Chapter 13: The Awakened

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The village where Lu Ming resided was called Good Hope. Good Hope Village was at least ranked among the top three in the entire Nanxiang.

Firstly, this place was closest to the city center.

Secondly, the area was moderate, but the population was very dense.

During the zombie apocalypse, a dense population was definitely not a good thing because it meant a faster rate of infection, a massive horde of zombies, and a difficult and dire survival situation.

However, in the morning, the appearance of the military diverted most of the zombies away from Good Hope village, providing a moment of respite for the survivors within.

With a large population, there would naturally be more survivors. Although the ratio of survivors in Good Hope Village was not high, the total number of survivors was relatively significant.

In the afternoon, as Lu Ming took matters into his own hands for self-defense, some courageous survivors ventured out of the safe house, either searching for supplies or preparing to join the military.

There was no hope of joining the military…

But, the survivors searching for supplies started to have fruitful results.

Food, water, medicine.

They gathered everything they needed.

However, their activities also attracted the attention of those zombies that had been diverted away.

After Lu Ming finished dinner, the entire Good Hope Village suddenly became lively.

“Hoo, Hoo…”

There was the sound of heavy, bellows-like breathing.

On a street, a young soldier was pulling a middle-aged woman in a white coat, both of them running for their lives.

Behind them, five zombies chased after them ferociously, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws!

The narrow, dirty, and chaotic streets of the village were the fundamental reason why the soldier and the woman were able to flee for so long—ordinary zombies, while agile and energetic, were not adept at moving around the village.

However, after this prolonged escape, the soldier was still holding on, but the woman in the white coat was completely exhausted and could not muster any more strength.

“Xiao… Xiao Zhang… Take these things and leave by yourself! Hurry!”

The woman shoved her leather bag into the hands of the soldier called Xiao Zhang, and instantly slowed down.

Zhang Lixin quickly turned to look at Meng Jie and realized that her face had turned pale. She was apparently exhausted.

In fact, not only Meng Jie, but Zhang Lixin himself could not run much farther either. In the morning, he had joined the team to fight against the horde of zombies and this had already drained his energy. After their defeat, he fled with Dr. Meng Jie, and he was well aware of the hardships they had endured.

Tears uncontrollably wet his eyes.

Pulling back the bolt of the gun, Zhang Lixin stopped and shielded Meng Jie behind him. He was ready to face the horde head-on, prepared for a fight to the death.

Meng Jie’s voice came from behind him.

“The data! Little Zhang, take the data and go…”

“No, Dr. Meng. My orders are to protect you, not this information!”

“Tap tap tap.”

As he fired, Zhang Lixin said, “Without Dr. Meng, this information is meaningless!”

The gunshots naturally attracted more zombies.

Hearing the footsteps of zombies coming from all directions, Meng Jie finally squatted down, covered her face and wept, completely devoid of any desire to survive.

“Crack, crack, crack.”

The last shuttle of bullets was emptied, as if to indicate that the two of them were at a dead end. Just as Zhang Lixin took out his bayonet, preparing for a final struggle, a strange human cry suddenly sounded from above.

Zhang Lixin looked up in a daze, and the first thing he saw was a pair of big feet in white sneakers and blue socks.

A huge foot descended from the sky and landed perfectly on the head of the first zombie, accompanied by a “crunch” sound, instantly crushing its head.

He stood in front of them.

He was a young man in black casual outfit. He was in his early twenties, had big round eyes, exuding a righteous aura.

“Ah! Fight!”

The strange cry came from the young man’s mouth again.

He twisted his body and delivered a whip kick, smashing the head of the second zombie, instantly bursting it!

The attacks were blocked, and the zombies were furious.

However, although this man was strange, he had rich combat experience. Coupled with his physical fitness far surpassing the zombies, he quickly wiped out the zombies in front of him with a few punches and kicks.

“Follow me!”

He beckoned Zhang Lixin and Meng Jie with his finger, and led them out of the alley. They ran and fought along the way, taking several turns, until they arrived at a residential house.

…

After closing the door, everything quieted down.

Zhang Lixin and Meng Jie, after surviving a life-and-death situation, took deep breaths for a while before finally looking at the mysterious man.escaped death.

Zhang Lixin stood up first and saluted the man.

“Thank you, sir, for your help! Otherwise, Dr. Meng and I would definitely die! I can accept it, but Dr. Meng’s life can’t be lost. It’s the key to ending all of this!”

With that, he stepped forward again, took the man’s rough hand, and shook it hard. “On behalf of the country and the people, I thank you!”

The man felt a little embarrassed by the solemnity.

“No need to thank me, no need to thank me. I was just helping out when I saw injustice, and it was just a small effort…”

“By the way, my name is Wang Xiong, and this is my house. It’s relatively safe. Would you like some water and food?”

Wang Xiong’s attitude instantly lightened the atmosphere.

Meng Jie looked at Wang Xiong curiously and suddenly said, “How long have you been awakened?”

Wang Xiong raised his eyebrows and asked, “Awakened? What’s that?”

Zhang Lixin glanced at Meng Jie and recalled Wang Xiong’s performance just now. He abruptly changed the subject.

“Let’s talk while we eat.”

…

The supplies in Wang Xiong’s house were actually not abundant.

But that didn’t matter.

With Wang Xiong’s skills and physical abilities, acquiring supplies was much easier for him than for ordinary survivors.

After cooking a few cups of instant noodles, the three of them ate hungrily. During the meal, the three of them exchanged their backgrounds.

Zhang Lixin was a soldier belonging to the eastern war zone. Their troops were usually stationed in Nanxiang City.

And Meng Jie was one of the top experts in the Third Biological Research Institute.

A few days ago, the tower appeared and the black mist descended. The military quickly fetched Meng Jie from the Third Biological Research Institute in the suburbs and prepared to send her to a safe shelter near the city center. Unexpectedly, she suffered a heavy blow at Good Hope Village.

The morning battle outside was the conflict between Zhang Lixin’s troops and the zombie horde, which ended in the defeat of Zhang Lixin’s troops.

“Doctor Meng is a leading figure in domestic biology. She has been researching these creatures since the appearance of the zombies. Now, we have a preliminary result. Unfortunately, the location of the Third Research Institute is indeed not good. There is a risk of being attacked by zombies. We wanted to bring Dr. Meng to the shelter, but…”

As he spoke, Zhang Lixin looked troubled.

But he did not make any direct requests; instead, he looked at Wang Xiong.

Wang Xiong was 23 years old this year and had just graduated from university. He used to be a mixed martial arts athlete. According to him, he was just a little short of making it into the national team. Unfortunately, he had an accident halfway through and was cut off from mixed martial arts.

After graduation, he rented a house and was preparing to find a job when the doomsday arrived…

As for my skills and techniques, they were all former mixed martial arts techniques. As for my body… Well, on the night the tower appeared, I had a high fever for the entire night. When I woke up the next day, I was like this. Even my old injuries had healed.

Speaking of this, Wang Xiong scratched his head in embarrassment, but Meng Jie interjected.

“Awakening, what you experienced is called awakening.”