Xiao Yu reached out and pulled Chu Tian over to his side. Almost all of Chu Tian’s weight pressed against him, yet he seemed completely unfazed, as though the weight were nothing.
“Why?” Xiao Yu asked in a lowered voice.
“Someone else is going to step up. Why are you joining in the commotion?” Chu Tian also replied in a low voice. He was somewhat surprised that this young man’s strength was actually so great. Originally, he had only thought that he was fast. He had not expected…
This person really was full of surprises!
Xiao Yu gave an almost imperceptible nod, indicating that he agreed with Chu Tian’s opinion. The doctor indeed loved showing off. His abilities were not weak, so let him do as he pleased.
Behind them followed the group of people who had come out of the hospital with them. The group followed A Tao into the large courtyard of the villa.
After entering, Xiao Yu’s gaze quickly swept over the crowd. He had seen scenes like this far too many times. Without even thinking about it, he knew roughly what had happened. He felt somewhat angry, but also somewhat helpless. He was still too weak—so weak that he only had the ability to protect himself.
He nervously searched the crowd. When he failed to find Li Nan, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Chu Tian tilted his head and looked at him. From the relaxation of his muscles, he sensed the change in his emotions.
“Is your family safe?” His voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible.
Xiao Yu nodded and answered in the same quiet voice, “They’re not here.”
Chu Tian gave him a smile, carrying a hint of comfort and encouragement.
At this moment, no one noticed that among the people following the doctor, a middle-aged man was staring fixedly at the bald man standing beside Brother Zheng. An extremely hateful light shot from his eyes.
Brother Zheng looked kindly at the group that had entered and smiled. His gaze swept over everyone before quickly settling on the doctor.
Among this group, the only person who made him feel threatened was that ever-smiling doctor. The others looked no different from the ordinary people standing in the center of the courtyard.
Of course, there was one other person who caught his attention to some extent—the handsome young man behind the doctor, supporting an injured person with one hand while tightly gripping a □□ with the other. He also seemed rather impressive.
However, it was obvious that the doctor was the leader of this group. There was no need to pay attention to the others; they would be treated the same as the people in the center of the courtyard.
Brother Zheng quickly reached his conclusion about the newcomers.
He had a good plan. If the doctor was willing to join and follow him, he could promise him excellent treatment. As for everyone else, they would be just like the people in the courtyard, required to obey the unified arrangements.
If they refused to obey… Heh, then they could ask whether the guns in his and his brothers’ hands would agree.
“Welcome, everyone, to our big family. As it happens, I was just talking about the important rules. Our new friends can listen together.” Brother Zheng stared intently at the doctor. Although he was smiling, his tone was filled with pressure. He needed to take the initiative in his conversation with the doctor.
The doctor shrugged, adopting an indifferent attitude, then made a gesture inviting him to continue.
At the same time, the armed men surrounding them quietly pointed their guns at the group.
“Very good. We have new companions joining us. Now, I’ll explain the specific rules. Please make sure everyone follows them.” Brother Zheng raised his voice and said to everyone, “First, remember this: I am the only person in charge here. My orders are the rules. You only need to obey; you don’t need to know why. Second, this villa will be the command center of this area from now on. All orders will be issued from here. Third, go back to your own homes and pack your belongings. You will be given ten minutes. Then, according to our arrangements, you will move into the collective ‘dormitories.’ We have already cleared out the villas on both sides. The men will live on the left, and the women on the right. Someone will arrange your work when the time comes. Fourth, we will assign security personnel to every villa to ensure everyone’s safety. However, without permission, no one is allowed to leave their dormitory at will. Otherwise, the security personnel will shoot and kill you without hesitation. Fifth…”
More than a dozen rules were laid out, and every one of them revealed Brother Zheng’s determination to turn this place into a kingdom ruled by him alone.
The doctor was beginning to lose patience. He impatiently dug at his ear. He had certainly not come here to wait for someone else to give him orders!
However, these people actually had a gun each. He had no idea where they had come from.
The doctor could not help secretly calculating the losses and chances of victory on his side if a fight broke out. He himself was not afraid of these people, but if everyone he had brought was killed, that would be a terrible waste. His plans had not even been carried out yet. Where would he find so many obedient people again at a moment’s notice?
At this time, Xiao Yu had already understood.
In fact, what Brother Zheng wanted to establish was indeed the prototype of the early safe zones.
Several months after the apocalypse, safe zones of various sizes sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain. Hundreds and thousands of them spread throughout the country, allowing humanity to gain a temporary respite.
However, because the qualities of their founders varied, their management philosophies differed, and their founders had different goals and intentions, all kinds of bizarre and inhumane rules also emerged.
The original legal and moral order of humanity completely collapsed. In that kind of environment, evil grew far faster than compassion and kindness.
After abandoning civilization, people seemed to have returned to primitive society. Strength became the rule. Whoever possessed strength possessed absolute authority. He was the butcher, while all living beings were the meat on his chopping block.
It was not until three years after the apocalypse, when people had grown accustomed to its brutality and become familiar with dealing with zombies and monsters, that these safe zones began undergoing large-scale mergers and reshuffling.
And Xiao Yu was pushed into a horde of zombies by Jialun Xu during that great reshuffling and died at the mouths of the zombies.
Xiao Yu did not like Brother Zheng. The greed and cruelty of him and his subordinates were simply written too clearly across their faces, without the slightest attempt to conceal them.
The existence of these people made his entire body uncomfortable. It was like a biological instinct, the kind of instinctive reaction many creatures displayed when they sensed that they were about to be violated or that danger was approaching.
Moreover, this uncomfortable feeling was becoming increasingly intense. Xiao Yu felt his cheeks beginning to grow hot, the burning sensation making him somewhat irritable.
“What happened to you?” Chu Tian asked in a low voice.
He had noticed that something was wrong. At this moment, Xiao Yu’s face, which was usually expressionless, clearly showed anxiety.
Xiao Yu shook his head. He could not explain what was happening either. He only knew that the burning sensation on his face was intensifying, while the tattoo on his neck also seemed to be stirring restlessly.
Xiao Yu remembered that every time the tattoo had reacted like this, it had been when he was in danger.
Then, what was happening to him this time?
He suddenly remembered the trip to the third floor of the hospital—the black zombie blood that had splashed onto his face.
At that time, his face had been injured!
He had been cut by flying shards of glass while dealing with the infant corpse on the second floor!
Had he been infected?
Xiao Yu broke out in a cold sweat.
Was the situation actually this bad?
He had been too busy to notice this before, and at the time, he had not felt anything unusual either…
But now, in this situation…
Was he about to mutate?
How could this happen?
Why was this happening?
His new life had only just begun…
Damn it…
Xiao Yu’s eyes began to redden, his anxiety mixed with a trace of helpless bewilderment.
“What exactly is wrong with you?” Chu Tian reached out and gently shook Xiao Yu.
At this moment, the doctor had already interrupted Brother Zheng’s speech. The armed men were all extremely hostile as they raised their guns and assumed firing positions.
Yet Xiao Yu had actually become so abnormal at this very moment.
“I’m… fine.”
Word by word, Xiao Yu practically forced those words out through clenched teeth. He was using almost all the strength in his body to suppress the violently surging emotions and energy within him.
The negotiations between the doctor and Brother Zheng showed signs of breaking down.
The doctor had obviously not come here to obey someone else’s command. He had come to make everyone obey his command.
Based on the principle of first come, first served, the doctor had originally intended to give them some leeway and temporarily allow each side to govern itself, waiting for an opportunity to act later.
Unfortunately, Brother Zheng did not buy it at all.
He had long regarded this villa district as his own property. He had already planned how to gradually establish an independent kingdom under his rule. How could he easily hand it over to someone else?
He would not even allow someone else to have a share of the pie!
He needed absolute authority and the ultimate say in this place. He would not allow anyone to threaten his position—not even his own people, much less the doctor, who was merely an outsider who had arrived later.
Naturally, the doctor was unwilling to yield either. He had already prepared himself to seize authority through violence.
The situation was on the verge of exploding.
Xiao Yu was immersed in his own world and had no awareness of what was happening around him.
Chu Tian secretly instructed Bai Mingxi, “If anything goes wrong, get down immediately. Don’t make yourself a sitting duck.”
At the same time, seeing Xiao Yu’s strange condition, Chu Tian was worried about whether he would be able to pin him to the ground to dodge the bullets once the battle began.
After all, he knew that Xiao Yu possessed astonishing speed and monstrous strength.
Finally, someone could not hold back and fired.
The battle erupted instantly.
The guns of the armed men were aimed in perfect unison at the doctor.
Someone in the crowd screamed, but most people were not stupid. When someone was struck by a bullet, they instinctively and consciously dropped to the ground.
As for the few people who panicked and ran around randomly, without exception, they were all hit by bullets.
Fortunately, the bullets were deliberately aimed at the doctor, so the casualties among the ordinary people were not serious.
Bai Mingxi also followed Chu Tian’s instructions and immediately dropped to the ground.
Chu Tian, meanwhile, grabbed Xiao Yu and forcibly pressed him down with the weight of his own body.
The doctor stood calmly in the center of the courtyard, completely unafraid of the bullets flying toward him.
On the grass beneath his feet, the blades of grass suddenly grew wildly, quickly wrapping themselves around the doctor.
Two hard branches shot out from the grass, like two enormous octopus tentacles, whipping through the air toward the armed men.