Chapter Sixty: The Surprise Attack

Boss Ma, water streaming down his face, sneered and said, “The meat is on the chopping block now. Do as you see fit. Wujue, I’d like to see how you intend to save this world with your methods.”

Wujue pressed his palms together and replied, “I will do my utmost to lead everyone through this catastrophe.”

Then he turned to Xun’er and Ling’er, saying, “Enough. We must stop fighting and turn to more urgent matters. You can’t keep fighting on your own. The Dragon Palace can offer shelter for now, but we need to unite against the true enemy.”

“The true enemy? Who do you mean? Isn’t he the enemy?” Ling’er pointed her scythe at Boss Ma.

Xun’er shook her head. “Don’t even think about hurting him. If he must die, it will be by my hand.”

“Who are you?” Ling’er demanded.

Xun’er answered quietly, “His daughter.”

Xiao Yang frowned. “Enough, everyone. No more arguing. Wujue, let’s find Boss Ma’s people quickly. We can’t stay here any longer. I just got word—the Tianzhu Clan is about to launch another attack. They pulled their forces away to deal with other areas, which is the only reason they left us alone. If they come back, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

No sooner had he spoken than someone ran out of the woods, shouting, “It’s bad! Someone’s lost control and started attacking our own. Boss, come quick!”

Wujue and Xiao Yang rushed into the woods. The camp was now in chaos. Elderly and children were fleeing in panic, while a dozen mutated zombies rampaged, attacking their own.

“How can so many monsters appear in an instant?” Wujue drew his pistol without hesitation, aimed at a charging zombie, and ended it with a single shot.

Xiao Yang threw a dart, striking another zombie in the forehead. He called out for everyone to retreat. “This situation is worse than I thought. No one here may be safe.”

Boss Ma and the others followed, shouting, “Don’t panic! Everyone retreat this way—we’re leaving now!”

As Wujue fired, he asked, “When did zombies infiltrate your camp? Didn’t you notice?”

Boss Ma, dazed, replied, “No, they were all our people. They were fine before.”

“That’s impossible!” Xiao Yang suddenly stepped back, grabbed Boss Ma, and said, “Are you saying these people were bitten before and only now turned—?”

Suddenly, realization dawned on him. He clapped his hands. “I get it! Some of them were infected with the virus early on, but it hadn’t triggered. The damned Tianzhu Clan controlled the timing of the outbreak, picking this moment to hold us back.”

“What do we do?” Wujue grasped the gravity of the situation.

Xiao Yang said immediately, “We must gather everyone and have Xiao Han examine them. Otherwise, we can’t weed out the carriers.”

Wujue told An Yi to stop Boss Ma, and together they blocked the fleeing survivors. “Don’t run, or you’ll endanger us all.”

Ling’er sneered, “They all deserve to die. Not one should be spared.” She hurled a bone like a missile, splitting a zombie’s head clean in two.

The chaos intensified. Some, thinking themselves doomed, drew their weapons and fired on Wujue and Xiao Yang.

Two shots rang out. Xiao Yang was hit in the back, but his special armor stopped the bullet—without it, he’d have died. He checked his shoulder and looked back at the shooter, a man now in a frenzy, brandishing his weapon. “Don’t look at me! We’re getting out of here, and it’s your fault!”

There was nothing to discuss. Xiao Yang raised his gun and grazed the man’s scalp, knocking him unconscious.

Boss Ma shouted, “Stop! All of you, stop! Don’t throw your lives away!”

But who would listen now?

Some escaped into the forest. Wujue and Xiao Yang dealt with most of the zombies. Xun’er, suddenly composed, declared, “I’ll go after them!” She darted into the woods in pursuit.

At last, the chaos subsided. The dozen or so survivors were corralled at the camp entrance, forced to sit and await their fate.

An Yi brought Xiao Han, who, after hearing Wujue’s account, began scanning the survivors with his divine mirror. To his shock, some harbored a strange virus within.

Xiao Yang asked, “Well? Any way to fix this?”

Xiao Han shook his head. “It won’t be easy. The virus is cunning. If my mirror’s light penetrates their bodies, it might trigger an outbreak and turn them all into zombies.”

As they discussed, Ao Hai, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. “I can help. I’ll use seawater to contain the virus and prevent it from acting up. But I want something from Boss Ma in return.”

Boss Ma burst out laughing. “Good, good. You’re willing to help! Name your terms—whatever they are, I’ll agree, even if it costs me my life.”

Hearing this, Wujue and the others couldn’t help but feel some respect for Boss Ma’s courage.

Ao Hai shook his head. “Forget your life. I can have my father, the King, grant you an island to live on, separate from others. But you must promise never to covet the Dragon Palace again. We’ll help if necessary, but the Dragon Palace won’t be handed over to mortals. Especially not to you!”

Boss Ma was even more delighted. “Such generous terms—aren’t you doing me a favor? To show my sincerity, I should give up something, or I’d be ungracious.”

He opened his mouth and bit off his own finger, holding the bloody stump in his hand. “With this finger, I swear—if I ever harbor suspicion again, you can take my life.”

Wujue closed his eyes and silently recited a sutra—Boss Ma was truly fierce.

Ao Hai said, “There’s no need for that. I never asked you to harm yourself. Wait here while I speak with the Dragon King.”

With that, he hurried off to consult with the king.

Meanwhile, Wujue began searching for the missing Xun’er and contacted the airship to have Huron bring it over for evacuation.

Soon, Xun’er returned from the woods, but she had only found two of the lost; the rest were scattered.

Wujue urged everyone to prepare to leave. The Tianzhu Clan could attack at any moment.

Just then, Huron and An Yi arrived with the airship, and most people were quickly loaded on board, ready to return to the lake.

Before the airship could take off, the ground suddenly trembled, and the surrounding trees seemed to sway.

Xiao Han exclaimed, “The enemy’s here already? That’s too fast—it’s bizarre!”

Huron frowned. “No, it seems like there’s something wrong with the trees.”

Wujue swept his gaze over the forest and sensed the trees twisting into monstrous shapes, their branches clawing to keep the airship from leaving.

Princess An Yi stuck her head out and said, “Forget it. You all go ahead—I’ll smash these monsters to bits.”

She waved her hand in a circle, shattering a branch; from the broken trunk oozed foul black liquid.

No one had expected the Tianzhu Clan’s virus to infect even the trees.

End of Chapter Sixty—Sudden Attack.