I am the Zombie King of the Apocalyptic World
Chapter 1594 - 1588: Brother Shi’s Suggestion

Chapter 1594: Chapter 1588: Brother Shi’s Suggestion

After Ghost Head’s explanation, Brother Shi finally understood why Crooked Neck insisted on going back. Unlike Ghost Head, Bald Head, and Snapper, Crooked Neck had a family in the Dangerous Sanctuary City. This family was built amid the apocalypse and included his wife and young son, who was less than five years old.

Unlike Ghost Head and the others, who had always been in a "full stomach, no worries" survival mode, Crooked Neck carried emotional ties of his own. And the video that Brother Shi had just played on his phone made people worry about the future of the Dangerous Sanctuary City. The Second District Defensive Line was the last safeguard of the Sanctuary City. If it were breached by the zombie horde, the entire Dangerous Sanctuary City would be like prey in a tiger’s jaws. Could anyone still believe the city was safe?

He was a husband and a father. Leaving his loved ones behind wasn’t something that an ordinary person could easily do. He wasn’t one of those ruthless warlords. When he saw the impending danger for the Dangerous Sanctuary City, his immediate worry was for his wife and child.

Under Crooked Neck’s desperate struggles, Bald Head and the others quickly found themselves unable to restrain him. None of them knew what to say—how could they force him to abandon his family?

Brother Shi hurriedly stepped in front and said, "Calm down first. Are you intending to go back and take your wife and child with you?"

"Yes! Let me go, hurry, all of you go ahead without me!"

"Come on, have a look at the situation now. We’re deserters! If you go back to the Sanctuary City, you won’t even make it through the gate—they’d shoot you on the spot. How would you get your wife and child to leave?"

"Then what should I do? I can’t abandon them!"

"Alright, just calm down and listen to me."

Crooked Neck took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He looked at Brother Shi and asked, "What’s your plan, then?"

"You don’t have to go back."

"That’s impossible!"

"Just hear me out first."

"..."

"We can go to the White Wing Base and use the electrical communication terminal to contact your family. Tell them to hurry out, wouldn’t that solve the problem? At most, we can reach Bai Ling in two days. The Second District should still be able to hold out for a little while longer. Besides, the Sanctuary City still has anti-zombie walls and plenty of Level 8 New Humans there. As long as the Zombie King doesn’t appear, the city should hold for at least a day, right?"

"Hmm... And then?"

"One day is enough time for your wife and child to run very, very far, isn’t it?"

"But they... they’re ordinary people..."

"We’ll go pick them up! Don’t forget—we’ve got this."

Brother Shi pulled out the Evolution Crystal he had extracted yesterday from the head of a Level 4 zombie. This Level 4 Evolution Crystal could be exchanged for a minimum of 450 Yajin, and that amount was enough to hire a mercenary group at the White Wing Base to get the job done.

"We can use these Yajin to hire mercenaries to go with you and help you find them. Doesn’t that sound perfect? If you go back now, not only will you not see your family, but you’ll also face mortal danger. Isn’t it better this way?"

Brother Shi’s words brought clarity to Crooked Neck. This seemed like the best plan.

"Alright... Alright, let’s do that." Crooked Neck nodded. Seeing that he had stopped struggling, Bald Head and Snapper released him.

"Alright, let’s pick up the pace now. We might even reach Bai Ling by tomorrow. Then your wife and child will have two days to escape."

"Yes, yes, let’s move faster."

At this moment, Crooked Neck couldn’t think of anything else—his only focus was on his wife and child. Nearby, Yong tilted his head in confusion and murmured two words to himself.

"Wife... Child... This emotion Abeng talks about, is this what it is? I don’t understand..."

He looked back at the direction they had come from. For some reason, he felt like they were heading the wrong way. It was as if he wasn’t supposed to follow these people in the first place. He seemed to have forgotten what he came here to do, and that there were others like himself back in the Sanctuary City. They weren’t aligned with him—they were doing something else—but what was it?

Yong didn’t know what it meant to recognize mistakes and turn back or to find the right path after losing it. He only had his instincts—to let the error run its course.

Today, the sky was heavily clouded, far from the bright blue of yesterday. Although yesterday the sky had been clear, it felt cold and distant. Today’s overcast heavens were shrouded with icy dark clouds, making it even colder. The wind was stronger, sharp enough to pierce the skin. The group couldn’t help but shrink into their clothes, complaining among themselves: if they had known they would end up as deserters, they should’ve gathered more supplies.

But now, all they could do was endure the biting wind coming from the northwest. The lack of food created a sense of urgency, a gnawing "hunger" taking root in their hearts.

No one spoke about it—each of them understood well the scarcity of food. It wasn’t something you could find just by looking.

On the road, they occasionally ran into a few zombies, but these were only Level 1 or un-evolved ones. They were easily handled without much effort. Time passed as the group pushed on, and by one o’clock in the afternoon, after alternating between running and walking, they finally reached their first milestone—Changxin Town.

The group immediately became alert, activating the exoskeletal combat suits on their bodies, ready to face any surprise zombie attacks. However, to their surprise, as they exited the highway and entered the town, the number of zombies was neither overwhelming nor threatening. The zombies were sparsely scattered along the streets—not too many, but certainly not few.

"This..."

"Looks like there’s a survivor settlement nearby."

"Should we go check it out?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Ghost Head couldn’t quite understand but chose not to argue. Since he rarely ventured out, he wasn’t very knowledgeable about the situation beyond their group’s immediate vicinity. He couldn’t think of a valid reason to oppose Brother Shi’s decision.

The group turned their focus to Brother Shi—he was the most experienced and capable member among them. Of course, there was Yong, the strange creature they had with them, but Yong was clearly not someone to try reasoning with, so they naturally disregarded him.

"This place is not far from the Sanctuary City. Settlements like this survivor hub usually have trade links with nearby bases. Most of their leadership might even be sent from those bases. We don’t know how much effort the Sanctuary City is putting into catching deserters like us, but it’s definitely not worth the risk."

"Makes sense."

The group agreed with Brother Shi. They cautiously moved around the edges of the town. Changxin Town wasn’t very large, and with their pace, they could quickly pass beyond its limits. However, just as they were about to exit the town, they saw a big-foot truck.

"Wait... Wait, look over there." Ghost Head was the first to notice the truck, pointing toward its location, just four or five hundred meters away. The vehicle’s body was painted in a glaring red, the front fitted with menacing ramming spikes, and all four tires were equipped with blade-like scrapers. At a glance, it was clear that the truck belonged to survivors and was fully operational.