I can go to the right," Yan Yu Guoke said, taking a scalpel from his pocket. "As long as the number of zombies appearing at once doesn't exceed five, I'm confident I can handle it."
"However..." Yan Yu looked at Bai Mu.
"I'll follow Yan Yu's orders," Bai Mu said.
He didn't care which way he went; the main thing was that the revolver he got from the last script was still in his pocket. With a gun in hand, he wasn't worried at all.
His revolver had sixty-six bullets, starting with sixty-six rounds—he was practically rolling in money. Back in the day, he had fought his way out of the university town penniless. Now, with food and a gun, he was naturally as safe as a rock. Besides, he had a reliable-looking ally by his side.
If the Beidahuang and Nandagang brothers wanted to go to the left, let them go. Bai Mu had just taken a piece of armor from someone else; it was only right to give way a little.
He was always like that—reciprocity was key.
"I'm so sorry."
Bei Dahuang said apologetically, but he grinned and loosened his grip, pulling his younger brother a step to the left.
"It's settled then, we'll meet in the small square on the first floor." Bei Dahuang said.
"Don't go to any remote places, just walk around the area." Yan Yu said, "We'll try to meet within fifteen minutes. If anyone is still alive and hasn't appeared in the small square after fifteen minutes, we should consider the worst-case scenario." "Okay.
" Bei Dahuang gave an OK sign.
The four of them split into two groups as planned, one going left and the other going right, and began exploring the mall.
Bai Mu continued to follow behind Yan Yu and Guo Ke, walking close to the fence, which was on their left, so they only needed to be careful of their front, back, and right sides.
There weren't many zombies on the third floor of the mall, and judging from the decorations on the storefronts and inside the glass, many shops had been emptied.
It was clear that the mall had been emptied before the outbreak, presumably due to a large number of residents being hospitalized in a short period, leaving the mall deserted and businesses unable to pay rent, forcing them to close down at a loss.
Through the glass, Bai Mu saw tables and chairs left behind by the merchants, as well as plastic mannequins from clothing stores. Some clothing store doors were open, with clothes hanging on racks inside.
After walking for about half a minute, he saw a saleswoman in a black and white work uniform, wearing high heels and black stockings in a shop. From behind, she looked quite slender, but a few steps further and he could see her face in the shadows.
Half of her face was highly decomposed, with yellowish-white pus clinging to her swollen face, which had long since turned a purplish-black.
A nauseating stench of decay wafted from the glass door. When Yan Yu Guoke approached, he pinched his nose, clearly showing his discomfort; the smell was much stronger than the one from Bai Mu's roadblock hat.
Of course, Bai Mu remained unaffected, "appreciating" the face with relish.
There were no external injuries on the saleswoman; she had decomposed naturally, not from infected wounds.
A month after the outbreak, these infected individuals had already begun to rot, which was normal. Without food or water, how could their organs and bodies possibly withstand the strain like a normal person?
However, Bai Mu sensed that the zombies in the script were weaker than those near his hometown, at least in terms of the time it took to decompose. He remembered that the zombies in his hometown only began to show signs of limb and skin decay about three months after the initial outbreak; their "shelf life" was significantly longer than that of the saleswoman before him.
"The virus in my hometown might be more potent," Bai Mu thought. There was no such thing as zombies being afraid of water there. Not only were they unafraid of water, but they were all athletic. People who couldn't swim in life could chase and bite living people in rivers after becoming zombies. The mutant forms that zombies evolved into were also incredibly diverse.
Comparing them, he felt these zombies were somewhat weak; their bodies were already rotting, so they probably couldn't run fast, and their strength was even less likely.
"Maybe I won't even need to drive; I can just run and leave them behind,"
Bai Mu thought to himself, assessing the zombies' strength. He quickly reached the corner of the stairwell.
Before going downstairs, Bai Mu raised his hand, signaling Yan Yu to wait for him.
He pointed to a box on the wall—a red fire extinguisher box, unopened. Fire extinguisher boxes in large shopping malls like this usually contain a fire axe.
Although he had a revolver in his pocket and a shotgun in his backpack, he didn't have a proper melee weapon. He wanted to get a fire axe.
Against these sound-sensitive zombies, an axe might be more effective than a gun.
With the right technique and force, one axe blow could split a zombie's head open without making a big fuss—the perfect choice for home, travel, murder, and robbery.
Yan Yu understood Bai Mu's intention. She nodded and even took out her scalpel, wanting to help Bai Mu pry open the fire extinguisher box.
But Bai Mu waved his hand, indicating that he could do it himself.
The fire extinguisher box in front of him was the common type, enclosed in tempered glass, with a red dot on the bottom and a small hammer secured by a plastic clip.
Normally, striking that red dot with the hammer would shatter the glass—even a child could do that, as the striking point on this type of glass is specially designed to be the weakest point.
But this situation was abnormal; doing so would cause the glass to shatter into pieces.
In the quiet mall, the sound of breaking glass would be deafening, definitely attracting nearby zombies, such as the zombie saleswoman quietly guarding the clothing store, who was less than fifty meters away and would surely come out to investigate.
Other zombies not in sight would also be lured over.
Yan Yu Guo Ke watched Bai Mu's actions with some worry. She was concerned he would make a big commotion, but considering his keen awareness of the "time" issue earlier, she didn't intervene.
This F-rank novice, who had only completed the scenario twice, gave Yan Yu Guo Ke a very strange feeling.
He seemed unusually relaxed. Of the four, he was the only one with this strange ease. He spoke and walked at a leisurely pace, remaining calm even in the face of zombies and the stench that nearly made Yan Yu vomit.
If he were a complete novice, it would be understandable; one could assume he knew nothing. A player who had only completed the game twice at the F-rank level would be a complete novice in the park. But Yan Yu's intuition told her that Bai was no novice.
This man seemed genuinely relaxed and composed, without a trace of tension. It was as if he was accustomed to this dangerous environment.
No, it should be said that he didn't seem to feel like he was in a dangerous situation. If she had to describe it, only one phrase came to Yan Yu's mind:
—A sense of relaxation, like coming home.-+ Bai Mu had no idea what Yan Yu was thinking. He acted as usual, approaching the red fire extinguisher box and extending his hand. His fingertips moved incredibly fast along the edge of the glass door, his fingertips feeling the barely perceptible chips and cracks, the
unevenness
, or the slightly sharp cutting sensation—all very noticeable to his fingers.
He was searching for the weakest link in the fire extinguisher box. The paint on the box had long since faded, and the sheet metal, oxidized and rusted in the dark, damp, and neglected environment, was warped and twisted in some areas.
Retrieving a fire axe from a newly manufactured fire extinguisher box without breaking the glass door would be extremely difficult, but the box before Bai Mu was no longer young.
Its parts had worn down with age, the once-bright paint had become dull, and the rubber seals securing the glass door were aging and no longer firmly attached.
Bai Mu was searching for these most vulnerable points. In his eyes, the fire extinguisher box wasn't a single unit, but rather composed of small parts: screws, metal sheets, welded edges, rubber seals...
He examined it like a surgeon dissecting a human body.
This was a habit he'd developed over many years. In the resource-scarce apocalypse, he'd searched countless enclosed places for anything usable.
He had to open locked doors, pry open warehouse crates, and smash glass blocking his way to obtain enough supplies to survive.
And he faced not only man-made obstacles, but also zombies and mutants lurking in the shadows.
Just guarding against and dealing with enemies consumes most of his physical strength and time. To then waste energy on lock picking would be foolish and dangerous.
Therefore, to increase his search efficiency, Bai Mu developed a skill.
This was a unique skill he was forced to master under immense survival pressure.
His passive skills have already summarized this skill well.
[Passive Name: Lock Picking Mastery (lv.max)]
[Skill Description: Can use tools to open most manual and mechanical locks.]
[Mastery Effect (Reverse Engineering): Increases the success rate of disassembling mechanical structures by hand.]
There's a saying, "Don't use your hobby to challenge my profession."
For Bai Mu, this saying goes a step further:
"Don't use your profession to challenge my survival instincts."
In just a few seconds, Bai Mu found the weak point of the fire extinguisher box. He saw right through the metal box, his right thumb pressed against the edge of the sealant, his left hand supporting the box to adjust the pressure, then he contracted his muscles and pressed down gently.
*Click*, accompanied by a faint sound like a latch being pulled open, the tempered glass peeled off the sealant.
In Yan Yu Guo Ke's eyes, she only saw Bai Mu run his hand over the box, then casually touch it, and the glass door, sealant and all, was completely removed.
"Is a fire extinguisher box really that fragile?" was Yan Yu Guo Ke's first reaction, but then she realized that it might not be that the fire extinguisher box was fragile, but rather that Bai Mu had used some kind of lock-picking skill.
The amusement park is a magical place where you can see too many unbelievable things.
Removing the glass from a fire extinguisher box intact with bare hands would certainly be considered a feat in the real world, but in the amusement park, it seems nothing special.
Therefore, Yan Yu was only slightly surprised for a few seconds before regaining her composure, but this only made her intuition more and more pronounced.
This F-rank rookie was definitely not a simple character.
Although he looked young, he possessed a calmness that Yan Yu, Bei Dahuang, and Nan Cheng Gang lacked. That inner turmoil, the ability to calmly analyze even in a zombie-infested place, showing no signs of tension, even infected Yan Yu.
Standing beside him, Yan Yu surprisingly felt a sense of relaxation, a strange feeling even to herself, but not a bad thing.
She watched as Bai Mu gently placed the dusty, blurry glass door on the ground, revealing the inside of the fire extinguisher box.
The first thing she saw was a coil of red woven water hose, precisely wound around a turntable, with a hand-operated fire hose connected to its end.
Most noticeable were the red water outlet valve and emergency button. Inside the fire extinguisher box, detailed operating instructions were posted, guiding anyone who broke into the box on how to use the device.
Unfortunately, they were all malfunctioning. In the zombie city that had been out of control for a month, there was no water in the pipes. Pressing the alarm button might have a backup battery to set off the alarm system, but instead of firefighters and security guards, zombies would come to tear you apart and devour you.
Parallel to the hose, Bai Mu found a fire axe—a dark red, single-edged axe about 70 centimeters long, with a straight, sharp blade designed for chopping wooden doors and windows. The other end was a sharp, chisel-like hammer that could be inserted into door gaps and wall panels, using a lever principle for breaching.
It was stuck in a plastic bracket; Bai Mu grasped its wooden handle and easily pulled it out.
Bai Mu tested the weight; it was about two kilograms. The grip had a specially designed indentation for the palm, making it less likely to slip out of his hand.
This was a standard-grade melee weapon. Compared to the garden shovel Bai Mu had briefly encountered in the last lottery, it was more suitable as a weapon; after all, an axe was designed for chopping.
[Name: Fire Axe]
[Type: Melee Weapon]
[Quality: Common]
[Damage: Medium]
[Attributes: None]
[Equipment Effect: Each attack has a chance to knock back or stun the enemy.]
[Equipment Requirements: None]
[Note: A fire axe that has been dormant for many years. Legend has it that if someone finds two axes and learns a technique to repeatedly throw and catch them, their account will receive fifty yuan for each kill.] Bai
Mu weighed the axe in his hand for a moment. It felt alright to use, except for being a little light.
He picked it up, gave an OK sign, and Yan Yu Guoke nodded, then continued forward.
Further ahead was the staircase. The corner staircase was shrouded in shadow, and a zombie stood on the steps, blocking his way. It was a businessman zombie dressed in a suit.
[Name: Common Infected]
[Type: Zombie]
[Level: Common]
[Note: He was wearing a suit, a tie, and his hair was tied up like an adult. He was looking forward to a date with his girlfriend, but she didn't show up for a long time.]
Bai Mu noticed a flower tucked into the zombie's suit pocket. The petals had long since withered, leaving only a dry, yellow stem. Judging from the thorns on the stem, it must have been a rose, perhaps a rose given to a girlfriend.-+ On the stairs leading from the third floor to the second, there were four zombies standing. To continue down, they would inevitably bump into them.
The panel told the two that these were ordinary zombies, the lowest-level enemies in the script.
They were comparable to the ordinary zombies encountered in "Dave's Backyard," both being of the same level. However, even among ordinary-level monsters, there were varying degrees of strength. If a zombie from "Death's Journey" were to fight an ordinary zombie in Dave's backyard in an octagonal cage, Bai Mu thought the ordinary zombie would definitely win.
These zombies' skin didn't look as good as ordinary zombies'. Regular zombie skin is firm and dry, while their skin looked like a mixture of water-injected pork and putty—loose and rotten, as if you could tear the skin and flesh off with a single grab.
Fighting them wouldn't be too difficult; after a month, their muscle structure had long since rotted away.
After all, they were just minor enemies in a D-rated script. For a normal adult, as long as they could overcome their fear, taking down these zombies wouldn't be too difficult.
The key issue was sound; remaining as quiet as possible was crucial to avoid triggering a zombie horde.
Faced with the four unavoidable zombies, Yan Yu raised her hand, gesturing for Bai Mu to stay put and watch her performance.
Bai Mu nodded, standing at the top of the stairs like a good boy, curious about how this D-rank player would fight.
Yan Yu took out a scalpel from her bosom. Instead of engaging the zombies in close combat, she threw the scalpel from where she stood.
As she threw the scalpel, Bai Mu saw a streak of blood flash across the blade. This was probably some kind of active skill. The scalpel accurately pierced the zombie's temple, and from where the scalpel struck, several wounds spread out, as if invisible lines were cutting through the zombie's body.
The cuts spread from the point of impact, covering the zombie's entire face. The wounds were shallow, but deadly enough; if they had started from the tip of the blade, the zombie's skull would have been riddled with gaps.
"She's practically superhuman," Bai Mu thought.
Yan Yu Guoke used the same method to deal with the remaining three zombies. She threw one knife, then pulled another from her bag.
A simple, instant kill. For a woman's size, she couldn't possibly possess such power, but the equipment and skills she obtained from Paradise gave her a far greater advantage than ordinary people. These scalpels were more powerful than bullets, even to an eerie degree.
Silent and without a hit, dealing two instances of damage, this skill was far superior to Bai Mu's [Plant Care], making Bai Mu somewhat envious.
He couldn't help but think how much easier survival would be if he had this superpower back in his hometown.
Why bother saving bullets? He could just stockpile a truckload of fruit knives.
Unfortunately, there are no "ifs," and he could only focus on the present.
After clearing the obstacles, Misty Rain Passerby continued leading the team forward. Bai Mu saw her bend down, carefully collecting the scalpels one by one, and he recalled what she had just said.
"As long as the number of zombies appearing at once doesn't exceed five, I'm confident I can handle it." Why five, and not six?
Bai Mu quickly came up with an answer: Yan Yu probably only had five scalpels in her bag. Facing five zombies at once, she could take them down one by one, but beyond five, she'd be unarmed against the sixth and forced into hand-to-hand combat.
However, these scalpels could be repeatedly retrieved after being thrown, allowing her to deal with small groups of two or three zombies without taking damage.
Therefore, to safely eliminate Yan Yu, the best approach was to trick her into revealing her scalpels. Her throwing motions showed aiming, and each scalpel struck a different spot, indicating the skill wasn't automatic. Feints could be used to deceive her.
But her aim was excellent; she hit the head within fifteen meters. Her thin nurse's uniform must have superior attributes compared to the durable suits provided by the Great Northern Wilderness, perhaps increasing her strength, or perhaps related to the scalpel.
The safest approach was still to strike first with a pistol.
She had already revealed her attack methods, while Bai Mu's revolver in his pocket and shotgun in his backpack remained hidden.
It couldn't be ruled out that she had other trump cards; Bai Mu didn't believe a player who could survive six playthroughs wouldn't have some skill.
But at the beginning of the playthrough, she was extremely cautious. Was it because her defense was low?
Bai Mu mentally categorized Yan Yu Guo Ke as a high-attack, low-health damage dealer. She was extremely powerful with the scalpel, but after using five scalpels, her combat power would likely plummet.
In his mind, Bai Mu treated Yan Yu Guo Ke as a hypothetical enemy, imagining a battle between them and analyzing how to kill her most efficiently.
Of course, this thought stemmed from his habitual way of thinking.
During the apocalypse ten years ago, he witnessed many treacherous people and was vividly aware of the betrayals he suffered from trusting others.
Therefore, he never looked at what people said, but only at what they did and their stance towards him, using this to determine whether they were friend or foe.
He remained only at the conceptual stage; he couldn't complete the scenario. They would all die; their goals were aligned, their enemies were aligned, their interests were aligned—they were allies by default. In his heart, he also considered the other three as his allies.
After walking up the stairs for half a minute and turning a corner, the two reached the second floor.
The second floor had significantly more zombies than the third.
A dozen or so stood in the corridor alone, lurking in the shadows, seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing this, Yan Yu's expression darkened. She pursed her lips, gripped her knife hilt tightly, and kept herself constantly "loaded."
Even so, she maintained the formation of walking in front and Bai Mu following behind.
Perhaps she wanted to establish her authority as commander, or perhaps she felt Bai Mu's presence would block her view; in any case, she dealt with the zombies along the way by slowly tossing and picking up her knife.
Bai Mu, taking care of her, did nothing.
As they passed a shop, Bai Mu's nose twitched twice.
It was the smell of gasoline; he could smell it.
A faint smell of gasoline, barely perceptible amidst the stench of corpses, but Bai Mu was acutely aware of it. Compared to the pure smell of gasoline, this mixture of gasoline and corpses was a familiar odor to him. Yan Yu
, pinching her nose, didn't stop. The stench of corpses made her very uncomfortable until Bai Mu pressed her shoulder and pointed to a shop.
He made a "three" gesture, indicating they had found gasoline.
Yan Yu looked up; it was a children's playground sign. Plastic playground boards depicted a swimming pool, trampoline, slide, and indoor climbing structure.
As the two stopped, a faint crying sound drifted from inside the playground.
The surrounding zombies remained unmoved, as if the crying was merely an illusion.-+ The two stopped and looked into the dark interior.
Located in a backlit area of the mall, the sun hadn't set yet, but the dim light provided enough to keep them from being completely blind.
Three fluffy rabbit dolls, about a meter tall, anthropomorphic in white, purple, and pink, stood near the entrance, their faces sewn with smiles. (
This book was first published online by 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞 .
) In a well-lit place, with some upbeat music playing, these dolls would be perfect for photos, but they were in a dark corner, surrounded by zombies and dried blood, making them seem like they might come up and strangle you at any moment.
The atmosphere was unsettling. When you looked at them, their black, plastic-shaped eyes stared straight at you. Anyone with a weak heart would probably say, "My locker moved, I'm not playing anymore!" after a few seconds of eye contact.
Further inside was the children's playground's reception area. During normal business hours, staff would greet parents there, trying to persuade them to buy membership cards or other services.
To the right of the reception area was a door leading further in; that was the actual play area. Outside that door were several soft sofas, presumably for parents to relax.
This playground seemed to have a bit of a daycare feel to it; if you didn't want to take your child, you could hand them over to the receptionist and let them play inside until they were done, then come back to pick them up.
Because there was only one entrance and exit, and someone was always watching, there was no fear of the children getting lost. However, this building structure was a bit unfriendly to Bai Mu and Yan Yu. The innermost indoor play area was completely dark, and they couldn't see what was inside.
Bai Mu scanned the area but didn't find anything that looked like gasoline. Yan Yu gestured for them to go in and take a look, so the two of them, one looking to the right and the other to the left, walked through the doorway amidst a cluster of rabbit plush toys.
Bai Mu gripped his fire axe tightly, wary of zombies that might be hiding in his blind spots. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yan Yu throw a knife, cleanly and efficiently killing a zombie dressed as a receptionist.
Bai Mu had nothing here; he'd only found this zombie in the reception area, so he'd made another round of shopping.
The two searched the reception area carefully but didn't find gasoline. However, the further they went into the rooms, the stronger the smell of gasoline became, no longer suppressed by the stench of the corpse.
Yan Yu Guo Ke also clearly smelled the somewhat pungent odor; she knew she was very close to the gasoline.
Bai Mu detected the source of the smell—it was coming from that passageway. The gasoline was inside that dark, indoor amusement park. He gestured to Yan Yu Guo Ke, indicating that the gasoline was inside.
From what had just happened, Yan Yu Guo Ke had discovered that Bai Mu had a keen sense of smell; what they needed most was probably inside, but she hesitated, wondering whether to go in and look for it now.
Ahead was an enclosed space, the last rays of the setting sun illuminating only a small portion of the tiles, obscuring what lay inside. It was eerie and sent chills down her spine.
During the ten or so seconds of hesitation from Yan Yu, another cry rang out. This time it was clearer, not a hallucination; it sounded like a woman crying, as if she'd been kicked out of a taxi by her ex-boyfriend and left on the roadside in the pouring rain—a mournful and resentful sob.
"Isn't this a zombie movie script? Why does it sound like a horror movie?" Yan Yu thought, goosebumps rising on her skin.
Although she was a D-level player, she wasn't inhuman; she possessed all the emotions of a human being, including fear.
She'd only honed her courage a little through the script, but faced with the unknown and darkness, the fear ingrained in her genes once again took over.
She licked her lips, glanced at Bai Mu, who remained expressionless, wearing a "following the captain's orders" look.
After thinking for a moment, Yan Yu decided to go in and check. Gasoline was a necessary plot prop; if she didn't go in now, she'd have to go in later when she met up with the two Bei Dahuang brothers.
The key was not knowing what the situation was with the two brothers. Even if she went down to the first floor, she might not find them, and even if she did, she'd have to come back.
In the team script, although there were teammates to divide the work, relying on others was unrealistic.
Misty Rain Passerby wasn't that kind of person. The reason she volunteered to be the commander was because she wanted to control the pace as much as possible, rather than being dictated by others.
She didn't think any of her three teammates were stronger than her. Her "Bloody Nurse Set" was an E-grade set obtained by chance after completing a high-difficulty side quest, and "Bloody Throwing Knife" was an extra active skill that came with the set.
In terms of attack power, she believed she was the strongest. If her throwing knives couldn't handle the "female ghost" inside, then the two brothers would probably be useless, unless there were a particularly large number of zombies inside, more than five, making it impossible for her to use her throwing knives effectively. In that case, she should consider finding a few more people to help.
As for how many zombies were inside, she would have to peek out to find out.
Moreover, she needed to establish her authority as team leader.
Everyone gets tired and needs rest. In team scenarios like this, only when teammates are united can they go further. As the commander, Yan Yu needed authority to direct others.
The team had just been formed, and the biggest fear was mutual suspicion and a collapse of trust. If no one trusted each other, everyone would act independently, drastically reducing the success rate.
The objective of the scenario was to escape to the extraction point, a long-distance mission. Cooperation and division of labor were crucial to going further. If she were alone, even keeping watch at night would be a major problem.
Determined to find gasoline first and establish her authority, she waved forward.
Bai Mu nodded, and the two moved forward in formation, one in front of the other.
Yan Yu gripped the throwing knife tightly, while Bai Mu silently held his axe. To avoid getting separated in the dark or not being able to see their teammate, he placed his hand on Yan Yu's shoulder, keeping them in contact as they passed through the corridor and entered a bright, open space. It
was almost pitch black, with only a dim ray of sunlight piercing through the closed windshield and iron fence, shining in from outside. Most of the space was dark, and it was impossible to see any zombies.
The only things that could be discerned were the outlines of the equipment illuminated by the light: a climbing wall, a playground filled with small balls, a children's swimming pool... The place was unexpectedly large.
The crying became more pronounced after she entered, and it wasn't continuous; it was more like a sob every few tens of seconds.
The passerby in the misty rain was on edge. She took a step forward, then suddenly froze. She felt herself step on something, like a lump of mud.
This sensation caused her to reflexively throw a throwing knife at her feet and then pull her foot back.-+ Bai Mu saw the throwing knife that Yan Yu had thrown; its crimson light flashed in the darkness. He heard a sticky sound.
But there was no sound of enemies around them, and the crying was some distance away. Apart from the noise they were making, everything was quiet.
If the zombie had noticed them, he couldn't have missed the footsteps. From the moment he entered, he noticed that the tiles in the children's playground were covered with a layer of soft foam, presumably a preventative measure to prevent children from falling and getting hurt. Walking on this layer was quite loud; if you walked quickly, you could hear the "squeak, squish" sound of the foam being squeezed.
But there was no such sound; it was simply that Yan Yu was stressed, startled by something.
Bai Mu squeezed Yan Yu's shoulder slightly, afraid that the commander would make a commotion and attract the real thing hiding in the corner crying. Yan Yu
eventually calmed down. She realized that she had just lost her composure; nothing was attacking her, she had just stepped on something inanimate.
She squatted down, took out her medical flashlight, and wanted to use it to find her scalpel.
A faint light shone from her palm. She carefully covered the flashlight with her hand to prevent the beam from spreading and stimulating anything in the darkness.
Finally, she could see what it was: a headless corpse. Her shoe had stepped on the corpse's back, and as she pulled it away, a clump of rotting skin was torn off.
Her shoe print remained on the corpse, and the scalpel was embedded in its spine.
Yan Yu couldn't help but cover her mouth, suppressing the nausea. This thing was far more disgusting than the zombies outside; at least they retained some human form, but this one was swollen and oozing fluid.
While Yan Yu composed herself, Bai Mu bent down, drew the scalpel, and handed it to her.
Bai Mu very gentlemanly grasped the blade, positioning the hilt towards her.
Yan Yu hesitated for a moment, then took the knife.
Bai Mu pointed to the corpse and Yan Yu's hand holding the flashlight, indicating that she should turn on the light for him. Yan Yu tacitly understood that Bai Mu wanted to observe the corpse up close, so she adjusted the beam so that Bai Mu could see more clearly. It was
somewhat like a doctor and nurse's assistant. Bai Mu observed closely, and he directly reached out and touched the highly decomposed corpse, touching the broken spine.
Just watching him do these things made Yan Yu feel a little nauseous.
But Bai Mu remained calm as usual, and Yan Yu couldn't help but wonder if this man was a professional forensic pathologist before coming to the amusement park. Only forensic pathologists who specialize in autopsies could be so calm, right?
The more she looked, the more convinced she became, thinking that Bai Mu might have noticed something, and she cooperated by providing him with light.
Bai Mu did indeed notice something. Although he hadn't received formal forensic training, based on practical experience, a professional forensic pathologist couldn't possibly have seen more corpses in their lifetime than he had.
He could confidently say to a modern forensic pathologist: "I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice."
The state of decomposition and the wounds on the corpse silently told Bai Mu a story.
The fracture of the spine was very uneven, forcibly broken by a powerful force. Although the skin was decomposed, marks resembling those from a sharp weapon could still be seen.
Or rather, marks like cat scratches.
Like the claws of a ferocious beast tearing at the corpse, many parts were ripped apart. Bai Mu reached out and ripped away the rotting flesh, the texture cold and soft to the touch.
He peeled away the decaying flesh and organs as if scraping cotton. Yan Yu felt a chill run down her spine. She was wearing a nurse's uniform, but she wasn't a real nurse.
Killing zombies was bearable; she gritted her teeth and endured it. But this blatant dissection made her feel as if her internal organs and blood vessels were being touched, a chill rising from the depths of her heart.
Fortunately, she wasn't the one doing it, so she could bear it.
The skeleton of the corpse was exposed one by one—the spine, ribs, pelvis. Large bones had scratches, and some were broken, as if they couldn't withstand the force.
Bai Mu also found the corpse's head not far away. He picked it up like a ball, focusing on the broken spine, noticing a rightward twist.
Combining all the information, he anticipated what kind of enemy this person had encountered:
a monster that moved like a beast, incredibly strong, capable of twisting a person's head off, possessing sharp claws powerful enough to pierce skin and injure bone.
The attack was extremely ferocious. Many wounds were inflicted after the victims were dead. The monster had a habit of desecrating corpses; not content with twisting off the victims' heads, it lay on top of them, continuing to claw and strike them repeatedly until the victims were unrecognizable, reduced to a pile of mud, before finally leaving.
This horrific scene chilled Yan Yu to the bone. She considered retreating; remaining in this enclosed, dark space made her uneasy.
She gestured for Bai Mu to retreat so they could go downstairs together to meet the two brothers, exchange information, and then decide what to do next.
But Bai Mu pointed in the direction of the children's playground, grabbed Yan Yu's hand, and used her finger to turn off the flashlight.
Even without a flashlight, they could see what was passing by, illuminated by beams of sunlight.
A short, thin figure walked through the beams; judging from her build, she was a minor, a girl, the shadow of her skirt visible.
The girl had her back to the two, like a lost child unable to find her mother.
But her skin was unlike human skin; the sunlight revealed an unhealthy, dark purple hue, with veins as dense as tree roots radiating from her neck and arms.
Most unusual were her arms, or rather, the fingernails growing from her ten fingers.
Those sharp nails, as long as iron spikes, gleamed with a metallic sheen. Perhaps the mist and rain couldn't see them, but Bai Mu could see the rotting flesh, bone fragments, and strands of hair stuck between her nails.
A faint sob emanated from the girl.
She was crying in the children's playground, crying helplessly and plaintively.
She was completely different from the zombies outside; her body wasn't rotting, and her disheveled hair made her look like a terrifying female ghost.
This was a mutant; she was the one who created the headless corpse at the foot of the misty rain.
The two finally saw the location of the gasoline. The girl lingered, crying, and moved away from the spot where the sunlight shone. She gave way, revealing a generator behind her.
As if deliberately reminding them, the gasoline tank's panel popped out in front of them.
[Name: Gasoline Tank]
[Type: Item]
[Quality: Common]
[Note: A tank containing gasoline, very rare in the mall.]
It lay quietly in front of the generator, emitting its unique smell.
And it wasn't just one box, there were three boxes in total.