Luo Feng used his sleeve to wipe the blood off his cheek.
The zombie that now had a bullet hole in its head collapsed.
Another rushed up to him.
Luo Feng continued to shoot the rushing zombies.
After a while, there were no more.
He listened for any sounds but could only hear the heavy breathing of the men behind him.
One of those men walked up to the door and looked inside.
"Clear," he said, waving a palm.
Luo Feng followed along with the rest of the hunting team as they stepped into the store.
The leader was a rough man with a scar across his eyebrow.
He led the team cautiously into the store.
They searched the single floor inside and found no strays.
"All perimeters clear," he said.
The team dispersed as another group of people came in.
They were the scavengers.
These people were composed of both men and women.
They carried huge bags with them and searched for any useful items, while the hunting team guarded.
Normally, they should have been the team that was stressed the most.
But in reality, it wasn't true.
Luo Feng had noticed the lack of zombies in the area.
They were a bit far off from the base, so there should have been more strays.
The truth, though, was different.
The streets and roads were cleared of zombies.
Aside from the blood and corpses, it was mostly empty.
The only action the hunting team had done on this trip was clear the store.
Luo Feng guessed that the reason there were even any zombies present was because the owner had locked the store.
So, on the day of the apocalypse, it was only the owner and a few workers that turned and were trapped inside.
If not for that, the store would have been as desolate as the rest of the city.
Luo Feng felt that the whole matter was suspicious.
According to the leader, the hunting team didn't clear any zombies when they set up the base.
It was already this peaceful.
Plus, there was a lack of zombie corpses around the area.
So it wasn't that someone came to kill them.
They were never here in the first place.
"Time to leave," the scar-faced man announced.
The hunting team boarded a reinforced vehicle while the scavengers took another vehicle.
The ride back was the same.
No zombies.
No people.
Just corpses and blood.
For the past week, Luo Feng hadn't seen anything else.
They arrived at the base and got off.
Luo Feng went to hand over the issued weapons that they had been given.
Then he went to the cafeteria for lunch.
Luo Feng usually sat alone because he didn't bother to have any relationships.
After all, the only thing he cared about was completing the mission so that he could go home again.
So his team knew him as a silent lone wolf that didn't like socializing.
His face was always cold and indifferent, so he was seen as intimidating.
Coupled with his ordinary appearance, people felt that it was not worth it.
Well, except that dark-skinned man.
Luo Feng raised an eyebrow the first time he saw him sitting down at his table.
But then he saw the dark-skinned man place his daughter beside Luo Feng while he sat in front.
Luo Feng turned to the young girl chewing bread quietly and seemed to understand something.
Luo Feng was in the hunting team.
The hunting team fought zombies every day, so they received respect.
Plus, they were among the highest level in the base.
And the dark-skinned man was just a low-level worker.
He was also a father to a young daughter.
He couldn't protect the two of them.
But it would be easy for Luo Feng to protect his daughter.
The dark-skinned man didn't ask.
He knew he couldn't convince Luo Feng to help him because he had nothing to offer.
So he just gambled on what type of man Luo Feng was.
Whether he would chase a child away or not.
His gamble was in his favor.
After all, Luo Feng had lived in his original world as a normal, law-abiding citizen.
Now he might be heartless.
But that heartlessness didn't extend to kids.
And random killing.
Luo Feng wasn't some bloodthirsty beast or ruthless person.
He was fierce and determined, but he couldn't just watch people die without feeling anything.
But that didn't mean he was a saint who risked his life for other people.
Neither was he a good person.
He was just someone trying to go home.
So he could let certain things within his capacity slide.
Including the tactical use of his power to protect a little girl.
The dark-skinned man sighed in relief and expressed his thanks.
Luo Feng nodded and said nothing more.
So it became a silent agreement between them.
To the present time—
They sat down like usual.
The people eating were in much higher spirits compared to the first day.
Now there was conversation happening between random people, and the cafeteria was a bit noisy.
The chatter, however, was interrupted by the sound of a huge clap.
The sound reverberated across the walls until there was silence.
"Hello everyone, I'm the head and founder of this base.
You can call me The Principal," an old man probably in his late 40s said.
His face was showing signs of wrinkling, but his gaze was kind.
He looked and sounded like an amiable elder.
"I was the person in charge of the Hope Orphanage before the apocalypse," he continued.
"Unfortunately, the orphanage was lost due to the zombie outbreak, and I could only flee." He looked sad as he said this.
"That's when I heard the voice from below." His expression changed to awe.
"I was told to provide a new safe house for all the human beings who had been reduced to children due to the zombie outbreak." He became excited.
"That was how I built this base called the New Hope Orphanage," he smiled at this.
"Unfortunately, I just found out that we are about to face another disaster once again." He was back to frowning.
The transformation between joy and sadness on his face was instant.
There was no gradual change.
This made Luo Feng realize one thing—
The Principal was probably a madman.
"The signs have been so clear that I couldn't believe no one had noticed it." His face was grim.
"There is going to be a zombie horde approaching in a week's time." His voice reached into the hearts of all.
The silent cafeteria instantly fell into panic.
Some people must have remembered the reason they were here and started to scream.
Some people were crying while everyone was agitated.
Luo Feng too was solemn.
He felt that he should have thought of a zombie horde once he saw how quiet the streets were.
The zombies must have migrated to another base close by before coming here.
A zombie horde was always the biggest test for a base in a zombie movie.
Just imagine a hundred undead corpses struggling to tear into the humans hiding behind cement walls.
But Luo Feng also felt that this must be the thing that destroyed the base.
[ Don't kid yourself ]
The system interrupted the relief he felt.
Luo Feng snorted at the system.
'Don't look at my thoughts casually,' he replied mentally.
[ Please complete the mission seriously ]
The system said one last time before falling silent.
Luo Feng snorted twice at the silent system.
"I know that this is a cause for panic, but I hope that no one does anything extreme." The Principal looked each person in the eye.
"After all, you might survive due to your own selfishness, but there will also be a lot of bodies tied to your soul." He said each word heavily.
"Never forget.
You would survive.
But are you ready to live that kind of life after?" The Principal said.
"Anyway, I'm going to look for a way of survival for the base, so don't bother me." The Principal was hyper again.
He excitedly left.
The crowd seemed to have regained some hope with his last words.
After all, the Principal was a madman, but he sounded like a madman who was crazy about the base.
But the thought had been planted in the back of their minds.
They would have nightmares of the time they had to climb out of blood and corpses of their once-living friends and family.
The people who used to smile and laugh with them were now being torn apart right before their eyes.
The trauma had resurfaced, and the base seemed to be brimming with tension.
Luo Feng felt it more accurately as a seasoned survivor in the zombie apocalypse.
Luo Feng eventually couldn't take the waiting for more than a day.
He decided to start his investigation with the founder of the base.
That madman.
The way to his office was surprisingly easy to access.
Aside from some superficial checking, they didn't ask why he wanted to meet the Principal and guided him in.
Luo Feng also noticed the lack of guards.
By lack, I mean the non-existence of them.
There were practically only two.
And those two were the ones in front of the building where the office was located.
Luo Feng began to think.
The reason for this was probably two things.
Either he was confident that he could keep his secrets while staying in the open.
Or he had no secrets at all to hide.
Anyway, this madman didn't seem simple.