Deep in the Living
Chapter 418 - 406: The Source

Chapter 418: Chapter 406: The Source

Five minutes ago.

While Yu Lu went up to the second floor to dismantle the wooden boards on the windows and observe the location of the supermarket.

A familiar foot had already stepped out in the corner of the first floor.

The skin on the instep was as thin as a transparent cocoon, with pale blue veins winding across it like a misty stream, and a faint peach blossom pink over the arch.

The soundless steps brought the person beside Luo Di.

"Di."

With just a single call, Luo Di abruptly cut off his analysis of the zombie remains and opened his eyes suddenly. At this moment, it was as if he was back at the beginning, back in the weekend classroom with only the two of them left.

However, Luo Di’s expression quickly turned wary; he had known the squad leader came to this game, but he didn’t expect her to be bold enough to appear personally.

"Squad Leader, it’d be very troublesome if Yu Lu discovers you."

Wu Wen just smiled slightly and gently pressed her finger on Luo Di’s lips.

"I naturally have confidence to come out; after all, I’ve been observing you all from the shadows.

Miss Yu Lu was arranged by my grandmother to investigate me, and my subsequent plans to cooperate with Luo Di for clearance, or even gain Mr. Question Mark’s final reward, would inevitably catch her attention.

Since that’s the case, we might as well make contact in advance.

Moreover, I feel that Luo Di, you seem to have a different understanding of zombies, which will be an important node, and I must show up."

Since the squad leader said that, Luo Di didn’t have much to say. In terms of strategy and survival, the squad leader was far more skilled than him; he didn’t need to worry.

"Yes, my pituitary space..." Luo Di briefly explained about the zombie perception.

" I’ve been investigating this special community all day, and I seemed to have been to your perception area yesterday.

It was surrounded by something, with strong magnetic effects that would cause a disorientation in direction, making it hard for ordinary people to find it.

Mr. Question Mark’s games often don’t have a fixed direction; finding an alternative path might be the optimal solution, and he personally likes it when participants make unconventional and special performances in the game.

Alright, Miss Yu Lu is about to come down; convince her to go over later, and I will assist you both."

"Okay."

...

A temporary special team was quickly traversing the community.

Luo Di was still chopping as usual, and Yu Lu’s backpack would assist him in handling a few places,

Yu Lu focused more on the woman named [Wu Wen], who was also her top target for this outing, the one Grandma personally named to be captured alive and brought back.

If not for being in the game, in Mr. Question Mark’s domain,

she wouldn’t bother having any unnecessary words with Wu Wen; countless ropes would have wrapped around her, dragging her between life and death to take her back.

For now, she could only agree to cooperate, using this to leave a mark on her so that even if the game ended, they could directly locate her.

However, Grandmother didn’t give her much information about Wu Wen.

『This woman’s plant should have just passed the sprouting stage and matured not long ago, and should be the same batch as Hua Yuan coming to the corner.

To think she could disguise herself and hide within my death interval. Moreover, her killing methods are also very skilled...』

During this move, Yu Lu appeared quite idle.

She didn’t need to deal with the chasing zombies behind them; this matter was entirely entrusted to the recently joined Wu Wen, who was doing very well.

Wu Wen and her minions were like exotic twins; although their actions were completely different, there was an inexplicable sense of coordination and perfect cooperation.

Without using any weapons, just simple smack, elbow strikes, kicks.

『Meat-colored monster, huh?

The control over the flesh is surprisingly high; those zombies hit by this would have their body structures completely disordered, losing mobility.

If struck on a critical part, it would lead to direct death, even turning into a pulp of meat.

Pure physical development, both disguise and attack are of the upper echelon, not inferior to the newcomer Human Flower sister whom Grandmother holds in the highest regard... Moreover, there always seems to be something peculiar about her.』

Perhaps aware of Yu Lu’s gaze, Wu Wen occasionally returned her signature gentle smile during leisure.

Just then,

A strong sensation came from her spine, making Yu Lu feel a bit uncomfortable, forcibly drawing her attention to the front.

Luo Di’s back seemed to rise higher, his slaughtering style became wilder, and could even provide feedback in advance for some hard-to-capture angles.

Slashing over two hundred meters away, they finally reached the squad leader’s villa.

The first thing Luo Di did after entering was to sit on the ground, even forgetting to take off Yu Lu’s backpack, and the latter just rested against his back, simultaneously indicating with eyes for the squad leader to bring something for them to eat.

[Pituitary Space]

Though hunger was already welling in his mind, his main concern was still the issue of collection.

As expected, the previously incomplete arm was now more complete, almost forming a full arm.

Luo Di touched the arm’s surface, finding a noticeable difference compared to other corpses, a difference in [quality].

If he could truly complete this corpse through this game, it could absolutely be used as the core building material, perfecting the Gate of Demon Ascension.

When Luo Di confirmed this and opened his eyes again,

he found the squad leader squatting in front of him, holding two cans of meat, smiling at him. For some reason, though it was a very amiable smile, Luo Di discerned a killing intent within it.

It was then he realized he had forgotten to let Yu Lu down,

releasing the straps,

Luo Di, starving, gobbled up two cans at once, thinking it was enough, only to have the squad leader fetch ten more cans with a plastic bag.

"Damn, squad leader, where did you get these?"

"I spent more than a dozen hours outside on the first day, collected a bit more efficiently, and had somewhat better luck; basically, every two zombies killed had a key.

These cans should be enough to support us to reach our destination."

[Two and a Half Hours Later]

Luo Di even forgot the number, unsure of exactly how many he had killed, to the point where even the moonlight seeped with the zombie’s green liquid.

Even with such colossal slaughter, the "collection" remained incomplete.

Within the pituitary space, a zombie remnant without a head or right leg had formed,

yet Luo Di’s intuition told him that even if the killing continued, even if he killed hundreds or thousands, at most only the legs could be completed.

The torso had formed long ago, but the zombie’s head showed no signs of growth.

Currently,

The three had already reached their destination, the source of Luo Di’s perception.

Here, instead of rows of villas, lay the underground parking entrance of the community, vastly different from the previous stage experienced by Luo Di.

Like a gaping black mouth, the faint street light decayed at the entrance, unable to penetrate.

All those densely active zombies in the community kept away from here; none would dare come close, only operating beyond a hundred meters from the entrance.

Even though they smelled the living scent of Luo Di and the others, they dared not pursue.

The two groups standing at the entrance could feel the constantly blowing "wind" from the underground garage, not a continuous blow, but coming in gusts.

Like human breathing.

Moist, slightly salty, virus-bearing.

Forcing the three of them to prepare for air filtration ahead of time,

Luo Di donned his most skilled jaw splitter, Yu Lu condensed a part of death upon her face, and the squad leader did nothing at all, seemingly filtering air through her skin.

Stepping on the damp slope towards the underground garage,

The incline was even longer than anticipated,

lowering their elevation by nearly two hundred meters, completely separated from the villa community, reaching an independent and undisturbed space.

In the vast, dark, and silent underground area, lay the source of the zombies,

A massive meat mound, a mountain of flesh fused from hundreds to thousands of zombies.

They breathed in unison at the same frequency,

with each exhale, expelling a large amount of virus-laden gas, infecting all the residents within the community.

As they arrived,

All the zombies piled here turned their white eyes toward them, simultaneously opening their mouths, and pale arms grew out, swarming forward.