C27 Chapter 27

They had an inkling that by aligning themselves with Jiang Ruan, they would grow stronger, perhaps even reaching heights beyond their wildest dreams.

Jiang Ruan had received a crystal nucleus as well. With an entire evening ahead of her, she had the perfect opportunity to absorb it and enhance her powers.

Standing up, Jiang Ruan slung her backpack over her shoulder. "We've all been working hard lately. Let's call it an early night," she suggested. As a zombie, Jiang Ruan didn't need sleep, but she still clung to her human routine of resting each night.

Seeing Jiang Ruan retire to her room, the others decided not to linger outside. What the night held in store, no one could predict until the break of dawn.

That night, Jiang Ruan wielded her psychic abilities to scatter the surrounding zombies, allowing her to sleep soundly until morning. It was her first peaceful night's sleep since the apocalypse began.

Perhaps her newfound zombie nature instilled a sense of invincibility, but that confidence was only assured as long as she remained undetected by humans.

Morning arrived without a hint of sunlight. Like clockwork, everyone awoke naturally, Jiang Ruan included. Breakfast was the usual fare of potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Jiang Ruan filled a basin with water, distributing it into bottles for the ten of them, each person receiving no more than half a bottle. Feigning weakness, she managed to secure an extra potato for herself every morning.

"I just checked—the zombies around the gym are gone. Let's make our move while it's clear," Lu Ming announced with a burst of excitement, quickly finishing off his potato as he headed for the living room.

With her backpack in tow, Jiang Ruan led the way after a brief discussion, and the others kept close behind her.

The door creaked open, revealing a desolate street swept by chilling winds, with the occasional car that had crashed in the chaos.

The gymnasium loomed ahead, its doors shut tight. They would need to seek assistance from those inside. Glancing warily around, they briskly made their way from the roadside to the gym's entrance.

It was a mere hundred meters or so, and without any zombie encounters, they reached the gymnasium's doors in just about three minutes.

The unmistakable presence of other survivors greeted them.

Jiang Ruan's senses were assaulted like never before; this was the first time since her transformation into a zombie that she had encountered such an intense human scent.

She fought back the craving that surged within her. For a split second, her eyes clouded over with a mix of red veins and a gray haze. It was during this fleeting moment that Lu Ming, lost in his own thoughts, caught sight of it.

He nearly screamed, but for some reason, he clamped his mouth shut. Jiang Ruan was the linchpin of their group, the only one they could truly depend on. This was not the time to cross her.

"Tap, tap, tap..." Zeng Qiang, cautious not to make too much noise, lightly rapped his knuckles against the glass door.

Inside, the silence was so profound you could hear a pin drop. Zeng Qiang swallowed hard and whispered, "Is anyone there? We're survivors."

At first, there was only silence. Then footsteps approached. A man came to the door and peered through the glass at them.

"Are you all really survivors? Has anyone in your group been bitten or scratched by zombies?" he inquired with caution.

Zeng Qiang felt his patience wearing thin, but he reminded himself that he was on someone else's turf and couldn't afford to be brash. "We've come a long way, and no one in our group has been bitten or scratched. Please, let us in before the zombies show up," he implored.

The man pondered for a moment, then turned to consult with others behind him. Finally, he came forward and opened the glass door.

As the group stepped into the gymnasium, a collective sigh of relief was breathed. It's human nature; surrounded by monsters, fear and dread are inevitable. But finding fellow survivors brings a stroke of luck and a much-needed sense of relief.