Chapter 36

Wang Xiong and Zhang Chengcheng spent the entire morning before they found the place where Zhang Ye met his demise.

The scene could only be described as a bloody mess, with bodies strewn about.

The destructive power of a Level 2 Awakened was indeed shocking.

The night before yesterday, Zhang Ye fought desperately. Although he did not kill the Hunter, he did take down many Tier 1 giant zombies.

However, it seemed that there were not many survivors who knew about corpse crystals and their effects. Therefore, the corpse crystals scattered on the ground remained untouched.

Perhaps no survivors dared to explore this battlefield.

Wang Xiong was not in a hurry to count his gains. After standing in silence for a long time, he turned to look at Zhang Chengcheng by his side, whose face was filled with sorrow.

“My condolences.”

Zhang Chengcheng gently closed her eyes.

Just by looking at the scene, she could imagine what Zhang Ye had experienced before he died.

A moment later, she opened her eyes. The sadness in them was gone, leaving only determination.

“If he had Brother Lu’s strength, my brother probably wouldn’t have died, right?”

Wang Xiong scratched his head, not knowing how to answer this question.

He then saw Zhang Chengcheng smile casually and said, “Let’s get to work.”

…

The deceased was gone, but the living still had to move on.

In layman’s terms, there was work to be done, and it had to work.

They were busy working until two in the afternoon before Wang Xiong and Zhang Chengcheng finally collected all the corpse crystals—19 in total.

Including the Tier 1 corpse crystals he had collected previously, Wang Xiong had a total of 1 Tier 2 corpse crystal and 34 Tier 1 corpse crystals.

This quantity was clearly enough for Wang Xiong and Zhang Chengcheng.

However, collecting corpse crystals was only part of their mission. Without distributing the corpse crystals first, Wang Xiong and Zhang Chengcheng hurriedly made their way to the original stronghold of the Zhang family.

The outcome was inevitable—there was no chance of survival.

From the moment Zhang Ye fled the stronghold with Wang Xiong and Zhang Chengcheng, there was no possibility of the Zhang family’s stronghold remaining.

Due to the presence of the walls, only a small portion of the zombies in the stronghold had dispersed. The remaining zombies were densely packed, and many of them were the survivors of the original stronghold.

Zhang Chengcheng saw many familiar faces.

The gatekeeper uncle, though slightly lame, was brave and strong.

The auntie who served food in the cafeteria, with a fierce appearance but a kind heart, would often give Zhang Chengcheng an extra spoonful of rice.

There were even several children around one meter tall whom Zhang Chengcheng used to play jump rope with.

But now, all these familiar people had turned into zombies, wandering and roaring in the gathering place, with grotesque and foul appearances.

“Phew.”

Letting out a heavy breath, Zhang Chengcheng patted Wang Xiong and pointed to the eastern corner of the courtyard.

“That’s the cellar over there. There’s a lot of food in there.”

That was Wang Xiong and Zhang Chengcheng’s target.

However, to obtain food, the zombies horde in the courtyard were an unavoidable obstacle.

After some thought, Wang Xiong said, “Charge in?”

Zhang Chengcheng shook her head. “One of us can lure the zombies away while the other moves the supplies.”

“But whether it’s your method or mine, it’s a little slow. I have another idea.”

“Let’s go back for now.”

…

At six o’clock in the evening, Wang Xiong and Zhang Chengcheng returned to the shelter.

After finishing their meal, Zhang Chengcheng shared the idea she had come up with.

“Let’s advance in level first. Wang Xiong and I will both advance. Once we advance to Level 2 Awakened, it will be very easy for us to retrieve the supplies from the Zhang’s family stronghold.”

The others had actually anticipated Zhang Chengcheng’s idea.

However, at this moment, Zhang Chengcheng’s brazen words made the others hold their breaths and their expressions unknowingly stiffened.

The destruction of the Zhang clan’s stronghold was ultimately caused by Zhang Ye’s advancement in rank.

Although this matter was not Zhang Ye’s fault, everyone had personally experienced the consequences. Now, when Zhang Chengcheng mentioned advancing in rank again, everyone could not help but be worried and afraid.

Seeing the hesitant and uneasy expressions on everyone’s faces, Zhang Chengcheng quickly eased the tension with a single sentence.

“It doesn’t matter. Brother Lu will take action.”

“This is different from the last time.”

“Don’t forget where we are, and don’t forget who else is here.”

The tense atmosphere eased instantly.

Wang Xiong pondered for a moment and nodded. “I think Zhang Chengcheng’s idea is feasible.”

Meng Jie added, “It’s not just feasible, but we have to do it.”

To refrain from advancing in rank due to fear of zombies.

This was undoubtedly a slow death.

Not to mention Lu Ming, even without him, Awakened ones still had to advance if they were capable of doing so..

In this world, not taking risks was equivalent to choosing death.

The seven of them unanimously agreed with Zhang Chengcheng’s proposal. Seeing this, Zhang Chengcheng immediately stood up and said, “I’ll discuss it with Brother Lu.”

…

At 6:30 pm, Lu Ming was reading after dinner when he heard the doorbell ring.

He went downstairs and turned on the electronic screen. As expected, he saw Zhang Chengcheng’s face.

“Good evening, Brother Lu.”

“Hello, Madam Zhang.”

“Brother Lu, just call me Chengcheng.”

“Alright, Zhang Chengcheng.”

The term “Chengcheng” was too intimate, and Lu Ming was not used to it. It was better to call her by her full name.

Zhang Chengcheng didn’t dwell too much on the issue of addressing, so after exchanging greetings, she got straight to the point.

“Wang Xiong and I went out today to our original stronghold…”

“And then…”

“Finally…”

We’re planning to…”

Zhang Chengcheng explained everything in one breath. Lu Ming fell into deep thought at the other end of the line.

After a moment, Lu Ming spoke up.

“Therefore, the advancement of the Awakened will attract the zombies…. and you and Wang Xiong are planning to advance today. You want me to help you deal with the horde, right?”

Zhang Chengcheng nodded. “Yes, Brother Lu.”

After some thought, Lu Ming asked, “Approximately, how many zombies are expected to come?”

Zhang Chengcheng gave an approximate number. “A few hundred. There might also be dozens of giant zombies and multiple hunters.”

After pondering, Lu Ming responded, “That’s not too many.”

The day before, Lu Ming had killed several hundreds of zombies, which significantly reduced his fear of the horde.

Lu Ming was even less afraid of the hunters.

Last time, even without a hunter’s slingshot, Lu Ming was able to kill one. This time, with a suitable weapon in hand, he would be even less afraid of them.

Moreover, Wang Xiong and Zhang Chengcheng advancing to level 2 would make them formidable fighters.

Zhang Chengcheng’s face lit up upon hearing this, but Lu Ming continued, “I can help with this task, but I think we should be even more prepared.

“For example, let’s establish a simple defensive formation centered around my house.”

The main focus should be on protecting the doors and windows.

He did not want the zombies to break through the door or window and threaten his safety.

Zhang Chengcheng’s heart warmed when she heard that.

Yes.

Setting up a defensive line centered around Brother Lu’s house.

This way, Brother Lu could better protect the safety of the other survivors.

“I get it.”

Zhang Chengcheng nodded heavily, and Lu Ming on the other side of the door, smiled warmly.

This woman is quite smart.