Chapter 223 - 133: Aberrant Beast

Chapter 223: Chapter 133: Aberrant Beast

It was a very professional formation. Xu Mo nodded in agreement.

The two of them reported their departure at the registration desk. Then, one after the other, they walked out of the assembly point plaza and onto the abandoned county road stretching east.

The summer wilderness held a peculiar silence. The roar of the distant construction site had faded to a low background hum, and the only other sound was the occasional rustle of wind through the withered yellow weeds by the roadside.

The land on either side of the road had once been farmland, but now, after being harvested and burned, it was a desolate expanse. You could still see charred crops in some places.

Zhang Yun’s steps were steady and vigilant. Every few dozen meters, she would stop to observe the road ahead and to their flanks with her binoculars. Xu Mo followed ten meters behind, also staying alert.

The two hardly spoke. The only sound was the periodic reports from other patrol groups coming over the walkie-talkie.

"C-3, Point A, all clear."

"C-5, Point D, five wandering zombies spotted. They’ve been cleared."

After walking about a kilometer, Zhang Yun stopped by a collapsed billboard and signaled for Xu Mo to come over.

"This is our first official observation point, Point A on the map," Zhang Yun said in a low voice, pointing ahead. "From here, you can see five hundred meters down the road, as well as the abandoned lumber mill on the left."

Xu Mo raised his binoculars. The road ahead stretched out straight, the cracks and potholes on its surface clearly visible. Of the lumber mill to the left, only a few concrete pillars and rusted steel frames remained. The factory grounds were overgrown with weeds taller than a man. As he slowly panned the binoculars, he saw several slowly moving figures—zombies. There were about seven or eight of them, scattered throughout the grounds, wandering aimlessly.

"Old residents," Zhang Yun said, also raising her binoculars. "They were there when I came last week. The number hasn’t changed. As long as we don’t provoke them, they won’t leave that area."

"Why not clear them out?" Xu Mo asked.

"No need," Zhang Yun said, lowering her binoculars. "Clearing out zombies in a fixed area like that requires organizing a team, consumes ammunition, and carries the risk of injury. As long as they don’t actively threaten the main road or the construction site, we leave them be for now."

’A pragmatic assessment.’ Xu Mo nodded and took out his walkie-talkie. "G-2, Point A. A small number of stationary zombies spotted. No threat. All clear."

"Command copies."

The two continued forward.

The rest of the journey was relatively calm. They only encountered a few lone zombies wandering by the roadside, all of which Zhang Yun dispatched with Cold Weapons, her movements clean and efficient. Bullets were a precious commodity for survivors, not to be wasted.

After walking about another kilometer, Zhang Yun stopped on a small hillock, and Xu Mo followed her up.

Standing on the hillock, Xu Mo looked around. The view was excellent, offering a good vantage point of the distant scenery. It was a suitable spot to rest and keep watch.

Removing her backpack, Zhang Yun took out a water bottle and handed Xu Mo a compressed biscuit wrapped in wax paper.

"Ten-minute break."

Xu Mo took the biscuit, leaned against a rock, and pulled out his own water bottle. They ate in silence, their eyes scanning the surrounding wilderness.

"Were you in the military?" Xu Mo suddenly asked.

Zhang Yun paused mid-sip and glanced at him. "How could you tell?"

"Your movements, your habits, and the condition of that Type 56 carbine," Xu Mo said. "An ordinary survivor would have a hard time keeping a rifle that well-maintained."

Zhang Yun was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "Discharged three years ago. Before the cataclysm, I worked for a local government department. A reservist, you could say."

"So what brings you to this mission?"

Zhang Yun gave a bitter smile, one filled with complex emotions. "I used to operate with a team, but a while ago, my team... they’re gone now."

She paused, seeming to decide whether to continue. Xu Mo didn’t press her, just waited quietly.

"Eight of us," Zhang Yun finally said, her voice hoarser than before. "The eight of us came to Jiang City together. We came from the north, spent over two months on the road. Our captain was a retired scout, the vice-captain was a former firefighter, and we had two construction workers, a doctor, a high school student, a supermarket security guard, and me."

She tightened the cap on her water bottle, her gaze fixed on the distance. "We worked well together. The journey was hard, but we all made it through. After arriving in Jiang City, we registered as a survivor team and took on clearing and scouting missions. We didn’t earn many Contribution Points, but it was enough for the eight of us to rent a small courtyard on the border between the inner and outer city and live a stable life."

"A while ago, we took a C-rank mission. Word was there were a lot of supplies there, but it was also crawling with zombies."

Zhang Yun’s tone was calm, but Xu Mo could hear the suppressed emotion underneath.

"We made preparations, brought enough ammo and explosives. It went smoothly at first. We cleared a few dozen zombies on the perimeter and entered the warehouse district. But in Warehouse Three..." She took a deep breath. "We ran into *that thing*. It was too fast, so fast you could only see a shadow. The first one to fall was the high school student. He was watching our rear. All we heard was a short, sharp scream. When we turned around, he was already on the ground, his throat half torn out."

"An Agile Mutant Zombie," Xu Mo said gravely.

"Right." Zhang Yun nodded. "We only found out later it was a Tier-1 zombie. At the time, we didn’t know; we just thought it was a particularly fast one. The captain ordered us to focus fire, but we couldn’t hit it at all. It darted between the shelves like a ghost. The vice-captain tried to block its path with explosives, but just as he pulled out the detonator, he was tackled from the side... The doctor tried to save him but ended up getting dragged away, too."

Zhang Yun’s speech quickened, her fingers unconsciously stroking the body of her rifle. "The five of us who were left stood back-to-back, firing wildly. We ran out of bullets, but the thing was still there. Old Li swung his shovel and charged, trying to buy us some time. He didn’t even last ten seconds..."