Chapter 6#

Escape#

Fortunately, Zhao Yanzhi still had some sense of propriety—he said this using a private chat.

Zhao Wanzhi beside him said coldly, “Want me to put up a wall for the two of you so you can show off your love even more properly?”

Among the skills of the Blademaster, there is one that can slash out a blade aura to trap people inside, preventing outsiders from entering and those inside from leaving—commonly known as “building a wall.”

“Yeah, then thanks, Wanwan.” Zhao Yanzhi chuckled.

Zhao Wanzhi rolled her eyes. She really didn’t know when her cousin had become so shameless.

As they joked, their expressions improved a lot. Unlike Gu Cheng, who had long been familiar with the apocalypse, as people who grew up in a peaceful era, no matter how strong their psychological resilience, they still felt uncomfortable. If Gu Cheng hadn’t deliberately led them through the city over the past week, killing some Devourers, their reactions now would’ve been even worse.

The smell of blood grew stronger, nauseating. Zhao Wanzhi felt acid rising in her mouth; it was truly unbearable.

If even Zhao Wanzhi was like this, then Zhao Yanzhi, who had always been fastidious, was naturally in an even worse state.

He leaned against Gu Cheng, inhaling the faint herbal scent on him, which helped him feel a bit better. It wasn’t that he was trying to take advantage of Gu Cheng at a time like this.

Gunshots lasted for several minutes, coming in bursts. These soldiers must have received orders long ago—they didn’t hesitate to open fire, shooting down anyone who started attacking humans.

However, their understanding of Devourers was still too limited. Even for people accustomed to using guns, it was hard to hit the heart or the brain precisely.

Thus, seeing Devourers shot multiple times yet still staggering and trying to attack, many of those holding guns were terrified instead.

This didn’t look like normal humans at all.

There were ten to twenty thousand people in this gymnasium. For the survivors of the entire city, this was only a small part. But among these ten to twenty thousand, the number of Devourers was overwhelming. As the soldiers began to be attacked, screams and chaos erupted, and Gu Cheng immediately grabbed Zhao Yanzhi, saying to Zhao Wanzhi beside him, “Let’s go!”

The Devourers inside had been given food daily. Those who were here basically had family members taking care of them. They had lost consciousness, but since they were brought here, their families naturally wouldn’t starve them, so they had managed to stay docile until now. But with their appetite triggered, things wouldn’t be so simple.

The appetite of Devourers was far greater than that of ordinary humans. When not in a state of hunger, they could barely suppress their aggression. But as they evolved step by step, their appetite grew stronger, and so did their aggression.

In the early days of the apocalypse, being able to stay docile for over a week was already their limit.

Gu Cheng thought, This is probably why so-called survivor bases can’t hold up in the end.

They were some distance from the exit. Blood had spread across the gym floor, leaving almost no place to step. Zhao Yanzhi’s expression darkened. He took the zither case and struck it with his palm, shattering it instantly. He said in surprise, “Didn’t think it’d actually come in handy.”

Gu Cheng was both amused and exasperated. “You were just testing it?”

“Yeah, just testing… whether internal energy and stuff actually work.”

Of course, they did.

Gu Cheng looked at Zhao Yanzhi. In his past life, it was also Zhao Yanzhi who first discovered that what they possessed weren’t just game skills but genuine martial arts traits.

As the case shattered, the resplendent zither inside was exposed, stunning even Feng Nanyun and the others, who had been too preoccupied to pay attention to them.

They never imagined that the zither case actually contained a real zither… even if it was a strange-looking ancient zither by modern standards.

With flying birds and jade flowers, a deep black base, and snow-white silk strings—one look and it was clear this zither was no ordinary instrument.

Compared to Zhao Yanzhi, Gu Cheng was much more low-key. His weapon was a transcribed bamboo flute, inconspicuous and without any special glowing effects. Using a flute as a brush was quite elegant, but they didn’t want to cause too much commotion. As they made their way outward, the three of them mostly used basic attacks.

Whether it was the Proud Frost Blade Technique, the Judge’s Brush Technique, or the Five Tones and Six Tones, their attack power was actually very low—nowhere near the damage of skills. But combined with Zhao Wanzhi’s Red Thunder Kick, they could instantly clear an area, allowing them to run outside effortlessly.

Standing at the entrance, Commander Sang had a very ugly expression. He was an ordinary person. At this point, he still didn’t know what surviving a fever meant, nor how strong new humans would become in the future. He had received information about the Devourers, but he hadn’t anticipated so many of them—so many that his decisions had directly backfired, leading to the current uncontrollable situation.

In the early days of the apocalypse, parents refused to abandon their children, children refused to abandon their parents, husbands wouldn’t leave their wives, and wives were determined to stay with their husbands—too many cases. Even if a relative had become dazed and unresponsive, their body was still warm, still breathing, still able to eat. No matter how you looked at it, they were still human! So, among the so-called “survivors” in this gymnasium, the number of Devourers was terrifyingly high.

Once these Devourers’ appetites were fully triggered, this place would become hell.

There were too many Devourers, and the gymnasium was enclosed and without cover. Even Gu Cheng and his two companions couldn’t control the situation under these circumstances. All they could do was leave quickly.

Even though Gu Cheng had initially wanted to see how Yang Junfei and Feng Nanyun would become mortal enemies, the current development had somewhat exceeded his expectations.

As they were about to dart past Commander Sang, they heard the icy-faced commander speak: “Wait. You can’t leave for now.”

Gu Cheng ignored him entirely. He knew that after today, Commander Sang would no longer be a figure of importance. On the other side, Feng Nanyun had begun to consolidate his soldiers. Amidst the siege of Devourers, Commander Sang’s forces would be drastically weakened. Feng Nanyun himself was a new human. Over the past week, he had vaguely realized this and deliberately gathered a dozen or so soldiers—all evolved new humans—while Commander Sang remained completely unaware.

Yang Junfei did the same, though the new humans he gathered were mostly ordinary people and students.

In the apocalypse, all kinds of “monsters and demons” began to run rampant. People who might not have seemed particularly special in a peaceful world gradually rose to prominence.

Commander Sang still wanted to put on airs as a leader, but it remained to be seen if anyone would listen.

Zhao Wanzhi said coldly, “Move aside!” Her Proud Frost Blade showed no intention of avoiding him.

Commander Sang was enraged. He had a gun in his hand, and without hesitation, he raised it to fire.

“Hold it!” Feng Nanyun called out, but he couldn’t stop Commander Sang.

Before the apocalypse, Feng Nanyun was only a captain in the armed police, while Commander Sang was a regiment-level officer in the military. He valued Feng Nanyun, true, but deep down, he never truly regarded Feng Nanyun as his equal.

Just as Commander Sang was about to draw his gun, Zhao Yanzhi had already held his zither in hand. The ancient zither produced a distant, clear sound, starkly out of place in this scene.

Before Feng Nanyun’s words had even faded, the skill “Settling Wild Geese on the Sand,” which required a short casting time, had already hit Commander Sang.

A faint, mocking smile curled at the corner of Zhao Yanzhi’s lips. Commander Sang found it hard to believe that his body had lost control.

“Bang!” His gun went off, but he screamed instead—because the bullet had hit his own knee. His leg gave way, and he fell to the ground.

As he fell, the soldiers beside him hurried to support him, naturally leaving an opening. Zhao Wanzhi led the way, followed by Gu Cheng and Zhao Yanzhi. The three dashed out of the gymnasium in an instant.

Breathing in the fresh air outside, Zhao Yanzhi’s foul mood finally eased a little.

It was almost dusk. The campus had long lost its former vitality, replaced by a heavy, deathly stillness. Zhao Yanzhi felt something stirring in the air, and his expression turned grim. Gu Cheng grabbed his hand and said, “Hurry, run.”

Zhao Wanzhi noticed that Gu Cheng had very naturally taken Zhao Yanzhi’s hand, and Zhao Yanzhi immediately went further by interlocking their fingers. Yet Gu Cheng seemed completely unaware—or rather, seemed accustomed to it, finding nothing wrong. She couldn’t help but find it rather intriguing.

It seemed her cousin was right: before Gu Cheng’s rebirth, they must have already been together.

As a friend who had known them in the game for over three years, Zhao Wanzhi was well aware of Gu Cheng’s family background. Compared to her and Zhao Yanzhi, Gu Cheng’s life story was somewhat melodramatic. The Gu family was quite well-known in their city—one of the buildings on their campus was donated by the Gu family.

Wealthy, and wanting a bit of cultured reputation.

But the Gu family wasn’t really established—just nouveau riche, built entirely on the fortune Grandpa Gu had earned from scratch.

By Gu Cheng’s generation, he could barely be considered a third-generation rich kid.

Gu Cheng was the second among his generation, neither the eldest nor the youngest—an awkward position. His father, however, was the eldest son of the previous generation. Grandpa and Grandma Gu had four children, all boys. By Gu Cheng’s generation, they were all only children. When the eldest was born, the family took the auspicious meaning of “a bright future” from the phrase “qian cheng si jin.” Apart from the eldest brother Gu Qian, the names for the younger ones—whether boys or girls—could all use “cheng” and “jin.” Thus, Gu Cheng had a younger cousin, Gu Si, and a younger cousin, Gu Jin.

The more lacking in heritage a nouveau riche family was, the more messy things happened once they had money. Gu Cheng’s parents died early. His father was the eldest son, yet he was born three years later than Gu Qian, and Gu Si was only half a year younger than him. This in-between second-child position was very awkward, making his life difficult from a young age, and as he grew up, it only got worse.

This shaped Gu Cheng into someone who appeared gentle and refined on the surface but was actually very cold-hearted inside.

Zhao Wanzhi had once advised Zhao Yanzhi to give up, not just because of gender or family background. Whether or not Gu Cheng could be turned, warming up this person’s heart was no easy task!

Who would have thought her cousin had actually done it?

Gu Cheng didn’t notice the subtle change in Zhao Wanzhi’s expression at all. He squinted into the distance where night was spreading, “…It’s not just these human Devourers whose appetite has been stirred.”

The smell of blood had traveled too far.

This gymnasium wasn’t airtight. Too many had died—whether shot to death or bitten by Devourers. Blood flooded everywhere. After Commander Sang completely lost control, more and more people fled out behind Gu Cheng and his group. They cried as they stumbled and fell to their knees, trembling as they looked at the blood on their clothes, then ran to the side to dry heave.

Gu Cheng and the other two didn’t stay, nor could they.

The smell of blood had already attracted a greater danger, lurking in the depths of the dark night.

Stirring restlessly.