Rotting Land: Survive

Chapter 643 632: Remote Backwater (Part 2)

After about 10 minutes of surveying, everyone had a general understanding of the village before them.

The village itself wasn't large. Old Zhao drove the car at a steady pace around it, and it only took about 10 minutes, so in a way, one could conclude that the permanent population here was not large.

Based on the number of houses for an initial estimate, it should be around 40-50 people.

As for this zombie group, Old Zhao and the others believed that with the current number of people and firepower at the villa, they still had the confidence to wipe out these beasts.

Moreover, from the survey, Old Zhao and others found that most of the wandering zombies in the entire village road were predominantly elderly Pacers, with rarely any young and strong ones mutating into Runner advanced zombies.

Based on this, Tang Xiaoquan boldly speculated that due to the geographical constraints here, the economy was relatively backward, leading to a large number of young people going out for work, leaving the elderly behind, which explained the situation.

This was undoubtedly great news for Old Zhao and the others. Based on their current data analysis, the zombie virus's infection of living bodies still could not escape the delimitation range of the host body's physical constitution.

In other words, a young person's mutation indices after infection would undoubtedly be higher than that of an elderly zombie.

This means that the Survivors would only need half the effort to defeat the elderly zombies compared to dealing with young zombies, which would undoubtedly make their future clearing work much easier.

Old Zhao finally chose to park the escort vehicle in front of the "most imposing" building in the entire village. Of course, the so-called imposing nature was merely because there was an extra wall built around it compared to other houses.

But even so, for the three of them, it was the best choice for tonight's accommodation environment.

No matter where you are, there seems to always be such a wealth gap, Tang Xiaoquan somewhat helplessly mocked in his heart.

The car came to a stop, and the three of them got out one by one. Wang Qiang held a Hand Crossbow and watched the surroundings vigilantly, their arrival undoubtedly bringing a little life to this dead village.

The elderly "old people" excitedly howled upon seeing the new visitors, using this unique way to welcome Old Zhao and his companions, who came from afar.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these elderly were all over seventy in life. Under the transformation of the zombie virus, they were reinvigorated, these elders about to be in their graves.

The temptation of fresh living flesh drove them to exert every ounce of potential in their bodies.

However, just as Tang Xiaoquan analyzed, these elderly zombies were limited by their original body functions, so no matter how the zombie virus stimulated them, it couldn't change their slow movement and sluggish actions.

Old Zhao looked back at the elderly zombies trailing behind him in pairs or threes, their steps faltering, and immediately stopped paying attention. He believed that with the skills of Wang Qiang and Tang Xiaoquan, dealing with these aged ugly creatures should be more than enough, so he focused all his energy on how to pick the lock in front of him.

"Damn, Quan, look, these old geezers, all toothless, and they still plan to eat!" Wang Qiang withdrew the machete from the zombie skull he had just struck. The mouth of this elderly zombie was already void of teeth due to age, and no matter how strong the zombie virus, it couldn't regenerate them.

"Alright! Keep your eyes peeled, and stop the nonsense." Although the combat effectiveness of the opponent wasn't like the adult zombies they usually encounter, they are still mutated zombies, and its body merely needs a tiny trace of the zombie virus to easily take a person's life, so any carelessness is flirting with death.

Wang Qiang rolled his eyes at Tang Xiaoquan impatiently, sheathed the machete back at his waist. Since there weren't many zombies attacking, he might as well take the chance to practice his Hand Crossbow aiming.

Tang Xiaoquan could handle zombies at close range, so Wang Qiang didn't need to worry at all. He was presently entertained, shooting at zombies trying to get closer from a distance with his Hand Crossbow, enjoying the fun of it. Unfortunately, his skills were ridiculously poor, with almost no accuracy. Except for the few he hit in non-vital areas, most ended up who-knows-where.

After chopping down two arrow-hit bald old men, Tang Xiaoquan, a bit irritated, said to the playfully thrilled Wang Qiang, "Qiang, what the hell are you doing? If you're going to shoot, then shoot properly. Don't treat the arrows like rocks; this isn't a joke!"

After being reprimanded by Tang Xiaoquan, Wang Qiang felt it was embarrassing: "What do you know? I'm not playing around; I'm practicing because I know my aim isn't accurate. That's why I'm taking this chance for some practical exercise."

"You call this practical exercise? Alright, I won't stop you from practicing, but can't we practice within 10 meters first? Look at your masterpieces now." Tang Xiaoquan pointed at the two zombies he just killed and stopped talking.

Actions speak louder than words. Wang Qiang glanced at the corpses, realizing he was at fault and couldn't argue much. Just as he was unsure how to respond, there was a sudden 'clang' behind him.

Old Zhao had successfully broken the lock! He was glad he had brought along crowbars and other blunt tools; unexpectedly, it was not used on zombies but rather used for lock-picking, a technical job.

Old Zhao was naturally not so skilled at unlocking door locks in fine detail. His method was straightforward and crude: he simply took one end of the crowbar and forcefully struck the chain's padlock. Because it was old and rusty, hence very fragile, Old Zhao had no trouble splitting it in two with little effort.

As the padlock hit the ground, Old Zhao immediately called out to Tang Wang, who was still battling zombies, "Qiang, Quan! It's done! Let's get inside!"

Wang Qiang, still pondering how to counter Tang Xiaoquan's criticism, was drawn back to attention by Old Zhao's shout, seizing the opportunity to change the subject: "Why are you standing there? Let's get inside and stop wasting time."

The three entered the courtyard, and Old Zhao quickly grabbed the iron chain and used the crowbar to secure it firmly, fashioning a simple lock.

Wang Qiang couldn't wait to make a dash for the door of the small house. When he was about to smash a window to enter, Tang Xiaoquan quickly stopped him from behind: "Wait! Qiang!"

Putting down the broken brick he picked up from the ground, Wang Qiang turned to glance at Tang Xiaoquan, then asked, slightly sullen, "Dude, what now?"

Tang Xiaoquan gathered everyone around, whispered softly: "Didn't you notice? The lock on this house is chained from the inside."

"Isn't that normal?" Wang Qiang said indifferently.

But Old Zhao, upon careful thought, found some clues in it: "Quan, are you saying...there might be Survivors in this house?"

With an indifferent nod, Tang Xiaoquan stroked his chin: "Yes, from the looks of the scene, there's an 80 to 90 percent chance!"

"Damn, then this is good news! Saves us from climbing through windows." Wang Qiang was delighted to run into living Survivors in this godforsaken village, especially since outdoor encounters with Survivors had been scarce for a while, making him all the more excited. (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)