Chapter Thirty: Breaking the Deadlock

“Did you really think I hadn’t anticipated this day?” Xiao Yang pushed him aside and stood up. “I left a backdoor in the armor’s system long ago. If anyone tried to steal my system, I could use the circuitry inside to make it collapse. You still have nothing now.”

As he spoke, he aimed a vicious kick at Luo Si’s waist, sending him flying more than twenty feet and crashing into the laboratory bench.

Xiao Yang didn’t spare him another glance. He checked the equipment for producing the serum, then asked, “What did you do to the serum development? Tell me, and I might let you go. Otherwise, be prepared to feed the zombies.”

Luo Si lay on the ground, his face twisted in pain, unable to get up. He managed to say, “Do you think there could be so much serum for no reason? I secretly took samples from the zombies. As long as I control those viruses, I can strengthen the human body. I want to become the ruler. This is the best method of control.”

“Nonsense! You’re delusional.” Xiao Yang inspected the serum formula and said in disappointment, “This virus is extremely unstable. Do you really think you can just use the original formula to turn it into a vaccine? Let me tell you, you’re wrong. Those people outside won’t just become zombies, they’ll evolve into even more terrifying monsters. In the end, humanity will be wiped out.”

“Oh? Well, I won’t be around to see it.” Luo Si struggled to his feet, spat out blood, and suddenly lunged at Xiao Yang in a desperate attack.

But Xiao Yang had already anticipated his move. Another fierce kick sent Luo Si crashing into the laboratory bench, overturning it. Countless test tubes shattered, spilling serum all over Luo Si.

“Ah! These are all failed serums. I…” Luo Si clutched his face in agony. Not even the armor could protect him from the effects.

Xiao Yang didn’t look at him again. He was determined to destroy all the damned serum, to leave no disaster behind.

He would destroy the calamity he had created with his own hands.

He immediately gathered anything useful from the factory, preparing to destroy everything.

Luo Si pleaded with him for mercy.

This time, Xiao Yang didn’t hesitate. He went out and locked the door.

Inside, only Luo Si’s wails remained.

Wu Jue quickly dealt with the two prisoners blocking the way, then stood guard at the door, watching Xiao Yang, who had successfully turned the tables and was now destroying his own creation.

It seemed they would have to start over from scratch. This place was no longer safe.

He returned to meet up with An Yi and Xiao Han, planning to take a headcount and make arrangements for the next step.

After the incident with Luo Si, the remaining survivors dropped from seventy or eighty to just about thirty, most of whom were the old, weak, women, and children.

Wu Jue felt the heavy burden on his shoulders. Finding a suitable shelter was now the top priority.

Soon, flames engulfed the factory. Xiao Yang walked out alone and said, “I destroyed all the serum in the lab. We’ll have to start over.”

Wu Jue patted him on the shoulder. “Get some rest for a couple of days. We’ll talk later.”

He then led the others to clean up the prison, move out the corpses, and burn them, leaving no hidden dangers.

Meanwhile, the zombies in the quarantine area, smelling the strong scent of blood, became restless and agitated, trying to break free and cause chaos.

Wu Jue had to order the reinforcement of the barbed wire and reorganize the patrols.

Unfortunately, there were too few able-bodied people left. Xiao Han said, “It’s the prisoners’ fault. They sided with Luo Si so easily. Otherwise, so many wouldn’t have died.”

Wu Jue sighed. “It’s my fault. Maybe I shouldn’t have kept a single prisoner alive, all of them—”

He stopped and muttered a Buddhist prayer. After all, as a monk, compassion was his nature. To slaughter so wantonly was already against his original intent.

An Yi suddenly frowned. “What’s done is done. Why dwell on it? Wait, something’s wrong. There’s movement in the factory. Is Luo Si dead?”

They pushed open the door to check, only to find the laboratory empty—Luo Si was nowhere to be seen.

Xiao Yang stared at the discarded armor and the trail of dripping blood that led to the exhaust vent. The man had actually crawled out through such a high vent.

“Where does it lead?” Wu Jue hurriedly asked.

Xiao Yang and he went out the door. “It leads to the west side, to the maximum-security cell block, which is now the zombie zone. Luo Si won’t survive there.”

They rushed outside. Wu Jue and An Yi led the way, one using light footwork, the other climbing the barbed wire, reaching the center of the restricted area. But all that remained in the area where Ghostface had been trapped was the corpse of Fast Hands.

Ghostface, too, was nowhere to be seen.

***

Time passed in a blink.

Luo Si, who had been lying alone in the lab, wailing in agony, began to undergo a violent transformation.

His armor started to peel off on its own, his muscles mutated, and all his hair receded.

A burning sensation overwhelmed his whole body, forcing him to howl and crawl desperately toward escape.

He finally reached the exhaust vent and, incredibly, made his way out to the prison yard.

Soon, the ferocious zombies set their sights on him, pouncing one after another.

Luo Si fought them off with all his might, trying to escape. Strangely, when these zombies bit him, each one collapsed into a pool of blood.

That was when Luo Si realized what kind of mutation his body had undergone.

He had become a true poison man—hairless, his entire body covered in a pale violet sheen, hideous beyond compare.

“Ah!” Luo Si fell to his knees, howling at the sky.

His howl startled Ghostface and Fast Hands, who were trapped by zombies. Ghostface, already half-dead from hunger, nudged Fast Hands. “This could be our chance. Want to try escaping?”

Fast Hands clung to the barbed wire, peering outside a few times, and said weakly, “Can we really get out? We might just die at his hands instead.”

Ghostface chuckled. “We have to try. My face is already ruined, I don’t care anymore. But you still have a chance. I’ll help you.”

He lay on the ground, letting Fast Hands step on his back and climb the barbed wire.

After following Ghostface for so long, Fast Hands had never imagined he’d be given such an opportunity. He hesitated only a moment before stepping onto Ghostface’s back and climbing up.

Just as he was about to flip over, Ghostface suddenly arched his body and shoved upward, toppling Fast Hands onto the wire.

It bent into a semicircle under his weight, and a zombie immediately lunged, yanking Fast Hands down as he howled. Seizing the moment, Ghostface used his back as a springboard and leapt out.

He landed in the clearing in front of Luo Si. Smiling, he said to Luo Si, “Did those people inside screw you over too? Why not try teaming up with me?”

End of Chapter 30.