Marvel's Death Merchant

Chapter 193 A New Journey

Because Rick and his group were heading to the CDC east of Atlanta, and after failing to reach the CDC, they turned south and set their sights on Fort Benning.

Jieliang didn't want to have anything to do with them anymore, so he headed north. His solitary journey and aimless wandering began. Suddenly, Jieliang felt the air itself become free, a sense of boundless freedom welling up within him.

"Oh ho!" Akira shouted excitedly.

Kenneth, who was disassembling a gun nearby, heard Jie Liang's excited shouts and couldn't help but shake his head, saying, "You're so excited! Looks like you were born to be a wanderer!"

"I just smelled the scent of freedom!" Jie Liang explained with a smile. "No more worrying about other people's future, thinking carefully about what I say, striving to make the team more cohesive, trying to avoid casualties, and striving to make the team stronger!"

"I also need to try to follow or change the plot," Akara added to himself.

“I don’t need to anymore!” Jie Liang said with a relaxed smile. “From now on, I only need to work hard for myself! Oh, and you too!”

"Thanks!" Kenneth packed up the gun, tested it, and then said irritably, "I'm not a burden!"

The two drove north along the highway and suddenly saw a bakery by the roadside.

Jie Liang told Kenneth to stop the car. It was a small town not far from Atlanta, with only a few houses scattered along the roadside, suggesting a sparse population. But despite being on a major thoroughfare, it had several restaurants and a medium-sized shopping center.

"Fantastic! Few people, few zombies, but plenty of supplies!" Jie Liang jumped out of the car and headed towards the bakery. "Can you bake bread? I bet there's plenty of ingredients here!"

A body lay dead in the bakery, struck in the head. The body had been dead for a long time; it was severely decomposed and swarming with flies.

As soon as Jie Liang entered, he was choked by the stench of the corpse and quickly ran out, leaving the bakery door open to let in some fresh air.

"You'd better not go in!" Jie Liang said to Kenneth, somewhat embarrassed.

Two minutes later, Jie Liang figured the smell in the shop should be about right. So he grabbed a shovel from outside, forced himself to suppress his nausea, and dragged the corpse outside, throwing it far away. Then he stepped into the bakery.

The bakery was completely empty; it would be strange if anyone were there. Jie Liang searched the bakery carefully; there were no zombies or other rotting corpses inside, making it perfectly safe.

Mustard found several bags of flour inside. There was also some dry yeast, sugar, and other seasonings. Kenneth and Mustard loaded all of this onto the truck together.

They then searched other restaurants, clearing out everything still edible. During this time, they encountered several zombies, all of whom they easily defeated.

The two then set their sights on the town's shopping center.

The shopping mall was deserted, and the shelves inside were overturned and disheveled, as if they had been swept by a storm.

Jie Liang and Kenneth first grabbed a few large backpacks and then began a shopping spree—the kind where you don't have to spend any money. Food, drinks, medicine, all sorts of daily necessities… the two filled several large backpacks to the brim. They put them back in the car. Then they went to the second floor of the shopping center. The second floor displayed all sorts of tools, appliances, furniture, home textiles, and even a gun section.

The two men emptied the entire stock of the firearms section, including twenty-five shotguns, eleven sniper rifles, eight double-barreled shotguns, thirty-three pistols of various types, and thousands of rounds of ammunition of various models.

Jie Liang also unexpectedly found an M500 revolver, which is chambered in .0.50 caliber, or 12.7 mm! Because the bullets were too large, the revolver's magazine capacity was reduced from six rounds to five, and its power was twice that of the famous Desert Eagle!

This is a gun specifically designed for hunting large prey; even when slaughtering lions or tigers, a second shot is absolutely unnecessary! Jie Liang even found two hundred .0.50 pistol rounds! Faced with such a valuable item, Jie Liang naturally had no choice but to take it for himself.

Next, Jie Liang led Kenneth to the furniture and textiles section. He planned to find two good mattresses to use as beds during the trip, as well as some sheets, blankets, towels, and the like.

The two were choosing a mattress when suddenly a zombie staggered out of the office area of ​​the shopping mall.

The zombie, clearly attracted by the sounds of the two searching, bared its teeth and claws and charged towards them. Jie Liang stopped Kenneth from aiming, and with a smile, pulled out the M500 he had just acquired.

With a loud "bang!", a huge recoil came from the M500. Jie Liang casually flicked his wrist, turning the force in the opposite direction. The muzzle rose and then fell, the bullet being flung out of the muzzle and heading straight for the zombie's nose.

With a loud "thud," the zombie's head shattered like a watermelon. The headless body was thrown backward and crashed straight to the ground, falling into eternal silence.

"Ha!" The two couldn't help but laugh out loud, marveling at the power of the gun.

Just then, another zombie appeared at the entrance to the office area, followed by two, three, four... countless zombies poured out of the office area!

Jie Liang and his companion exchanged a glance, quickly grabbed two blankets from the shelf, and turned to flee towards the first floor of the shopping mall.

At this moment, scattered zombies began to appear on the first floor of the shopping mall, as if all the zombies in the town had gathered here.

Kenneth Akira relentlessly killed the walkers blocking their path. Akira reloaded his M9 twice during this time, and the two of them killed over forty walkers in total—and that was only those directly blocking their way. If it weren't for Akira's superb marksmanship and his ability to reload in seconds, the two would have been surrounded and killed by the walkers.

The two escaped the shopping mall, quickly got into their car, and sped away from the town with their loot.

The shopping mall behind it resembled a terrifying monster, spewing out endless zombies that chased after the departing truck, gradually filling the entire road.

The two people in the car were still a little scared. They were isolated and helpless. Encountering a large number of zombies in the enclosed space of a shopping mall was really too deadly.

"Looks like we'll have to be more careful next time!" Jie Liang said, somewhat annoyed. "We shouldn't have fired that shot; it was too reckless!"

"Thank goodness, we escaped. Isn't that a great success?" Kenneth comforted Jie Liang with a helpless smile.

Jieliang waved his hand and stopped talking, then focused on driving.

Over the next few days, the two traveled during the day and slept on their seats when they were tired at night. They changed routes several times due to traffic jams, but never deviated from their general direction. The two were skilled and daring, robbing any valuable targets along the way. They would stop to rest when they reached scenic spots, kill any zombies they encountered, and escape when there were too many zombies. The back of the truck gradually became full.

Jie Liang's combat experience grew increasingly rich, allowing him to deal with the zombies with increasing ease and avert numerous crises. (To be continued...)

Chapter 194 Storm and Rain

In one place, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and torrential rain poured down, plunging the world into darkness.

A van with its headlights on was driving on the road.

Raindrops pattered against the car roof, and with the windows closed, the interior became extremely stuffy.

While wiping away his sweat, Jie Liang carefully watched the road conditions. The rain was so heavy that if he accidentally overturned, he would basically be dead in this dangerous world.

"With this heavy rain, perhaps we should stop the car and rest. Continuing to drive like this is too dangerous," Kenneth suggested to Jie Liang, looking at the heavy rain outside.

“We need to find a safe place to spend the night; it’s getting dark soon!” Jie Liang replied, his eyes fixed on the road.

Ahead, a large bridge was faintly visible in the rain.

"Look to the left!" Kenneth suddenly said to Jie Liang.

Upon hearing this, Jie Liang looked to the left through the hazy car window and saw a huge European-style building vaguely standing behind the roadside forest.

Jie Liang stopped the car and asked Kenneth, "Where are we now?"

“We’ve been heading north, but today we turned and are now heading slightly south due west. If I remember correctly, this should be part of Lake Aletuna!” Kenneth guessed.

"Ah! A lake! Doesn't that mean there's plenty of water, delicious fish, and few zombies?" Jie Liang said longingly. "What do you think that building is for? A school? A hotel? Or a rich person's mansion?"

“Perhaps we could go check it out, take shelter from the rain, and spend the night there,” Kenneth said, frowning. “There aren’t usually large numbers of zombies in this kind of rural area!”

Jieliang nodded in agreement, started the truck again, turned around, and drove onto the path leading to the house.

As they approached the house, Akira carefully turned off his headlights and slowed down.

It was an old-fashioned building, like a mansion belonging to some family.

A patterned cast-iron gate and high walls surround the house. The white building, constructed entirely of stone, appears to be at least a century old. It's three stories high, with nine windows on each floor. The three central windows form a large portico and balconies on the second and third floors. Each floor is nearly four meters high, with a flat top topped with railings, clearly indicating an open-air terrace for relaxation. Judging by its size, this house is indeed quite large.

“It’s like a castle. There are very few people here, and the owner of the house is probably still alive,” Jie Liang said, squinting.

"The lights aren't on, are they?" Kenneth said dismissively.

"Perhaps they're afraid of attracting zombies," Jie Liang speculated. "Do you think we should go in and take a look?"

The house stood alone in the heavy rain, gloomy and silent. It looked like a house from an early Hollywood horror movie, inhabited by terrifying monsters, waiting for the arrival of a lonely traveler.

“Sturdy, huge, lakeside—this is an ideal refuge!” Kenneth said, looking at Jie Liang with obvious interest.

So Jieliang got out of the car and braved the heavy rain to check the gate of the mansion's courtyard. The gate was tightly chained and locked from the inside with a large padlock, looking like it hadn't been opened for many days. Jieliang had a bad feeling.

He got back into the car and shook his head at Kenneth: "It's locked from the inside! The lock is big, and the chain is thick; maybe only an M500 can open it! I can't guarantee that the loud noise won't attract any attention!"

“This is the wilderness, there’s nothing here! Do you think there would be anyone in the house?” Kenneth said seriously.

"The lock hasn't been opened in a long time. If someone is there, they're probably in grave danger," Jie Liang said, offering his guess.

“Then what are we waiting for? We can do anything!” Kenneth said with a smile after loading his pistol, seemingly determined to spend the night in the house.

That's true. The two of them had been living like homeless people in their car for several days, and the thought of having a bed in this house made Jie Liang feel utterly exhausted.

Without further hesitation, Jie Liang returned to the gate, pulled out his M500, and fired a shot at the weakest point of the lock. The loud gunshot echoed through the silent forest, making Jie Liang feel a sense of unease.

Jie Liang untied the iron chain wrapped around the gate, pushed it open, and looked at it. The hinges hadn't been oiled for a long time, and the creaking sound made people feel a little creeped out.

Jie Liang looked around uncomfortably, tightened his rain-soaked clothes, and exhaled a puff of white mist. He shook his head to reassure himself and returned to the car.

The truck slowly drove into the courtyard. In front of the mansion was a rectangular fountain pool, filled with rainwater.

Akira drove the car directly into the porch along the ramp. The two got out of the car; Akira smoothed his wet hair back, while Kenneth stretched wearily.

The two heavy solid wood doors were tightly closed. Jie Liang turned the doorknob and locked them.

Kenneth quickly drew his pistol, aimed at the door lock, and pulled the trigger.

A gunshot rang out, and fragments of the door lock flew everywhere.

With the lock gone, the previously closed door suddenly opened wide!

A dense horde of zombies suddenly burst out of the door! They were only a few steps away from the two of them!

Kenneth was completely stunned; he hadn't expected such an unexpected thing.

Jie Liang's scalp tingled. No matter how powerful he was, he would definitely not escape death if he were suddenly surrounded by so many zombies.

Suddenly struck by this calamity, Akira's heart began to pound wildly, and adrenaline surged, elevating his strength, speed, and mental reflexes to new heights.

Jie Liang quickly grabbed Kenneth, abandoned the car, and frantically fled into the courtyard. The horde of zombies gave chase, following closely behind into the courtyard.

When the mansion finally stopped vomiting zombies, the group had grown to sixty or seventy in number.

Ji Liang was overwhelmed by immense fear; this was the first time he had been so panicked since he gained his superpowers.

The zombies were chasing them so closely that if they stopped for even a moment, they would face the danger of being overwhelmed, forcing the two to flee frantically towards the gate of the courtyard.

The gate was getting closer and closer; the hope of escape was within reach.

As long as they can escape the courtyard, there is still hope. With the help of the terrain and the interconnected roads, the two of them can easily scatter the horde of corpses and then eliminate them separately.

Finally, the two escaped to the gate.

Just as Jie Liang and his companion were about to rush out of the courtyard, they suddenly discovered in despair that the area outside the gate was now littered with zombies!

The zombies spotted Jie Liang and Kenneth charging towards them and swarmed towards them like mosquitoes attracted to blood.

The two were trapped between zombies in front and behind them, with no way out!

The zombies swarmed around them completely! In the next second, the two of them would undoubtedly be torn to pieces. This place was a death trap, a place where they would have no chance of survival.

In the midst of the storm, Jie Liang may only have two choices: survive and find the purpose of his arrival, or die. Jie Liang faces his most dangerous crisis, a test from the virtual world, a test similar to the one Leon is in. (To be continued...)