Chapter 58 Gathering the Survivors
Everyone swarmed out of the truck, but Cheng Xiyuan and his team from the rear compartment were a bit disheveled; the crash had shaken them quite a bit.
Luckily, they quickly got into the swing of things. They summoned their flesh zombies, and the Giant Macrophage Dogs charged towards them, their massive jaws snapping at the zombies.
With the crunching sound of breaking bones, the remaining Angel Envoy flesh zombies followed suit, plunging their sharp machetes into the bodies of the monster zombies.
The sharp blades pierced through the bodies of the monster zombies, and at the same time, the Angel Envoy flesh zombies opened their gaping maws, biting into the necks of their foes, tearing away large chunks of flesh, blood pouring out.
Seven or eight zombies were overpowered by the combined attack and the people from the villa seized the moment to launch a counterattack, quickly killing them off.
On the other side, Ye Kailing, Zhu Xiong, and Gan Xinglei's Angel Envoy flesh zombies strode toward the Giant Claw Zombie.
They pressed down on the Giant Claw Zombie's body. Even heavily wounded, the Giant Claw Zombie still struggled violently, its immense strength almost flipping the three flesh zombies.
"This thing isn't First Order Upper Grade, is it?"
Zhu Xiong exclaimed in surprise as he watched the Giant Claw Zombie. Ye Kailing drew her bow to the full and with a swoosh, the compound bow launched an arrow that burrowed into the Giant Claw Zombie's shoulder.
"Roar"
The Giant Claw Zombie let out an angry roar due to the pain but, with its arm wounded again, its struggles became weaker.
"It probably isn't, but rank isn't the sole indicator of strength,"
Ye Kailing replied, and as she spoke, another arrow shot out, this time hitting the other shoulder of the Giant Claw Zombie.
After the two arrows hit, the Giant Claw Zombie had no more strength to resist, held down firmly, its strength ebbing away.
"Get on it, tie it up with the climbing rope, wrap it several times."
Zhu Xiong called everyone to bind the monster, agreeing with what Ye Kailing said, indeed there was an example right before them.
Bai Qilan and Ye Kailing's Angel Envoy flesh zombies were such an example; although both were First-level Intermediate, their bodily defense and strength were somewhat stronger than the zombies of Zhu Xiong and Gan Xinglei.
Different mutations and skills all resulted in different strengths.
The level of strength was only a range, with clearer upper and lower limits, but the gap in the middle was harder to define.
After seizing the Giant Claw Zombie and securely binding it, Ye Kailing stepped forward to pull out the two carbon-fiber arrows. In this post-apocalyptic world, each arrow was precious, and lost arrows were hard to replace.
"Brother Xiong, let's get it on the truck first."
Cheng Xiyuan's Giant Macrophage Dog had returned to his side, followed by three other companions.
"Yeah, first load it up, and bring it back for the boss,"
Zhu Xiong instructed Cheng Xiyuan to load the zombie while he, Gan Xinglei, and Ye Kailing looked towards the villa.
"Brother, thank you for saving our lives."
The people inside saw the battle had finally ended and hurried out from the villa, their faces displaying expressions of relief from surviving the ordeal.
"How many of you are there?"
Zhu Xiong eyed the six people coming from the villa and asked.
The Angel Envoy flesh zombies were nearby, subtly separating them and acting as their protection.
"11... 10 people," the chubby man initially wanted to say 11 but, seeing the man lying on the ground, his expression darkened slightly and he changed to 10.
Just now, the man on the ground had his Angel Envoy grabbed and killed by the Giant Claw Zombie, which caused a backlash, and although his mind was severely disturbed by the incident, he might not have necessarily died.
However, they were forced back by the monster zombies and simply had no time to carry the man away, allowing him to be ripped open and disemboweled.
Zhu Xiong looked over the group carefully. The leading man had a height of 1.8 meters, a face covered in pockmarks, unkempt beard, yet there was a slick look about him, and his attire was not at all ordinary.
His companions were easier to identify. Some were in security guard uniforms, others wore short-sleeved shirts that, despite being a bit dirty, didn't look cheap.
"Brother, my name is Zhang Dahai, I'll remember this life-saving grace, Old Zhang has kept it in mind,"
Zhang Dahai prudently stopped his advance, used the fence as a divide, and with clasped fists thanked Zhu Xiong from across the fence.
Zhu Xiong cracked a smile, "It's just a simple gesture of assistance, are you guys the property owners of this complex?"
As Zhang Dahai's gaze shifted, he knew Zhu Xiong was trying to feel them out. He didn't hide anything and frankly said, "A few of us are property owners, and there are a few brothers from the property management. Six men and four women. The women don't have contracted monsters to assist, so we let them hide inside the villa."
"Old Zhao, let everyone come out, it's safe now."
"Alright, Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Dahai was clearly the leader of this survivor group. As he spoke, a security guard beside him went into the villa to call people out.
"Manager, everyone can come out now. The monster has been killed."
Only then did footsteps emerge from inside the villa, with four cautious women coming out.
Two were cleaning ladies or possibly nannies in their forties or fifties, plainly dressed, not tall, with a slight plumpness to their figures.
The other two women were somewhat younger. One looked to be in her thirties, dressed in business attire with short black hair, likely the manager of the property management.
The other was dressed in casual clothes, wearing glasses—a look of a younger housewife. Despite her disheveled appearance, she carried an air of calm, possibly one of the owners.
Zhu Xiong's eyes narrowed and he signaled Ye Kailing and Gan Xinglei with a glance.
Despite their plight, this group was not too bad.
Seeing Zhu Xiong's change in expression, Zhang Dahai felt slightly more at ease and tentatively asked, "Brother, are you here to scavenge for supplies, or...?"
He was a shrewd man and could tell at a glance that Zhu Xiong and co. were too proficient when they moved to action, completely different from the makeshift group they were.
Even the style of their machetes was almost the same, indicating obviously a 'professional' team.
Zhu Xiong showed a smile and said, "Scavenging for supplies, clearing the territory. Shanhu Villa District as a whole is quite nice, making it a suitable base."
Zhang Dahai's eyes revealed understanding, and he immediately grasped Zhu Xiong's intent.
Zhu Xiong did not give them an opportunity to speak further and said, "This villa has a vehicle, right? Gather what you can, come to Villa Number 10 with us, how about that?"
Zhang Dahai and his group were stunned for a moment, but he quickly took the lead in agreeing, "We'll get ready right away."
Though Zhu Xiong didn't say what would happen if they didn't agree, Zhang Dahai knew it would definitely be unpleasant.
The other party had already made it clear that Shanhu Villa was their territory. Could they stay here if they didn't go along? Besides, truth be told, banding together in the apocalypse wasn't such a bad thing.
"Xiao Xi,"
"Brother Xiong, what's up?"
Zhu Xiong called Cheng Xiyuan over, then said, "Go give them a hand, and keep an eye out. Ask for their names and professions, write them down, and hand the information to Sister Yan when we get back."
"Got it, Brother Xiong."
With help on the way and being watched, Zhang Dahai and his people had no intention of causing trouble. Being alive was precious enough for them, they had no other thoughts.
Their belongings were packed up quickly. There were two Jeeps in the garage of Villa Number 13, both Zhang Dahai's cherished vehicles.
Powerful and sizable, they were very suitable for the end times, most importantly, they were full of fuel.
As they packed, Zhu Xiong also learned about their situation from Zhang Dahai.
Soon after the apocalypse broke out, the fleeing property management staff encountered him. They had been holed up in Villa Number 13 for several days, surviving thanks to Zhang Dahai's habit of stocking the fridge with food for when his friends visited.
Along with some provisions prepared for fishing in the past, they managed to hold out for more than a week. Subsequently, monsters started to appear, which they fought off and contracted.
They had cleared Villas 11 and 12. The trouble started with Villas 14 and 15.
The Giant Claw Zombie was disturbed by their search and had been chasing them here. As for the main reason it was disturbed,
it turned out that there was also a Lamp Tree inside Zhang Dahai's villa. It was less than thirty centimeters tall and had produced a Lamp Tree Crystal the size of a table tennis ball, which they had used to aid their scavenging for supplies.
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