Chapter 23: Return to Camp
No, I can’t eat this.
Lin Xiwan’s instincts screamed at her not to touch the beef cans, despite her gnawing hunger and depleted energy.
It was too suspicious, like a trap laid by the camp members—they knew she was short on food and water.
It might be poisoned. I can’t eat it.
Despite her weakness, Lin Xiwan ignored the beef cans. She ran out of the alley and stopped at the corner by the convenience store, pressing herself against the wall.
Carefully, she peeked around the corner towards the camp.
She froze.
Was she seeing things?
Were those… zombies wandering near the camp entrance?
That area was supposed to be cleared, wasn’t it? Something was wrong with the camp?
Whether something was wrong or not, Lin Xiwan didn’t care. This was her chance to escape.
Without hesitation, she turned left and sprinted, running along the main road.
It wasn’t fully daylight yet. The main road was her safest option; the side streets were too dark, every corner concealing unknown dangers.
Along the way, she saw several scattered cans of food. Each time, she forced herself to look away.
Only when she saw several skeletons lying on the ground did Lin Xiwan slow down.
Camp members?
She couldn’t identify any other features, but the dreadlocks confirmed that one of the skeletons belonged to one of her pursuers.
Why were camp members dead here?
Lin Xiwan continued running, passing more and more skeletal remains, all seemingly belonging to camp members.
Each skeleton had drag marks, like they’d been pulled by zombies feeding on them. The blood trails pointed towards the camp.
Something had definitely happened there.
Then those cans of food… were they…
Only when she saw a skeleton lying beside a bag of canned food did Lin Xiwan truly believe something had happened to the camp.
The cans were most likely safe. They wouldn’t waste so many cans on a trap. These were valuable supplies, equivalent to blood crystals.
Lin Xiwan crouched down, opened a few cans, sniffed them, and finding nothing unusual, poured the contents into her mouth and swallowed.
She had to replenish her energy quickly to prepare for evading the horde.
Not caring what kind of canned food it was, she devoured several cans before standing up again.
Now she felt her strength returning, almost back to her pre-injury level.
This increased her chances of escaping the horde.
Running another kilometer towards the bridge, Lin Xiwan felt her body loosen up.
She could feel her blood sugar rising, the hunger pangs disappearing, strength surging back.
Her D-rank Awakened physique could carry her all the way to the bridge without pausing for breath.
But this time, she was stopped by something else.
Lin Xiwan slowed down to examine it.
The sky was now fully lit, the morning sunlight illuminating the streetlight in front of her.
Below the streetlight, a Nest Zombie was “tied,” its body completely immobilized, smoke rising from its skin as it sizzled in the sunlight.
The only parts still moving were its twenty-odd pairs of legs, twitching weakly. It looked like it was about to die.
Lin Xiwan looked at the Nest Zombie’s neck. It had been pierced by bone spikes and secured to the streetlight.
Was this…the work of another zombie?
Why had that zombie only restrained it, not killed it?
Bone spikes… again with the bone spikes?
A sense of foreboding washed over Lin Xiwan.
There might be a powerful bone-type evolved zombie in Haixin District, or a bone-type Awakened.
Perhaps they were responsible for what had happened to the camp.
I can’t stay here long.
Lin Xiwan quickly reached this conclusion.
She kicked the Nest Zombie’s abdomen.
As expected, she saw a blood crystal.
Three blood crystals in total!
Enough for her and her sister to live comfortably for a long time…
The thought of her sister brought Lin Xiwan crashing back to reality.
“Hoo…”
Exhaling slowly, she pocketed the blood crystals and continued running towards the bridge.
Soon, she saw the hazy outline of the bridge in the distance.
Lin Xiwan’s heartbeat quickened. She regulated her breathing, ensuring she was in peak condition.
When she was about 150 meters from the bridge, she sprinted.
This distance was definitely within the range of Bone Spike Lurker. The Wailers themselves couldn’t stop her. She just had to cross the pile of cars and watch out for any Wailers hiding among them…
Her heart pounded, the adrenaline masking the tearing of the makeshift bandage around her waist.
The only sounds she heard were her own footsteps, her panting breath, and the wind rushing past her ears. She didn’t even notice whether she heard any Wailer shrieks.
Only after quickly scaling the pile of vehicles and reaching the halfway point of the bridge did she slow down, puzzled.
She looked back. The area was quiet, as if nothing had happened.
Lin Xiwan gasped for breath, the exertion almost making her vomit the canned food she’d just eaten.
The Wailers… were they gone?
Had they left?
Focused on running, she hadn’t noticed the headless Wailer corpses among the vehicles.
“Such good luck…”
Everything, from the moment she woke up, had been too perfect.
As if her luck had turned, as if she was blessed by a guardian angel.
“Just a stroke of luck…”
Lin Xiwan shook her head, turned, and continued running across the bridge.
To reach the camp, she still had to cross another district…
Lin Xiwan pushed her body to its limits. Every time she felt like collapsing, she only stopped for five minutes before continuing.
Even for an Awakened, this level of exertion was difficult to sustain. The lactic acid buildup made her knees ache; she could barely feel her legs.
Sweat soaked her remaining half-shirt, but she managed to sprint the entire distance.
Even for a D-rank physical enhancement Awakened, this was a remarkable feat.
While she hadn’t reached the point of muscle breakdown, she would definitely need to spend half a day in bed. She was still flesh and blood, capable of feeling pain, unlike the tireless zombies.
Only when the surrounding buildings became shorter and an incline appeared in front of her did Lin Xiwan finally slow down.
Her legs wobbled from exertion. She stumbled, taking one step at a time up the slope.
The camp guards seemed to notice her approaching figure. They raised their silenced rifles, aiming at her.
But one guard quickly waved his hand and shouted something. The others lowered their weapons and jogged down the slope towards her.
“Sister Lin, you…you’re back?” One guard reached Lin Xiwan’s side, feigning concern. “Where are Captain Zhang and the others?”
The title “Sister Lin” wasn’t out of respect for her age, but for her strength.
“Move aside,” Lin Xiwan said coldly, continuing her ascent.
None of the guards dared block her path.
Lin Xiwan was an Awakened. In fact, most of them, the camp guards, relied on Awakened like her for supplies.
Suddenly, one of them seemed to remember something, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Only after Lin Xiwan, swaying, had passed them and was out of sight did someone speak, their voice trembling.
“Wasn’t Sister Lin’s younger sister…”
“Hiss…”
“Holy shit…”
“Is it too late to quit and apply for a job at Hengyang Camp?”
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