This was an ancient city pierced through its center by a great river. After repairs, it looked brand new. High stilt bamboo houses lined both sides of the river, extending outward into ordinary gray-walled, black-tiled homes. At first glance, it evoked the misty charm of Jiangnan, but upon closer inspection, it did not quite match—it clearly possessed its own unique riverside beauty.
The vehicle skirted around the outside of the city, and the further in they went, the more zombies they could see. The group decided to head directly to Deer Cry Mountain upstream along the great river.
It was a low mountain with a pavilion built at its peak. Though not tall, it was just sufficient to overlook the ancient city.
The sky had just brightened, and the morning mist was thick, carrying dampness with every breath. One side of the mountain path was a sheer cliff face, the other the scenery of the ancient city.
Bai Chen Zhu rested his arm on the car window, gazing at the ancient city below. He could vaguely make out dense swarms surging in some areas and scattered moving dots like black sesame seeds in others.
He remembered something and pulled out a crumpled promotional map of the ancient city. His fair fingers, long accustomed to office work, pointed to Deer Cry Mountain. “From upstream to downstream, four bridges were built: Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon. The downstream area has the most zombies. We need to proceed carefully.”
“With big bro here, what’s there to fear!” Bai Tao declared confidently from the back seat, clapping her hands eagerly. “In a bit, Bro Bai can scout the fragment’s location, then we go grab it and leave right away! After that, we can head to the last place!”
“Oh man, gives me goosebumps all over.” Tang Zhao had been craning his neck to look outside but pulled his head back upon hearing this. “Those mutants moving like sesame seeds—my trypophobia is acting up.”
As they spoke, the vehicle reached the mountaintop. A gazebo stood there, and they parked in front of it. Everyone got out and stood at the peak, looking down.
“Wow!” Bai Tao bent at the waist, shielding her eyes from the glaring sunlight as she peered downward. The river flowed slowly, its surface shimmering with light. She exclaimed in awe, “So beautiful!”
Tang Zhao pointed to the side. “Take a look at the zombies by the riverbank. Where’s the beauty in that?”
“Eww~” Bai Tao made a disgusted sound.
Zhou Zhuo Hua found the sunlight too glaring and covered her eyes for a moment before slowly climbing out of the vehicle. She looked around and asked Bai Chen Zhu, “Is the view from here sufficient? Isn’t the range a bit too wide? Maybe we should check the surrounding hilltops as well.”
Bai Chen Zhu stepped forward.
Jiang Ye stood behind him with arms crossed and asked as well, “You try it first?”
“Mm.” Bai Chen Zhu pressed two fingers to his forehead. If anyone could see mental entities, they would have witnessed countless mental threads emerging from his body at that moment, flying toward the ancient city.
The silvery threads pierced through the glazed roof of the nearest Wind Bridge, crossed the verdant river surface, and weaved into the streets.
Stray mutants sensed the fluctuations of mental power. They opened their bloody maws, howling at each other as they lunged at the air—needless to say, they hit nothing.
The ancient city spanned too vast an area, and the mental power drained more the farther the threads extended.
Time passed bit by bit. Apart from Bai Chen Zhu, who continued probing, the others gradually relaxed and began seeking shady spots to rest.
The surroundings were open and empty, so they had no need to worry about mutant attacks.
Even so, Jiang Ye stayed by Bai Chen Zhu’s side while the others went to rest under the trees near the vehicle. Tang Zhao climbed a tree to pick fruit, while Bai Tao and Zhou Zhuo Hua waited below.
When the mental threads passed over Flower Bridge, Bai Chen Zhu sensed something amiss.
A familiar mental power appeared in his perceptual field, moving at an inconceivable speed!
It was so fast that Bai Chen Zhu could only vaguely sense its thick concentration. Before he could ponder what the lingering afterimage of mental power meant, that mental power had already crossed over Wind Bridge.
Where had it gone?
Wait—this direction… it was heading toward Deer Cry Mountain!
Bai Chen Zhu finally perceived that it was a peculiar zombie racing toward them at a speed he could scarcely track!
Just as he prepared to warn the others, he heard Bai Tao’s scream precede his own. “It’s a zombie!”
A strange roar erupted abruptly, accompanied by the dull thuds of combat.
“A’Zhu!”
Bai Chen Zhu’s eyes snapped open. The sound of claws piercing flesh rang right beside his ear, and warm blood splattered across his face.
A giant with an ashen face stood before him, its shadow engulfing them. Its claws had pierced through Jiang Ye’s right shoulder.
It was enormous, like a small mountain, with knotted muscles and a ferocious visage. A pair of murky gray eyes locked onto Bai Chen Zhu. His pupils contracted sharply, and all the mental threads retracted, striking at the giant’s head with full force.
As if it could sense his mental power, the giant withdrew its claws and executed several backflips, leaving afterimages in midair. In the next second, it sprang onto the roof of the vehicle.
Its force was tremendous; its hind legs caved in the car roof with ease. Still unsatisfied, it leaped in place, slamming down repeatedly until the vehicle groaned under the weight and collapsed to the ground.
Zhou Zhuo Hua drew her gun, swiftly aiming at the giant with cold, sharp eyes.
The bullets sank into the giant’s body. It howled, stood atop the crushed vehicle, and glared viciously at the group.
“My car!” Bai Tao cried out anxiously, charging forward with Tang Zhao to slay the mutant.
Bai Chen Zhu supported Jiang Ye, who leaned against his back. He heard Jiang Ye’s pained breaths and rising body temperature.
Everything had come too suddenly and too quickly. No one was prepared to face such a powerful foe.
The moment the zombie leaped off the vehicle, he smelled gasoline.
“Danger! Get away from the vehicle!” Bai Chen Zhu shouted, his face losing all composure.
“Run!” Jiang Ye’s words sounded almost simultaneously.
The gasoline smell grew thicker. After the giant’s next leap, a piercing explosion erupted alongside flames, sparks, and smoke engulfing the mountaintop.
The blazing fire scorched his face with heat. Bai Chen Zhu instinctively closed his eyes. In that instant, Jiang Ye decisively hugged him and jumped off the peak.
He reached out and saw only blue sky. His eyes teared from the light and heat, everything blurring into shadows. His ears rang with the explosion’s roar. He moved his lips but said nothing before plummeting from the heights into the river, splashing up a wave.
—
Bai Chen Zhu awoke to the sun’s glare. Dazzling light spots made his head spin, and his ears still buzzed like a snowy old TV screen. He clutched his head and shook it.
Mountaintop, vehicle, explosion… He remembered everything and quickly looked up. He discovered that Jiang Ye had held him with immense strength. Their clothes had snagged on a central river stage, preventing the current from sweeping them away—and thus keeping the riverside zombies from devouring them.
Bai Chen Zhu gazed at the mutants on the shore, a chill running down his spine. He checked his intact limbs, noting only minor wounds from mutated fish. Irritated, he grabbed a mutated fish biting his clothes and flung it far away in an arc.
Fortunately, there were not many fish in the river, or he would have been nibbled away piece by piece.
Bai Chen Zhu surveyed the surroundings and pushed the unconscious man beside him. “Jiang Ye? Jiang Ye!”
No response.
Bai Chen Zhu wiped water from his face, pried open Jiang Ye’s hands with difficulty, pushed him onto the stage, then gripped the wood and hauled himself up as well.
He could not swim. Sitting on the stage, he scanned the surrounding waters, unsure how to reach the shore. He could only hope Jiang Ye would wake.
Bai Chen Zhu examined Jiang Ye’s body and found a blackened bloody hole in his right shoulder, with scattered minor wounds likely from mutated fish bites.
Why was his face so pale? Bai Chen Zhu’s heart sank. He checked his breathing—hot and heavy, a sign of fever.
“Jiang Ye, wake up.” Bai Chen Zhu patted his face. “This isn’t a place to rest.”
Jiang Ye showed no reaction.
Bai Chen Zhu paused, took a deep breath, and said, “Sorry.” Then he delivered a resounding slap.
The slap rang out sharply.
Jiang Ye groggily opened his eyes, dazed and unsure what had happened.
It worked!
Bai Chen Zhu’s eyes gleamed. He raised his right hand.
Slap—
“Wait!” Jiang Ye fully awoke.
He gasped, clutching his face. “Couldn’t you be a little gentler?”
Bai Chen Zhu held his refined, handsome face with a gentle expression and asked, “Want another? I can keep going indefinitely.”
Keep going my foot! Jiang Ye shoved him away, sat up on his own, and clutched his face in a daze. He sorted through his memories, scanned the surroundings, and reached the same conclusion as Bai Chen Zhu.
They needed to find a way back to shore first.
Bai Chen Zhu pointed to a nearby bridge adorned with a ornate plaque reading ‘Snow Bridge’.
“Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon—in that order. We’re in the middle downstream. That was close! A bit further, and the river would have pushed us straight to the zombie-heavy downstream area.” Bai Chen Zhu felt a lingering fear.
Even so, zombies crowded the surroundings. At a glance, it resembled the ancient city in its prosperous days, teeming with tourists—some even in distinctive ancient costumes—if one ignored their grotesque limbs and twisted movements.
Jiang Ye zoned out again. He shook his head to stay alert but lacked energy for deeper thought. Trusting him, he asked Bai Chen Zhu, “You decide. How do we go?”
Bai Chen Zhu had already planned it. He pointed to the row of stone steps spanning the river between Snow Bridge and the stage, spaced about a step apart—likely for tourists to cross and admire the views.
“We go there, step across the stones to shore, then head upstream.” Bai Chen Zhu tried to ignore his unease. He still remembered seeing Zhou Zhuo Hua and the others dodge amid the flames. That incredibly fast zombie had been there too. He wondered if they had escaped.
What if…
Bai Chen Zhu dared not dwell on it and focused on the present. “Your wound is so serious, and I can’t swim. Can you manage?”
Jiang Ye seemed dazed. After a long moment, he murmured assent.
Bai Chen Zhu could not help worrying. “Are you really okay? You don’t seem clear-headed.”
“So sleepy, can’t hold on.” Jiang Ye rubbed his face vigorously. “We need to hurry. I want to find a place to rest.”
Without waiting for a reply, he jumped into the water and beckoned Bai Chen Zhu. “Come on, back to me as you enter.”
Bai Chen Zhu did not hesitate and followed his instructions. Jiang Ye supported him with both hands, swimming toward the stone steps.
In this position, it was easy to see the sky. The sun blazed fiercely—it was already noon.
The water rose and fell past his chin. Bai Chen Zhu suppressed his fear of water, his body rigid. Unsure how to assist, he simply stayed still. With his body motionless, his mind turned to other matters.
Why had that mutant targeted them?
He had been scouting when he detected that incredibly fast mutant locking onto their direction…
Bai Chen Zhu’s eyes snapped open, a cold glint in them. It was his mental power!
Jiang Ye panted as he dragged him onto the stone steps and sprawled there to rest.
Bai Chen Zhu sat on the steps, watching Jiang Ye’s head nod and his grip loosen. Just as he seemed about to topple into the water, Bai Chen Zhu’s expression changed.
He seized Jiang Ye’s arm. Jiang Ye roused somewhat and asked weakly, “What’s wrong?”
“Come up first.” Bai Chen Zhu held his arm firmly.
Jiang Ye sluggishly climbed higher on the steps, turned his head aside, and coughed into his hand. Bai Chen Zhu touched his forehead—it burned hot. “Why’s your fever back? Because of this wound?”
Ordinary things could not harm Jiang Ye. His last serious injury had been from fighting Bai Guang Zheng; he had lain there for two days, even hallucinating.
Though Jiang Ye later explained it as some upgrade, Bai Chen Zhu still felt illness was no good thing.
Jiang Ye pressed his forehead. “Before the explosion, I clashed with that zombie. It was fast and strong.”
He rolled up his left sleeve for Bai Chen Zhu to see five gashes on his left shoulder.
“How?” Bai Chen Zhu realized. “You mean, besides the shoulder wound?”
From detecting the zombie to opening his eyes and seeing it—how much time had passed? Bai Chen Zhu figured no more than five minutes. In that short span, Jiang Ye had already fought it?
“Good thing the bones are fine, just flesh wounds.” Jiang Ye nodded, confirming his guess. “By the way, it had a clear target—you.”
“So A’Zhu, for safety, don’t use mental power from now on.”
