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墨書 Inktalez
In the Howling Wind Gathering Place, amidst the ruins, the original Inner City still retained its former appearance. Here, one could see the original buildings, with the sturdy inner city walls restored to two or three times their previous height. Reinforced with steel and iron, there were even piles of crushed cars stacked together to form part of the wall.
It resembled a vast wasteland, with the outermost section being the Old City Wall of the Inner City. The weathered walls were still visible, along with the jagged steel and iron that formed the city gate.
That was the gate leading to the outside world, but it had now been nearly sealed off, with complete loss of access. Even the Underground Passages had been buried within, entirely blocked.
For this reason, the Howling Wind Gathering Place had exhausted most of its manpower.
Adding to their woes was a harsh winter that made survival nearly unbearable. During this time, this place had become a haven for Zombies. Even as heavy snow blanketed the ground, the Zombies in Howling Wind Gathering Place did not disperse; instead, they hid in the dilapidated houses of the former outer city.
In contrast, the Inner City had become a sanctuary for Survivors, as those Zombies showed no interest in the people within. They lay in wait, anticipating the arrival of spring.
One winter had nearly depleted all food supplies in the Inner City. Even the Human Canned Meat prepared in autumn was close to running out.
At this moment, Howling Wind was unkempt and disheveled, far from its former glory. Once, Howling Wind Gathering Place was the most prosperous gathering place nearby, with a population of hundreds of thousands. As long as Vital Energy had not completely changed, it boasted powerful military strength and controlled numerous resources, making it one of the richest sources of food.
But now, they were almost entirely diminished; fewer than ten thousand Survivors remained. Those who once thrived were now as thin as dried tofu. After enduring a winter like this, it truly felt like it could kill a person.
Now they were even more terrified. On the walls of the Inner City, violent vibrations occurred as sentinels reported that a Zombie over three meters tall was relentlessly pounding against the wall.
It was as if it were trying to open a tin can; after three nights of persistence, it showed no signs of stopping. Its mouth dripped with green liquid that corroded deep pits into the ground below.
How many Zombies had gathered at Howling Wind? No one knew. But Howling Wind understood that it was time to flee.
With resolute determination in his eyes, he first summoned all his capable subordinates; everyone alive in the Gathering Place needed to take action.
Because once the retreat mechanism for the inner city wall opened, the Northern City Wall would be fully exposed. Their goal was to break through to the outside and find a way to survive.
Dressed in tattered rags and leaning on a rusted iron rod, Zhang Xiao stepped forward resolutely.
Despite being the leader of the Gathering Place, he still had two or three thousand subordinates who were alive and needed substantial supplies. Most of Howling Wind Gathering Place's stored food had gradually dwindled during this winter. How long could what little remained last? A month? Two months?
They did not know and did not want to know; each person seemed devoid of hope for survival. As long as they could scrape by and wait for death, they could do nothing but stare blankly into space. Everyone appeared like soulless walking corpses.
On the streets outside, a dozen young people swayed slowly with their heads down, resembling zombies. Their eyes glowed red as they stared at all the humans around them. Sharp fangs, reminiscent of vampires in a post-apocalyptic setting, peeked from their lips, and their clothes were tattered and torn.
However, the other survivors paid them no mind. This was a group that called themselves the Zombie Gang, driven mad by their worship of zombies during the apocalypse. They fantasized about becoming zombies themselves, relishing the thought of bullying ordinary humans without restraint and ruling over the world.
They were insane, yet still retained some semblance of reason. The absolute power within the Gathering Place belonged to Howling Wind. Although the more than two thousand people under him had lost faith, they continued to support Howling Wind in order to survive. This resulted in an extreme concentration of power within the Gathering Place.
“Roar! Roar! Roar! We are zombies, powerful zombies! Tremble before us, humans!” Each member of the Zombie Gang screamed in a frenzy, as if the zombies outside could feel their madness and echoed their howls. When a giant zombie crashed against the city walls, it sent a powerful shockwave that threatened the survivors inside.
“Shut up! If I see you idiots playing at being the Zombie Gang again, I’ll take you out myself!” A burly man stepped out onto the street, swaying slightly.
He was still drinking, while even the Howling Wind Leader had run out of alcohol.
But everyone in the Gathering Place knew that this fellow was a Second-Stage Esper. By sheer luck during the last zombie invasion, he had stumbled upon a fruit in a cave that transformed him into a Superpowered Individual, instantly elevating him to Second-Stage Esper status.
With his Iron Fist superpower, he could turn his fists into iron and take down ordinary zombies with just one punch.
But that wasn’t even the most terrifying part; he no longer feared the Zombie Virus. He could charge right into a horde of zombies.
His Second-Tier superpower even allowed his body to temporarily become as hard as iron; even if a zombie scratched him, he would slowly recover.
His immense power instilled fear in others. At Howling Wind Gathering Place, he was unique because even Howling Wind Leader had to cater to him. All good things were provided for him, and now there were hardly any women left for him; they had all gone to this man’s backyard.
The young members of the Zombie Gang looked at him with wild eyes, their blood boiling with desire for strength. They wished for power; they were a bullied group in this apocalypse. When the outer city fell apart, they fled to the Inner City where they barely survived amidst humiliation. They yearned for revenge and wanted to control others' fates—even if just for a moment.
“What’s the point of living? We’re worse than zombies; at least they can bite two beautiful women!” One young man in the Zombie Gang said dejectedly.
The others around him echoed his sentiment. In their lives, it felt like there was no light at all.
Living worse than pigs or dogs, they imagined being like zombies—fearless of hunger and able to roam freely. Even just a moment of glory would make their lives worthwhile.
This was all that occupied the minds of the Zombie Gang youths now.
Several of the young members of the Zombie Gang Youth were already misty-eyed. They gazed at the towering walls and the Survivors on the streets who had lost all hope, their hearts filled with madness.
"Brothers, I have a great idea." The oldest among the Zombie Gang Youth, a twelve-year-old Fellow, stared wide-eyed. His muscles were nearly atrophied, his body weak and frail, yet he persisted in donning sharp teeth that made him look like a Zombie. His hair was tousled into a mess, emanating a sour, rotten smell.
"What great idea?" A few slightly older boys looked curiously at the Fellow before them. He had spent more time in the Gathering Place and had worse luck.
Once, he had a wealthy father who provided him with a good life, but when the Zombies invaded the Gathering Place, his father had already died. It was those despicable guards' lack of effort that led to his father's demise.
Now, he was left with nothing; what did he have to lose?
He looked intently at the Fellow in front of him.
"Do you have that fruit that can activate Superpowers?" Suddenly, an idea struck him as he regarded the Fellow like a beast ready to pounce.
"How could I? If I had it, I would have eaten it already. I only have this." The Fellow pulled something resembling a hairpin from his hair.
The others took a closer look and realized it was not an ordinary stick but something sharp resembling a Claw. In an instant, they understood—it was a Zombie's Claw, though they didn't know when he had acquired it.
"I picked this up while retreating. At that time, the Zombie corpses on the ground had turned to liquid; only this piece remained, which I kept." The Fellow waved the Zombie's Claw around.
The others immediately stepped back. What was this? It was a Zombie's Claw; if it touched them, they would become Zombies.
"What are you afraid of? It's just a Zombie, right? Aren't we part of the Zombie Gang? Don't we dream of becoming Zombies? Who dares to try? I've let it sit for an entire winter; the toxins on it might have dissipated by now. If you don't want to try it, I'll do it myself." He slashed his arm with the Claw before anyone could react.
A black line appeared in his blood, followed by a flush on his face.
"So this is what it's like to become a Zombie!" The Fellow moaned in pleasure.
The other boys watched him revel in his transformation with astonishment. Was this really becoming a Zombie? It looked more like someone indulging in powder during the Post-Apocalypse.
Several youths hesitated repeatedly, but ultimately, only the oldest among them, with a face full of hatred, forcefully grabbed the Claw and plunged it into his own chest.
In an instant, he felt his Heart pounding violently, his soul transcending as everything around him transformed into a primordial wilderness. Only he existed; the earth and all places were open to him.
Then he saw a massive Giant God, with two heads and eight eyes, glaring at him. Eight enormous arms reached out toward him.
In that moment, he lost consciousness.
Outside, the other members of the Zombie Gang were stunned. Their former companion had transformed; the oldest boy had shrunk to barely half a meter tall, green liquid oozing from his body, with tentacles twitching.
Suddenly, the older boy's head began to split apart, dividing into two heads, then three.
New arms sprouted forth; three heads and six arms emerged. His legs morphed into six as well, and it seemed as if his chest tore apart, splitting in two as Zombies crawled inside.
It was as if he had returned to his mech, leaving the surrounding youths dumbfounded.
The two-meter tall three-headed six-armed Zombie suddenly opened its eyes, six gazes fixated on the nearby boys. The remaining claw in its hand was shoved into its mouth.
“Eat!”
“Hungry!”
“Lead the way!”
“Kill them all!”
A chorus of roars erupted, mingled with a flicker of rationality that drove him further into madness. He had become a Zombie—invincible, with no rivals left in this world.
His frenzied gaze glinted with bloodlust as he looked at his companions as if they were perfectly cooked drumsticks ready for consumption. However, he restrained himself; after all, throughout the harsh winter, he had spent all his time with these boys. With a sliver of clarity remaining, he suppressed his desire to feast and quickly rushed toward the central area.
There lay his food—especially those who had once oppressed them. His heart burned with rage as a black liquid flowed from within him, solidifying on his body. In that moment, he felt even stronger. Anger was the source of his power; slaughter was the essence of his evolution. The only thought left in his mind was to protect these companions—those who had shared both hardship and joy with him.
"What's wrong with you brainless fools, what are you playing at now?" Suddenly, soldiers in the front pointed their sharpened steel rods at them. In their eyes, the two-meter tall creature was surely just another prank from those clueless kids of the Zombie Gang, who had often played dress-up as Zombies.
A three-headed, six-armed Zombie? They had never heard of such a thing.
Unfortunately, they were mistaken. This was a genuine Zombie, and their assessment based on its appearance and the fact that it didn't attack others was fundamentally flawed.
Because in this world, there is always a one in a billion chance for something to mutate, and the boy before them was one such anomaly.
He roared loudly.
"Hungry!" A sound that was more beast than human erupted from him, followed by the tearing of flesh. Two halves of a corpse, drenched in blood, were then devoured by him.
In just a few bites, he voraciously consumed the entire body. The power of his three heads was unmistakable; it first revealed itself through feeding. The torn corpse was quickly swallowed after being ripped apart.
As for the Leader Zombie inside, it wouldn’t consume food directly; instead, it feasted on the essence secreted by the Puppet Zombies outside—this was their favorite delicacy.
"Kill!"
A massacre began, a disaster unfolding in this Gathering Place that had already endured one destruction. (To be continued)
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