Chapter 114: Anomalies

Xue Hong led the way, while Yue Qi and Qin Luo followed half a step behind. Xue Hong had already briefed them on most of the camp's situation, and Yue Qi found nothing amiss with that.

Fengzhou City was not like Changzhou, where organized hordes of zombies laid siege. Instead, zombies only occasionally gathered beneath the city walls. In such cases, Xue Hong’s father—the leader of Fengzhou City—would organize a group to go out and eliminate them. At the very least, Yue Qi felt this was the best-managed camp he had encountered so far; they were certainly not afraid of the zombies.

In typical camps, many people would only think to run at the sight of a zombie, with few ever stopping to fight. But Fengzhou was different. Whether due to effective leadership or some other reason, it seemed everyone shared this resolve. Even so, Xue Hong, who walked at the front, still looked pale, likely injured from her recent encounter with a zombie.

It was indeed difficult for humans to deal with zombies; their own attacks might feel like mere tickles to the creatures, while a single strike from a zombie was immensely powerful and dangerous. Yue Qi had experienced this terror several times himself.

As they walked, Yue Qi felt a bit bored. The scenery around Fengzhou City was decent enough. They were traveling along an old imperial road, though it had long since fallen into disrepair and was overgrown with weeds. There was no sign of anyone in the vicinity, not even a single zombie.

"Does following this path lead directly to Fengzhou?" Yue Qi asked, bored. Seeing Qin Luo curiously taking in everything around her, he couldn't be bothered to talk to her and turned to chat with Xue Hong instead. Xue Hong had already pegged Yue Qi as a peerless master and spoke with extreme caution, terrified that a single sign of disrespect might offend the great figure before her.

"Fengzhou is the largest town in the area, and the roads here extend in all directions. This isn't exactly a main thoroughfare, but since the area was sparsely populated even before, few zombies wander here. Whenever we come out for supplies, we usually take this route," Xue Hong patiently explained.

"Oh? Does that mean there are plenty of zombies in other areas?" Yue Qi asked with surprise.

"Not necessarily, but it’s better to take this path when searching for supplies. We minimize contact with zombies unless we are specifically out to clear them," Xue Hong said with a smile.

"Going out specifically to clear zombies—you all are certainly bold," Yue Qi chuckled, shaking his head. These days, everyone else ran at the sight of a zombie, yet the people in this camp were so fierce that they went looking for the zombie nests.

Perhaps it was luck, or perhaps Yue Qi was just particularly unfortunate; the survivors in this area seemed never to have encountered any truly powerful zombies. Yue Qi, however, had faced a leader-class zombie that had left him feeling utterly incapable of resistance.

"I wouldn't put it that way. Even in this apocalypse, my father hopes to establish a place that belongs solely to humanity, free from the threat of zombies. He has dedicated himself to this goal. He says that once all the nearby zombies are cleared, we might be able to reclaim villages and small towns, allowing humans to go wherever they please without having to fear the zombies," Xue Hong explained her father's vision. Seeing Yue Qi’s expressionless face, she feared he might be annoyed and quickly added, "Actually, there are other benefits to clearing them out. At least we don't have to worry about them piling up. If the number of zombies reaches a certain threshold, it could pose a massive threat to us."

Yue Qi nodded. Xue Hong was correct, but he was still astonished by her father's ambition. He had only ever thought of building a safe camp where, under his protection, no zombies could harm them. But Xue Hong’s father was different; he was aiming to build a small nation, one that could hold its own against external threats. It was a grand vision, but incredibly difficult to achieve. Even without any accidents, Yue Qi doubted it could be accomplished in less than three to five years.

"Little Senior Brother, look! What a massive city!" Yue Qi was lost in thought when Qin Luo pointed in a direction. If he had been shocked by the father's plan, the sight of the city in the distance left him jaw-dropped.

They were still some distance away, so Yue Qi could not gauge the full height of the walls, but the upper half of the city was shrouded in thick clouds, making it look as if it were built in the heavens.

"This… what a massive city!" Yue Qi felt like a villager entering the city for the first time. "Magnificent" was not enough to describe its presence. It was simply vast—larger than any city he had ever seen.

The Qinghe Sword Sect advocated for simplicity, which was just a polite way of saying they were weak and lacked the resources to build anything impressive. As a result, Yue Qi had never seen such luxury. Even the cities he had visited in Qingzhou or Changzhou, while curious, had never left him feeling this stunned.

"Does such a place still exist in this mundane world?" Yue Qi couldn't help but exclaim. Even Qin Luo was staring, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Mundane world?" Xue Hong muttered, puzzled. She had lived in Fengzhou since she was a child, and while many visitors expressed amazement, she had never heard it described quite like that.

"No offense meant. It’s just that we’ve never seen a city this large where we used to live, so I was a bit surprised. Please excuse my lack of composure," Yue Qi said, breaking into a cold sweat upon realizing his slip of the tongue.

"It’s quite alright. The world is full of wonders. Fengzhou is only the third-largest of the five great cities. I dare not even imagine the scale of the first and second," Xue Hong said, shaking her head.

Yue Qi nodded without further comment, though he remained inwardly shaken.

"Sister Xue Hong, let’s hurry! I want to see what a city this big looks like inside!" Qin Luo, quite skilled at building connections, chirped sweetly and began dragging Xue Hong forward. Xue Hong gave a bitter smile. She was desperate to address Yue Qi as "Senior," yet Qin Luo called him "Little Senior Brother" while calling her "Sister." The hierarchy was truly a mess.

They quickened their pace. As they drew closer, Yue Qi noticed a few zombies lurking in the surroundings—not hiding intentionally, but simply tucked away in concealed spots. Yue Qi’s spiritual sense picked them up, but he chose to ignore them. He had saved Xue Hong’s life and was simply looking for a place to stay; he didn't feel obligated to do their chores for them. As they neared Fengzhou, Yue Qi felt a surge of joy. After half a month of sleeping in the wild, the prospect of a comfortable place to stay was a relief.

However, as they approached the walls, Xue Hong’s brow furrowed deeper. She muttered something under her breath that Yue Qi couldn't catch, so he asked, "What’s wrong?"

"I don't know why, but there are no guards on the city walls today. That’s a serious breach of protocol; it would normally be severely punished," Xue Hong explained, wondering if something had gone wrong.

Yue Qi kept quiet. It was their internal affair, and he had no right to interfere.

"Do you usually enter through the main gate? Isn't it a hassle?" Yue Qi asked, looking around.

"Oh, don't worry, Senior. We dug a secret underground tunnel ourselves. Those of us who go out searching for survivors usually take this route, unless we are specifically out hunting zombies," Xue Hong replied.

"Don't call me Senior. We are about the same age. Just call me by my name, Yue Qi," he said, feeling embarrassed. He had never been addressed as "Senior" before, even if he was likely stronger than almost anyone in the mundane world.

"Then I'll call you Big Brother Yue," Xue Hong decided. She glanced at the curious Qin Luo ahead and felt a sense of awkwardness she couldn't quite articulate.

"Let’s head in then. I’ve heard so much about your father; I look forward to meeting him," Yue Qi said with a smile.

The tunnel entrance was well-hidden within a thicket of bushes, nearly impossible to find without searching for it specifically. "Let's go, Big Brother Yue, it's right here," Xue Hong said, preparing to lead the way. Suddenly, several men rushed out from inside!

"Han Zhi? Why are you out here?" Xue Hong asked, recognizing the group.

"Heh, Young Miss, there's been some trouble in the city. The Boss wants us to bring you back immediately," the man named Han Zhi said. His eyes flickered with a lecherous glint as he looked at Xue Hong, though he quickly masked it with a respectful tone.

"What kind of trouble? Why the rush?" Xue Hong asked, then remembered Yue Qi and Qin Luo behind her. "We encountered two mutated zombies earlier. I was the only one left, and these two saved me."

"Mutated zombies?" Han Zhi looked slightly surprised, his brow furrowing as he glanced at Yue Qi and Qin Luo. "The Boss is waiting inside, Young Miss. Let's go." Without another word to the others, he turned and headed back into the tunnel.