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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 211: Frozen Bones on the Road
It wasn't just Song Yao who noticed something unusual. Before he could finish speaking, two vehicles came to a stop in succession, their doors opening and closing. Shaoshan coughed twice and jumped out of the car. The people inside the vehicles couldn't contain their curiosity either and began to exit to check the situation. The snow had fallen all night, covering the road with a thick layer that nearly reached their ankles. Aside from the tire tracks left by the two cars, the surroundings were blanketed in dazzling white. The entrances of buildings along the roadside were desolate, and both vehicles and corpses were concealed beneath the snow, forming mounds of varying heights that hid blood and tears beneath a facade of peace.
Such scenes were common along the way and not the reason for Song Yao and his companions' astonishment. This street was a two-way road, wide without any barriers in the middle, marked only by yellow double solid lines. On the left side was a cinema adjacent to a well-known large shopping mall; numerous giant advertisements hung outside commercial buildings, featuring smiling celebrities coldly gazing at the desolate street. The buildings on the right side were generally shorter, primarily consisting of various fast-food restaurants interspersed with some craft shops. Judging by the architecture lining this street, it must have once been a bustling commercial area, and such crowded places often became prime targets for Zombies.
It was well known that sound, temperature, and smell were excellent signals to attract Zombies. They would surge into crowds, claiming lives amidst screams and chaos, turning a busy street into a hell on earth. After feasting, if there were no other disturbances, they typically chose to linger in place or wander aimlessly. They had not previously ventured onto this street; even during the initial explosions meant to attract them, this area had remained untouched. Although the blasts had been intense, the city's vastness and towering buildings prevented sound from traveling indefinitely, so Zombies had largely remained in their original locations, wandering uncertainly between roads and shops... The point was that this road should have been teeming with Zombies, which was precisely why Song Yao and his companions were so surprised.
During a previous chorus of voices, Shaoshan had scolded everyone for being reckless and intentionally provoking Zombies. While he spoke without malice, Jin Bo—who was bored out of his mind—peered around curiously and was genuinely astonished: "Really? With all this noise we're making, there are no Zombies showing up?" Shortly after, Luci noticed several corpses in a nearby mobile phone store; then Song Yao saw what should have been a horde of Zombies strolling down the street.
Once Brothers in Arms exited their vehicles, they immediately assumed a defensive posture, aiming their weapons outward for protection while Jiang He and Shaoshan cautiously approached a writhing mass of Zombies on the sidewalk.
Shaoshan's keen observational skills stemmed from his professional training; Song Yao and Luci undoubtedly benefited from their enhanced physical abilities due to drugs in their systems. Jiang He exchanged glances with Jin Bo, both filled with shock. If it weren't for a few individuals who had heightened awareness around them, those two might not have noticed anything amiss even if they drove back to Bohai Bay.
The group slowed their pace and stopped about two to three meters away from the Zombies, drawing their weapons carefully while observing intently. Shaoshan boldly stepped forward with his military knife in hand. One of the Zombies on the ground struggled to twist its body and reached out an arm in an attempt to grab him. Shaoshan kicked its arm away and crouched down to examine it closely.
Indeed, these Zombies were what one would call "off."
Jiang He scanned both sides of the street; through subtle movements in the snow layer, he estimated there were at least a hundred Zombies on the street, all completely covered by snow. If they hadn't been writhing and shaking off snowflakes that revealed bodies starkly contrasting with the white blanket above them, they might not have noticed at all.
This group of Zombies was evidently numerous; however, they now resembled those suffering from paralysis as they crawled on the snowy ground in constant spasms.
Shaoshan's expression turned skeptical as he moved behind one of the Zombies and used his military knife to sweep away the snow covering its body, revealing its complete form.
"Eh?" Shaoshan furrowed his brow, the doubt in his eyes growing stronger.
Jiang He and the others exchanged glances, sharing the same expression. It seemed they were all thinking the same thing, believing that the Zombie's lower half had been severed, which was why it was crawling in this manner. Zombies were notoriously resilient; as long as their heads remained intact, they could not truly die. They had seen many dismembered Zombies that, despite being unable to stand, functioned normally otherwise. Even if only a stub of a neck remained beneath their heads, they could still crawl around energetically. Yet this particular Zombie was whole, its lower half unbound—why was it crawling like a mole? Moreover, it moved slowly, resembling a soft-bodied creature inching forward.
Shaoshan gestured for everyone to spread out and check on other Zombies. Someone picked up a broom meant for street cleaning and began sweeping away the snow, soon uncovering more than ten buried Zombies. The others were too far away to reach safely, so Brothers in Arms decided against further clearing.
Jiang He and the others initially thought those humanoid snow piles were corpses, only to discover they were all half-alive Zombies. These Zombies varied in gender and showed signs of having been dead for quite some time; their skin was a bluish-gray, wrinkled tightly against their bones. The moisture within them had nearly evaporated, making them resemble mummies wrapped in a layer of tissue paper. Their limbs and torsos were mostly intact; aside from some foul-smelling wounds, there were no other injuries. Living beings passing in front of them still caught their attention; the Zombies' growls had weakened significantly, as if they were on the verge of death, struggling futilely with their last breaths.
Shaoshan waved his hand in front of a Zombie's eyes. The murky orbs followed the movement, its mouth opening and closing as it desperately tried to bite but could only manage to follow along with its head.
"Out of power?" Jin Bo said with a grin, making an offhand remark. Jiang He and the others didn't respond, but Jin Bo's analogy was quite fitting; these Zombies indeed resembled toys that had run out of battery.
"Interesting," Wang Zhongyu remarked as he watched Shaoshan toy with the Zombie for a while. Although the Zombie hadn't attacked him, it hadn't given up on the food before it either; its persistence nearly moved him. So he gripped his triangular bayonet tightly and approached, tapping the Zombie's skull before thrusting the sharp weapon into its Crown of Heaven. The Zombie's movements abruptly ceased; its outstretched claws fell back to the ground, returning completely to the earth's embrace.
"Sister Qianqian, are they frozen?" Wheat timidly asked.
"Huh?" Everyone turned to look at the young girl, all wearing expressions of sudden realization. She rolled her eyes around, not sensing any mistake in her words, and playfully stuck out her tongue.
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