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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One Hundred and Ten: Bad News
Jin Zhong underestimated Chao Yifan's stubbornness. Despite repeatedly stating that the abandoned cave could be crawling with Zombies, Chao Yifan charged in without hesitation. Jin Zhong did not follow; he admired the Bald Kid but saw no reason to accompany him to his death.
The cave was a maze, dark and twisted, but the natives of the Air Raid Shelter had their own ways of navigating it. For now, the two groups mingled without any intention of conflict, so Jin Zhong shared the markings they had made in the cave with Chao Yifan, hoping it would help him reach the surface safely.
"What’s at the end of this path?" Chao Yifan asked as he took down a torch and grabbed a more suitable long knife from the Golden Treasure Cave. The Great Cleaver was powerful but cumbersome; he needed something that wouldn’t hinder his escape as he played the role of a rat.
"To the west of the Coal Gangue Pile. This path is deep, and halfway through there’s a barbed wire fence. We cut a hole in it, so I estimate that Zombies shouldn’t have gotten through," Jin Zhong said, drawing a mark resembling an 's' on the wall of the archway. "The mark is easy to recognize; just head right when you see it. Behind the fence is a straight path, but the exit is blocked by wooden planks."
"Thanks."
"No problem. Do you want me to inform your friend?"
Chao Yifan thought for a moment and replied, "If they ask, just say I went to find Jiang He."
Once again entering the pitch-black cave, he was greeted by that familiar cold, damp smell. The flickering flame of the torch enveloped Chao Yifan in light, separating him from the darkness.
Chao Yifan had no idea how many Zombies were in the cave. He followed Jin Zhong's directions for about ten minutes without encountering any Zombies or even hearing their sounds. He didn’t dare let his guard down; he knew not all Zombies were loud. Many Living Dead were quieter, waiting for their prey to come close after sensing movement. Chao Yifan didn’t understand why there were differences among Zombies; all he knew was that being bitten by any of them would lead to the same fate.
Thinking of this made him involuntarily recall that blood-soaked infant, causing the Bald Kid to shiver and quicken his pace.
The passage was winding, and Jin Zhong's markings were quite prominent. Perhaps they believed strangers wouldn’t appear here, so they made their marks enormous, as if afraid someone might miss them. Chao Yifan mentally noted the direction and hurried along the archway indicated by the markings. As he turned a corner, he heard the hissing roar of Zombies echoing in his ears.
Chao Yifan drew his long knife, lowering his body slightly as he tried to discern the location of the Zombie by sound. Before him lay three paths, leading left, right, and straight ahead. According to the markings, Chao Yifan was supposed to enter the central passage next, but the sound of the Zombie seemed to be coming from there as well. Chao Tianwang stretched his limbs, gathering all his focus. With a torch in his left hand and the knife held horizontally across his chest in his right, he stepped onto the cold ground.
A chilling wind wrapped around him, carrying dampness and a faint stench that mingled with the air—whether it was the Zombie's odor or the accumulated scent of years within the cave, he could not tell.
The situation inside the cave was somewhat different from what Chao Yifan had imagined. He had expected a horde of Zombies to rush at him, but as he ventured deeper, the roar became clearer. Although it remained a hoarse and unpleasant sound, it distinctly belonged to one Zombie.
Chao Yifan lowered the torch a bit as he approached the sound. He had to slow his pace. After rounding a wide bend, he finally saw the iron mesh sealing off an exit and the Zombie itself.
Indeed, there was only one, but she was not alone; beneath her lay a disemboweled Jinx, and the Zombie was feasting on him.
Chao Yifan guessed that this man must have been someone who fled when the Zombies flooded into Cave No. 4. Perhaps there were too many people on the main path at that time, prompting him to hide or escape into this abandoned cave. Little did he expect that one of their own would let a Zombie in.
The female Zombie was indulging herself, her grayish-green arms digging into the corpse's abdomen to extract a pool of bloody entrails, which she ravenously tore apart with her blackened teeth.
Chao Yifan had always wondered what use these Zombies had for eating humans; he had never seen one defecate. Similarly, every Zombie he had encountered was either drenched in blood or rotting away, as if whatever flesh and blood they consumed did not help them grow stronger.
The light from his torch stood out starkly in the dark archway, catching the attention of the gluttonous Zombie behind him. She paused her feeding and slowly turned her head. Her hair was tangled and dry, her face below the nose nearly rotted away and smeared with blood. Her exposed blackened teeth added to her ghastly appearance.
Chao Yifan held the torch out in front of him to assess the situation. The corpse on the ground appeared just as he had suspected—recently deceased, with blood still flowing slowly along the low ground where it pooled. The Zombie hunched over and stood up, still clutching a slippery piece of intestine in her hand.
Chao Yifan strode forward decisively and thrust his blade before the Zombie could pounce on him. The gleaming edge pierced through her face, using her own momentum to drive through to her skull from behind. It was as if a switch had been flipped; she collapsed immediately, lifeless and limp, her head still impaled on the blade.
Chao Yifan shook his hand slightly to free the long knife and stepped closer to glance at the disemboweled body. It was a man—young and emaciated, looking malnourished; who knew how such a frail frame could bleed so profusely?
The face of the corpse had been torn away for the most part. Chao Yifan glanced at it a few more times, feeling it resembled a face. He looked around; this was indeed a straightforward passage. If he left now, the stench of blood on the ground would surely attract more zombies. So, how could he return?
Chao Yifan felt quite troubled. He gathered the two corpses together and used a torch to ignite the clothes on them. The garments were soaked in blood, making them difficult to burn. With a sigh, Chao Yifan gave up on that idea and found a knot in the barbed wire, pulling it apart to create an opening just wide enough for him to squeeze through.
The path ahead was much easier to navigate. Jin Zhong and the others' sealing measures had proven effective; here, there was only dust and a chilling atmosphere. The long corridor echoed with Chao Yifan's leisurely footsteps, and before long, he reached the end.
"Wooden board?" Chao Yifan scratched at the brass security door blocking the way, unable to suppress a light chuckle.
The security door, along with its frame, was wedged at an angle between several massive stones. Behind it was a gap narrow enough for a person to pass sideways. Chao Yifan looked around cautiously, hesitantly turned the handle, and pulled open the iron door. The lock had not yet rusted; aside from pulling...
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