By now, Zhao Yin could clearly see where the Golden Thread Fruit was located.

That area wasn't where the zombies were most densely packed, and quite a bit of vegetation grew nearby.

Post-apocalypse weeds and shrubs had taken root directly in the concrete. With Zhao Yin's build and agility, using the gaps between ruins and the cover of vegetation, going alone to pick the Golden Thread Fruit wouldn't be too difficult.

"I'm going to pick the Golden Thread Fruit. You all stay here and wait for me," Zhao Yin said in a low voice.

"Zhao Yin."

Song Xiaodao grabbed the corner of his clothes, her small face full of worry. She pouted. "I'm going with you."

"No. If we alert the zombies here, I won't be able to protect you either," Zhao Yin said sternly.

If he was discovered by zombies alone, he could still escape. Bringing Song Xiaodao along would be no different from walking to his death.

"Old Bull, Little Monkey-if there's danger, I'll escape alone first. You two hide here with Xiaodao, wait for the horde to calm down, then return the way we came. After you get out, we'll meet up at the village from before."

Planning ahead, Zhao Yin finished speaking and took out all the Compressed Biscuits that could replenish stamina-three pieces in total.

For that Golden Thread Fruit, he was really bleeding resources.

"Little Monkey gets two, Old Bull gets one. If you're discovered by zombies too and run out of energy, eat one. It'll replenish your stamina. Remember-you two need to protect Xiaodao."

The two mutated beasts nodded. They could sense that Zhao Yin's words were an order, with no room for negotiation.

Having given all his instructions, Zhao Yin turned and walked forward.

In truth, all these arrangements stemmed from Zhao Yin's cautious nature-just in case.

He was confident he could easily pick the Golden Thread Fruit. Crossing this distance wasn't difficult.

Especially with the vegetation for cover.

Zhao Yin deliberately walked through the gaps in the concrete, making no sound at all. When there was truly no cover, he crouched down and crawled through the undergrowth.

After more than ten minutes, Zhao Yin successfully crossed the concrete pile Old Bull had mentioned.

A large open space appeared ahead. At a glance, he spotted a short shrub growing thirty meters away, swaying in the night breeze.

Hanging from it was a single fruit.

Bright red skin, faintly threaded with gold.

Golden Thread Fruit!

Zhao Yin's breath caught.

The nearby zombies didn't seem interested in the Golden Thread Fruit at all. Even when they wandered near the tree, they acted as if it didn't exist.

Zhao Yin slipped into the grass and carefully crawled forward on his belly. Twenty meters... fifteen meters... ten meters...

Eight meters... five meters...

Suddenly, a zombie slowly wandered toward him. From within the grass, Zhao Yin could see it had been a young man in life, wearing tattered clothes with the faint logo of some tire factory still visible.

This zombie's body had already fully recovered. Soon, it would evolve to F-rank.

The blood vessels beneath its pale skin were a sickly black-purple, crawling like earthworms across its face. Murky, viscous liquid dripped from its mouth.

Drip. Drip.

As the zombie approached, a drop of saliva landed on Zhao Yin's eyelid. He didn't dare move a muscle.

Fortunately, he had bathed last night, so his body odor wasn't too strong. Combined with the strong wind diluting the smell, this zombie didn't detect him.

The zombie slowly passed in front of Zhao Yin and gradually moved away.

Zhao Yin wiped the saliva from his eyelid and continued crawling forward. Soon, he reached the Golden Thread Fruit tree.

He didn't immediately pick the fruit. Instead, he kept his body hidden in the grass, first cautiously observing his surroundings.

He waited until all the zombies within ten meters had turned their backs. In that instant, Zhao Yin suddenly leaped up.

He precisely grabbed the Golden Thread Fruit, and as his body descended, he pulled the fruit from the tree.

Then his body dropped back into the grass.

All of this took less than two seconds.

Not a single zombie noticed.

Zhao Yin looked at the Golden Thread Fruit in his hand. Before he could even feel happy, a loud shout suddenly came from not far away.

"There's someone over there! Help!"

"Fuck!"

Zhao Yin cursed under his breath. He saw a middle-aged bald man wearing a dirty suit, holding a five or six-year-old boy in his arms, crawling out from a crack that could still be barely identified as a former manhole opening.

"Finally, someone's here! Help! Save my son!"

The man shouted loudly as he quickly ran toward Zhao Yin.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The nearby zombies instantly erupted. If viewed from above at this moment, one would see that the once-dead-silent Industrial Park was now like a surging ant nest.

Countless zombies converged crazily, centered on the man and Zhao Yin.

In that moment, Zhao Yin didn't hesitate at all. He got up and ran for his life.

If he got surrounded here, even if his current strength were several times greater, he'd be finished.

Once the zombies closed in, the grass could no longer hide him.

Then it would be hard to escape.

The only thing Zhao Yin could do then would be to release the Invisibility Tent and hide.

These ordinary zombies couldn't break through the tent's defenses. But doing that would only cause more and more zombies to gather outside, eventually trapping him here to die.

"Brother! Brother! You're the first person I've met in over a month... Please, please don't run... Please save my son...!"

The man shouted from behind, his voice gradually trembling.

Zhao Yin wanted to curse. He hadn't expected that in this Industrial Park with no room for survival, someone could still stubbornly survive until now.

That this father and son could evade his perception meant they must have used the same method to evade the zombies' perception.

Zhao Yin had no time to figure out how they did it.

The man behind him shouted even more desperately. The zombie horde was rapidly closing in. Zhao Yin had now also become a target attracting the zombies.

He directly took out the last bottle of Iced Black Tea from the Spatial Ring and chugged it down.

Zhao Yin didn't say a word. His speed instantly increased. He picked the direction where the zombie horde was thinnest and ran for his life, legs pumping so hard his underwear was about to fall off.

"Bastard! How can you watch someone die and do nothing? I can die! Why won't you save my son?"

The zombie horde had already surrounded the man and the little boy. Countless hands reached out toward the father and son. The little boy wailed loudly.

The next moment, the zombie horde engulfed them. Hands grabbed hands, hands grabbed feet, all fighting to bite and tear.

The man desperately tried to protect the little boy in his arms. Suddenly-crack-the little boy's head was torn off by a zombie. Blood sprayed, and the nearby zombies became even more frenzied.

"Son! Son...!" The man screamed in heart-wrenching agony.

In the end, the man was pinned to the ground by the zombies. In an instant, the flesh on his body was bitten off. In the pool of blood, he still desperately clutched the headless corpse in his arms.

"Son... our food is gone... there's no water left... Dad doesn't know how to save you...!"

Soon, the man was torn to pieces by the zombie horde. Not even his bones remained.

Until the very end, he never saw that guy look back.

From start to finish, Zhao Yin didn't say a single word, didn't look back once. He only focused on saving his own life.

...

Zhao Yin was still surrounded by the zombie horde.

Even though he had run with all his might, he had also reached the edge of the Industrial Park.

But the zombies ahead had formed a wall. Not even a gap remained.

Pfft!

Zhao Yin pulled out the Mountain-Cleaving Machete. With one swing, he cut down four or five zombies in front of him. Before the horde could close in, he quickly stepped forward, then swung again, stepped forward...

This high-intensity killing allowed him to slowly move toward the outside of the Industrial Park.

Countless zombies' sharp claws scraped against his body. Although ordinary zombies couldn't break through the defense of the Military Jacket and fishnet stockings, Zhao Yin's exposed skin was already covered in countless wounds.

He killed the zombies beside him with a few swings, quickly took out a Tuna Can that could resist the virus, popped the lid, grabbed the contents, and stuffed them into his mouth.

Because of this delay, his arms, thighs, and chest were each bitten by several zombies. Although they couldn't tear through his clothes, the bites hurt like hell.

If he hadn't dodged in time, his neck would have been bitten through.

Zhao Yin was furious. He raised the Mountain-Cleaving Machete and hacked wildly...

...

The bloody smell left by the bald man and his son drifted through the air. Even though they had been devoured until not even a bone fragment remained, countless zombies still desperately rushed toward that spot, wave after wave.

Normally, zombies just wandered aimlessly, turning around when they encountered obstacles. But now, the attraction of flesh and blood had driven the horde completely mad.

So much so that when several climbed over broken walls, they fell into the crevice where Song Xiaodao and the two beasts were hiding.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Little Monkey swung the Spiked Club and took down these few zombies in a few hits. This also attracted the attention of other nearby zombies.

Roar! Roar! Roar...!

In an instant, a chain reaction occurred. Countless zombies surged toward the crevice.

Song Xiaodao's face turned pale. Even the hand holding the Tang Dao began to tremble.

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