Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 879: Worry-Free, Three Lives (7)

You thought you had escaped and were safe, but in reality, you had merely fallen into an even larger trap.

Only now did Zhong Luoyue deeply understand the despair behind the saying "out of the tiger’s mouth, only to fall into the wolf’s den."

The crowd that had escaped from the scene had somehow dispersed. As they walked, Zhong Luoyue noticed that many of the people ahead of her had already vanished without her realizing it.

When she looked back, only a few men and women remained around her.

Their faces naturally showed fear, and they finally realized that they had probably taken the wrong path — the cellar was like a maze, and without someone leading the way, they quickly came to a horrifying realization.

They were lost!

"Where's that big guy who broke down the door? Why did he leave us behind?" A young man stomped his foot angrily.

"It's all your fault! I was following you, and now we're lost!" Another woman furiously grabbed the man next to her. "You're going to get me killed!"

Zhong Luoyue silently watched these people. Didn’t they realize that Song Da never intended to save anyone? He broke down the gate only to find Song Ying as soon as possible.

As the argument escalated, Zhong Luoyue coldly observed the scene. Perhaps, before that blood-sucking monster caught up, these people would destroy each other.She had no intention of participating in this escalating struggle and began to slowly retreat — she didn’t have time to stay here. Since they had lost their sense of direction, if she had to choose, she would rather move forward than stay and wait for death.

Apart from Zhong Luoyue, there was another girl who had been too scared to speak, shrinking back in fear. Noticing Zhong Luoyue's retreating steps, the girl quickly grabbed her clothes and whispered in fear, "Where are you going? Do you know the way?"

"I just don’t want to sit here and wait to die or be destroyed by each other," Zhong Luoyue calmly replied.

As she said, fear had already taken control of these people's rationality. Although they were not completely out of danger, they had fallen into a frenzy, and were now fighting amongst themselves.

"Could you… take me with you?" The girl suddenly pleaded. "I… I only came here with my boss. I don’t want to die here."

Zhong Luoyue looked at the girl's modest attire, which was neither revealing nor out of place. Moreover, the fact that she had noticed Zhong Luoyue's actions suggested that she was relatively calm and observant.

Going alone was still dangerous, so bringing someone along could provide some help. At the very least, they could look out for each other.

Zhong Luoyue nodded slightly and made a gesture to keep quiet.

The two of them cautiously retreated while the others trembled in fear.

...

The girl seemed to be a local, but they could communicate in English. Having temporarily teamed up, Zhong Luoyue naturally learned the girl’s name — Natasha.

"You're really brave."

Walking down the dark passage, relying only on the light from their phones, Natasha held onto Zhong Luoyue’s sleeve in fear of the terrifying environment.

"I just have to be," Zhong Luoyue shook her head. "Don’t hold onto me, walk on your own."

Natasha hesitated but finally let go of Zhong Luoyue's sleeve. Meanwhile, Zhong Luoyue began observing the corners of the walls in the tunnel.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for clues," Zhong Luoyue replied calmly. "Remember that big guy who broke down the door?"

Natasha nodded, then said excitedly, "He’s amazing! Is he a superhero?"

Zhong Luoyue shook her head. "I don’t know if he’s a superhero, but I do know he has companions. They should be working together. Since the big guy left first, he might have left marks to guide his teammates to his location."

Natasha exclaimed, "If we find those marks, does that mean we can get out safely?"

Zhong Luoyue glanced at Natasha and said, "First, it’s just a guess. There might not be any marks. Second, even if there are marks, it doesn’t guarantee that the big guy will lead us to safety or an exit. This is just a try. Now, stop standing there and help me look. Also, you should take off your heels. It’ll be easier to move."

With no other choice, Natasha grabbed her phone and, mimicking Zhong Luoyue, began searching for potential signs. She ran her hands along the wall, shining her phone’s light slowly over it.

Suddenly, Natasha's phone illuminated a pale face!

The face opened its eyes, one of which was missing its eyeball. At the same time, it opened its mouth, releasing a foul stench!

Natasha fell to the ground in terror, screaming as she scrambled backward, bumping into the wall on the other side of the passage.

Her phone, which had fallen to the ground in panic, shone on the ceiling, where a shadowy figure stepped into the light.

"Z-zombie! A zombie!!"

The zombie, its neck bitten and bleeding, abdomen rotting with intestines hanging out, was approaching Natasha... who began trembling uncontrollably as a warm stream of liquid leaked from between her legs.

Seeing this, Zhong Luoyue gasped and, with a shiver, took a few steps forward before delivering a swift kick to the zombie’s head, sending it tumbling to the ground.

"Run!"

Zhong Luoyue quickly pulled Natasha up and, without another word, they sprinted away.

After facing the horrors of a vampire-like Lady Eve, and now these zombies straight out of a bio-horror nightmare, Zhong Luoyue felt like she had used up all her resilience in this one place.

Yet, what awaited them ahead was a horde of zombies surrounding Song Da!

"Hero, thank you. I will definitely repay your life-saving kindness," Zhong Luoyue solemnly promised at that moment.

Seeing that Song Da's skills were impressive, like the true martial arts masters only spoken of in tales but rarely encountered, she decided to treat him with ancient courtesies, feeling that it was appropriate.

Song Da didn't say much, just nodded casually, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this woman seemed to know what he was thinking... She was no ordinary person. To stay calm and composed amidst so many zombies was a feat in itself.

"Follow me!"

Song Da struck down the last zombie with his palm, then walked ahead. However, he was drenched in sweat, clearly having used up a significant amount of energy to kill the zombies here.

Zhong Luoyue noticed that as Song Da walked ahead, he would occasionally touch the walls, leaving behind strange marks, which she quietly memorized.

"You have good stamina and you're calm under pressure. Your muscles are well-defined too," Song Da suddenly turned back and said indifferently, "Did you train before?"

Zhong Luoyue nodded, "It was required by my elders. I spent some time in the army when I was young."

Song Da nodded but suddenly stopped.

He crouched down, pressing his ear to the ground, and then quickly stood up, frowning, "There are many footsteps ahead, and they're chaotic. It's those zombies from earlier!"

"What...?" Zhong Luoyue was startled, "There are more of them?"

Song Da said gravely, "I'm afraid there's no telling how many are hiding in here... This place has blood-sucking monsters and zombies, it's like a den of demons. Even I..."

Hearing this, Zhong Luoyue's mood worsened.

Song Da then said, "Miss, if I can't handle things later, you'll have to find your own chance and take your friends with you. Run as far as you can. Whether you make it out alive will depend on your luck... Now, let's take this path."

Song Da pointed to another route.

Zhong Luoyue, feeling conflicted, could only nod... She wanted to call for help, but all phone signals were gone in this place. If she couldn't find a way out, she would be trapped in a cage full of zombies and vampires.

Natasha, unable to understand the conversation between Zhong Luoyue and Song Da, felt uneasy as she noticed them occasionally glancing at her, as if they had reached some kind of agreement.

The three of them walked down another path in silence, each with their own thoughts.

…

Walking through a relatively quiet corridor, Luo Qiu heard some chaotic sounds—of course, the absence of Cythacyl leading the way didn't mean Luo Qiu couldn't find his way.

Whether it was some kind of invisible guidance or a sense he couldn’t quite explain, Luo Qiu always found himself at places where something was about to happen.

Having experienced this for so long, Luo Qiu had grown accustomed to it, so he simply followed his instincts—essentially, he let things be.

At this moment, a door ahead opened.

Luo Qiu walked to the door and found it filled with corpses. Some were decaying, while others were still moving.

Zombies—Luo Qiu saw real zombies for the first time.

There had probably been a horde of zombies here, but they had been hacked to pieces, leaving the floor littered with body parts.

In the corner of the room, some half-bodied zombies, or just heads, were piled together, seemingly eating something.

Luo Qiu walked closer, frowning slightly.

These zombies had no intelligence, no sense of fear, only basic reflexes. The giant spider from before had some level of intelligence and knew how to avoid danger.

Luo Qiu waved his hand, and the pile of zombies was instantly scattered by some invisible force.

At the same time, Luo Qiu saw an old man.

His legs were almost entirely reduced to bare bones, with the flesh mostly gnawed away. His left arm was gone, and his torso had been bitten open.

The old man's face was ashen... He was sitting against the wall, but he could still slightly lift his head.

Seeing Luo Qiu, the old man's lips moved faintly.

Luo Qiu crouched down, gently grabbing the old man's hand, which was tightly clutching his chest, and softly asked, "Do you have something to say?"

"You are..." the old man's lips moved again.

He felt a strange energy flowing into his body, as if it was halting his diminishing life force. He looked at Luo Qiu, as if recalling something, "Are you... the one Longze spoke of?"

"Longze?" Luo Qiu was startled, then nodded, "That should be me. Your body... Have you used something that drains your life force?"

The old man, Aamon, coughed up blood, "I... I know my condition. Don't waste your strength on me."

"It's alright," Luo Qiu shook his head, "I can't save your life, but this little bit of energy doesn't matter."

"I was bitten by a zombie... It won't be long before I turn into one of them." Aamon quickly said, "I only ask that you kill me, so I can die as a human. Also... I have the key to the Twelve Knights of the Round Table's legacy with me... I can give it to you..."

Aamon slowly unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a medallion hanging around his neck.