Chapter Sixty-Seven: Black Snow, Crimson Moon

"On your way here, you were paying close attention to the surroundings. Did you spot any vehicles a few kilometers out?" I asked Huo Bing.

Earlier, I was focused on driving, scanning for zombie hordes without thoroughly observing the area.

"There was one—at that farm I mentioned before. There's a pickup truck there. I shone my high-powered flashlight on it, but it looked abandoned, probably hasn't been used in ages," Huo Bing replied, pressing her fingers lightly to her chin in thought.

Without the Wave God, we had no way to detonate remotely. We could only rig the fuse up close, then retreat into the central control room. That vehicle would be our escape after blowing up the chemical plant; five kilometers wasn't an insurmountable distance.

If we missed this opportunity, completing the 'Ultimate Massacre' mission from the Genetic Ecological Chain would become nearly impossible.

Was I really supposed to kill people? Where would I find enough people to kill in such a short time? Besides, people from the Ruined Era all possess a certain ferocity. They wouldn't just stand there waiting for me to finish them off.

Most importantly, I hadn't sunk to the depths of insanity where I'd slaughter humans just to complete a mission.

"I have a reason I can't turn back..." I murmured, stretching out my hand to feel the cool freshness of the air after the heavy rain; even the atmosphere seemed renewed.

Unbeknownst to me, Huo Bing had already grasped my arm. She smiled, "If that's the case, I have a reason not to leave either."

I looked at her, amused. "And what's your reason?"

"Because you won't leave, so I can't leave either. You are my reason to reject everything, and my reason to accept everything," Huo Bing gazed at me tenderly. For a moment, I didn't know how to respond to her feelings.

I wouldn't lie to myself; during this journey to City XY, Huo Bing had already pried open a corner of my heart.

I gently brushed aside her silvery hair and said, "Let's take care of business first. I found protective suits and gas masks inside earlier. When the chemical plant explodes, we can hide in the control room, but we'll still need protection against the toxic gases afterward."

"Alright!"

We returned to the factory. Apart from the thousand-corpse tide locked in the innermost work area, the rest had been dealt with by Huo Bing and me.

Now, I regarded Huo Bing as a comrade who could fight alongside me—at least in terms of her combat prowess.

Perhaps because she hadn't received formal training, her movements lacked technique. Yet her strength and speed had increased exponentially.

I wondered if the foreign substance the lab coat spoke of had any side effects.

At the very least, Huo Bing now looked nothing like a normal person—her head full of silver hair, and crimson eyes.

I suspected the lab coat accelerated the mutation process and gained intelligence because he inhaled some of the dust while alive. After becoming a zombie, he grew stronger through infection and cannibalism, eventually reaching the third-level zombie threshold and developing intelligence. Maybe at that point, he already exhibited talents surpassing other zombies.

Later, he continued to absorb the dust as a zombie, finally becoming what he was now.

Compared to the lab coat, Huo Bing was much luckier; her traits, so far, were still fundamentally human.

"Brother Cao, what do we do now? The entrance is blocked by the zombie tide—we can't get in at all. How can we blow up the chemical plant and stay safe?" Huo Bing, I, and Fourth Master—who was so sleepy he could barely walk—stood before the work area door.

I'd sealed this place with containers when I escaped earlier.

You could still hear zombies constantly pounding on the door, trying to push the containers aside, but only pressing them tighter against the entrance.

If we let them be, before long they'd start devouring each other, until one among them evolved into a high-level, mutated creature. Only then would they have a chance to break free—an apocalypse unleashed.

"We have to rush in to the lab and the tool room. The equipment is still there; I can use it to make a detonator, tie the remaining three grenades together, and set them off with a timer. The problem is, how do we get inside?"

Standing before the door, I pondered. The only feasible way was if Fourth Master could grow large again, carrying Huo Bing and me inside.

"Fourth Master... can you manage it?" I asked him, unable to suppress my concern.

By now, I was almost certain this dog was a mutant. I just didn't know why he hadn't grown enormous outright, and could control his size and abilities.

Was it a mutation within a mutation, like the lab coat?

The strangest thing was, I'd never heard of a mutant tamed by humans—yet this one stuck to me willingly.

I certainly didn't think I possessed some kingly aura, able to command all beings with a glare. That was nonsense.

Maybe there was something else about me, something even I hadn't noticed, that attracted Fourth Master's interest.

But all this was only speculation; the truth would have to reveal itself in time.

Fourth Master gazed at me, dispirited, and whimpered.

Seeing his pitiful state, I couldn't bear to push further. I couldn't exactly grab his head and shake it, shouting, "Fourth Master! Grow! Grow!"

Huo Bing hesitated, then suddenly suggested, "Brother Cao, why don't we just fight our way in?"

I gave her a speechless look, placed my hand on her forehead, and said, "No fever. Are you thinking straight? There are only two of us. The other side has over a thousand zombies. How can you even say that?"

Huo Bing pouted, muttering, "But there's really no other way. Like you said, after we go in and finish the detonator, we have to come out, then go back in from outside—three trips in all..."

"Fourth Master, if we let you eat more, could you recover?" I suddenly thought of something and asked eagerly.

Huo Bing looked puzzled. "But we don't have dog food."

"Fourth Master doesn't eat dog food..."

"Then what does he eat?"

"He eats... never mind. Fourth Master, can you do it?"

I looked at him hopefully, but the dog just lay down, too tired to even glance at me.

It seemed he was exhausted mentally. Feeding him wouldn't help him grow; the two weren't connected.

Just as I was at a loss, Fourth Master suddenly stood up. He raised his paw and struck the container blocking the gap, then looked back at me.

"You want me to push this container aside?"

He nodded at me. But I couldn't be excited, because I feared Fourth Master might sacrifice himself.

If growing larger cost him his life, I wouldn't let him do it.

I knelt beside him, stroking his head gently. "Tell me honestly—if you grow bigger again, would it endanger your life?"