Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 903: Dawn of the Living Dead (2)

The zombie janitor, lost in the ecstasy of devouring fresh flesh and blood, was unaware that Elizabeth was approaching him quickly from behind.

Typically, zombies, or living dead, wouldn’t react much to vampires unless provoked by special circumstances. The zombies attacking vampires in the castle's labyrinth were due to manipulation by Karen Yishel.

At this moment, Elizabeth had already reached the zombie janitor. With a swift motion, her hand sliced through the air, severing the zombie's head.

Decapitating him was a cruel act that made Zhong Luoyue feel uneasy, but she quickly adjusted—understanding that if a zombie's head wasn't destroyed, it would continue to be a threat.

Elizabeth turned back and said, "Luoyue, this hospital is filled with the smell of corpses. I fear many people have already transformed into zombies."

Luoyue, feeling tense, asked, "Elizabeth, is it true that these zombies are like in the movies? Anyone bitten will become a zombie?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "I don’t know about those movies; watching them is a waste of time for me. Generally, some people, due to their constitution, won’t transform even if bitten. But that’s extremely rare."

"That still sounds like an immeasurable disaster… if it really breaks out," Luoyue frowned.

Elizabeth nodded, "Yes, if all humans turn into zombies, vampires won’t have fresh blood either. Typically, zombies can survive for about fifty years; that seems to be the limit. Their bodies will continue to rot when exposed to air, eventually decaying entirely. However, if preserved well to slow down decomposition, they could survive for a hundred years or even longer. Some in the castle's underground might have been preserved for centuries."

Suddenly, Luoyue asked, "What if… I mean, what if the entire world were overrun by zombies? What would it be like?"Elizabeth replied seriously, "This question has been posed within the thirteen clans, and there are predictions… If that time comes, and there are no living beings left apart from zombies, once all the living dead die, the world will return to silence, resembling the time before life existed. The apocalyptic destruction mentioned in the Revelation refers to natural disasters and human misfortunes… theoretically, zombies are a form of human misfortune."

Luoyue didn’t know what the Revelation was and had no time to ponder it. Just then, another zombie appeared slowly at the door.

She glanced at Elizabeth, who decisively stated, "When we encounter zombies, we either subdue them or eliminate them all… The thirteen clans have never had a third option for dealing with zombies. Controlling zombies requires special methods and unique talents, which are quite rare among vampires. Therefore, we generally eliminate them on sight. After all, zombies pose a threat to us, just as they do to humans—they are a root cause of our potential extinction."

Luoyue nodded quickly and then picked up the weapons from the fallen bodyguard.

Elizabeth said she would eventually awaken her powers as a newly transformed vampire. But there was no set timeline, so Luoyue felt safer with modern weapons.

"I think my shooting skills are still sharp," Luoyue said, taking a deep breath, attaching the holster to her waist, and rushing out of the room.

She aimed at the back of the approaching zombie… and fired a shot!

Bang——!!!

---

Bang, bang, bang——!

Besides the screams, gunfire echoed, changing Song Ying’s expression as she questioned Luo Qiu.

Gan Hong reacted the fastest, quickly moving to the window and pulling out a silver M9 pistol, peering outside.

"What do you see?" Song Ying stood up.

Gan Hong shook her head. "I can't tell yet, but someone is running outside… the ones firing are police officers."

Just then, the door of the patient room burst open, revealing a panicked elite guard from the Song family. "Miss Ying, we need to leave quickly. There are… there are…"

"What is it?"

"Zombies!" The man finally blurted out in fear.

As he spoke, a scream erupted outside, and a guard from the Song family was suddenly tackled to the ground, screaming in terror.

This scene shocked everyone. For Song Ying, it was alarming because she had just seen a video about zombies on Song Da's phone less than half an hour ago. Now, the living dead were right in front of her.

Seeing it in person was vastly different from seeing it on screen, sending chills down her spine.

Luo Qiu was not shocked but slightly furrowed his brow. The switch between the real and fake Luo Qiu hadn’t taken long—he had remained in the vineyard, accompanying You Ye for a while before returning.

This meant that while he wasn’t at the hospital, a zombie outbreak had occurred there. He was unsure where the outbreak had originated.

Luo Qiu immediately closed his eyes, his strong consciousness enveloping the hospital, as if he possessed omnipresent eyes.

"What are you standing there for? Are you stunned?"

Suddenly feeling a tug on his body, Luo Qiu opened his eyes to see Song Ying grasping his arm and pulling him urgently, her expression panicked. "Let’s go!"

"Young Master Qiu just woke up. He might not be well; let me carry him!" Gan Hong quickly interjected.

"I'll manage on my own," Luo Qiu shook his head.

Outside, several guards from the Song family had already taken care of the zombie, shooting it until it was riddled with holes.

"Miss Ying, we've contacted the master," the first guard to enter reported urgently. "He encountered zombies as well, but with the eldest young master and Mr. Song with him, they are currently safe. The master has sent the eldest young master to escort us!"

"Got it!" Song Ying nodded.

After the initial panic passed, Song Ying was able to calm down quickly, not to mention Gan Hong, who had remained composed throughout... Though her face showed signs of shock, she didn't appear flustered at all.

One must admit that the Song family has a solid system for training their descendants and subordinates.

They will probably have a good life… If it doesn’t involve extraordinary matters, Luo Qiu had such a thought flash through his mind—understanding his father's background was essentially equivalent to achieving his initial goal.

However, You Ye had recently completed a major deal, giving him ample time to extend this vacation.

When Luo Qiu got up, Gan Hong was already crouching down, placing the slippers in front of him as if she intended to help him put them on... Is this training from the Song family a bit too much?

What standard are they using for this training?

“Master Qiu, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Gan Hong looked up, concerned.

“It’s nothing,” Luo Qiu shook his head.

Instead of helping him put on the shoes, Gan Hong quickly glanced outside the door. She was still wearing the dress from the castle’s wine tasting event.

Suddenly, she ripped the skirt from below and took off her high heels... Her legs were nearly perfect, except for a scar on the outer thigh about ten centimeters long.

“Miss, young master, I’ll go scout ahead. Please wait for me here,” a guard hurriedly said, moving towards the corridor.

At this moment, Gan Hong found a black handgun from a fallen guard and directly handed it to Luo Qiu: “Young Master Qiu, please hold onto this.”

The gun was not cold; it was still warm... The guard hadn’t had time to draw it before dying.

Seeing that Luo Qiu seemed a bit slow to react, Gan Hong said nothing but moved behind him, pressed against his body, and lifted his hands, intertwining her fingers with his.

This sudden contact made Luo Qiu feel something unusual... It was probably due to the contact with a female.

“Hold it like this, aim, and apply some pressure with your index finger when pulling the trigger,” Gan Hong said quickly: “There will be a bit of recoil, so keep your wrist relaxed, and like this. Remember, when not firing, the muzzle should point to the ground to avoid accidental discharge.”

“Cough cough!!” Song Ying unexpectedly coughed twice.

Gan Hong swiftly turned back and stepped back a little, lowering her head slightly.

“Thank you for the guidance,” Luo Qiu smiled: “I don’t think I’ll have much chance to use it, but I’ll hold onto it nonetheless.”

“Cough cough！！！！” Song Ying coughed again unexpectedly.

Luo Qiu asked, “Song Ying, are you feeling unwell?”

“Let’s go! Stop dragging your feet! Do you want to turn into a zombie or what!!” Song Ying was curious!

Perhaps her concern was making her anxious… Ah, darn!!!

“This way! A Hu is back!” Song Ying pointed in the other direction outside the door—A Hu was the name of the guard who had gone to scout.

Gan Hong nodded and quickly took Luo Qiu’s hand, leading him outside... The feeling of being protected wasn’t bad, but Luo Qiu didn’t dwell on this new feeling, instead thinking of other matters.

Zombies are a living dead; the living dead have no souls... The extreme panic caused by zombies would surely lead the club to a continuous stream of business—much like the desperate prayers of the hostages back in the opera house.

As the number reached a certain level, it directly triggered the mechanism of transactions—of course, it also had to do with the fact that the boss was right there.

But this model wasn’t something Luo Qiu wanted to see, and it likely wouldn’t be what the club itself wanted either—if the whole world turned into living dead, then those precious things would disappear.

The club would face an awkward situation where there would be no business left to conduct.

“Turns out there will always be situations where one should take action even if not provoked…” Luo Qiu muttered to himself.

He suddenly recalled a conversation with Black Water... The club's position had always been on the customer’s side and would not favor anyone.

But if this were the case, it seemed their position would actively shift to that of non-customers.

Or could it be... that this is just Luo Qiu’s own stance?

……

……

Next to Mr. Blind, a cold gleam hovered continuously. Upon closer inspection, it was found to be a short sword about the length of an arm, a bronze sword.

The bronze sword seemed to possess consciousness, moving autonomously and always hovering near Mr. Blind and Song Tianyou. When a zombie lunged, the cold gleam would instantly shoot out like lightning, severing the zombie’s head.

The legendary sword immortal... Only vaguely mentioned in ancient texts as a type of practitioner.

Song Da hadn’t seen Mr. Blind in action many times, but each time left him envious... This was a different level of existence that martial artists could never touch.

He hadn’t had the chance to discuss the ancient scriptures he found in the castle’s treasury with Mr. Blind... At this moment, he even wished he could tell Mr. Blind right away.

After smashing a zombie’s head with a slap, Song Da quickly returned to Song Tianyou and Mr. Blind’s side, “The eldest master, Second Song, and Third Song should be encountering Miss Ying soon. Don’t worry, sir.”

Song Tianyou glanced around; they were in the lobby of the inpatient department, and several corpses lay around. These were patients who had fled from their rooms but were bitten to death by zombies.

“Let’s hope so.” Although anxious inside, Song Tianyou knew he shouldn’t delve deeper, as that would only add to the burden on his side in protecting him.

“Strange, why have these zombies suddenly gone quiet?” Song Da frowned.

Several patients who had just risen from the ground and turned into zombies turned around and started walking in the same direction, seemingly uninterested in the fresh 'food' before them.

Song Da quickly looked at Mr. Blind, but Mr. Blind only frowned, remaining silent... It seemed he didn’t know why either.

……

“They seem to have quieted down... Where are they going?”

Not only on Song Tianyou’s side, but on the other side of the hospital, Elizabeth and Zhong Luoyue also encountered the same situation. However, unlike Song Tianyou’s group, they had nearly massacred their way through.

To zombies, vampires are like immobile targets.

“Are they being attracted by something…” Elizabeth pondered for a moment and suddenly said, “This might be a good thing. If they are attracted and gather somewhere, the chances of escaping from the hospital will greatly increase, minimizing their threat.”

Suddenly, Zhong Luoyue and Elizabeth exchanged glances, and they both thought of a possibility—one person... a person capable of attracting zombies together.

Mysterious... Luo Qiu.