Chapter 34: Where are the zombies?

"This..."

"Can someone tell me what on earth is going on here?"

On the small earthen mound outside the prison, Lu Yu and Zhou Yi were struck with horror.

Where were the zombies?

They had gone through immense hardship to complete their tasks, finally managing to purchase soil bombs from the Apocalypse Merchant.

They were just about to return and blast a hole through the prison's barbed wire to release the zombies.

Everything was ready.

But where were the zombies?

Where had they gone?

The entire prison was empty; they couldn't even see a shadow of a single zombie.

Could it be...

Even though Lu Yu already had an answer in his heart, he couldn't help but seek confirmation from Zhou Yi beside him.

"Could it be that someone cleared out this prison zone and claimed the prison for themselves?"

Lu Yu felt this was the answer closest to the truth.

Zhou Yi said nothing.

He stood blankly on the mound, his gaze somewhat vacant.

Lu Yu nudged Zhou Yi.

"A-Yi! Wake up! Wake up, quickly!"

"Heh."

Coming back to his senses, Zhou Yi felt a bitterness in his mouth and let out a self-mocking laugh.

Are players these days this strong?

They could even deal with this many zombies?

Or was he just too weak?

In recent days, he had faced far too many setbacks!

Now, even the prison mission they had planned for so long had been snatched away by someone else!

How humiliating!

Zhou Yi was demoralized.

He had even begun to suffer from severe self-doubt.

He wondered if he should never have chosen the Zombie Apocalypse as the new target for his company.

"Boss, don't panic yet. Even if someone cleared the prison plaza, the mission might not have been triggered yet."

Seeing that Zhou Yi's expression was off, Lu Yu hurriedly tried to persuade him.

"Building No. 3 is just as dangerous. No matter how fast they are, it's impossible for them to have cleared both the plaza and Building No. 3 at the same time!"

"Right, you have a point!"

Zhou Yi slapped his cheeks to pull himself together.

He hadn't lost yet!

He couldn't afford to lose!

Right now, the entire future of his company rested on this game.

Failure would mean years of hard work going to waste and his family's industry being destroyed by his hands.

It wasn't time to admit defeat!

Zhou Yi forced himself to rally.

"Let's go into Building No. 3 together first and confirm if the inside..."

Halfway through his sentence, Zhou Yi slowly fell silent.

He saw a window on the second floor of Building No. 3 being opened from the inside.

Then, a chubby head poked out.

It was a survivor!

He was looking out the window at the scenery out of sheer boredom, a skewer of grilled meat in his left hand and a bottle of beer in his right.

He looked like someone who had absolutely no worries about food or drink.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi fell into silence once again.

The confidence he had just built up was instantly shattered.

Lu Yu was also speechless for a long time.

Now they could be certain: not just the entire prison plaza, but even Building No. 3 had been completely cleared by a group of players...

And this group was living quite comfortably.

"Pull yourself together, Boss!"

"Even so, that only proves they cleared Building No. 3!"

"We still have a chance! What if they haven't found the prison guard's diary?"

"That thing is hidden so well, and Building No. 3 is so large, with so many cabinets on the second floor. Ordinary people would never think to check the hidden compartments."

Yes, there was still hope.

"I haven't lost yet!"

Zhou Yi raised his head again, muttering to himself as if trying to convince himself.

"Come, let's go in and talk to the people inside."

The two of them walked down the slope and waved toward Liao Bofan at the second-floor window.

Seeing the two suspicious men, Liao Bofan tossed aside his beer bottle and jumped down from the second-floor platform.

He walked forward cautiously and asked through three layers of barbed wire.

"Hey, you two have been watching from over there for a long time, haven't you? What are you here for?"

Zhou Yi adjusted his emotions and stood at a safe distance from Liao Bofan outside the wire.

"Hello, we mean no harm. I am the owner of Tengfei Game Technology Company. We just happened to be passing by and wanted to discuss a partnership with your boss. Is your boss inside?"

In his mind, Zhou Yi had already assumed the other party was a gaming company or a player guild.

Zhou Yi frowned.

"Hmm? Boss? Are you here to find Fang Heng?"

Fang Heng!?

The name sent a jolt through both Zhou Yi and Lu Yu.

Was it him? That god-tier player?

What the hell! So it wasn't some gaming company!

It was a god!

He had actually cleared out the entire prison!

But on second thought, it made sense.

Aside from him, who else would have the ability to clear all the zombies in the prison plaza and Building No. 3?

Zhou Yi felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

After all that, it was still him.

Lu Yu had a sudden idea and quickly chimed in.

"Yes, yes, yes! We are all friends of Fang Heng. I've added him as a friend before. My name is Lu Yu."

Liao Bofan's eyes darted around. He opened his personal survival radio and sent an emergency communication to Fang Heng.

As it happened, Fang Heng was still in the prison today.

Liao Bofan: *Fang Heng, someone claiming to be from some company is here to talk partnership. One of them says he's your friend, named Lu Yu.*

Fang Heng: *There is such a person. Take them to the sentry hut first, I'll be there shortly.*

After receiving Fang Heng's confirmation, Liao Bofan nodded to the two men.

"Alright then, follow me to the hut."

As he spoke, Liao Bofan pulled a handgun from his backpack and pointed it toward a small hut nearby.

"Let me be clear: don't try any tricks!"

The moment Zhou Yi saw the handgun Liao Bofan pulled out, his heart skipped a beat.

A gun!

He glanced at Lu Yu.

It was a gun!

The mission they had paid for stated that the reward for completing the first stage of the prison's hidden mission was a handgun!

Lu Yu, not noticing Zhou Yi's gaze, asked in surprise, "You... you already have a gun?"

"Hehe, not bad, right? Found it while searching the prison."

Hearing this, Zhou Yi's face turned ashen, and he couldn't utter a single word.

It's over!

It's all over!

The guard's notebook must have been discovered.

Worse still, they had even completed the first stage of the mission and found the safe left by the guard.

All their hard work over the past few days had gone to waste...

Lu Yu's smile was extremely awkward.

"Then... then you guys are truly impressive."

"Heh, aren't we?"

The surprised expressions on their faces gave Liao Bofan a sense of satisfaction.

He had been quite stimulated by Fang Heng over the past two days.

He needed a place to vent and balance his psyche.

These two were perfect.

Liao Bofan continued to boast.

"Man, you guys have no idea. This prison isn't that simple; there's even a basement inside."

The expressions of Lu Yu and the other man changed simultaneously.

A basement!

The basement in the second stage of the mission was extremely difficult, requiring one to pass through a long basement corridor.

Could it be...

Could it be that he had already started the second stage of the mission?