Five days later, Tao Yu and his family had lunch before he returned to his room and began to meditate.
When he emerged again, he had returned to the area in Yangzhou where he had left before.
Grr~
The deep guttural sound from the throat made the freshly-arrived Tao Yu somewhat familiar with it, and then, with a lifted eyebrow and a flick of his finger, pop~ a zombie’s head exploded on cue.
"Only five days, and it’s turned out like this."
Tao Yu looked at the body of a zombie dressed in coarse cloth amid the alley; beside it were two other mutilated corpses, seemingly killed by weapon wounds.
The ground was a mess, with thick blood settling into the gaps between the cobblestones, and bloody handprints plastered the walls, filling the air with a nauseating stench.
Meanwhile, the streets echoed with shouts and pleas for help.
"Murder!"
"Help!"
"Don’t bite me..."
"..."
Beyond these cries, there were the sounds of blades chopping, and some fierce scolding,
"Everyone get back to your houses! People on the streets will be killed without mercy!"
"Kill without mercy!"
"Assassin!"
Carrying the Black Iron Heavy Sword, Tao Yu left the alley and saw the chaos on the streets.
Vendors, pedestrians, soldiers, zombies—all mingled together in a tumult of screams and cries for help.
Many passersby were carrying large and small bundles of their valuables, indicating they must have gotten wind of the events and the situation had been unfolding for some time.
Looking at a spinning drum toy smeared with a tinge of blood in the puddle underfoot, Tao Yu let out a sigh.
Occurrences in Yangzhou had already begun sporadically; now it seemed the situation had gotten out of control.
Li Zitong’s men, plus the Zhu Hua Gang, could probably muster tens of thousands at most; to manage the current population of Yangzhou would be beyond their capacity.
"Fortune Thief... truly a beast."
Tao Yu thought of Cao Shaolin. Gathering together such an unwholesome band, it was indeed a stench beyond bearing!
The virus had begun to break out on a large scale, whether because it had been triggered or because the incubation period had ended was unclear.
The soldiers fighting the zombies on the streets swung their weapons more and more sluggishly, while the number of zombies seemed not to have decreased at all. More and more bodies that had lain in pools of blood were now getting back up.
Even comrades-in-arms of these soldiers from past days.
At this point, Yangzhou’s downfall seemed an inevitable conclusion!
"No power to reverse the tide..."
Tao Yu sighed, wanting to leave, but after taking a couple of steps, he looked at those fighting soldiers, saw the parents protecting their children, and listening to the screams nearby, he felt a surge of irritation.
"Damn it, why must I witness this?"
That’s why there were scenarios like Li Jing and other people of principle leaving the army.
However, when Kou Zhong came to ask for help, he eventually persuaded Du Fuwei to bring ships to assist, and beyond that, Kou Zhong also managed to get the Zhu Hua Gang to put aside past grievances as much as possible.
And sure enough, this Child of Destiny somehow forcefully integrated this force.
Li Zitong, who was almost ready to abandon the beleaguered city and flee, stayed because of this support and also began diverting and rallying people.
However, organizing the several hundred thousand people of Yangzhou was no simple task.
During this period, the two brothers risked the frontlines, adopting methods of barriers and lures, continually dividing the zombies.
The trouble lay in the once-safe areas, where someone might suddenly turn into a zombie. If they couldn’t stop it at the source, it could lead to a catastrophe.
This made their efforts to evacuate people out of the city all the more stringent while checking those at the docks.
Otherwise, once on the ships, it would truly be overwhelming.
"The ferocity of this wave of zombies must be the doing of Shi Shaojian’s people. Damn it."
Kou Zhong looked at the throngs of people on the docks, his face also couldn’t hide the exhaustion.
In the constant rotation to the frontline, even with their Longevity Secret True Qi, they were already worn out.
"Moreover, Brother Tao and the real Master Zhang are both here; this blame is probably going to stick heavily."
Xu Ziling also sighed at that moment.
If it weren’t for their full-time company while deciphering the Longevity Secret in the valley, they might also have come under suspicion.
"We might even get implicated."
Ba Fenghan laughed; having been so closely involved, they definitely couldn’t avoid it.
They had just spread the word that they would travel from Yangzhou up north to Ba Shu, and then to Chang’an for the treasure, and now this change had occurred in Yangzhou—what a ’coincidence’!
"A few bad names don’t really matter. What would truly be a sin is if all these people died."
Zhang Sanfeng also let out a sigh at that time.
"Our Yin Gui Faction has redirected some ships here too and is using our information network to spread some preventative measures. Now we just hope Yangzhou is an isolated case..."
Bai Qing’er also showed a trace of despair on her face.
When did my Yin Gui Faction ever have to save people?
The whole scene has changed!
Yet, such anti-human acts, even if perpetrated by us, the so-called Demon Sect, have never been attempted; this is way too excessive!
However, at that moment, a layered chorus of voices came from within the city, causing those who heard it clearly to be taken aback, then their expressions turned joyful,
"It’s Brother Tao!"
"He’s back!"
"Judging by his way of returning, he might not know what’s happened here. Someone should inform him of our evacuation route."
Song Shidao also said with a bit of weakness, his recovery not as quick as the twin dragons; fighting with intermittent rest, he was already overdrawed.
Upon hearing this, Bai Qing’er quickly volunteered with a pat on her chest,
"I’ll go. I can connect with him mind-to-mind. Within a certain distance I can let him know without having to search for someone..."