your stinking mouth! If we are discovered, we’ll all die!” the man said viciously. “Okay… okay…” Louis had no choice but to obediently shut his mouth. “Alright… we’re here!” Suddenly, the man straightened up and cautiously peeked out. "No problem, you can all follow me." With that, the man started walking forward again.

Louis and the others slowly peeked out. But when they saw the building before them, they were stunned. "Where is this...?" Louis murmured. "This is the closest place to God..." Bill said. At the edge of this golden sea stood a tall church, white walls, a golden cross. Bathed in the lazy autumn sunlight, the church seemed to transform into a golden palace, so majestic yet not ostentatious, giving people a unique architectural beauty, blending seamlessly with the rice paddies behind it. Perhaps this was a clever design by the architect... "What are you looking at? Come here quickly!" The man in front urged the group. "Alright... we're here, what's the rush?" The group followed the man out of the wheat field. "Why does it seem like there's no one here?" Louis asked, puzzled, looking at the empty church. "Everyone's over there!" The man pointed to a large warehouse about 1 kilometer away from the church. The warehouse had been reinforced, surrounded by high concrete walls.

"What are they all doing there?" Francis asked, just as everyone was puzzled. A voice slowly reached their ears. "That's the church's outpost..." a man's voice came from a room on the second floor. "An outpost?!" The group slowly walked towards the room from which the voice came. Francis put Zoe on a chair and followed. "Yes... an outpost. An outpost serving as the church's headquarters. Like a fixed sentry post..." The group entered the room... "...May I ask who you are?" The group looked at the room's furnishings with some surprise. The small room contained a bed, a table, and a chair. Most of the remaining space was occupied by painted oil paintings. There was a large window in the wall, and outside the window was a golden wheat field. The golden yellow of the wheat field was reflected by the sunlight and scattered into the room, making the room seem to be coated with a thin layer of gold. Those in the room could almost smell the fragrance of rice blossoms emanating from this golden layer. A canvas sat beside the window, seemingly proclaiming the room's owner's extraordinary status… “Me?” The man, still busy with his painting, paused. “I am…” Before he could finish, the person who had led everyone in interrupted. “Oh… Jerry, just a useless coward!” He burst into laughter. “He can't do anything but paint, not even as good as a little girl.” “I say, Louis… looks like you’ve found your kind.” Francis, after hearing the man's words, turned to Louis and said. “Get lost, Francis, I’m a seasoned veteran!” Louis retorted defiantly. “John, that’s not a good way to put it…” The man named Jerry put down his brush and said slowly. “Everyone, stop talking. Looks like your friend is in trouble.” Bill looked out the window towards the warehouse a kilometer away. He vaguely sensed figures moving in the wheat field…

A woman was peering intently through binoculars. She seemed to sense something, her gaze fixed on a slightly swaying spot in the wheat field. "Come out, **** love!" the woman named Tana shouted into the wheat field. "Stop hiding, do you like playing hide-and-seek?" Suddenly, the swaying wheat stalks in the field stopped, and a voice came from there.

"Hehe... Tana, it's been a long time." A man's voice slowly drifted out. At that moment, the people beside Tana deftly loaded their weapons, ready to shoot the man who had spoken. "Don't shoot... I'm just here to say hello." The man slowly emerged from the wheat field, holding a white handkerchief in his hand. "I'm not armed. I just want to talk to Miss Tana..." He raised his hands high and spun around to indicate he was unarmed. Tana whispered to the people beside her, "Don't shoot yet. If he tries anything funny, kill him." "Yes, Miss Tana." The people around her nodded.

"Thank you for your help..." Tana said to the group, sitting at the round table. A fight had broken out, and Louis had saved her. "Hehe, you're welcome," Louis said with a smile.

Chapter 670 Initial Stabilization

“Don’t be silly, Louis,” Bill whispered. “Although we don’t know who you are, I’m sure that someone who takes in those old people and children in this chaotic world can’t be a bad person.” “Heh, is that so?” Tana smiled, taking off her black hat to reveal golden hair like strands of wheat in a field. “Alright, since you’ve risked your lives to save us, we should be friends, not enemies.” Tana stood up and extended her right hand. “Hello, my name is Tana, Tana Wilson.”

Bill extended his right hand and shook Tana's. "Bill," Bill said, gesturing to the three people behind him, "these are my teammates, Zoe, Louis, and Francis." "Oh...can I ask where you're headed?" Tana asked. "We came from the east, heading west to find the army." "...The army?" Tana's previously bright eyes suddenly dimmed. She whispered, "No government...and...no army..." "What? Why?" Louis asked, puzzled. "Sigh..." Bill sighed, looking at the seemingly agitated Tana. "It seems you've experienced many setbacks..." "I'm sorry..." Tana composed herself, raising her head and smiling. "The city center is on the other side of the river, and there are many monsters there. I advise you to stay with me. Although I'm not the government, we can provide safety and food." "...Alright, let's rest here for a few days," Bill said with a smile. "Thank you."

“No trouble at all… You helped me, this is what you deserve.” Tana shouted loudly after saying that. “John!” “Here!!!” A voice seemed to drift from afar, and a person could be seen running towards them. “Boss! What’s wrong?!” Tana said, looking at John who was panting heavily. “Where have you been? Why are you only coming now?” John seemed very innocent. “I… I was helping out on guard duty outside…” “Never mind.” Tana turned to Bill and said. “You should know this person, his name is John Connor. You can ask him if you don’t understand anything from now on.” “Thank you.” “Okay, John, take them to their rooms.” After saying that, she put on her black hat again. “I have something to do, I’ll go first.” “Okay, go ahead.” Bill said, and then Tana’s figure disappeared at the end of the corridor. “Your rooms are here, follow me.” John said as he walked. “Um…” Bill said to John. “John… let me introduce you to your place.” “Hmm?” John turned around, puzzled. “Here?…” John frowned. “Nothing much. We used to live on a suburban farm across the river. When the virus broke out, we fled here.” “That simple?” Louis said. “But who were the people who attacked you?” John stopped abruptly at this question, standing there and addressing the four men. “You shouldn’t ask. As for that Hodeie, he used to be our friend… now he’s our enemy. That’s all you need to know.” “Is that so?” Francis said.

“That’s it, your room is right here,” John pointed to a room on the second floor. “Tell me if you need anything, I’ll help you.” He then left. Once in the room, everyone put their things on the floor. Francis and Louis, as usual, immediately rushed to grab the bathroom. “I’m going for a walk,” Zoe said. “I want to see this place.” She then left the room. The weather was fine today, a pleasant autumn day. The golden wheat swayed gently in the breeze, as if dancing a harvest song. Francis sat by the window. Looking out the small window, they saw the golden wheat field and the figures constantly moving through it—the church people, patrolling the field and protecting this golden grain.

“We won’t be staying here long…” Bill said calmly. “Why?” Francis turned to look at Bill. Bill took a crumpled cigarette from his pocket, lit it with a lighter, and took a deep drag. “There’s no hope here…” Why? Isn’t it better here? There’s food, shelter, and so many people; we’ll be safe…

“Francis…” Bill exhaled from his cigarette, the smoke swirling in the air like a hazy cloud. “Have you forgotten the human resistance camp?” Bill placed a hand on his forehead. “The survivor camp was a relatively safe place, with an army, guns, and all sorts of modern weapons… but it still disappeared…” “Then what do you suggest we do, old man?” Francis frowned. “Let’s settle down here for now, figure out where to go, and then we’ll set off. Let’s find a place similar to Umbrella Corporation…”

"Watchman 1, this is Watchman 3, please respond." A dark figure hidden deep in the wheat field spoke into the walkie-talkie. It was Louis.

“Watchman 3, please speak.” “I’ve discovered an intruder, please advise.” “Please state the number of intruders…” “One.” “One? Is she carrying any weapons?” “No.” “Are there any obvious signs of being bitten by zombies?” “No.” Just as Louis was considering how to capture the person, the weary figure collapsed on the road. “Damn it!” Louis stood up. “I’ll go check first. Everyone, come over immediately.” He slowly walked over, a pistol in his hand, and slowly approached the person. “Hello, are you still alive?” Louis slowly approached, using his foot to turn the person on the ground over so he could see his face clearly. “It’s a person. An uninfected person.” Louis muttered to himself.

"What?" Louis leaned closer to hear what the man was saying. "Water..." the man said weakly. "Water? Oh... okay..." Louis immediately pulled off his water bottle, opened the cap, and carefully poured the water into the man's mouth. The man's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. "Excuse me... I need to check you out..." Just as Louis was at a loss, John ran over. "What?! Louis?! Are you done checking?" Louis was already rather timid, and his face instantly turned red when John said that. "Wh...what, check or not? I'm never coming to stand guard again!" Louis said.

"What's wrong with you? Didn't you say you wanted to be on guard duty? You said you were bored." John shrugged and walked over to the man lying on the ground.

Chapter 671 The Bizarre Zombies

In a room of the church, Louis stood guard beside an unconscious woman. Louis was lying by the bedside; the woman was asleep. "Hmm...?" The woman on the bed slowly opened her eyes. She sat up, looking around in confusion. "Where am I...?" Then she saw Louis sleeping beside her. "Hmm?" Louis subconsciously touched the blankets in front of him. "Hmm??" But he felt nothing. He suddenly opened his eyes, stunned. The person who had been lying on the bed was gone. "Fuck! What's going on?! Where is he?" Louis shouted. He stood up, but as he tried to stand, his legs seemed unable to separate, and he fell straight off the bed. It turned out that the laces of Louis's shoes had become tangled. "What happened again?!" Louis scrambled to his feet, frantically trying to untie his shoelaces. "Who's playing this prank?" Louis said angrily.

As Louis continued to grumble, a voice came from behind the curtain, "Oh." The voice sounded like those ghostly voices on TV. It sounded a bit eerie and frightening. "Who is it?! Who's there?!" Louis was already a bit timid, and his voice trembled. "Fuck! Come out right now!" After saying that, Louis grabbed the pistol from the bedside table. The pistol seemed lighter than usual, but Louis didn't notice. "Oh." A person staggered out from behind the curtain. Her steps were a bit strange, like a zombie. Her face was pale, and there was some blood around her mouth. "Fuck!" Louis was a little frightened when he saw the person who came out from behind the curtain. "When did there become an infected person here?!" Louis hurriedly tried to stand up, but his tied shoelaces made him trip and fall flat on his face again. He hurriedly raised the pistol and aimed it at the person. "Don't come any closer! If you come any closer, I'll shoot!" Louis warned the person. "Fuck! What am I thinking? Negotiating with a zombie?!" After saying that, Louis pulled the trigger of the pistol. But the pistol didn't make the familiar sound of a bullet firing. Instead... "Sizzle..." A thin jet of water shot out from the muzzle... It was a water gun. "What?! God, are you kidding me?!" Louis said, staring at the slowly approaching person. "Help...help me!" Louis shouted loudly. At this moment, John, who was on guard duty outside, vaguely heard Louis's shouts. He laughed happily, "Shouting for help so quickly. It seems Louis is really no good." Then he whistled and continued to stand guard. A younger boy next to him asked, "I think I heard someone calling for help..." "Go away...what does a kid know!" "Help..." Louis shouted until he was exhausted. Just when Louis thought he was about to be eaten by this infected person, a series of silvery laughter came over. Hahaha... "Hmm? Is it just my imagination before I die?" Louis muttered to himself in confusion.

“It’s…you…” Louis said. “Yes, it’s me!” The man plopped down on the bed. “What’s wrong? You’re not happy about it?” “Hey, hey, hey, I saved you, why are you still teasing me?!” Louis seemed a little angry. The man smiled at Louis. “My name is Anna…” “Hmm, Zoe.” Jerry said with a smile. “Not bad, I didn’t expect your drawing skills to improve so quickly in just a few days…” Zoe was still drawing something. “Thank you, Jerry, it’s all thanks to your teaching. I’ve told you before, there are no students who can’t learn, only teachers who don’t want to teach.” Zoe said with a smile. On Zoe’s canvas, a lush green meadow was drawn, with a gentle breeze blowing across the ground, as if it were a beautiful place. “Are you going to paint a landscape?” Jerry asked.

“Alright, tell me who you are,” Tana said to the newcomer. “My name is Anna.” “Tell me why you’re here.” “I’m just passing through,” Anna said dismissively. “I don’t know why I’m here either.” “Where are you going?” “Along the river.” Anna crossed her arms, seemingly very arrogant. “Why are you always asking me? Now it’s my turn to ask you.” John, standing nearby, said, “Hey, little girl, you don’t seem to understand the situation.” He then slowly pulled out his pistol. “It’s okay,” Tana called out to John. “Okay, Anna, what do you want to ask?” “That’s more like it, it’s more fun when everyone asks questions…” Anna said with a smile. “Are you bandits?” “No,” Tana answered seriously. “I don’t think so either. You guys don’t even qualify as bandits.” Anna then asked again. “Do you kill people?” Anna stepped out of the defensive line, where Louis was already standing at the door. “You stop right there,” Louis said.

"Who exactly are you?" "Why do you all like asking this question?" "Because I need to know what kind of person you are. Will you threaten us?" "What if I don't tell you?" Anna shrugged dismissively. "Then I'll kill you." With that, Louis raised his pistol and pointed it at her chest. "Will you tell me or not?" "Hmm~ I was going to tell you, but now that you've asked, I don't want to anymore." Anna slowly walked towards Louis. "Shoot me." Anna said to Louis, getting closer and closer to him. "Shoot me, you pervert." Anna said disdainfully, pressing her chest against Louis's gun. "What's wrong? Don't want to shoot?" Anna looked at Louis and said. "Don't force me..." Louis said, but his hand was trembling. Anna smiled and leaned close to Louis's ear, saying, "You want to kill me, right?..." "You... what nonsense are you talking about?!" Louis was at a loss for words after Anna said that.

"Tch..." Anna chuckled. Night fell, and everything in the wheat field was so quiet, as if someone had silenced this noisy world. Bathed in the interplay of starlight and moonlight, people had long since drifted off to sleep. The moon shone with a silvery glow, making everything in the world seem black and white at that moment. Anna lay down in the wheat field, gazing at the vast sky, at the stars and the moon, as if they were the only people she could confide in. "Would you like to hear my story too?" "What kind of person am I?" Anna murmured to herself. "I think... I'm probably a bad person..."

Chapter 672 Surrounding Crisis

“Hmm…you’ve been listening for so long, you should be coming out by now, right?” Anna said, facing the wheat field opposite her. “Yo…” A figure emerged from the wheat field—it was Louis. “So you found out all along? Of course…why didn’t you expose me sooner? Don’t you want to hear the story? I’ll let you hear it…This is me. I always felt like a bad person. Since that time, if anyone calls me to open the door outside the safe house, I absolutely won’t open it. Maybe that killed a lot of people, but I survived…” Anna said with a somber face. “I feel like I’m becoming more and more like that man, willing to sacrifice others’ lives for my own survival…” The cruelest punishment for us in peaceful times is that they gradually erode the brilliance and resilience of our once excited, once full of fantasies, dimming us little by little. In this way, we quickly become lost in the fog we create…

“This life is so pleasant,” Francis said, dozing off. “We should remain vigilant,” Bill said, puffing on his cigarette. “Damn it…” Bill suddenly cursed under his breath. “This is my last cigarette…” Bill stared blankly at the empty cigarette pack, then crumpled it into a ball and threw it out the window… “I can’t live without cigarettes…” Bill said, looking at the last crumpled cigarette. “I think we should go out for a walk and find our way out…” Bill said to Francis. “What? You’re going to look for supplies?” Tana asked, looking at the two people standing in front of her. “We have all the basic supplies here… what else do you need?” Bill asked, taking out his last cigarette. “Kid… do you have any cigarettes here?” Bill said casually.

“Cigarettes?!” Tana said coldly, staring at Bill. “We don’t have cigarettes. Nobody here smokes… Cigarettes are a necessity for me. I can’t live without them.” Bill pointed at Francis. “My team and I will go find supplies. You just need to help us find a guide.” Tana thought for a moment, then went to the second-floor stairwell and called out loudly to the people in the hall. “Attention everyone!” He pointed at Bill and Francis. “Who is willing to lead them to other places?” The people who had been chatting in the hall fell silent. No one dared to speak. Time seemed to freeze, and the atmosphere was extremely awkward. Seeing that no one was willing to volunteer, Tana added, “They are going to find supplies. If someone can be their guide, that person will receive something they want. Of course, the prerequisite is that you can get it.” This condition was somewhat tempting. In the suburbs far from the city, although there was water and essential food, there was no way to replenish other luxuries. For example… magazines, cigarettes, clothes, or other things. But no one in the hall responded. They just sat there quietly. Suddenly, someone spoke. “H City no longer exists. There are only ruins, monsters, and death there!” The person seemed to have opened a floodgate. The crowd began to discuss among themselves. “It’s already become hell. No one can go in there and come out alive! Besides, how long have they been here? Why should we believe them?” A chorus of doubts arose from the crowd. No one volunteered to be their guide, and Tana seemed very angry. “Fine! If none of you will go, I will!” Tana turned to Bill and the others and said. “I’ll take you.” After Tana finished speaking, everyone objected. “Miss Tana, you can’t go. If you go to the church, there will be no one to guide you! Yes, Miss Tana, you can’t go. You can’t abandon us!” Everyone voiced their opposition. Even John, who had been standing silently to the side, came over to persuade Tana. Don’t do this. If you leave, won’t we become a disorganized mess? "If no one else is going, I'll be the guide!" John said softly.

“But don’t you live in the West End? Are you sure you know the way?” Tana asked softly. “Maybe…maybe…I should know the way…” John’s voice lacked confidence. Just as everyone was arguing, a voice came from the second floor. “I’ll take you there!” It was a man’s voice. Everyone looked up in unison towards the source of the voice. “Jerry…Jerry?” Suddenly, everyone started whispering again, “Can that lousy painter Jerry do it? I heard he can’t even beat a rooster…but his paintings are pretty good.” Many people were talking incessantly. Jerry ignored the distrustful looks and walked straight to Bill. “I’ll take you there!” Jerry said loudly. Bill looked into Jerry’s determined eyes and seemed to see a force surging from Jerry’s eyes, constantly influencing Bill. Bill smiled and extended his hand. “I won’t save you if you get into danger.” Jerry also extended his hand and grasped Bill’s hand. "Who knows who will save whom then..." Amidst the skepticism, Jerry accepted the role of guide. Tana, standing beside him, seemed the most surprised; a storm raged within her, yet she maintained a calm facade. The four had already left the church, and now Jerry was about to depart.

“Jerry…” Tana said slowly. “You’re not feeling well, maybe you shouldn’t go? Tana, who are you to me? It’s none of your business!” Jerry said slowly. He packed his backpack and walked out of the church, leaving a panicked Tana behind… “Who am I to you?” Tana lowered her head and muttered to herself, trying to hide her already tearful eyes behind the deep brim of her black hat…

Bill was driving, taking his time. Jerry sat in the passenger seat, constantly pointing out directions to Bill. "The river mouth is to the east, where it meets another river, and then it flows south into the sea," Jerry explained in great detail. "You know so much, Jerry. I thought you were only good at drawing," Louis said with a smile.

“Actually, when I was a kid, my dream was to be an adventurer, to go on adventures in my family’s little boat…” Jerry said slowly. “And then I never went again…”

Chapter 673 Entering the Town

Once, I rowed out to sea. The waves were huge and rough, and my little boat was like a leaf. But instead of turning back, I bravely pressed on. Then I discovered a small island, an uninhabited island. I named it Eden then, and I wonder what happened to it now. "You're just bragging. You rowed out to sea? How is that possible?" Francis asked skeptically. "I'm not bragging, it's true. Even Tana..." Jerry started to say, then seemed to realize something and stopped. "Even Tana... what happened..." Francis asked. "Nothing..." In the blink of an eye, the group arrived at the bank of a large river. Jerry said to the group, "Everyone, get out of the car. We're going to have to walk for a while." "Okay..." The group got out of the car as Jerry instructed. Reaching the riverbank, looking at the wide expanse of water, they all felt a chill. "Are you telling us to walk across this water?" Francis said. “If it were before, I probably would have…” Jerry led everyone along the riverbank for a while, and the group was stunned by the sight before them… “…Has the demon ever been here?” Francis said blankly.

Everyone looked up at a large bridge in the distance. The bridge spanned the river, seemingly magnificent, but a huge hole had been blown in the middle, and the remnants of the bridge were faintly visible in the water, along with various cars—it all looked like a disaster… “When the army left, they blew up both bridges connecting the city's exits. Then they fled quickly,” Jerry said calmly. He slowly pulled a rope from the nearby bushes. “Come… come help me,” Jerry called to Bill and the others. “Okay.” The group came over, grabbed the rope, and pulled hard. Suddenly, something in the bushes made a “whoosh” sound and appeared before them. Everyone stared at the thing in astonishment. “Is this your boat?” Francis asked.

A small, white pleasure boat appeared before them, with the word "Hope" written on its hull. That must be the boat's name. "Everyone, pull it to this slope, then we'll push it into the river." "Keep going, next stop H City!" Bill said. "Hey, how far can this boat go?" Francis asked Jerry, who was steering the boat. "As far as you want..." Jerry said casually. "This boat is powered by both gasoline and wind, it can travel very far..." "Tch..." Francis said dismissively. "Just bragging..." A gentle river breeze caressed everyone's faces, making them all look exceptionally energetic. They lay comfortably on the deck chairs, dozing off, giving the impression that they were on vacation. Only Bill was searching for something in the boat's cabin. The cabin wasn't big, only about 5 square meters. As Bill searched, he suddenly found something. "This is..." Bill looked at the thing in his hand, then folded it up and put it in his pocket. "Everyone get ready..." Jerry shouted. "We're almost ashore..." "We're here already? I wish I could lie down a little longer..." Francis said. "Let's go..." Bill came out of the cabin.

“Old man, where were you just now?” Francis asked Bill. “Nothing, just wandering around.” Bill then started organizing his equipment. “Here…” Bill tossed a black object to Jerry. “What’s this?” Jerry caught it and saw it was a pistol, its black body exuding a mysterious aura. “Mr. Bill…” Jerry said to Bill. “What’s wrong?” “I don’t know how to use a gun…” “But you’ll need it.” With that, Bill followed the others off the boat. They landed on a riverbank. Jerry whispered, “Everyone, be careful. We’re entering the town. By the way, what are you looking for?” “Kid, don’t think you can command us just because you know the way. We’ve been to far more cities than you. Just mind your own business and don’t hold us back.” Francis leaned his lap on his shoulder. “Jerry, don’t listen to him.” Zoe laughed and kicked Francis hard, then said to Jerry. “Let’s go,” Bill said to everyone. “Let’s explore the city.” With that, they walked onto the riverbank and headed into the city. Francis shrugged and followed. Once on the riverbank, a road appeared before them. “This is a road near the riverbank, encircling it. This is the suburban farm. Keep going forward and you’ll enter the town center,” Jerry explained slowly. “Alright, Jerry, now you need to lead the way. Take us to a big supermarket,” Bill said to Jerry. “Of course, we’ll take you.” Jerry said, walking forward. “The suburban farm is where Tana and I live. It’s a very beautiful place; I used to come here to sketch often.” As they walked along the road into the suburban farm, everyone froze. “Are you sure this is the… beautiful place you’re talking about?”

A line of cars stretched for kilometers, crammed onto the highway leading to the city's East Bridge. The narrow road resembled a sardine can, packed with vehicles. What might have once been farmland was now overgrown with tall weeds. The deathly stillness and deserted roads, contrasted with the various vehicles and human remains, completely lacked the natural beauty described by the artists; everything appeared terrifying and bleak. "Was this... a place where death has been?" Zoe stared blankly at the street and everything around her, seemingly touched by the Grim Reaper. "The East Bridge is alright; the West Bridge is worse," Jerry sighed. "Most people fled west when the virus broke out." "Were people just sitting in their cars waiting to die?" Francis frowned, looking at the ground on both sides of the highway and the cars parked there. The white bones, already faded, seemed to tell the story of the horror and disaster that struck when the virus struck.

“People wanted to run, but they couldn’t…” Jerry lowered his head as he spoke. “The city’s exits had long been cut off by the army. No one survived… they all perished for this city.” Jerry looked at the remains of those who had once lived there, and his eyes seemed to well up with tears.

Chapter 674 The Strange Town

“I saw them all. They screamed, ran, and fell. I saw people I knew die before my eyes, and I could do nothing. The moment the virus appeared, everyone's selfishness and hypocrisy were exposed. Even your loved ones…” Autumn is such a beautiful season. The trees are laden with fruit, bending the branches. Farmers chat and laugh as they gaze at the golden wheat in the fields. The cool autumn breeze has long since washed away the sweat from their faces, bringing only the joy of harvest. These beautiful scenes once truly existed, but they belong to the past, not the present… The group slowly made their way along the road. They hadn't seen a single living creature, which made them increasingly doubt the veracity of the descriptions of H City given in the church. “Didn't you say this town was hell? Why haven't we seen a single zombie yet?” Louis asked softly. “I don't know,” Jerry replied, seemingly puzzled as well. “I haven't been here for a year either.” “Louis,” Bill said calmly. "Do you really expect an infected person to greet you here?" "Of course not, it's just that the atmosphere here feels eerily quiet." Louis crouched down, gripping his weapon tightly, as if guarding against some unknown danger. "I also feel something's off. Anyway, everyone, let's prepare for battle, just in case." Bill also gripped his M16 tightly. "Jerry, quickly take us to the nearest large shopping mall. We've got our stuff and are ready to retreat." Bill muttered to himself, "I don't want to stay here a minute longer."

“Okay.” Jerry thought for a moment. “Follow me. This way…” After saying that, Jerry walked straight ahead along the road. Gradually, more buildings appeared on both sides of the road. This should be nearing the city. Looking ahead, the tall buildings and streets of the city could be vaguely seen. “This way,” Jerry said to the group behind him. “It’s about 100 meters ahead. This is a relatively large shopping mall in the suburbs. You should be able to find what you need.” “Okay, thank you, Jerry. I’ll go first. Don’t move here.” Bill slowly walked forward. He first circled around to a tree in front of the mall, then looked around to observe. Not finding anything unusual, Bill gestured for them to come over, and the group slowly began to walk towards Bill. “It looks very quiet here. There shouldn’t be any zombies,” Bill said to Francis. “Francis, you come with me to check out the mall first. The rest of you, keep an eye on your surroundings. Wait for our signal.” Francis nodded and followed Bill outside the mall. It was a fairly large mall, with two floors, each very spacious. However, when Bill and the others reached the main entrance, they noticed something unusual. The mall's main entrance, which was normally an automatic door, had been tightly closed, probably due to a power outage. But one side of the automatic door had been deliberately smashed open, leaving only one side of the door. The ground was covered with shards of glass, which made Bill and Francis uneasy. If zombies had forced their way in because there were people inside, it meant there were quite a few zombies inside. Or, there was another possibility: the mall had been looted by refugees… Either scenario would definitely make this group very nervous.

“Let’s go in and take a look,” Bill said to Francis. “Okay, old man.” Francis nodded at Bill and rushed into the mall. The two of them covered each other and cooperated, back to back, constantly observing the situation in the mall. The first floor of the mall was somewhat messy, with all sorts of things scattered all over the floor, and there were many bloodstains on the ground, resembling drag suits. “Looks like someone has already been here.” Bill sighed as he looked at the empty shelves. “We’d better get out of here quickly, it’s not safe here.” “Okay.” Francis agreed softly. The two of them began to slowly retreat towards the door… When they were about 20 meters away from the door, a strange sound caught their attention. “What’s that sound?” Francis said softly, raising his gun. “I heard it too, be careful, there might be an unexpected customer.” Bill slowly raised his M16, ready to fire. “I’ll count to three and then we’ll turn around and run towards the door together, understand?” Bill said to Francis. “Of course, you old man, you're so slow, I don’t want to have to come back and wait for you,” Francis said with a smile.

"3."

"2."

"1."

Bill slowly counted down to one, and the two of them took off running. The 20 meters were almost covered in the blink of an eye; the door was right in front of them. Just when they thought they were about to pass, a sharp voice suddenly pierced their ears. "What?" The two, still running, turned around simultaneously. A zombie-like figure had "flew" down from the second floor, landing directly on Francis's head. The powerful momentum knocked Francis to the ground. "Bill, save me!" Francis shouted. "Hold on!" Just as Bill was about to rush to Francis's aid, a large horde of zombies appeared out of nowhere, surging towards him through the small doors. "Damn it!" Bill raised his M16 and immediately began firing at the zombies. But there were too many zombies; they kept charging in from all directions. Bill seemed to be struggling. "Bang bang bang." The M16 assault rifle spewed fire continuously. “Old…man…” Francis was being tightly gripped by the zombie's neck. He seemed to be losing consciousness. “Damn it!” Bill continued firing; he didn't have the strength to save Francis. Suddenly, a “clang…” sound reached Bill's ears—the sound of the firing pin missing, meaning Bill's M16 was out of bullets. “Damn it!” Bill hurriedly ejected the magazine, preparing to reload, but the zombies clearly didn't wait for him to reload, surging towards Bill like a tidal wave.

"Fuck!" Bill cursed under his breath, quickly knocking down the first zombie charging at him with the butt of his rifle. He dropped his M16, drew his pistol, and shouted, "Louis! Zoe! Come quick!" He then raised his pistol and began firing at the zombies. Louis and Zoe, who were outside the mall, heard Bill's cries for help and immediately rushed into the mall…

Chapter 675 Fierce Battle in the Shopping Mall

"I'm coming, old man, hold on." Louis and Zoe nodded to each other, preparing to rush into the mall. Suddenly, Jerry, who had been hiding nearby, whispered, "I'm going too... please take me with you." His voice was very soft, as if he were pleading. "No, we still need to take care of you later. You wait for me here." After saying that, Louis and Zoe rushed into the mall. Standing in front of the mall's entrance, Louis was a little stunned when he saw the surging zombies. "Where... where did these zombies come from?" Just as Louis was still in a daze, a faint voice came over.

"Fuck!" Francis, lying on the ground, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Are you just standing there watching? Come help me!" "Huh? Oh? Yes, yes, yes..." Louis and Zoe rushed towards Bill and Francis. "Zoe, go help the old man." Louis raised his pistol, aimed at the zombie on Francis, and fired. "Bang, bang..." The shots rang out, but neither hit the zombie; instead, they struck the ground not far from Francis. "Fuck, Louis, where are you aiming?!" Francis shouted as he struggled against the zombie. "Huh?" Louis realized his aim was off and immediately ran towards Francis, wanting to shoot at close range. But just as Louis was about to rush over, the zombie that had been choking Francis suddenly turned to look at Louis. Its blood-red eyes, like flames from hell, stared intently at Louis. “Oh… Oh…” Louis seemed to sense the danger as well. He slowly retreated, and the zombie stopped attacking Francis, releasing its grip on Francis and turning towards Louis. The zombie's gait was somewhat bizarre, like a cheetah, walking on all fours while muttering something. Louis was frightened by the zombie and slowly backed away. He knew that if the zombie really charged, his small pistol wouldn't be able to stop it. Louis wanted to switch to his Woods submachine gun. His hand slowly reached for the Woods submachine gun he was carrying, but the zombie facing Louis suddenly roared loudly. The sharp roar startled Louis, causing him to retreat repeatedly. However, as he retreated, he unfortunately stepped on a rolled-out aluminum can on the ground, slipped, and fell to the ground. As Louis fell, he felt as if someone had hit his head hard with a stick, and his vision went black. But as if things weren't going to go smoothly, the zombie, as if seeing an opportunity, pounced on Louis and began to beat him relentlessly. "Louis!" Francis shouted.

The zombie began to choke Louis. Louis felt his consciousness blurring, and he sensed everyone's voices fading... Suddenly, a figure appeared behind the zombie. The zombie seemed to sense someone too; he turned around and saw a dark gun barrel pointed at his head. The person holding the gun was none other than Jerry! "Bye-bye..." Jerry pulled the trigger... The gloomy sky hung low, as if a heavy rain was about to fall. The four of them walked onto the intercity train tracks. "I think we should rest for a bit..." Louis said to Bill, panting heavily, touching his head where he had just hit it. "Damn, hitting your head on the floor really hurts!" Bill also stopped, looked behind him, and said, "Okay, let's rest here. Zoe, bandage Louis up." "Okay, Bill." Zoe took a piece of gauze from her bag. "Old man." Francis also sat down; the fight had clearly taken a lot of his energy. "Where do we go next?" "Yeah, old man, the mall's sold out." Louis asked as well. "Ouch! Be gentle, Zoe." Bill didn't speak, he looked at Jerry. "Jerry, you did a good job just now." Bill said with a smile. "Do you know where there are any bigger malls?" Jerry leaned against the railing of the high intercity railway, looking down at everything in the city. "I know, there are many malls in the city." Jerry paused. "But they're all in the city center..." Jerry's meaning was obvious. "Hmm..." The old man also knew that the mall they had just been to was in the suburbs, yet it still had so many zombies. The malls in the city center would definitely have even more and more terrifying zombies. Going there would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

“There’s one more place,” Jerry whispered. “There’s one more place.” “One more place?” Bill asked, looking at Jerry. “West Bridge, there’s one there too. It shouldn’t have been looted.” Jerry whispered. “Are you sure?” “…Yeah, when the bridge broke down, everyone ran east to escape, so they should have what we need there.” “Okay.” After saying that, the group walked along the intercity rail towards West Bridge. The gloomy sky was still there, no sunlight, everything seemed so damp, making people feel very uncomfortable. Maybe hope was in the west, that west that always shone with light… “West…” a figure hid in a corner and whispered, “We’re almost there.” Jerry whispered to the others. “Hurry up, it’s getting dark, we need to find a safe place to rest.” Bill looked around. As the sunlight gradually dimmed, endless darkness followed, and in the darkness, you never know what will happen next. Ahead was a downhill slope, and a large bridge suddenly came into view in the distance—West Bridge, the place that held the deepest pain in their memories. "Almost there," Jerry pointed to a spot about a kilometer north of the bridge. "That's the shopping mall I mentioned; we can rest there tonight." "Thanks, Jerry," Bill said, holding his M16 assault rifle. "Get your weapons ready, we're going down." Everyone laughed and picked up their weapons. "I can't wait," Francis said. The chaos at West Bridge exceeded everyone's expectations. Broken cars and human remains were everywhere, and the line of vehicles stretched for five or six kilometers, perhaps even longer. "What's this?" Zoe whispered, looking at a family car crashed on the side of the road. Sadly, none of them had survived. They arrived at a spot not far from the shopping mall. The mall wasn't very large, only one story, but Bill stopped. He felt unsafe seeing it. The entire exterior of the mall was made of glass; if they rested there that night and were attacked by infected, escape would be extremely difficult.

Chapter 676 A Simple Task

"What's wrong with Bill?" Louis whispered. It was already night, and the entire city was shrouded in darkness, with only a faint moonlight shining through the clouds onto the land of this city of death. Bill looked around. "Let's rest here for the night and go again tomorrow morning," Bill said, pointing to a small house beside him. "I see," Louis seemed to understand the reason as well. "Okay." The group went into the house Bill indicated. It was an ordinary dwelling, seemingly empty. They went inside, locked the doors and windows, and blocked them with heavy objects. "Keep your voices down," Bill said to everyone. "Everyone stay together. Don't go out alone." Night fell as expected, and the distinctive cries of zombies echoed from all around. In this environment, no one dared to breathe loudly, afraid of disturbing them. This truly was a city of death; the aura of death constantly surrounded them, sending chills down their spines. "You guys are really something..." Jerry looked at Francis and the others as if they were monsters.

"Wake up..." Zoe gently shook Jerry awake. "What's wrong?" Jerry asked, his eyes still tired and sleepy. "What happened?" "Shh..." Zoe put her index finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture. "Listen." "Hmm?" Jerry quietly sat up. He noticed that everyone else was already awake, each holding their weapons. The atmosphere seemed tense, as if they were ready for battle at any moment. Jerry quietly closed his eyes, carefully searching for any unusual sounds outside the room. It was extremely quiet outside. It was already late at night, and dawn was just around the corner. What could happen during this time when everyone should be resting? The bright moonlight shone through the thick clouds, slowly illuminating everyone's faces through the gaps in the windows. Suddenly, the roars of infected individuals filled the air. This wasn't the sound of ordinary zombies. "This is..." Jerry muttered to himself. But before he could react, he felt the ground tremble. It was as if a giant was running down the road; the entire earth trembled incessantly, and this trembling was getting closer and closer to the house where everyone was hiding. "...What do we do?" Jerry whispered, turning to look at Bill. "Mr. Bill, what do we do?" A hint of fear crept into Jerry's voice, and Bill gestured for them to stay still. They all remained motionless inside the house, their hands gripping their weapons, sweat dripping from tension. Francis slowly loaded his dagger. Everyone stared intently at the door, thinking that if it were breached, they would riddle the monster with bullets. Suddenly, the trembling stopped, and then slowly receded into the distance…

"Phew..." Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and gently put down their weapons. "Let's all rest a bit more. We have more important things to do tomorrow," Bill said to everyone. "We can't sleep anymore," Louis said. "We were terrified by that thing, how can we sleep?"

“Alright, let’s briefly go over tomorrow’s mission first.” Bill finished speaking and took out a map, the one he had taken from the ship. Bill spread the map on the floor under the moonlight. Everyone could still make out the things on the map. “Tomorrow, what we need to do is very simple,” Bill said softly. “Just go to the store, grab the items, and then escape safely with them.” Bill said calmly. “Although the mission is very short, it won’t be easy to do. Let’s divide the work now. Tomorrow, when we get into the supermarket, Francis and Louis will be one team, responsible for observing the situation outside the supermarket and security, and finding a car. Zoe and Jerry will be the other team, responsible for purchasing, and the two of them will take everything we need to the car. Then we’ll quickly move along the riverbank to where we’re moored. Does everyone understand?” “Understood.” Everyone said in unison. “Um… I have a question.” Jerry raised his hand and said. “What question, Jerry?” “Mr. Bill, what are you doing tomorrow?” Jerry asked softly. “Me? I have something more important to do.” After saying that, Bill smiled and waved his hand. "Meeting adjourned..." A soft ray of sunlight shone on Jerry's eyes, as if urging the painter to wake up. "Hmm?..." Jerry rubbed his eyes and sat up. "You're finally awake," Zoe said with a smile. "Wash your face..." Zoe said, then dampened a handkerchief and handed it to Jerry. Jerry took the handkerchief and wiped his face. He looked around and found that only Zoe was left. "Why are you alone? Where are Mr. Bill and the others?" Jerry asked. "They went to find a car first, and they'll be here soon. We need to find a way out, right?" Zoe said with a smile. "...Is that so?" Jerry stood up and looked out the window. The streets were deserted, not a single zombie in sight. It was as if light had dispelled the darkness; the roars of the zombies from last night seemed to have vanished without a trace. "There are very few zombies in the morning. As long as you don't disturb them, you'll hardly see any of them," Zoe said with a smile. “I see…” Jerry opened the tightly locked door, and sunlight seemed to break free of its restraints, flooding into the room and enveloping Jerry. Jerry paused for a moment, then walked outside… Not far away, Louis and Francis pushed an SUV towards them, trying their best to minimize the noise. They parked the SUV at the back door of the supermarket, opening the rear door to receive goods. “Done!” Francis gave Louis a thumbs-up in satisfaction. They turned around and saw Jerry and Zoe walking towards them. “Did the sun rise in the west today? So energetic so early in the morning? Why aren’t you slacking off?” Zoe said with a smile. Louis seemed a little annoyed. He said, "Tch, when have we ever slacked off? We've been working really hard, okay? Francis and I have checked the whole supermarket, and you guys were still sleeping!" Louis got more and more excited as he spoke, laughing, "I didn't even know you were sleeping..." "..." Jerry walked into the mall, but he felt a chilling feeling surrounding him. As soon as he entered, the air seemed to drop. Jerry whispered, "Who's there?" No one answered. The emptiness of the mall gave Jerry a creepy feeling.

Chapter 677 A New Crisis

On the other side, in the warehouse east of the church, two middle-aged men stood on the warehouse wall, chatting and smoking homemade cigarettes, seemingly oblivious to their duty as guards. Indeed, the weather was excellent, and it seemed like nothing had happened for a long time, leading to a lapse in vigilance. But in this tranquil setting, a group of fully armed men cautiously moved through the tall wheat field. Those in the warehouse were completely unaware. "Bang, bang..." Two gunshots shattered the calm, bringing tension back to the scene. With the gunshots, the two men on the wall fell to the ground... "Thump, thump, thump..." A series of hurried footsteps echoed in the stairwell. "Miss Tana! Miss Tana! Something terrible has happened!" Connor shouted, pounding on Tana's door. "Wh...what is it?" a woman's voice came from inside. "Miss Tana, **** and their gang are attacking us again!" Connor pounded on the door. “Miss Tana, please come out quickly!” “Oh…okay…oh! No!” The woman’s voice murmured. “I can’t go out today…I…I’m sick!” “What? You’re sick?!” Connor couldn’t believe his ears. Tana was sick at this crucial moment. “What’s wrong? Is it serious? Let me come in and take a look!” Connor said, and started turning the doorknob. “Why can’t I open it? Miss Tana, please open the door!” But inside, a woman in black sportswear was gripping the doorknob tightly, preventing Connor from entering. “I…I’m fine…it’s urgent, you should go first, don’t worry about me.” “Miss Tana! Never mind that! You have to go now!” Connor said, grabbing the woman without looking back and walking towards the door. “What? You want Anna to take your place in the church?” Louise shouted. “…How could you do this? Aren’t you the leader of the church? How could you so easily abandon your post?” “I think it should be fine. I’m only gone for a few days. At worst, I’ll apologize to everyone when I get back.” Tana said as she walked, shrugging her shoulders. “Anna was quite willing to help me too. She heard I was coming to see you.” “Wh…what…” Louis’s face seemed slightly flushed. “She specifically mentioned you, Louis.” Tana said with a smile. “Don’t let her kindness go to waste.” Just as the group was chatting and laughing again, Bill, who was leading the way, raised his right hand, signaling everyone to stop. Everyone immediately stopped, bent over, and took out their weapons. Louis walked to Bill’s side and whispered, “What’s wrong, old man?” “Shh!” The old man made a shushing gesture and pointed to the wheat field in the distance. It seemed that many people were moving around in it. The warehouse in the distance could be clearly seen by everyone. At this moment, two gunshots rang out. The two men on the warehouse fell to the ground with a thud… “Tana, it seems you miscalculated.” Bill looked at Tana. “Old man, what should we do?” Francis asked. “Let’s take it one step at a time. Let’s go check the church first!” Bill said to everyone. “Everyone stay close and don’t get lost.” After saying that, Bill walked into the wheat field… The church had been captured by ****Ai because of the leader’s sudden disappearance. Everyone was surrounded by fully armed men, their hands tied behind their backs. ****Ai had brought about 10 men, but it was these 10 men who captured the church, which was already in disarray. However, ****Ai’s face did not show the arrogance of a victor; instead, he was very frustrated. ****Ai stood upstairs and shouted to the people in the hall, “Tana! I want to know where Miss Tana is!” The hall was silent; no one spoke. “I’ll ask again! Where is Tana!” ****Ai took out his pistol and loaded it. Everyone in the hall was terrified as they watched ****Ai draw his pistol. "Bang! Bang!" ****Ai fired two shots at the ceiling. "Doesn't anyone know?" But the people in the hall seemed petrified, motionless and silent, no matter how much ****Ai shouted. Seeing that these people were unaffected by his threats, ****Ai whispered to his men downstairs. "Hank!" At that moment, a tall man walked into the crowd. He grabbed a child and lifted him up like a chick. The child struggled in the air, but fear made her cry. This crying was like bullets to the soul, constantly battering the people's mental defenses. "If you just tell me where Tana is, this child will be saved. But if you don't, this child will go to see your God!" Hank roared at the crowd. Under the huge cross of the church, it seemed as if a bloodbath was about to descend upon this sacred place. "One!" Hank counted. "Two!" The people in the hall began to stir. At this moment, Hank pulled out a pistol and pressed it against the child's head. "Three!" Hank shouted, and just as he was about to pull the trigger, a voice came from below. "I know where Miss Tana is!" Connor shouted. "What? You know where Tana is?" ****Ai's eyes widened instantly. He went downstairs and walked towards ****Ai. "Yes! I know where Miss Tana is!" Connor said confidently. "Good! Take us to her!" ****Ai said to Connor. "If you dare to play me, I'll blow your head off!" ****Ai said, pointing a pistol at Connor's head. "Go! You guys stay here and watch, Hank! You come with me!" After saying that, ****Ai led the man named Hank and two other people out... "What will they do to us? Will they kill us?" A little boy in the crowd asked Anna, who was also tied up, in a low voice. "Sister... do you know?" Anna looked at the boy, whose eyes were filled with fear and dread. Anna smiled and said, "It's okay, they won't do anything to us, believe me..." Anna slowly moved towards the boy. "Really?" The boy seemed to see hope, staring blankly at Anna and said. "You promise?" The boy leaned against Anna's arm. Anna, her hands bound, couldn't hug him, but she lowered her head and rested it on his. "Don't worry, I promise." "What do we do?" Louis asked softly, peering into the church at the bound people. "Old man, what should we do?" Bill frowned, his head bowed as if deep in thought. "Now everyone in the church is their hostage. If we act rashly, they might harm them."

Chapter 678 An Unexpected Turn of Events

“So what should we do?” Francis whispered. “We can’t just attack head-on; it seems we have to outsmart them.” Bill took out a monocular telescope from his backpack and peered into the church through it. He saw heavily armed guards both inside and outside the church. “There are about five of them,” Bill whispered. He moved the telescope to the side, and a modified van came into view. An idea suddenly flashed through Bill’s mind. “Well? Mr. Bill, do you have a plan?” Tana asked. “Yes,” Bill put the telescope back in his bag and stepped back. “There are about five of them, and a vehicle. I have a plan now, but it requires everyone’s cooperation.” “That’s no problem,” Tana said. “The plan is like this…” The group huddled together, discussing something. Ten minutes later, a figure suddenly appeared at the abandoned back door of the church. She tiptoed to the window at the back of the church and cautiously peeked out, observing everything inside. Then he quietly ran to the back of the van, took something out of his backpack and fiddled with it. "Okay," Tana muttered to herself, waving towards the rice paddies. She then quietly circled around to the other side of the church and hid under a window on the other side. Tana checked her watch. "10 seconds left." "5 seconds left." Tana stood up slightly, looked through the window at the church hall, and took out her pistol. "2 seconds." Tana cocked her pistol. A huge explosion rang out outside the church. A van was overturned by the shockwave, and a wave of heat swept over them. Instantly, the van was reduced to a pile of scrap metal, billowing black smoke. "What happened?" The guards inside the church were stunned by the explosion. "You two stay here, I'm going outside to check!" one of the guards said, running out. "What happened?" the man asked the guards outside the church. "Why did our car explode?" Before the man could even figure out what was happening, a window on one side of the church shattered. The ear-piercing sound of breaking glass and flying shards filled the church hall. Jerry, hiding in the wheat field, had shot it open with his pistol. "What happened now?" The two remaining men in the church immediately ran to the shattered window and peered out. "Damn it! Looks like an ambush. We'd better report to the commander!" The man pulled out a radio. "Commander! We've been ambushed! Come quick!" A moment later, a loving voice came through the radio. "Okay! We're coming right away! Tell us what's going on over there! How many are there?" "I don't know! Our car was blown up." Before the man could finish speaking, Tana, who had been hiding under the other window, immediately stood up. She smashed the glass with her elbow and fired at the two men. After two shots, they fell to the ground. At that moment, a panicked voice came through the radio: "What's wrong? What was that gunshot?" Tana jumped into the church through the window and slowly walked towards where the two men had fallen. Gunshots rang out outside the church. Bill and the others followed. "What happened? What's going on?" Ai kept asking over the radio as Tana picked up the dropped radio. "Your plan failed. We've retaken the church." The radio went silent for a while before Ai slowly said, "Tana, one day I'll catch you!" She then turned off the radio. "What happened?" asked the man named Hank. "The brothers inside the church are all dead. Let's retreat," Ai whispered. "What about this kid?" Hank pointed to Connor, whom they had brought out. "Let him go." Ai didn't even turn her head and walked straight east. Hank heard Ai's words and hurriedly asked, "Why are you letting him go back? They killed so many of our brothers!" "Let him go." Ai was already far away. "Tch," Hank frowned, a surge of resentment rising in his chest. He then said to Connor, "Kid, if you disappear from my sight on three, you live; otherwise..." Hank pulled out his pistol. "One!" Hank began counting. Connor heard him and immediately ran towards the church. "Heh," Hank chuckled. "Too weak, huh." "Three!" Suddenly, Hank skipped two and counted straight to three, then fired a shot into Connor's back. "Bang!" The bullet struck Connor squarely in the back, and Connor fell to the ground. "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Tana, supporting one of the stretcher bearers, quickly ran towards the second floor of the church. The people in the church watched from afar as Connor lay dying on the stretcher, silent and speechless, not uttering a single word, not even out of humanitarian concern. Perhaps this is the reality of people today? They've long since abandoned civilization, indifferent to those around them, only concerned with their own safety, completely disregarding the lives of others. Perhaps the world hasn't changed at all; only people's hearts have. Tana and Bill worked together to carry Connor upstairs. His face was as white as paper, as if he were dead. "Connor! You must hold on! I'll get the bullet out of you right now!" Tana then took out a medical kit. "What if we run out of anesthetic?" Tana stared at the empty medical kit, feeling incredibly tense. In this time of scarcity, even food and water were scarce, let alone medical care. "Connor, you have to hold on!" Tana said, extending her trembling hand and carefully probing the wound with tweezers. "Wait!" Zoe, standing nearby, called out to Tana. "What's wrong?" Tana immediately stopped. "Let me do it, Miss Tana. I studied clinical medicine in college, so I might know a thing or two," Zoe volunteered. "Are you sure you can do it?" Tana looked at Zoe. "Yes, I've helped with all of Louis's injuries," Zoe said confidently. "Okay, then you can do it." Tana breathed a sigh of relief and handed the tweezers to Zoe. Zoe heated the tweezers with a lighter first. "You need to disinfect them first, otherwise there will be an infection," Zoe carefully explained. To be continued...

Chapter 679 The Fierce Battle Begins

Autumn, the midday heat still lingered over the earth, the air outside felt dry, it must be almost wheat harvest season, right? The dry weather was perfect for wheat harvesting, a gentle breeze brought a refreshing coolness, and looking up, the sky seemed suddenly so vast. "…" Hank said to ****Ai, lying prone on the makeshift sandbag position built against the wall. "They're coming soon." Hank squinted. "Get ready." ****Ai beside him didn't dare to speak loudly, his nerves were taut, his hands gripping his weapon seemed to be constantly sweating. The medical station was now completely silent, but this silence inadvertently amplified the fear that everyone was trying so hard to hide… amplified… In the distance, on the path leading to the medical station, several vehicles appeared, about six in total. But these were different from ordinary vehicles; they had all been reinforced, their front and rear, windows, etc., were reinforced, even fitted with steel plates, making them look like mobile fortresses. Now they stopped on the road. They were probably discussing something. "What's wrong? Why did they stop?" people in the convoy asked in hushed tones. "Who knows...maybe they're deciding whether to come over or not," everyone whispered. Suddenly, the cars that had stopped started moving again, slowly heading towards them. "Tch..." **** Ai whispered to those around him. "Everyone, prepare for battle! They're coming!" The convoy had barely finished speaking when it stopped about twenty or thirty meters from the medical station. The lead car opened its sunroof. A man stuck his head out, holding a megaphone and shouting into the medical station, "Listen up, we're just passing through and would like to ask for your passage. Please don't drive over!" the man shouted loudly, his words amplified so that everyone in the medical station could hear him clearly. "Tch..." …“****Ai poked her head out, also holding a large megaphone, and shouted towards the other side. “Why are you going over there?!” ****Ai asked. “We heard from the people who came out that there’s food in the eastern suburbs of H City! We’re just here to find food. Please do us a favor, I’ll share some with you once we get the food!” “Heard? Haven’t you heard about this? That food is mine already! You people have no chance of getting it!” “…You want to eat it all yourself? Do you want us to rob you?” “Thank you.” Tana patted the little boy’s head and smiled. “It’s okay, sister.” The boy waved his hand with a smile. “By the way, do you know where everything here is?” Jerry asked the little boy. The boy searched carefully. “Hmm…I don’t know…now…” The medical station was empty. Everyone had gone to the outer positions. "What do we do?" Jerry whispered to Tana. "Let's search first, then we'll leave," Tana said softly, glancing out the window. "Looks like they might not make it today." "Let's search in the sex room; that's where they're most likely to hide something," Jerry said to Tana. "We need to hurry; Connor's condition can't be delayed any longer." "Yes, let's move out." The two then began searching the sex room floor by floor. Suddenly, Jerry seemed to have discovered something. "Tana, come quick! The sex room should be this one." Tana ran over to Jerry's side. The door was plain and unadorned, with no indication that it was the sex room. "Are you sure?" "Really?" Tana said, half-believing. "Of course, look..." Jerry opened the door, and the two went inside. It was an ordinary room, nothing special. A makeshift bed made of a few planks, a rickety table, and a small wooden chair were all that existed in the room. But it didn't look like a lovemaking room at all. "This is..." Tana said softly. She stared blankly at the things pasted on the wall. "This is..." "I told you this is a lovemaking room..." Jerry said to Tana with a smile. "Yes... indeed... it is..." Tana stared blankly at the things on the wall. There were photos pasted on the wall, and next to one of them were several photos of the three of them together, on a path covered with fallen red maple leaves, the maple leaves seeming to be a... A red carpet was laid out, and the three sat under a maple tree, seemingly pondering something. "This is..." Tana's voice trembled slightly. "He still kept it..." "Tana, hurry... hurry and find it... run while they're not looking." Jerry whispered to Tana. He then began rummaging through the room. "It should be under the window. That kid always hides things under the window, just like a little kid." With that, Jerry climbed down into the window. Tana stood motionless by the window, cautiously observing the outside world. "I say, why are you protecting those weaklings? In this world, only the strong survive, right? Please let us through." The man in the convoy continued to persuade Tana. "No, this can't go on..." ****Ai will let them pass, no! I have to go and inform the people in the church. But what should I do? Tana paced anxiously back and forth in the room. "No... I won't let you pass." ****Ai shouted. "I was once the governor, but when the virus came, I couldn't protect my citizens, and now I'm making amends for the mistakes I made. You absolutely cannot pass; if you want to pass, you'll have to step over my dead body!" "This is it!" The man held up a glass bottle in his hand, which gleamed brightly in the sunlight. "This is penicillin, a type of antibiotic. It's very hard to find now; we went through a lot of trouble to get it. Now I'm giving it to you as a gift." "Antibiotics!" ****Ai and Tana seemed to be in agreement. He uttered the term. "..." ****Ai was silent for a moment. "Alright, bring it here!" ****Ai said loudly. "Hehe..." The man chuckled. He said loudly, "Sir, where are you? I can't see you. Stand up so I can see you..." "What a hassle, I'm here!" ****Ai carefully stood up. "Bring it here!" "Hehe... even if I bring it, you're not worthy of it." The man then gently waved his raised right hand downwards. "Bang..." A sound rang out, something flying from nowhere, heading straight for the unsuspecting ****Ai. "Bang..." It struck ****Ai's arm directly. "Ah..." ****Ai was instantly knocked down by the enormous impact, falling from his makeshift position on the wall.

Chapter 680 Failure

The battle had begun, but it seemed unequal. The convoy, relying on the armor of their vehicles, relentlessly fired at the people on the wall, while the people on the wall couldn't penetrate the armor with their weapons. "What do we do?" one of them shouted, but before he could finish speaking, he was shot in the head and fell to the ground. "Sheriff... what do we do?" Hank walked to ****Ai's side and asked. "There's no other way, use that." ****Ai said to Hank. "Hmm..." Hank nodded and walked towards a spot by the wall. Seeing that the people on the wall were completely helpless against them, the convoy became unusually arrogant and bold. They lined up their vehicles to maximize their firepower, and they continued to advance, constantly putting psychological pressure on the people on the wall. "Tch... I thought they were so powerful. The rumors made them seem like myths, but in a real fight, they're just like that." "Those in the convoy seemed to see the dawn of victory, laughing and anticipating their impending triumph. Just then, the convoy was only about 20 meters from the wall, and those on the wall collectively ceased fire. 'Huh? Why did they stop firing? Are they surrendering?' one man laughed. 'What? Surrendering? We've only just begun. Hahahaha.' As the man laughed uncontrollably, suddenly many fireballs rained down from the wall. Like the flames of hell, they rained down on the convoy. 'Wh...what?' the man seemed unable to believe his eyes. 'What is this thing?' he shouted. Those on the wall had now completely ceased fire, each holding two glass bottles—made-up improvised explosive devices (IEDs). These IEDs were now causing immense suffering to those inside the vehicles. Gasoline, along with the flames, flowed from the firing ports into the vehicles, and one could almost hear the agonizing cries of pain 'shén yīn' from within. 'Tch...Notify the second squad, change strategy b. Now, on my command, all convoys charge towards the wall and ram it down!'" "That man shouted. Just as the people on the wall were cheering, someone shouted, "Oh no! Something's wrong! Another convoy has appeared on the highway in the distance!" "What?" Everyone couldn't believe their eyes. Sure enough, four fully armed convoys had appeared on the highway in the distance. These were definitely the companions of the convoy that was still belching black smoke in front of them. "Everyone, get ready! They're coming again!" Hank shouted to the people next to him. At this moment, the convoy, which was being consumed by flames, suddenly roared with the sound of engines. "This...this is impossible!" Hank stared blankly at the cars. "Boom!" The six cars suddenly rushed towards the wall, knocking it down. The people on the wall fell down one after another, and ****Ai, who was leaning against the wall, was buried under the collapsed rubble. "****Ai!" Tana witnessed everything in the room. She immediately ran downstairs. "Phew...finally found it. I didn't expect that ****Ai would hide it in a shoebox." Jerry slowly crawled out. "Tana...Tana...I found her." But when Jerry crawled out, he found himself alone in the room. "Huh? Where's Tana?" "Tana...you...how did you get here...run quickly, I'm here." "Don't be reckless! You'll only hurt yourself if you keep going like this!" Tana helped ****Ai up. Just then, Jerry arrived. "Tana...let's go! They're coming!" Jerry shouted to Tana. "It's okay...we've got the medicine." Jerry showed her a glass bottle. "Good that you got it..." ****Ai seemed relieved. With Tana's help, he led the remaining survivors slowly towards the medical station. "Where's Hank?" ****Ai suddenly realized someone was missing. He looked around but couldn't find Hank. Perhaps he died in the earlier conflict? No one had noticed. "Hurry up, they're coming." "Jerry kept urging ****Ai. "The entrance is in the basement..." ****Ai limped towards the basement. Opening the basement door, they found the group of children still there. "Sister, you're back." The little boy smiled at Tana. "What's going on outside? Why is it so noisy?" Tana smiled at the little boy. "Nothing, but we're leaving now. You'll come with us too." Tana nodded to ****Ai. ****Ai was helped to a corner where cardboard boxes were piled up. There was a rusty iron door there. ****Ai opened it and led everyone inside. "This place is so big..." Tana entered the space; it was very spacious. "This used to be an abandoned underground parking lot at the medical station. We found it and converted it into our backup escape route." "After saying that, everyone walked forward. But there was no light ahead, which meant there was no exit. Half-believing, they walked to the end, only to find that they were blocked by a huge wooden door. "What...what should we do?" Tana asked ****Ai. "There's...there's a button on the wall. That's how you open the sliding door. The old door was dilapidated and in disrepair, so we replaced it with a wooden one." ****Ai pressed the button. "Buzz..." The sound of a motor starting up reached everyone's ears. The wooden door slowly rose. Light from outside shone into the dark parking lot, dispelling the gloom in everyone's hearts. "Everyone, let's go!" ****Ai said to everyone. Then, in twos and threes, they crawled out from under the not-yet-fully-opened door. "We're saved..." everyone cheered with laughter. "It's our turn." "At this point, only Aya and Tana remained. Tana, supporting Aya, slowly walked towards the door. Just then, a violent explosion came from upstairs. The huge shockwave snapped the old ropes of the sliding door, and the heavy wooden door crashed down on the two unsuspecting people. "Tana!" Jerry looked at Tana in panic, but he could do nothing. Just as the door was about to hit Tana and the others, it suddenly stopped. "What happened?" Tana slowly opened her eyes. "Why did the door stop..." Just as Tana was puzzled, the door suddenly rose again. "Huh?" Tana looked behind her and saw a shirtless, exceptionally strong man using his hands to lift the falling wooden door. "Hank!" Aya shouted. "You... how did you get hurt? Hurry up and run with us!" "Hank! If you want to go, we'll go together! Don't do anything stupid!" "**** broke free from Tana's support and ran towards Hank. Just then, the convoy finally found their way and rushed towards them. 'Farewell,' Hank said with a slight smile."

Chapter 681 The Rampaging Black Phoenix

New Wakkada: After wandering through the universe, the zombie heroes have finally returned to Earth. Their goal is to go to another parallel world, which is clearly planned.

"Alright, guys. Now that we're on Earth, we have a chance to leave this universe and find another world with plenty of food." The zombie Ant-Man thought for a moment and said to those around him. Seeing his spirited appearance, the other zombie heroes felt good. After wandering the universe for so long, they finally had a way to leave.

"We just need to find a way to get in." King Flame frowned when he saw the energy defense shield here. Although they were strong enough to break through it, they would obviously lose the time machine here.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Black Panther, who was no longer a zombie, became anxious when he saw them approaching. After all, he was the king of this place, and he didn't want it to be destroyed.

After thinking for a moment, the zombie panther finally made up his mind. He raised his head and looked at the zombie hero opposite him, saying, "Hey, Ant-Man, Rhode. Wait a minute, I have something to say."

Black Panther's words left the surrounding zombie heroes bewildered. Ant-Man was the first to speak, "Black Panther, what are you going to do?"

"Are you here to watch us break through the defenses and destroy this place? This is the World Black Panther, everything from the past is destroyed. This is your kingdom, but we have the power to destroy it." Zombie Reed looked at the energy shield and said seriously, clearly confident in destroying the defenses.

"If you don't want to waste your time, we'll give you the time machine," he said.

“Okay, we agree. No problem.” The zombie ant-man thought for a moment and then replied.

Once the situation was confirmed, the zombie Black Panther said to the zombie Hawkeye beside him, "Alright, prepare to prevent them from attacking the people here."

"Alright, lower the energy defense tower!" Zombie Black Panther commanded. Upon hearing this, the latter lowered the energy defense tower as ordered. However, when Zombie Black Panther saw the eerie smiles on the faces of the zombie heroes outside, he seemed to understand something and quickly stopped them, saying, "No, Hawkeye can't let them in."

"It's too late, Black Panther. There's nothing you can do about it. We're already completely inside." The zombie Ant-Man looked at the zombie Black Panther and sneered. He had suffered a loss at Tang Tian's hands, and he wanted to get revenge.

"What's going on? You've changed your minds. Are you afraid we'll kill you, or what? What's wrong with you?" They were almost successful, but Black Panther's sudden change of mind greatly displeased Zombie Rhode. So he roared at Black Panther, his tone filled with murderous intent. They were both famous superheroes, so it wasn't good for them to be outmaneuvered like this.

"Was your coming here part of the plan?" The zombie ant-man wasn't angry, but said seriously. The current situation was very unfavorable for them, and they had other things on their minds.

"Hey, I have to say, Black Panther, your plan was very successful. We did have a plan." The zombie Ant-Man also revealed a cold smile, slowly clenching his fist, and said coldly, clearly he still had other plans.

"What?" The zombie black panther was immediately surprised, and he was quite taken aback when he saw the zombie Rhodes.