TSIAGBICATMWI Chapter 56

Chapter 56 The Hope They Thought They Had

At this moment, inside Half-Moon City, Lu Yunzhou, facing over thirty low-level zombies, had fought until he was exhausted and collapsed. With four or five zombies still remaining, and wearing a specially made protective net over his head, he simply lay there, allowing the zombies to tear at his flesh.

This was punishment for failing to complete his task quota for the day, and also to provide samples for Cheng Xie’s research.

After a few breaths, the guard beside him finally dragged the barely-breathing Lu Yunzhou back, allowing a healing-ability user to treat his wounds.

He didn’t know how many times this had happened. Here, it was perpetually dark. Since being brought to this place, Lu Yunzhou lived in a daze every day, yet he had to muster every ounce of energy to deal with the zombies.

Heh, compared to those who were thrown into zombie hordes and devoured until not even their bones remained, he didn’t know if he was lucky or unlucky.

He looked at the ceiling and gave a self-deprecating smile. Perhaps he was lucky after all, at least he was still alive, at least he had awakened the ability he had dreamed of.

How could he be unlucky? He still had the chance to personally tear apart all the ability users in this base, including—Lin Yi!

“Cough, cough!” Uncontrollable coughing aggravated the wounds on his body, his chest cavity ached, and as his body trembled, blood welled up in his mouth, spreading across the lower half of his face as he lay flat on his back.

None of the people watching him moved a finger to help him wipe it off. Lin Yan, who was treating him, covered his nose and mouth in disgust, with no trace of his former gentle and approachable demeanor.

Lin Yi! Lu Yunzhou remembered the day he came to Half-Moon City with him, full of hope.

They thought it was hope, but it turned out to be despair.

Rewind to the day they first arrived at Half-Moon City. The three of them were excited, ambitious and full of hope for a bright future. They did not expect a blow at the gate.

The guard at the base gate first asked the three of them if they were ability users. After confirming that only Lin Yi was, they stated that one ability user could only bring one ordinary person through the main gate to the central district.

He sized up Lu Yunzhou, saying, “The rest must enter through the side gate to the lower district.”

The way he looked at him, like he was merchandise, made Lu Yunzhou uncomfortable, as if he was some auction item waiting to be priced. Suppressing the unease in his heart, he asked in a calm tone, “May I ask, what is the difference between the central and lower districts?”

The man replied, “Our base is divided into upper, central, and lower districts. The upper district is mainly for base leaders and those who have made outstanding contributions to the base. The central district is for ordinary ability users, and the lower district, well, that’s the residential area for ordinary civilians.”

When he mentioned the lower district, his expression was clearly contemptuous. The word “civilian” made it clear that the ability users discriminated against ordinary people without abilities, so you could imagine that the people in the lower district did not have a good life.

Lu Yunzhou found it amusing. He never thought that one day he would become a member of the discriminated-against class. What a first experience!

At this time, he still didn’t take it seriously, let alone anticipate the painful experience that would follow.

Lin Yi looked at Lin Yan and Lu Yunzhou with a troubled expression. When his gaze lingered on Lu Yunzhou for a moment, Lin Yan couldn’t hold back any longer, frowning and pitifully saying, “Brother, I’m your own brother! You wouldn’t really choose him over me, would you? You promised Mom you’d protect me.”

Seeing Lin Yi’s hesitation, Lu Yunzhou took the initiative to break the deadlock, “Take him with you. I’m strong and healthy; I won’t starve to death in the lower district, nor will I be bullied.”

No matter how much they said they hated each other, no matter how much they showed their dislike, he was still his own brother. How could he possibly choose him over his own brother?

Lin Yi breathed a sigh of relief and immediately stated, “Lu-ge, don’t worry. Once I get in, I’ll definitely find you and find a way to get you to the central district.”

Lu Yunzhou patted his shoulder firmly, “Okay, I’ll wait for you!”

Lin Yi told the guard his decision and registered to go in. Lu Yunzhou was taken away by two people who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Assuming they were going to take him to the side gate, Lu Yunzhou followed them without resistance.

They walked to a secluded area, and without warning, Lu Yunzhou was knocked unconscious before he could react.

He woke up again in a cage.

When he was awakened by the loud noises filling his ears, he slowly opened his eyes. What came into view was a bunch of extremely hungry, frenzied zombies.

He hadn’t quite come to his senses yet, still a little dazed. Amidst his confusion, he heard voices talking:

“Do you think this one will succeed?”

One of the taller ones said, “It’s hard to say. Look at his muscles, he should be a trained fighter. Maybe he really has some skill.”

The other shook his head and retorted, “I don’t think so. Didn’t we have a lot of strong-looking guys before? They didn’t even last two seconds. Disappointing.”

The first voice said in an interested tone, “Want to make a bet? I’ll be the dealer.”

“Sure, I bet he won’t last.”

“Okay, I bet he’ll turn into a zombie.”

Chen Xin said irritably, “Damn it, aren’t you guys all saying the same thing? What’s the point of betting?”

The two underlings immediately put on flattering smiles and said obsequiously, “Hehe, Xin-ge, don’t be angry, don’t be angry. It’s just that none of them have succeeded before. We’re afraid of losing, we can’t afford to bet.”

Chen Xin said irritably, “Get out of here! Get out of my sight! It’s not like I forced you to bet. It’s just that you’re not good enough, okay?”

“Yes, yes, yes! Xin-ge is mighty. We are ashamed of our inferiority, ashamed of our inferiority!”

Lu Yunzhou’s mind gradually cleared as he heard their flattering words. He suddenly panicked and stood up, but he stood up too quickly, his body swayed, and he almost got grabbed by the surrounding zombies’ claws. He quickly took a step forward, standing in the middle.

“Oh, you’re finally awake. The game can begin.”

Lu Yunzhou looked up and saw a chubby young man with a fat face, who had managed to retain his fat in the apocalypse, it seemed he was doing quite well.

The two people standing beside him were much more normal, fitting the resource-scarce situation of the apocalypse. One of them was short and had a pointy mouth and sunken eyes, clearly someone who didn’t get enough to eat.

The other was tall and thin, looking a little better than the short one. His eyes showed a sly glint, so he was probably a little better at flattering and pleasing people than the little runt, hence he was doing slightly better. Most of the flattering words to the fat man just now were said by him.

The clanging sound pulled Lu Yunzhou back to reality. The sound of iron bars colliding was especially distinct among the zombies’ roars. Lu Yunzhou fixed his eyes and saw that one side of the square iron cage was being slowly lifted, and the zombies blocked outside were about to flood in.

He decisively kicked away the zombie in front of him and ran out of the iron cage. The cage with one door open was no longer a protective layer, but a binding lock.

Fortunately, he ran out, as the large space allowed him to dodge and maneuver. If he had stayed in the cage, the zombies would have swarmed him, burying him and making it impossible for him to move his arms and legs, let alone resist.