Shi Henian informed everyone that a large number of zombies were gathered ahead. The group immediately stopped their banter and looked towards Mingyue in unison.
"Whether they are targeting us or not, we have to go and see. This is the only road to Yuncheng. You all stay here and remain in the vehicle. I will go and scout the situation. Be quiet in the car, remember not to make any noise that might alert the zombies. After the environmental changes, any zombies that survived have had their levels increased. If they can gather like this, there must be a Zombie King among them. Everyone be careful."
Looking at the sheer cliffs on both sides of the road outside the vehicle, Mingyue calmly arranged their actions. Mingyue usually didn't bother with trivial matters; those were decided by Ji Shiyou, and she was too lazy to manage them. However, when a major crisis arose, her decisiveness and ruthlessness would immediately become apparent. Everyone knew that Mingyue's abilities far surpassed theirs, and they raised no objections to her decisions. After making arrangements, Mingyue glanced at Ji Shiyou, signaling him to be careful, then opened the car door and stepped out of the transformed vehicle.
They had entered the deep mountains since yesterday. Ji Shiyou had mentioned that this area was called Mangshan. The mountain road was steep, with only one path through, which was the only route to Yuncheng. Due to the environmental changes, most plants had died, with only a few resilient ones still clinging to life, their sparse green dots scattered amidst the desolate landscape.
Mingyue walked forward along the road. After rounding a bend, she immediately concealed herself behind a large rock by the roadside. Below the road, she saw over a thousand zombies, most of them level three, with some level four and a few high-level level five zombies. The zombies were gathered in a mountain valley, and the area connecting to the road had a gentler slope, with a small path leading down. The valley floor was flat, with a few houses. Around them were large bamboo mats, wooden frames, and tea leaves. It appeared to have been a tea farmer's settlement before the apocalypse.
However, in front of the houses, a group of people was gathered, looking fearfully at the zombies surrounding the valley. Among them were ability users and ordinary people, with large vehicles beside them. They were likely from a survivor base or an ability user team out collecting supplies or on a journey. What puzzled Mingyue was that there were less than a hundred people in the valley, and half of them were ordinary people. The zombies surrounding the valley numbered over a thousand, yet they were not attacking, merely encircling the valley. Whether they were awaiting orders or had some reservations, this piqued Mingyue's interest in the people within the valley.
She concentrated her mind and used the witchcraft skill "Heavenly Sight, Earthly Hearing" to investigate the situation. This was a magical witchcraft that allowed one to see and hear things from a great distance as if being there. However, the range of detection was limited by the caster's cultivation. With Mingyue's current cultivation, she could extend Heavenly Sight, Earthly Hearing up to five thousand meters, and the distance to the group in the valley was within this range.
"How did they get here?"
As the scene in the valley appeared before Mingyue's eyes, she was filled with confusion. She saw Lou Yuyu, whom she had encountered in Linhai City. She wondered, wasn't he from the Vermillion Bird Base? How did he end up here? When she saw everyone clearly, she was even more shocked because she saw even more familiar faces: He Si and his family of three. It made sense; when they had encountered He Si and the others following the Fierce Tiger Team, they were on their way to join the Vermillion Bird Base, so it was normal to be with Lou Yuyu. However, He Si and his family were all ordinary people; why had they traveled so far from the base to Mangshan? Mingyue couldn't understand.
She was unaware that shortly after Shi Henian escaped the Vermillion Bird Base, and when He Si and his family had just arrived, they were attacked by a zombie horde. Furthermore, since Qingying had absconded with most of the Vermillion Bird Base's weapons and supplies, the Vermillion Bird Base had been destroyed. The base leader, Bu Shenghan, relying on his mutated ability and level five ice cultivation, had fought his way out. He led the survivors of the Vermillion Bird Base, along with the remaining supplies, and escaped. However, with the Vermillion Bird Base in ruins, Bu Shenghan decided to seek refuge with his cousin, Bu Ying. During the zombie siege, all ability users were required to fight on the front lines. Consequently, the ability users of the Fierce Tiger Team all perished at the hands of the zombies. He Si and his family, however, survived due to their status as ordinary people. They were fortunate to escape the Vermillion Bird Base with Bu Shenghan. He Si and his family had no abilities, but He Si could drive and was assigned to drive the supply vehicles. Ren Youbei and her daughter had no special skills and were assigned to do manual labor, enduring hardship daily. But after a few days, the mother and daughter were moved to an off-road vehicle and had nothing to do. This was because He Shi had resorted to her old tricks and climbed into Bu Shenghan's bed. He Si did not approve of his stepdaughter's actions, but no one listened to him, so he had to let it be.
Now, Bu Shenghan was filled with regret. He shouldn't have been soft-hearted and brought these burdensome ordinary people along. If they hadn't been dragging him down and insisted on resting here, they wouldn't have been surrounded by so many zombies in the valley.
"Lou Yuyu, select some people from these burdens to act as bait, attract the zombies' attention, and prepare for a breakout!" Bu Shenghan called Lou Yuyu over and anxiously issued the order. The ability users could not be lost; they were his future foundation. Only ordinary people would be sacrificed.
"I'm not going! You're sending us to our deaths! I'm not going!" Among the ordinary people chosen was He Si. After hearing Lou Yuyu's instructions, he immediately understood. They were being used as cannon fodder, so he ignored the surrounding zombies and started to protest, refusing to cooperate with Lou Yuyu's arrangements.
"Are you looking for death? If you alert the zombies, none of us will survive. We brought you out of the Vermillion Bird Base. Could you have survived without our protection? All along, you've eaten our food and drunk our water. Now it's time for you to repay the base. Shut up, don't make a sound, or I'll kill you right now!" Seeing the situation spiraling out of control and fearing that the zombies might be alerted, Lou Yuyu first shot out a wooden spike, pinning the most vocal person to the ground, and then began to threaten them. The protesting people immediately fell silent and stopped talking.
"Idiot, do you want to get us all killed? Killing someone? The smell of blood will excite the zombies." Bu Shenghan flashed past like the wind, waved his hand at the person impaled by the wooden spike, and instantly froze the body as blood flowed out. He then turned and slapped Lou Yuyu.
"Boss, I was wrong!" Lou Yuyu also realized his mistake; he had been careless and almost caused a major disaster. Bu Shenghan ignored Lou Yuyu and stared intently at the ordinary people, saying nothing. However, he activated his ice ability, and a biting cold permeated their bones, enveloping them.
"Youbei, Shishi, please beg for me! I don't want to die! For the sake of family, help me!" He Si knew that Bu Shenghan's intention was clear: if they didn't obey, they would be frozen to death. He suddenly saw He Shi and her mother watching the commotion from the side and, like seeing a lifeline, he hurried over and whispered his plea.
"Old He, don't make it difficult for us. You must obey orders. This is the command of Leader Bu. How dare we speak up? Don't harm us." Seeing He Si approaching them, Ren Youbei quickly retreated, cautiously glancing at Bu Shenghan, afraid of causing trouble for herself. She feared that if Bu Shenghan became displeased, he might send her to be bait to lure zombies.
"Why are you wasting your breath with him? You're about to die. Stay away from us. You're not my real father. Your daughter is He Mingyue. Go find her if you have something to say." With a disdainful glance at He Si, He Shi pulled Ren Youbei away, keeping a significant distance from He Si. Tears welled up in He Si's eyes, and his heart ached. He had raised He Shi for over ten years, treating her as his own child. She had treated Mingyue badly enough, but now she said such things. Over the years, he had listened to Ren Youbei's every word, never expecting such an outcome.
"Leader Bu, I quit the Vermillion Bird Base. I am no longer a member of the Vermillion Bird Base. I will be responsible for my own life and death and will not obey your arrangements." He Si's heart was broken, and he was ready to face death, but he did not want his life to be dictated by others.
"You want to quit? As if! You've been protected by us for so long, and now when you're needed, you want to quit? There's no such easy thing! I think you're just asking for a beating!" Lou Yuyu, who had been left aside, was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it. Hearing He Si's words, a vine appeared in his hand, and he lashed out at He Si. Bu Shenghan didn't want to see blood, so using a vine to strangle He Si to death should be acceptable, right?